Mnets Studio 53 Line-up on 23 August 2009

Culture Caravan (Ghana)
Anita attended a musical program in a contemporary context called “The Culture Caravan”. A DJ, a band, traditional musicians, hip-life, afro beat, dancers, artistes and actors taking audiences through popular Ghanaian fables, daily drama, current news and issues. This includes spin offs on some Anansi stories, and themes concerning environmental degradation among others. Hiplife, Afrobeat, traditional drums, theatre and dancing were all there during a two-week odyssey through Ghana's most popular urban settings. artistic director Panji Anoff to revamp the concept of the Concert Party, an itinerant mix of music and theatre that is part of the cultural fabric of this West African nation

The programme stars Hip-life Grandpapa Reggie Rockstone, Kwaw Kese, King Ayisoba, Wanlov the Kubolor, DJ Black, Master Drummer Okyerema Yaw Kontor and all his female drummers and theatre starlets, amongst others.

Organized by the Cultural Affairs Services of the French Embassy and in partnership with Vodafone, 'The Culture Caravan' is an initiative designed to challenge artists to develop entertainment by creating new ideas and material which will help the local industry grow. Arnaud Dornon, Head of Cooperation and Cultural Affairs at the French Embassy spent months developing the concept with Panji Anoff of Pidgen Music, who revamped the concept of the Concert Party, an itinerant mix of music and theatre that is part of the cultural fabric of this West African nation. The help of renowned Director Michel Crespin (nicknamed the “Pope of Street Art” in France) was enlisted to assist with the project.

Acoustic Africa
Studio 53 and Grace attended the Acoustic Africa, which featured Habib Koite of Mali, Vusi Mahlasela from South Africa and Dobet Gnahore of the Ivory Coast. This show was launched on CD by Putumayo World Music in 2006 before they embarked on a mammoth 40-city US and European tour –eventually to return home to Mother Africa to enthrall us with their rhythms. Mamelodi-born guitarist, poet, percussionist, composer and multi-octave singer, Vusi Mahlasela - 'The Voice' , as he is known – is revered as a creative force in South Africa's freedom struggle, and his powerful lyrics and beautiful melodies have made him a leading figure in contemporary South African music too. This acoustic revolution is in stark contrast to the studio-based, synthesized dance music that became the standard for African pop-stars of the 80's and 90's - and Dobet Gnahore has brought it all back with her thrilling vocals and stage charisma. In Africa we have a lot of languages, which can make communicating tricky! But as with most music – a common language - 'Acoustic Africa' is a chance to meet and discover."

GI Premiere
We attended the GI Joe movie Premier, which was held at the Andrews airforce base, Maryland. We got to speak to the cast of GI Joe, some of them being Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje starring as heavy Duty , Marlon Wayans as Ripcord and Channing Tatum as Duke. GI Joe is a movie Directed by Stephen Sommers, screenplay by both Stuart Beattie and David Elliot. G.I. JOE is a highly trained, classified special operations unit composed of men and women from around the globe. Officially, these warriors don't even exist. Few know the truth – that G.I. JOE fights a secret war, as the first and last line of defense against forces that seek to plunge our world into chaos. Wherever there's trouble, G.I. JOE is there. This is definitely a movie to watch.

Oriental/Eastern cuisine in Lagos IK
IK and studio 53 visited three Nigerian Asian Restaurants. Although many traditional eastern ingredients aren't readily available in Nigeria, there are restaurants in town that have no problem in making sure the taste of their oriental cuisine is as good as 'back home' Japanese cuisine is full of different textures that are new to the African tongue. As with most things in life though, it's probably best to leave it to the professionals. But there's no reason that one can't enjoy all the fruits of ones labours. IK firstly visited Mongolian Restaurant, where he got a chance to sit one on one with the manager, he then chose his favorite foods and watched as the chef grilled everything for him. He then moved on to Prime Chinese Restaurant, where he had a chance to witness Asian cooking on fire. Lastly he visited Bungalows Restaurant, where he got the real deal on lobsters.

Soweto Drift Movie
Soweto Drift will take everyone to the wonderland and ignite the already existing love for the box shape BMW 325is when it's dragging. Studio 53 and Ndaka visited one of the biggest townships in the continent if not the world, Soweto, where the movie Soweto Drift is being shot. Soweto may sound like an African name, but the word was originally an acronym for "South Western Townships". We sneaked our cameras into the behind the scenes of the movie. The speeding cars and the crowds takes the energy of this movie to another level. The film is written by two young talented writers, Tumelo Phali who has written a lots of scripts and under his quests there is When We Were Black and many others under the mentorship of Clarence Hamilton, Alby James, Mtutuzeli Matshoba, and Fezile Nyeki who has written most of Emzini Wezinsiswa's Series under the mentorship of Prexly Shabangu and the acclaimed Director Nyembezi Kunene. The film is Directed by Pule M, a talented young film director who got most of his creativity experience on the job after shadowing the likes of Khalo Matabane, Vincent Moloi and many others and the formal training he got at Big Fish School of Digital Filmmaking after attending a Protege course that was running for 4 months and graduated with his student film "Thesis Of Love".

Battlezone Zambia
Grace and Studio 53 joined three American hip-hop dancers at Zambia for a 10-day cultural exchange program and a series of workshops around the country. These professional young American dancers recognize that dancing is a healthy activity which can help discourage impoverished youth from joining gangs and pursuing lives of crime – and are getting down with spreading the message. Originally popular in the streets of South Central LA, the hip hop origins of Clown dancing have some cultural similarities with traditional African dance. Dancing is emotional. Once need only look to the history of Zambian dance and its importance in Zambian ceremonies to realize how migration has influenced dance and music around the world.

African Mosaic Ethiopia(Arise Fashion week.)
According to many, the most exciting of Africa's new fashion arrivals has to be the African Mosaique label, headed up by the stunning beauty, Anna Getaneh. This Ethiopian pioneer is paving the catwalks of the world for the continents couture contingent, while acting as a platform for, and raising funds for, disadvantaged children. She now has a shop in South Africa and exports to the United States of America. Anna is a fashion-cultural enthusiast, humanitarian, and an acclaimed former international model. From her base in Paris and New York City , her modeling career spanned close to 10 years, working with renowned designers such as Christian Lacroix, Ungaro, Yves St. Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Escada, and Donna Karan. She has featured in numerous fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Amina , and has hosted various events, such as the Soul Train music show, the BBC documentary "African Footsteps", the KORA All Africa Music Awards and the Miss Malaika Beauty Pageant in South Africa