I have been inundated the last few weeks. The only thing on my mind has been Holistic Hood and The Who is that BLK GRL Campaign. Well last Sunday we did the damn thang and we want to give our faithful readers a sneak peek at the behind the scenes.
Hello everyone,
I have to tell you something. I tried. I tried really, really hard. I tried really hard for good and bad reasons. I tried with optimism. I tried because I am Black. I tried because I am working on getting to comfortable, useful, productive outside my own bubble, fabulosity. I tried to relate to Harlem Heights. I really really did. I tried to like it. I went to the premiere. I talked to some of the cast. I had an optimistic open mind. I spoke to different friends and random folk. I watched it with the mister (after much pleading on my part and trying to hear over his frequent interjections of “this shait ain’t real” and repeated snickers). I watched more than one episode.
And well y’all.
I happily live in a hood that is about 80% Latin. I value the weird juxtapositions that present themselves in my community. The backdrop of bodegas, chuletas with the dollar store Bamboo earrings, the old man and his son who blare bachata while beating their congas. Watching my little daughter wind her hips to the beat of the drum while the weathered faces of women who look much older than they are encourage her, calling her morenita and freca, the old papichuelo in the beat up pizzeria who calls me big woman and tries to lure me into a bad salsa two step.
This is the community I live in, the community I fight for everyday with out the slightest bit of apology yet I know they mistrust me. I hear the conversations in the few pieces of Spanish I can understand, I am often deliberately
⊆ March 10th, 2009 by BlkGrl | ˜ 5 Comments »Leave it to BET to rework an MTV show. Pass the originality please…..I have never brought myself to exchange an irreplaceable hour of my time for The Hills or any of that other melodramatic pale-faced malarkey ( I’ve read about it in passing though), so in seeing all of the promotion for Harlem Heights, Black Erosion Television’s new pseudo reality offering, I didn’t know what to expect. I even made my way uptown to see the premiere and what all the hoopla was about…
With wide-ranging, scenic shots of Harlem streets and staple hot spots, Harlem Heights definitely makes use of their ninth cast member.
For those unfamiliar with the village of Harlem it is the gentrification capital of New York City , once the epicenter of the Negro Renaissance. Malcolm X spoke in these streets. Adam Clayton Powell repped Harlemites in Washington and elsewhere. W.E.B Dubois, Marcus Garvey, Zora Neale Hurston, the list goes on and on.
⊆ March 4th, 2009 by Nuratu | ˜ 3 Comments »Monday, March 2nd, NuNu and I went to the NYC BET Premiere of Harlem Heights at the Apollo. I will leave the review up to NuNu but I was impressed by Ambi’s new branding strategy and the Goody Bag that was put together, which consisted of products and coupons from locally owned (many Black owned) businesses was pretty awesome too!
This is for all my Uptown Grls or those who don’t mind visiting! We hope to see you there…
So way back when on my now defunct personal blog I touched upon this subject once before and not so coincidentally, it also included the same suspects.
I consider myself a pretty conscious, righteous person. I mean like any person I have my conundrums and contradictions but when it comes to music I liken it to food. What you put in will surely have an affect on what comes out. If you want to think clearly, evolve as a person then watch what your mind consumes and sorry kids most of the shit in the mainstream music business is utter nonsense.
BUT
I have to admit, I freaking love The Dream. There I said it and I feel like a load has been lifted off of my chest. Everything this man has produced and put out and in the last year, I have been all over it. I Love Your Girl, yep. Falsetto, yep. Rockin That Shit, yep.
Ex: She rode the D, like a pony
Cameras up, cameras flash.
I’m tispy, tryna relax.
I wanna change your name to Mrs. Nash.
Cause there’s nothing left to say.
If her body is rocking, she can shake it like a salt shaker and suck a dick like a Hoover then suddenly she is worthy of the love of a man. Now, not that all these things aren’t useful assets in CONTEXT, the problem is the songs of this type continually perpetuate sexism, machismo and misogyny.
And intellectual women much like myself will rock that thang to it?
How do you reconcile that without becoming a complete hypocrite?
⊆ January 28th, 2009 by BlkGrl | ˜ 2 Comments »
What do Marcus Garvey and apples have in common?
Zena Nelson and self sufficiency.
Who is Zena? An ambitious, bright as a whip, Garveyite spearheading a food co-op in her native South Bronx as a method of bringing not only a more holistic approach to wellness in the hood but also a little bit of social justice through ownership, that’s who. Oh and she’s an MBA student.
(Insert Diddy’s “take that take that take that” right here)
If you’ve ever been to any inner city neighborhood before the sweep of gentrification you would know that it’s easier to find a bodega selling canned and syrupy peaches before finding a peach with a stem. In many of New York’s neighborhoods populated by people of color this is still the case (gentrification isn’t finished yet y’all).
There are sometimes many miles in between a front door and an overpriced fresh vegetable stand or supermarket. That is where the South Bronx Cooperative comes in (co-op = autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise OR bunch of folks putting money and time where their mouths are).
Read more…
So I am mobile blogging at almost one in the morning. The BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation)had a car to come pick me and my family up. Boston from Muthawit chartered a bus to go down to DC, some real community, organic shit. I am crazy excited and my mind is spinning.
I told y’all I am a cynic but I can’t stop thinking about symbolism and what this means to everybody. To the civil rights generation(trust me it was Creator made that the inaguration of a Black president would be the weekend of MLK’s born-day), to the present, to the future…
To me personally, two years ago I was a single mother putting my head down just working for a paycheck not actualizing my potential. In that two years(and in no particular order) I have started a business, been homeless, graduated college, had another child, met a man, found a mentor, became an activist and progressed in my career becoming upwardly mobile. Obama for me, signifies what it means to actualize your potential, to do what no one said you could. Make the impossible possible. Fuck the cynicism, fuck the politics just for today. For today I will be an idealist, I will view the world with all my senses open. I will believe that I to can make the impossible possible and just for today I will look upon Obama and believe that the little people standing next to me, my children will one day stand on that podium too.
⊆ January 20th, 2009 by BlkGrl | ˜ No Comments »RED!
HOT PINK!
MAGENTA!
All shades for the fair-skinned, right?
WRONG!!!
We CGW (Chocolate Girl Wonders) can wear these shades too!
We tend to stray away from the reds and pinks, for fear that our finished look may resemble that of Bozo the clown. Have no fear! If worn properly, red lipstick can turn a simple mouth into a sultry pout.
With so many shades in the red family, your first question is probably going to be:
Where do I start!?!?
First, realize that red comes in many shades and with many different undertones. The bright orangey-reds, and cherry reds look best on the fair skinned (not to say they wont work on us) and the darker reds with the purple undertones suit us better. Bright pinks work well with most complexions but should always be tried on first.
Gone are the days of MAC’s oh so famous, Oh Baby lipglass, WITH the chestnut lip liner (can’t forget that!). Put away the golds, bronzes and mute shades and experiment with some color!
Here are my top 3 red/pink shades for brown skin:
DIOR – Red Premiere 752 Liptsick – hydrating lipstick with a berry kick
$26.00 www.sephora.com
MAC – Girl about Town lipstick – a BRIGHT fushcia crème lipstick (one of my favorite)
$14.00 www.maccosmetics.com
Loreal- Cherry Freeze 415 Color Juice Stick - red with a purple undertone
$8.99 www.cvs.com All drugstores near you
Tips for wearing red/ pink lip color:
Wear lip liner to avoid sloppy application. Liners should always be a shade lighter then your lipstick. Remember when you first learned how to color? Stay within the lines!
Try a lipstick and lip gloss combo. Add gloss to your favorite shade of lipstick for that ultra shine finish.
Lastly, if you aren’t ready for the DITA VON TEASE look, try a lip gloss! They are on the safe side (for the more reserved) as they are sheer with just the right amount of tint! But if you are ready for those red lips or pink pucker, visit the counter of your favorite makeup brand, sit with an artist and have them find the best shade for you!
⊆ January 14th, 2009 by Tola | ˜ No Comments »
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