Quick Tings On The Sofa
This weekend, we are all about staying in and getting the most of our TV subscriptions and the 50% of Jacaranda Black Friday Sale. Enter QUICKTINGSOFA at checkout.
What better companion than our A Quick Ting On titles. Because, where else can you see Black Hair, Afrobeats and Plantain colourfully collide to tell stories of Black past, present and future?
For your reading and viewing pleasure, we have paired each title in the AQTO series with unwitting companion documentaries so that your narrative experience can go to the next level with visual aids.
Here’s to saying no to boring sofa days!
AQTO Afrobeats x Afrobeats: The Backstory
As one of the fastest-growing music genres in the world, Afrobeats has carved out a powerful Black identity deeply rooted in the African continent and its culture.In A Quick Ting On Afrobeats, Christian Adofo highlights the beginnings of the genre, from Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat (without the “s”) birthed in the 1970s, and Highlife to Afrobeats and Afro-swing which dominate global charts today. With interviews from key pioneers, Adofo examines the role migration to Western countries like the UK and Germany had on spreading the sound and creating communities outside of their origin countries.
Afrobeats: The Backstory from film marker Ayo Shonaiya also highlights Fela’s spark of the sound and how it blossomed in Lagos in 1999, after being underground since the 70s. With footage from early shows of some of your favourite artists today and interviews from pioneers like Weird MC and Don Jazzy, The Backstory follows the roots Afrobeats took to become one of the world’s most popular music genres.
There is no better way to get a fuller picture of the changemakers and impact of Afrobeats - a cultural sound from the continent grew into the phenomenon we know today, than by spending time reading AQTO Afrobeats and watching Afrobeats: The Backstory.
AQTO Plantain x High on the Hog
The connection between culture and history can be experienced through food. The meals we eat can often be examples of political and cultural shifts throughout history, and A Quick Ting On Plantain gives insight into one of the Black diaspora’s most beloved food; Plantain.
By exploring the sentimental meaning plantain has within Black households and cultures alike, Rui Da Silva delves into the contemporary issues surrounding the fruit — such as inflation, gentrification and its social media community. In this cunningly detailed book, he traces the international history of Plantain, revealing how food within the Black community is an intimate marker of identity and culture.
In the same vein, High on the Hog hosted by Stephen Satterfield looks at African American cuisines - tracing its history through slavery and back to the African continent and its many different cultures. This documentary maps the social and political influences on each revolution of African American cuisine.
Both AQTO Plantain and High on the Hog examine food as a time capsule that spotlights the history of different communities.
AQTO The Black Girl Afro x Hair Tails
Hair is never just hair. It is an expression of ourselves and Black hair has been a tool for much more than this throughout history.
A Quick Ting On The Black Girl Afro explores the ways in which Black women's natural hair is often politicised and judged. Zainab Kwaw-Swanzy chronicles the ways in which the styling of Black Women's hair has influenced popular culture and intersected with Black expression. Complete with intimate interviews and real-life stories about natural hair journeys and the hunt for hair products.
From the ionic Tracey Ellis Ross, Hair Tales examines Black women’s beauty and identity through the lens of hair. With interviews from Oprah Winfrey, Chole Bailey, Issa Rae and more. The series is a dive into the complexities of beauty from Black women with a diverse range of hair styles and experiences. The interviews feature Black women from different generations and tracks how hair trends have changed over time and have been affected by social and political movements.
A Quick Ting On The Black Girl Afro and Hair Tales show exactly why hair is never just hair, from school, work and self-care celebrate the versatility and diversity of Black women's natural hair.