How to Be a Christian Hipster (Hint: Kufiya Required)

Check out the easy-to-follow instructional video, which will have you looking like this:

Here's the vid, if you want to self-transform:

Esquire: Beyoncé vs. Shadia Mansour in The Ladies Tournament for the Hottest Woman of 2012

Huh? really? If you must vote -- but I caution against it -- go here.

And no, I did not put this up because Shadia has a kufiya around her waist. 

For those who do not know, Shadia Mansour is a Palestinian rapper. She is probably best known for her song, "The Kufiya is Arab," which I posted about here.

And Beyoncé, for those who do not know, shills for Walmart.

Kufiya tchotchke

Kufiya tchotchke, a photo by tsweden on Flickr.

Joan sent me this.

Young kufiya'd fighter in the Free Syrian Army

The photo is by Tyler Hicks of the New York Times, who accompanied Anthony Shadid (RIP) on his final visit to Syria. The photo gallery it is taken from is here. The very interesting article on their trip, to visit the armed opposition in Idlib province, is here.

And from the article, note that Anthony Shadid tried to protect himself from the horse dander by covering his face with a black-and-white kufiya. It didn't work.

Anthony’s health had been good during the week and he prepared himself for the trip down with antihistamines and a supply of inhalers. He had a black and white kaffiyeh covering his face to filter the air, the same one he had worn around his neck throughout the assignment. He told the young men he wouldn’t ride a horse and to walk ahead with them at a distance.

“Should we walk in front of the horses?” I asked Anthony.

“No, they need to guide us,” he said.

Kufiyaspotting: Jay Electronica

This photo of rapper Jay Electronica accompanied his recent release, via RCRD.LBL, of the free single, "Suckas."

Jay Electronica is probably not wearing the kufiya because it is fashionable. His rap style is in the general universe of the likes of Mos Def, Talib Kweli, J Dilla, and the like. The song "Suckas" blasts shallow and materialistic mainstream rap MC's:

These wack emcees got the game twisted
We don't give a fuck about your rings and your chains
Your four-dot six Range
Or Frankie B jeans

His lyrics are in the "conscious" vein:

The last dragon, carrying weight like Oprah
Redeemer of Abner Louima and Sankofa

And, it is clear from this line, that he is a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths (Five Percenters):

Eighty-five think they free but they really in chains
Talking that big willy looking silly and strange

The "eighty five" in Five Percenter beliefs are the deaf, dumb and blind who are misled and victimized by the elites, the bloodsuckers of the poor, the Ten Percent. (The Five Percenters have "knowledge of self," and struggle to bring consciousness to the 85%.)

These lines allude to Jay's status as a "God":

Jay Elect reign supreme over everything
Meet the heavenly man mics in my hand I rip 'em

I'm somewhat surprised to come across a Five Percenter who is originally from New Orleans, but since leaving NOLA, Electronica has led a somewhat nomadic lifestyle, living variously in Philly, Detroit, NYC and Baltimore. Probably he came across some Gods in those places. Somewhere along the way he hooked up, for a time, with Erykah Badu (who has her own connections to the Gods and Earths; her first son is named 7), and they have a child together, born in 2009.

Electronica is worth following. Here are the complete lyrics to "Suckas" (which get the Abner Louima reference wrong, however.)