ExcellenTIA, you got it! I will e mail you immediately to get your digits, real name, etc so my peeps at SanDisk can make sure your tix are waiting at the WillCall window. I am so psyched for this show — and as usual, I am sorry I don’t have enough pairs of tickets to make everyone’s day. But I know for sure tickets haven’t yet sold out, and the venue has shifted to Bayfront Park, which means more seating and more shade. And I got my set list planned out, yes yes, y’all!

ExcellentTIA and the other commenters got me thinking about the performers I want to see the most… especially in light of the fact that it appears that Santogold has disappeared from the lineup, and for some reason this is only revealed on the RTB message boards. Y so secretive?

Like my bredren Jonathan Cunningham, I’m particularly psyched for The Pharcyde. The foursome disbanded in 1997, and their songs are most definitely part of my college nostalgia soundtrack. This song right here takes me back to living in the dorms and kickin it with the homies. Sublime and The Pharcyde = winning combination. Summertime, and the livin’s easy.

Man, do I miss Brad Nowell. He had so much more music to make. I know that isn’t one of Pharcyde’s best tracks in terms of the verses — some of the rhymes from the post- FatLip period got a little sloppy. But it’s such a fun, breezy track to waft you into the weekend. Enjoy, y’all!

And in EXTRA giveaway news… the folks at SanDisk noticed that quite a few of you bellas are from NYC! Well, they’re offering another sweet giveaway for those of you in that neck of the woods. Are you in New York? Do you want to see Rock the Bells at the Jones Beach Theater on this Sunday, August 3? Alright! The fifth person to leave a comment that says “I wanna see RTB in NYC,” will get TWO general admission tickets to the concert and one SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSD card. Comment away!

This Ask Afrobella question touched my heart in a special place. Girl, I know exactly how you feel.

Dear Bella,

Olivia.

Hey Olivia, thank you so much for your kind words. I am sure more than a few readers out there are nodding in agreement while reading your message. Black skin has a tendency towards hyperpigmentation, and that condition isn’t necessarily limited to your face. Backne and its inevitable scars have been the bane of my existence, and it prevents me from freely sporting halter and backless tops. But I want you to know that skin care issues don’t have to keep you down and destroy your self esteem forever. Your skin can be a flawless canvas. Really, Olivia — this is possible.

Like anything else you really really want in life: physical fitness, healthy natural hair, finding that dream job, saving money, writing that damn book already — it takes dedication and daily effort. Your skin will not transform overnight, although you can disguise your most troubling flaws quickly and easily with makeup. Look at Snoop Dogg’s wife, Shante Broadus, for example.

When she got arrested for DUI recently, the blogosphere lit up with comments about her acne scarred skin as revealed in her mugshot. Honestly, I never would have guessed the “Boss Lady” had skin issues at all — she’s obviously mastered the secret to covering up her flaws for the most part. I mean, she generally looks good on the red carpet, and well put together on Father Hood — so you know she must have HATED that mug shot. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The point is, people who you don’t think have skin issues, have skin issues. You’re not alone in your predicament by any means.

I haven’t done a hyperpigmentation post in forever, so lemme get down to that to begin with, secondly I’ll address some covering-up solutions to get you through the meantime, and thirdly we’ll talk a little bit about self-esteem.

Read the rest of this entry »

Disney’s The Princess and the Frog will open nationwide for Christmas 2009, but a little teaser just hit the internet. Just wanted to share with you all — the last time I wrote about this film, quite a few of you were excited. And some were understandably ambivalent — given Disney’s history we all should be a little wary, at the very least.

I know so many women who give Disney movies and Barbie dolls a wide berth, because of the negative impact their depictions of women can impart unto young girls. But as a little bella who grew up on white Disney princesses and blond Barbies, I know how much this would have meant to me as a young un. I definitely am planning on taking a closer look come next Christmas, and I’m trying… TRYING to withhold judgment until I see the whole cartoon. It’s hard, though. Thoughts, bellas?

I’m back, bellas! Chicago was FABULOUS and I have a big wonderful love letter to the city coming up as soon as I can upload photos. I practically just got off the plane! And I have a truly top of the line giveaway that’s time sensitive. Here goes!

Anyone who’s been reading this site for more than a minute knows, I love me some live music. Doesn’t matter the genre — just this year alone I’ve seen Pearl Jam, Erykah Badu and the Roots, Robert Randolph opening for Eric Clapton, the Dave Matthews Band, and almost every hot reggae artist I can name off the top of my head. Going to concerts is absolutely my favorite thing to do. And I want to spread the live music love!

The next hot show I’m going to — literally, an outdoor festival in Miami in the month of August is NO JOKE — will be Rock the Bells. What is Rock the Bells, you ask? Only the sickest lineup of classic hip hop artists imaginable.

A Tribe Called Quest. Nas. Mos Def. The Pharcyde. Method Man and Redman. Raekwon and Ghostface. Little Brother, De La Soul, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, and Murs. Wale, The Cool Kids, Santogold, Spank Rock, and Kid Sister. And that’s not even all. It’s going to be ridiculous. And I want you to go too!

Do you plan on being in Miami on August 2? Do you want to go to this incredibly sick concert? Alright! Leave me a comment and let me know which artist you’re most psyched to see, and why. I will randomly pick a winner, who will get TWO general admission tickets to the concert and one SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSD card — a sweet memory card that can add up to 8GB of additional digital storage to your celly (which, for the digitally impaired like myself, equals up to 1000 songs, 1200 photos and 21 hours of video). The peeps at SanDisk are sponsoring the show, by the by. Sweet.

So if you want to rock out at Rock the Bells, get to commenting! I’ll close this on Thursday 31 at 9 a.m., announce a winner, and e mail said winner ASAP! So if you are the chosen one, CHECK YOUR E MAIL and call me back come Friday — that way we can make sure your tix and your SanDisk card are waiting at WillCall!

The whole lineup of Rock the Bells looks great to me, so I fully plan on being out there baking in the hot sun from early on to catch as many acts as possible. One performer I’m particularly looking forward to seeing is Santi White, AKA Santogold. If she does this song right here, I will be breaking it down — regardless of how searing the sun is over Bayfront Park.

Holla back, bellas and fellas! Time is of the essence!

I haven’t written a Trini music post in more than a minute, so excuse me while I get back to my island roots.

Living in the U.S and A, I find myself listening to much more hip hop, R&B, rock, and soul than ever before. But I was raised on a diet of calypso and reggae, thanks to my dad’s impressive record collection. Now that I am no longer at home, I honestly don’t listen to calypso or soca as much as I did. Sometimes I feel out of touch with my own culture, especially when it comes to knowing the hottest tunes for Carnival every year. I might not be up to date with all the new stuff, but I definitely keep the old stuff in regular rotation. I might sound like a cantankerous old Trini when I say this, but they really don’t make ‘em like they used to. Classic calypso endures with me because it takes me back to growing up. If I put on the right song, it can mentally revert me to being eleven years old, watching my daddy select what disc to slide on the turntable next at our annual Old Year’s Night party. Good old days.

I remember moments like that whenever I listen to one of my favorite calypsonians of all time — Lord Nelson, AKA Nello, AKA the Disco Daddy. See this album cover here?

We had this in my house growing up. And never once did it occur to me, this man has a striking resemblance to The Penguin.

How could I have missed that for all these years? I mean, down to the monocle and all!

Lord Nelson is considered one of the architects of soca music — his songs have always been fun and vibrant — party music. On this list of the 100 top calypsos of the 20th century, they ranked La La at number 30, but one of my favorites, King Liar at # 58. King Liar is a great example of classic calypso music — it’s a slow pace and focuses on lyrics and the Trini art of picong. I think that’s where I got my love for songs that tell a story — old time calypso music was all about storytelling. This is one of the funniest ever and just about any Trini will probably agree… but when I play this stuff for my husband and he understands roughly a third of the lyrics. So he doesn’t fully appreciate the humor, but you can click here to listen for yourself.

What made Nelson a legend, was his ability to blend genres. Disco Daddy obviously was soca’s take on the Seventies — click here to watch Nello being raunchy as ever at age 77, performing that hit. In 1998 he did a remake of his Eighties hit We Like It, with Machel Montano. That song is available on Machel’s album Charge, which is unfortunately unavailable on Amazon. That is frequently the most frustrating thing about writing about the music I grew up with — it isn’t on the internet! The only available CD I could find of Lord Nelson is this Best Of collection, which isn’t being sold through any of the traditional online stores. If you like what you’re hearing, check it out.

Lord Nelson holds weight with some of the longstanding calypso legends — men like Lord Kitchener (who Lily Allen sampled for LDN), and The Mighty Sparrow.

The song that inspired me to write a whole Throwback Thursday post about a relatively obscure Caribbean music legend? Mih Lover. This is my American husband’s favorite calypso by far, which says quite a bit to me — this is a song that crosses cultural boundaries. The lyrics are clear, the pace is perfect. It makes you want to dance even if you’re not familiar with island music. And the chorus can make a whole party raise their drinks and sing along, “Oh, let’s have a good, good time.” If I had to make a soundtrack of my life, this song would definitely have to be on it. I know my island music posts hardly ever get comments… but this feels like such a part of me, I just had to share it with all of you.

Click here to add it to your musical library, and when your friends compliment you on your eclectic world music taste you can just smile coyly and say, thank you. I’m worldly like that.

And on that note, I’m goin to Chicago to “have a good good time” of my own! I’ll be back with freshness come Monday. Have a fabulous weekend, each and every one of you!

We had company over, so unfortunately I missed the first installment of CNN’s Black in America. And I guess CNN also aired a segment of the program over this past weekend, because the commenters at What About Our Daughters were already deep in analysis about the program’s pros and cons. I’m hearing about a lot of cons so far.

The only segment I’ve seen in its entirety was the interview with Whoopi Goldberg — who I find completely fascinating.

As someone who’s been frequently “complimented” on my articulate nature, I feel her.

Bossip also mentioned the show and asked the question I’ve been wondering — who’s the intended audience? Is it black men and women, we who are hungry for an accurate, uplifting, intelligent portrayal of ourselves? Or is it meant for those outside of the culture, to gain insight to the quote-unquote black experience?

I plan to watch this and post a review next week, when I return from Chicago. If you watched, please let me know what you thought. Spoilers, schmoilers. I want to know!