Akala Profile picture
Hip Hop Artist, writer. Immovable & Hip Hop Shakespeare Company Bookings/General Enquiries: info@theimmovable.com
Jay Jernigan Profile picture Michael Animashaun Profile picture 2 subscribed
Sep 17, 2018 6 tweets 2 min read
Also it should be understood that this argument is a bit circular as the genres (like their creators) are literal cousins let me explain... a quick thread American Hip Hop is as a matter of fact a fusion of both BlackAm culture and that of Caribbean immigrants to theNY (see Can’t Stop Won’t Stop for a good history of this) just to illustrate the point here are just a few of the Caribbean-American Hip Hop pioneers off my head..
Sep 15, 2018 14 tweets 3 min read
I think what might help these discussion be more productive is Americans knowing a little more of the other side of the coin and I mean this with total love and respect so let me try to give a little bit of context (might be useful, might not) Britain is the second largest market in the world for Black Am culture not just because of the ‘special relationship’ nor just cos of UK subsidiary’s of Universal but also bcos of decades of marketing that culture here by African/Caribbean migrants. Let’s take Hip Hop:
Sep 8, 2018 6 tweets 2 min read
1/2 USA? Murders per person are higher in several British cities than LDN and always have been. Also there are 1.2 million black folk in this city, in a terrible year maybe 50 of them will kill someone so ‘most’ is clearly *a little bit* of an exaggeration. Are black uni students involved in violent crime? Footballers? Doctors? Grannies? Or is it same demographic in black communities as others: Men/boys aged 15-25 from the poorest families, within poorest communities often with a history of familial abuse/expulsion frm school.
Sep 4, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
A few people have asked me about the pan-African Saturday school I went to, the particular one I went to has closed down and the movement in general is probably not as strong as when I grew up, however the tradition of supplementary community self education is alive and well see Nigerian Schools Foundation UK: nsf.community
National Association Of Black Supplementary Schools: nabss.org.uk
Community School Hackney acschool.org.uk/about.html
EYLA: eyla.org.uk
WYLA: wylauk.com/about
Aug 21, 2018 5 tweets 1 min read
you still trying to make a fictional 'argument' with me. I agreed 500times over that there is bigotry among some African immigrants in America so that's NOT where we disagree.... however... There is also bigotry/idiocy and blind spots from BA toward immigrants, Americans living and working abroad in 'other people's' countries and a long tradition black migrants behaving quite differently see: UNIA, Malcolm, Stokely, Kool Herc, KRS, Biggies mummy etc etc
Aug 1, 2018 7 tweets 2 min read
Funny thing is this. If someone actually bothered to critically read my work and point to the flaws - there are flaws in all works of history by the very nature of the discipline - I could respect it. None have yet had the minerals 2 but want to bang about academic credibility. There are errors/blindspots and out of date info in books written by some of the greatest historians ever, so clearly there must be some in mine. People are too lazy to find them but wana chat to man. OK
Jul 31, 2018 10 tweets 2 min read
One of the things I enjoyed/clocked re the release of #Natives was the deafening silence of the right wing press... even outlets that usually have so a little bit to say about rappers and the issues covered in the book.... Here you have a mere rapper play acting at being a historian and getting published and spending a good few weeks on the best sellers and all that. Great time/chance to show what a fraud man really is....
Jul 27, 2018 11 tweets 2 min read
I think my personal problem with the blame the music lot also comes from my situation as probably the most successful 'conscious' rapper in the country and how the music industry deals with/responds to that. Not being arrogant but let me explain... I basically started of as a 'road rapper' with a few conscious bars and tbh I've seen a lot more negative things than you would know listening to my music or watching me speak now...
Jul 26, 2018 4 tweets 1 min read
I've noticed black people feeling superior to other black folk based upon which set of Europeans colonised/enslaved their ancestors seems to be all the rage on twitter lately. Clown shit. Funniest part about all these 'diaspora war' idiots is that they are so eager to show us all how much history they don't read....
Jul 18, 2018 5 tweets 1 min read
Dr Akala, the flow farda Visions - A comic book EP open.spotify.com/album/09jBy6eD…
Jul 15, 2018 4 tweets 1 min read
After 18months of being real inconsistent, too tired cos of over work, lack of sleep and too much travel I finally got a good training routine back and it feels amazing! If you was thinking about not doing any today, do at least a little bit, you'll feel so much better after! Safe
Jul 2, 2018 9 tweets 1 min read
In other news I am very much enjoying the way 'virtue signalling lefty' has become a phrase that allows people incapable of making a coherent argument to feel really clever. I have pointed out many times the things me and friends got mixed up in growing up, I know only too well that I am not innately 'virtuous' (if such a thing even exists in people) just for the record.
Jul 1, 2018 18 tweets 4 min read
A thread.
Jun 23, 2018 4 tweets 1 min read
Man is officially Dr Akala now as I got an honorary Dr Of The Arts from Oxford Brooke's University today, safe. Man worn the gown and hat and all sorts! Lol!!
Jun 22, 2018 9 tweets 2 min read
For the third year in a row Jamaica climbs two places on the global press freedom index, now at number 6 sandwiched between Switzerland and Belgium... rsf.org/en/ranking/2018 For those unfamiliar with Jamaican political history this would seem strange, for those that know Jamaica's contradictions well, this is entirely 'normal'
Jun 14, 2018 5 tweets 1 min read
Not *entirely* sure why people have felt the need to compare London's murder rate to NY when its not been the highest in England and Wales theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/a… Equally it would seem murders in London are not out of step with other EU capital cities... still a big issue of course but facts are better than slogans
euronews.com/2018/04/06/how…
Jun 14, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
#Grenfell Rest In Power all those that died. Lets also remember that this was not some unforeseen tragedy, people actually living in the tower repeatedly warned about the risks/dangers/hazards several times and were ignored #Grenfell
May 27, 2018 5 tweets 1 min read
My trolls are almost all that dumb (as u can see) and this one was an award winning lecturer apparently. Wow 😂😂😂 What this idiot realised (and why tweet got deleted) is the following:
Apr 18, 2018 20 tweets 2 min read
Strangest part about this whole Windrush ting is people acting *shocked* about a British govt treating its Black citizens with such contempt angry, yes. Outraged, yes. But *shocked* really? Like, really? Stop it.
Apr 1, 2018 39 tweets 5 min read
Post war 'mass migration' myths and realities, a thread. So you may have seen lots of seemingly ridiculous commonwealth deportation cases recently, like this one theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…
Nov 13, 2017 95 tweets 10 min read
A thread on 'race and crime' in London and recent speech to the Howard league by met chief.... But first some personal background so you see how much skin I have in the game