Lets face it, Grace Jones has been engaging us with her uniqueness since circa 1977.

Most of us will probably be able to recognise some of the many classic tracks this woman has dropped over the years but I’m not really sure that she’s been given the props she truly deserves for her contribution to all things creative.

In fact – In my honest opinion, I don’t think it would be an overstatement to class the ‘Grace Jones Movement’ as somewhat revolutionary.

I hate to state the obvious but even before we began to get excited (if we ever were) about Madonna putting cones on her tits, Grace Jones was pretty much pissing all over fashion and music conventions. Let us not be deceived by her outlandish publicity stunts; ‘rebel with a cause’, she is. According to Jean-Paul Goude (her long term lover and collaborator), she was very much “an opportunist and knew (his) vision was good for (her) career…”

Right from her initial appearances during the high-time of disco, Grace found her Jamaican footing pretty quickly in the NYC clubbing scene and soon had the likes of Mr. Warhol et al eating outta the palm of her hands.

Considering we’re talking about the late 70s, early 80s – being an ebony skinned, raw looking woman couldn’t have been an easy deal anywhere outside the Islands and Africa. But this is precisely the moment she decided to seize and thus accentuated herself into a whole new realm of cool. As a young, black female myself – growing up with issues of skin complexion, kinky hair and other afro-native features, it took me years of ‘growing up’ to eventually learn to love and embrace my own identity. I cannot even begin to understand the kinda obstacles she must have had to bulldoze through in order to create her own stylized niche… though bulldoze, she did.

With regards to breaking through cultural boundaries, Grace Jones nailed it, full stop. Being Jamaican and looking like an African; Plus being a female and looking like a male, combined, was a new concept to the mainstream. She left ‘beauty’ as we knew it to the vultures and as a result, every industry wanted a piece of her.

In Hollywood, who could forget her role as ‘Strangé’ in Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang or ‘May Day’ in James Bond? …How about the fierce, primal stone-aged-bitch she plays alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer? Hardcore stuff. The fashion industry which, until then (loosely speaking) only had time for the feminine, Aryan types were pretty much booking her out for shows between New York and Paris.

The music, which she began in the 70s with fresh, tropical vibes (after being signed to Island Records), indulged in the light-hearted, poppy side of disco. Her early works such as ‘Portfolio‘ or ‘Muse‘ display her underplayed range and high-pitched signature vocal style. Then, almost out of the blue, in her 80s phase – she switched her game to the funkier electronic synth-pop. This came equipped with androgyny, alter egos, mental costumes and flat-tops.

By this stage, she’d bulldozed her way into our record boxes too.

Along with churning out the hits such as ‘Pull up to the Bumper‘ or ‘Slave to the Rhythm‘, Grace Jones has always been very aware of the complete package required by the genre’s fans. From aligning herself with the right kind of producers (Nile Rodgers), to creating visually stimulating album artwork (‘Island Life‘ and too many others to list) to putting on eccentric live performances, this wonder woman always seems to go beyond the call of duty.

Her public image too made hedonism look tame – Once, at a party, it is claimed that she stripped down and declared herself the “Queen Bitch Jungle Mother of New York.” This plus other rumours of that ilk have run consistently throughout her career. In saying this, I must salute Grace Jones for being able to pull off such happenings* whilst somehow meticulously managing to stay on the ‘cool’ side of the ‘freaks of nature’ club.

… All these new-age attention-seekers need to take note.

Now at 60-odd and she’s back… This is the resurrection of Grace Jones.

A new album has been dropped – Hurricane. Check out the chocolate mannequins below:

She’s headlined Massive Attack’s ‘Meltdown‘ last year and has been touring all over since. Now on our shores for the summer season and already clocking a few UK festivals**, word on the street says its a serious affair.

As for me, I reckon it’ll be worthwhile catching this iconic figure at Brighton’s Beachdown Festival at the end of August. A decent line-up anyways, so I’m all for killing a few (big) birds with one stone…

Who’s in?

*One of which entailed slapping Russell Harty live on a TV interview.
**Secret Garden Party and Latitude Festival.

I promised myself I wouldn’t descend into the smutty world of short posts with minimal info in ‘em but it’s 3am and I wanna sleep so you have my apologies.

Check this collection of Sheffield (I think) based photographer Shaun Bloodworth’s portraits of all our favourite Low End superstars. Big up LA Record for the tip…

Ahhh Oslo. Norway’s sweet capital city. Bustling with commerce, overflowing with Nordic character and a veritable cultural mecca enriched by it’s population of circa145,000 immigrants (thanks Wikipedia)…..so why is it that all I can see is old warehouses and pollution from the A12? Ah, it appears i’m in the wrong Oslo…but hang on, for now at least, this Oslo is the place we all need to be…

That’s right, from Friday 31st July to Sunday 2nd August 26 OSLO is pleased to present an exhibition showcasing uncompromising, provocative, intellectual and of course fun artists during The Hackney WickED art festival.

As 26 OSLO, artist Josephine Ada Chinonye Chime and graphic designer Luciano Foglia have brought together some of their past, present & future creative collaborators. Calling upon seasoned curators and upstarts to put forth people they believe in.

Luciano Foglia will open the doors to his house, where the public will view Wipe Your Feet.
Stripping bare his warehouse only to leave the house essentials dining table, couch, coat-stand and display cabinet.

Blurring the lines between personal and public space. The house and the gallery.

This glorious event will be held in Hackney Wick warehouse; Oslo House conveniently central to where the artistic mayhem will be during The Hackney WickED art festival.

Artists
Mark Mc Gowan
Luciano Foglia
Ada Chinonye
Isobel Shirley
Theo Adams
Vicky Gold
Hannah Perry
You Coma Marilyn Monroe
H H Lim
Sue Kreitzman
Phoebe Collings James
Jesse Wade
Gabriel Thorpe
Leo Bruno Todd
Grant Foster
Byron Pritchard
Alex Carpenter
Sikelela Owen
Meen Ayittey
Reid Peppard
Richard John Jones
Kate Cooper
Margeret Duston

Opening times
July 31st – August 2nd
12:00 – 19:00

Address
Flat 26 Oslo House East wing
Prince Edward rd.
London
E9 5EU
http://www.26oslo.com
http://www.hackneywicked.com
http://www.cosmicmegabrain.com
http://www.guyhilton.com