Thug Life Army

A Special Pre-Screening Concert at S.O.B.'s Featuring Brooklyn hip-hop and rap MC's SMIFF N WESSUN (Tek & Steele) and M1 of Dead Prez will be held Monday November 7th at 9PM

The politically charged rappers P.O.W., and Masauko, a guitarist of African descent, merging hip-hop, soul and acoustic; will also be at SOB’s. More on that below.

More than seven years in the making, Where Are They Now? re-visits sixteen representative young people, first introduced during South Africa's historic transition from apartheid to democracy in the documentary Who's Gonna Take The Weight?

The first program, released in 1997, presented poignant portrayals of African American and Black South African sixteen to nineteen year olds, comparing their lives and views and presenting their unique perspectives on South Africa’s new democracy. The earlier production had its world premiere on the South African Broadcasting Corporation Television (SABC) on June 16, 1997, in commemoration of the 21st anniversary of the Soweto massacre. It was featured in the Cannes Film Festival in 1999.

Where Are They Now?, in its entirety, goes to the core of popular youth culture, uncovering the volatile mix of music, fashion, political apathy, social awareness and risk taking behavior encompassed in the lives of young people everywhere. In South Africa and in the U.S., one pressing challenge confronting young people is rampant unemployment. In South Africa, more than 40% of population is currently unemployed. In New York, a 2004 Community Service Society report revealed that almost half of New York City’s black men (including the 16-24 age group) are unemployed.

‘Where Are They Now?’ premieres on Wednesday, November 9th at the Tribeca Cinemas (formerly the Screening Room), 54 Varick Street in Manhattan. Immediately following the screening, a Q & A town meeting featuring respondents from the film, the director, and local youth culture critics will be facilitated by Rosa Clemente of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and WBAI. The panel will address a central question raised in the documentary--Where do young people of African descent stand relative to the shifting social and political terrain in South Africa and the United States?

Open microphones will be provided for audience participation.

Presented by Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and Co-sponsored by Sista II Sista and the Columbia University Institute for Research in African American Studies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call 212.923.5546  

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A Special Pre-Screening Concert at S.O.B.'s Featuring Brooklyn hip-hop and rap MC's SMIFF N WESSUN (Tek & Steele) and M1 of Dead Prez will be held Monday November 7th at 9PM

The politically charged rappers P.O.W., and Masauko, a

guitarist of African descent, merging hip-hop, soul and acoustic; will also be at SOB’s.

SOB's - 204 Varick St. (1 Train to Houston, C,E to Spring, F,V,A to 4th St).

Admission $10 in Advance (www.ticketmaster.com ) $15 at the Door