Following on from my 16 day Olympic Challenge, the universe presented a nice 14 day challenge for the autumn season….

What for you might ask?

Well…. thanks to the support of my extended family (that’s you ) throughout the UK and abroad, I was nominated for BEFFTA’s in both the ‘Best Female Act, & ‘Best Spoken Word Artist’ categories..

14 days?

On the 7th October the official nominations were announced and the public had 14days to get their voting on!!! And that they did. The word was put out and the energy began to flow and I am now happy to announce to you, my extended family that on the night of the BEFFTA ceremony which was Saturday the 27th of October 2012, I received the award for ‘Best Spoken Word Artist’…

It was an honour to have been considered the favourable choice, especially with the competition which included last year’s Spoken Word BEFFTA winner Dean Atta, fellow Spoken word artist Alim Kamara, Dan Bosi and Chaleboy the Poet.

Being the only female member of the spoken word quartet Best Kept Secret-the fact that I was the only female nominee in the Spoken Word Category didnt phase me…HOWEVER… I would really like to see more female nominees next year as there a some phenomenal women representing in this area and it would be a beautiful thing for them to be celebrated…

Having said all that it is a great pleasure to also know that Spoken Word in itself is finally being recognised in the industry as a creative art form…an as I result my contribution was recognised

 Congratulations to Lady Lesherr for winning ‘Best Female Act‘, and keep up the great work…

While in a state of acknowledgement, I will also like to extend a congratulations to Pauline Long for recognising a need for the arts to be awarded and celebrated, and for her courage in going the extra mile to making the BEFFTA a reality.

Love and light

As you may or may not know this year I took part in my very own Olympic Challenge. I pledged to perform 16 gigs in 16 days in 16 ways to mark my home town London hosting the 2012 16 day Olympic Games. I also recorded an Olympic inspired song entitled Meet Me @ The Top as part of my forthcoming album- which I am giving as a gift to my mailing list subscribers. In addition to this I committed to creating 16 episodes of The OneNess Sankara Olympic Sessions -sharing exclusive footage, interviews and more from some of London’s finest performers and entrepreneurs (Click here to view).

Why? Why would I do this? I hear you ask!

Well for a number of reasons really, but mainly I am inspired by the Olympic & Paralympic athletes who show great dedication and commitment to their craft by pushing themselves beyond mental physical and even spiritual limits in order to achieve greatness. For me this is a prime example of human excellence. It got me thinking about my life journey, my creative craft and my own commitment towards excellence and so I embarked on this somewhat beautiful yet bonkers journey…..

Gig 1 – Earl of Portobello, London, W10

Gig 2 – Uzima Natural Holistic Expo, London, WC1R

Gig 3 – Private Olympic party, Tottenham

Gig 4 – Ryan’s Bar, London, N16

Gig 5 – GFM Radio – On the ‘Another World is Possible’ show…

Gig 6 – The Island, London, NW10

The first 6 gigs were awesome and I must say very diverse from the swanky pubs of West London to the conscious vibrations of the 1^st radio gig of the challenge ‘Another World is Possible‘. I absolutely loved the title of the show and as one who has always considered my pen and pad to be influential towards positive change and possibilities, it was great to perform my music on such an uplifting and thought provoking show…

Gig 6 really made me feel like an Olympian being part of what felt like a 400m relay team made up of myself and the 3 members of the resident band. In a team effort, we played in harmony to win the hearts of the audience, the greatest prize of all’…

Gig 7 – Private Olympic Party, Tottenham

Gig 8 – Private Party in celebration of Jamaican Independence Day, Brixton

Gig 9 – The King William, London, SW1V

Gig 10 – Bar Vinyl, London, NW1

The next set of gigs kicked off with a beautiful party vibe really embodying the Olympic spirit that was present in London. Gig 8, had me switching styles like a triathlon athlete from a spoken word performance and then engaged my audience with a rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’, plus a track from my forthcoming album. Yep you heard right, my forthcoming album… Watch this space… 

Gig 10 pushed me to challenge myself further- not only did I perform my own tracks, but I also pole vaulted to new heights when I teamed up with Vandell Andrew, a great jazz saxophonist from Dallas, TX to do an improvised piece as per request of the lively yet attentive audience!

The lesson I got from that experience was to always be one step ahead and prepared for any arising opportunities…. Practice, practice, practice…

Gig 11 – The Enterprise, London, NW3

Gig 12 – Nubia House Media – On ‘The Kayz’ radio show

Gig 13 – The Island, London, NW10

Gig 14 – Guess Radio – ‘The Kat Francois Show’

Gig 15 – Earl of Portobello, London, W10

Gig 16 – Private Olympic Party, Stratford

Now over half way through the race with only 5 more gigs to completeI hit the air waves for gig 12 with host ‘The Kayz’ with some of my greatest inspirations including Mutabaruka, Bob Marley and his Excellency Marcus Garvey, cheering from the side-line. Ok they were posters on the wall but felt honoured to be in their presence, same way…

123! Gold Silver & Bronze I chose to follow Jamaica’s success in the Olympics for Gig 14 and be part of Grenada’s winning Olympic quartet made up of Karani James (in spirit), myself, Hip-Hopologist ‘Jonzi .D’ and the one and only Kat Francois…

The final lap… Gig 16!!! It seemed fitting that I accept an invitation to play at a private party in Stratford, (the heart of the Olympics). Now this was not simply for the possibility of ‘running’ into (get it running lol!) my Grenadian compadre Karani James – but I also wanted to catch a glimps of the superman aka Usain Bolt… maybe exchange Olympic tips over a Guinness punch or two…..

And thus the challenge was completed. Thank you to all that supported me over the 16days and all of the artist featured in the OneNess Sankara Olympic Sessions incl Floetic Lara, Lyrical Healer, Sukina (Poetic Pilgrimage) Jonzi D, Kat Francois, David 9 Lunas, AmeN Noir, Nia Foye, Ebele, Sifundo, Marita Connelly, Uzima Expo, Wade Bayliss, Helen McDonald, Afrik, Vandell Andrews, Kareen Blair, Comfort (Onit), Marcell

DEBUT MUSIC VIDEO

 INTERVIEW WITH HENRY BONSU 

THE ONENESS SANKARA OLYMPIC SESSIONS

ONENESS SANKARA ON MANORLOGZ BHM TV SPECIAL

On Sunday 3^rd June 2012 OneNess Sankara was invited to host the Josh Hair & Beauty Salon Segment of Afro Black Hair & Beauty LIVE 2012. The two day event kicked off Sunday 10:30am bringing together the African/Caribbean community to celebrate Black Hair and Beauty. The event showcased a variety of activities giving attendees the opportunity to speak to top stylist and beauticians, receiving tips and advice on how to look and feel great! Those that attended the two day event walked away with free goodie bags, samplers and even a cocktail of Supermalt. Our very own OneNess Sankara hosted and interviewed, the lovely and fabulous hair stylist Sade of Josh Hair & Beauty Salon, alongside answering dilema’s from the audience.

Check out video footage below of the Afro Black Hair & Beauty LIVE 2012…& OneNess Sankara’s insightful & inspirational performance of the poem ‘Hair Peace’

Hair Peace

By OneNess Sankara

OneNess on Women’s Hour

Womens Hour Special Feat: OneNess Sankara, Floetic Lara, Sufundo & Poetically Buff by OneNess Sankara

Watch OneNess on Oslo TV…

OneNess on Oslo TV

A COLON & A BRACKET AKA DAT FACEBOOK SONG

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS LIVE IN LONDON

A COLON & A BRACKET LIVE IN LONDON

NO WOMBAN NO CRY

L.O.V.E

HAIR PEACE

SOULJAH

TRIBUTE TO SISTAS

To book OneNess Sankara for your event please complete our inquiry form by clicking here

 or Call 07931 360 399 for a chat NOW!

OneNess Sankara & Salena Godden are interview by Paula Varjack on Berlin’s Reboot Fm’s “Now Hear This“

CHECK OUT ONENESS SANKARA’S INTERVIEW WITH HENRY BONSU

OneNess Sankara met with the wonderful Henry Bonsu and was interviewed on his Vox Africa Show- Shoot the Messenger. Check out what happened!

Click Pic To View

Click Pic To View

Spoken Word All Stars is a national tour, which began at Latitude Festival 2010, and is featured on TV as a documentary by Sky Arts. The Tour included artists :

• El Crisis
• Jason Yarde
• Kat Francois
• Kate Tempest
• OneNess
• Ventriloquist

TO GET A FLAVOUR CLICK PIC ABOVE