I’m a day late and a dollar short with this post, bellas. Apologies if you clicked over yesterday and were disappointed. Mondays. Sometimes they hit you over the head harder than you expect. What can I say?

Funky is the watchword this week, y’all. This week will be all about funky makeup, funky music, funky hair, and funky afrobellas. Needless to say, the one and only Betty Mabry Davis is Afrobella of the Week. Can you dig it?

She’s often imitated, but there isn’t a contemporary funk, soul, or r&b singer today who can duplicate her style. The brazen sexuality, the futuristic outfits, the fro teased out-to-there, the bravado to go where few dare to go — Betty Davis in the Seventies has inspired contemporary artists including Erykah Badu, Joi, Missy Elliott, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and electrosexy performer Peaches, who describes Davis as “the original in-control sexual powerhouse and a vocal inspiration” in a great feature in the June/July issue of Bust Magazine. In 1989, Miles Davis tried to explain her musical impact: “If Betty were singing today she be something like Madonna, something like Prince, only as a woman. She was the beginning of all that when she was singing as Betty Davis.”

In terms of her vocals and her lyrical content, Betty Davis was far ahead of the curve. Her goal was never to croon or coo or sing in a conventional sense. She growls. She snarls. She shrieks and wails. Betty Davis’s delivery is melodic but fierce. Her first album Betty Davis dropped in 1973 and featured musicians from Sly and the Family Stone, and backing vocals by The Pointer Sisters and Sylvester. It included songs with titles like “Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes,” “Game is My Middle Name,” “Your Man, My Man,” and “If I’m in Luck, I Might Get Picked Up.” The suggestive lyrics of that song led it to be banned from radio, and the NAACP called Betty a disgrace to her race. The website A Deeper Shade of Soul sheds more light — “According to writer John Ballon, “When a popular Detroit radio station played ‘If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up,’ the lines list up with outraged callers; a bomb threat followed. Within days, she was blacklisted by the NAACP.” Betty recounted, “Bourgeois blacks find me very offensive. They’ve been programmed to think that black women who shake their asses are whorey. The NAACP called up the record company. They’re trying to stop me from making a living. They stopped all my airplay in Detroit.”

Most articles about Betty Davis start out with her romantic reputation. Small wonder. Betty’s love life in the Sixties and Seventies is the stuff of legend. At age 23 she married a then 46-year old Miles Davis, after all — and as anyone who’s read Miles can tell you, that couldn’t have been an easy coupling. (If you’ve never read Miles, put down whatever you’re reading this summer and get thee to a library. It’s an amazing, entertaining read, even if you don’t know a lot about jazz. He was just a wild, tell-it-like-it-is kinda dude). To prove what a strong, bad-ass kinda broad Betty Davis is, she is widely celebrated as one of Miles’ main influences in his electric period. She’s featured on the cover for Filles de Kilimanjaro, which also features a song for her called “Mademoiselle Mabry.” In turn, she introduced Miles to Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, and Jimi Hendrix. She helped to inspire Bitches’ Brew, one of the definitive jazz/rock fusion albums. It’s even alleged that it was Betty who insisted on the word “bitch” in the title.

Besides being married to Miles Davis for a year — from 1968 to 1969 — a rumored affair with Jimi Hendrix has followed Davis around, despite her numerous denials. Songs like “He Was a Big Freak,” from her second album, They Say I’m Different are rumored to be about Jimi. The song begins with her shrieking, “He was a big freak! I used to beat him with a turquoise chain!” Of course, Betty doesn’t help her case when she tells Bust magazine “It’s not about Jimi Hendrix… it’s not… but he sure wore a lot of turquoise.” Mmmm-hmm, Betty! She was never ashamed or afraid to state her desires. Click here to hear He Was a Big Freak and let me know what y’all think.

On Jesse Thorn’s The Sound of Young America podcast, she gave a great and lengthy interview that helps to put her reputation in subtle perspective. “I think in bed I was very passionate,” she says. You can practically hear her interviewer blush as he stammers, “Fair enough.” Hats off to Jesse Thorn for wringing such a long interview from such a recalcitrant interviewee.

The vagaries of the record industry and the sadness in her life drove her away from the spotlight. Betty Davis lost a lot of close friends in a short period of time. In Jesse Thorn’s interview, she explains that the death of her friend Devon Wilson.

“I was very sad because we were very close. I was very sad. Jimi had just died, and she died right after him. It was death right on top of death. When someone dies, you’ve got to do a lot of grieving. So I grieved a lot because they were dying and they were very young, you see,” she recalls.

Betty Davis recorded four official albums — Betty Davis, They Say I’m Different, Nasty Gal, and Hangin’ Out In Hollywood, which was recorded in 1979 and released in 1995. At 62 years old, Betty’s started to creep back into the media radar. She still lives in relative seclusion in Pittsburgh, but Seattle-based Light in the Attic Records has reissued her two most influential records.

In the end of that Jesse Thorn interview, she says that she still writes funky songs and she hopes they’ll be recorded by someone else. She also watches MTV. “It’s changed incredibly, the music industry. There aren’t a lot of groups doing songs anymore. There aren’t a lot of solo artists who aren’t doing hip hop or rap.” Maybe that’s what the music industry needs right now — a swift, hard kick in the butt by someone like Betty Davis. I don’t know about you all, but I miss the funk. Hats off to Betty Davis for laying the foundation down so thick and so right.

It’s apparently almost impossible to find an actual VIDEO of Betty Davis. There’s a few tribute videos featuring still photos on YouTube, so here’s one of those. This is “If I’m In Luck, I Might Get Picked Up.”

Congratulations, Betty! You’re Afrobella of the Week!

So I had lofty ambitions of posting a big Ask Afrobella today, but I have jobby job stuff-to-do and an atypical deadline. Sorry, bellas! Duty calls. Next week I’ll deliver the goods, but I’ll still hook you up with a little Friday review teaser and an awesome giveaway!

Summer beauty is all about warmth and light and having that fresh, outdoorsy glow. And no product helps you look more summertime gorge than bronzer! I was lucky enough to review Physician’s Formula’s summer bronzers, and they are affordable and fabulous. Don’t believe me? Enter this here bronzer giveaway and find out for yourself!

Next week, I’ll dive headfirst into the wondrous mysteries of this glittery powder. For now, I wish you all a fabulous weekend!

Ever since I did that Pat McGrath Afrobella of the Week post, I’ve been day dreaming about Soul II Soul. I’m probably going to date myself by saying this, but whatevs — that’s the kind of music I remember being on BET when I was growing up. Back then, it wasn’t necessarily uncommon to see an afrocentric, full figured sista like Caron Wheeler in the top five videos of the week. Keep On Movin’ has been swirling around my skull all week. It’s such a great song. Always loved this woman’s voice.

I found this little nugget of info to be interesting — as was the trend at the time with other dance groups like Milli Vanilli, C&C Music Factory and Black Box, Caron Wheeler’s voice was mixed with that of a mystery background vocalist. Who was this golden toned songstress? None other than Mariah Carey. That’s why I love Wikipedia. Random facts like that keep me coming back for more.

Enjoy the jam, bellas! Happy weekend!

Black Exploitation Television. Barely Entertaining Television. Black Embarrassment Television.

Whatever you want to call it, BET’s been under fire these days. The protests about Hot Ghetto Mess grew so loud, that the news of the upcoming show and the petition against it got airtime on MSNBC, CNN, CBS, and the BBC. There was a pretty interesting article in the Washington Post about Jam Donaldson, the creator of the Hot Ghetto Mess website.

Donaldson herself is a polarizing figure, but she’s obviously given deep thought to her goals with Hot Ghetto Mess. In part, the Washington Post article reveals that the genesis for Hot Ghetto Mess, the emotions behind that slogan, “we got to do better,” came from interacting with poor people with “the victim mentality” during her work as a legal aid attorney. She gives an interesting quote from the end of the article: “Someone sent me an e-mail [and] said he loved the site and said he was from the KKK,” she says. “I don’t really care about that. Black people know what I’m saying is true. Everyone knows it’s true. We have to get beyond that. We’re stifling our growth as long as we’re obsessed with what white people think.” Besides, she adds: “We all need a voice to challenge ourselves. Sometimes you have to be shocking.”

That website IS quite shocking. Besides the photos we’ve all already seen – the hood prom photos, the ludicrous hair show styles, Britney Spears free-falling through her meltdown, there are some heartbreaking pictures in the Just Sad category, of children being posed with guns, bottles of alcohol and blunts, while their half-naked mothers strike their best King Magazine poses. The website also offers a Not Ghetto section as a counterpoint — however it’s worth noting that the section hasn’t been updated since December 2006.

In my view, saying Hot Ghetto Mess is going to help people to change their behavior is like saying that Rotten.com will prevent people from performing stupid stunts and hurting themselves. Or saying that watching Cops will help to keep people out of jail. Or Maximum Exposure helped to steer people clear of extreme sports. It’s a disingenuous theory. At worst, Hot Ghetto Mess serves to reinforce existing stereotypes. At best, it’s a confused, mixed message that isn’t going to effectively deliver any kind of message to its “intended audience.” (I’m still unclear on who exactly is supposed to learn from the website or the program).

Before the show made it to broadcast, the protests were flying around thick and furious. I got multiple e mails asking me why I hadn’t chimed in, asking me to sign the petitions made by many of the sites I admire and respect — big shout out to What About Our Daughters who flew the flag high for stopping the buffoonery. But here’s why I didn’t sign anything.

I rarely sign petitions, and if I do sign, it has to be something I feel strongly about, and am informed about. For example, the last petition I signed was to free the Jena 6. (Now that’s an issue worth reading about. Let’s hear more about THAT story, mainstream media).

I also held the impression that petitions didn’t actually change anything. But the Jena 6 had their sentences reduced, and Hot Ghetto Mess changed its name to the grammatically challenged We Got To Do Better as the drumbeats of protest grew louder. So maybe petitions CAN make some kind of change, when enough people pay attention. I definitely think the media attention played a part in the careful editing of the show. I’m getting ahead of myself.

Before I jumped on the BET-go-to-hell bandwagon, I wanted to reserve my opinion until I actually saw the first episode. While I was mulling over what I had to say about Hot Ghetto Mess, it occurred to me that I haven’t actually WATCHED BET in months. Maybe even years. Probably since I graduated from college, because back in those days I’d be home all afternoon and could easily leave AJ and Free on as background buzz, just to catch the latest videos.

I grew up watching Video Soul and Teen Summit. Caribbean Rhythms was on our TV every weekend (I really, really miss that show), and my brothers definitely used to watch Comicview back in the day when it was actually worth watching. But as BET began to change — Miss Cita was a turning point, in my opinion. Uncut was another — I stopped watching it. Completely. So I decided, if I’m gonna diss Hot Ghetto Mess, I need to put it in context. Let me at least see what the kids are watching nowadays.

I came home from work this week and put on 106th and Park. And lo and behold, who should be on it but CharlieMurphy, plugging his new show. It was like a sign. Terrence and Rocsi were asking CharlieMurphy what the show was all about. He gave a very careful answer. “The show is based on the website Hot Ghetto Mess (I found it hilarious how he turned his mouth a little away from the mic as he said the name of the site. Terrence and a few background audience members even giggled a little). And uh, you know, everybody thought initially that what we was gonna be doing is just showing clips and making fun of people in the clips. But that’s not what we’re doing. What we’re doing is showing clips, and then there’s dialogue about what you just finished looking at. And they brought me on to host because I’ll do it in a funny way, as opposed to trying to beat somebody over the head with it. I’m not here to preach, or be a politician. Just hey – one brother helping another, you know what I’m sayin’?” Cue applause.

Charlie added that he sees it as a show that will help and entertain people, and when Rocsi surprises him with a personal question, “what can you personally do better,” he starts rambling about having patience, and that leads to an awkward chat about air travel drama. (perhaps interviews aren’t 106th and Park’s strong suit. And full disclosure — I’ve interviewed Charlie Murphy for my job before. He doesn’t give great interview. And please don’t call me a hater, I’ve had awesome interviews with several other comedians, including Bruce Bruce who was very friendly and charming, and just this week, the hilarious Judah Friedlander. I think Bob Saget was the best comedian I’ve interviewed so far).

Back to Rocsi, Terrence, and CharlieMurphy. What can we expect from the show, CharlieMurphy? “You can expect number one, to laugh. Because I’m there, so you gotta laugh. But, you’re gonna also learn something. The show is basically holding a mirror up to America, you know what I’m saying? It’s not just talking about black people, it’s talking about everybody. Everybody that fits within... [awkward Mr. Roboto hand gestures as way of explanation] you know, the parameters — is gonna be addressed. And it’s gonna be addressed by me, and it’s gonna be my humor, and we gonna have some fun, trust me. Yeah.” Cue applause. Oh, moments like that are why I need to learn how to create my own YouTube clips. “But we’re gonna learn something!” he adds again. “We’re gonna learn something, that’s the main thing!” Later he tells people to send in clips through BET.com. “If it fits the perameters, trust me, we gonna blast on ‘em! We gonna blast on ‘em! Don’t get blasted on by CharlieMurphy, because… we got to do better.” Alrighty then.

With a sinking feeling, I decided to watch the show last night.

CharlieMurphy comes strutting out onto a set straight out of Monsterpiece Theater and immediately fixes the camera with the crazy eye. The first video clip was for Reh Dogg’s Why Must I Cry, which any loyal Crunk & Disorderly or FourFour reader is well familiar with. I must admit, I cracked up laughing at the second clip, which was a terrible version of the national anthem. The third clip was one of those God-awful Mz. Peaches videos, which piss me off simply because there are SO many people and little kids participating in them. Parody or not, I’m just not a Mz. Peaches fan. Ugh.

Midway through there’s a segment break to lead to a series of embarrassing commercials. The screen reads “And now for a word from our sponsers.” Sponsers? We got to do better, indeed. Start by getting a proofreader and some decent writers for the segments.

The “Street Walking” segments were recycled and sad. One question — what does NAACP stand for? — floored almost everyone who was asked. One dude replies, “NWACP? NAACP? I never actually really put it out there like that.” They throw up some photographs of historic African Americans, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks… but there’s no context as to who they are. The photos come directly after a “Street Walking” segment where people admit they don’t know how many African Americans are on the Supreme Court. So here’s an opportunity to provide the answer and give a little edutainment, gone to waste. Another question — when did slavery end? — stumps the crowd. Way too many people start out guessing years that begin with “19.” Then, there’s a very jarring edit to Bid ‘Em In, a song performed by poet and playwright Oscar Brown and brilliantly animated by Neal Sopata. It’s easily the most stirring and interesting thing on the show so far. Then they cut to a commercial for Hell Date. SMH.

The show concluded with CharlieMurphy in a smoking jacket — again with the alarmingly intense Debo glare into the camera. Why you so mad, CharlieMurphy? He starts musing about ways in which he can better himself. “I should be watching a whole lot less TV and reading a whole lot more books,” he says, pounding on an antique-looking book. I half-expected them to cut to another controversial viral video with a mixed message — Read A Book by Bomani D’Mite Jones. But they’ll probably save that one for another week. CharlieMurphy pretends to read as the end credits roll, and he’s pretending to read a sex scene. Way to completely undercut the attempt at a positive message you gave at the end there, dude. Somewhere, Dave Chappelle is burying his head in his hands.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m on deadline today, so my post needs to be short and sweet.

This one goes out to the reader who e mailed me last week with a confession that she doesn’t feel “sexy” with her fro. I’m definitely going to write a very special “Own Your Fro” post for you, girl! But for right now, all I can do is give you some of the sexiest afro inspiration out there, and simultaneously give you all a teaser for my next Afrobella of the Week. Check out the video and then try to tell me that Betty Davis isn’t the epitome of F.U.N.K.

And as this video will reveal (by lingering lovingly over every blurry inch of her), she was a stone cold fox with an afro to be admired.

Big respect to Gallimaufry for putting Ms. Davis back on my radar. Happy hump day, y’all!

I know all of you remember the big Cosmo GIRL controversy over Kiri Davis’s film A Girl Like Me.
Well after all of that drama, the winner of the contest has finally been announced. Kiri won the Take Action Hollywood Film Contest! Thanks to regular reader Kezia for letting me know.

Kiri Davis will walk away with a $10,000 grant from Take Action Hollywood, a Windows Vista Ultimate laptop, an iPod Shuffle, and a Target gift card. And the respect of women of color around the world who were touched by her powerful message. I sincerely hope that her victory did not spring from the controversy. The quality of her work is award-worthy, and that’s undeniable.

If you still haven’t seen A Girl Like Me, click here.Congratulations, Kiri! You did us all proud!