DID YOU KNOW?: 5 FACTS ABOUT THE CONGO

In honor of Congo Week I've decided to make a list of five facts that you may not know about the Congo.

PSA: THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN AFRICA

Aminita Touré

I know this isn't the typical "nerdy" post you'd expect from me, but something has been going on in Africa that hasn't received a ton of coverage stateside (at least nothing I have seen) and I can't just be silent about it.There has been a women's movement going on, that has started to score some big wins in the recent years.  

GET FAMILIAR: SHEVA ALOMAR

Video-games are a great medium of storytelling, you can introduce exotic characters and locales and create a universe that allows others to fully immerse themselves into the story. One storyline that is very popular in gaming is that of a zombie outbreak/apocalypse, don't ask me why, and no series is more successful in that genre than Resident Evil.

DOSHA DOES: NOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS

Over the weekend, my dad and I  went to the first Los Angeles Nollywood Film Awards show, and it was quite the eventful evening. There were some really great performances:  the Friends of God Dancing Group from the Philippines, an all girl group called Unique and a dance performance from the international dancer/ actress Princess Saturday. The event also drew the attention of actor Massi Furlan, who was being honored for his achievement in movies.

GET FAMILIAR: GBENGA AKINNAGBE

Gbenga Akinnagbe, from HBO's The Wire fame, has found a new gig as Jeremiah Bello, a Nigerian drug lord, on the hit USA show Graceland. Though he's had plenty of notable roles over the years, I really enjoy this character that he is currently portraying. Bello is a cold-blooded, ruthless drug dealer who will kill his own right hand man just to prove a point (I'm serious), and honestly, I really like him. I know that he is the bad guy and will inevitably be taken down, but he just has a certain charm about him. 

PACIFIC RIM

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the Kaiju, or Monster film genre, and I'm also a fan of big giant robots fighting said monsters. Pacific Rim combines my two loves,  into one epic monster fighting movie that manages to hold your interest throughout the entire film, although I could be being totally biased here. The main story centers around Raleigh Becket, played by Charlie Hunnam, and how he teams up with a resistance group led by Stacker Pentecost, played by Idris Elba, to stop the impending monster apocalypse. Can we talk about how awesome Idris is in this film? His character commanded presence each time he appeared on screen and you really got that sense that he was a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders; also, he is the main reason why different nations have abandoned their differences and have teamed up with each other. I don't want to give too much away since the movie is fairly new, but  I will say that if you want to watch an entertaining film, you need to go see this movie. Don't believe me? Check this out.

SPOTLIGHT: NNEKA OGWUMIKE

I really love basketball and I really like the Lakers so you can imagine my mood was I write this, but it's not all bad since there is another LA team that's performing well. No, its not the Clippers,but the Los Angeles Sparks.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: THE DOSHA BRAND

This week we thought it would be fun to show some pics of us from back in the day. Happy Friday. Enjoy! 

Farida & Diva

FASHION FRIDAY: OHEMA OHENE

I am proud to be an African, and what better way to express that than by wearing our clothing? Don't get me wrong, traditional clothing is great and all, but being the young fashionable man that I am, I'm going to need something a bit more modern. Thank goodness for Ohema Ohene. 

DID YOU KNOW...

I always thought samurai were one of the coolest warriors on the planet; the mythos around them, their code of honor, the beautiful armor sets, but I thought that all samurai were Japanese until today: enter Yasuke.

FASHION FRIDAY: DJ TAKES OVER

STYLING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

Change is something that is often met with hesitation, because it is something different, but different could be a  good thing.

TOP 5 FICTIONAL AFRICAN LOCATIONS

I like to think that Africa has been well represented in the real world but unfortunately this has not been the case; luckily, in the realm of fiction, African has been a constant source of great stories and locales. Here are my "Top 5 Fictional African Locations".

AFRICAN ROBOTICS NETWORK

I was always interested in robots when I was growing up, partly due to Mega Man and Iron Man....ok totally due to Mega Man and Iron Man. I kust find robots to be super coo, so much so that I recently became a member of AFRON. 

SPORTS: NBA PLAYOFFS 2013 ROUND 1

First round of the playoffs are officially over. A few of our fave Africans are out (see full list here), but we still have some left so we're happy! Unfortunately, there are no longer any Los Angeles teams, so DJ & I are pretty upset and are in mourning. Take a look. 






-ASHA

AFRICOMICS: VIXEN

If you guys can't tell by now, I really love comic books and finding ones that have characters from Africa are always especially enjoyable. DC comics has a

AFRIFRANT: THE BLACK PANTHER

This video is pretty much a rant about the actors who have either been rumored to be in talks to play, or actors whom I have heard others say they want to play the lead of Black Panther on the big screen. 

SPORTS: NBA PLAYOFFS 2013

The playoffs are officially underway. Even though we're rooting for our LA teams, (Go Lakeshow! Clippernation!), we proudly rep and support all of the Africans that are in the playoffs. 

WEST

Steve Nash 
Los Angeles Lakers
South Africa 

Festus Ezeli
Golden State Warriors
Nigeria 

Hasheem Thabeet
Oklahoma City Thunder
Tanzania

Serge Ibaka
Oklahoma City Thunder
Congo

Thabo Sefolosha
Oklahoma City Thunder
South Africa 

Boris Diaw
San Antonio Spurs
Senegal 

Andre Iguodala
Denver Nuggets
Nigeria

INDIANA JONES EXHIBIT

I went to the Indiana Jones exhibit this past weekend, and man was it awesome! I got to do a mini puzzle game that involved looking for clues, and at the end I even got to get my name up on a board. Going to the exhibit made me realize just how much I loved "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

GET FAMILIAR: PHIONA MUTESI

I've always wanted to learn how to play chess. The mental aspect of the game has always intrigued me. If I had played chess as a kid, I probably would have been an OK player, but probably nowhere near the level of Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan chess player.

AFRICOMEDY: WHAT A PRANKSTER

Leon Schuster is a South African comedian who has a penchant for placing people in bizarre situations that end up with humorous results. Out of all the videos I've seen of his, the snake prank is my favorite; I am pretty sure I'd quit this job if this happened to me. Check out the video below and see for yourself.

-DJ