Music Review: Chris Brown's F.A.M.E.

As I stated in yesterday's post, I am a Chris Brown fan. A LOYAL one. I don't care about his antics. I just care about his talent. I was excited about this album from the time I heard No Bull**** early last summer. His last CD came out in the midst of the Rihanna drama and to be honest....Graffiti was a horrible bunch of mess that was quickly put together and thrown out to the public just not that great. However F.A.M.E. is very much redemption from Graffiti and is reminiscent of the reason why we fell in love with Chris Brown in the first place.

I have played the CD in its entirety about 10 times since yesterday afternoon. It is THAT good to me and I don't get down with a lot of pop sounding R&B. My favorite song of the album has to be Up To You. It is straight R&B crooning. This song will put Trey Songz to bed for a little while. He also gave a musical tribute to Michael Jackson, who is one of his inspirations, on She Ain't You. This song samples Jackson's Human Nature in a very tasteful way. For all of you who want a song that is great for lovemaking, Wet The Bed is the song for you. It features Ludacris and doesn't disappoint when to comes to setting the mood. He also features Justin Bieber in Next To You. In my opinion, this exposes little Justin for how much he CAN'T sing....but you didn't hear that from me. All in all, I'll give it 4.5 stars!

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Say It Ain't So, Chris Brown!

I got up this morning with the anticipation of buying Chris Brown's new album. I know, I know. How can I still want to support Chris Brown? I know the facts. He's abusive to women. I saw Rihanna's face like everyone else did. Here is my position: I am a supporter of his music, not the things he does in his personal life. I can separate the two. For some reason it is very hard for a celebrity to be great and NOT have personal issues. We celebrate Charlie Sheen's meltdown. If I see another "winning" reference, I will probably scream. Black people (for some reason unknown to me) LOVE Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka.....and those negroes are running prostitution rings out of their mama's house!!! So with a straight face I can say that I am a proud member of #teambreezy. I think it may be about that time to let some of this madness go when it comes to the Rihanna situation. I know she is the victim and they get treated much differently, but she is relatively unharmed by it. She gets to go about her own way and her career flourishes, while Breezy get kicked in the nuts.

However.....I woke up to his Good Morning America temper tantrum. *sighs* Say it ain't so, Breezy!! That lost him about 300 cool points with me. I feel his pain, but a grown man shouldn't act like that. Especially one who prides himself on finishing AN ANGER MANAGEMENT COURSE!!!! Where are the PR people? Where is his team who trains him on how to deal with this stuff? They are going to ask him these questions. EVERY TIME. Why? Because he beat the dog shit out of Rihanna (for lack of a better term). He is going to be paying for that forever in mainstream media. Handling it with grace is what I want to see. For now though, I'm going to open up my iTunes, purchase F.A.M.E., and get my jam on. Why? I just love Chris Brown. Drama sells.....*shrugs*

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What Can 40 Days Do For You?

Today is Ash Wednesday. For many, today is the beginning of the Lenten season. Most people usually give up certain things for Lent in order to get closer to God. I have noticed, however, that giving up things for Lent seem to be more about letting people know what you are sacrificing rather than gaining a closer relationship with God. I have participated one time. That was back when I was in law school. I gave up drinking. I knew it was something that I needed to do because I was becoming a binge drinker (law school will do that to you). Those 40 days turned into 6 months. The first 10 days were hard, but after a while I felt that I didn't need to drink. It was only after 6 months that my roommate fussed, "Girl, it ain't Lent no more!! Take this shot!!" I had totally forgotten that I could because I didn't need to. Now I partake in a lovely evening glass of wine, but I can't even get drunk anymore.

This year, I am going to take a totally different approach to Lent. This 40 days is going to be about getting closer to God through prayer and study. I have a copy of The Purpose Driven Life and the companion journal. I have started and stopped on this book many times throughout the past 5 years!! I don't know what kept holding me back from it. The farthest I have ever gotten was Day 3. Today I sat and started completely over....determined to see it through. The first lesson of the day was that it all begins with God. The purpose of my life comes from God and not through me. This is the first step....because I am a control freak. Letting go and letting God is hard, but I am learning. God usually prepares people for big things in 40 days....at the end of this book (40 days!) I wonder where my mind will be.

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Happy Black Girl Day: March Celebration!

(For more information about this celebration, check it out here!)

Happy Black Girl Day!!! Today's HBGD is special to me because it comes the day after International Women's Day. How could I not pass up a chance to celebrate womanhood one day and then celebrate the specialness that comes with being a BLACK woman the very next day. Can't beat it with a baseball bat!

My tribute today goes to the creativeness of the black woman. For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to read. From the age of 3, I was never separated from books for long periods of time. The library in my hometown didn't really carry books by black authors and the library inside my high school wasn't short stopping.....until my senior year in high school. I wrote an AP English paper about The Third Life of Grange Copeland by Alice Walker. To this day, it remains my favorite book of all time. This was the first time in life that I read a book for pleasure and was able to connect with the characters on a level that I never had before. Today I throw myself into Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, BeBe Moore Campbell and Terry McMillian to name a few. I love the intricacies of their writing. It makes me feel like a little piece of me is between the pages.

Today I started reading The Black Woman: An Anthology, edited by Toni Cade Bambara. It features poetry and essays written by black women on various topics. I think that everyone should pick it up. This poem stuck out to me within the first 15 pages.

Naturally - Audre Lord

Since Naturally Black is Naturally Beautiful
I must be proud
And, naturally,
Black and
Beautiful
Who always was a trifle
Yellow
And plain though proud
Before.

I've given up pomades
Having spent the summer sunning
And feeling naturally free (If I die of skin cancer, oh well -- one less black and beautiful me)
Yet no Agency spends millions
To prevent my summer tanning
And who trembles nightly
With the fear of their lily cities being swallowed
By a summer ocean of naturally woolly hair?

But I've bough my can of
Natural Hair Spray
Made and marketed in Watts
Still thinking more
Proud beautiful black women
Could better make and use
Black bread. 

Happy Black Girl Day!!!

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From Trash To Treasure

Psalm 139:14 NIV: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

I have been craving a better spiritual connection and relationship with God. I have had many hangups about the church, but I am learning to let those go. I know that the journey begins and ends with me taking the steps.

I started a devotional bible reading plan on YouVersion.com. I love this website because it has a bible app for my Blackberry and allows me to make notes, bookmark verses and keeping up with my daily readings no matter where I am. Today's bible verse is the Psalm I quoted above and the topic was "from trash to treasure." The devotional centered around a piece of old worn out furniture that the author was trying to restore.

You, Lord, have the capability of undoing all my blemishes and mistakes, of taking me back to bare wood again. Better still, You are able to take my gouges and stains--my flaws--and rub and polish them until they're really the prettiest areas on the desk!
You have done this in my life so many times. I show up in Your garage a mess, but You always see the potential. I wonder if You heave a sigh and, with great determination, begin the project?
That I don't know. One thing I do know: that You are working; that You are the epitome of patience; that You are skilled--the very best--at refinishing sorry things that might be on the curb ready for the trash truck.
How can I ever thank You for what You have done for me? I can't. It's impossible. But You know my thoughts, my heart, the depth of my gratitude. And You see my potential.

There have been too many times that I have felt unworthy, unliked, unloved. I felt that way as I read this devotional. I think that I haven't ever felt truly comfortable in churches that I have gone to based on the fact that I felt "blemished." I know that He is bigger than man and will take me flaws and all. If he can works with my flaws and blemishes....maybe I can begin to work with myself in spite of those. I have always dreamed of a picture perfect life for myself. I had everything going in the correct order....but life is not that simple and easy. I have not been able to get past what I feel like are failures and actually live. I have accepted that none of this is a mistake and the things that I am experiencing now are for my benefit. I should not EVER doubt myself again.....because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

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Back From Another Blog Vacation....

Dang....I can't believe that the last time I posted here was February 9th. This hiatus was actually needed. I took the Mississippi Bar Exam last week. I had been studying for about 6 months full time. Those last couple of weeks were crunch time.

The bar exam was 3 days worth of mental hell and if I see any of the essay drafters I am fucking them up on sight mentally taxing....to say the least. I don't know how I feel about it. The first day was kinda difficult. All Mississippi state law. 6 essays. One hour a piece. I totally messed up the Unified Chancery Practice and Business Organization questions. The second day was WAY too easy....makes up for the first day. The third day was the multiple choice MBE. *sighs* I can only hope for the best. Results come out in mid-April.

Now that I am unrestricted and my mind is clear, I can give my all to my blog. Get ready, readers!

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