What I'm Gonna Do Now?

Yes. This is exactly what you think it is. Another birthday shout-out.

You're probably thinking: How you not going to post for a week then come back with this? Yet another birthday post, can you get some new material?!

Well my dear friends. Life has been calling. I've been drinking. Taking care of my family (no kids yet #pause). And playing Cafe World on facebook. I've been busy. Sue me.

Jokes.

Actually this was going to be just that, but my girl lemonswithsalt beat me to it. So I decided to sit on this post for a bit to figure out just what I wanted to say. And then it came to me.

One of my best friends, the very wonderful Zipporah Pearce, is leaving me to go back home.  Sure I'll see her when I decide to hop on the bus and take that ride to her home area. And sure I'll be able to talk with her through gchat and email and comment on her facebook posts. But she won't be here. And I realize that I both haven't taken advantage of seeing her enough and have become very comfortable with her being in such a close distance to me. Because the reality is, I don't have many black friends in my area. It's probably ironic because I live in one of the metropolitan cities in America (sorry no brownie points for guessing which one), and there is no lack of black people. Yet the vast majority of my black (and Latino) friends live in other cities. And that poses a problem.

Because sometimes you just wanna hang with black people.

Now don't get me wrong. I love love love all my friends and I love going out with all of them, no matter who they are or what race they are. I wouldn't be friends with them otherwise. But sometimes you just want to be with who and what you know best. And for me that is with my fellow black people. Sometimes I just want to grind up on a dude in a hood ass club. Sometimes I want to chill in a funky lil dive bar which has the DJ spinning O'Jays while I'm sipping on some E&J and diet Coke. And sometimes I just want to talk about my issues with negroes who make the rest of us look bad.

Sure I could bring some of my white friends to that hood ass club, and I've done so before. It was fun and a new experience for them. But if I want to crack on some black chick who has on a tacky ass weave or rant about some racist ass picture about some black woman I saw earlier that day, my black friends (especially the three ladies I'm doing this blog with) are clutch, because more often than not we are on the same wavelengths about these things. That's not to say my other friends wouldn't get what I'm saying or vibe with me, but there are many things in black culture that only other black people can truly vibe with. Just like there are things my white, Asian, Indian, etc. friends can't really talk to me about. That's just reality.

And my reality is setting in. I will admit to having only 1 or 2 black people in my area that I can really vibe with. A part of it is my fault as I have just fallen off with people, but the telephone line works both ways. But at the same time I realize that its time to get out there and rebuild bridges that are in shambles and create some new bridges along the way. I'm going to take care of the few friendships I do have with the blacks in my area and reach out to those who I've connected with before. And I'm going to invite my other friends to things that I might have before only invited my black friends to. And I'm hoping it will replace the hole Zipporah's leaving.

I'm going to miss Zipporah's presence but I know she's not too far from me and that our friendship will remain strong no matter the distance. I'll still be able to vibe with her even if not in person. And I know it will be messy when we do get together. I'm probably going to tear up when I see her for drinks next week but I wanted to shout her out for being that fantastic friend I could vibe with. Here's to you homie.

 

Y'all know I had to put this in there. Now this is some good music to vibe to. The stuff of legends.

Racist Republican Ridiculousness

In an effort to discredit Janice Hahm, a Democrat running for Congress in California, some douche by the name of Ladd Ehlinger Jr. was compelled to create this campaign ad.

It's racist, misogynistic and unfortunately, non-satirical. I most offended by the poor choice of font!

The runoff between Councilwoman Hamn and her opponent, businessman and Tea Party favorite, Craig Huey is scheduled for July 12. Hamn has been accused, mostly by conservatives, for providing city funds to criminals who participated in gang intervention programs. While she has been a longtime advocate of decreasing gang activity in her district in Los Angeles, her Gang Alternatives Program did not directly give money to the gang workers involved. But Republicans ignored the pesky truth and continued with their smear campaign.

I never believed the Tea Party's ideologies were rooted in racism but there is no debate about it having racist elements, no matter what the real black man, Herman Cain may claim. So while the fairly nascent political movement has enjoyed moderate success in the last couple of years, shenanigans like this are going to continue to limit the little legitimacy they have in national politics. The ad isn't not officially associated with Craig Hamn but his campaign's silence since the ad surfaced is disturbing. This reflects the crossroads the Republican Party is in for next year's election season. How do you get support from a sizable voting bloc and escape their perpetual offensive antics?

You can't.

New York N**gas Got Crazy Game!

Yo, this song is bananas! With it being Lord Tariq and Peter Gunzs' biggest hit, this headbanger still goes hard nearly fifteen years later. The lyrics are vulgar, the message is typical and the beat is addictive. The result? Another great, mindless rap song from the 90's. Reppin the Soundview section of the South Bronx, this rap duo also was also featured on Mariah Carey's remix for "My All." They were decent lyricists, I'm surprised that after their collaboration and affiliation with hip hop heavyweights like Big Pun, Wyclef Jean and Cam'ron, they were not not more successful.

So thank you Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz for providing us with this club classic.

Another Birthday Shout-Out

Now, I tend to try to leave all the music related things to my lil sis Le Chele. But as she mentioned before, I am definitely a music head, so I couldn't let this opportunity pass by. That being said, I have to give a birthday shout out to probably the most hated (cause there are too many jealous people in the world) producer, rapper, and artist in hip hop.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YEEZY!

Why is he so hated? Maybe cause he don't give a flying fuzz about what others have to say about his rap game. Maybe its' because he can rock things like this and get away with it. It could still be because of Taylor Swift don't understand why she's so popular.  It might also be because he done messed with some of the baddest (depending on who you ask) girls in the game (Amber Rose, Selita Ebanks, and Kim K. to name a few). Or it could be because of this:

I remember falling out laughing when I saw this still do. Now this was ballzy and so like Kanye West. He pulled no punches and told it like it is, and I appreciated that.

Now maybe his lyrics aren't always the most appropriate and come off misogynistic I will still bang to them, sue me.  But you can't hate on his game. He is undoubtedly one of the most talented producers and artists of my generation. He can do something like this one of my favorite songs from him:


Kanye West throw some D's remix by superyanel
and then do something like this (another favorite):

He is one of my favorites and I will still argue that I loved 808s and Heartbreak. It is what it is. You can hate all you want, but dude has balls and the talent to back it up. So imma take a lil sip from my cup (yall need to get up on the E&J) and send out a cheers to Kanye West.

HAPPY 34TH BIRTHDAY YEEZY!

AN: He can still get it. Yeah I said it!

I Do Not Give a Monkey's D*ck About Anthony Weiner

I don't have much else to say but seriously, WHO CARES! The fascination with sex scandals are commonplace in American politics and media-driven distraction from more important issues is nothing new. However, there is something about this Weiner story that really aggravates the hell out of me. I'm not sure if it is my continued frustration with the poor coverage of recent tornado disasters or the sheer foolishness of it all. I just can't stand hearing about it. It's a damn shame that after yesterday's confession, this story will not be going anywhere for at least another week. UGH!

Happy Birthday You Sexy Motherf*cker!

Sisters and brothers, I must announce that today is a very special edition of Throwback Tuesdays! Today marks the birthday of the Man, the Myth, the Legend...Prince! I'm still trying to find my rhythm with writing these Throwbacks but I can ease myself with this one because this artist doesn't even need an introduction, a bio or anything. He's fuckin Prince!!!

This is probably the best terrible movie EVAH! With a performance like the one above, I can't imagine why the Oscars passed him by that year.

THIS IS THE BEST PRINCE SONG EVAH! Point. Blank. Period. Yo, I'm in my basement, sippin', eating cheese doodles and rockin' so hard, can't nobody tell me I'm not 40/40!

prince - little red corvette

Is this his biggest hit or is it When Doves Cry?? Purple Rain?? Diamonds and Pearls??

Sista Fiore Scott considers this to be his best song. (Btw, my absolute favorite day spent with her was actually at a Purple Rain sing-a-long concert in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. No sarcasm nor snark, it was the best day in my life.) Anyhoo, in my humble opinion, when you have an artist like Prince, it is really hard to choose a favorite. Although his success began to wane in the early 90's, 'Pink Cashmere' really did reinforce his brilliance not only as a artist, but as a songwriter also. I LOVE Prince, man...He's incredibly gifted and beautiful. A toast to you, Prince! Hopefully I'll catch you on your next tour

These are just a few of my fav Prince songs. I couldn't decide on just one. You know why? Because its fuckin Prince!

Happy Birthday Darling Prince!!!!

Color me Sweet

Hola Folk-

I started my morning off pretty well- I read one of my favorite blogs, www.verysmartbrothas.com, ate oatmeal and had the most delicious iced coffee. To really top things off the topic of today's VSB post really resonated with me. Long story short, Champ suggests that we find new ways to praise Black women and not just recycle the word 'strong.'

C'mon we've all heard it: Black women are strong or she's a strong Black woman or even, damn she strong!

VSB's point is that by using strong we are subtley referencing qualities that are perceived as non-feminine. And you know what? I agree. I am tired of hearing a Black woman called strong for things like, always having to defend herself + her people, always being the one to pick up the broken pieces when everyone else has given up, or always having to be the one to make sure everyone else is OK.

In addition to strong, how about sweet! Just think, when is the last time a Black woman in the popular media was called 'sweet'.

New Words to Associate w. Black Women:
sweet, warm, kind, endearing, calm, humble... what are some other 'new' adjectives you would assign to Black women?