#no. but the fact that those were lyrics he felt comfortable writing/rapping/distributing.....

[geraskier]

"you got some pretty toes"

"my nail tech knows how to keep a lil secret"

yeah sorry jack harlow you have a thing for feet. "i'm vanilla baby" my ass

[ryujinrk]

-.✦･｡ﾟMGA season 5: episode 5, kyung’s outfit (lyrics + line distribution)            performing block b “jackpot” with @rkjaemin & @rksuwoong 

They look absolutely ridiculous in their brightly yellow outfits that makes them all look like some giant bumble bees but honestly, Ryujin does believe that if they are going to have a fair chance to win this whole thing they need to walk the extra mile that she reckon some people will skip. It should be more than enough to gain attention though, and part of her love, love, love, that they are actually about to be this extra about the whole concept. They aren’t only covering the song, they are stepping into the roles with the same enthusiasm as Block B.

Considering how the week started it’s almost unbelieveable how comfortably Ryujin sit next to her partners, SUWOONG in particular, their first impressions of each other so turbulent it even resulted in the teen experiencing her very first migraine attack that sent her to the infirmary. If it wasn’t for JAEMIN then the trio would likely have been doomed because truthfully, the dynamic between them was just that bad. They call themselves the Golden Trio and are the very last to parform today; saving the best group for last, is what she like to believe. 

There are so many strong song choices this week but for some reason, she is confident in her own group. It’s a familiar trait for her to be convinced of the fact that her stages are good but it isn’t just her this time, Ryujin has such strong faith in the Golden Trio because they have been through both good and bad together, they have bonded in a way that she think has brought the three of them closer. The performances start off strong, some certainly more interesting than others, and she looks forward to the group that she shared practice room with.

Ryujin is beyond excited when they head down to ready themselves to perform, the eyes that she has felt piercing through her the entire month suddenly don’t feel so scary anymore since the truth has finally been brought to the table. CHAERYEONG, NAKYUNG and WOOJIN step away from the stage and leave it empty, ready for the very last group to perform. She walk out with the males that she has worked with for seven days straight, a cheeky grin playing on her lips as she know that they look silly. They introduce themselves, THE GOLDEN TRIO. 

“I’m Lee Suwoong, I’m Na Jaemin, I’m Shin Ryujin - And we are the Golden Trio!”

Not necessarily because they are the best, though she believes that SUWOONG would argue that they most certainly are-- she too, honestly, but the group name means something more to complete their concept. As they shift into their positions she know that they are starting quickly, and she has to hit the beat, which has yet to be a hinder for her. They look stiff like dolls, which obviously is by purpose, their whole posture revealing what they are aiming for. Tense shoulders, bright smiles, head moving from one side to the other as Ryujin voice the first line.

0.00 저 오빠들 이상해 Those oppas are weird

She almost can’t contain herself when SUWOONG screams, that alone setting the mood for a great performance, but she remain professional and instead of laughing she grin genuinely as she move behind the elder as she and JAEMIN pose as the current backup dancers. They are swiftly and playfully shifting between who carry that particular role, depending on who’s in front doing their part. JAEMIN is the first one out with a proper verse, the two others dancing slightly differently to him before they hide behind him, only to pop out soon after to each his sides.

His rap is flawless in Ryujin’s ears and she is proud, in one way, to see him perform something like this. He’s quiet and usually keeps to himself, so that he agreed to such an energetic stage definitely took her by surprise. It’s fun though, they are having fun-- she thinks, at least. She is preparing herself for for the next part of the song, the first verse that she has been assigned. It suited her perfectly, being able to pretend for a moment that she is the famous P.O of Block B-- he’s not a dancer, they don’t have that in common, which makes it so much more fun.

Fit한 턱시도와 Brand new shoes Fit tuxedo and brand new shoes 여비서와 Well-being food Female secretary and well-being food 근사하게 외출준비, Fabulously get ready to go, 눈떠보니까 꿈이야 opened my eyes and it was a dream

난 지금 레이스중 I’m in the middle of a race 내 출세가 남에겐 Bad news My success to others is bad news

Midways into her verse the males position themselves perfectly to each her side, SUWOONG kneel in front of her to the right side while JAEMIN stand suspiciously to her left. The former is supposedly, through acting, kicked away and at the same time the latter is knocked to the very opposite side. The first part of the rap lacks dancing from her side as P.O refrain from it during the original choreography, but when she moves into the short part of dancer and rapper U-kwon she get a chance to do both herself. The song has a short pause, before the refrain.

SUWOONG comes in strong as he always does, during a part that requires a power vocal. It’s potentially risky picking a song with such power vocals but Ryujin has faith in her partners, the very least she can do is believe in them as they have practiced their asses off for seven days straight to make it through. He and JAEMIN share most of the refrain as well as the bridge, she only has one line in there but that’s okay, she is about to deliver a full verse soon after anyway. High kicks, twirls and giddy moves shift into the puppeteer dance from the intro.

While the males stood in front during that particular part Ryujin slide effortlessly in, in front of JAEMIN and lead the march of dolls until another playful fighting scene takes place to introduce her next verse. One apparent hit from one male, another from the other, twirl a few times and then JAEMIN kicks her off into the spotlight again. She absolutely loves this song, there is so much happening although there is a obvious red thread throughout the whole masterpiece. She grins broadly, the others waiting in the background for their choreo to start.

Aight- 나이를 먹어도 Even though I age 지갑은 탄력 넘치겠지 I bet my wallet will become very flexible 헛스윙 날려도 나, Though I make a bad swing, 나이스샷이라는 Caddie “nice shot” says my caddie 나를 무시했던 놈들에게 I will shake the hands of those who ignore me 복수대신 악수를 건네네 instead of getting revenge 조심해 넥타이와 손목시계는 Be careful, my necktie and wristwatch 목줄 또는 수갑으로 변해 becomes a collar and handcuffs

During the fourth line she swing her hand as if holding a baseball bat, the others pretending to watch the imaginary ball fly away. Part of her can relate to the lyrics that she’s assigned, from the very start to the end. These oppas are weird, they most certainly are. Fabulously get ready to go, opened my eyes and it was a dream, she was ready to debut but suddenly she was cancelled. I will shake the hands of those who ignore me instead of getting revenge, she is better than a certain someone who most definitely deserved revenge.

The beat shift slightly during her verse and while the origianl choreography calls for two girls, as backup dancers, and a somewhat suggestive squat, SUWOONG and JAEMIN came up with an alternative that they were both comfortable with. Ryujin follows the original choreography as the dance itself is rather basic, she’s only moving her free hand, lowering her body at one time, and then getting back up just in time for SUWOONG to lead her out of the spotlight like a cop and a criminal so that JAEMIN could step into center. They walk casually back and behind him, as to effortlessly claim the roles as backupdancers once again.

Refrain comes, refrain goes-- bridge and finally, the final act of their show. SUWOONG, along with Ryujin, pretent to fight in a silly manner. One hit, another hit, Ryujin pretends to grab onto the other’s blazer before JAEMIN breaks them apart as he then lead them into the final refrain and thus the ending part. Ryujin was looking forward to this bit the most, the entire stage has been practiced to fit perfection but this last scene was something that they came up with all by themselves. SUWOONG, in fact, but she loved the idea so she went with it. They all share a line here and a line there, performing around one another just like practiced.

And then...

When JAEMIN voice that they have hit the jackpot they begin to toss out a bit of chocolate coins to the audience, like they are sharing their wealth with everyone else. It’s hilarious that they are the final group on the stage performing, having this ending to the whole lineup-- the coins complete the act, in Ryujin’s eyes and she feel amazing as she close up the stage. Her eyes meet some random pairs in the audience, they meet the judges, and Ryujin is goofing around while having fun. 

라라라 라랄라, uh, Luxury Luxury life Lalala lalala, uh, luxury luxury life 라라라 라랄라, Get that money money Lalala lalala, get that money money get that right get that right 라라라 라랄라, Luxury Luxury life Lalala lalala, luxury luxury life Anyway we’re playing hard to get lucky Anyway we’re playing hard to get lucky

NOTE!! please pretend like ryujin is as energic, joyful, playful and expressive as they are in the original performance stage. i know i didn’t get to write that obviously bc i’m short on time :(

[khalilhumam]

Going far together: The East African diaspora steps up to address COVID-19 in their home region

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Going far together: The East African diaspora steps up to address COVID-19 in their home region

Hanif Gilani of the NGO Towa Kitu Kidogo distributes donations in Kenya. Photo courtesy of Hanif Giliani.

As COVID-19 threatens the lives of millions around the world, the East African community has not been immune to this threat. The region has reported over 7,000 cases as of June 14. When COVID-19 cases began to rise in my home country of Tanzania, I became very concerned for my family members, all of whom have severe health issues that make them vulnerable to the virus. In the six years since I’ve been studying in the United States, I’ve only been able to travel home once a year to see my parents and grandfather, who still live in Mwanza, Tanzania. To help ensure that they and other Tanzanians stayed healthy and had access to information about the virus, I pulled together a team of people to translate essential information about the virus into Kiswahili, the most widely spoken language in Tanzania. The information was published as a series of fact sheets as part of the COVID-19 Health Literacy project, and our efforts were recognized by Tanzanian news outlets such as VijanaFM, which published the fact sheets on their website.

Author Azan Virji with high school classmates in Tanzania (L), and (R) today in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is a second-year student at Harvard Medical School. Photo courtesy of Azan Virji.

But I still felt like I wasn’t reaching enough people, especially those living in rural areas and those with limited access and literacy. So, on seeing the United Nations Global Talent Call to Creatives, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and pull together a team to create a song to raise more awareness about COVID-19. Music is a big part of East African culture and has long been used in mediating conflict and strengthening community cohesion in rural areas. Radio also remains a very popular medium in East African countries, and I believed that a song about COVID-19 could capture audiences in Tanzania on a large scale. In that way, after lots of rapid lyric-writing writing and late-night recording, “Corona Tutaishinda” (“We will Defeat Corona”) was created by Tanzanians scattered across the world. For this endeavor, I recruited some Tanzanian friends living in other countries who, like me, decided to pursue higher education abroad. First, I contacted a friend in Dubai who has a passion for making music and asked him to create a short music track for two verses and a chorus. Next, I reached out to two Tanzanians living in Boston and asked them to come up with some powerful lyrics. I recruited a Tanzanian artist friend in Canada to create the album art.

Cover art for the song “Corona tutashinda” by Tanzanian artist Shamya Jaffer.

Recording the piece was by far the most challenging task. My only experience with singing was in theater in high school and in the Yale Russian Chorus in college. I had never rapped before nor even recorded myself singing. So I called in an expert—a classmate who has his own podcast. After a brief lesson on using Garageband and a professional microphone, I went for it. Even an outdated computer that kept crashing mid-way through recording couldn’t stop my zeal for making this song for my people. “Corona Tutaishinda” not only educates listeners about COVID-19 but also provides a message of hope and solidarity. It has been playing on the radio station MegaFM in Arusha for close to two months now and is also available for download. All proceeds from online purchases go toward funding personal protective equipment (PPE) for Tanzanian frontline healthcare workers.

Providing PPE for Tanzanian frontline healthcare workers

The United States is home to tens of thousands of Tanzanians who have emigrated from their home country and now call the US home. A group from the Tanzanian diaspora, myself included, have banded together to raise money to purchase PPE for frontline healthcare workers in Tanzania. Our initial goal was $25,000, which we were able to easily surpass earlier this month, raising over $30,000. The current plan is to purchase PPE in Tanzania, to support the local economy. To distribute the equipment, we plan to leverage regional medical officers of Dar es Salaam and Pwani regions, who have inside knowledge of which hospitals in their respective regions are in the most desperate need of PPE. Demonstrating and ensuring accountability is a top priority, so the group has recruited experts on the ground in Tanzania to confirm that the PPE is distributed to those who most need it. Our slogan, umoja wetu, ndio nguvu yetu—“our unity is our strength”—speaks to our emotional connection to Tanzania. Even though we are physically separated from our homeland, our commitment to helping Tanzania fight COVID-19 is strong.

Helping to alleviate food insecurity in Kenya

According to the World Bank, COVID-19 will push an estimated 60 million people into extreme poverty. This, combined with regional mass flooding, will likely render millions of already poor people food insecure. Hanif Gilani, a native Kenyan who is currently an internal medicine resident at Griffin Hospital in Connecticut, was not prepared to wait for the severe food shortages to hit his country. Gilani partnered with fellow Kenyan Ashiana Jivraj, a student at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, to start a nonprofit called, Towa Kitu Kidogo, or Give Something Small. This is a colloquial expression used in Kenya when asking for bribes, but Gilani and Jivraj decided to reclaim it to demonstrate how small donations in the right hands can create a large impact if given to those who need it the most.  To demonstrate accountability, they detail all donations and expenditure online on a public spreadsheet. So far, the organization has raised over $15,000 and spent over $10,000 on initiatives such as feeding 150 first responders at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital in Kisumu, Kenya. Most recently, the NGO partnered with the Sikh Community in Kisumu to feed over 2,000 people confined to their homes because of the lockdown, and in some cases in communities that had been affected by flooding. Food deliveries were made in some cases by driving through two feet of water into villages that were cut off by the floods. Harnessing networks of friends, family, local organizations, and local partners have helped Towa Kitu Kidogo to identify diverse groups of people facing starvation and to address their needs. As the African proverb goes: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

Written by Azan Virji · comments (0) Donate · Share this: twitter facebook reddit