Were all-star jams a phenomenon that peaked in the Eighties? Of course, there was We Are The World and Do They Know It’s Christmas, but the songs were never catchy to me. I just grew up loving the all-star jams on Video Soul, like Self Destruction (LOL at Kool Moe Dee’s stunna shades) and We’re…
Hip Hop Heroines
I Miss You
I’ve been thinking about Aaliyah a lot these days. First I saw that hot, hot new Ciara video for Like a Boy, and I love that song and have ’nuff admiration for Ciara, but when I see her dancing I inevitably wind up thinking about Baby Girl. And wondering what she’d be doing now. Hey,…
Afrobella of the Week: Chrisette Michele
I’ll tell you, in recent weeks it’s been getting harder to come up with an Afrobella of the Week. While there are still some obvious choices coming up in the not-too-distant future, so many women I could have sworn would be all-natural forever have switched it up and gone all weavey or straight on me….
The Queen Explains
Like many other beauty and fashion bloggers, I announced the Queen Latifah/CoverGirl casting call in New York this week. Well, one of my readers came back and added a comment that revealed that things at the event were chaotic and upsetting. I had to ask my friends at CoverGirl about this, and I got an…
A Quick Announcement on Behalf of the Queen
Latifah, that is! Y’all already know how much I love Queen Latifah. She’s transformed from duckling in a dashiki to elegant red carpet diva swan. She makes a perfect and lovely Cover Girl. But now, Queen Latifah and Cover Girl are looking for someone to ascend to the throne, and they’re seeking a regular woman…
Missy Elliott: Makeup Muse and Hip-Hop Heroine
I’ve noticed something quite disappointing on some of my favorite gossip sites. Every time a post on Missy Elliott is made – photos of her at a party, or awards show, whatever; some ig’nant commenters are unable to say anything but negative stuff. It always comes down to Missy’s sexuality, her appearance, or her weight….
Afrobella of the Week: Erykah Badu
Let me take y’all back a few years, back to 1997. Remember the first time you saw Erykah Badu’s video for “On and On”? I do. She strutted on the screen in that green headwrap and commanded us to listen. Erykah was – is- such a breath of fresh air in the game. She seemed…
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…
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…