The Roots (as if you didn't know)

The Roots headline this World Cup party @ Celebrate Brooklyn (Prospect Park), which celebrates the first time in its 80-year history the tournament will take place on African soil. With a kick-off by Sahr Ngaujah, the star of Fela! on Broadway, the show features performances by artists from all corners of the Diaspora, including host Talib Kweli (Brooklyn), Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew (Sierra Leone), Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana), and many others to be announced.

Okayafrica / The Roots / Talib Kweli / Sahr Ngaujah / Bajah & The Dry Eye Crew / Blitz The Ambassador

From left: Aklazz, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Dovy, Bajah

At his Hiro Ballroom fundraiser in NYC, at which the Dry Eye Crew were well represented (see photo), Cory Booker gave an inspiring speech, and referenced two African proverbs:

1. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
2. If they knock you down 6 times, get up 7.

AFRICA OYE!

Cory Booker website
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A message of thanks from the organizers to BDEC:

“Thank you for being a part of our inaugural Rock the Bowl host committee.  The night was a huge success, which would not have been possible without your support and dedication to Ubuntu Education Fund.

“We sold out the event, raised over $100,000.00, and had an amazing turn-out despite the inclement weather. The money raised will go a long way towards improving the lives of over 40,000 orphaned and vulnerable children and their families in the townships of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.  Equally important, with over 500 attendees we raised significant awareness for the life saving work that Ubuntu is doing to help bring the New South Africa to life.

“P.S. Don’t forget to walk with team Ubuntu!  AIDS Walk is May 16^th, 2010. If you haven’t signed up already to be a part of our team you can do so by CLICKING HERE.”

All proceeds from this event to benefit Ubuntu Education Fund and their groundbreaking work with orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa. Featuring Antibalas / Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew / Lion of Ido / Grindcity / Special Performance by members from the casts of Broadway hits “The Lion King,” “Memphis” and Fela Broadway!! OPEN BAR ALL NIGHT + All You Can Eat South African inspired cuisine by Blue Ribbon Restaurants…. NOT TO BE MISSED !

(Click on image to see full-size flier

April 13: Sierra Leone Night at FELA!, Starring Sierra Leonean Sahr Ngaujah [TICKETS]

April 14: “Sierra Leone Rising” at the Highline Ballroom, a Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars record release concert featuring Special Guests including
BAJAH + THE DRY EYE CREW; The Bubu King, Janka Nabay; and Sahr Ngaujah [TICKETS]

**DONATE $5 to International Rescue Committee (IRC) refugee assistance programs in Sierra Leone and throughout the world by texting REFUGEE to 25383

The Highline Ballroom Show is part of an extensive tour on which the All Stars are partnering with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to raise awareness about the needs of refugees. The All Stars first formed and performed in refugee camps in Guinea where the IRC managed school programs, health clinics and other critical services for tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans who escaped civil war at home. Since then, in electrifying live performances and recording experience with the likes of Aerosmith and Mavis Staples, the All Stars have been “establishing an identity based as much on skill, imagination and charisma as on their undeniably touching story” (The Los Angeles Times). (The band’s remarkable journey was documented in the multi-award winning documentary Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, by Zach Niles and Banker White.

“Amid their shared experience of living as refugees [the All Stars] found a common cause—to play beautiful music, bring cheer and hope to refugees who fled a brutal war and help them forget the horrors they left behind,” says International Rescue Committee spokeswoman Melissa Winkler. “Their music became an antidote to the misery, monotony and uncertainty that Sierra Leonean refugees faced each day, and their music continues to be an inspiration to refugees around the world.”

On the upcoming tour, concertgoers will be encouraged to donate $5 to IRC programs by texting REFUGEE to 25383. The donations will help Sierra Leonean and other refugees given sanctuary in the United States to recover and rebuild their lives here. The All Stars and Cumbancha are also donating $2 to the IRC’s global humanitarian aid programs for each copy of Rise & Shine sold through this link: www.theirc.org/shop-irc-market.

Rise & Shine is the follow up to the All Stars’ debut, Living Like a Refugee, which garnered the band international acclaim and high profile fans such as Keith Richards, Sir Paul McCartney, Angelina Jolie and Ice Cube. On the new album, produced by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Angelique Kidjo, Rickie Lee Jones, Michelle Shocked, Alec Ounsworth, Jackie Greene), Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have realized a unique and seamlessly coherent sound: a fusion of traditional West African music and roots reggae, inflected with New Orleans styles.

In keeping with the theme of their acclaimed new album, Rise & Shine, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have partnered with FELA! on Broadway to present a two-night, pre-Independence Day (April 27) celebration of Sierra Leone’s post-war cultural renaissance. April 13 will be Sierra Leone Night at FELA!, with a special discount ticket offer available. On April 14, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars will use the occasion of their record release show to pay tribute to Sierra Leone. In “Sierra Leone Rising,” an evening showcasing music from Rise & Shine (Cumbancha, March 23, 2010), the All Stars will be joined at the Highline Ballroom by hip-hop group Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew; Janka Nabay, master of Sierra Leone’s Bubu music; and Sahr Ngaujah, the first Sierra Leonean Broadway star.

Among those attending Sierra Leone Night at FELA! will be Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, and Ahmed Janka Nabay, along with representatives of the Sierra Leone Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Discounted tickets are available for this night, ranging from $35 to $85 while supplies last. These tickets can be purchased by visiting http://www.felaonbroadway.com/sln.php, or by calling 212-947-8844 and mentioning the code FESLR46.

Tickets for Sierra Leone Rising at the Highline Ballroom are $25-30 and are available at the box office, located at 431 West 16th St, New York, NY 10011, or by calling (212) 414-5994 or visiting http://www.highlineballroom.com/bio.php?id=1388