The new film Fire In Babylon, has brought a lot of attention to the dominance of the West Indies Cricket team of the 70′s & 80′s. The folks at BBC Radio 4 sat down with former player Colin Croft and journalist Darcus Howe, to speak on their past glory and to recount the racial and political ramifications of their dominance in the sport, not only in the West Indies, but throughout the world.

Check the audio below….

A new film charting the past dominance of West Indies cricket has shed light on its political importance to black people in South Africa living under apartheid, as well as those who emigrated to the UK from the Caribbean.

The former West Indian cricketer, Colin Croft, who played on the South African rebel cricket tour, and Darcus Howe, the broadcaster and journalist who was involved in the Brixton riots of 1981, discuss the wider impact of the team’s success.

Check out the full feature here: BBC News – Today – W Indies cricketers ‘lifted game to great heights’.

BURDEN CLOTHING GARY SOBERS TEE

Whether they go by names such as Voodoo, Obeah, Santeria or Polu, West African religious traditions exist all over the world in regions affected by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. This past weekend, The New York Times explored the repercussions of the recent resurgence in the practice in New York among recent Haitian refugees and younger professionals alike.

It’s definitely an interesting read. Check out an excerpt from the article below…

…Long misunderstood and maligned in Western popular culture, voodoo has become a spiritual anchor in New York City’s vast Haitian community and in Haitian enclaves across the country as practitioners look for comfort after the devastating earthquake in the impoverished Caribbean nation last year.

In New York, where there are roughly 300,000 people who were born in Haiti or are of Haitian descent — the largest concentration in the United States — richly painted basement voodoo temples are sprinkled around Harlem and in parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Mambos, or voodoo priestesses, say they can barely keep up with “demann,” or prayer requests; spiritual love recipes to lure recalcitrant lovers are the most popular. Voodoo prayer circles in which practitioners meet to commiserate have also proliferated, with a notable intensity in the months since the earthquake…

…and the video below that explores thing further…

Haitian-Americans are embracing the centuries-old traditions of voodoo, an often stigmatized religion that is undergoing a renaissance in New York City.

Read the full article here: Voodoo, Spiritual Anchor, Rises Again in New York – NYTimes.com.

While the sport of Cricket is a mystery to most Americans, it’s loved by most in throughout the Caribbean. In his new film, Fire In Babylon, British director Stevan Riley gives some insight into why exactly this is. Check out the details below…

Charting the glorious supremacy of the West Indies cricket team throughout the late 70s and 80s, this film describes how the bat and ball was more effective than gunfire in the battle against racial injustice and struggle for black rights.

In a turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa; race-riots in England and civil unrest in the Caribbean, the West Indian cricketers struck a wonderfully defiant blow at the forces of white prejudice world-wide. With Caribbean flair, fearless spirit and a thumping reggae beat, they hijacked the genteel game of the privileged elite and replayed it on their own terms. By dominating at the highest level – longer than any team in the history of sport – their symbolic declaration was clear: people of colour will not be dictated to – on a cricket ground or in any other field of life.

‘Fire in Babylon’ boasts dynamic archive, classic music by the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Gregory Issacs and Burning Spear, and is a story that celebrates the emancipation of a people through the sport of cricket.

The film will open in select markets this May, and a DVD release will follow on Jun 6th. For more info on the project, be sure to check the official site or follow their page on Facebook.

Also, after the jump check out the first part of a similar documentary, Empire Of Cricket….

For those who might need a primer on the sport, or at least the uniforms, click here.

BURDEN CLOTHING GARY SOBERS TEE

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Various tunes that I’ve been stacking to share with the people. Check out the goodness below…

Check out a few videos and links to download after the jump…

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Flying Overseas is the newest video from Theophilus London, coming off of the I Want You mixtape. The video (based off of Mighty Sparrow’s Only a Fool) is slightly different than the mixtape’s version with the addition of Solange and Devonte, it still works well and doesn’t loose anything the original had. Check the Might Sparrow version after the jump which provided the inspiration for the video.

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I actually meant to post this one a while back, but today’s as good a day as any, right? Right.

Check out the mix below…

Download it here: DJ Iron Lyon: Inna Dancehall Stylee (Ol’ School vs. New School) Mix.

Full tracklisting after the jump.

…via Va$tie.

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For those in the NYC area looking to get a taste of live Caribbean music, two of the best are coming to the area this week.

The Mighty Sparrow heads to downtown Brooklyn this afternoon for a lunchtime show, while Jimmy Cliff will take the mainstage at Central Park for an afternoon concert. Check out the details at the links below:

There aren’t too many artist out there that drop videos for their mixtapes and Theophilus London is just that artist to go against the grain. Here is video for “I Want You” off the mixtape titled “I Want You”. If you haven’t gotten your hands on the mixtape yet you should, its worth a listen.

A one pot meal of meat, rice and vegetable. Check out the details below…

Pelau

Ingredients:

• 1 lb rice
• ½ lb chicken, back ‘n’ neck
• 2 oz carrots
• ½ lb pigeon peas
• ½ lb salted pig tail
• 2 oz green pepper
• 2 oz pumpkin (diced)
• ½ lb spinach (chopped finely)
• 1 bunch herbs (chives)
• 2 oz onion (sliced)
• 8 cups water
• 2 tbsp margarine

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Something hearty for your Mother’s Day menu. Check out the details below…

Stewed Beef in Coconut Milk with Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 6 bay leaves
• 3.5 pounds of beef, cubed
• 6 leaves Mexican thyme (or substitute ordinary thyme)
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp chives, chopped
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• oil for frying
• black pepper, to taste

For the Dumplings:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp baking powder

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