Five Fulbright students in France, Mexico, Mali, New Zealand, and Uganda are sharing their experiences as part of the Fulbright-mtvU Fellowships. Through a partnership with mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, the Fulbright-mtvU program promotes “the power of music” as a global force for mutual understanding.  Recipients were chosen through a multi-tiered, merit-based selection process beginning with field and discipline merit review by U.S. and overseas academic leaders and area experts. mtvU and musical icons Serj Tankian, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Wyclef Jean, and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs reviewed and nominated candidates. Final selection was made by the Presidentially appointed Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Winners are sharing their experiences during their Fulbright year via video reports, blogs and podcasts as showcased on mtvU and mtvU.com. See their lastest entries below.

       Alexis Tucker, France
       Katie Day Good, Mexico
       Spencer Orey, Mali
       Ainsley Breault, New Zealand
       Melissa Adams, Uganda

Alexis Tucker, France

48 Hours of Hip-Hop at Goom Radio

Posted Tuesday, July 21, 2009 by Alexis Tucker - in France

Recently, Goom Radio — a 100% digital radio station that is taking storm in France and coming soon to New York — ran a continuous 48 hour episode of it’s hip-hop radio show “Explicit Content,” featuring the biggest artists in French hip-hop, rap and R’n’B. While I wasn’t able to compete with the various radio hosts who stayed up for nearly two full days (breaking for a few hours here and there to sleep and shower), in just the 11 hours that I spent at the station, I got to hang out with some of the top names in the industry, including: Oxmo Puccino, Disiz, Leslie, Seth Gueko, Orelsan, LIM, Youssoupha, Dragon Davy, Mr. Toma, Black Barbie and Kamnouze among others. On top of that, many of the Goom radio hosts are also important figures on the French hip-hop scene, including rappers Freeman (formerly of IAM), Sonikem and Driver, and female hip-hop journalist Valou.

View a photo slideshow.

Although definitely a little hectic, the whole experience was a lot of fun. Great interviews, live music, freestyles, and impromptu dance parties contributed to 48H Chrono’s success, and graffiti artists were even on hand painting a mural to commemorate the event. Additionally, local up-and-coming artists (including Blackara) were invited to perform and be interviewed— reinforcing the inclusive and supportive nature of the 48H Chrono experience.

While Samy and I were busy filming the event for my final project, we managed to take a few snapshots that are featured in the slide show above. You can listen to the official podcast of 48H Chrono at www.goomradio.com (on the bottom left side of the screen). Enjoy!

Comment on this post and read more of Alexis' blog posts on the Fulbright-mtvU website.

About Alexis 

Alexis Tucker is in France to study how socially engaged French rap music and hip-hop culture have addressed the aftermath of the 2005 riots and the 2007 French Presidential election. She will produce a multimedia presentation and a documentary that reflect the political role of hip-hop in France. Alexis graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in French and African Studies in May 2008.
http://fulbright.mtvu.com/author/alexistucker/

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Katherine Good, Mexico 

The Grand Tour

Posted Wednesday, July 8, 2009 by Katie Day Good - in Mexico

For my final post, I'll leave you with this audio flipbook that sums up my year. In previous posts, I tried to explore the diversity of Mexican music by zooming in on individual sounds and people. I wanted to compare a variety of styles (Mariachi, Son Jarocho, Danzón, Villancicos, La Chilena, Son Huasteco, and Tropical were just a few that I got hooked on), while also considering how this music has been affected by emerging issues in Mexico, like emigration, urbanization, and the cultural gap between generations.

This audio flipbook takes a wider view. I hope it lives up to its name—It's a “grand tour” of the School of Mexican Music, classroom by classroom, genre by genre. For the musician in me, traveling from one “room” of Mexican music to another over the course of this year was an awe-inspiring lesson in new sounds. But more importantly, it gave me a taste of the complexity of Mexican history. And every day, I'm happy to report, that history is still being sung and played out by young people who want to live in a 21st century Mexico that doesn't forget where it came from.

View and listen to the audio flipbook.

Sincere thanks to IIE, the State Department, COMEXUS, and mtvU for their continued support during this year. I also want to thank the School of Mexican Music in Mexico City, and the Centro de Documentación del Son Jarocho in Jáltipan, Veracruz for opening their doors to my research (and elementary music skills).

I also want to individually thank my mentors and music teachers, without whose patience and knowledge this project would not have been possible—Jorge Luís Aquino Gómez, José Luís Ceron Mireles, and Pedro Gutiérrez in Mexico City; Ramón Gutiérrez of Son de Madera in Xalapa; Benito Cortés Padua of Los Cojolites at Rancho Luna (….Negra!); my fellow Fulbright grantee Phillip Quercia; Thomas Stanford and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia; and Randall Kohl of the Universidad Veracruzana. A todos Uds., ¡Mil gracias!

Last but not least, if you like what you've heard on my blog, I urge you to check out some of these young Mexican musicians who have, at one point or another, knocked my socks off:

• Los Cojolites - Jálitpan, Veracruz
• Los Pájaros del Alba - Cosoleacaque, Veracruz
• Sonex - Xalapa, Veracruz
• Pasatono - Mexico City and Oaxaca
• Las Perlitas Tapatias - Guadalajara, Jalisco

Comment on this post and read more of Katherine's blog on the Fulbright-mtvU website.

Katherine Good is in Mexico to produce podcasts that anthropologically explore the Mexican youth renaissance of performing various pre-rock music styles. A folk musician and independent radio producer, Katherine works with the School of Mexican Music in Mexico City and the danzon and son jarocho circles of Veracruz to document this growing cultural trend.  Katherine graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Loyola University Chicago with a B.S. in Anthropology and B. A. in International Studies. http://fulbright.mtvu.com/author/katiegood/

About Katherine

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Spencer Orey, Mali

Sanuya

Posted Friday, June 12, 2009 by Spencer Orey - in Mali

“Sanuya”, written and performed by Modibo “Bastin” Diabate featuring Mah Bara Soumano and Konté B, arranged by Lamine Soumano, produced by Studio Mali, and filmed by Spencer Orey.

View the video here.

“Sanuya” is a song about about cleaning up the trash in Bamako that draws attention to trash and pollution in the city. It’s mostly in Bambara with some French, and it’s around six minutes long. Usually in Bamako I do my best to see through the pollution into the underlying beauty of the city, and trust me, there is a lot there that is beautiful. However, this time, I got to focus directly on trash and make things into a giant chaotic trash party, shooting all but one scene without my tripod while riding around on motorcycles with a big group of rappers in the Bamako neighborhood of Djicoroni Para. Unfortunately, it’s the hot season right now, so it’s nearly 115 degrees F every day, and the light is always incredibly strong, making filming especially difficult. However, with help, we found some dirty places to film: trash piles, burning trash piles, open sewers, meat markets, and more.

But you know, this is not to say that all of Bamako is like that. You see, in presenting this video, I don’t want to misrepresent Bamako or Mali as entirely dirty places: there IS a big problem with trash and trash collection (most trash collection is done by donkey-driven carts), and nobody will deny there. But there are ALSO beautiful trash-free places in the city, and not everything is trash. It’s important to remember that in making the video, we sought out the dirtiest places possible, meaning that there were many places that we passed up as too clean.

Bastin told me he hopes that his song will help people realize that they’re going to have to be more careful about trash, about how much they consume and how much they throw away, not to mention WHERE they throw it! He wants people to stop burning trash, especially tires and plastic bags, and to work together to find a better waste management solution. He hopes that his song will help the city transform into an even more beautiful place.

For the editing, I worked with Lamine Soumano, who was an invaluable help in sync’ing the video and helping me to know which images should go with which verses. People I’ve shown it to have commented that the finished version looks exactly how a Malian music video should, which is something that I am proud of. It certainly was a great experience and a lot of fun to make!

I hope you enjoy the video!

Comment on this post and read more of Spencer's blog on the Fulbright-mtvU website.

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Ainsley Breault, New Zealand

Happy New Year!

Posted Thursday, July 9, 2009 by Ainsley Breault - in New Zealand

Thursday kicked off Auckland’s celebration of Matariki, the Māori New Year. Matariki is marked by the appearance of a star cluster in the sky known as Pleiades. It is a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future, and its celebration is closely tied to an appreciation of this land, the arts and especially music.

On Friday night, I attended Native Noise 2009 at Auckland Town Hall (Native Noise may sound familiar, as they also sponsored the Waitangi Day concert I attended back in February). This was an awesome concert featuring DJ Poroufessor, reggae bands Katchafire, Three Houses Down and Cornerstone Roots, and headliner Tiki Taane, who performed with a kapa haka group and an incredible DJ, Charlie B. There was also a respectful playing of Michael Jackson hits between sets, a subtle tribute to the passing of an undeniably significant figure to musicians around the world. Nearly every artist greeted the crowd with a warm “Kia ora, whanau”, and the crowd reacted to each performer with generous applause and support. Although the Matariki celebration extends for nearly a month, in the spirit of a new year’s celebration there was a countdown, followed by shouting, hugs and kisses among concert attendees. While I hoped to show some pictures and video, the concert was considered a “taonga”, or treasure to be shared between the performers and the audience, and cameras and recordings were discouraged.

Tiki Tane’s closing set turned me into an instant dub step fan. He opened with an energetic song featuring the kapa haka group, and then went into a long string of dub step. While Tiki has always done dub step, and was formerly the frontman of the Kiwi group Salmonella Dub, his hit single right now, “Always On My Mind,” is a very chilled out, acoustic song. He therefore showed off his shattering of genre barriers and allowed those in the crowd who weren’t familiar with dub step (which may well have been just me) to expand their horizons and appreciate a whole new type of sound and movement. Tiki thanked the crowd at the end for appreciating the heavier stuff and rewarded them with his hit single to close. The crowd left energized and enthusiastic about the evening and the new year.

There is a growing movement here in New Zealand to recognize Matariki more widely, and to celebrate it not strictly as a Māori event, but rather as a New Zealand holiday. Many artists advocate that Matariki could serve as an opportunity for the nation to come together to recognize and honor arts and culture and make plans for the future of New Zealand. This concert was a perfect representation of the potential of a more widely celebrated Matariki, as the crowd was very diverse and definitely not restricted to any one identity. Although the focus was on Māori culture, the general themes of music, community and culture rang true as a celebration of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Matariki conveniently falls at my midway point of my time here in New Zealand, inspiring me to reflect back on everything I’ve experienced so far and plan what I hope to accomplish in the five months I have remaining. Next semester I plan to take a Māori language course, as a common theme in my interviews so far is how crucial the language is to the culture. I’ll be finishing up most of my filming for my documentary throughout the Northern Summer (it is sadly winter here in the Southern hemisphere) and work on editing and getting the approval of all my participants towards the end of the year. Looking forward to a Rangatahi (youth) Represent concert in Wellington this weekend, a Matariki kite festival next week, and the AUT (my university) Māori Expo in August.

Check out this link to the Matariki Festival page for suggestions on how to celebrate- for a real authentic New Zealand experience, try the mussel fritter recipe.

Cheers for now!

Comment on this post and read more of Ainsley's blog posts on the Fulbright-mtvU website.

About Ainsley 

Ainsley Breault is in New Zealand to research the role of music in perpetuating Maori culture. She will conclude the project by obtaining a one-year certificate in Maori music at Auckland University of Technology, and will chronicle two significant Maori music events, sharing her findings through two 30-minute rockumentary-style digital videos. Ainsley graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Cinema-Television.
http://fulbright.mtvu.com/author/ainsleybreault/

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Melissa Adams, Uganda 

Makin' Beats and Breakin' it Down!

Posted Wednesday, July 1, 2009 by Melissa Adams - in Uganda

Youth participating in the “Back to School Breakdance Challenge"

On May 23, 2009, I organized a “Back to School Breakdance Challenge” for the youth participating in the Hip Hop Therapy Project. The purpose of this show was to provide these youth with an opportunity to showcase their skills and talent and to reward them for their hard work and dedication. It also served as the official launch of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU) in Gulu. The event was a success with 200-300 people in attendance and fifty youth ranging in age from 8-20 years old performing and competing in the following categories:

– Beginner Top Rock
– Advanced Top Rock
– Beginner Foot Work
– Advanced Foot Work
– Beginner Popping
– Advanced Popping
– Beatmaking (using traditional African drums to create break beats)
– Best Overall B-Boy
– Best Overall B-Girl

View Slideshow of the Competition

Winners of the smaller competitions (Top Rock, Foot Work, Popping, and Beatmaking) each won 20, 000 shillings ($10) and a handheld radio/walkman/tape recorder.

Winners of the overall competitions (Best B-boy and Best B-girl) each won 50,000 shillings ($25) and a brand new bicycle.

All 50 of the participants received a BPU T-shirt, a certificate of participation, and a gift bag containing pencils, pens, erasers, pencil sharpeners, cookies, candy, and balloons.

I chose prizes based on conversations I’d had with youth during the needs assessment exercises I conducted when I first arrived. For example, I found out scholastic materials are very important to young people in northern Uganda and that bicycles, being a main mode of transportation, are highly valued.

I used some of the money I received from Fulbright and mtvU to organize the event and also received funding from Nabil Elderkin. Nabil is a photographer and video director who has worked with such artists as Kanye West (He directed his video “Welcome to Heart Break”), Common, K’Naan and many more.

He is currently making a documentary on Breakdancing in Uganda. The documentary follows Crazy Legs and two other members of the Rock Steady Crew on their visit to Uganda last spring and also focuses on the work of BPU. Nabil was interested in including the show I organized in his film and graciously agreed to provide some funding for the event.

I’m really grateful to him for his support, without which the show wouldn’t have been possible. The youth really enjoyed themselves and many of them thanked me and asked me to continue what I was doing. One of the parents, whose child won a bicycle, called me to say thank you. She said that she never imagined in her life that her family would own a bicycle and that they now have transportation; I was very touched. I plan to use the rest of my time here looking for funding to continue holding workshops and turn the show into an annual event. These kids have so much talent and are eager for more opportunities.

Here is a short clip of part of the beatmaking competition. For each round there was a beatmaker and b-boy or b-girl dancing to their beat. The first half of the clip shows Opiyo Oscar as the beatmaker and b-boy Opiyo Denis and the second half shows Ivan Julius as the beatmaker and b-girl Apiyo Winnie.

Comment on this post and read more of Melissa's blog posts on the Fulbright-mtvU website.

About Melissa

Melissa Adams's Fulbright project in Uganda is working on a hip-hop therapy project in which youth affected by war and by AIDS in Northern Uganda learn to beatbox, break dance, compose positive rap songs and create hip-hop beats with local instruments. She is conducting an assessment of the children's needs and available resources and will use the data to determine how best to further meet their psychosocial needs through these therapeutic resources. Melissa graduated from Emory University with a Masters in Public Health. http://fulbright.mtvu.com/author/melissaadams/

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