Monday, August 5, 2013

Chefs, Vixens, and Models, Oh My! 8 Celebs Who Hail From The Horn of Africa

We showed you the Nigerians, the Jamaicans, The Canadians, The Black Brits and now it’s time for those from the Horn of Africa to shine. For those of you who don’t know, the Horn is comprised of East African countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. And although they belong to the same region, these countries (like those in the rest of Africa) boast a myriad of languages, customs, and histories.

Unless you live in Washington DC or Minneapolis, you may not be familiar with many people from the region but best believe, they do represent stateside despite the fact that they don’t have a heavy presence in Hollywood. And although they don’t hail Haile Sellasie, these following 7 celebs are all working the entertainment circuit as models, chefs, musicians and even video vixens.  You may be suprised by a few…
Liya Kebede

Representing: Ethiopia

Even if you don’t know her name, you surely have seen Liya Kebede’s face and body behind some of the most lucrative fashion and beauty brands of our time. Open any magazine and you’ll see the Ethiopian-born beauty modeling H&M, J.Crew, and Estee Lauder (as its official spokeswoman). But like many of her supermodel colleagues, the mother of two hasn’t stopped at just modeling. She also has an Ethiopian-inspired fashion line, has delved into acting, and launched her own philanthropic organization to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.



The Weeknd

Representing: Ethiopia

Oh yeah, that guy singing on Drake’s “Crew Love” may go by the peculiar stage name The Weeknd, but the camera shy artist was born Abel Tesfaye. At 22, the resident Canadian has gotten a lot of praise although he has yet to release his first full-legnth album. He is known to be somewhat elusive, but he puts his Ethiopian roots on full display in the complex video for The Knowing, which evokes a lot of Ethiopian historical imagery including that of Haile Selassie.
 
Marcus Samuelsson

Representing: Ethiopia

One of the most chefs in the world right now is Marcus Samuelsson, who, ironically enough, came up in the culinary world with his Scandanavian cuisine. That’s beacause although the Harlem resident was born in Ethiopia, he was raised in Sweden, having been adopted as a young child by Swedish parents after his biological mother died from turberculosis. When he was only 24, he became the youngest chef to receive a 3-star review from The New York Times while helming the restaurant Aquavit. Today, Samuelsson runs and owns the hip Harlem spot Red Rooster and continues to make the rounds as an international celebrity chef.


 Iman

Representing: Somalia

It seems that now everywhere you look, African models are strutting their stuff on runways all over the world; and that’s largely in part to Iman, who put the industry’s attention on Africa. Born Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid in the capital city of Mogadishu, the wife of David Bowie is the daughter of a diplomat and gynecologist. The statuesque beauty had a pretty accomplished young life before she jumped into modeling, having attended the University of Nairobi as a political science student. Now, not only is she considered to be a pioneer in the modeling industry but also a pioneer in the cosmetics industry. Her Iman brand was one of the first brands to cater to women of color. Boom!

K’naan

Representing: Somalia

Like the Weeknd, K’naan is an East African musician based in Canada. But don’t get it twisted, K’naan calls Somalia home and has been very vocal about the plight of his war torn homeland. He remembers it clearly since he was 13 when he emigrated. Interestingly enough, it was his politics which led him to a music deal. After delivering a spoken word piece criticizing the UN’s efforts to Somalia at a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees event in 1999, he landed other engagements and got connected to Canadian producers. Years later, he penetrated the mainstream when his song was selected by Coca-Cola to be the official song of its $300 million World Cup Campaign in 2010.


Angel Lola Luv

Representing: Ethiopia

File this under “bet you didn’t know.” Even video vixens are representing for The Horn! Angel Lola Luv, who is half Ethiopian and half Trinidadian , has made her rounds playing the dimepiece in many a rap video, but lately she’s turned her attention to launching her own rap career. From the looks of things, it’s not clear how far that rap career will be going anytime soon but hey, maybe she can get some pointers from fellow Ethio musician The Weeknd.











Chef Roble

Representing: Somalia

This young cutie is also a halfie – half Somalian and half African-American. Hailing from Houston Texas, Roblé Ali gained national fame with his show on Bravo, Chef Roblé & Co, which chronicled his aspiration to make it on his own and run a high-end catering company. The Brooklyn resident is obviously very much in touch with his Somalian side, as he’s currently dating Somalian model Ayan Elmi.


J.Holiday

Representing: Eritrea

Do you remember the chorus line “I’ma put you to bed, bed, bed..?” That came from the singer J. Holiday, who has continued to do his thing since he hit the scene in 2007.  Apparently, the singer is half Eritrean and was born Nahum Grymes to an Eritrean father and African-American mother. Although his father died when Holiday was young, the now 29-year-old still stayed connected to his father’s side of the family, visiting Eritrea shortly after hitting it big.
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We showed you the Nigerians, the Jamaicans, The Canadians, The Black Brits and now it’s time for those from the Horn of Africa to shine. For those of you who don’t know, the Horn is comprised of East African countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. And although they belong to the same region, these countries (like those in the rest of Africa) boast a myriad of languages, customs, and histories.
Unless you live in Washington DC or Minneapolis, you may not be familiar with many people from the region but best believe, they do represent stateside despite the fact that they don’t have a heavy presence in Hollywood. And although they don’t hail Haile Sellasie, these following 7 celebs are all working the entertainment circuit as models, chefs, musicians and even video vixens.  You may be suprised by a few…

- See more at: http://madamenoire.com/189062/chefs-vixens-and-models-oh-my-7-celebs-who-hail-from-the-horn-of-africa/#sthash.6qnXHP7r.dpuf
We showed you the Nigerians, the Jamaicans, The Canadians, The Black Brits and now it’s time for those from the Horn of Africa to shine. For those of you who don’t know, the Horn is comprised of East African countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. And although they belong to the same region, these countries (like those in the rest of Africa) boast a myriad of languages, customs, and histories.
Unless you live in Washington DC or Minneapolis, you may not be familiar with many people from the region but best believe, they do represent stateside despite the fact that they don’t have a heavy presence in Hollywood. And although they don’t hail Haile Sellasie, these following 7 celebs are all working the entertainment circuit as models, chefs, musicians and even video vixens.  You may be suprised by a few…

- See more at: http://madamenoire.com/189062/chefs-vixens-and-models-oh-my-7-celebs-who-hail-from-the-horn-of-africa/#sthash.6qnXHP7r.dpuf
We showed you the Nigerians, the Jamaicans, The Canadians, The Black Brits and now it’s time for those from the Horn of Africa to shine. For those of you who don’t know, the Horn is comprised of East African countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. And although they belong to the same region, these countries (like those in the rest of Africa) boast a myriad of languages, customs, and histories.
Unless you live in Washington DC or Minneapolis, you may not be familiar with many people from the region but best believe, they do represent stateside despite the fact that they don’t have a heavy presence in Hollywood. And although they don’t hail Haile Sellasie, these following 7 celebs are all working the entertainment circuit as models, chefs, musicians and even video vixens.  You may be suprised by a few…

- See more at: http://madamenoire.com/189062/chefs-vixens-and-models-oh-my-7-celebs-who-hail-from-the-horn-of-africa/#sthash.6qnXHP7r.dpuf
We showed you the Nigerians, the Jamaicans, The Canadians, The Black Brits and now it’s time for those from the Horn of Africa to shine. For those of you who don’t know, the Horn is comprised of East African countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. And although they belong to the same region, these countries (like those in the rest of Africa) boast a myriad of languages, customs, and histories.
Unless you live in Washington DC or Minneapolis, you may not be familiar with many people from the region but best believe, they do represent stateside despite the fact that they don’t have a heavy presence in Hollywood. And although they don’t hail Haile Sellasie, these following 7 celebs are all working the entertainment circuit as models, chefs, musicians and even video vixens.  You may be suprised by a few…

- See more at: http://madamenoire.com/189062/chefs-vixens-and-models-oh-my-7-celebs-who-hail-from-the-horn-of-africa/#sthash.6qnXHP7r.dpuf

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