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Robert Badu is an amateur artist whose gift has been nurtured by a fascination with Asante cultural symbols (such as Asante gold weights ), vibrant colours and everyday people. Robert Badu comes from the Mampong Royal Family ©  MisBeee Writes In the vlog below, Badu explores his early influences and explains why sheer determination meant his dyslexia was not a hindrance to him becoming an artist. Badu is a trained teacher (not in art) although he has been known to teach the subject when the need has arisen. He currently works as a corporate security guard but has hopes of pursuing his artistic passions full time. He boasts a healthy following on social media which includes US musicians Arrested Development – one of Badu’s favourite groups whose hit song ‘Everyday People’ inspired his work. The piece below 'The Politician' shares an uncanny resemblance to US president Donald Trump. But this is only coincidental said Badu as the painting was produced in 2012...

I start this blog on the premise that most of us accept today that Africa is the cradle of mankind and that despite the geographical and political demarcations that separate North and Sub-Saharan Africa, all its inhabitants were originally one. But how many of us know of the Senegalese academician, scientist, philosopher and politician who popularised these concepts in the early 1950s and was widely criticised for doing so? My signed copy of the film from Mbaye ©  MisBeee Writes His name was S éex (Cheikh) Anta Diop and his research, publications and discussions made him an important figure in elevating Africans, our histories, cultures and identities on the continent and across the Diaspora. Thanks to Birkbeck University’s free airing of the Ouseman Mbaye film ‘Kemtiyu’ in London on 3 February 2017, I got to learn more about Dr Diop and understand why his arguments were so fiercely criticised by the academic elite. The film (the name of which is fittingly derived ...

When you are struggling to find the words to say something heartfelt, sometimes there’s no better way than through a card. But what do you do when there is no card that aptly expresses that ‘you love the shit’ out of your other half? I guess you go out and make one. Perfect for Valentine's - Twi style, courtesy of Yobbings That is what founder Ama Asante Diaka aka Poetra Asantewa did in 2015 when she launched Ghana-based greeting cards and paper goods company Yobbings . Yobbings is a pidgin word which means to 'woo or ron' - sweet-talk or exaggerate to please someone. Keeping it real F or me, the range pushes conversations that we’ve all had privately with loved ones or friends into a public setting, and tests our limits on ‘acceptable’ toilet humour and taboo topics. Unlike most conventional card companies, Yobbings says the unsayable (not the unthinkable); taps into youth culture and speaks to them in languages they recognise.  Youth culture I am not jus...

Autism – the mental condition that affects the way people communicate and form relationships – does not discriminate. I realised this all too keenly after being invited to a fundraising evening by the founder of London-based autism charity A2ndvoice. Venessa Bobb founder of A2ndvoice ©  Anthony Ayakwah The event, organised by Simply Mayfair on 25 January 2017 at Tom's Kitchen in Chelsea, brought together people from all walks of life that have been touched in some way by the condition. A2ndvoice founder Venessa Bobb launched her charity in May 2012 after her middle child – Nathaniel – was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism. As with many parents before her, Bobb struggled to find adequate information on the condition or support. She resorted to forming A2ndvoice as a way of helping other carers bridge the gap in meeting these needs and is now chair of the National Autistic Society's Lambeth Autism Group.    Her event w...

British-Ghanaian journalist and videographer Kai Lutterodt can trace her ancestry back five generations to the Tabom people, (check part one 'Roots and culture I' here ).   The Taboms were an Afro-Brazilian community of former slave returnees, mainly of Yoruba descent, that migrated to Nigeria initially and then settled in Ghana*. © Kai Lutterodt (centre) is flanked by Carnival-goers in Bahia 2013 The community derived its name from the Portuguese phrase: ‘esta bom’ or ‘ta bom’ for short, which means it is good. As the story goes, the returnees could not speak the Ga language spoken in Accra, or English so when locals asked them questions, their response was typically: ‘Ta bom’ – hence their name. Since then, the Tabom name has undergone a further transformation to Tabon, which is thought to be francophanisation of the name. Spiritual journey For Lutterodt, the exploration of her Tabom heritage was powerfully spiritual and gave her an opportunity to connec...

The story of how the Tabom people (an Afro-Brazilian community of former slave returnees mainly of Yoruba descent*) that migrated from Brazil Kai Lutterodt can trace her ancestry back five generations to Brazil's Tabom people ©  MisBeee Writes to West Africa has long fascinated me. Those of you who know me know of my love affair with Brazil, my search for its Twi-speaking community and my crazy experiences in the country over four trips. So, you can imagine my utter excitement when I found a living descendent of the Afro-Brazilian community right under my nose in London. Her name is Kai Lutterodt. She's British-Ghanaian, a recent journalism graduate and her two-part story is fascinating. Ancestral roots Lutterodt first learnt about her Tabom roots from her dad when she was eight years old. " I always considered it to be this exotic side that I had. It wasn’t until I became older that I explored it a bit further and I found out that it was a lot to do ...

What a year 2016 was for MisBeeeWrites! Thanks to you for your continued support reading, sharing and commenting on my posts. I have made it into some new and exciting publications such as TheNewBlackMagazine.com, Nuime.com and Kasoma Online. Some of my blogs were featured in a special Voice Online magazine for the Africa on the Square annual event. And in the latter half of 2016, I got to speak on platforms such as Ghanaian diaspora group Star100 and BloggingGhana about issues featured in my blog. I was invited to review books authored by Africans for the new initiative the Indie Book Show Africa. The initiative is an online platform that celebrates and validates the work of African writes through community engagement. Can't wait to see what 2017 will bring. I hope you will join me. Check out some of my highlight below: Where has the Black family gone from the John Lewis Christmas advert TheNewBlackMagazine.com 7 December 2016 ...