Found this site – full of; Funk, Soul, Boogaloo, Latin, Afrobeat, Rare Groove, Reggae, Rock samples, podcasts and pictures by DJ Botany 500. Well worth a look and a listen. Peep here.

So us Mamas are back in our old stomping ground The Bulls Head in Moseley tomorrow night for Freestyle. Sam Redmore is the main man behind Freestyle which has a regular slot every Friday hosting many top local heroes and folks big in the DJ game such as Adam Regan and Bootsy plus many many more .

A musical feast of funk, soul, hip hop, house, disco, rock, latin and reggae, as well as everything in between.

We are looking forward to our slot on Friday and will be providing our discerning listeners with a whole manner of Afrocentric rhythms and soulful waxy bits. With only a nibble on the door at £3 after 10pm and a whole bunch of drinks promos we think it is well worth a frequent.

Friday 19th February 2010

Sister 45 & Bobbalin Hot (Mama Feel Good!)
Sam Redmore (Leftfoot)

Bull’s Head, Moseley
9-2am, free entry before 10pm, £3 thereafter

All the details can be found here. We look forward to seeing you then!

Some gorgeous mixes of a Latin Salsa variety from everybody’s favourite BBoy Timber – mui mui bien! Listen to my favourite mix here.

We are going to be playing records for the big and little people coming to Baby Loves Disco on Sunday 24th May at The Patrick Centre, Hurst Street, Birmingham from 2pm-4pm.

Baby Loves Disco is an afternoon dance party for little kids (6 months-7 years) and (especially) their parents: featuring Mama Feel Good! DJs playing feel good disco, soul and funk tracks guaranteed to get those little booties moving and grooving.

The fun spills out from all corners of the coolest club in town: bubble machines, baskets of instruments, a chill-out room (with tents, books and puzzles), and dancing, LOTS of dancing (and yes, the cash bar will be open for mummy and daddy!). But at its core, Baby Loves Disco is a community event that brings kids together with kids and parents together with parents, guaranteed to be the best time you’ve had at a kids event!

Check the DanceXchange website for more info, tickets are £5 each and non walking babies get in for free – perhaps its worth laying off those development sessions for a while and saving some cash. Bobbie and I are looking forward to this, seeing all them cute kids wiggling around, little boys sliding on their knees and hard working mums and dads getting a chance to wind down and chat whilst their wee ones tear up the dance floor.

My biological clock is ticking pretty loudly these days, I am in my late twenties now and sometimes I find myself looking at my other half, with my head tilted to one side, with one eye slightly squinted thinking about whether our baby boys will have his shoulders and my nose or his nose and my shoulders.

If you haven’t got babies yet, then try to borrow one for this – whatever you do, don’t miss out!

MAMA AFRICA Celebrates Women in Music and music rooted in Africa, raising awareness and funds for three African women’s charities.
Featuring some of the best female DJs in the UK collectively demonstrating a range of musical styles deeply rooted and fused with African rhythms; Funk, Soul, Afrobeat, Broken Beat, Acid Jazz, Latin, Conscious Hip hop, Jazz Funk, Rare Groove, Reggae, Afrikan Fusion and Neo Soul.

This one off event will be held on Saturday 6th June at The Bulls Head, Moseley, Birmingham. More details including DJ line up to follow.
MAMA FEEL GOOD! Are using this event to raise money and awareness of the following charities;

Global Mamas envisions women in Africa to be economically independent. Global Mamas is the name brand for fair-trade goods produced through the efforts of Women in Progress, an international not-for-profit organization assisting women of Africa in attaining economic independence. Global Mamas reduces the economic inequality of women by significantly increasing the revenues and profits of woman-owned businesses in Africa. This in turn increases employee wages, generates new jobs and improves the standard of living. By helping women to help themselves, Global Mamas is taking small steps towards helping end Africa’s dependence on foreign aid and creating a sustainable society.

The Kanga Project supports the work of grassroots women-led organisations in Tanzania that strive to overcome the social, cultural, economic and political marginalisation of women. Through education, new skills, business start up loans and lessons in empowerment, civic rights and capacity building, these organizations are initiating a renaissance of African society based on equality, dignity and access to resources

ACTSA’s Dignity! Period campaign
A pack of sanitary towels in Zimbabwe can cost more than double the average monthly wage. Women have been forced to use newspaper, rags or leaves as a substitute for sanitary pads which can cause serious infections for which there is little available medication. Worse still, these infections are often mistaken for STIs, leading to social embarrassment and domestic violence.
ACTSA’s Dignity! Period campaign, with the support of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and Bodyform, raises awareness and funds to distribute sanitary products to the women and girls of Zimbabwe to halt this immediate danger that will affect their long term health and wellbeing. Since launching the campaign in 2005, ACTSA with the ZCTU has distributed more than 5 million sanitary products to the women and girls of Zimbabwe.

Mama Africa is dedicated to the late Miriam Makeba who was a South African Singer and civil rights activist.

This issue pays homage to Philly Soul and is well worth a peruse. Philadelphia was home to many great artists and bands; Barbara Mason, Billy Paul, Brenda and The Tabulations, First Choice, The Stylistics and The Soul Survivors to name but a few.

Props to wax-p for the article about the late great jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard who sadly passed away last year.

You can buy this issue and past issues of Waxpoetics from the website and online at Juno, Dusty Groove or from the high street at Borders for about £8.