BackPage Babe

Yup! We're bringing back a classic--DRUM Magazine inspired BackPage Babe features, of course reimagined for this other self we have become over the years. And for those of you who don't know DRUM, stick around--will post a full education soon.

Below is my girl turned fly mom shouldda been turned model, Penny K. blinging out country style glamour. And the gorgeous & black drama is from another fashionista's traditional Tswana (South African--those are my peeps, reppin'!) wedding. Cannot wait to drop the bridal dress here. Stay Tuned!

Don't Try This At Home...

Timothy Bloom feat. V. Bozeman, Til The End of Time. Sacred Provocateur/Brown Sugar Beautiful. Raw. Don't Try this at home, People. May lead to an explosive weekend...Let's get this party started. It's Friday!

Viva la Mexico!

Gianfranco Reni Designs. Image: AP

Every year is the same story with me--in a fit of excitement and a little help from something deep red and rich in tannins--I start blurting about Happy Cinco de Mayo...in March or April. But today my friends, I am right. It's the fifth of May and that means, dear non-Mexican reader, Cinco de Mayo.  In the US, Spain, and throughout the diaspora, a celebration of Mexican heritage. In Mexico, a nod to a military defeat of French troops in 1862.

Tony Gleaton's "The Marriage of Maurillio and Teresa" 

Courtesy of the National Museum of Mexican Art

In KoKOFIFI land, an opportunity to channel all things Mexican and large looming in popular culture--Gianfranco Reni (whose designs are so A. McQueen provocative to me), Frida Kahlo (goddesses have indeed graced this earth) and where would pop culture be without soap star turned Hollywood Heiress Salma Hayek? And also a nod to our shared ancestry. Yes, Mexico is home to a rich, if overlooked, line of African descendants. Mexican independence heroes Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon and Vicente Guerrero were both, in part, African descendants. And modern Mexico still has it's own equivalent of Brazil's Bahia--Veracruz along the gulf coast is nestled with towns such as Yanga, named in honour of a restless leader from present day Nigeria. So when you raise your glass celebrating Cinco de Mayo today, don't forget that the real revolution is a battle for minds--making you think it's Cinco de Mayo on March 5 (with the help of good Tequila) and sticking Mexico in a colorless check box.

Viva la Mexico!

WANTED: InVogue Writers

An unfazed Fey shot for Vanity Fair by Annie Liebowitz.

So you have a lot of things in common with Tina Fey--you're covertly sexy, you're wicked smart but don't need to whip everyone over the head with it and you're miraculously, refreshing in your take on all things fashion and all things...well, there really are no other things, are there? And you're funny, or at least you have a curious sense of humor. And of course, you're a writer!  Why not make it official by contributing to KoKOFIFI? We are expanding our editor's desks in Johannesburg&Cape Town, Accra, Nairobi and Lagos. If you've got the chops to head up one of these desks, send us a sample blog on the hottest fashion trend you see in your city today. Keep the post to three paragraphs, write with a thick accent that's entirely in your own voice and channel Tina Fey wit minus the 30Rock wardrobe. Can't wait to hear from you: EmailKoKOFIFI@gmail.com.

FashionFeastFridays

If you're in Jozzie Friday, the smart kids at TwentyTwo are hosting a Fashion Feast that's something like Jozzie's Night Out. Don't miss! Shop. Drink. Eat Local--Dis Lekker.

ThinkBack.LIVE NOW.LookForward

And i love the kids behind the iHeartSoweto almost more! Check out ThisSocialJamSession LOVE! Props for Pic: Uviwe.

Grafitti Lives in Soweto. Courtesy Flickr, Demonterious.

Mali Takes on HipHop. Image Courtesy, Flickr, Shoobali.

On at NYC's MoMa right now through May 30: Looking at Music 3.0, a retrospective of HipHop. Loved hearing Cey Adams break down how the movement has changed over more than 20 years--how more than 20 years ago graffiti artists couldn't get any kind of play from major museums and one curator told him to come back if his stuff was still culturally relevant in 20 years. Twenty years on and counting, HipHop still hogging the mic/dance floor+walls. Guess you just gotta see some music to believe it, huh?

Is Everything Everything?

Images Courtesy of Blitz the Ambassador.

Kate now Catherine. Gadaffi's son falls, Trump's foxy hair is trumped publicly and Obama delivers Osama. Three days, people. These are heady times. Am grounded by simple truths and the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

L. Boogey Sparks. Image Courtesy of The Comet.

 Everything is Everything. Am also grounded by minds that meld the thickness of our times into rhymes moving us forward by reminding us where we been and where we at. Ghana-born Blitz the Ambassador's album, Native Son drops today. Seriously people, not since Lauren Hill has anything HipHop been on steadier rotation in my ears. Pure sick genius. Purely and Simply. Speaking the truth of our times.