Tag Archives: Lauryn Hill

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Why ‘Empire’ is Causing Me to Have a Midlife Crisis…

Hello World,  empire

I don’t know if this is a delayed reaction to turning 40 years old almost two years ago as this September, but I am just now starting to feel like I’ve hit middle age…And I’m not sure what to do about that…

It started when I binge watched the first four episodes of “Empire” at a friend’s house…I had heard about the show which is a modern and hip hop version of the Shakespeare tragedy “King Lear.” But instead of King Lear struggling to divide his estate between his three daughters, Lucious Lyon, a music mogul, is struggling to hand over his empire to one of his three sons: Andre, Jamal and Hakeem. Complicating the struggle is the return of Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie, who went to jail for 17 years for dealing drugs. However, the drug money was used to start Lucious’ career in the rap industry and fund the construction of his music label Empire Entertainment and Cookie holds that detail over her ex-husband’s head once she is released from prison…

So although I had heard about the show, I wasn’t anxious to add the hip-hop soap opera to my already full TV watching schedule (RHOA, The Walking Dead, Y&R, Being Mary Jane, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, etc. ). But at a friend’s house where I was along with other friends, I decided to watch at least one episode with them…I promise you I did not move from my spot on my friend’s chair for several hours, long after the rest of my friends fell asleep. I almost had to be told to leave…I.was.hooked…But I was also troubled…Cookie, who is portrayed Taraji P. Henson, has three sons…The oldest one, Andre, is a college graduate and her youngest son, Hakeem, is 17 years old! How can Yvette (also portrayed by from Taraji P. Henson) from  “Baby Boy” be old enough to have three sons?! I mentioned that my friends while we were watching “Empire,” and one of my friends replied, “We old, girl.” And remember when Terrance Howard, who portrays Lucious Lyon, was the tenderoni Brendan King that Max on “Living Single” was ashamed she was dating? When he did get old enough to sire three boys?

That was my first inkling that maaaybe I’m not as young as I feel on the inside or look (don’t act! fingers snapped)…

Then three new radio stations, referred to as classic hip hop stations, debuted in metro Atlanta…While I’m loving the music, I don’t know about you but any music genre that is preceded by the word “classic” is really just another way of saying old folk’s music…And when you think about it, hip hop, which was once this new pulsating street phenomenon, has been around for at least 20 years at this point…20 years ago, “Empire” couldn’t have plausible because there were no hip hop moguls 20 years ago…But now, we have Diddy, Jay Z, Dr. Dre and Suge Knight (God bless him…smh…) and others who have amassed a fortune in hip hop and built their own empires…

The fact that I’m old enough to have amassed a fortune (but haven’t) was my second indication time is moving for real for for real….

A few weeks ago, I saw Will Smith on Jimmy Kimmel promoting his latest movie “Focus.” During the interview, Will Smith said his youngest son, 16-year-old Jaden, is now driving…I remember when it was announced that Jada was pregnant with him…And then Will was asked to rap…He was still good, but it was like watching your uncle try to “bust a move.” That lean and hungry look that most young rappers have at their prime had been replaced by the ease and comfort that wealth and a few good meals will bring. Don’t get me wrong…Will Smith looks fit, but he also looks older…And if the Fresh Prince has gotten older, where does that leave me? (Yes, ’80 babies, Will Smith was a rapper before he was a actor…)

And this is the moment when the drip drop of a leaky faucet finally gave way to the flood of realization that I’ve hit middle age…

And now that I’m thinking out it, there have been other clues, but I’ve ignored them until now…

In no particular order…

  • Lauryn Hill daughter’s Selah is 16 years old…We’re not event talking about Zion, her oldest child…
  • Lil Kim had a baby…Yes, Lil Kim had a baby…I still can’t believe she is someone’s mother
  • Erick Sermon had a heart attack…Rappers are old enough to have heart attacks now…
  • Eminem’s daughter Hailie is 19 years old!!!
  • Yo Yo married a mayor!!!
  • Diddy’s son Justin is in college…
  • Snoop Dog’s son, who is a football star, is heading to college

Maybe if I have had children by now, all of this wouldn’t have taken me by surprise…but now I know why nephew shakes his head and averts his eyes when I try to dance in the front seat of my car when I hear my jam, I’m old…old lady

Any thoughts?

 

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Random Ramblings Quatre

Hello World,

When I showed my mother a picture of Amy Winehouse, she said she looked like a modern Barbra Streisand...what y'all think?

When I cannot find anything in particular I want to dedicate a post to, I find myself collecting my random ramblings as I have done in three previous posts Random Ramblings aka I didn’t have a topic so bear with me and Random Ramblings part deaux… So read on if you must…

1. As many of us are, I am incensed about this debt ceiling thing for the obvious reasons…But aside from the obvious, the older I get the more I realize that many of us choose to ignore the lessons that we learned (hopefully) in childhood. One of those lessons is compromise is typically better for all parties involved (pun intended)…Why can’t these politicians come up with something that can benefit the two schools of thought around this issue…Neither will get all that they want, but compromise already!

2. Another childhood lesson gone awry: Dominique Strass-Kahn’s accuser Nafissatou Diallo may be telling the truth about his allegedly sexual assaulting her, but the woman has admitted she has lied a LOT before…For instance, Diallo admitted she lied about “making mistakes in lying to prosecutors about an earlier rape in Guinea, filing false tax returns, and lying on an asylum application,” according to “Newsweek.” Clearly, someone needs to buy Diallo a copy of  “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” a children’s book. You know what they say…if someone lies about one thing, they will usually lie about another…

Amy Winehouse did look something like her...at least from this photo...

3. Amy Winehouse…Two words come to mind…Wasted Talent…Remember these words from “A Bronx Tale?” This artist was crazy talented. RIP.

4. Divorces anywhere are a threat to marriages everywhere…Okay, Okay, I know I’m totally messing up Dr. King’s quote (“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”), but I think my retooled quote is also true…The J. Lo & Marc Anthony divorce…After all of her failed relationships, I thought she had finally found her “happily ever after,” particularly since she had children…I’ve been hearing about a lot of divorces lately, and every time I hear of a new one, I really do ponder why some marriages last while other marriages just disintegrate….

5. In other talented singer news….Lauryn Hill & Rohan Marley…Six children later, and there is still drama…Apparently, according to ABC News, Marley could be allegedly seeing another woman and is not exactly claiming to be the father of Hill’s sixth child…And Hill has responded to these news reports here…Obviously, since I’m not in the relationship, I don’t know what is the truth, but I think we can all agree that her onstage behavior hasn’t been right for years…If this is an indicator of what goes on in her private life, I cannot say but….

6. I haven’t thought too much about the Norway shooting although I probably should have…But my friend, fellow blogger and the web designer of my blog Tess Gadwa wrote an interesting post about it here….Check her out…Let her know that I sent you…

7. I’m a sucker for an interesting relationship article…I wanted to post about this article last month, but life got in the way…“Economy of Sex: It’s Cheap These Days.”

Any thoughts?

My favorite Amy Winehouse song…

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Spring Fever…

Hello World, 

Today is the first day of spring! Hallelujah! It’s been a hard winter for most of the United States with all of the snow…Even the A had its fair share of snow this year! But all of that is over for 2011…At least I think so, but God is in charge…It’s time to thoroughly clean my house and get cotton candy polish painted on my toes. And it’s time to break out the happy music! So without further ado, I will post my Top 10 Songs to get me in the mood for spring! (In no particular order) And please let me know what music gets you in the mood for my second favorite season of the year! (Of course, summer is my absolute fave..how could it be any different for someone with Jamaican heritage?)

  1. “I Got A Man”  – Positive K. This flirty song gets me in the mood to get myself cute in the spring because summer is coming…And this song is one of the hip hop classics that did not need cursing & misogyny to get air play…
  2. “Happy Feelings” – Maze. This is the kind of song that makes you turn your windows down in your car and take in all of the sounds, smells & sights of spring…
  3. “You Brought The Sunshine” – The Clark Sisters. When you are getting ready for church in the spring, this is a perfect song to groove to…
  4. “Let’s Groove” – Earth, Wind & Fire. Another song to groove to in the car!
  5. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana. This is a great song to run to…Now that it is officially spring, I have no more excuses to get out there and pound the pavement! Hopefully, I will make it in the Peachtree Road Race since the powers that be have instituted a lottery system for the first time…
  6. “Lovely Day” – Bill Withers. This song always makes me feel better. It’s great for dancing to when you’re alone in your bedroom 🙂 And a great cool down song after an intense workout!
  7. “What a Wonderful World” – Louis Armstrong. No explanation needed. Sheer perfection!
  8. “Could You Be Loved” – Bob Marley. I just feel the sun on my back whenever I hear this song! I need to get back to Jamaica!!!
  9. “Everything is Everything” – Lauryn Hill. After winter, must come spring! YES!
  10. “Girls Just Want To Have Fun- Cyndi Lauper. A great song any time of the year, but particularly in spring when everything is coming to life again!

What’s your favorite song or songs to get you in the mood for spring?

Any thoughts?