CLASSIFIED
V living-
MAY 8-14, 2014 THE VOICE | 19
Everything you need plus more
20 | THE VOICE MAY 8-14, 2014
CLASSIFIED
V living Shares
JACQUELINE  ASAFU-ÂADJAYE  Sponsored  Features  Editor
EXPLOSIVE- Bandele’s Half of a Yellow Sun
“It’s  essentially  a  love  story,â€?  says  Biyi  Bandele,  as  he  LQWURGXFHV KLV IHDWXUH ÂżOP debut,  an  adaptation  of  the  internationally  best-Âselling  Orange  Prize-Âwinning  novel  of  the  same  name  by  Chimamanda  Ngozi  Adichie..â€?  V  living  catches  up  with  the  director  of  Half  of  the  Yellow  Sun  during  it  London  premier,  interview  conducted  by  Rykesha  Hudson 7KH ÂżOP LV EDVHG RQ &KLPDPDQGDÂśV EHVWVHOOHU :KDW ÂżUVW DWWUDFWHG \RX WR WKH ERRN LQ WKH ÂżUVW LQVWDQFH"
A  year  before  it  was  published,  I  ran  into  Chimamanda  at  an  event  in  the  British  Library  at  Kings  Cross  and  we  got  talking.  I  was  at  the  time,  writing  a  novel  called  Burma  Boy,  which  is  set  in  the  second  world  war. Â
And  Chimamanda  told  me  about  this  book  she  was  writing  which  also  covered  a  war  –  the  Biafra  War.  So  we  kind  of  traded  war  stories.  When  she  told  me  about  her  book,  I  joked  and  said  it  VRXQG OLNH WKHUHÂśV D ÂżOP LQ there  somewhere.  :KHQ GLG WKH SURMHFW JHW RII WKH JURXQG" In  2006.  What  attracted  it  to  me  was  that  I  had  never  come  across  characters  like  that  before  particularly  the  female  characters. Â
At  the  time  I  had  also  got  to  the  point  in  my  career  where  I  was  fed  up  with  writing  screen  plays  and  plays  which  I  get  told  to  direct,  and  things  get  completely  mangled. I  desperately  wanted  to  start  directing  my  own  stuff  myself  and  this  seemed  like Â
the  ideal  material,  because  I  knew  the  world  so  well.  I  had  a  complete  vision.  I  knew  what  I  wanted  to  do  with.
I  was  also  fed  up  with  going  to  the  cinema  and  watching  movies  that  were  supposed  to  be  about  Africa  but  had  very  little  room  for  African  actors. :K\ GLG \RX FKDQJH WKH YLHZ SRLQW RI WKH VWRU\ IURP 8JZX WR 2ODQD" There  were  two  reasons.  For  me,  when  I  read  the  book,  the  characters  that  stood  out  for  me  immediately,  were  the  twins.  Everything  they  say,  comes  directly  from  the  book.  I  didn’t  have  to  tone  anything  down. A  lot  of  stories  about  Africa,  has  a  lot  of  (Ugwu  in  them)  I’ve  seen  them  a  million  times. He’s  still  a  very  important Â
FKDUDFWHU LQ WKH ¿OP +HœV D witness  to  everything. 7KH ¿OP LV D ORYH VWRU\ LQ WKH PLGVW RI WKH %LDIUDQ :DU ZHUH \RX ERUQ WKHQ"
I  was  a  baby.  I  was  born  a  few  months  after  the  war  started.  And  it  ended  before  I  was  three  years  old.  So  I  have  no  recognition  of  it. 6R \RX KDG WR GR D ORW RI UHVHDUFK RU \RX NQHZ DERXW WKH ZDU DOUHDG\" I  read  everything  I  could  get  hold  of.  I  did  a  lot  of  research. Â
started.  And  he  was  killed  in  action.  I’ve  never  seen  a  photograph  of  him,  so  I  don’t  even  know  what  he  looks  like.  But  my  Mum  refused  to  come  with  terms  with  the  fact  that  she  had  lost  her  son.  And  up  until  I  was  around Â
7  or  8  years  old,  I  honestly  believed  that  he  would  walk  in  one  day  because  my  Mum  would  always  come  up  with  stories  about  someone  sighting  him.  But  of  course  she  was  just  grieving.
“Half  of  a  Yellow  Sun  gives  you  a  journey  into  Africa  like  you've  never  seen  before�
+++++ -DFTXHOLQH $VDIX $GMD\H 7KH 9RLFH 1HZVSDSHU
In  Nigeria,  The  Biafran  War  isn’t  on  the  school  curriculum.  It’s  not  taught  at  all  in  schools,  which  I  think  is  bad.  I  had  a  bit  of  a  weird  obsession  with  the  Biafran  War.   I  had  a  brother  who  I  never  met  who  joined  the  Army  in  1967,  the  year  I  was  born  –  the  year  the  war Â
music book bites
Understanding the lyrics of the Legend Who Can Say it as Marley? Everyone,  has  a  favourite  Bob  Marley  song.   That  is  why  time  and  time  again  his  songs  feature  on  many  best  song  ever  lists.   Amongst  them  ‘One  Love’  and  ‘Redemption  Song’. Those  songs  particularly  ‘One  Love’  according  to  Harry  McBurnie,  the  author  of  Who  Can  Say  it  as  Marley  best  explains  what  the  ‘Great  Man’  stood  for  and  what  he  was  trying  to  achieve.   McBurnie  was  born  in  1959  in  St.  Georges,  Grenada.  In  1987  he  moved  to  England,  settling  in  Hackney,  London,  where  he  still  lives  today.  McBurnie’s  passion  for  Marley’s  work  helps  us  all  to  appreciate  the  genius  of  this  man  in  this  wonderful  book  which  explores  the  power  of  his  lyrics. McBurnie’s  book  eases  the  readers  seamlessly  through  the  ideas  behind  Marley’s  lyrics.  By  seeing  Marley,  through  his  lyrics,  which  is Â
an  approach  no  one  else  has  yet  explored,  McBurnie  reveals  that  Marley  was  an  activist  through  his  music.   The  book  recognises  the  positive  messages  in  Bob  Marley’s  work.  By  focusing  on  the  lyrics  that  have  engulfed  generation  after  generation  globally  throughout  the  decades  McBurnie  is  able  to  classify  his  work  under  the  following  categories:  motivation,  attitude  and  reality. He  guides  the  readers  effortlessly  through  how  during  the  60s  -  apartheid,  police  injustice,  the  birth  of  new  nations  through  independence,  segregation,  rise  of  communism,  the  cold  war  -   and  the  70s   -  political  instability,  poverty  -  Marley’s  lyrics  were  inspired  by  the  environment  at  that  time.   Lyrics  used  to  form  songs  like  ‘Three  Little  Birds’,  ‘Get  Up,  Stand  Up’  and  ‘Natty  Dread’  among  others  were  designed  to  inspire  the Â
listener.  These  poetic  lyrics  ZKLFK FRQWLQXH WR LQĂ€XHQFH many  throughout  the  world  makes  an  easy  claim,  which  is  no  matter  what  you  may  be  facing  in  life  you  can  act  to  make   your  life  better.  If  you  act  you  can  ¿QG IUHHGRP MXVWLFH DQG equality. It  is  the  strength  of  those  lyrics  and  the  impassioned  rhythms  of  the  songs  that  keep  the  generations  hooked  even  though  Bob  Marley  died  in  1981. That  is  why  Bob  Marley  is  still  regarded  as  the  most  valued  performer  of  reggae  music  worldwide. Harry  McBurnie  fell  in  love  with  Marley’s  music  at  the  age  of  15  when  he  ¿UVW KHDUG WKH SRSXODU track  ‘Lively  Up  Yourself’.  Uplifted  by  the  sense  of  positivity  in  the  song,  McBurnie  has  been  listening  to  Marley’s  music, Â
almost  religiously,  ever  since.  In  the  years  since  Marley’s  death,  McBurnie  has  seen  virtually  every  documentary  there  is  to  watch  about  the  legendary  singer-Âsongwriter  but  was  always  left  feeling  that  something  of  the  spiritual,  less  tangible  aspects  of  Marley’s  songs,  had  been  forgotten.  Through  his  critical  analysis  in  Who  Can  Say  It  As  Marley,  McBurnie  succeeds  in  reminding  us  all  what  Marley’s  lyrics  were  all  about:  motivation,  attitude  and  reality. Who  Can  Say  it  as  Marley The  impact  from  the  lyrics  of  the  Legend  By  Harry  McBurnie  Available  on  Amazon.co.uk  For  more  information  visit  www.tamarehouse.co.uk V-ÂLiving  recommends  you  see  a  selection  of  Bob  Marley’s  lyrics  on  page  27 Â
CLASSIFIED
MAY 8-14, 2014 THE VOICE | 21
V living Shares GOSPELFEST ALL SET TO TOUCH LIVES IN BARBADOS Bishop  Hezekiah  Walker,  the  Grammy  award  winning  gospel  music  artiste  and  founder  of  the  Love  fellowship  Choir  in  New  York  is  one  of  the  international  headliners  for  this  year’s  Barbados  Gospelfest  set  for  May  17  to  25  in  the  beautiful  Caribbean  island. Now  in  its  22nd  year,  Gospelfest   2014  which  will  be  under  the  theme  ‘Touching  Lives  Changing  Nations’,  will  be  held  at  some  of  the  most  picturesque  locations  in  Barbados.  Acknowledged  as  the  premier  international  Christian  music  and  arts  festival  in  the  Caribbean,  the  festival  comprises  events  to  suit  tastes  ranging  from  the  traditional  hymns  to  the  modern  beats  that  incorporate  the  unique  rhythms  of  the  Caribbean. According  to  Executive  Director  of  Barbados  Gospelfest  Adrian  Agard  “we  are  responding  to  repeated  request  from  the  regional  and  Barbadian  audiences  for  Hezekiah  Walker  to  Minister  at  the  festival.  We  are  all  excitedly  DQWLFLSDWLQJ :DONHUÂśV ÂżUVW ministry  experience  at  the  Barbados  Gospelfest  and  ZH DUH FRQÂżGHQW WKDW KLV presence  will  be  enjoyed  by  visitors  to  the  island  and  local  patrons,  as  well  as  sponsors  and  other  partners  of  the  festival.  His  signing  is  consistent  with  the  high  quality  and  standards  upheld  by  the  Caribbean’s  Premier  Christian  Music  and  Arts  Festivalâ€?.  Hezekiah  Walker’s  latest  hit,  “Every  Praiseâ€?,  from  his  album  “Azusa:  The  Next  Generationâ€?  has  enjoyed  an  astonishing  23  week  run  as  number  one  on  the  billboard  gospel  chart. Programme  Director  of  Life  97.5  FM  in  Barbados  Ronnie  Clarke  said:  “Every  Praise  is  without  doubt  the  most  impactful  song  on Â
HOT DATES FOR THE DIARY
Life  97.5  Hezekiah  Walker  brings  over  20  years  of  quality  music  ministry.  There  is  more  to  him  than  a  good  song  his  message  is  timeless  and  his  impact  life  changingâ€?. Many  of  Hezekiah  Walker’s  songs  have  also  been  featured  in  worship,  mimes  and  dances  within  Barbados’  Christian  community. Also  returning  to  the  Gosepelfest  this  year  will  be  top  gospel  recording  artiste,  Tye  Tribbett,  who  ¿UVW SHUIRUPHG LQ %DUEDGRV in  2012.  Tye  Tribbett  has  been  a  recognised  name  in  Gospel  music  for  many  years  while  with  the  group  Tye  Tribbett  &  Greater  Anointing  (G.A.).  The  group  toured  and  performed  with  some  of  the  biggest  artistes  in  the  secular  arena  including  Whitney  Houston,  Faith  Hill  and  Tim  McGraw,  Luther  Vandross,  Elton  John,  Justin  Timberlake  and  Jill  Scott.  During  a  consecration  period  EHWZHHQ WKHLU ÂżUVW WZR albums  Life  (2004)  and  Victory  Live!  (2006).  “Tye  Tribbett  is  a  recognised  Gospel  artiste  whose  testimony  speaks  clearly  to  his  audience  of  what  is  possible  through  the  saving  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,â€?  said  Adrian  Agard,  Executive  Producer  of  Barbados  Gospelfest.  “We  look  forward  to  welcoming  him  to  Barbados  as  we  continue  our  mission  to  touch  and  transform  lives  through  this  ministry.â€? Barbados  Gospelfest  is  the  Caribbean’s  premier  Christian  music  and  arts  festival  and  also  features  events  that  give  centre  stage  to  the  performing  arts,  explores  Gospel  jazz  and  comedy,  and  provides  a  unique  platform  for  the  showcasing  and  development  of  emerging  Gospel  artistes  in  Barbados  and  the  region. Â
Sadler’s  Wells’  critically  acclaimed  international  festival  of  hip  hop  dance  theatre,  Breakin’  Convention,  is  back.  Now  in  its  11th  year,  this  hugely  popular  Sadler’s  Wells  Production  is  hosted  and  curated  by  eminent  UK  hip  hop  theatre  artist  Jonzi  D.  The  2014  line-Âup  includes  Olivier  Award-Ânominated  ILL-ÂAbilities,  an  international  group  of  b-Âboys  who  have  overcome  extraordinary  challenges,  helping  to  spread  the  message  “No  Excuses,  No  Limitsâ€?  and  UHGHÂżQH VRFLHW\ÂśV YLHZ of  disability,  promoting  empowerment.  Also  featuring  is  London’s  Ukweli  Roach,  who  presents  a  piece  titled  Vice.  A  highly  skilled  artist  and  founding  member  of  BirdGang  Dance  Company,  Ukweli  Roach  has  choreographed Â
and  performed  world-Âwide  as  well  as  working  as  an  DFWRU LQ ÂżOP WHOHYLVLRQ DQG theatre.  France’s  Wanted  Posse  is  widely  respected  and  has  won  many  of  the  ZRUOGÂśV PRVW KLJK SURÂżOH hip  hop  dance  battles  for  over  a  decade.  Their  work  expresses  the  roots  of  their  personal  revolutions.  London  has  3  days  of  nonstop  UK  and  international  crews  and  each  tour  dates  opens  with  local  acts  to  represent  hip  hop  in  each  city.   Full  details  on  www.breakinconvention.com  Following  its  dates  at  Sadler’s  Wells,  Breakin’  Convention  will  tour  the  UK,  visiting  Doncaster,  Kings  Lynn,  Inverness,  Birmingham,  Whitley  Bay,  Brighton,  Bristol,  Blackpool  and  Bournemouth.
ON TOUR NOW
For  more  information  see  www.breakinconvention.com Sadler’s  Wells,  London Sat  3  -  Mon  5  May www.sadlerswells.com 0844  412  4300  Doncaster  CAST Sat  10  May www.castindoncaster.com 01302  303  959 Kings  Lynn  Corn  Exchange Tue  13  May www.kingslynncorn exchange.co.uk 01553  764864  Inverness  Eden  Court Fri  16  &  Sat  17  May www.eden-Âcourt.co.uk 01463  234  234  Birmingham  Hippodrome Tue  20  &  Wed  21  May www.birmingham hippodrome.com 0844  338  5000 Â
Whitley  Bay  Playhouse Sat  24  May www.playhouse whitleybay.co.uk 0844  248  1588  Brighton  Dome Tue  27  &  Wed  28  May www.brightondome.org 01273  709709  Bristol  Colston  Hall Sat  31  May www.colstonhall.org 0844  887  1500  Blackpool  Grand Tue  3  June www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk 01253  290190 Bournemouth  Pavilion Sat  7  June www.bournemouth pavillion.co.uk 0844  576  3000
VOICE MAY 8-14, 2014 22A| THE SONG FOR STEPHEN
SEPTEMBER 26 - OCTOBER 2, 2013 CLASSIFIED THE VOICE | 17
DOREEN LAWRENCE THE ROAD TO JUSTICE
Charity Song for Stephen
L.O.V.E available on iTunes now! Closing date for entries July 31st 2014
e t a m i t l u e Th
: t i s i v ition
i t i r w song
t e p m o c g n
www.voice-online.co.uk