Is it me or has the weather been surprisingly warm this week?
I’m definitely one of those people whose mood can be influenced by the weather 🌞.
This week I thought I’d share my settings as I write this week's Sunday Snapshot.
I spent last weekend in London basking in the warm weather, exploring new areas (Broadway market) and revisiting my haunts such as Notting Hill and the concrete paradise that is the Barbican. I saw an exhibition titled ‘Chorus in Rememory of Light’ by Julianknxx with my good friend Rassu. The exhibition consisted of 3 films that Julianknxx had crafted which spoke of the black experience across the diaspora. The pièce de résistance was really moving, and the harmony of the featured choirs was transcendent. Upon leaving the Barbican, we were met by one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen (below). Then we headed to Edgware Road to try the viral Basque cheesecake from Lamaritxu. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in this quest because the queue was just so long - darn you food influencers, but thank you at the same time 😂.
This week has brought with it a lot of challenges, starting with Nigeria losing at the AFCON finals 🤦🏾♂️.
I’m finding that there are lots of things fighting for my attention and although I think I’ve tried to be conservative, I know I’m doing way too much. So a ruthless cull is well on the way.
So, let’s get into this week's Sunday Snapshot.
Sonic sanctuary (music):
Mellow & Sleazy - Umshini Ka Zuma ft. M.J, Azi
So we’re starting with some energy! 💥
I can’t believe it’s taken me 3 weeks to share one of, if not my favourite genre - Amapiano. If you’ve been under a rock for the last few years or don’t listen to music from Africa, then you may not have heard of this genre that has swept the world by storm.
Amapiano is a style of music that originates from South Africa (SA). SA has had a burgeoning house scene for decades with behemoth artists like Black Coffee paving the way for this new sound. Amapiano consists of deep house, jazz, and lounge music and is characterised by synths and the infamous log drum - a synthesised drum sound.
I could write a book on my love for Amapiano, but you’ll have to wait for that.
Until then, let me tell you about Mellow and Sleazy.
They’re heavy hitters in my Afro House playlist, and this week this song became my mantra when it came on shuffle on my way to the gym and as is customary when I get into a hyper fixated state I ended up playing it for hours on repeat.
Amapiano songs typically have a long build-up (2-3 mins) then a mid-section where the log drum bumps emphatically and then a 2-3 min outro. There’s something to be said about the spiritual power of Amapiano, and this song just gave me words of motivation that my self-talk couldn’t provide in that moment, which is ironic as I definitely don’t speak any South African languages.
Hiatt DB - 6 O’Clock Rock
This song I heard for the first time a few hours ago, so it’s very very fresh.
What do I like about it?
It’s a simple house track with a catchy chorus that is old and new at the same time.
It’s got what it takes to make me want to dance, and that’s saying something.
Sampha - Spirit 2.0
My last song for you this week is by the amazing Sampha, who I had the pleasure to see live at Factory International on Friday with my dear friend Jane.
Sampha is probably your favourite artist's favourite artist. It took me some time to get into Sampha, largely because he took the world by storm from the release of his Mercury Prize-winning album - Process. And I tend to stay away from things that everyone is hyping about - call me a hipster 😅.
Even with the release of his latest album Lahai, I had to slowly find my way to it.
Prior to listening to the album, I listened to his interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music (y’all don’t have this on Spotify). This interview offered valuable insight into Sampha’s life from his musical family to his process of creating his unique sound. It’s an amazing interview which I highly recommend listening to - [Apple Music link].
His show at Factory International was phenomenal, as expected - he performed with a band on a circular stage in the middle of the large space. They managed to make the large multifunctional space feel as intimate as a Sofar Sounds concert. It was a huge bucket list ticked - seeing Sampha live.
Listen to my favourite song on the album here - [YouTube link]
The Socratic segment (thoughts/ideas):
Thelma Golden on Design Matters
Design Matters is quickly becoming one of my favourite podcasts. Debbie Millman asks questions in a beautiful way, and it’s clear that she does her research which is what makes the conversations flow so effortlessly.
This particular interview was a delight to listen to. I was drawn to the episode firstly because it was a black woman and secondly because of her role as a curator.
Thelma shared how she was clear on what she wanted to be from a very young age, and her parents and teachers encouraged her on this path.
She grew up in Queens, New York to parents who were deeply invested in cultural institutions that celebrated black culture.
She also had a great teacher who took them on field trips to museums where she would buy postcards from the gift shop and create her art shows in her bedroom.
Listening to this episode taught me the importance of the role of a curator, especially one that ‘is in the present looking at artwork and is creating for artists and audiences’ as Thelma described.
The reason I selected this as a thought piece was Thelma’s take on finding it liberating when people were taken aback as they didn’t expect someone who looked like her to be working as a curator in a distinguished institution. It was inspirational to hear how she used it as an opportunity to show these individuals how capable someone who looked like her could be rather than let imposter syndrome take over.
Tell the time, don’t build a clock
Now let me tell you this one felt like a personal attack 😂.
Like host Matt, I’ve been known to pontificate and tell elaborate stories to get my point across. I feel the need to share as much context as possible to get the person/people who I’m speaking with to imagine the story I’m telling.
In some situations, this really helps but in others, it can be maladaptive. I think communication is one of my better skills, but I do think I could do some work with being concise sometimes. Senior leaders in businesses seem to have a knack for getting their point across in only a few words, and if I aspire to get there I guess I must too.
A simple question I took away from the episode - What is the least amount of information we need to share to get our point across?
The Art of War - Big Think
Following on from last week's thought piece on strategy by Napoleon. I listened to a video on YouTube from the Big Think channel titled ‘The Art of War: the greatest strategy book ever written’.
This 8-minute video provided a lot of value/golden nuggets. It’s made me want to read the book. Excerpts like “the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”. And “you only want to engage in competitions where you can create a win without creating a loser who will keep on attacking you” were really thought-provoking.
“Treat your men as you would your beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley” - this one was really fascinating. What I took from it was that if there is a disconnect with your words and your actions, then people who work in your company will be disengaged. If you tell staff that they’re like family but fire them at the first instance it sends a different message. Akin to this, I saw a post on LinkedIn about how the ex-CEO of Nintendo chose to cut his salary and his senior board to ensure that they didn’t have to lay off any staff during the 2008 financial crisis.
Now that’s an exemplar leader in my opinion.
The icing on the cake in this video was Roger Martin discussing the important role that Design plays in modern business strategy because it focuses on the user's needs. So if you merge the two; traditional business strategy which focused on the company and competition and design, you create the best solution for customers.
I've recently started working in the world of design at work and although nerve-wracking because I’m starting in a completely new discipline, I really see this as my evolution to creating a career that features technology and design to have a positive impact on the world.
Seeing (images/video):
The stupendous 🌅 I witnessed with Rassu after the exhibition at the Barbican. This video is impressive but seeing it live was even grander.
There we have it.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of Sunday Snapshots.
Have a great week and see you in 7 ✌🏽.