Thevitamindproject - Africa

[heretoreaditall2019]

She spoke a lot about being a permanent FSM child, living in homeless hostels and other stuff about her childhood that indicated she definitely grew up poor (although they went on foreign holidays every year so not sure how that fits in).



Whether you buy to be flashy or not is irrelevant. If you have a considerable amount to buy an item in the first place, there is privilege involved. I know now that she resells stuff, but for me (and I acknowledge this is subjective) her new purchases are not frugal at all. I passed Asda clothing from one child to the next, to me that us frugal. I also wonder if perhaps it's a London thing where circles are wealthier, and getting custom made clothes and commissioned pieces are the norm, which is maybe why I can't relate.



I'm smiling at this (in a nice way) because it's a very privileged, middle class thing to say. "Oh I'm so economical, I spend £100 getting a pair of trousers made because the fabric is cool so they are actually an investment". As a pp pointed out, she had loads of clothes. It doesn't matter, but to me it just seems strange that someone who went on so much about people not acknowledging their privilege actually seemed very privileged without realising it herself. Even if it was all self earned (and fair play to them).

But again, income isn’t wealth. A £100 jumper isn’t wealthy, it may not even mean you’re a mid or high income tbh. It’s her thing and so what? Re tailoring - it’s very normal in a lot of cultures to have tailored clothes made in traditional fabrics, you’ll see tailors all round London including very deprived areas - it’s not like she’s going to the couture houses of Paris for baby clothes?

The thing I find mad is like… what is the expectation here? How can she do better in your guys’ opinions? Does Africa need to label everything she buys/does with this is a relative privilege I’ve managed through earning £x for doing y? Where does that end - this is a relative privilege cos I’m not dead?? Idk the bar feels so much higher for black women - esp when you’ve got influencers like Alexandra Stedman literally calling themselves the frugality sat in a 30% LTV house worth close to a million whilst admitting she’s never earnt over £40k? Like no ones pieced that one together have they but let’s hear her mither over another £40 food shop

ETA - the whole point of her sharing these tips re: looking after wool and tailored clothes is to explain to you how they can be the norm without it costing the world? Similarly with house purchases, I’d rather someone say look my income is up ive saved like mad and here we are than the smoke and mirrors of every Insta mama being in a house that far outstrips their actual income.

 

[sunniva]

I think she’s excellent, probably one of my favourite accounts atm. She seems intelligent, very reflective, honest. I like her aesthetic, she has a clear vision of what she’s doing and why she uses social media. I especially like her long form videos and the way she tells stories / expresses emotional processing. I’ve found myself learning quite a bit from her.

I totally disagree with her ‘exploitation’ of the kids, that is entirely unjustified and thoughtless. You can’t apply what is true of the worst ‘family accounts’ to all accounts that feature children. Africa’s kids barely even seem like a secondary element to her instagram ... absolutely absurd to suggest she’ll have another baby solely for what? Publicity? Ad profit? Lmao she only shows the back of their heads most of the time.

That being said, I’m not surprised there’s a thread about her. She clearly doesn’t prioritise being likeable but you can’t fault her for that.

Pretty much the only thing that makes me raise an eyebrow is that her kids names seem inconveniently similar to each other. In my opinion. And what is that worth lol.

 

[Tattylifeconvos]

She takes most things the wrong way, does a massive rant about it on stories or live and then when she realises she was wrong or it wasnt as big a deal as shes made it (and thats usually a tantrum) she doesnt back down but instead does she strange giggle childlike laugh and shrugs her shoulders as if she wasnt the person who started the fuss in the first place.

I find her irritating and self-righteousness and I really liked her at the very beginning.

 

[Justlikehollywood]

I find her very rude at times and she is very much of the opinion that there is no space for opinions that don't agree with hers. She is correct, at all times, about everything and no one else ever possibly could be. Sometime though I think she come across very nicely, so I never really know what to think.

The christmas decs thing was so strange! So much for authentic!

 

[sunniva]

Typically I love her home decor style, that’s why I follow. But I’m quite surprised I really dislike the collab wallpapers / prints she did. I see what they’re going for but it just doesn’t hit right for me. They’re simultaneously too busy and too dilute or something. I wonder how they’ll sell.

Re not sharing details of the new baby, I think it’s likely because of this thread tbh. There was a poster who announced the pregnancy here before Africa did it publicly. That would have horrified me if I were in her shoes, and the privacy measures all came after that if I recall. Good for her. These threads have a right to exist and she’s naive to think we’re all ~mentally ill~ for sharing opinions about people who profit from being in the public eye. But I think she got the reality shock she needed and realigned her actions with her values.

 

[itscoldoutside]

They have a shop my home section. She did always have good taste, but I'm surprised by how expensive everything is. Just a few items from the living room:

Who knew you needed serious money to get that look.


View attachment 1232599

View attachment 1232641

View attachment 1232609

View attachment 1232616

View attachment 1232606

View attachment 1232632

View attachment 1232621



Interesting to see that she did also use a professional service to build her brand. From their page :

" To create a unique and winning brand, start a journey of discovery into what is really special about your business. We research your target audience, stakeholders and competitors as well as your product or your companies offering and see what really makes it tick. "

"Your unique selling points, services and how can you connect with your target market on an emotional level are all affected by your brand strategy.
We like to think of strategy as a long term journey map, and the destination is the hearts and feelings of your target audience. We aim to achieve this by becoming part of the end-users lifestyle, trying to position your brand as the first thing the user associates with your industry. "

Wow, I thought ebay and second hand was her first port of call? I'm literally laughing at how shallow someone would have to be to buy books 'by the meter'. That's quite embarrassing to admit that!
Africa has always had expensive style but unless you knew the price of the stuff it wasn't apparent. I was very shocked at the cost of some of hers/her children's clothes, because she always made out she was very savvy with money. Totally up to her of course but it just doesn't seem to fit with someone who really wanted to highlight the privilege of others, without acknowledging their own.

 

[itscoldoutside]

I remember being horrified at the price of them, I think the adult ones are about £300+. Quite odd from someone who used to say she was underprivileged. She did once say that she priced clothes per wear to see if she would get good value out of them, which makes sense, but didn't mention that for most people (especially not underprivileged!) spending that on a jumper just wouldn't be possible.
She had a real disdain for anyone promoting cheap brands, which was why I was really surprised she did an ad for H&M kids.

ETA: I hate when people try to justify buying high end goods by saying they'll pass it on to future children. My 3rd child has worn Asda clothes that the firstborn got, and still looked fine. If you want something expensive just buy it, but don't make out that it's somehow a necessity for sustainability.

 

[itscoldoutside]

I used to really like her, she did some really good lives but I unfollowed as I felt all of her constant "I don't take nonsense" got a bit too much. I imagine IRL she could be very hard work and you'd constantly be walking on eggshells.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I think the UK as a whole struggles to understand the difference between wealth and income. Africa doesn’t speak about poverty or plead to be skint, she’s transparent in saying that they’ve not had legs up they’re doing this all from scratch, themselves, and clearly illustrates the difference intergenerational wealth can make to someone’s situation with either hypothetical examples or sharing people’s disclosures onto her stories. You just have to look at her contemporaries in their #gifted Victorian 4 beds in zone 2/3 versus their doer upper in Thanet. They’re building their lives all by themselves and everything from school fees to mortgage to pensions comes out of what they earn, she’s the only Insta person speaking about this so more power to her. I really rate her honesty.

 

[itscoldoutside]

What happened with the teacher/tooth fairy? There are so many stories on both her accounts these days I tend to just scroll on by

Her daughter came home from school and said the teacher told her the tooth fairy wasn't real (she had just list a tooth). Africa went straight in, told the teacher what daughter said and the teacher said no, she hadn't said it. Africa said "are you sure?" twice, whilst telling her she was raising Black kids etc. Teacher said no, but she would go home and think about it that night just to make sure. Daughter admitted later that it was her friend who had said it, not teacher, but she didn't want to say as then her mum wouldn't allow her to play with her anymore. Africa didn't say if she apologised to teacher or acknowledged that daughter was fibbing, but told daughter "I'll always believe you".

 

[Milorlinski]

Odd choice of song for this reel when the lyrics can clearly be heard saying:

"Ay, I put in (work), every day my nigga
Just tryna get paid my nigga, I make it (work)
Remember those days my nigga"

Why would you even type out the n word?
If black people want to reclaim that word and use it whats the issue?

 

[Venuslurker]

I think it's the "hi africa" which makes it creepy.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

My definition of wealth would be having the choice to choose. You can go for the £100 jumper or stick with the £10 primark one, but aren't forced to go for the lower priced one because you have to.

Even with a normal income on paper,everything depends on your outgoings and your priorities.

I get that this is really subjective but wealth isn’t just being able to afford day to day things it’s much bigger than that. I’m not ranting at you with this btw so pls don’t think I am a dick - I think where British ppl don’t want to talk about money and those with it refuse to acknowledge the relative privilege it gives them this is still a really new concept to a lot of people?

Like I can’t think of specifics examples without over sharing or coming across as a Mumsnetter but we earn well, but have friends who are from *wealth* who have a combined income of just my salary (the lower of our two by far) but their quality of life is much of a muchness because they’re not paying a huge mortgage, they’re not paying school/nursery fees, cars get bought for them holidays covered or at family properties, they’ve not got to save for the kids, jobs easier as it’s through family friends etc it’s all handed to them whereas we just have our income and that’s it. Wealth just hits different I don’t think it’s possible to explain the ins and outs on just one tattle post but I would swap a higher income for an average one with the insane level of security and emotional comfort wealth gives you. Outside of becoming mortgage free saving for my LO’s future is my #1 financial priority because I want her to have these privileges cos lord knows we didn’t!

Wealth is like a passive income and gifted assets whereas earnt income is just that, you’ve had to work for it and if you stop/can’t you lose it. It’s much harder to lose wealth. Access to wealth & gifted sums of capital also makes living cheaper - you get access to better rates on mortgage products, you don’t need to take out credit products, blah blah blah. It’s like the sims cheatcode to life.

 

[Henryscat]

I find the private school thing difficult because I disapprove of private education in all circumstances. There is also a risk that in Thanet her kids will be at the same school that the Hooper Father of Daughters kids go to and I imagine that could make for some uncomfortable chats at the school gates...

 

[rainbowlemon]

She doesn't seem like the type to go back and actually apologize to the teacher either.

The fact her child held back in fear of no longer being allowed to play with her friend says something. Other people are allowed to think differently even if it something as minor as the tooth fairy.

 

[itscoldoutside]

I hope she does put up the story. Very easy to forget that the Queen as Head of state okayed colonialism, invasions of countries, took possession of stolen items, just to name a few atrocities that have affected Black and brown people.

What!

Did she ever actually confirm she is or was JW? I remember her saying she named her 2 girls with names from the two religions she was brought up with. That to me says that she didn't have one exclusive religion, she had beliefs/practices from 2.

 

[rainbowlemon]

Maybe it's because shock horror- I would like to buy a home with good transport links to London and I have searched their area previously that I recognized it.

Why are they any different from celebrities or other instagrammers who have pages and pages written about them on other forums like mums net, GOMI, reddit or youtubemamadrama ?

Does it not fit in with her authentic image?

If they really cared about privacy they could put the phone down and stick with a private profile and fade away into the sunset, but that won't bring in AD money or gifted items.

 

[Mochalatte]

i like Africa but i am genuinely shocked by the kitchen and the kid's bedroom - truly instagram vs reality! what a beautiful en suite bathroom though.

I always found it weird that the girls wanted to wear tutus and dress up things but it could only be in her aesthetic- so no pink or gaudy things. Nobody in the family could buy things for kids if it wasn’t approved. J has to wear what she tells him to wear. And now the kids bedroom - she’s doing a mood board and trying to claim she’s giving her daughter choices but it seems to me it’s still got to be Africas choice. Why not just let them have a gaudy bright pink room of that what they want instead of trying to pretend that a brown boring horrible histories/egyptian theme is what she wants. My 9 year old wants unicorns and rainbows. She loves horrible history but she wants to live in a princess world! And I know this will only last another couple of years so I put up with it!

 

[sunniva]

Bowing out of this thread now but your ability to just repeatedly type the N word *while apparently not directed at anyone* has just pretty much summed the entire thread up nicely

Literally just about to say…watch this become a racist cesspit within 3 pages . Embarrassing. Below contempt actually.

I’m off, think I’ll pay for her Patreon while I’m at it.

 

[itscoldoutside]

I’m ESL so this might be just going over my head but what does this mean/what’s the story here?

Candice (or Candi as she referred to herself) did an interview as a brothel madam (a woman who runs a brothel) and was talking about how lucrative it was and how she had big plans to expand her business model. Was laughing throughout and was hoping for big money. Anyway that was a number of years ago, and someone posted it. Candice then obviously got wind of it, and did a very teary sob story about how in the past she became a sex worker to feed herself. It was all BS basically, she was trying to turn herself into a victim when in the interview she was all about how other women were going to make her rich.