Here’s a new video from one of my favorite female spitters who I’ve met in the last year. This is actually the first video I’ve ever seen from her.
Nemiss is ill. Multi-talented, straight out of my other favorite city, Chicago. And this colorful clip shows her doing what she does best. Enjoy.
Shout out to Autumn in the background – I see you!!!
In the back of my mind, I was wanting to do this myself for a video, or waiting for someone to do their take on this. And who better than everyone’s favorite Lover-Of-Self, Mr. Brandon Carter??
Just watch. This is creativity here…
My Ex’s must’ve really been in their thinking man poses on Monday because they both managed to cross my paths with some thought provoking shit. The 2 youngn’s were gettin a tad deep in their own rights out there and pondering the stats of worldly concerns.
While Ex number 1 was sending me Newsweek links about the damaging and erasing effects of global warming, chock with 100 beautiful photographs, Ex number 2 was posting figures on Facebook about the plight of Black Women (which would be all one/half of her) and their quest to find equally suited/matched Black men and how she may have to settle.
Well, in the little compilation of comments and commentary that followed, one of her Facebook friends attached this link to a feminist slanted blog where a guest writer had taken the time to share her frustration with what she calls an “attack” on the single Black woman in America. The Guest Writer’s name being Diane Lucas. Here’s that post http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2010/06/21/the-media-v-black-women-the-peculiar-case-of-the-media’s-obsession-with-unmarried-black-women/
You can guess from the onset that I was going to disagree with alot of what this post had to say, just because it’s esteeming itself as coming from a feminist angle, on a self proclaimed feminist blog. And you know how I feel about feminists.
Ms. Lucas sounds like a highly intelligent person who is still warping her logic around an emotional base, as most feminists do. She’s saying the same old defensive rebuttals that have been heard before by Black women. Instead of addressing the issue itself, her approach is to offset the notion and diffuse it by declaring it a non-issue and berating those who have dared to identify it as such. It’s an inverse mechanism of embracing and endearment that a Black woman at this point of hearing and having the same conversation would naturally take on, as all scrutinized peoples have done at some place in time or another…‘why should I think something’s wrong with me??’ ‘It’s not me – it’s You! I’m fine the way Iam. There is no problem, society is the problem!’
Sound familiar? We’ve heard this before, countless times. Fat people do it everyday. Doesn’t change the fact that they are fat.
Self-love is not the issue here. We’re talking cold hard facts and figures here. That’s how this whole topic of conversation began. Getting into the blame game or the psychological ramifications makes things especially cloudy. Let’s deal with the fact that the issue exists. No one is telling Black women to shame themselves for being independent, successful or Black.
See, this is a trouble zone. And this is where things get murky because anytime you venture near the territory of saying anything less than flattering about Black women as an enclave or group of people, you risk being metaphorically castrated, tarred and feathered and chased with pitchforks and torches by a mass of females. The most unfortunate part of all of this tho, is that a good majority of the time, the women who respond and react with the most vigor, are those who have not heard or read the comments or articles themselves, or in their entirety.
Slim Thug could attest to this perfectly in light of the drama that he’s just gotten himself into recently by making comments urging Black Women to be less expectant, more supportive and comparing them to their Anglo-Saxon Counterparts. You can peaceably debate, even express your likes and dislikes, but pick your battles.
What we’re dealing with here is layers and layers of strategic, post-slavery division put in place to keep African-Americans at a socio-economic disadvantage. True enough, nobody wants to hear the same old “The Man” diatribe, but looking at what we have in front of us everyday in the face of the basic Black family infrastructure, it’s painfully obvious that the effects are still hauntingly blatant and very much so long-lasting.
How many movies? How many Essence articles and Beauty Shop conversations? This is Ms. Lucas’ main gripe; she’s asking why is this such a prominent topic?? She’s particularly perturbed and confused with all of the seemingly sudden coverage by non-Black media outlets. But her phrasing here is a bit extreme. She chooses to frame the topic as a skewed concentration or passive assault on her and her kind. She even goes so far as to suggest that it may be some mild form of conspiracy in the post-Obama election era to discourage Black women from hoping to attain that sort of Michelle and Barack union that is publicly perceived as harmonious and ideal.
Perhaps the fact that this topic is making headlines on primetime national news forums and publications is more of an aid than a detriment. Maybe this takes it beyond the sister-girl chats and Tyler Perry movie monologues and Terri Mc Millan books and makes it a legitimate conversation that the rest of the world can have some insight into. Instead of thinking of Black women as a spectacle or specimen, maybe this just reflects them in the light of all women and connects them more so to show that across color lines, this is the challenge faced by most upwardly mobile females in their single lives. Lord knows those Sex & The City broads look like a bunch of glorified tramps, but chics eat that up. What makes the Black situation different tho, is that for a Black woman to be accompanied in her romantic life by a Black man as a partner, the odds seem stacked against her…literally.
Why our Ms. Lucas would be tired of hearing this fact is beyond me. Ignoring won’t help it. Sure, there’s way too many articles out there that make mention of the number of incarcerated Black men, and many of them depict jails, like prisons are just this tireless beast that sustains it’s diet by seeking and chewing up innocent young Black males. They also too often tend to make Black men seem overly victimized by the system. There is not too much argument that the Black man is the most down-beaten and broken group of Men in the world. The African-American male in particular has the worst rates of everything and is often looked down upon by Blacks of other nations. This doesn’t excuse the poor mishandling of our responsibilities as being men first in the last 5 decades. I personally think Black men have transformed our once nurturing, more docile and ride- or-die female population into it’s current incarnation through a vicious cycle of temptation and abandonment dating back to Post -Vietnam era recklessness and confusion. Alot of this has to do with how our concepts and definitions of manhood have been augmented and re-defined over time, by others, and ourselves most importantly. Prison time just doesn’t occur. We can argue that disproportionate sentences and streamlined laws have been designed to punish minorities at larger numbers than others, but there is no debating that crime gets you in jail in the first place. Niggas really just need to stop doing fucking crime!! Isn’t it a little played out the whole ‘I didn’t have no other choice‘ routine? Really??
Still and all, the fact remains…these numbers are these numbers. The number of Black Men in jail IS alarmingly high, Black Women DO outnumber Black Men, and there is an increasing divide between education levels between Black Women and men. This doesn’t excuse the men, but if the original issue is that Black women face quite the hurdle of trying to find their match within their race as they achieve continual financial and educational success, why and how does any amount of media coverage of this make it any less of a real dilemma?
What Black Women choose to do in the face of this attention is where more focus needs to be put. Do you aid in shaping your men up?? Or are you just sick and tired of that because you’ve done that already? Do you feed into this invisible power struggle that has increasingly torn Black men and women apart for half a century now? Or do you reverse the pull by emotional healing? Or do you do What Ms. Lucas has apparently done, and told yourself that you’re fine by yourself? That you should re-focus your energy off of partnership and companionship and pat yourself on the back for all of the other successful areas of your life? Do you do what Regina King and Chilli have advocated and date outside of your race? Or do you accept the present depressed state of things and settle because the pickings are slim if you want to stay within your own race?
What a conundrum indeed…
So in the wake of what is the anniversary of the break-up between me and the very Ex who’s Facebook post layed the fertile soil for this whole fuss, I ask…
Is today’s Single Black Women being attacked?? Or just worried about?
So my Ex, Keirsten, sent me this link on Monday because she says she thought I would like this kind of thing. http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/100-places-to-remember.html
But I’m thinking, SHE had to had liked this sort of thing to send it to me in the first place. WE should ALL like this kind of thing….If for no other reason then for the fact that we only get one planet to call home and it’s landscape is the very essence of why, who, how and where we are.
Shout outs to Newsweek for actually taking out the time to capture life itself in all of it’s stillness and show us what we could all be missing tomorrow if we don’t take care of today. It’s humbling to look at the world from a truly scientific standpoint and think of images that are so commonplace in our ideas and envision them being just that…ideas. Entire cities even. I’m not the world’s biggest environmentalist, although I did go to the High School For Environmental Studies, but I do hope to see every last one of these amazing places before it’s all said and done….Except maybe the cold ones…Ha!
But seriously, take a minute and check out the link or go pick up that copy. Look at the different regions and areas, pick your favorites. They really were detailed enough to lay everything out for visitors to sift through geographically and visually. It’s awe inspiring. I went ahead and put up a few images for you from it. Thanks Keiry.
If you know me, then you know I HATE weed. But I hate Cancer a million times more. It’s much more than a disease at this point, and I still cannot believe that it’s number 2 behind Heart Disease as the Killer of Americans. I know waaay more people who’s lives have been affected by some form of Cancer than Heart Disease.
But I bring all of this up because my boy Mos who is a mad thinker and life-long seeker of truth and advocate for marijuana, consistently barrages Facebook with these random YouTube clips dealing with scientific and medical research on the possible healing power of it.
Now despite my hatred for the consumption and smoking use of it and the bullshit that comes with it, the Cannabis Sativa plant is still a plant. This means it is of the Earth and serves a greater purpose than what man has manipulated it for thus far. It may very well be an untapped source that folks who have been exploring it’s properties for decades behind closed doors have known the benefits of.
I do believe that cancer is the one plague of humankind that is a direct result of all of our progression as a species. It is the Yin to our Yang and the great balancer that reminds us that we are of this world. For every radioactive, electro – magnetic advancement, we raise the threat. For every new spray, the Ozone Layer thins and the sun mutates our cells. For every thing we bottle, can, burn and add stuff to, there’s a cancer for that as well. But just like most ailments that occur in nature when something un-natural disrupts the flow, there’s usually something in nature that exists to counter that. What if Cannabis is that?
I went ahead out of my own curiosity and came across some YouTube clips from a conference where a doctor describes the homeostatic properties of what is defined as endocannabinoids. There is a true science behind this plant once we begin to remove our minds from the imagery that has become stigmatized by hippies and your favorite rappers and stoner flick. Fuck the Drug, Love the cure.
In these clips that Mos posted up recently, there are cases where the oil extracted from the plant have proven to be medicinal. It also talks about the controversy surrounding the small spaces and groups of people involved in these treatments.
As you could imagine, there’s a mound of red tape and political roadblocks in the way of this revolutionary spin on preventive medicinal alternatives. Be it from the outlawed history of the plant for public use, or the scarier idea that “THEY” just don’t want us to have the ultimate cure because there’s bigger money in keeping people sick. Whatever the reason, this will no doubt continue to be tested underground until the public demands to know how close we truly are to having the cure under our noses. Your thoughts?
Fresh off of the season finale of her VH1 reality series, Ms. Thomas makes the perfect candidate for the Summer season kick-off of the Crush Alot segment. I actually meant to dedicate this post to her on Mother’s Day, seeing how she is a MILF and all, but Chilli is actually a Blast from the past for me. I used to have quite the pubescent crush on the “Crazy” third of TLC around the time when they were parading around in silk pajamas and doing slow bank-head bounces in front of lagoons.
I remember being 13 and seeing some kind of pop-up video replay of the “Waterfalls” video point out how tight Chilli’s abs were, and in my mind I said ‘yeah, damn – they are pretty tight’. Not only did I start watching Chilli with a close eye that I never did before, now stomach muscles were officially apart of my list of body parts that I ranked high on the female body.
I was never a fan of TLC. Their fake-feminist role-reversal, slang-ridden brand of sex pop never was catered to my demographic anyway. It doesn’t help that none of them were really individually super talented to begin with, although Chilli had the best singing voice. But I have to give it up to them for being the best selling female group. They definitely did their thing and the sum of their parts is a historic one. But enough on the music…Chilli is the best thing about TLC! And for introducing her to the world, I thank them.
The rumor was that Rozonda is the long-lost older sister of fellow Crush Alot alum and Cute Queen, Tatyana M. Ali. I’ve been out of the Concrete Loop, so I never really delved any further to find out just how true that is, but the idea alone is enough to show that the boy’s taste for Almond Brown women with Indian hair is impeccable! 
I lost my affinity for Chilli as I approached adulthood, especially after her body got tainted by the flimsy hands of Usher. That’s enough to keep any dude away from a chic for a minute. So I guess I can thank the good folks at Viacom for reinvigorating my youthful passion for the older woman of my dreams. This show, What Chilli Wants, actually gave me a glimpse into her mindset and lifestyle. I genuinely like how she carries herself and her ideals and values. Yeah, yeah, as the series has shown us (or what you may believe from the show) Chilli may be somewhat of a Super-Christian Jesus-Freak with a ridiculously long list of qualities and requirements for a potential suitor, but I must say, it’s good to see something a bit old fashioned in this post-modern heap. 
It’s almost to the point where I wonder if I can test the reality of this reality show by reaching out to my old High School classmate Tionna Smalls and seeing if she would assist me in my pursuit of the unreachable Ms. Thomas. I truly believe I would fill most of the criteria on her list with the exception of my current financial status and the whole religion thing, but hey, I’m about to be a big time rapper, and a couple hours in Church is a small price to pay! Surely it can’t be only white boys who are filling the slot. And Height isn’t a factor, because we all know Ursher and Floyd Mayweather aren’t exactly scraping the sky. Pardon me being a dude for a minute, but she’s perfect bend-over height (I’m gonna get in trouble for this post for sure…) 
I mean seriously, we all have to admit, this is one bad lady to be touching 40 and still single. She can dance, sing, she’s mellow, not into drama, well spoken, southern – so you know that means she can cook, and she doesn’t Smoke, drink or eat pork! I don’t need to know anything else. I’m sold. Physically, she has a dope smile, the most sun-kissed glowy skin on camera, real hair – which is just a plus (don’t trip Black women – I know) and is still in tip-top shape. The big cherry on top, is that for some reason, this woman still looks the same as she did when she burst onto the scene almost 20 years ago. Yikes! 
I don’t really need to say anymore do I?
Say what you want to say about her list and her pickiness, but
Rozonda “Chili” Thomas,
YOU, 
are My New Crush!
Just watch.
Nonsense at it’s finest is all I can say…
This is real freestyling – take note Rappers!
Last month, I posted the first of the 17 (Count ’em!) videos that Mr. Carter plans on releasing from his latest album, Never Give A Fuck.
Here’s the vid for the title track.
This is another one that I was supposed to be in. But it’s a good look for Brandon to do his solo thing in this and rep the Chi hard. Don’t worry, I came through in the next video, providing a little comic relief. Stay tuned…
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16's Candles 