Finsk 116-97

I can only hope that one day my designs are this dynamic

Beauty And The Bridge

        There are not many photos that can make me go "WOOOOOOOOOW" but this one did the job. Im not sure where I got the photo from but I know it was from a blogsite. This picture is simple yet beautiful in so many ways.

BET THE NEW KKK? SAY WHAT????

An excerpt from a writing by Regina Bradley, PHD Candidate at Florida State University. See more at http://redclayscholar.blogspot.com/

From the jump, Watkins’ approach, not the majority of his points, are troubling. Instead of focusing on the corporatized blackness and pathology that BET spreads – which, by the way, is the premise of the essay – Watkins frequently targets Hip Hop via attacking Lil Wayne. Per the usual scapegoat argument, which is played, African Americans’ demise will be through Hip Hop. If the devil ain’t making us do it, Hip Hop is. Watkins’ essay reads like a witch hunt, with Weezy as the dreaded straw man (pun intended).  

What is touched upon, but not driven home, is the understanding that Hip Hop, like many other forms of black cultural expression, is commodified and corporatized. There is a tangled and messy relationship between capitalism, Hip Hop as an enterprise, and the black folks that it is deemed to reflect. What Watkins’ argument and the majority of consumed rap music boils down to is the search for the real and reality in this awkward moment of American history.  This moment where Hip Hop, once a black thang, is now an American thang. A moment where no clear markers of black or white publicly pull weight like previous decades. A moment where we have a black president who, because he referenced or was referenced in Hip Hop embodies what it means to be black to a nonblack audience while unemployment and poverty levels in the black American community are ridiculously high.  Enter here Weezy, Ross, Jeezy, and them,  who are in our face and in our ear canal every fifteen milliseconds, that say THEIR story is the real black experience. And we support that, download it, and post our renditions to social media sites like ratchet.com.

What Watkins was trying to get at, I believe, was our lack of accountability and blind consumption of this “relevant blackness” because it is shoved in our face on the regular. The danger becomes when we simply recycle what we see through our actions, in our conversations, and thought processes without any critical thought.

Perhaps more penetrating about Watkins’ article was the lack of solutions to challenge what BET and corporate America hashes out. An often overlooked concern is the much needed but lacking intergenerational dialogue to discuss the urgent state of affairs in the African American community.  We need a space to talk and critically engage in conversation about the contemporary, Post-Civil Rights African American experience. We need a willingness to start and sustain dialogue between black youth and older folks who witnessed the blatant racism before and during the Civil Rights Movement to situate why these representations are problematic.

And, obviously, we need a space to confront and complicate this one dimensional understanding of (corporate) Hip Hop as sold out. Hip Hop’s agency and purpose needs to be reconsidered, reinterpreted, and reclaimed as a voice for a variety of folks. Hip Hop may be marketed as a hyperblack, hypermasculine, hyper-pathological space, but its audience is much more diverse. We can no longer be comfortable with these typecasts of what it possibly means to be (insert adjective here) and black.  

It is too simple a solution to simply blame BET and Hip Hop for the violent reality that people of color face on a daily basis. Actually, this is dangerous. If we continue this destructive path of blind acceptance and do not question what is being marketed and produced, then yes, we are the new KKK – Korporate Kullud Kommodities.

Now THAT is some scary shit. No hood required.

Simple Things That Better a Girl's Day

From Essence Gant,writer at "Today's Black Woman Magazine."

This entire piece and others from the writer can be viewed at http://essencegant.blogspot.com

Simple Things List:

• Mascara!!- That’s right! Mascara. My beautiful little sister (Shouts out to Summyr) put me on these two new mascaras over the break and guys, I THINK I’M IN LOVE!! Maybelline’s “The Falsies Volum’ Express” and Rimmel London’s “Glam’ Eyes Lash Flirt”. I just got both from Wal-Mart and they were both on sale for $5!
• Floral Print Knit Skirts- One of my favorite fall/winter fits is a cute little skirt accompanied by some fun tights and knee boots. I went to Forever 21 and found a bunch of cute skirts ranging from only $10 to $12. I love the floral ones because they’re usually multi-colored and you can do any colored, funky tight with them. It adds a little sunshine to your winter wardrobe & makes the cold a little more fun!
• Lip gloss- My lip gloss is poppin’ and I be coppin’ (I swear I could’ve been a rapper) it from Bath and Body Works. For real y’all they got some good lip gloss that keeps your lips soft, kissable and tasty! They usually have this buy 2 get 1 free deal. They have like a million (not literally) and you can get colors, tints, or clears!
• PINK FRIDAY- To all Nicki Fans, Ms. Minaj is simply amazing.You gotta listen to it!! Please, Please. Your life won’t be the same!
• Honey Nut Cheerios- They’re yummy, healthy and you can eat like 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of them and you won’t gain an ounce! Good enough for me! I like mine without milk!
• Writing,Journaling, Blogging, Documenting- However you put the pen to the paper I find that it's therapeutic. I started this blog on my phone while sitting in class, and it was so relieving and stimulating to my brain to escape the madness and create my own world with the simple stroke of a pen (or push of a button in my case)! Try it. Write about anything: dreams, life, love, experiences, sadness, tragedy, victory, plans, funny things, people, crushes, role models, music, fashion, sports. Who cares? JUST WRITE!!!

What simple things do you find enjoyment in?

How do you deal with "bad" days?

Any other thoughts? Share with me below. My interest is totally invested in YOU! If you don't want to comment via your social network, you can just use your name or the anonymous option:)

Love,

Essence~Muah!