Embarrasment of Riches

Dubai is synonymous with excess...nothing exceeds like excess. The concentration of wealth in this single emirate could probably rival that of the entire continent of Africa. I'm not to be quoted on this, it is just an observation on my part. As I was reading articles on my latest ponderings(Hip hop and Luxury brands), I realised that most of what denotes luxury is inextricably connected to Africa. Now when one thinks about Luxury, one would easily look at them as polar opposites, there is no connection there whatsoever, and if one really challenged themselves they would stretch their imagination to consider Sir Richard Branson's Elite Ulusaba Private Game Reserve as the only luxurious type of luxurious offering.

Lets break it down to the core. The raw materials of Luxury have Africa written all over them. Take a look at a typical hip hop artist who sings about luxury and lives and breathes luxury (for as long as they are in the lime light). What do they wear? Gold chains, gold teeth, platinum chains, platinum rings, diamaond earrings, diamond encrusted watches...the list goes on!

If it weren't for Africa, what would be so luxurious about luxury? The sad thing about Africa is that it possesses an embarassment of riches and sits in poverty. There's a Shona saying, when loosely translated says..."don't die of thirst when you're standing in a river"