Saturday Walks

I was out earlier taking a walk and this is the beautiful sky that I saw. I love Saturdays!

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend!

Music Spotlight: Baliva

A couple of weeks ago, I was in London attending an event. Afterwards I decided to take a walk. It was kind of a rainy day, but I wanted to check things out to see what was happening in the city. As I was walking through Trafalgar Square, I heard this beat. I listened as I was walking by and I was like...Hmm, I like that! So I turned around and went back to find out where the music was coming from and I saw Baliva there performing right near the National Gallery. I stood there and watched him finish his performance and then we talked. We talked about our favorite hip hop artists and it was cool. I was so impressed with his music so I asked if I could interview him and he said yes. Here's a bit of background on Baliva.

Baliva is a hip hop artist, writer, and speaker based in London, UK. He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe where he spent his high school days in a R&B/rap group. The group received national airplay for their first single “Love is Magic” in 2000 which led to many shows in Zimbabwe’s capital city. Baliva moved to London in 2001. You can learn more about him at his website here.

To give you a taste of his music, check out his song from 2012 called "On A Mission".

And now, without further ado, here is my interview with Baliva. Enjoy!

What made you choose the name Baliva?

I wanted a name that reflected who I was and at the time I was preaching about Christianity and I wanted to be remembered for something. But I couldn't think of anything. One of my fears in doing music was the bigger you get the more you might forget who you are. So a friend told me a story about a company in America that put their values into their business name, so that anytime they go to their business name they remember who they are and they stuck to those values so I thought okay, I'm a believer, but I didn't want to spell it in the traditional way so turned it into an acronym.

B stands for Believe;  A stands for Achieve;  L stands for Learn;  I stands for Inspire; V stands for Value;  and A stands for Authenticity.  And those are some of the values that I always wanted to be a part of me no matter how far I got. And that became the name and it kind of stuck with me and that was ten years ago this year.

When did you decide that you wanted to be a performer?

I started in the last two years of school. Every break time we would memorize songs and then show off how well we memorized the songs on the playground. It became a common thing everyday to the point where we all memorized different parts of certain songs and we merged into a group. We progressed to a demo and then got into a professional studio and it was after that when I realized that this is what I wanted to do. I didn't really know if I wanted to do it as a career or not, but I just knew that I enjoyed doing it.

What artists inspire you? Who are some of your influences?

From the beginning, the first artists that I got into were like Coolio and Warren G. Then as I got older it was Jay Z, the Fugees, Lauryn Hill and later it became Nas and Cross Movement, who are a Christian hip hop group from Philly. They were a big influence on me and that's from the hip hop side, but then I've always listened to other genres.  I love Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone and Michael Jackson. I consistently listen to Michael Jackson. He's been a big influence.

What led you to performing the style of rap that you do?

Music was more or less my everything and I made it more important than anything else in my life. I think when I became a Christian I felt that I needed to get rid of anything from my past, like chasing fame, so over time I became involved with music projects at church and it really built me up to do music again. But now where I see myself, I don't see the divide between secular and gospel. I'm a Christian and I believe in God, but in some songs I may not necessarily talk about God. I do songs that are more positive about different things, but I'll also write a song where I'm worshiping God. Now I'm at a place where I try to express what's on my heart. Like Bob Marley for example, if you listen to his music he shares about his faith, his love life, his political views and he also has a good time and you get an idea of who he was as a person and his values and that's more of what I want my music to be like. My music has sort of gone through three stages, so when it started out it was love songs about school crushes. Then as I got older it became more political, so I did songs about things like poverty in Africa and then when I became a Christian it became about me being a preacher and spreading the gospel through hip hop. And in the stage that I'm in now, I still want to talk about social issues...I want to talk about the gospel...so I want my music to be all-encompassing.

What do you hope listeners will get from your music?

I hope that people will feel empowered. I think we live in a world where fear is often placed on us in so many ways that people almost feel disempowered. So I think one of the things, especially with this upcoming album, is to empower people who feel oppressed. I want people to get so many things I guess, but I think hope is a big one and to just know that God is there and to use my life as an example of how God's been there. And I want people to feel free, because I think when you listen to music the worries just disappear and you're put in this whole other world. Often when I'm performing in the streets, you know, you'll see homeless people who will come and they'll stay for like five minutes and you can see for that moment in time they're free. Or kids will come and dance. Music just has that power.

Your previous answer leads to my next question. I met you in Trafalgar Square, what do you get from the experience of performing there?

The thing I always say to people...I perform in venues, I perform in schools, but one of my favorite places to perform is the street because you meet people and there's no stage, so people come up to you and you get to meet so many people from so many walks of life. And you really get to talk with them and hear their stories. But also the other thing is the smiles that you see on people's faces, especially when they catch the one-liners and it doesn't matter their age. You know, you get people in their nineties listening to you.

I went to a house concert where they had this touring band that were in the UK performing in someone's house and there must have been about fifty people there and the band was performing and just sharing songs. People were talking back to them and I think there was no sense of celebrity. I think that the whole celebrity kind of culture has robbed music of what it should be, which is a way for people to just connect with each other. So I like that about the street, because it takes away the barrier.

I see from your website that you have your third album coming out. When will it be released and what can listeners expect from it?

The album will be out on the 1st of September and it really is a very introspective album. It's sort of looking at different aspects of my life...dealing with things like rejection, dealing with issues like money, and self-worth...those are sort of the three themes. Love is a big part of it, so it's very introspective I think. People who I've played the album for have said that. I've been told by friends that it's diverse and personal.

What are your future goals that you'd like to accomplish with your music?

I'd say on a practical level, I definitely want to travel and be able to go around Europe and to Africa in the more short term. I guess with my music I just want it to be something that...like I know what music's like for me, like the albums I have in my iPhone that I listen to. They really help me make it through the day sometimes. Like when I'm really having a hard day and I know which songs to put on...like the words of the song are gonna make it alright. I want my music I guess to be a soundtrack to people's lives, you know, particularly those that may not have people around them who may understand them. I think when you share personal stories, people get a sense that, oh I'm not alone here, that actually someone else goes through what I go through. I once wrote something where I said that I'd like it to be the older brother for that young guy looking for an older brother or a friend for that person looking for a friend. So ultimately I'd like that to be my legacy...to be looked back at to find that encouragement. I mean, I'm listening to Michael Jackson's stuff and he's long gone and I'm really enjoying his lyrics. I never realized how socially conscious he was with his lyrics. So it's very encouraging. These days I'm trying to be more conscious of doing that with my lyrics. I mean, I've written stuff before that have torn things down but I'm trying to get that balance you know.

 ***

As I mentioned before, you can find out about Baliva at his website balivamusic.com

You can also follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook .

Also, in a few weeks I'll have Baliva back to discuss his upcoming album that will be out in September, so watch this space!

Happy Weekend

 

Wherever your path leads you this weekend I hope that you have lots of fun! 

Enjoy!  :-)

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day back home and it makes me think of my mom. I think of her every day because I miss her and I wish that I could talk to her one more time. She's been gone eight years now. I never stop missing her and I know I never will, but I have more peace now when I think of her than I used to. A lot of the sadness has been replaced by my good memories of her :-)

I love you Mom!

Bring Back Our Girls

Today I wanted to say something about the horrible, horrible kidnapping that has happened in Nigeria. I know that it has been nearly a month, but I haven't known what to say because what else can I say that hasn't already been said. These girls were taken...no, ripped away from the lives that they were leading and they are being forced into a life of unspeakable horrors. They were taken from their school and are being forced into a life of hell and are at the mercy of people who see them as property and nothing more.

This terrible incident is truly heartbreaking. I don't have a daughter or any children of my own, but these are my daughters too. You don't have to be a parent to care. We all should care, no matter who we are. Their safety and well-being matter to me as a human being. I think about if it were one of my nieces who were kidnapped. It would devastate me. I can't even imagine what their families are going through.

I keep thinking about myself as a girl of their age and how I was doing my best to grow into the woman that I wanted to be someday. My mind was filled with school and dreams and everyday life. I wasn't thinking about being kidnapped and sold into a life of horror. I keep thinking about the fact that the girls were taken from their school. This speaks volumes to me. Some in this world are so afraid of the power of an educated girl that they will do anything to try to take away that power. It just makes me feel even stronger about the power of education. It is indeed a powerful tool if some in this world feel threatened by how it will expand the mind of a girl.

I pray for the girls' safe return. It seems so dire, but I pray that they are saved from this hell on Earth. And I pray that when they are hopefully returned to their lives, that the world...all of us collectively, will be there for them  as they heal somehow and for others who are suffering.

Bring Back Our Girls!!!!

A May Trip to London

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to London on Thursday. I had a fantastic time! It was a quick trip because I came back home on Friday, but as I said before, a quick trip is better than no trip.

The main reason for visiting was to go to a De La Soul concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire. I've been a fan of their music since the very beginning of their career so it was so cool to finally get the chance to see them perform live. They're celebrating their 25th anniversary and I made sure that I wasn't gonna miss them yet again. On Valentine's Day they gave away free downloads of their whole music catalogue and I just thought that that was so cool of them to do. The show was great! It was well worth the wait! I know one thing...I won't be missing them anymore in the future. I need to see those guys on the regular.

The next day was a day of a little bit of sightseeing and some fabulous lunch before heading home. I have some pics that I'd like to share to give you a taste of what I saw while I was in London. The city is a great place to stroll because even if you've been there several times it's a treat to take a second or third look at something. And if it's your first time visiting London, you will surely be intrigued.

Here are some views of Covent Garden. It's a wonderful, shopping, eating, browsing, and strolling area of the city, but I also love the architecture around there.

Below are some pics of St. Paul's Church and the surrounding gardens. St. Paul's Church, not to be confused with St. Paul's Cathedral, is also affectionately known as 'The Actors' Church' because of its long association with the theatre community.

 

Below you can see lunch for that day. It was from Sophie's in Covent Garden. It's one of my favorite places to eat whenever I'm in London. I'll just park the pics here for food porn's sake and I won't say anymore except to tell you what I had. I had calamari as a starter and then a peppered steak salad. It was so good! I'm still salivating over it. LOL.

Below is a picture of St. Martin-in-the-Fields church. It sits right next to the National Gallery which you can see to the left in this pic.

These are some of the beautiful flowers directly across from Buckingham Palace.

This is a gate along the edge of Green Park.

And finally here are some alternative views of Buckingham Palace. I've taken many pictures of the front of the palace over the years, but in walking past I was struck by these other ways of seeing the architecture and beauty of the building. Seeing the building from an angle and from the side made it a new experience for me.

And that's all of my pictures of  London on this visit, but I know I'll have others to share in the future since it's a place that I love to visit whenever I can. I hope you enjoyed coming along with me.

London Here I Come!

This afternoon I'm heading to London for a bit of fun. I'll be back home tomorrow. It's a quick trip, but a quick trip is better than no trip ;-)

I'll share the details when I get back home and of course I'll share pics. If you've visited me here before you know I love taking photos...especially of random things, like the big blue cock that I saw in Trafalgar Square last year. Lol.

Have a great day and I'll be back to share what I see :-)

Until next time...