Well, it has finally happened. Yesterday, New York recognized the separation of church and state while acknowledging equal rights being owed to all. With a 33-29 vote in the State Senate, New York has now legalized same-sex marriage with Governor Andrew Cuomo signing the bill into law. It has been a long time coming. Considering the constant disappointment that is New York politics, I could not be more merrier.
I've been arguing with bigots about this issue since I was an annoying know-it-all in high school. There is simply no justification for disallowing gay men and women to marry, well, the opposite holds true for bigots. It is good to know that the good people of New York are finally getting it. In 2004, only 37 percent of New Yorkers polled approved of the legalization of gay marriage, now 58% reportedly do. Ironically, the bill passed with the new Republican majority in the Senate. I'll go into the politics of what motivated elected officials, namely Democrats, to change their votes at a later time.
As a woman of color, I empathize with discrimination albeit in different forms. The legalization of gay marriage recognizes the separation of church and state and respects the right to privacy for all citizens. We compromise our humanity by placing injustices upon others. This bill is about not allowing for people's prejudices to determine the rights of others. And with the Gay Pride parade tomorrow, this historic piece of legislation could not have come at a better time.
So congratulations gay brothers and sisters for now being a step closer to equality. However, I can't help but worry for the terrorist attacks and natural disaster that will ensue.
Two of my best lady friends (and I'm thankful I have so many!) and I were enjoying happy hour and the topic of sexy time in relationships came up. I will admit that I have never had a long term relationship so the idea of sex getting boring, just not happening as often as it used to, or not really lusting after your partner is foreign to me. In the few relationships I've been in, we've been good to go with little coaxing involved [1]. So when it came to advising my friend on how to revive the passion, I really didn't have much to say. I just listened to her and my other friend (who also had dealing with a long term relationship) gab about it.
But one thing that did come up was music. I had advised my friend some months before that music can be key to setting the mood. Having some really smooth sexually-tinged tracks on an itunes playlist. Or just playing around on youtube with your boo and playing some Teddy Pendergrass or some Lauryn Hill can really get you there. Have you ever slow danced in your room with your boo to some Jill Scott or Maxwell? Panty-dropper. You should try it fellas. Thank me later.
My friend did thank me for the advice. She tried that by playing some Robin Thicke and it was clutch. Trust me if you haven't done it already, add some music and step that sex game up. Sexing to some good tunes can set the tempo or could give you and your partner some ideas.
All that being said, here are some artists that are perfect for the Sexy Time Playlist (in no particular order):
Or really any of his older stuff when he had that wonderful "I'd do him right now" hair.
2. Jill Scott- The Real Thing: Word and Song
Self-explanatory, especially for us big sexy sisters.
3. Bilal- Love For Sale
Lawd Lawd Lawd! That is all.
4. Floetry- Floetic
Why did they have to do solo careers? All they had to do was keep pumping out stuff like this. Seriously.
5. Teddy Pendergrass- Life is a Song Worth Singing
Well. We all know how it's going to go down when you turn this on.
6. Keith Sweat- (Self-Titled)
Have you seen this video? I'm sure you have. How old are these people anyway?
7. Raheem DeVaughn- Jackin' For Beats/ Heemy Taught Me
This video is the business. If you don't have this mixtape. Get it now.
8. Marvin Gaye- Let's Get it On
Another classic panty-dropper. He didn't beat around the bush (ha!).
9. The Roots- Phrenology
Unsurprisingly they have a few beats perfect for sexy time. Another one is with Jill Scott.
10. Prince- Batman Soundtrack (And much much more)
I love how he has that and then he has this.
(Of course I had to give my favorite artist two songs.)
11. D'Angelo- Untitled
All of us lady were all up on the TV when this came on back in the day.
12. Trey Songz- Trey Day
Yeah, Trey Songz has some good stuff. It's still crazy how he worked his way up from his "Just Gotta Make It" days to now.
13. Minnie Riperton- Adventures in Paradise
Yall didn't forget about her did you?
14. Musiq Soulchild- Luvanmusiq
He has some of the most beautiful love songs.
15. Ne-Yo- In My Own Words
Imma try this one day. :D
Well then, that's just a few songs I have one my Sexy Time Playlist. If you are going to have such a playlist (which I always suggest), title it something that won't have you stuttering if your dad is looking for music to play and happens upon it. I go for "Untitled". An ode to D'Angelo if you will. Aiight then:
What songs/artists would you add on your playlist? Does music do it for you and your partner, or does it take something else? Speak on it.
[1] No long term relationships you say? It is what it is. Actually I think it's pretty common for a lot of us younger ladies and fellas to not have been in serious relationships. We've got many more years. Don't sweat it.
I love my body. I love clothes. However, like virtually all women, I don't always like how my body looks in clothes. There is nothing particularly profound in this. Women's bodies are diverse causing certain clothing to appear differently from one person to the next. The lady who can rock the hell out of skinny jeans may look bulky and awkward in a pencil skirt. It's the way of the world.
Yesterday, I realized that I was opening a new chapter of my life. Matching my slowly fading purple jeans, I wore a black jersey top with embroidering in purple, blue and red. However, it wasn't the bogus pattern that caught the attention of my boyfriend and honoree Sis, Miss All Ass. The uneven bottom edge of my shirt never met my jeans, revealing my bottom torso. Not at all tight, the shirt also slouched, leaving my left shoulder exposed. My skin was out!
I always enjoyed playing dress up but was always dressed modestly. My tops were never cut really deep and I only wore skirts with stockings. Belly shirts??? Girl please! I could never.
That is until yesterday. Yesterday I stepped out with my skin out and you know what? It feel good. I used to despise summer clothes because they were typically revealing. It was a hassle to try covering up my chest and shoulder acne with thick make up. I'm slender but without a perfectly flat stomach, I considered loosely fit shirts a better look for me. But the top I wore yesterday showed my imperfections and I did not feel at all uncomfortable. When Talib Kweli told us to put our hands in the air, and my shirt then raised leaving all of my midriff exposed, my friends did not care. And so didn't I.
This is a very special edition of Throwback Tuesdays! This installment features one of the best remakes of an already great song/British nursery rhyme, "Georgy Porgy,' a classic from American rock band Toto featuring Cheryl Lynn.
Soulful, ain't it? That's that blue-eyed soul for ya! I'm not at all familiar with Toto's music but I understand that their music delved into jazz and funk, both elements being featured in 'Georgy Porgy.' Disco and r&b star Cheryl Lynn also did her thing by showing off the power pipes she is known for.
Twenty years later, my lover, neo-soul icon Eric Benet teamed up with Faith Evans to do their own rendition of Toto and Cheryl Lynn's hit.
Remakes are hard to judge. Sometimes a classic is so incredible that it is offensive to touch it, the quality of the remake is irrelevant. Then there are other times when the original is better but you feel badly because the remake was a good song as well but just couldn't hold up.
However, I believe this is one of the rare instances when the cover is doper than the original. Unlike Toto and Cheryl Lynn, the Benet and Faith have chemistry together, giving the song an energy it really didn't have before.
So what do you think music people? Who did it better?
*A Shalamar Throwback is coming very soon. Very, very soon.
So I was searching for a song that would be perfect for this post. And it took all of 5 seconds for me to pinpoint just what song I wanted as a tribute to my Daddy and to all those Daddys and Grandaddys (I'll even big up the brothers and uncles too) of the world.
There are plenty of ballads sung about mothers but not too many sung about fathers. Fathers just don't get the praise they deserve and we definitely need to celebrate our fathers better. Mother's Day gets a whole big hooplah but all Father's Day gets is a sale on ties and tools. I can only speak for the father I have and the fathers I know, and the vast majority of them are some of the best men I know.
My own Daddy has raised up 5 children, 3 of which are growing men. The 5 of us are well on our way to doing and being the best we can with what God gave us. There have been days were my daddy would come home exhausted after working multiple straight days of double shifts just so that he could pay our school tuition. My daddy and mom have worked their butts off to ensure that we know what our priorities should be: God, family, education, and then success. They have both slaved away at their jobs to secure our academic future at the best private schools and have sacrificed fixing our home, buying better cars, taking vacations, and even buying clothes for themselves.
My daddy is my hero. I learned to cook from him. I learned how to budget my money. I learned sacrifice. I learned to put education first. And I learned love.
My father is the hero in our house and the cornerstone. He is the quiet strength that I seek out when I'm weary or need some comfort. He is my mentor, my idol, and my daddy. I could never ask for a better father.
The song I chose as a tribute was one of the songs that has always stuck with me. I've watched this movie multiple times with my father and have listened to this song many times with him as well. This is one of his favorite songs and since I couldn't find it anywhere in playback form I had to make my own video.
This song sums up for me the strength my father embodies. A strength of mind, strength of body, strength of spirit, and a strength of will. I thank God for him and for all that he has done and will continue to do.
I send best wishes out to all the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, and men, especially those working their hardest to improve the lives of those around them. Take time out to wish someone a Happy Father's Day, even if you don't know them. Happy Father's Day to all the men doing the best they can for their families. I pray that your sacrifices and love guide you all to success and happiness.
This past January marked the historic vote that granted Southern Sudan its independence. The country has suffered from a two decade old north-south civil war and the vote was a part of the 2005 peace deal. Despite the country's violent past, including the genocide in its Darfur region, January's vote was relatively peaceful. I can't say I am very familiar with the country's history or its politics, but I was fairly optimistic about what would become of Sudan's future. Though equipped with high levels of illiteracy, malnutrition, infant mortality and other effects of structural poverty, I thought that the newly determined independent southern state would provide a sense of closure for the citizens who have had to endure years of systemic violence.
And then there is this. Published in New York Times' contributor Nicholas D. Kristof's blog, this letter is from a South Sudanese humanitarian worker trapped amidst the massacre currently taking place:
Thursday, 16 June 2011 Dear my fellow tribesmen and women, this is a call of hope and prayers. I am stuck in the middle of the heavy shooting and bombardments at the UNMIS Camp in Kadugli. We are about 26 South Sudanese.
All lives are at risk, all are accused to be Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) supporters. We have almost no food, no water, no proper security, and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Popular Defense Forces (PDF) are planning to attack the camp and take us by force. International staff members have already evacuated, leaving us behind in a very harmful act as they did in Somalia, Rwanda and elsewhere. The United Nations head of office leader made it clear that they don’t have any capacity to ensure our security and protection. Moreover, one local U.N. staff member was killed at the main gate. The Egyptian army was unable to protect him.
This is a call of hope and solidarity, please advocate and mobilize the world so that we are released or at least our security is granted by the U.N. and the Government of Southern Sudan or the Government of National Unity. As you know we are humanitarian workers and have no affiliation to political parties, so please move the possible resources to alleviate this suffering, and please post this to all media over the globe.
I'm still figuring out the 5 W's and 1 H about what is happening now so please feel free to fill me in the comments below. From what I understand, the President of Sudan, Omar Al-Bashir and his government have been pursuing an ethnic cleansing campaign in the region right above Southern Sudan- the South Kordofan state. I don't know the number of people killed in the recent escalating violence but approximately 1,500 civilians have been slain this year and over 100,000 have been displaced.
Some are saying that this may be Obama's Rwanda but I don't agree considering how troubled Sudan was before the recent uproar. I guess what frustrates me is the arbitrariness of America's decision to intervene in international crises. If you were President Obama, what would you do???
Well not quite. But if the current blogosphere gossip is any indication, we might now have some new information regarding one of the biggest controversies in hip hop/rap and black culture. According to allhiphop.com, they learned exclusively just who it was that played a roll in the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur. And his letter seems to be calling out key persons who might be linked in some way to a role in the death of Tupac Shakur.
The death of Biggie and Tupac still leaves a huge impact on music and black culture. On the one hand, after both deaths went unsolved, black used these as further examples of the uselessness of law enforcement when dealing with black crime. If you can't trust the police and FBI to not be corrupt and help high profile cases, how can they help the regular man. On the other hand, that west coast vs. east coast beef in rap died down, though the regional distinctions are still seen today.
The youngins may not understand, but those of my age group and older really felt what was happening when the news reported the deaths of both these legendary artists. It was a shock and a tragedy for us, like the death of Princess Diana for the UK. Both were some of the greatest rap artists ever and were gunned down before their legends could fully come to fruition.
But the legend of Tupac came about in a different way. It turned from talking about his impact on music to Is Tupac Really Dead? I remember getting into many debates as a kid, where most of us youngins would totally make the argument that he was definitely alive, just chillin on some island like Cuba. Because how else could he still be making all these albums? And we were so sure that someone had seen him walking around in Miami. Ah the days of youth.
But deep down we all know that Tupac died that fateful day in 1996 and the events leading up to his death are the stuff made for movies.
A man has admitted to being involved in the attack on rap star Tupac Shakur in 1994, inside Manhattan's Quad Studios in November of 1994, after allegedly being paid $2,500 dollars by James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond.
Dexter Isaac, a former friend of Rosemond, is an inmate currently serving life in prison for murder, robbery and other offenses.
Isaac came forward Wednesday (June 15th) with the information on the eve of what would be Tupac's 40th birthday.
He confessed to his involvement in the November 30th, 1994 robbery of Tupac Shakur to AllHipHop.com, after Jimmy Henchman identified him in a statement, relating to Henchman's indictment for dealing numerous kilos of cocaine.
But it gets better. According to Mr. Isaac:
Now I'm not going to talk about my friend Biggie's death or 2Pac's death, but I would like to give their mother's some closure. It's about time that some one did, and I will do so at a different time. Jimmy, you and Puffy like to come off all innocent-like, but as the saying goes: You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
Bam! Now if that isn't some parting shots I don't know what is. And it looks like Mr. Isaac has something to say regarding Biggie's and Tupac's deaths, but will wait to tell more. Talk about suspense. I'm getting my popcorn ready.
So what do yall think? Is Tupac still alive and well somewhere in Cuba? Will either of these cases ever be solved? And who do you think shot Tupac and Biggie?
