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Maxwell Finally Explains His Long Absence From Music

Tuesday, June 30, 2009


In case you missed it, Maxwell was featured in Sunday's New York Times. The crooner said the last set in the trilogy that is Black Summer's Night is so hot “like you might have to include condoms in it.”

He also finally explained his long absence from music when he said:
“When we all [him, D'angelo, etc.] came out,” Maxwell said, “it was just too much adulation, the accolades: the next this, the next that.” He felt confusion, he said, about “which part of you is that extension of the music and which part of you is that real person. I think my stepping away was my own sort of weird therapy for that.”
On the state of music today he said: “It’s made to have no peaks, no valleys. And we wanted [with this album], like, landscape. I wanted the music to sound like, ‘Oh my god, I’m looking at a vista, like I see a mountain over here, and water, and some clouds.’"

Kelly Rowland Reaches No. 1 in UK

Monday, June 29, 2009


Former manager Matthew Knowles is probably wincing right about now, because her favorite Houston homegirl, Kelly Rowland has a hit record right now.
And it's across the pond.
Kelly's song with French DJ Dave Guetta is No. 1 with a bullet on charts overseas, with nary a spin in the States. Figures, Kelly turned her attention to Britain last year when she bought a property in London.
It's got to feel good for Kelly, who played second and third fiddle here under the tutelage of Knowles. You go, girl.

If Barack had an affair, would Michelle stay?

Friday, June 26, 2009


The uproar over South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's affair raises the issue of marital infidelity again. But given the high profile of the case, and that the mistress in question was a longtime friend, many people have an opinion.
Especially about whether Mrs. Sanford, Jenny, as she's known, should stay or leave?
Sanford didn't just have an affair he lingered with the other woman, dignifying her as someone "special" and a respite from his wife.
"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."
Which side of the fence you fall on is crystal-clear for a lot of people, but what if it was Barack?
What if Obama cheated on Michelle, with an "other woman" hussy, or worse, a dear family friend? Would Michelle be any less of a woman for staying there? Would she be able to maintain her "dignity and respect," if she left?

What is 'Hot'?

Thursday, June 25, 2009


We hear people all the time saying "So-and-so is so hot," and "She's hot, he's hot."
What exactly is "hot"?
Does it strictly mean physical appearance?
Is intelligence hot?
Is being able to speak well considered hot?
Or is it simply a superficial nod to the attractiveness of a person, regardless of their character?
Is Carl Sagan, brainiac about meta physical matters and astronomy, is he hot?
What about the superwealthy and powerful Oprah Winfrey? is she hot?
Who's really hot?

Women of Funk: Where's the Beat Gone?

Wednesday, June 24, 2009


When it comes to music, funk has always been the closest to a cult religion: steadfastly followed by a few, hated by the masses.
Too bad we don't have true funkateers like we used to in the 1970s and 1980s. What we do have today though are a few hip-hop heads that manage to sing over beats dripping with funk juice and futuristic beats.
Here's why it matters:

Erykah Badu: Still on that Baduizm ish


The preeminent funk sister today has to be Erykah Badu, and not so much for the music. Badu, with an almost religious flair, has managed to stay in high regard to music fans because there simply hasn't been enough female artists to challenge mainstream radio like she has. Badu has never kowtowed to the pop crowd (not even the R&B crowd) yet she has millions of adoring fans in the U.S. She refuses to be pigeonholed into one style, but breathlessly flips genres like fingers through the Yellow Pages.



Joi: Underground and still the 'Lick'


To Erykah's heavenly vibe, there's the earthly, underground funk that is Joi, of Atlanta's underground soul scene. Joi actually was signed to a major label back int the 90s (anybody remember "The Ameoba Syndrome" or "Pendelum Vibe"?). Since then there's been the baby-birthin' and club-bangin'. Truth be told, Joi's music is more funkier though less known than Badu's. Badu has had the ever-elusive "hit," though and the Machine has done the rest.




Georgia Anne Muldrow: West Coast soulfulness


With a first name like Georgia, you know Ms. Anne Muldrow's voice is soulful as peaches at the Farmers Market. But when it comes to a talented, 21st century, futuristic funk-centric, soul woman? Muldrow doesn't have a future, she is the future. With Stone's Throw Records, Muldrow has mostly been experienced by the West Coast college set, but the East is right behind. Check out some of her recordings with Dudley Perkins, another left-field artist on the rise.



Janelle Monae: Waiting to blow



Janelle Monae is either music's best-kept secret or the Prodigal Musical One stillborn. While Monae's been out for a minute, radio has completely ruled her out; so has MTV, BET, and even ASCAP (who rallied around India Irie when she first came on the scene, and catapulted her several Grammy nominations in her rookie year). Monae, who rolled with Big Boi from Outkast for a minute was whisked under the tutelage of
Sean Diddy Combs only to be shelved (as many of his artists are). Will Monae finally break out and get to flex her musical muscles. For now, only in Metropolis.

Jada: 'Marriage has to be a place of safety'

Monday, June 22, 2009


Jada Pinkett-Smith has some comtemplative words in the latest issue of Redbook (July issue).
On relationships: “There’s a certain amount of safety you have to create for someone to feel like they can be open to you… That’s something we forget in marriages and relationships - they have to be places of safety, because they’re where you are most vulnerable. If you’re not allowed to be safe, I don’t know if you can reach the depths of connection that support commitment. You can be committed to somebody because of ego: ‘I said I was going to be with this joker for the rest of my life, so I’m just going to do it.’ Or you can be committed because you have a deeply rooted connection.”
Interesting.

Honestly, Is Beyonce the Best Ever?



For argument's sake, let's say you could build a female super-artist: This person would be physically attractive, have a platinum voice.
You would start her off young, preteen and get her accustomed to being in a group and performing at events.
You would put her in a girl group and if you were her mother or father, you and your spouse would put your careers on hold and hone the skills of the group and your daughter in particular.
Let's say this female super-artist embodies skills of all the greats: the house-rattling voice of a Mahalia Jackson, the looks of Diana, the legs of Tina, the drive of Janet.
Let's say the girl group blows up and shatters all kinds of records, and then, she starts a solo career and works nonstop for 10 straight years.
(Whew).
Even if you did all of that, you still wouldn't have Beyonce Knowles, who, since her marriage to Jay-Z, has started to rap on her tracks now.
Is she the best ever?
She's certainly a candidate.

Desirée Rogers' Steez is Unstoppable


The President's Socialite-in-chief Desi Rogers is again behind the 8 ball by critics who say she's too flashy (she was wearing a top-of-the-line Vera Wang) in a down economy.
More surprising is that some of the fodder has come from the Obama camp.
When the Wall Street Journal was invited to the White House to interview Rogers it is understood that some White House cabinet members weren't too pleased when they saw the outfits that Rogers put on, outfits that they said "took away from the dignity of the White House."
In a much ballyhooed article, she was criticized for saying that she wanted to leverage "the Obama brand" which "the best brand on Earth." Ouch.
Right-wing pundits ran with it; liberal moderates politely winced, but that's Rogers.
Hailing from the New Orleans' Seventh Ward, Rogers knows how to get in where she fits in. It just so happens that a whole lot of people are mad-jealy.
Should Desi peg her outfits to what Michelle Obama is wearing that day, deliberately dressing down so as not to upstage the First Lady? What do you think?

"Brand New" by Drake (MiizTiina)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Beyonce 'Tightens' Grip on London

Friday, June 19, 2009


There is denim, then there are blue jeans: Beyonce wore some blue jeans yesterday in the Knightsbridge area of London, England, that will instantly cause a fashion attack for the impressionable.
Denim this time of year in the States is cool, but it's so darn hot outside! Go for the breezy cotton (not that thick stuff)or thin nylon to get through the day.

The Visible Lover Phenomenon: Hearting Amber Rose

Thursday, June 18, 2009


You'd be hard-pressed to find a celebrity hotter than Amber Rose right now.
Usher, yeah, he's pretty hot right now, due to his filing for divorce, but that's falling by the wayside.
RiRi? She's falling back down to normalcy now, a 6 on our 10-point attention barometer.
Madonna? Old news?
But Amber Rose, famous for ... exactly what again? I mean what did she have something, anything going on that would thrust her into the national spotlight?
Quite like this?
(Crickets)
Right, that's the point. I mean, we heart her with her buzzcut and all. But she's simply the Visible Lover of Kanye West, the most highly public, attention-loving, grandoise entertainer alive today.

Why is Amber Rose famous? Call it the V.L.P: Visible Lover Phenomenon.
People just love to know who celebrities are sleeping with.
There have been other VLPs: Stedman Graham comes to mind; Pharrell used to sport "Vashtie" everywhere he went a few years ago. But England follows them way more than the States.
But celebrities no doubt should be able to do what they want, but lovers should also be able to decide if they want to be apart of the VLP as well.
In the NBA, many don't.
But VLP is a blessing and curse, just ask other celebrities.
The only thing they have in the end ... is a VH1 reality show.

Amy Winehouse serious about adopting black baby - FTW


With the celebrity craze of adopting children from poor areas and countries, seems like a most unlikely celebrity has expressed a desire to take a child under their wing.
When this story broke last I week I was skeptical and well, thought she was drunk, but now I've heard she's deadly serious.
Amy Winehouse, the British Beehive, has caused a quiet storm by saying "I want a black baby."
This is like North Korea's Kim Il-Jong saying he wants to be a janitor at the nuclear facility in Wyoming.
The embattled singer has been hanging around in St. Lucia for quite a while now as she attempts to let her body heal from the drug abuse she's done for a while.
But does Amy really need a child?
I'm not saying she wouldn't be a good mother but ... she wouldn't be a good mother. I mean, alcohol is not water.
Cocaine is not alka seltzer.
The starving children she would adopt are still meatier than her and they're starving. She's not.
Amy, stick to the music, not the Mommying.

The Notorious T.A.M.: 'We hate Usher, We hate Usher'

Wednesday, June 17, 2009


Let's get this all straight: Usher dates 1/3 of the greatest female group of all time (at the time), is unfaithful, dates a model who practically begs him to marry her, dumps her, marries his hair stylist, who promptly proceeds to give him two kids (right quick too) and now Usher's out?
I don't think for a moment that Ms. Tameka Foster-Raymond aka the Notorious T.O.M. is having any of that.
Foster is going to come hard, as a single mother should, and let's hope it doesn't get ugly.
Foster tweeted yesterday that she'd rather have 5 boys rather than "one dog" anyday. It was a direct and unexpected jab (not unlike Usher's filing for divorce), sent across cyberspace's loud arena, heard by millions.
Team Usher, who's name could be pronounced "USe-her" in some circles, has been tight-lipped, but they'll have to say something soon.
Usher's biggest album "Confessions" was borne out of his infidelities to Chilli, we can't help but wonder what his next record will sound like, now that the cat's out of the bag.
The two are due in court July 15.
But he better watch out, hell hath no fury like a woman (who just splat out two of your children) like a woman scorned.

When you were a kid, what color was your doll?


If you were born in the 1970s, it's a good chance you played with dolls -- all toys -- that were white, and designed for white children (this pic is from 1970 NYC).
That's not an inherently bad thing, but it does bring to mind what kind of aspirations you had as a kid, how you saw yourself, yes, self-esteem.
Could it be that the role-play you immersed yourself in plays a role in your life today? Could it help explain your choice in friends, your choice in friends? Could it have caused you to overcompensate even? If so, what does it say about today's children? A bunch of interesting questions here.

Men Who Breastfeed = FTW

Tuesday, June 16, 2009


Well, I guess this answers that age-old question of why do men have nipples: Evidently some men have been breastfeeders for a long time. This story in the Mercury dates back to 2002. Who knew? Evidently there's a movement out there among some men to take these duties from women.
I'll (gurgle) pass.

Thandie Newton to teach at Oprah's school


Actress Thandie Newton will start a new career away from the big screen working for Oprah Winfrey. The "Mission Impossible" actress has signed on to teach acting at Oprah's school for girls in South Africa.
"I am really looking forward to it as it's such a great scheme and it's nice to give something back," said the British-born actress.
Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy, a boarding school for girls, has had its share of bad press since its opening (a teacher was accused of abusing the kids) but has revived its image abroad as a school of excellence.

The More BFFs = More Money

Monday, June 15, 2009


According to a recent study, what's in your bank account is directly related to how many friends you have.
(No, it doesn't mean having one BFF means you have $1).
The study, conducted over 35 years among 10,000 students in the United States, suggests the wealthiest people are those that had the most friends at school. Each subsequent schoolfriend added 2% to the salary.
By "friend" it doesn't mean how many people you hang out with, but rather the number of people in your social circle. This is where Facebook and Myspace come into play: Yep, could be the in the 100s.
If you've got a gang of friends on social networking sites then technically you could be on your way to a whole lot of moolah!

'I want black men. They want me'

Saturday, June 13, 2009


As printed in the New York Press
Black skin is thick and lush, sensuous to the touch, like satin and velvet made flesh. There's only one patch of skin on a white man's body that remotely compares to nearly every inch of a black man's skin. The first time I caressed black skin, it felt like a luxury I shouldn't be able to afford. I craved it more strongly than Carrie Bradshaw craved Manolo Blahnik shoes. That phrase, "Once you go black, you never go back" is all about the feeling of the skin.

And I had the socially acceptable explanation for my craving. I used that paucity-of-available-white-partners rationale to explain my relationships with black men for several years. A white woman past forty is often passed over by her white-male contemporaries. She goes younger or ethnic or foreign-born or down the socioeconomic scale or darker or she spends lonely nights at home with her cats. Black men are happy to get the babe they couldn't have when she was twentysomething and fertile. The laws of the marketplace do prevail. It's not me, it's themthem being the white guys who weren't after me anymore, or so I claimed.

That's a lie. The truth is, I attract about the same percentage of available white men my age (and far younger!) now as I did when I was thirty and that's not including the unavailable white men who want to play around anyway.

Enough white men want me that I was hardly facing enforced celibacy, but I don't want them.

I want black men. They want me. We look at one another and exchange a visible frisson of sexual energy in the lingering glances. And our attraction is based first on race. We are not those couples who "happen to fall in love" with someone of a different race or more purposefully come together but out of some greater sense of interracial understanding and respect. Not as politically-correct men and women do we seek one another out. The Internet has made it a lot easier for us to find each other now. Men advertise: ebony seeks ivory. Women write: seeking tall, dark, and handsome. Very dark. We are not the same people who say: Race is not important. It is important to us. We have race-specific desires.

Even in a time when nearly 40 percent of single Americans have dated outside their race, that deliberate seeking of the specific other makes some people, especially black women, damned mad.

We are what they denigrate and castigate: white women and black men who choose one another because of our racial differences. They resent our taking their men. Black men are two and a half times more likely to marry a white woman than a black woman is to marry a white man. Black women can point to that statistic in justifying their wrath. But in truth, black sisters, we're after the sex, not the ringand these guys aren't the marrying kind anyway.

Yes, the sex!

The woman who goes after black men is a variant of sex journalist Susie Bright's "white bitch in heat," a woman who puts sex first even though women aren't supposed to do that. According to one school of thought, white women turn to black men when their sex drives kick into higher gear and their social inhibitions recede into the rearview mirror. It's a "yes, baby, now I'm ready for you" reaction.

When we get to the "yes, baby" place, they know it, and they are ready and waiting for us. Black men have more energy, style and edge than white men. They know how to flirt, a nearly lost art among the rest of us. A black man is so damned sexy because he knows how to make a woman feel sexy.

Black men have something white guys don't have anymore: confidence in their masculinity, their sexuality. They clearly know they're men. White men appear to be waiting for the latest sociological research study to let them know if they are men or not. Yet black men are gentlemen, something else white men no longer are. They make me feel like a woman, both respected and desired. I can let go of my inhibitions, my need to control, when I am with them. How many white men can treat a woman like a lady and ravish her too?
I often felt in my White Period that only during heated sex does that little layer of air bubbles between me and the world pop and disappear, leaving me open to intimate connection. It takes a lot of friction for two white people to get that close. These black men, so alive with erotic electricity, cut through the bubbles with a touch, a caress, a kissand they free meand I can truly touch them. I am like a pampered passenger in a Porsche with an expert driver at the wheel. I know I could suggest a route change, but I never really want to do that. On the other hand, the last time I had sex with a white man, we slogged along a bumpy road in a really old VW, the driver like the typical bumbling tv husband who would neither ask for nor accept the directions he badly needed.

My current lover, a handsome businessman, seduced me via eye contact at a neighborhood bar while I was eating burgers with a friend. Without saying a word, he paid the compliments, asked the questions with his expressive eyes. He didn't move over to sit beside me and ask if he could buy me a drink until he knew the time was right. Both soft-spoken and assertive, he has impeccable manners and charm. I was kissing him in a cab 30 minutes after that drink.

On another night in that same bar, a different black man, an artist, knelt and kissed my knees.

I am sure there must be some black men who aren't good in bed. Personally, I have not experienced one who isn't. (True, I am not dating down the socioeconomic ladder, but I didn't do that when I dated white either, so the racial comparisons seem valid and fair.) They look better than white men, they touch and kiss and make love better than white men. Statistically, their penises are only a fraction of an inch bigger on average, but they seem bigger and harder.

White men over 40 have lost their waistlines and their zest for lifeif they ever had it. They carry resentments, grudges and extra pounds in their basketball bellies. Perhaps a good part of that bloat is unhappiness. Even the thin ones look flabby somehow and deeply aggrieved. They nurse the smallest perceived slight longer than their double shots of Scotch. Surely our culture as much as biology turns them into softer, spongier, less-interesting versions of their youthful selves just at the point where women and black men and other minorities are emerging strong. Society overvalues the white man, leaving him angry and bitter when he realizes, around age 40, that he's not all that.

With the exception of some Italians, white men don't turn me on anymore.

That admission puts me in the same category as the older man only interested primarily or exclusively in young women. While women my age scowl and frown at these aging, Upper West Side Boomers pushing strollers as the hand of the thin, blonde wife 20 years their junior rests lightly on their arm, I feel a kinship with the old goats. We are the same, me and that bald white guy, drawn to the exotic other, not caring that the object of our desire has no childhood memory of a Kennedy assassination or a typical WASP Sunday dinner of over-roasted beef, lumpy mashed potatoes and soggy vegetables.

Analyze the roots of attractions all you wantlike scientists have doneand you won't come up with a perfect explanation for why we crave what we do. Desire rises from our depths and is gloriously oblivious to the good opinion of others. Yet until recently, I pretended that my lust was an equal-opportunity craving, because that seemed like the right thing to do.

Halfway through the first glass of wine in my last date with a white man, I realized that little clouds of sadness and self-pity were regularly fluffing off his psyche like the dust clouds kicked up by that dirt-smudged "Peanuts" character as he walks through Charlie Brown's life. This guy was at least mildly depressed, and I wanted to tell him to exercise, lose weight, trim the combover and get interested in something outside yourself. I would have walked out on him immediately, but he seemed to expect that. I couldn't deliver the blow to his ego proffered like the naked neck of a martyr to the ax. My Southern cousins would describe his general demeanor as a "hangdog air." Into the second glass of wine and glancing longingly at the exit, I wanted to hang that dog myself when he mentioned that his face was flushedI hadn't noticedbecause he'd taken a Viagra "just in case."

What did he think would entice me more: That he assumed sex was probable because I'm a sex journalistor that he would need chemical help if sex did occur?

I cannot even imagine a black man bungling an attempted seduction in such a sad way.

That was my last token white guy. I recently came out of my racial-preference closet and told my friends, "I love black men. I'm not attracted to white men over 40, and I'm not dating them anymore. Really, it's not them, it's me.

Nobody was surprised.

By Susan Crain Bakos, This article appeared in the: New York Press

Does 'Staycation' = Broke As Hell?


Let's be honest: We all enjoy getting away.
Used to be a time when we'd go shopping (new bathing suit, new shoes, etc.) just to go on vacation.
We all want to drive, fly, roll on out sometimes for the weekend, for the week, for the month. If we don't do it it's like we're missing out on something: relaxation, mental stimulation, peace.
So, what's with this staycation stuff?
Who wants to stay in during a vacation.
Is it just codeword for brokeness?
Is staycation really a cute, concise way to say, "I have no money, the recession is beating my &^%$%# and I'll save money by being in my house."

Ciara's Effortless Steez

Friday, June 12, 2009




Forget Keri Hilson's short do, ya girl CiCi is stuntin' on 'em like only she can. Ciara's camp recently released this promo pic. Let's hope this new "summer" look for Ciara is what you'll see from her for the rest of 2009.

'Charlene' by Anthony Hamilton (msxjenixe)

Wherefore is Eisha Brightwell?


Ran across a name I hadn't heard in a minute today: Eisha Brightwell, the tall-as-an-Amazon model that Usher was dating for a while. Where is she these days?
Doing her thing in Cali, loc-style, evidently.
Last we heard from her Usher was quoted as saying that she was pressuring him ("Don't put any more pressure on me than she has, man.
We've been dating a while, but you've got to give us a little time," Usher told the media) to pop the question, and he wasnt' ready. Mind you, this was when "Confessions" was hot like fire.

Brightwell was months from breaking up with Xibit, while Usher was reeling from his fame-induced infidelities (the inspiration for "Confessions") against TLC's Chili.
Still, Brightwell and Usher were very public, but things didn't go the marriage route for some reason.
(Out of respect for Tomeka Foster, the pics won't show Brightwell and Usher together)Brightwell was most recently seen with Damon Wayans at an event earlier this year. Are they together?
We don't know.
Brightwell is still modeling, albeit smaller projects, but we may see her on the small screen pretty soon.

Study: Women are Wealhier, Healthier. But Unhappy


There's a new gender gap emerging, according to a new paper titled "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness." (I know, I know, more studies).
A new study says in part "the lives of women in the United States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women's happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men."
Check out the PDF of the report here.

Indian school bans jeans 'to protect women'

Thursday, June 11, 2009



The venerable Associated Press is reporting that a university in India is banning jeans so that apparent sexual harrassment of girls - and distractions - can cease.
The story quotes a school official as saying: "Girls who choose to wear jeans will be expelled from the college," Meeta Jamal, principal of the Dayanand girls' college in Kanpur city told AFP. "This is the only way to stop crime against women."
Evidently Hindu extremist groups have been Taliban-like in their public attacks on people who show any affinity to Western styles of grooming.
Their have been incidences where stars like Beyonce and Rihanna have been told to cover up or don't sing certain songs in certain countries.
All this means that those people certainly think the average American hood or mall is full of straight-up whores, "infidels" who crave sex and pop pills constantly searching for a good time.
Wait - what?

No Angels and Demons: Is Nadja Benaissa a Criminal?


Across the pond, few news items in Europe are hotter than the scandal in the German girl group No Angels, who are comparable to the Pussycat Dolls over here.
Singer Nadja Benaissa (the one with the flame above her head) made her first public appearance recently after a 10-day stint behind bars after being charged with doing "grievous bodily harm," by having sex with a man and not telling him she was HIV-positive.
Benaissa attended a charity in Germany and took pictures for the papparazi as if nothing happened and enjoyed the limelight in a ho-hum manner.
But things are far from ho-hum for her.
When she was arrested, what made it more outrageous is that Benaissa was captured by police seconds before she was about to go on stage and perform.
Prosecutors allege she had unprotected sex with at least three men from 2004 to 2006 after being told she was HIV-positive. At least one of the men has confirmed that he is now HIV-positive.
Authorities wanted to keep her behind bars indefinitely, saying that she's a "threat to the public" if she is willing to have sex with men and not disclose her status. But the media and legal officials castigated them and they let her out.
Talk about drama!
Instead of 'Wrap it Up,' we need to be saying 'Cap it Up'.

In the U.S., this news would be on par of if someone like Kelly Rowland was found out to have HIV.
For the record, Nadja's lawyers are not saying their client is innocent but they're saying that the facts haven't been proven. It'll be interesting to see what defense they use since the scandal has touched off a very furious debate in Germany about when and how to disclose bedroom secrets. Do you tell your lover everything?

Catching Up With The Kodjoes



note: Saw Nicole Ari Parker yesterday at the Whole Foods on Ponce, made me want to blog 'em.
Forget about "Meet the Browns," when it comes to an authentic family in entertainment there are many, but the Kodjoes and their struggles with their daughter's illness have shed new light on what it means to be a celebrity.
The Kudjoes consist of actor-model dad Boris Kodjoe, actress mom and Baltimore native Nicole Ari Parker, and Sophie Tee-Naaki, 3, and 2-year-old Nicolas Neruda Kodjoe.
Boris' full name is Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe (Ghanian father, German-Jewish mother).
The Atlanta family has been outspoken about their daughter's battle with spina bifida, and have appeared at various events to raise awareness.
While the couple have curtailed their careers for family, Nicole is actually in the new Eddie Murphy film "Imagine That,"
She was recently interviewed about the movie and her daughter's illness, in which she said: "I think the hardest part [of dealing with her daughter's illness] is to not worry about the future, and to just believe that she'll be okay when she's not under the care and love of mommy and daddy. That's really the hardest part, to not fill the house with worry and fear."
Boris and Nicole are very busy with their foundation,Sophie's Voice to garner support for education on the illness and also for other parents and sufferers of the disease to see the financial toll of treating it.

BFFs: Why Is It So Hard For Girlfriends to Get Along?

Tuesday, June 9, 2009


Imagine two homegirls both get cast in a meteoric TV sitcom that will change television as you know: Now multiply that by 100.
That is what Tichina Arnold and BFF Tisha Campbell-Martin experienced in the early 1990s as part of the cast of "Martin," comedian Martin Lawrence's kick-door into television.
The friendship that they had on show translated to real life.
They really were and are friends.
And that's a rarity today, because so many women have said the following sentiment: "I don't have alot of girlfriends. They're too messy" or "too jealous," or my favorite, "just too much drama."
Mind you, we're not talking teenagers here, which means that as an adult your chances of even meeting new people let alone friends diminishes gradually as you become attached to a certain routine of life.
I guess the question is:
Do sisters be hating like that?
Why?

Zoe Saldana: I Heart Men's Undies

Monday, June 8, 2009


Star Trek actress Zoe Saldana recently revealed that when it comes to undies she likes the masculine look, preferring to don the boxers of her lover actor .
"I love wearing men's clothing and underwear," the 31-year-old said.
Not only that but she likes all of men's clothes.
"I just feel so sexy in jeans and a man's shirt. Plus, I love black and red. I love solid colours that say, 'I'm here, I'm strong.'"
Well, i guess with all the men wanting to dress like women, aint nothing wrong with a little stump and find, huh?

Has Rihanna Changed?

Saturday, June 6, 2009


They say people change, things change: Rihanna is no different. This pic is about 8 years old and the changes are evident with RiRi.
She looks, well, wholesome here. Although I'm sure this image was crafted to get her to be accepted into the music world and by adoring fans, no matter what their age.
But now she's edgier, darker.
Was "Good Girl Gone Bad," prophetic?
Of course she's been through some things now, but what do you think?
Has RiRi changed?

Will the Jheri Curl Come Back?

Friday, June 5, 2009


For those who remember the blemished pillow, the small can of clear activator that had to be constantly on standby and the plastic cap that was required at bedtime, the laborious maintenance could only mean one thing: Jheri curl. The Jheri curl was very common and popular in the black community in the late 1970s and throughout the 80s. Your aunt had one, you uncle on the other side of the family had one, YOU had one (yes you did, admit it, ya did.) And for those with short memories jheri was not the only curl that made your hair swirl: Luster S Curl touted the "no drip" activator and was big in the Memphis, Tennessee regions. Then there was the Carefree Curl, which pioneered a spray-bottle to keep the hair moist at all times. These three kinds of curls were the equivalent to the Big 3 American automakers - Ford, Chrysler and GM. Most black people in the United States with curls had Carefree Curls, which were variations of the Jheri and Luster. On the West Coast, Jheri reigned as the top curl-type, with hairstylists charging appropriately for just that type of curl along with its "Classy Curl" variation. The Luster S Curl was for shorter hair and featured a gel that made waves galore in a person's head. But now that we've got that bit of history out of the way, the question remains: Could the curl make a comeback for 2008? The short answer is yes, of course. Why? Because the trendsetters for the hip-hop set have but to put it in a video, or exploit it in song in some way and it will be popular again. A few years back there was even a set of prepackaged facts about

how to market trends to 15- to 29-year-olds. I mean, people drink

Codiene with Sprit nowadays because of hip-hop songs, yes, they can spray a little activator on their domes to be hot. And actually it would be an improvement since these days a neglect of personal hygiene is a growing trend (people look like crackheads now compared to in the 1990s when you had to dress up to go somewhere nice). Another reason? On the West Coast, a significant portion of the gangbangers and thugs STILL have curls. There are even some rappers that still rock the curl (DJ Quik,Snoop Dogg's Eastside Boys). Face it, if Jay-Z mentioned a clear ryhme "I'm rocking Louie, my girl Be rocking Dereon, she rocking a bob, I'm back getting my Jheri on ..." the hip-hop world would erupt in curl mass hysteria. Or even if Kanye West came out with a curl??? (Can you imagine a commercial about a "Kanye Kurl" and the background music would be saying "Stronger, Faster, Harder..." OOOOoooh, that would be hot. So hot. Instantly, you'd see Japanese kids (they are TOTALLY hip-hop in Japan.) rocking curls, Romanian hooligans with stained collars. Whaaat? If Beyonce emerged on stage with a curl? Panda. Monium. Okay? And John Legend ALREADY has a curl, people. Check the photos. Matter fact, ALOT of R&B artists (Carl Thomas, Bobby Valentino) have short curls so it's nothing to resurrect the style. But anyway, that's the power of the media imagery, and the hip-hop machine is the most popular media imagery going right now. So, if you're thinking about a hairstyle for 2008, don't sleep on the curl. Be an innovator. Be an activator. LOL.

Finding Susan Moonsie

Thursday, June 4, 2009


There are celebrities that fall off, then there are celebrities that fall off the planet.
Susan Moonsie, former Vanity 6 mate and Prince protegee and former girlfriend, is one of them.
TV shows and radio programs will frequently do a "Where Are They Now?" segment on people who were once famous. Given the popularity of Prince, his minions and the whole Minneapolos SoundThis text in the early 1980s, interests has understandably ebbed and flowed.
But Moonsie, and her present whereabouts, have apparently been untraceable.
Untraceable to CNN, Newsweek, Vibe, Time, New York Times, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, etc. Nothing. Nada.
Her sightings are the stuff of lore.
While much has been written about Brenda Bennett and Denise Matthews aka Vanity, nary a word has surfaced as to the whereabouts of Susan Moonsie.
Is oblivion treating her well?
Has she holed up in the house of another celebrity?
Inquiring minds simply be wanting to know.
Where is Susan Moonsie?

Ability to Stretch = Priceless



Would you marry a contortionist? There's a study out there (Googled it, can't find it) that swears that among a random sampling of men contortionism ranked right up there with intelligence, money-maker, homemaker as far as qualities desired in a mate.
Isn't that kind of surreal? That a person would basically want elasticity over, let's say, ability to pay the bills?
I guess it's the fantasy of it all.

Rihanna channels '80s Look



Your girl RiRi sported a 1980s "Crush Groove" look recently to tap into her childhood.

Vibe's Carnival Photos = Hotness


Vibe Magazine commissioned these photos from Carnival in Trinidad & Tobago.




For you and me, Mardi Gras may be the closest we come to one of these festivals, but in the Caribbean, it's nothing to don a wig, some glitter, get in line and start belly-rolling on 'em!

What exactly is a 'Cougar,' anyway?


Somewhere along the line, a new term was coined. An exhaustive Internet search won't turn up the origins but in any event, it's here now.
when did the term gain popularity as a definition for Hot Older Women (Shouldn't they get called HOWs or something?)
In my humble estimation, the term is not at all flattering. Cougar, according to Webster's is: "a large powerful tawny-brown cat (Felis concolor) formerly widespread in the Americas but now reduced in number or extinct in many areas —called also catamount mountain lion panther puma."
So, we're basically referring to attractive women as pumas. Wow.
This follows the early part of the decade's fascination with the MILF term.
As far as anyone can tell the phrase originated in the 1990s-era juvey fun film "American Pie."
But that wasn't good enough for society, now we've got cat references to pick through.
So, will the cougar stay with us or will it just wither away, melt in the sight of the next trendy name? (Jive turkey?)
You be the judge.

Women Saggin': A new trend or singular fashion fail?

Tuesday, June 2, 2009




If the above style catches on among women, somewhere the fashion gods will be kicking themselves. Let's hope this won't be the case. Could you imagine the car wrecks if this became a normal scene in public?

Are Black Men Getting Tired?



Tired: Drained of strength and energy : fatigued often to the point of exhaustion
2 : obviously worn by hard use.


Go into your average barbershop and notice the looks: worn out, lackadaisical, even ill-looking.
Some of them look like they've been in car wrecks, and in alot of ways they have: emotional car wrecks.
The arguing, the accusations, the put-downs: From the looks of things, they're taking a toll. Tired, you say? Oh, been sick AND tired, for a while (but so is the black woman).
In the independent film, "Diary of a Tired Black Man," even the snide, sneering remarks of her girlfriends grate on the man.
But that can't be the only reason, right? Well, besides the fact that AIDS in the No. 1 cause of death for black men aged 25 - 34; and the fact that they are being hit hard(est?) in the recession; and of course the lower life expectancy and higher mortality rate from disease, and well (1 in 3 with prison record?), you see, a little, why the tiredness.
But is tiredness an excuse to walk away, to give up?

Karrine Steffans: Media Mogul?

Monday, June 1, 2009


When one thinks of the word "vixen," who comes to mind?
When one thinks of "media maven," I'll tell you who doesn't come mind.
Karrine "Superhead" Steffans.
But, besides a select few, no woman has taken the digital and technological reins of the makeshift branding world like Steffans, the original "video vixen."

Steffans has created a virtual library of content of herself for more than two years now. She's been on Twitter before most celebrities had even heard of "blogging," let alone "microblogging."

Evidently frustrated with not being able to penetrate Hollywood's glass basement, Steffans has taking to donning outfits and performing character skits, including one called "Becky" (Beckyodes) where her and a friend chatter about wacky stuff in really strange voices.
She may not be Carroll Burnett, but compared to other "vixens," out there, she's raised the ante considerably.
Her personal web site has given a weekly video feed before many prominent TV stations had theirs up and running.
Not that she was just trying to push social networking beyond the uber-popular Facebook and Myspace. Steffans has been trying to transition to certified book author.
Her days as a "video vixen" have provided X-rated fodder as she blabbed about her sexual encounters with celebrities both married and unmarried.
Her online exploits have been followed closely by the camps of Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks as one-woman corporations seek to push their reach further across the Web.
But what's next for Steffans?

Will she reinvent herself as an actress or one day get her own show?
But as Twitter and Hulu and a host of other digital companies make a push for advertising dollars, where will someone like Steffans migrate migrate on the digital landscape next?
 

2009 ·Popwife Blog by TNB