News — African Artist

Lydia Fedorovna Arkhipova was a prolific painter who achieved fame in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and abroad. She also developed her original style which challenged the major trends in Soviet-era art.

Arkhipova’s father was Frederick Bruce Thomas, widely known before the Russian Revolution (1917) in bohemian circles in Russia, Europe, and the United States as a wealthy member of Moscow society because of his ownership of the Maxim Club, a major nightlife venue in pre-1917 Russia. Her mother, Arkhipova Lydia, came from a wealthy merchant family. Thomas had a business relationship with Vasiliy Arkhipov, the father of Arkhipova and introduced him to daughter, Lydia.

When Frederick Bruce Thomas had to flee Russia during the Revolution, Lydia Fedorovna Arkhipova was forced to grow up with her mother. She was quickly recognized as a gifted child. She painted, played the piano, and composed music. In her youth she studied at Moscow State University.

In 1941 mother and daughter left for Central Asia. Two years later in 1943, Lydia Arkhipova at age 29, became a student at the Surikov’s Art Institute, which was moved to Samarkand (Uzbekistan) at that time. There she studied with Director of Arts Sergey Gerasimov and painting professor Alexander Osmyorkin. Her long-term friendship with the artist Robert Falk and her acquaintance with a representative of the Russian avant-garde art, Nadezhda Udaltsova, as well as her love for the impressionists (especially Matisse) and the study of ancient Russian painting had a great influence on her artistic handwriting.

In 1950, after graduating from the art institute, Lydia Arkhipova began to take an active part in exhibitions of young artists across Soviet Russia under the pseudonym “Archi. LF.” In 1953 she became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. She has traveled around the country but she especially loved to visit Central Asia and small towns where she wrote numerous works that reflected her search for an awareness of her own identity. During this period her painting were noted for their portrayal of festivity and freedom.

By the early 1960s, notes of nonconformism began to play in her work. Her paintings increasingly became modernist in character and were based on idealistic philosophical theories and aesthetic trends of the twentieth century not always favored by the Soviet government or major Soviet artists.

In 1977, Lydia Arkhipova, then 63, gave her first personal exhibition at Moscow’s Hall of the Union of Artists, a belated recognition of her contribution to the world of Soviet Art. After the exhibit she continued to work producing different types of art including portraits, still life, landscapes, architectural sketches and everyday scenes of religious and symbolic subjects. Regardless of the type of art produced, her paintings were always distinguished by decorativeness, bright, hot, sunny colors in a range of red-yellow-orange strokes.

Few Soviet artists were allowed to travel abroad. Lydia Arkhipova, however, over her long career frequently visited India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and traveled to Italy, Spain, France, and North Africa, where was she awarded prestigious art diplomas. Her works today are displayed in many museums of the former USSR as well as in private collections in Western Europe, the United States, and India.

Lydia Arkhipova died in Moscow in 1997. She was 83 at the time of her death.

The mid-2000s were a great time for hip-hop. New sounds and artists sprang up and many of these artists became instant hitmakers. But while some sustained their success, others faded away just like the way they emerged onto the scene.

One of those who went away was Chamillionaire, fondly remembered for his 2005 hit song “Ridin”.

In 2005, “Ridin” was a global hit and was a favorite choice for everyone’s ringtone. The song was atop the Billboard Hot 100 for weeks. But interestingly, the social message of “Ridin” – essentially addressing the profiling of young Black men by the police – went over many heads. After that hit single, Chamillionaire, unsuccessfully, released a couple of others.

As his music career begun to take a downward trajectory, Chamillionaire, had a ‘Plan B.’ He quickly learned the ropes of becoming an entrepreneur. 15 years on, he has transitioned from a rapper to a big-time entrepreneur, investing in tech firms and early start-ups.

Born Hakeem Seriki in Washington D.C., the rapper actually began his entrepreneurial journey in 2004 when he founded his own record label called Chamillitary Entertainment. He later invested in Maker Studio, a multipurpose digital platform, which was sold to Disney for a reported $500 million in 2014.

Chamillionaire then joined Upfront Ventures as its “entrepreneur-in-residence” in 2015. The Santa Monica based venture capital firm invests in early-stage technology companies. It is the largest venture capital company in Los Angeles, with $2 billion in total raised funds. Some of its notable investment includes Ulta, Overture, PayPal Credit, TrueCar, Disney Digital Network, Kyriba, and Ring.

The Grammy-winning rapper also invested in Cruise which has been acquired by General Motors for $1 billion) and ride-sharing app, Lyft, according to Forbes. The rapper has also bought stakes in Ring, a doorbell technology that has been acquired by Amazon.

In 2018, he launched his own app named Convoz to rival Twitter which he believes has been hijacked by trolls. The video-centric app aims to be a “place where you go to talk to people,” he told TechCrunch. 

“I just wasn’t happy with the communication channels that are currently [exist] on social media,” he added. The app allows users to post a 15-second video to celebrities of their choice. They can watch and decide to respond or not.

According to CNBC, the bullish investor holds investments in more than 40 start-up companies. He recently announced a competition to invest $100,000 in a minority or woman founded start-up company. Haitian born Pierre Laguerre, who made an entry with his fleeting company, emerged as the winner. Fleeting is a mobile platform that connects commercial truck drivers with on-demand trucking jobs.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, the rapper and entrepreneur has a net worth of over $50 million. But there’s no betting against the 40-year-old rising up the millionaire ladder.

Jeresneyka Rose woke up one day to tones of congratulatory messages from family and friends on social media. She was being cheered for striking a deal with Walmart to sell her artwork on the platform.

Worldwide, many businesses strive to have their products listed on Walmart for sale and so the buzz around the sale of her painting on Walmart was understandable.

However, the unfortunate aspect of the move was that her artwork, a digital portrait of late rapper Nipsey Hussle, was being sold on Walmart without her permission. The multibillion-dollar firm sells the artwork in its stores for $14.99.

“People were tagging me on social media to congratulate me on a collaboration that I had no idea about,” Rose told Yahoo Life. “I would have never known had it not been for social media.”

Hussle was fatally shot two years ago in a parking lot in South Los Angeles and Rose created the portrait in his memory. She published her tribute to the late rapper on her social media with an option to download. She, however, added five watermarks to prevent theft. Shockingly, Walmart allegedly removed all but one of them.

“They edited the picture and removed my signature and changed the background to yellow, but my watermark was still in the hair,” Rose told Southeast Express. “I guess they couldn’t get that off, and that’s what saved me.”

Among other things, Rose is exploring the potential of legal action to get her due, noting that this is not the first time an artist’s work has been put up for sale without his or her consent by big corporations.

She told Yahoo Life: “I’m not well-versed when it comes to things like that, but there’s so many other artists out there that this happens to and they never find out — they never get their due diligence, so I just would like to see what the process looks like. I just know right is right and wrong is wrong — and this is wrong.”

Rose, of Colorado, is the founder of Art By Rizzo. According to her, she started taking her artwork seriously after trying out some corporate jobs and noticing that she could no longer fit in. She now makes much of her money from her artwork in which she sells online or at community events in Colorado Springs, her hometown. She told The Express that she was financially hit by the pandemic and that she found Walmart making a profit off her back egregious. 

Rose said she wants to use her predicament to bring to fore how big corporations are exploiting the artwork of small businesses, especially Black-led ones, for monetary gains. 

“It’s not just the fact that it’s one corporation — this happens every day to black artists and people of color and women, and impoverished people that don’t have the resources and funds to fight for themselves,” she said. “We don’t have a standing chance. It’s bigger than me.”

Two Cameroonian dads living in Quebec are bringing a much-needed representation into the doll industry. Upon realizing that many stores did not have Black dolls or they were either stacked at the back of shelves when shopping for toys, they decided to make their own.

The Quebec-based dads, Gaëtan Etoga and Yannick Nguepdjop, after doing a lot of groundworks and research, launched their own doll company, Ymma, in November, according to HuffPost Quebec.

The main aim of the company is to introduce children to the world’s diverse communities while they play with these dolls. Although the Ymma dolls are mostly Black and mixed-race, the daddy-duo say their products are meant for children of all ethnic backgrounds.

Even for a big cosmopolitan city like Montreal, there were some obvious loopholes in terms of diversity and inclusion especially when it comes to toys, the fathers observed.

The dads did not want their children growing up with an identity problem. “We want Black kids to have toys that look like them. We want to inspire them, build their self-esteem, their self-confidence, and make them understand they are beautiful the way God created them.”

Children develop their social skills from a tender age. Ymma’s intentions are for these kids to embrace all races and be exposed to diversity from the onset and what better way to do this than through afro-loving and African print wearing Black and mixed-race dolls which retail for $20.

This is crucial because studies conducted in the 1940s by doctors Kenneth and Mamie Clark have shown that children naturally gravitate towards white dolls when presented with the two. A more recent one undertaken in 2010 reaffirms the findings of the earlier study, which should not be the case, according to Etoga.

Being Black or mixed-race should not make anyone feel unseen. That is why Ymma is on a mission to normalize what should have been normalized a long time ago, making sure Black and mixed-race children feel more seen and more accepting of who they are.

“I think certain parts of society dictate to them that their hair and their noses are ugly,” Etoga told HuffPost Québec. “But what we want to tell them is that that isn’t true.”

The dads are also paying homage to their native home’s culture through the names of the dolls, their natural hairstyles, and the traditional Cameroonian ensemble worn by them.

The names of each doll, Priso, Beri, and Sadi, originate from Douala, a town in their Central African Nation, where they are originally from.

Aside from staying connected to their roots, they are also creating wealth for the locals in their hometown as all the fabrics and outfits worn by the dolls are produced in Cameroon.

Etoga explained that the blue top pattern used for some of the outfits is traditionally used in Cameroon during large ceremonies. The black, yellow, and orange circular pattern ‘toghu’ used for some other outfits are also usually used by Cameroonians in the northwest of the country. The dolls come with outfits, but extra ones can be purchased and sold separately for $10.

Determined to make a difference wherever they find themselves, all Ymma’s packaging is done locally in Quebec to contribute to the local economy which has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We hope to see our dolls in every household in the world,” the ambitious entrepreneurs said.

“We want to be the reference for diverse dolls. It’s true we are a business, but it’s not just about selling dolls. It’s about change. Kids are the future; we want to make the world a better place for them.”

Nigerian superstar Burna Boy seems to be a favorite in the White House. In 2019, he made the playlist of former U.S. President Barack Obama and then that of Michelle Obama in 2020. Now, the musician’s hit track ‘Destiny’ has been featured on the official inauguration playlist of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

This makes Burna Boy the only Nigerian and African artiste on the playlist. ‘Destiny’ is the 13th track on the music star’s Grammy-nominated ‘African Giant’ album.

The inauguration playlist, which includes 46 songs from various artistes, will give Americans the opportunity to participate in the ceremony from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Presidential Inaugural Committee said. Tony Allen, CEO of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, said the playlist’s objective is to “honor music as a consistent vehicle that has kept us connected through a challenging year”.

“These songs and artistes reflect the relentless spirit and rich diversity of America. They are the score to a new chapter and will help bring people together as the Biden-Harris Administration begins its important work to unite our country,’’ he said.

Issa Rae’s Raedio and DJ D-Nice worked with the inaugural committee to curate the collection of songs. “We know that music has the power to bring people together, and after a year of national challenges and division, we hope this collection serves as an indication of a new beginning, positive change and a reminder that music of all types is a common language,” Raedio president, Benoni Tagoe, said.

Apart from Burna Boy’s ‘Destiny’, other songs from top artistes that made the playlist include Beyoncé’s ‘Find Your Way Back’, Bob Marley and Di Wailers’ ‘Could You Be Loved’, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige’s ‘Now Or Never’, and Biden-Harris campaign’s celebratory theme song, ‘Higher Love’ by Kygo and Whitney Houston.

The playlist is now available on Soundcloud, Apple Music, Spotify, and TIDAL.

Here are all the songs on the playlist:

KOTA the Friend- Lupita’s interlude

The Beatles – Come together

Jason Derulo – Pick up the pieces

Bruce Springsteen – We take care of our won

Daryl Hall and John Oates- You make my dreams come true

The Weeknd- What you need

Mac Miller- Blue World

Heatwave- The Groove line

A Tribe Called Quest -Award Tour

MF Doom – Coffin Nails

Free Nationals- Eternal light

Burna Boy- Destiny

Led Zeppelin- Fool in the rain

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Could You Be Loved

Curtis Mayfield -Move on Up

Jill Scott- Golden

The Impressions -We’re a Winner

Dua Lipa – Levitating

The Doobie Brothers- What a Fool Believes

Bill Withers- Lovely Day

Chris Brown- Mirage

Shania Twain- Still the One

Oddisee- That’s Love

Anitta, Major Lazer- Make It Hot

Whitney Houston, Kygo- Higher Love

Earth, Wind & Fire- That’s the Way of the World

Vampire Weekend- Unbelievers

Beyonce- FIND YOUR WAY BACK

Jackie Wilson – (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher

SZA- Good Days

Vampire Weekend- Step