I find so much makeup inspiration in music videos. I just put on some VH1 Soul and let it ride. Bellas, if you ever find yourself stuck in a makeup rut, you just may find a way out by mellowing out with some video classics. To wit — Total. Where the heck are Kima, Keisha,…
Jams
Throwback Thursday — Is It Because I’m Black?
My heart’s been heavy this week, and I’m gonna blame it on the news. The issues I addressed on Tuesday got me down, first. After that, the response to Michelle Obama’s “That’s America” statement — which has been already turned and twisted and reduced into a quote-unquote unpatriotic soundbite that is as best a caricature…
Throwback Thursday — Earth Wind and Fire!
Raise your hand if you owned this album as a young’un. If you grew up in a black family in the Seventies and Eighties, it was probably in the crate somewhere, right next to Songs In The Key Of Life and the Jackson 5 Christmas album. Earth Wind and Fire’s volume one is a timeless…
Throwback Thursday — A Gospel R&B classic
You ever wake up with a song on your lips? Today I woke up thinking of a song I haven’t heard in absolute ages. Seriously, when is the last time you heard Heaven by BeBe and CeCe Winans? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnKdQu-XeTA It’s been a minute, right? When this album came out in 1988, BeBe and CeCe were…
Back From Hippieville
Wow, wow, wow. That may have been the best birthday ever. I had a blast, and returned from Hippieville to an overflowing inbox of birthday wishes from all of you!! YAY!!! Thank you all so much for making my life richer. Seriously! I will post so much more about Langerado when I have the energy…
Afrobella of the Month — Alison Hinds, The Other Barbadian Music Goddess
Rihanna is fly. Rihanna is beautiful. Rihanna is becoming quite sexy. I say becoming, because compared to Alison Hinds, the reigning queen of soca, Rihanna is still not yet a woman (despite her newly acquired penchant for voguing in fetish gear). Alison Hinds has that grown and sexy thing down pat, and she’s been one…
Mariah DVD Winners!
So sorry it took me forever to announce these winners, bellas! Everyone brought up a different song that took me down memory lane. Mariah’s had so many hits! And I love her latest song, but the video, not so much. I’m a big, obsessed fan of 30 Rock, but Kenneth is cringe worthy in this…
RIP, Joe Gibbs
By now my adoration of Seventies reggae is apparent to anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while, so allow me to bid a fond farewell to a master of the genre. Record producer Joe Gibbs passed away last Thursday. Lee Perry, Niney the Observer, Beres Hammond, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Jacob Miller, and…
Throwback Thursday — The One and Only Etta James!
Ever since I heard that Beyonce was gearing up to play Etta James in a biopic, I’ve had a little knot of worry in my stomach. I don’t stan for Bey, but I do admire her work ethic and I do definitely think she’s talented (that extended mix of Get Me Bodied makes me wanna…
Hey Hey — Mariah Giveaway
Did you miss that post? Go leave a comment there if you want to win The Adventures of Mimi 2-DVD box set. I’ve got five to distribute. And it’s been a beautiful thing reminiscing with you about your favorite Mariah song, y’all got me digging in the mental crates. So commenter Tai mentioned “Vanishing,” which…