MIMI's Dirty Pretty Secrets

Written By: Staff Writer—MIMI's October 2009 issue is now available, and here are some of the (Dirty Pretty Secrets) you'll find:

MIMI's October cover girl, genre-defying singer, songwriter and producer, MPHO talks about her anticipated album Pop Art, —"I've had battles with communities and cultures and cliques: all through my life I didn't ever belong to any one group. I was into Bashment, R&B and Hip Hop, but for some people I was either too light (skinned) and they were jealous or I was too light and so didn't belong to the 'Motherland' (Africa). There were times I thought, 'Hang on—you were born in Kilburn and I was born in South Africa: what're you talking about? How dare you!' I also used to listen to The Jam and The Clash in my friend's house, and sometimes felt like, 'I'm that too', even though punk was considered 'for white people'. I think I'd got to the point where I'd just had enough ..." Read more in MPHO: Music's Fiesty Brown Girl.

Swedish blogger Andreas Johannes, founder of the website “Beautiful Black Woman Thoughts Of A White B'woy” shares his thoughts about the dynamics of attraction in black and white: "[My website] started as a personal diary of my life, what I feel, what I see, what I adore, what I think. Just wanted to let people out there know that there are white guys that are not 'in the sterotype' of what they adore and like. Somehow I feel like a lot of black women don't know about white guys prefering black women." Read more in Attraction In Black And White.

MIMI's Associate Editor, Mimi Tsiane, breaks the silence surrounding depression in African communities: "It is a disease often without a voice; a disease defined by denial, silence and shame; it is depression. Each year more than 19 million Americans suffer from some type of depressive illness. The numbers in minority groups are steadily rising; however depression continues to be misdiagnosed and often disregarded in the African community. Sadly, depression has become our disease. The question is, are you depressed?" Read more in The Color Of Sadness.

Find these articles, and more (Dirty Pretty Secrets) in MIMI's October 2009 issue!

MIMI Link: Volume 5, Issue 7: mimimagazine.com/2009/october