Palestine, Hip-Hop & Parka jackets

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Bboy stance!

Yesterday I went to an awesome poetry event in Ladbroke Grove which was, all at the same time, a stark reminder, an inspiration and a small insight into the struggles of all people – be it those in Palestine, those in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Congo, and even those of us marginalised in London. Some of the those featuring were renowned poets Remi Kanazi and Refeef Ziadah, activist Zita Holbourne.

It was great seeing the women on stage, in particular when Rafeef Ziadah performed 'Shades of Anger' - a look inside the mind of a 'real' Arab woman, not "every orientalist's dream" - the belly-dancing, genie in a bottle, harem girl.

There was also a performance by LA-based Syrian rapper Omar Offendum. I’ve long been a fan of hip-hop, but it’s a fact that a lot of rappers have moved away from what made it popular in the first place – being a voice for black people in America facing oppression in the late 80s/early 90s. So it’s nice when rappers mix it up and still talk about issues other than the superficial. One is Omar Offendum.

Omar Offendum performing

If you haven’t heard his music before, YouTube some of his stuff – he released his debut last year ‘Syrianamericana’ and I believe is working on new material.

You can see we're both rocking the oversized parka jacket look =) I'll do another blog soon on winter coats in general, as I like to switch up styles between more casual styles like this and smarter coats for work. This one here is from New Look, in stores now in various colours.. perfect as it is so big, and is one of my winter staples - I'm hoping it'll keep me warm when that inevitable snow season arrives!!

Just to add, both Remi Kanazi and Omar Offendum are touring the UK this month: for Remi's dates, see his FB page http://www.facebook.com/RemiPoet. Omar has headlining shows at the Hootananny in Brixton this Weds, is performing with Lowkey in Leeds on Thurs and will be at Manchester Uni on Friday – I’d definitely, DEFINITELY recommend checking him out if you have the chance. Check out his FB page for more info:http://www.facebook.com/offendum