Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Blaxploitation 101: Trinidad James & The One Bright Side


Well well well, first let me say it is a good day to be Jamaican, because if this young man's name was Jamaican Jones or something I might have had to hide my flag and put all my Rasta accessories in storage.  But I digress.

For a little while now I had been running on a post election high.  My people turned out in numbers to vote, Barack Obama was still my president and all might not have been right with the world but it was alright with me, that was until I watched Trinidad James' All Gold Everything video.

Yes I know bigger things could have shocked me out of my post election euphoria but for some reason Trinidad James did it.  For me it was like he single handedly massacred any progress or positive images Black people had created over the past however many years with one song.  And the proverbial salt in the wound was Def Jam providing James with a 2 million dollar record deal!

Now for those who haven't heard this track it might sound like I'm being a little extra but trust me, check out the video right below this before you finish reading this and you'll see what I mean.



*SPOILER*  This video is filled with struggle and ratchetness and I'm pretty much convinced that if Super Fly and Ike Turner magically had a baby and let Khia raise it this would be the result.  All shade this buffoonery is just depressing.  Now I do enjoy the occasional ratchet song and sometimes I can't help but to blast some 2Chainz and act hood rich (IN MY HOME) but there has to be a limit.  I'd like to blame the artist for this foolishness but he wouldn't have gotten a deal and had this much buzz if there wasn't a market.  So I guess it makes me wonder whose the biggest sell out Trinidad James, the ever opportunistic Def Jam, or us the consumers. 

One good thing to come from this however is a parody entitled "Belizean James- No Gold Nothing" created by Lamorne Morris (Winston from the TV show The New Girl).  This is probably the most hilarious thing I've seen all year.  Thank you Lamorne for this silver lining.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Gone For a Minute Now I'm Back: Mini MInaj Rant

So I promise I'll be back in a wee bit with something more substantial but because we all know I am not here for Nicki Minaj so I must quickly say this.

IF TARGET AND WALMART DON'T WANT TO SELL YOUR ALBUM AND BEST BUY WILL ONLY BUY IT IN LIMITED QUANTITIES THERE IS A PROBLEM.

That is all.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election 2012: Live State by State Election Results Tonight!


So just in case you want to stay abreast of the 2012 Election results you can feel free to head to twitter and follow @urbanaffairsdly.  I'll be providing live updates all night long!  And remember if you haven't voted yet GO OUT AND DO IT! Most polls don't close for a while so you still have time, no excuses!

Happy election night!

Friday, November 2, 2012

He's Not Heavy He's My Brother: My Support for President Barack Obama


As the 2012 election draws to a close I wanted to dedicate my final campaign post to the candidate I've been endorsing for months, the current Commander-in-Chief, Barack H. Obama.

Admittedly it's been a rough 4 years, the economy is in the toilette, college is more expensive than ever, jobs are scant and just in case republicans haven't said it enough, the was an attack in Libya.  But when looking at the hand Obama was dealt I find it disingenuous for anyone to say he hasn't performed admirably and with grace.

When Obama came into office he inherited a massive debt accrued by former President Bush.  With limited help from republicans the President has been trying his best to fix the economy but it is not an easy job.  how can one honestly expect a person to fix something in four years that it took eight years to break?  It is just not that simple.

The President has also been working tirelessly to make student loans more manageable and to increase funding for community colleges.  He understands that higher education is not a privilege it is a right.  In 1954 The Supreme Court declared that separate but equal is inherently unequal and it seems as though republicans have forgotten this history lesson.  The separation today may not be De Jure but it is most definitely De Facto, with people of lower socio-economic classes being left out or left behind.  Mitt Romney and his fellow republicans believe that the answer to improve the education problems in the U.S is to have more charter schools, to impose more benchmark tests and to limit if not remove federal college aid, and of course if you need money for school you can always borrow from your parents because they MUST be wealthy.  None of these solutions would do anything but worsen the state of education in this country.  We don't need more tests, or to ships students out of their neighborhoods to attend school, we need equality of opportunity.  If the local public schools are damaged the should be fixed the not outsourced because no child should have to travel outside their own neighborhoods to receive a quality education and our President understands that.


Anytime foreign policy is discussed republicans love to fear monger and ignore the fact that Obama did in three years what Bush couldn't do in eight, capture Osama Bin Laden.  They claim that we are in greater danger than ever before and that the President has made the United States look weak.  In a sense maybe they are right, anytime a nation goes from being a diplomatic bully or a global police officer to a calmer, less "rough and ready" force than I'm sure War Hawks would see this as weak, and I'm okay with that.  This world doesn't always need soldiers ready to annihilate anyone they perceive may eventually be a threat, sometimes we just need peace or at least not active conflict. Because where have these bulldog tactics gotten us?  Millions of lives lost and damaged in Vietnam, death and destruction in South East Asia, an unwinnable war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more enemies than ever before, clearly brute force is not the answer.


Mitt Romney will tell you that government is the problem and that the power should lay with the states  but historical we know that is a falsehood.  The federal government got us out of the Great Depression not localities, government creates jobs and provides aid to the people who need it most when states cannot.  The federal government passed laws to end segregation and voter intimidation in the south when the states either did nothing or encourages it.  In fact states like South Carolina still must have changes to their voting laws approved by the federal government because of their history of discrimination so it is clear states don't always get it right.


Nobody told us the road was going to be easy, in fact the road has been rough and the going has been tough, and the hills have been hard to climb, but we must hold on because that is life. There is no such thing as a quick fix to a major problem and to expect one you are only doing yourself a disservice. That being said, at the end of the day the choice is all of ours. Do we want a President who knows that our problems our his problems, that the wealthiest among us should pay their fair share and that the poorest among us need the most help, that equality should not be a dream but a reality, and that it IS in fact the Government's responsibility to serve the people. Because if they are not serving the ones who elected them, if they are not here to aid the ones who have put them in office who are they here for?

I took the title of this post "He's not heavy he's my brother he can not encumber me" from a Donny Hathaway song because it perfectly exemplified my feelings about this election and Barack Obama.  I know these past couple of years have not been perfect, there have been mistakes and pitfalls but despite the political baggage the president has accumulated (just or unjust) I honestly believe that he is the best choice for the the nation and I will continue to support him and I hope that all of you will as well.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Pop Culture Friday: An Open Letter to Ciara




Ciara,

My sweet honey child, we must chat.

I haven't written you before because I thought you had gotten yourself a baller and decided to shy away  from the limelight but clearly I was wrong.  Now girl, I didn't say anything when you decided to fancy yourself an actress and act in that terrible All You've Got MTV movie.

 I never touched the fact that your middle name is princess or that almost ombre hair your still clinging to. 

Most importantly I remained silent when I found out you were in the straight to dvd version of Mama, I Want to Sing! Even though I found the whole thing ironically humours. 

See Ciara I was giving you time to find your self or just simply have a seat but now with your latest Got Me Good Video, you've gone too far!

I'm not even going to shade you for doing a video in the desert when your weave already looks like it's quenched for thirst, but the lyrics girl, the lyrics did it for me.

Cici (if I can call you that)  it's one thing to massacre your own intellectual property put I'd appreciate if you wouldn't drag one of my favorite childhood games into the situation.  I caught the little "My backs aching my bra too tight" chant reference and I'M NOT HERE FOR IT.  I need you to get it together immediately!

My suggestion is that you call up Steevie J and Mona Scott Young and see if you can be the Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta version of Olivia so you can make a little change.

Or you can always go the Ashanti route and find Bow Wow or some other struggling rapper and make a nice little happy home and call it a day with all the celebrity foolishness.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, stay away from my DMV soul mate Wale and Kendrick Lamar.    I have such high hopes for these amazing artist and I feel like you might Yoko Ono their careers.

I doubt you'll listen to me but I wish you all the best,

- A concerned music lover

Monday, October 22, 2012

Don't Miss a Thing: Live Tweets During the Presidential Debate

Tonight is the final presidential debate before the election and I'll be tweeting live the entire time!

Stay up to date on all the moments people will be talking about in the morning by following urban affairs daily on twitter @urbanaffairsdly or following this link https://twitter.com/urbanaffairsdly

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Knuck if You Buck: Tagg Romney Wanted to "Take a Swing" at the POTUS



Where is Reggie Love when you need him?!?

Apparently one of  Romney's clones kids found their thuggish ruggish bone and decided to take aim at the President!

Yesterday during an interview with a North Carolina radio station Tagg Romney said that when he heard President Obama call his father a liar during the debates he wanted to

"jump out of his seat and ... rush down to the debate stage and take a swing at him."
 
He followed this by saying
 "But you know you can't do that because, well first because there's a lot of Secret Service between you and him, but also because this is the nature of the process, they're going to do everything they can do to try to make my dad into someone he's not."
Look, I find it hard to take someone with a misspelled verb for a name seriously but little statements like this aren't cute, dignified or appropriate.  It just goes to show that with all the money the Romney's have their children lack a wee bit of class and political savvy. 

I'm sure millions of people and POLITICIANS wanted to punch George W Bush in the throat while he was President but they didn't dare say it because no matter what he is the President and there is a certain amount of respect he deserves.  Also Tagg's main reason for not taking a swing at the POTUS should have been because it would be wrong to do and that's not how adults or any person should handle situations not because he knew he'd get bodied by Secret Service. AND if making the other candidate look bad is just the nature of the process then aren't you doing the same thing?

Either way I'm sure the Romney team will sweep Tagg's thoughtless comments under the rug and make sure he doesn't slip up again and I'm fine with that.  However if I was Tagg I wouldn't try it with Obama, I'm sure he's not a "fighter" but to me he has "run up get done up" written all over him.

*I realize that I previously referred to Tagg as Tripp.  I apologize, I often feel as though yuppie, smug names are interchangeable*


Receipt: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/tagg-romney-obama_n_1976186.html
 

Friday, October 12, 2012

Pop Culture Friday: BasketBall Wives LA, Nicki Mina, Bus Driver Uppercut, Bobbi Kris & More!

Happy Friday! Now let's talk pop culture.
 




Basketball Wives LA
This show entertains me like no other and I'm slightly ashamed to say it.  That being said this episode was cute and drama filled.  I still don't understand why Jackie Christie is still on the show because she's really too old for all of that drama but I guess a check is needed.  The episode focused a lot on family and issues.  We got to see Draya and her family and the Govan sisters hashed out their little drama as well, all culminating in a fight between Jackie and Draya.  Now this whole fight was stupid but Jackie gets the crown for doing the most.  As the only person in the group who's close to receiving AARP she should have known better.  The only thing she needs to be fighting for at her age is medicare and social security.

Nicki Minaj's New Album Cover
                                                                   
3 words. good.day.sir
Fresh off  cussing Mariah Carey out in true hood rat fashion on the set of American Idol, Nicki has released the album cover for the re release of her redundant Pink Friday: Roman Re loaded album.  Why she's re releasing an album that wasn't that good in the first place is beyond me but hey why not.  What I really can't wrap my brain around is why she come up with a new name for this pop crap she keeps putting out.  That's why I'm still keeping the "help Nicki come up with a new album title" campaign...in fact it shout just be trending. something like #nomorepinkfriday #endpinkfriday #namenicki'salbum #pinkfridayisdead anything.  I know the Barbz are going to come for my neck but I can't stand the lil wayne repetition anymore.

Bobbi Kristina's Reality Show:

Where is Cissy and who gave this the green light?  I can't see how this is a good idea for anybody.  All I see is a train wreck and a break down in the future for all parties involved in this foolishness



 






Stacy Dash Voting For Mitt Romney:
Apparently Stacy Dash supports Mitt Romney.  I haven't been really interested in what Stacy Dash had to say since she stopped being Dionne Davenport but hey good for her at least she's voting.







J Cole, Kendrick Lamar Album Still Happening:

Words cannot explain how bad I stan for both of them and whispers of a join album have made my whole entire year!  A couple of weeks ago Kendrick Lamar assured the public that the album is still in the works and they're a couple of tracks deep.  Hopefully they aren't going to pull a Detox and release random tracks every couple of years but never an album.



Bus Driver UpperCut Video:

This is exactly why I hate riding the bus! If you haven't watched the video follow the link and do it now before you read the rest of this.  I never advocate violence by anyone but this shows all the little Nicki Minaj's of the world exactly why you can't go around acting like your "bout that life" and disrespect people..especially not your elders.  This little girl knew she was wrong for threatening that elderly bus driver and cussing and spitting in his face and because she clearly had no home training she thought she could get away with it.  Now I'm not saying the old man was right for uppercutting her to the next dimension and knocking her little dollar tree ponytail off but when you act like a thug you get treated like one. ovaries or not .Bus driver Uppercut


So that's pretty much it for the week feel free to comment and let me know what I missed.

Coming For That Number One Spot: Biden and Ryan Spar During Debate


If you didn't watch the debates YOU WERE MISSING OUT.  As soon as it ended I had to put on some Sade and dim my lights just to relax because as my mom would say "a sistah was spent".  The debate was filled with shade, reads, fact checking and the familiar sound of Biden laughing, all the things my dreams are made of. 

So What did we learn according to Ryan:

Ryan would spend more time and money in Iraq and the middle east. 
Ryan and Romney do not support abortion would not nominate supreme court justices to the supreme court who supported it
Military spending should increase
The stimulus package has hurt America
Under Romney medicare would essential be a voucher system
Obama policies are terrible vote Romney

Biden on the other hand reaffirmed Obama's policies and basically read Paul Ryan his rights and sent him to bed with a cool glass of milk.  The most entertaining moment (besides every time time he'd make a face) was when Joe Biden slammed Paul Ryan on attacking the stimulus package when he sent two letters to the Vice President asking for stimulus money for his state!

So for the big question of who won last night.  Personally I believe the crown goes to my fellow Aquarian, the moderator, Martha Raddatz.  Raddatz handled the debate the way Jim Lehrer should have a week ago.  She interrupted when necessary and she demanded the candidates to be specific and answer the questions she asked. So brava Martha!

All in all the debate was beyond entertaining and a definite success for the Obama camp.  The Romney momentum was crushed and now all eyes will be on Obama and Romney on Tuesday for the next set of presidential debates.  Of course Ryan is desperately in need of a shoulder to cry on I'm sure he can call up Sarah Palin. She knows all about getting served by Joe Biden and of course the "liberal elite".

On a brighter not here are a few of my favorite memes...enjoy!







Thursday, October 11, 2012

Mama Said Knock You Out: The Vice Presidential Debate Promises To Be a Battle Royal


With only a few weeks left until the election, Vice President Joe Biden and Vice Presidential hopeful Paul Ryan are ready to duke it out in the only way politicians can since duels were outlaws, by debating.

Tonight at 9pm Biden and Ryan will debate each other on foreign and domestic topics each having two minutes to respond. 

For the Obama campaign tonight is huge.  Granted it won't really have an impact on the polls or the outcome of the election unless something extremely bad happens but it will provide the administration with a chance to stop any momentum Romney and Ryan have gained since the last debate.

Since Joe Biden is known for being fiery and outspoken I'm sure he's already blasting Cheif Keef and ready to put the breaks on this Romney train (or at least in my head he is).  If your not watching the debate don't worry, I'll be doing a brief recap tomorrow!

As always follow Urban Affairs Daily on twitter and spread the word!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

On the Come Up: Urban Affairs Daily is Now on Twitter!!

Urban Affairs Daily is now on Twitter!!

Follow me on twitter at @SableFemme or follow this link https://twitter.com/SableFemme

And remember you can always like the facebook page at Urban Affairs Daily on Facebook, it needs love.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

You Decide 2012: Make Sure Your Registered


So I know I promised a full debate review but after watching the debate and doing the live updates via Facebook I don't think I need to.  What I think is most important right now is that EVERYBODY register to vote!! In a lot of states the deadline is fast approaching so make sure you check your registration status and if your already not registered DO IT TODAY!

Voting is crucial especially if you are of color.  Many people fought and died so that we would one day be able to perform our civic duty, let's not sully their memory by not voting now!!!!



Remember to like us on Facebook!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Not Watching the Debates? I Got You Covered: Live Debate Updates TONIGHT!



Happy Presidential Debate Day!!!

Okay so I know everybody isn't as excited as me but hey I'm a politics junkie.  Now I also know alot of people don't watch the debates for a multitude of reasons like it's boring, you have to work that night, something better comes on at 9, or you have other things in life to do.  Even though your not watching it live you don't want to be left out when professors, co workers or really SNL starts talking about the debates, I mean nobody likes that feeling.  So for those people I have a solution.

Starting tonight I will be providing Live debate updates via Facebook so everybody can feel informed even if your not watching it yourself.  Just visit Urban Affairs Daily on Facebook and like, subscribe or just stalk the page to keep yourself abreast on all things Debate tonight. 

If for some sad reason you decide to hit the pass button on that you can just stay tuned to this page for a more in depth look at the debate but that will probably be published by Friday so GO ON FACEBOOK!


The link to the Urban Affairs Daily page is below and the Live updates will start at 9pm eastern standard time.  Check it out!

Urban Affairs Daily on Facebook

Jackie Christie Fail: This is Exactly Why You Should Know Your Bible



I don't expect much from reality TV but I do expect people to know what they're talking about at least 55% especially if they're talking about God and their beliefs.  Sadly Basketball Wives LA ruined all my expectations in a matter of minutes.

On Monday night the eldest wife, Jackie Christie sat down with co-star Draya Michelle to discuss some issues they were having.   After a couple of heated moments Jackie began to pray (granted they had just brought her food out but still) and the following conversation went something like this.

Draya: I'm just making sure we're praying to the same God

Jackie: See I've heard that little stuff about being satanic and I don't even play with that like me and Lazarus is not friends.

Draya: who?

Jackie: who's the devil Draya?

Draya: His names not Lazarus

Jackie:  What is it then Satan? there's all Kind of names for him.


Clearly Jackie needs to cancel some of these little Lunch dates and stop by somebodies Bible study because LAZARUS and LUCIFER are not the same person.  I mean Aretha Franklin even sings about LAZARUS in "Oh Mary don't you weep" so you don't even need to be a theologian to know the difference.  I honestly feel like Jackie is a little crazy so I don't want to talk about her too bad but in the future I'm going to need her to do better.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Well If This Doesn't Make You Vote: Gangnam Parody "Vote Obama Style"

With just about 39 days left until the election I cannot stress how important it is to register, secure the proper identification and VOTE.  Now I could preach about how Obama is this best choice but I think this Gangnam Style parody video pretty much sums it up! 




So remember this November Vote Obama Style!

Happy Friday :)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Is Why I Don't Like Her: Ann Coulter Being Ann Coulter on The View



I really try not to mention Ann Coulter because I swear she's raises my normal on target blood pressure but today I couldn't resist.  Sometime this week Ann the friendly WASP decided to reschedule her daily tea party and screening of Birth Of A Nation with David Duke to stop by The View and plug her new book Mugged.

 Ann like always made inflammatory and border line racist comments one saying that the OJ verdict made white America say "that's it the white guilt banks are shut down" and "that was the best thing that ever happened to black people" oh and of course "Barack Obama has abandoned black people" and just in case you were wondering the crime laws employed by republicans in New York and Reagan and Bush judges throughout the nation really saved black lives.  There is so much I'd like to say about all that but for the sake of my pressure I'm just going to correct a few of her erroneous "facts".

1. Liberals call everything that doesn't have to do with black people Civil Rights....abortion on demand, homeless rights

-Despite contrary opinion Black people do not have the monopoly on Civil Rights...and this is coming from a real life black person.  By definition Civil Rights are equality rights they are not race, age, gender or sexual orientation specific.  They are rights a person is guaranteed by a nation from birth.

2. The first Black congressmen were all republicans and republicans were the first to try to get blacks to vote and the southern strategy was a myth.

- Okay historically yes Ann you are right but how bout we stop pretending that we're all idiots who don't know that the political parties in America have drastically shifted ideologically since 1868.  The republican party today is not the party of Lincoln, that's just basic high school government class knowledge.

3. Republicans have never pushed for Voter I.D laws that's a democrat thing.
  
Really so what about...
- Nikki Haley governor of South Carolina..a republican
- Tom Corbett governor of Pennsylvania
- Rick Scott governor of Florida
- Rick Perry former governor of Texas

now that's only naming a few but c'mon we all know republicans have been overwhelmingly pushing for these laws

4. Liberals support voter fraud
- there have been more accounts of people seeing UFO's than voter fraud occurring CUT IT OUT.



If you want to hear her entire segment on The View and watch Whoopi get bleeped just follow the link below and for the love of God please don't read chapter 14 or 16 of her book like she begs everyone too.  Just read the 14th and 16th amendment...you'll be better off that way, I promise.

Ann Coulter on The View

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Each One Teach One: Let's Help Nicki Minaj Come Up With a New Album Name!


I don't usually blog on the weekend but as I'm watching The Art Of Rap, which is AMAZING by the way I can't help but to think about poor Onika Maraj. 

Not too long ago she announced that her next album will eventually drop and it will be named Pink Friday Roman Reloaded the Re Up, after that she released images of her new perfume named what?!?! You guessed it Pink Friday.  Now I know the Bratz Barbz probably love the fact that ALL of her albums and now her perfume have the same name, I mean it is easy to remember but I just need the madness to end. 

Since Nicki's probably too busy making faces in her mirror and picking out Safaree's outfits to do it herself I think we should all help her think of a new album and or fragrance name.  Here's my potential list:

1. Lacefronts and Silicone

2. Memories of the Rich and Ratchet

AND

3. I'm  Rich So I Can Do This

Okay so they could probably use work but hey it's a start. Join in and let's help Nicki come up with something new!

Friday, September 21, 2012

It's official: You can now like Urban Affairs Daily on facebook!




So today I finally decided to create a Facebook fan page for this humble little blog!  Its new and a wee bit bare so don't judge me, but it is up and running!  So just follow the link below or click the button on the right hand side and like urban affairs daily on facebook! Oh and have a happy friday!






like the facebook!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

I Said It And What: Mitt Romney's Not Apologizing For 47% Comments


Somewhere in the hills of Massachusetts (or at least in my mind) I'm sure Mitt Romney is blasting Snow's Informer and yelling "I'll lick em bum bum down" in his best patois all while drinking lots of gin because this is truly turning out to be an annoying week. First he had to deal with Nancy Pelosi throwing shade now one of his supporters has turned snitched and released a particularly damning video of him.

 As I'm sure most people already know that a video was recently released that features Mitt Romney saying that 47% of America will never vote for him because they are depending on government to supply their needs like housing and food and that he doesn't care about them.

Well MOST people would assume that after a messy situation like this you'd apologize and try to do some damage control but of course your not Mitt Romney.  Recently Romney has channeled his inner thug and basically said that he's standing by his statements and HE'S NOT APOLOGIZING..so now what!

Now I'm not sure if Romney's campaign team just decided to stop caring this week or if they are truly so ignorant that they think not wavering on this is a good idea but whatever the case may be they have made egregious mistake.  With 7 weeks till the election it might not be the best idea to alienate 47% of the population, especially not when your behind in the vast majority of wing states.





Fact Check Me (& listen to Informer):
Romney Stands by Statements

Snow- Informer

Congressional Shade: Nancy Pelosi Say's Mitt Romney's Not Winning This Election



After hours of vegging out on my new favorite show Newsroom on HBO I decided I wanted to write about something serious, something news worthy, something the people needed to know!  Then I saw this beautiful dose of shade by Nancy Pelosi and I had to press pause on all that for the time being and talk about something fun.

Recently former Speaker Pelosi had this to say about Mitt Romney at CNN's "State of the Union".

"Oh, Mitt Romney's not going to be president of the United States," I think everybody knows that."
 


Sometimes I forget how much I LOVE that lil' old lady & then she says things like this and I'm ready to move to her district and start hanging up campaign signs.  That being said,  it is a little less than two months from the election so I hope she didn't speak to soon.










Fact Check Me: Huffington Post

Monday, September 17, 2012

Well It's Not Just Me & Spike Lee: Huffington Post Article Questions the Benefit of Tyler Perry Movies




Well, well, well, it looks like Spike Lee and I aren't the only "haters" in the building. An article recently published by the Huffington Post found in their Black Voices sound asking the question are Tyler Perry movies helping or hurting the black community. While the writer doesn't pick a side it's nice to finally see the question raised by someone other than Spike Lee.

Since I've already shared my personal opinion on Perry and his modern minstrel shows movies I won't go over them again but feel free to follow the link at the bottom and read the article which collected some of their greatest twitter responses and incorporated them within the story. Have fun!




PS.  Remember when I am talking about Perry Films I mean movies that were solely HIS intellectual property. Not films that where the concept, storyline and at the very least part dialogue were taken from a critically acclaimed play written decades before. And just in case there’s any question I was definitely talking about For Colored Girls. Okay now have fun!









Tyler Perry Movies: Are They Helping Or Hurting The Black Community?

Friday, September 7, 2012

Chile Please: Nicki Minaj endorses Mitt Romney in Latest Rap


After my trip to Jamaica and my slight hiatus I'm back with a story to tell.

Recently the blogs have been all a buzz with news of  rapper Nicki Minaj and her apparent endorsement of Mitt Romney.  On a track that appears on Lil Wayne's Dedication 4 mixtape, Minaj decided to throw out these "political" bars:
"I'm a Republican voting for Mitt Romney. You lazy bitches is #ucking up the economy" 

The picture above pretty much sums up my feelings about Nicki Minaj's whole career let alone her most recent lyrical disaster.  There's so many funny things about this situation however that I couldn't resist speaking on it.

Firstly, In another part of the song Minaj states "I came Trinidad on a temporary vizay" referencing her immigration to the US at the age of five.  This could lead one to question the status of her citizenship and as we all know the republicans don't take kindly to illegals so this could put her in an uncomfortable situation with her hypothetical party members.  But the real gag in all this is the fact that Onika isn't even registered to vote and even if she was a card toting GOP member I highly doubt she'd be invited to any campaign stops.  Her entire image pretty much sums up everything the republicans  ARE NOT HERE FOR.  Her provocative look, her over sexed lyrics, her "gangster rap" affiliations and use of profanity goes directly against their family values platform.  Minaj also seems to forget that not too long ago she and her family were section 8 poor living in the south side of Jamaica Queens while her father struggled with drugs, which means they benifitted from government assistance that republicans aren't typically fans of AND they were part of those "lazy bitches"  f'ing up the economy
.
I'd like to be mad  about how reckless and stupid Minaj's "endorsement" was but I've alwasy said you can't waste energy getting mad at  the actions children or crazy people because they don't know any better, so I'll take my own advice.  I just hope this latest gaffee will be the catalyst for her to finally have about three or four seats but I doubt it. 

Follow the link to hear the infamous endorsement rap.

Mercy- Lil Wayne ft. Nicki Minaj
 
 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Do You Feel That Shade?: Aretha Franklin tells Kathie Lee to Check Her Credentials

*sigh* I'm not sure what's in the water but this week yet another celebrity has written a check their relevance can't cash.

Recently on her televised happy hour morning show Kathie Lee shared some unpleasant thoughts about the possibility of Aretha Franklin joining American Idol, causing Aretha to evoke the spirit of Got 2b Real and made it known that her name is Terms and Conditions...nobody reads her.

The whole thing started when Gifford had the following to say:
" If they are looking for a younger demographic, there are a lot of kids out there (who) actually don’t know who Aretha Franklin is. It’s sad, but they don’t”
And of course High Queen ReRe was not tolerating the perceived shade and said this in a letter to CNN:
"While I enjoy Kathie Lee and Hoda daily, her assessment is totally wrong! I've been to California from Detroit four times this year and Florida. I go wherever I choose to go comfortably on my custom bus. Further, my audience and fans span the age of 8 to 90! And are multi-ethnic, and I am very well known to young adults, tweens and teens. Their parents play my music and I take care of my business whenever I sign on the dotted line! I'm surprised Kathie Lee did not research my worldwide celebrity audience… She should research me before she speaks about me."
Welp there you go! Aretha might not be selling albums but she's surely snatching wigs...hopefully Kathie Lee will take a quick peek at wikipedia before she comments on the Queen of Soul again.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Mitt Romney Responds To Being Booed at NAACP Convention



Apparently Romney felt a little salty about being booed at an NAACP convention recently and had this to say:

" I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy-more free stuff. But don't forget nothing is really free."
Really Mitt?!? Let's not pretend like you didn't see this WHOLE thing coming to begin with so don't try and cry about it now with all that free stuff nonsense.   I can't even say much about this whole thing because I honestly find like 80% percent of what Romney says is either hypocritical or irrelevant. That being said I truly wish he'd hire some new advisers and work on some new strategies for this election that does not include "obamacare" because that whole argument died when the Supreme Court passed their ruling.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Is Somebody In Their Feelings?: Wayne Brady Wants To "Slap The Sh*t" Out Of Bill Maher


Recently Wayne Brady decided to take a stab a being relevant again and respond to Bill Maher repeatedly calling Barack Obama "Your Wayne Brady" I'm not sure if he went online and downloaded some Waka Flocka and Pusha T and listened to them while he showered and plucked his eyebrows that morning or if he just watched his Chappelle Show skit on YouTube a couple of times the night before but apparently Wayne Brady is now "'bout that life".  In a recent radio interview Brady had this to say:
 "it's a diss to Obama to be called me because he wants a brother brother"  AND " I would gladly slap the shit out of Bill Maher in the middle of the street and then I want to see what Bill Maher would do"
Brady goes on to make it sound like he's mad because he's insulting the President  and because Maher doesn't know anything about black culture and basically all the things you'd say when your trying to cover up the fact that your feelings are hurt.

Now I'm going to leave my personal feeling about this whole debacle aside and just stick with facts. Maher is a LIBERAL COMEDIAN, he was not being malicious he was just doing his job.  Yes he calls Obama "Your Wayne Brady" probably because he feels like the president is a friendly black man who makes white people comfortable and displays no "scary negro" qualities that might make you clutch your Birkin bag which is true.  

Lastly let's just pretend we're on Oprah and be honest, Brady's always had a HUGE chip on his shoulder and Maher isn't the first person to make a joke about it.  In fact The Honorable Paul Mooney once said "White people like Wayne Brady because he makes Bryan Gumble look like Malcom X"  AND WE ALL KNOW IT'S TRUE.

 In reality he's like Tiger Woods....Black by genetics White by choice and THAT'S COOL to each his own but you can't be ready to reach for the strap every time somebody points it out.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court Upholds Individual Mandate


If in my SHEER excitement I can be colloquial for a minute.......it looks like "obamacare" aint goin no where haters!!! Only moment ago in a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court has voted that the individual mandate IS constitutional, effectively upholding the Health Care Act.

Being chronically ill this is extremely important to me and I'm ready to celebrate and I know if I'm beside myself with glee President Obama has to be feeling remarkable. After taking years of heat and abuse over this he's finally able to shut all these conservative nay sayers up and now he has a HUGE political boost for the upcoming election.

Unfortunately this isn't a celebratory day for us all. I'm pretty sure Romney, his advisors and all these tea party lunatics are meeting in the Legion of Doom, sipping gin and calling up Pinky and the Brain so they can figure out an alternative world domination plan. So I'm going to keep my antennas up and my ears open 'cause I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this just yet.

ACLU Set to Represent KKK in Latest Case




As I write this I'm pretty sure David Duke is somewhere watching Hitler documentaries and steaming his favorite hood and sheet combo because it looks like his former organization has gotten a big hand up today.

In opportunistically hypocritical breaking news the ACLU has decided to represent the KKK in their recent highway debacle. Not too long ago the state of Georgia blocked the KKK's plan to adopt a stretch of route 515 in North Georgia and apparently the Klan is not taking this one lying down.

I'm not particularly shocked at the Klan, they're a racist organization who constantly attempts to spread their hateful propaganda so honestly their just doing their job. The ACLU on the other hand...I cannot. I understand that they believe in defending 1st amendment issue but getting into bed with an organized TERRORIST group who generally hate 98% of people or groups you've defended might help you politically but in reality it's BEYOND reckless and insensitive.

I'd like to believe this case won't go far but with the current climate of the nation that's unlikely

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Hip Hop: The Music Of My Revolution




As Black Music Month winds to a close I thought I'd take a second to reflect on a particular genre of music that is close to my heart, Hip Hop.

Like most 20 and 30 something’s I grew up on Hip Hop. My mom taught me my body parts using "Whoop there it is", when playing hide and seek with my friends I'd often hum The Fuggees "Ready or Not", and one year for Christmas I instructed my family to "Give it up for Santa" while performing my own version of Naughty By Nature's "Hip Hop Horary" (and there’s footage to prove it). As I got older Hip Hop fueled my militant stage (one I'm not completely sure I'm out of). Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" was like my eternal theme song and NWA's "F the Police" was always on heavy rotation. As I moved from angry to conscious the music of Arrested Development, Brand Nubian and Dead Prez were like my bread and butter.

As I grew and developed I forgot something very important.....ALL Hip Hop is political. From KRS-One to Tupac to Ace Hood there are always political undertones. See for some time I had sub categorized what I believed to be conscious Hip Hop and in a way I was right. Most people wouldn't put Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five in the same league with artist like 50 cent and though they might not be on the same stream of consciousness their base message is the same.

Whether its 50 cent rapping about his life in the dope game, Kendrick Lamar spitting about the plights of prostitutes or J Cole flowing about life in the hood it's all political, it may not be conscious but it's political. They are rapping about a margin of society that is ignored and disenfranchised and that in its essence is political. Granted they might not be wearing Each One Teach One hoodies and calling us all to action like many artists have in the past but they are, in their own way showing America what's going on in their neck of the woods.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, artist like Nicki Minaj and her Mattel minions (and all of Young Money really) tend to just spit random raps about money, weed, expensive alcohol, strip clubs and their latest sexual exploits.

Luckily not all current artists are like that. In many ways Hip Hop is still political and is still is voice of the "youthful revolution" within black America. You just have to look beyond the surface to find it.


Thursday, June 21, 2012

"That Dope Ain't No Joke": Florida man Gets Naked And Eats Man's Flesh

I'm not saying the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us but well this is some crazy stuff.  According to Florida police Charles Baker got naked, busted into his girlfriends house already high on some drug, bit a piece of another man's bicep and then ATE it.  This isn't the first bit of cannibalism craziness we've seen from Florida, not too long ago a Miami man was shot and killed by police after eating the vast majority of a homeless man's face.  Though we don't know exactly what Baker was on we do know that the Miami cannibal was high on bath salts, which seems to be a growing trend. 

Because of the face eating nature of these and several other attacks, the CDC released a statement assuring the public that there is not a zombie epidemic and everybody can calm down.  Logically I know they're right but I'm packing my survival kit and leaving it by the door just in case.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Breaking News: House Oversight Committee Has Voted To Hold Eric Holder In Contempt of Congress


Just moments ago the House Oversight Committee decided in a 23-17 vote that Attorney General Eric Holder Will be held in contempt of Congress.  Republicans are claiming that the Department of Justice and more specifically attorney general Holder has refused to to hand over documents involving "operation fast and furious" (click the link below to get the back story).  Here's what Holder had to say about the vote.
" Simply put, any claims that the Justice Department has been unresponsive to requests for information are untrue. From the beginning, Chairman Issa and certain members of the Committee have made unsubstantiated allegations first, then scrambled for facts to try to justify them later. That might make for good political theater, but it does little to uncover the truth or address the problems associated with this operation and prior ones dating back to the previous Administration."
The Republicans are doing what they do best and that is shamelessly politicking. This is political theater at it's greatest and with four months till the election I'm sure the best is yet to come.





Operation Fast And Furious

Watch It: Awkward Black Girl Season 2




Season 2 of Issa Rae's Awkward Black Girl recently premiered and it's Just as funny as the first.  I really can't think of anything to say besides GO WATCH IT.  She hilarious it's hilarious you won't be disappointed...I hope :)

.Awkward Black Girl Season 2 Episode 1

Tyler Perry....I Need You to Stop

So before I start I already know this post probably won't win me any friends but  after seeing the previews for Madea's Witness Protection, I can't stand it any longer.  Now I know some of my people love Tyler Perry, they watch all those terrible shows, they pay eleven dollars a ticket to see his movies, and they bring buses filled with the entire church congregations to watch his famous drag shows stage plays, but I cannot drink the southern sweet tea flavored kool-aid. 

I'm tired of the Sambos and Mamie like characters, the over use of trite Christian themes and his employment of ignorant buffoons who can't pronounce words and don't know the difference between Algebra and Aljero.  I'm tired of seeing some fat angry black woman running around, brandishing weapons and showing less intelligence than my 3 year old cousin and I'm tired of seeing skinny angry black women in every movie.  I don't want to see another light skin black man save some damsel in distress from her violent dark skin husband and for at least a year no more CRACK HEAD STORIES! I'm tired of the repeated story lines and sophomoric writing and the terrible acting.  I'm sick of the faux drama he creates in every one of his shows and if I see another damn person who's had their house burned down or who's mother, father, sister, cousin is on some type of drug I'm going to lose it. 

And I think what really bothers me is the fact that Perry honestly believes he's speaking for black America....AND doesn't mind saying it.  Now I'm not saying that nobody lives in this perpetual state of ignorance but we all surely don't and what's probably most troubling is the fact that white America is eating this stuff up.  Characters like Madea and Mr. Brown have become household names in black and white suburbia.  These shucking and jiving images aren't making white people uncomfortable, they've embraced them and they aren't laughing with Madea and people like her, they're laughing at them.  Sadly black Americans are only to blame.  Large amounts of us have embraced Perry as our great filmmaker and spoke person and turned our back on people like Spike Lee who have spoken out against him.

Now before I'm called a hater and a sufferer of "crabs in a barrel" syndrome I do want to say this.  I'm not knocking his hustle I'm knocking his message and methods.  As a Christian I don't think pimping the Church for monetary gain is cute and as a conscious black individual I don't appreciate ANY ONE portraying my race as ignorant or coonish.  The NAACP fought to have Amos and Andy removed from the air for their coonery so for that same reason I think we need to take a more critical look at Perry and his many works

So maybe instead of running to the theaters to see Madea Goes to the Unemployment line or Madea Fries Chicken we can all pop in Spike Lee's Bamboozled because that's where we're heading if this mess doesn't stop.

Bad Day?: Former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's Group Dropped By Change.org

Well well well look how the mighty have fallen, Change.org has officially dropped Michelle Rhee's anti union StudentsFirst organization (full story at the bottom).  Change.org is liberal, online organization that attempts to create social change by the use of online petitions so them affiliating with Rhee in any way, shape or form made no sense to me.  Apparently this decision came as a shock to Rhee and her affiliates.  I guess they assumed they could ride the BS wave of Waiting For Superman forever.  Once again I just don't understand her.  For those who aren't from the DC area and who only know her by the glowing interviews and documentaries she's been featured in let's look at some more realistic facts.

Not long after taking office she closed down several public schools without holding hearings

-She fired a very large number of teachers in the middle of the school day. The teachers who were being fired were told to gather up their belongings and leave the buildings.This caused an insane backlash by students, parents and other teachers. In one school the students even walked out in a heated protest that ended with police being called.

-When speaking about the 266 teachers she fired Ms. Rhee had this to say "I got rid of teachers who had hit children, who had sex with children, who had missed 78 days of schools," "Why wouldn't we take those things into consideration?" Needless to say this was far from true and she was later forced to retract her statement after pressure from teachers unions and the school board.

- She has also been accused of not reporting complete budget figures at D.C. council hearings, excluding parents from involvement, hiring former supporters to conduct an evaluation of her performance, opposing student protests of her security policies, managing using authoritarian principles, spending considerable time before the national media (Time, PBS, lecture circuit) instead of visiting schools

And that's not even the half of it.  I have only the best wishes for Rhee, as long as it's far away from education and DC

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Adidas Cancels Shackles Shoes


I'm not sure who's working for Adidas these days or who's brilliant idea it was to create these shoes but they tried it and it failed faster than Madonna's last album.  According to the Boston Herald  Adidas announced Monday evening that they would be canceling their plans to release the shackle sneakers after the huge public outcry. You can read the full story at the link at the bottom.  Apparently we're supposed to believe that the creative minds behind the shoe's design NEVER EVER considered they could possibly be seen as offensive, to them millions of urban youths running around with bright orange shackles around their ankles wasn't racially reckless, it was just another day in the 'hood. 

Now that I've said all that I do want to issue a quick PSA.  I don't care what race, religion, creed, nationality, age or species you are, please do not tell me to get over slavery.  I know it sounds random but as I was reading through some of the comments on websites like CNN or The Huffington Post,  I saw a number of people either eluding or just out right saying that black people should get over slavery.  This isn't the first time I've heard this in fact when I was in high school (a long three years ago) many of my paler peers would say statements very similar to this so instead of getting into an extend rant about this I just want to state a few facts:

  • No one kindly asks Jewish Americans to just forget about the Holocaust (which they shouldn't)
  • No one would EVER tell the families of September 11th victims to just get over the attacks and move on
  • No one asks the Native Americans to drop any hard feelings about the rape of their land and the attempted genocide committed against their people
  • And No one would ever dare to tell any group of American to simply get over Pearl Harbor because well it happened a long time ago
See generally when it comes to the deplorable acts carried out against people of color Americans have a funny habit of wanting people to simply forget about it.  Instead of owing up to their bad behavior they sweep the events under the rug and deflect.  See because after all it's not their fault that they did something wrong, it's yours for not letting bygones be bygones, but I digress.

Boston Herald Article

Monday, June 18, 2012

Really?!?: Sarah Palin mocks Obamas drug use and dog eating.

These days i try to make it a rule to pretend Sarah Palin doesn't exist, kind of like the bogeyman or Peter Pan.  In my wonderful dream world Palin was just a mystical figure who's now somewhere with Puff the Magic Dragon in a land called Honalee or hanging out in some magical country where being dumb is smart and geography is non existent.  I had pretty much kept up my delusional fantasy until today when I finally broke down and read a Politico article about a speech Palin gave at some conservative bloggers convention.

Apparently Palin decided to try her hand at intentional comedy and had this to say: “That cocaine snorting, and what he ate — Fido? Rufus?” and “I think it’s funny that the cocktail circuit gives me a hard time for eating elk and moose. Anybody here have a pet moose? There’s a difference.”  

I'm really not sure where to even start with this.  I think what really confuses me the most is that this is Sarah Palin throwing shade at Barack Obama.  Sarah Palin?!? The woman who could see Russia from Alaska, the woman who couldn't name any newspaper or magazine that she reads on a DAILY BASIS.  The woman who was probably the biggest presidential political liability in the past 30 to 40 years!!  I just..I don't even understand her.  She's not running for any office but she still feels the need to well just talk.  I don't know maybe I'm just being extra but unless she's competing on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader I don't want to hear her speak.

Can't We All Just Get Along: RIP Rodney King

So as most of the world already knows, Rodney King was found dead yesterday in his swimming pool.  20 years ago King's vicious beating by several LAPD officers and their eventually acquittal sparked what is now known as the L.A riots. 

No matter how you feel about the situation preceding King's beating I think we can all agree that there is no reason for MULTIPLE officers to beat an unarmed man, it's just not right.   So maybe today we can all try to live by King's unrealistically optimistic dream and "just get along"

Friday, June 8, 2012

Vote 2012...because enough people don't want you to


A couple of months ago I delivered a speech about modern voter disenfranchisement at a student conference on my college campus.  At the time I knew it was a BIG deal and needed to be addressed but I didn't think I'd be seeing it on the news every other day.  I could spend hours discussing the many ways Republicans are trying to rip away minorities votes but for the sake of time...and my own attention span I'll only deal with a few.   So lets start with some stats and facts.


   Last May the governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley signed the R54 bill into law, it would require voters to show 1 of five government issued ID’s in order to cast their ballots.  To most people this doesn’t seem like a huge deal but passing such a law could result in the turning away of a significant portion of American voters at the poll According to New York University’s Brennan Center 11% of the population is of voting age but for various reasons lacks the government issued Identifications to vote. In December the Justice department rejected the changes citing that South Carolina failed to prove that wide spread voter fraud was taking place and that the R54 bill failed to comply with the 1965 voting rights act.  Unfortunately South Carolina is not the only state attempting to initiate such laws.  According to the National Conference of State legislators in the year 2011 alone 34 states introduced voting rights legislation.

The main claim that state law makers assert in favor of these strict ID is that voter fraud is rampant and this is this only way to neutralize it.  The only problem with this argument is that Evidence of wide spread voter fraud has never been substantiated.  What has been proven however is that these law disproportionally impact traditional democratic voting blocs such as the young, minorities, elderly and naturalized citizens successfully deterring them from voting.  

One of the major provisions of the Voting Rights act of 1965 was to prevent the Jim Crow era tactics of voter intimidation.  Sadly however some political hopefuls and their supporters continue to use updated pervasive tactics in order to clinch electoral victories.
For example in 2002 flyers were posted in majority black neighborhoods in Baltimore Maryland reading “Urgent Notice: Vote Tuesday Nov 6th but make sure you pay parking tickets, motor vehicle tickets, overdue rent & most importantly any warrants”   This was a clear racially biased attempt at reducing the amount of black voters that came out to the . 
Just this past February also in the state of Maryland, Paul E. Schruick the campaign manager of Robert Ehrlich was sentenced by a judge to home detention and community service for his attempts at voter suppression.  As reported by the Baltimore Sun Schurick approved automotive Election Day calls, often referred to as robo calls that were made to areas with predominantly urban voters stating that the race had already been won and that there was no need for them to go the polls and vote. 

Now I haven't even mentioned Florida's recent attempts to purge suspected "non citizens" from state voting rolls because that's a blog for another day. But let's not pretend like it's not all connected.  These are just one of many attempts by the David Duke Army republican party to keep down the minority vote.  It kind of makes me wonder, if their working this hard to prevent minorities from voting then what exactly do they plan to do or nor do when and if they are elected. 
The only way to fight this is to be aware and to vote.  For once I agree with BET....we must Vote like our life depends on it.








Thursday, June 7, 2012

Remember Jasper





On this day 14 years ago in Jasper, Texas 49 year old James Byrd Jr. was beaten, urinated on, before being chained by his ankles to the back of a truck and dragged for three miles by three white young men.  He was alive the entire time until his body hit a culvert and his right arm and head were severed. 
This crime did not go unpublished.  The three men were jailed, one was executed another is still currently on death row and the last is serving a life sentence.

Since 1998 James Byrd has ceased to be a household name.  The atrocities committed against him have become generally unknown among the younger generations as June 7th has continued to be recognized as just another summer day.  Sadly this isn't shocking.  My beautiful black Americans have seemed to forget the importance of discussing our past, be it good or bad.  We like to sweep the unpleasantness under the rug and pretend that this "Post Racial America" thing really exists.  It's truly sad to say that my generation of children probably knows less about their history than any other before it.   Hopefully the Trayvon Martin case isn't forgotten like this but if we don't start talking and stop forgetting it probably will.