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https://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle-wyclef-jean-caribbean-music-awards/
A new awards show is launching in the city of New York.
The inaugural Caribbean Music Awards will take place on August 31, 2023, at the historic Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, with Grammy-winning Fugees member Wyclef Jean set to host.
Jean started hyping the awards show during his appearance on “Today With Hoda and Jenna” in July 2023. “The countdown starts now! It’s a special celebration of Caribbean music. We’re celebrating music that continues to connect the world through music, fashion, and a whole different level of energy,” he said. “Get ready to dance, laugh, wave ya flags, and make memories! Let’s come together, under one roof, and show the world the legacy of Caribbean music and culture.”
The Caribbean Music Awards will be produced and presented by Caribbean Elite Group, which oversees Caribbean Elite Magazine.
Billboard has reported that the Caribbean Music Awards will consist of 26 categories across several genres of Caribbean music, including reggae, dancehall, soca, kompa, and zouk.
Reggae recording artist Beres Hammond will be honored with an Elite Icon Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Trinidadian soca singer, record producer, and songwriter Machel Montano. The 48-year-old recording artist held the top position in 2019 on Billboard‘s Reggae Albums with his album G.O.A.T.
Artists hoping to receive awards include Trinidadian soca group Kes, which received five nominations, the most for the awards show. Masicka, Ding Dong, Montano, and Shenseea each have four nominations. Spice, Skeng, Dexta Daps, DJ Cheem, Kabaka Pyramid, Protoje, and Nailah Blackman are right behind them with three nominations each.
Performers slated to take the stage include Alison Hinds, Jada Kingdom, Dexta Daps, Kranium, Lila Ike, Nailah Blackman, Ding Dong, and Rupee. Presenters expected to appear are Spice, Baby Cham, and Toni-Ann Singh.
The term “star-crossed lovers” takes on a new meaning in The Becomers, the new film from writer-director Zach Clark. The movie, which I saw at Fantasia International Film Festival 2023, is gory and fairly upsetting at times, but at heart is a romance, with very weird comedy thrown in. “Weird” is perhaps the best adjective for the movie, but at no point do you cease to understand the heart at the center of the story—that finding your soulmate transcends bodies, space, and suburban death cults. Usually.
The story follows a pair of aliens from a doomed world who end up on Earth, specifically middle America. In the tradition of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, they can only appear in human form if they kill and replicate a living person. So the beginning is pretty gruesome. Everywhere the alien goes and every interaction they have in their new body becomes a sinister experience. Our lead alien narrates the movie, in the voice of Sparks’ lead singer Russell Mael, which adds a particularly strange element.
As we continue on, we learn the alien is looking desperately for its mate. They send a signal out to hopefully find each other again. Though the alien takes on the appearance of several different people throughout the story, the bulk of the time is spent in the body of a suburban housewife (Molly Plunk). In this guise, they piece together from neighbor interactions that the husband (Mike Lopez) might be up to some bad stuff. Worse than killing innocent people to take over their bodies? Maybe.
Part of the fun of The Becomers comes from the aliens having to take on the personas and lives of the people they have overtaken. Plunk’s performance specifically as a worried alien trying not to seem alien is astoundingly good. She has a supremely effective deer-in-the-headlights expression any time she has to speak to a regular human. You can’t help but laugh any time this happens. The escalating wildness of the situations leads to the movie’s best comedic beats.
But at its heart—its surprisingly soft heart—is the story of two lovers looking for each other across the universe, proving they’re stronger together than apart. Clark presents the story as an incidental, though likely intentional, LGBTQ+ allegory. The aliens are in love, regardless of whether they’re in male of female human bodies. It never once becomes an issue for them, and it’s never played for comedy or awkwardness. The exception, of course, is a very purposely gross sex scene utilizing alien physiology while still wrapped in human husks.
I really liked The Becomers and what it has to say about the profoundness of love amid the absurdity of human existence. It’s a tough time for the world. If we can find a person or people to whom we can connect, it’s somehow slightly less bleak. An oddly hopeful message for a movie with so much wanton murder and dissolving body parts.
The Becomers ⭐ (3.5 of 5)
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
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Africa’s history is profound, yet telling the continent’s past is often limited to stories of colonization. Africa has a history of triumphing nations and advanced governments long before Africa’s lands were ravished and divided.
Unfortunately, only a fraction of Africa’s pre-colonized history is written in mainstream history books. Thankfully, modern technology has helped globally share little-known history and facts about Africa.
Now, more people are learning about Africa’s ancestry and how it has influenced our modern world. The history of nations such as Buganda, known to be one of the inspirations for the fictional country of Wakanda in Black Panther, is slowly surfacing more and more.
This great nation’s government was once more advanced than other European governments. In fact, it was highly developed and helped lay the groundwork for modern-day democracy.
Continue reading to learn how one African nation’s influence remains prominent today.
Where is Buganda located?
If you’ve read the name Buganda and noticed the similarity of spelling to the country of Uganda, there is a reason. Buganda is located in the southern-central part of Uganda, on the shore of Lake Victoria. It is one of the largest of four regions in Uganda, a kingdom inside the Republic of Uganda that consists of a constitution, prime minister, and parliament.
Source: Getty Images
A brief history of Buganda
Buganda’s history started 3,000 years ago, in the late 14th century. The Bantu-speaking people are believed to be the nation’s first people, and a kabaka or king ruled them. By the end of the 19th century, Buganda was one of the most powerful kingdoms in the region. Kaita-Kintu was the first ruler to establish Buganda’s foundation by uniting the people.
Buganda grew into a mighty nation primarily due to its land expansion. Their advanced military made it easier for them to conquer neighboring territories. Eventually, they went from three provinces to twelve.
Dominant religions such as Islam and Christianity slowly infiltrated and converted many of the people of Buganda. The original faith focused on worshiping gods representing various mental attitudes and physical properties.
Source: TRT Afrika
When the British invaded, Buganda joined forces with Uganda. As mentioned in an NPR interview with Prime Minster Daniel Muliika, Buganda and Uganda came together during the British invasions to form Uganda’s protectorate, which became the Republic of Uganda.
Although the two nations were joined together, Buganda rulers wanted to maintain their nation’s autonomy. When Uganda gained independence in 1962, the rulers wanted a separate governing system for their nation. To this day, there’s still some discrepancy about when Buganda first gained its independence. Some argue that Buganda gained independence on October 8, 1962, a day before Uganda on October 9, 1962.
Nonetheless, Buganda’s independence was short-lived. In 1966, the prime minister of Uganda, Milton Obote, abolished Buganda as a kingdom. Over 25 years later, in 1993, Buganda’s independence was restored.
Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II is still the reigning king or kabaka. Although the kings are ceremonial monarchies, meaning they don’t hold any power, they are still important symbols for the Bugandans.
Source: Getty Images
Buganda’s influence on democracy
From the kingdom’s birth, Buganda has set itself apart. What brought the kingdom’s international attention was its government structure. The kingdom became well-known and later set an example for other nations when U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt came to Africa in 1909, looking for artifacts to bring to the National History Museum in Washington, D.C. Although a king ruled the nation, it had a system of solid democratic governance. Mango, Buganda’s capital, has 292 appointed representatives and a prime minister.
When Roosevelt visited the nation for the first time, he was thoroughly impressed by the kingdom’s army of 10,000 warriors and its advanced government system. Upon meeting with the Buganda leader, Roosevelt’s perception of Africa expanded. During his trip, he spent much time in more rural parts of Africa. Thus, he was astonished to see a nation like Buganda that was so advanced.
Roosevelt’s trip to Buganda led him to meet, dine with, and discuss many political topics with the Buganda leader at the time, Kaggwa.
Current day Buganda
Buganda has recently celebrated 30 years of monarchy. While it may seem strange to celebrate a monarch during modern times, it symbolizes tradition for the Buganda people. During the celebration, men and women wore traditional clothing such as Kanzu, a white tunic worn by men, and a Bitenge, a colorful dress worn by women. In addition, students performed traditional songs and dances.
Another interesting fact about Buganda is that it has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and the Tombs of Buganda Kings.
The nation has been through many changes, but what seems to be consistent is the people’s desire to grow and advance. Like Wakanda, a fictional nation focusing on innovation and evolution, Buganda focuses on similar aspects. Although it may not be a nation of invisible aircrafts, out-of-the-world advanced technology, or towers made of vibranium, it is still a noteworthy place.
Mikkel: The Persona series, specifically the “modern” incarnations from 3 onward, is a beloved franchise that manages to effortlessly blend intricate visual novel dating sim mechanics, even more intricate JRPG combat mechanics, and dungeon crawling to create a bespoke experience unlike anything else on the market. Yet, for all of the things they’ve done, Atlus has managed to keep to staggering levels of heterocentrism, and we just want our femme protagonist (they have already mapped out).
Persona 3 Remake Official Trailer
With the announcement of a Persona 3 Remake, there was much rejoicing in our corner of the nerdom, but then there was some chagrin with the announcement that the remake would be focused on the base game and take no influence from PES or Persona 3 Portable.
Now PES, I get not including. That’s almost an entirely different game and arc. Persona 3 Portable though. That game is so very much in line with re-releases like Persona 4: Golden and Persona 5 Royal that it’s actually baffling that the remake isn’t taking any cues, especially since the roadwork is right there. The franchise could get an easy win. The replayability! The representation! The basic addition of a singular meaningful customization option.
Djiah: Our femme protagonist in Persona 3 got the spicy lines and pizzazz like any other Persona protagonist. As a matter of fact, the funniest lines in the series come from female characters. The delivery of the voice artists, the zest of awkwardness when they’re roasting a masc character, it’s honestly iconic.
In P3P, the femme protagonist is more immediately likable than the masculine protagonist. The femme protagonist is upbeat, and the femme team members are immediately more friendly towards you.
I’d like to also point out how interesting it is that when you’re a male protagonist in Persona 3 Portable the only way to max out the social link of femme team members is to date them. You have to date everybody to max them out; but you’ve been too cowardly to give us our protagonist x Yusuke (Persona 4 Golden) romance; and too uncomfortable to feed into the clear chemistry between Akechi and our protagonist (Persona 5 Royal)?! What is this madness?
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 THE MOVIE #1 Spring of Birth Trailer 2
Even in the Persona 3 films, it focused on the masculine protagonist.
Mikkel: If we look at the history of the franchise, we see that Persona features a silent protagonist with a set persona and that Persona 2 has the player assume control of four players with fixed persona evolutions. Persona 3 injected this element of “Wild Card” with their primary tarot alignment being the Fool, allowing for a wide range of options and ideologies.
At which point, it becomes staggeringly weird that the blank slate of a protagonist has absolutely no customization options on their actual character. And look, I get the film and anime mandate a canon version of the character. I don’t want Atlus to lose out on the multimedia money, but our character is a clear insert. Let us insert ourselves. Hell, I’m not asking for a Cyberpunk level of character creation. I’m barely asking for a Pokemon level of customization. Skin tone, hair, gender. How hard is that?
I’m asking for a simple binary choice that allows for a little more variety, a little more deviation, and a little more representation.
Djiah: I mean, I won’t REJECT Cyberpunk level of character creation, but I understand some dreams have to stay as dreams because dreams cost money. But honestly, choosing your gender was an accessible option from the jump. I loved customizing the team’s clothes while dungeon crawling, and I’m sure many of us did but imma need y’all to galaxy brain a bit.
See clothing customization beyond the dungeons. Allowing clothes to affect the perception of the protagonist in the universe would be a hilarious way to unlock secret dialogue and/or distribute skill points. Example, allow the protagonist to make “outfit faux pas” in their daily lives. It might be +1 social points for one character, but that failure might actually excite another character a bit too much and give +3 social points. Of course, we love customization for fun and self-expression, but allowing these decisions to be ingrained in game play creates a layered experience and would make players think hard about not only what they say, but how they would be perceived.
If you’re trying to level up a social link but you missed out on meeting with them or you’re having a hard time distributing time to build a skill, sometimes a happenstance outfit at a weird moment can boost something. Customization doesn’t have to be a central focus, but it could be a great way to distribute bonuses and challenge players to unlock all the secret dialogues.
We’ve seen costumes before in dungeons. I definitely enjoyed hearing slow burns and hot takes from Yukiko in Persona 4 Golden due to my outfit. I even loved seeing the weapons in Persona 4 and Persona 5. When paired with certain outfits, some weapons look absolutely wild. I just think even if we utilized these costumes in daily travel it could make the experience even more enlightening. Because honestly saying something spiffy in a feather hat would be socially different than saying something spiffy in a cheerleader outfit.
Mikkel: So look, I’m not gonna pretend to know the intricacies of game development or cultural stigma. I doubt they’re going to change their minds and course. And I’m happy that my first ever Persona game is getting remade on platforms that weren’t a weird encapsulation of the early 2000s technological devices (rest in peace, Playstation Portable, you were not made for this era). But I also very much feel like we’re not being too greedy asking for base level customization and an agnostic approach to the story. They basically have established a routine of adding half an entirely new game with the inevitable remake, so why can’t one of the remakes have a femme protagonist?
You hear that Atlus? I’m not even asking for Persona 6 to feature one. We can wait until Persona 6 Perfected! Please, just give us some consideration and basic customization.
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