MUSIC MONDAY: LET'S CATCH UP

I'm back! I haven't posted in two weeks and it seriously feels like a lifetime. Because I know you are just dying to hear what I've been up to (more so I'm dying to tell you), I've decided to share how I spent my time away from TDB.

First things first, I got the heck out of town. I was finally able to make my way down to San Diego and see friends I haven't seen in years. It was so fun and relaxing. I'll definitely be heading back soon. 

DOSHA DOES: ANKARA FESTIVAL 2013

This past weekend we attended Ankara Festival 2013 at the Avalon in Hollywood. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the great fashion and musical performances. TDB fave, Sumahrie Collections, had such an amazing collection. Korto Momolu, of Project Runway fame, was the headliner and killed. Loved everything that came down the runway. I also loved Chidera Chimera's designs for Dewan Apparel. Such amazing men's fashion.   

DOSHA DOES: LIFE AND TIMES FIESTA

POSING WITH DESIGNER MAHRIAMA SUMA OF SUMAHRIE COLLECTIONS 

This past weekend, the TDB girls  attended the 3rd Annual Life and Times Fiesta. It was such a fun night filled with great music, food, comedy, and fashion. A TDB fave, comedienne Yvonne Orji, was the MC and kept us laughing all night. 

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.

DOSHA DOES: ECHO PARK RISING

This past weekend, Farida and I had the pleasure of attending the 3rd Annual Echo Park Rising Music Festival. 

The two-day extravaganza is full of great bands, music, food, art, and is completely free to attend. Once we arrived and saw the massive crowds of people, we knew we were in for a fun night. 

There were various venues all over the Sunset streets, but Farida and I decided to hang out at Taix French Restaurant. The parking lot next to the restaurant held the main outdoor stage, where great bands like Olin and the Moon and Big Black Delta graced the stage. In the Champagne room, in the restaurant, was where we spent the majority of our night. It was such a fun and intimate setting, you could tell that all of the people in the room simply wanted to have a good time and enjoy great music. Hardly anyone had their cellphones out during the sets, which is so rare nowadays.

The Reflections 

We made some new buddies and discovered great acts like Spirit Vine and The Reflections. Spirit Vine has an amazing female lead singer and an awesome female drummer; I just love girls in rock bands. The Reflections are kinda the coolest band ever. We not only watched them perform in the room, but went outside to see them rock out in a food truck. Who does that? 

Of all the great bands and musicians we saw on Saturday, no one was able to top Moses Sumney. In fact, he was the reason we went to the festival in the first place, and I am so glad he did not disappoint. 

Moses Sumney 

Moses Sumney is life! I heard thirty seconds of the Ghanaian rapper on Tumblr, crazy right, and within the hour Farida and I were in the car going to see him perform live. Boy does he know how to put on a show. It was just him alone on the stage, and he commanded the attention of everyone in the room. I was enjoying his performance, but when he performed "Alchemy" I was completely locked in. The song is beyond beautiful and his vocals are kind of insane. I'm actually listening to it while I write this. It's just so good.

After his set, Farida and I were able to speak with him briefly. He was extremely nice, charismatic, and claimed to love Instagram more than his parents. Sumney was also kind enough to give Farida a clapping lesson. During one of his songs, he asked the audience to clap along, and well, Farida could not keep up. 

Make sure to check him out live if you can. You definitely will not regret it. Check out this video of him performing another one of his amazing songs, "Replaceable." 

Moses & Me

See more pictures from the festival on our Instagram. 

-ASHA 

WHO RUN THE WORLD....GIRLS!

There's an old saying, "Give a man a fish and you  feed him for a day. But teach a man to fish and you  feed him for a lifetime."  As a kid I wasn't sure what this actually meant, but now I see this proverb is about educating someone so they're capable of taking care of themselves. This strong sense of empowerment is exactly what the women of  the Anakazi Center intend to do, well minus the fish.

FASHION FRIDAY: HOW BAZAAAAR

Last week, ASHA and I attended the launch of BAZAAAAR, a pop-up shop at Space 15 Twenty, in Hollywood. The month-long pop-up, May 27th will be its last day, is designed to make you feel like you're shopping in an ancient marketplace. Just like in a marketplace, this shop includes fashion, jewelry and art for sale. All the designs use sustainable goods, as well as infuse traditional prints and fabrics. The designers and artists hail from all over the world, from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. 

This event is the brain child of Urban Outfitters and Dossier Journal.Their goal is to promote global fashion; 10% of the proceeds will go to Studio One Eighty Nine and Fashion Rising to help end the global violence against women.

MUSIC MONDAY: MUSIC FOR PEACE IN THE CONGO

My team and I recently had the honor of sponsoring the Music for Peace in the Congo Fundraiser in Los Angeles. Being that the event benefited Congolese people, my team and I were so excited and humbled that Afrik Moto asked us to be involved. We worked closely with the group and  Fredy Tshibanda to help bring awareness and raise funds for people in Congo. All of the proceeds  went to the nonprofit Fredy works with, United for the Future. 

FASHION FRIDAY: F2FA FASHION FAVES

Last week, Team TDB hit up the F2FAfrica Hollywood launch party. Besides the amazing people we got to meet, I was also very impressed with the fashion that was on display; I especially loved how people wore traditional African styles with a modern twist.

Here are a few of my fashion faves of the night! 

SATURDAY WRAP-UP: FACE2FACE

F2FA Issue No. 1 2012-2013

Myself, along with my fellow TDB members, recently attended the Face2Face Africa (F2FA) Magazine launch party at The St. Felix, in Hollywood. The venue was reminiscent of a lounge that I went to in Chelsea, when I visited New York last Spring. The venue was very fitting, seeing as how F2FA is based in Manhattan.

FASHION FRIDAY: AFRICA FASHION WEEK L.A.

We recently had the honor of attending Africa Fashion Week L.A.'s mixer at the Zinc Lounge, located in The Shade Boutique Hotel, in Manhattan Beach, CA. This event  was the official kick-off to Africa Fashion Week L.A. (AFWLA). We had the chance to mingle with fellow bloggers, such as the lovely Jana'e Holmes, from the blog Naturally Curly Kinky; fashionistas, dapper gentlemen, film makers, such as the multi-talented Wanjiru M. Njendu; designers, like the amazing Uchechi Emenogu; and artists, such as Michelle Joan Papillion, whose hosting AFWLA at her gallery.