I saw this photo of New York over at Concrete Loop, and I just had to give my two cents. She might love makeup and “giving a lot of attention to her nails and skin” – no kidding, that’s apparently what she does in her spare time – but New York is so not afrobella….
Pop Culture
Gifts for Escapist Bellas
The second installment of the Afrobella Holiday Shopping Guide is all about bellas who daydream. The kind who seem to float by on a cloud, and doodle in the margins during boring board meetings. When you’re so bogged down by day-to-day stress that you can’t see straight, sometimes it’s the only way to survive the…
That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!
There are a few magazines that I would just love to freelance for, and Essence is definitely one of them. I caught sight of the latest cover over at Concrete Loop, and it made me so happy and proud of my fellow bellas. I like when any magazine celebrates female beauty at all stages of…
Hip Hop (and Reggae) Heroine, Tanya Stephens
How can I call Tanya Stephens a hip-hop heroine, you ask? I bet Lil Kim can answer that question! Over the summer, Tanya had to get all kinds of litigious on the nip/tucked rapstress because Kim blatantly ripped off one of Tanya’s hottest dancehall anthems, “Mi and Mi God.” (Honestly, if Damian Marley wanted to…
Afrobella of the Week, Hip Hop Heroine – MC Lyte
Back in 1984 MC Lyte released 10% Dis, a hard-hitting track that destroyed her then-rival, Antoinette. Lyte’s boasts proved prophetic: Others write your rhymes, while I write my own, I don’t create a character, when I’m on the microphone, I am myself, no games to be played, No script to be written, no scene to…
Set Your Tivos!
Here’s a great reason to have cable, and an even better reason to set your digital recording device well in advance – on Thursday November 30 at 9, the Sundance channel will premiere Iconoclasts: Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou. Oh, they are adorable together. I can’t wait to see two of my absolute favorite celebrities…
Afrobella of the Week: Lauryn Hill, the ultimate Hip-Hop Heroine
I don’t know what to make of the fact that the song on Lauryn Hill’s official MySpace page is Talib Kweli’s “Miss Hill,” a song lamenting her distance from hip-hop. It obviously means she knows that her fans miss her, but I don’t know if to interpret the use of the song as “yes, I…
R.I.P, Ruth
I know we’ve had a spate of sad celebrity deaths recently – Gerald Levert, Ed Bradley, Jack Palance… but Ruth Brown passed away yesterday and I found myself particularly moved. In her heyday, she was fiesty and funny, sexy and forthright. You can hear her influence in the hoot of Little Richard and the wail…
Beautifully Aging AfroBella: Shirley Bassey
So I know my original series was intended as a five person tribute, but I spotted this photo over on DListed (which is like, one of my favorite blogs out there) and had to share. Lo, the one and only Dame Shirley Bassey at the Casino Royale premiere in London. Talk about aging like fine…
Afrobella of the Week, Afrobella of a Lifetime: Nina Simone
When I am at my lowest emotional ebb, no music speaks to me more than that of Nina Simone. There’s just something about her voice, the songs she chose to sing. Nina can bring me to tears. Then she can bring me back up out of the deepest funk. She can inspire you, break your…