April 2012
410 posts
Call For Papers: Black Paris: Place, Circulation, and the Mapping of Experiences →
h-net.org
In France, the convergence of black experiences in Paris, following the 1950s-1960s massive migrations from the Caribbean and Africa, generated significant social and cultural practices, which, for most, have remained unknown to French people. Rather, the national collective imagination has been marked by striking, powerful and widely broadcasted images: the special forces violently evacuating African families who occupied Saint Bernard church and asked the government for long-term visas or, conversely, the victory of the “Black‐Blanc‐Beur” soccer team in 1998. These events made black people visible but their diversity was ignored. Yet, the social and human sciences did not fully seize the complexity of such histories and trajectories. Instead, scientific and public productions were - and are - fragmented into area and disciplinary studies and tend to produce a unified and homogenizing image of these populations. Some scholars like Pascal Blanchard and al. (2001) interrogated the representations of blackness in the French culture and criticized the enduring invisibility of blacks in French history. They brought to light the names of famous ones like René Maran who were left aside the national narrative. Developing a historical and political posture, they recollected pieces of the French past. Others, like Milena Doytcheva (2011), analyzed the role of ethnicity in urban public policies thus providing a valuable understanding of the tension between universalism and multiculturalism in the French context. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, other studies on “diversity” came out, unveiling important social processes and mechanisms, but not opening to a true analysis putting “blackness” at the center. Similarly, blackness was not explored in connection with the city.
In our post-Black Atlantic world exploring creolization, the cultural, social and economic connections between Africa, America or the Caribbean, it no longer seems possible to consider black Paris only in its locality or solely in relation to French history. Rather, one should consider how black populations in Western societies - notably in European societies - imagine the city in connection with multiples scales intermingling American, African, European, Asian worlds so to represent their composite cultures and identities. Following these routes (Clifford: 1997), reflecting on black Paris implies showing how this cultural and social diversity is epitomized in the “city of light”.
The editors are seeking papers that examine black Paris through circulation, interaction and confrontation between people, cultures, identities and social practices. Contributors are encouraged to explore black Paris as a nexus of transcontinental cultural, identity, political and economic networks through a variety of perspectives, disciplines and fields including theoretical works, literary and cultural studies, the arts and popular culture, social and urban policies.
atrabilious intentions
become an obsession
occupying every conscious moment
plotting a plot
scheming a scheme
revenge is a way of life it seems
lost for hours
mentally extinguishing with hate
quietly losing humanity
now with knife in hand
and willing intentions
fantasy becomes reality
without moral intervention
blade and blood
heartless heart beats no more
nothing left but a mess
to clean from the floor
Worst Concert Experience of My Life......
If you are in the twin cities and mad that you didnt get a chance to see Kid Ink last night, don’t worry. You didnt miss anything. My homies and I decided to attend the show last night. From the time we got to the venue, I knew I was going to be dissapointed. The whole thing was unorganized to begin with. We arrived @ around 8pm. Everyone was confused because no one was lined up,and the doors were locked. The website of the venue read the show would begin @ 8:30. This means the doors would open up kind of early right? Apparently not, because no one knew the correct information. One dude said doors wouldn’t open until 9pm. but they ID’d us, gave us wristbands and let us sit inside and look stupid for about twenty minutes, before they made you get back in line in order to purchase your tickets. which was another issue. The tickets were supposed to be $20 @ the door!! Why did I have to throw in another $15? (payed $75 for three tickets) I was irritated already, and hadn’t even seen the stage yet.
We went up the escalator to this big leveled room with a small stage and truly nothing indicating that ” 2012 Freshman Class Rapper Kid Ink” would be performing. All of his opening acts were locally grown, so I don’t know if he picked them, and I’m sure half of them didn’t even know anything about him. The first group was a quartet of rappers by the name of “Straight Checks”. They tried. and some people were trying to rock with them. But they just were not catching our attention. One dude had his voice autotuned on the tracks so, it wasnt a good look. There was this 16 year old DJ who was so dorky and looked like McLovin, who had to do all of the work for three of the opening acts, and Kid Ink himself. Where was Kid Inks’ DJ?? question will be answered in another paragraph. The second act went by the name of “Indy Does It” (i think). they were interesting and worth giving a try, but they definately were not meant for a Concert like that. Third, came this white guy G-Beck who was very emotional with his sampled tracks from modern hits like “We are Young” and “Somebody I used to know”…He was pretty cool, but again not equal to the atmosphere of the show(which was dead for the most part) handed out free buttons, so I just might look him up. The last opener was this group of three dudes who all copied off of eachothers outfits. I don’t care to know either because they were WACK. they were unoriginal biters who “Just wanna Make it”, which was the only relatable and true thing they had going. One of the dudes was High as F%ck before he even entered the venue, so by the time he got on stage(around 11pm), he was trippin like you wouldn’t believe.
I was exhausted with the unimpressive openers and ready to go. I was naucious from the smells of the ppl around me, and because it was hot, and you could feel the base movin through your entire body. I kept yawning, and me and my friends had that “I’m not entertained” expression on our faces. I became so angry when one fo the guys from Straight Checks came out and anounced they were going to perform yet another song, I said “F&ck a spot!!” and sat down. After they tried for a second time, and the poor DJ had to stall for about another 30 minutes, I spotted a familiar tattoo at the exit door. A little bit of excitement returned because the man of the hour was here. His entrance was off, and I was too busy tryin to find one of my friend and trying not to get knocked down by one of the white boys that couldn’t control themselves. You could tell he was one of those artist who played off the energy of the crowd. Half of us were just bobbin like, ” N&gga, this all you got?” I was rockin to”Bathroom”, “what I do”, ”Tat it Up” ,”I just Want it All”, and “No sticks, No seeds” and that “Like a G”. and when he did “Tuna Roll”, i got a chance to jump up and down a little bit. I got some pictures and a few video clips. One of the guys I was next to snatched the camera out my hand and took a picture for me. He ended the show on “Time of your life”, signed some autographs, and left.
I said to my friend, who got his snapback signed, “That’s it, It’s over??!!” His set was probably about 30 min. long. Whhhhhhhaaaatttt the F&&&&&*&*^CCCKKK??? I payed money to see that shyt?? I payed for a show and what I got was garbage. BULLSHYT.That was not good. I didnt like it. He really dissapointed me. It seemed like he didnt care about his fans. I was truly not impressed. Not once did he say “Thank You”. I have a whole Pandora Station dedicated to him, and I don’t know how to delete it. I did not like this artist @ first, now I have proved myself right. His energy during the performance was halfway there. And his set could have been a whole lot better. His Ego is Really Big, but his stage presence is small. Maybe he performs differently in different places. and He’s a pompous jerk, because once I handed my book in front of him to sign, he inderectly stated, “Move, I’m bout to f&ckin go!”……………………….N&gga What??……….Oh hell no. So. I walked out, mad @ the fact that Kid ink did not appreciate his fans or the art of performing for that matter. Mad I had to wait four hours for him to perform for half an hour!! Mad my ankles were swollen. Mad I was so excited to see him, and i didnt get close to what I wanted.
After the concert, we decided to go to Jimmy Johns to get some food. I had to use the bathroom, so I proceeded to walk back there forgetting the rule that you have to pay for something before you can use the bathroom. But that gave the dude behind the counter no reason to yell at me. I don’t respond well to people yelling at me, so of course I yelled back. After going back and forth, and letting him know he didn’t have to come at me in that manner, I went to the register to order, and then he starts cursing!! dude lost his damn mind. I once again, checked his ass and told him the cursing was overboard. and he was the one who disrespected me. I guess he got mad then, and decided to refuse my business. Told me to get out and said, “anything else”…I was hot..”Whatever”…I stormed and made my way to the bus stop. Adding fule to a fire that’s already high. BytchAss!!…on my way to the bus stop. I walked past a popular nightclub and heard “DJ YOUNG STAR!!!”….oh so that’s where Kid Inks DJ was!!…oooohhhh, maybe we werent worthy of his presence, he was too focused on another more important engagement, rather than ppl that atually know who he is. And maybe kid Ink didnt like the fact that his crowed was probably no more than 120 ppl, mostly male college students who probably smoked more than he did.
So when someone asks me, “Shaunte’ How was the Concert?”….I will reply with, “Awful. A complete waste of my time, money, energy and attention.”
