Classy Black Women

Daughters: The Black Rapper's Karma - Nas Releases New Song

6:14 PM | 4 comments | , , , , , , ,

Rapper Nas releases new song "Daughters," exposing his own personal struggles with "Rapper’s Karma"

Nas released a new song entitled “Daughters” this week. In the song he goes into some very personal details about his own daughter’s behavior. 

Apparently Nas' daughter Destiny was caught on Twitter tweeting pictures of her condoms (which she keeps conveniently by her bed) and making references to cocaine. The song also reveals that she may have a pen pal relationship with a man who is in jail.

I have long said that Karma for most black male rappers would be their young daughters. 15 to 20 years after the hip hop industry took a major turn for the worse (disgusting lyrics about women and putting drugs, money, sex and bling above everything) that prediction is starting to come true. The daughters of many of the world’s favorite rap stars are starting to come of age.

Take a quick look at the top rappers who have had some of the most vulgar lyrics defaming women and glamorizing the drug game -- most if not all of them have young daughters.

For instance, P. Diddy, Ludacris, Nelly, The Game, Snoop Dog, Lil Wayne, Jah Rule and now Jay Z.

Ironic aint it?

When these young girl children of rappers come of age, what do their rapper fathers think they are going to do? Join a church and sing in the choir? 

No, they are going to glorify sex, money and drugs just like their dads (and sometimes their moms) do. They are going to keep the cycle going.

Many rappers have soiled the black community with garbage music and lyrics that do nothing but destroy in the interest of making money. But they somehow assume that they themselves are untouchable, that they would never have consequences to what they’re spreading to millions of youth.

But as their daughters age they begin to get a wakeup call — hey this does affect me personally! I call it the Rapper’s Karma.


Black rappers: do you want to see your daughter called a bitch or a ho instead of a girl or woman? Do you want her to be named in a "harem of hos?" Do you want her to date a drug dealer and get into an emotionally or physically abusive relationship? Once these girls are grown the way that they choose to live their lives is largely out of your hands.

Ill say one thing about Nas... at least he has tried to speak truth and positivity in his music (i.e. I Can and What Goes Around). And at least he is man enough to admit publicly where he may have gone wrong.

Hear Nas’ new song “Daughters” below :




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Boycott Black Woman Bashers Video

12:12 AM | 0 comments | , , ,

Video encourages black women to boycott all black woman bashers.

Check out this great BWE Youtube video that encourages black women to BOYCOTT all black woman bashers. Keep your money in your pocket.

That includes companies, individuals, entertainers, musicians, talk show hosts, comedians and anyone else who wants your black woman money but doesn't want to give black women respect in return:


'

Please share the video or this post on your networks and help it go viral. This is not just for us, it's for our daughters.

Also, many thanks to poster TheScientist at Lipstick Alley for starting The Official Boycott Black Woman Bashers List.







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Do Some Dark Skinned Black Men Hate Dark Skin?

11:08 AM | 7 comments | , , , , ,

Why do dark-skinned black men think it's okay to bash dark-skinned females?

This blog post, nicely penned by guest blogger Sammi Jace, is not a bash on all black men, only an indictment of those who choose to bash women who have dark skin. It needs to be addressed here because it does affect black women and girls - CBL


While browsing the Twitter hashtag #blackwomen this past week I found myself shaking my head once again.

A poster on Twitter, who ironically is a very dark-skinned black male recently decided to pass his time by throwing darts at dark-skinned black women. A selection of his anti-dark skinned female posts:

A Lighty Can Set Me Up Any day, l’ll Forgive Her. I Dare A Dark Ting To Try, I’ll Get Her Pitched
If I Was Captain Of The Titanic, We’d Let Lighties On The Life Boats 1st, Dark Skin Girls Get On After Men

When he saw the backlash coming this Twitter bully then attempted to backtrack, claiming he doesn’t have anything at all against black women with dark skin. Sure…. 

This response kind of reminds me of white people who make sideways comments about blacks then say “hey, I’ve got black friends so I can’t be racist!”

Also, if you do a search for “dark skin” on Twitter you’ll be overwhelmed with hate-posts from dark-skinned black men toward dark-skinned black females. What’s going on?

A Real Issue, Not Imagined
When you bring up issues of light versus dark, like clockwork folks try to stamp out the discussion and minimize its relevance. In fact, when I pitched this article to a couple of sites they said no thanks because they don't want to touch the "light-dark" issue. I understand, it's because the discussions can get really ugly and nothing ever really gets accomplished.

Well I think it is time we stop sweeping this issue aside and talk about it openly. When you have Twitter bullies running rampant it needs to be addressed. Dark-light issues exist just as much as black-white issues do and it is having a negative effect on the self-esteems and psyches of black girls from a very young age.

So why do brown to dark-skinned men seem more prone to putting down dark-skinned women than dark skinned females on the flip side?

Black rappers do it. Black Hollywood producers do it when they cast black movies. Black boys on social media apparently do it a lot.

But we very rarely if ever hear black women and girls turning the tables. When is the last time you heard a black female R&B singer go on and on about needing a yellow or redbone brother? Or filling up her video with white and light-skinned men only? 

If you were to scan the Twitter hashtag #blackmen it isn’t likely that you’ll see a black girl of any shade putting down dark-skinned black men just for kicks.

Not to mention if you were to talk to a group of 10 black women nine of them would probably sing the praises of a dark chocolate brother.

So what exactly causes dark black males to so openly show dismay for their darker skinned female counterparts? Is it resentment toward their dark-skinned mothers? Media influence? A deep-seeded self-hatred that began in the days of slavery and was passed down through the generations?

Or is it just a perception that dark young black women are an easy target to temporarily relieve their anger and angst?

Self-Hate is a Mutha
As a young black girl I can remember being teased for a short while for having dark brown skin. It was never by a light-skinned or white boy. It was always by very dark-skinned black boys — boys who were even more deep-toned than I was. 

One day I was finally fed up and snapped back at one bully, stating the obvious: "You’re several shades darker than me so how can you sit there and call ME blackie?"

Now some black males still seem to think this type of thing is cute or witty in 2012 and now they have a new format (social media) to get it all out there. 

But hey it is not okay bruh, not at any age whether you’re 10 or 30. It actually exposes some major issues and vulnerabilities that you have within yourself.

It’s fine if you have a personal preference for someone with a certain skin tone but by going out of your way to point it out to the women (or men) who you don’t find attractive you’re displaying weakness. A deep-seeded insecurity. Bitch-assedness if you will.

Why, dark skinned black male, do you seem to hate the skin tone that you own? Don’t you think that black is beautiful? If you genuinely do then that would apply for both men and women.

Is a Genuine New Civil Rights Movement Really Possible?
Everybody is talking about the Trayvon Martin case and how it might be sparking a new black civil rights movement. But yet and still the tendency in our community is to cat fight among ourselves instead of fighting the powers that be.

So how can we ever truly progress if we have such a thick sentiment of self-hate still coursing through our community? And it’s on full display for the world to see.

So let’s get it all out on the table black people. Do black women in general simply have a stronger sense of racial identity and pride in black skin? As you can see I asked many questions in this post and I really want answers and solutions starting today.

In the meantime, these issues are why I believe The Pretty Brown Girl movement is so important. Lift up your black daughters and prepare them with ammo for this brand of bullying. Teach them that black is beautiful, even if their male counterparts don’t realize it.

- submitted by Guest Blogger Sammi Jace


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An Ideal Black America (Dedicated to Trayvon Martin and Ramarley Graham)

4:17 AM | 0 comments | , , , ,

This short post is dedicated to Trayvon Martin and Ramarley Graham.

In my ideal black America...

Visionary brothers like Malcolm X and Tupac Shakur would have survived to this day and the black community would be stronger for it.

Blacks would feel like THEY MADE IT not when they live around non-blacks, but when they live around other conscious, progressive black people.

 

Young black girls would be treated like the delightful little treasures they are.

Black women would tell "beauty" companies that only celebrate black women who have white-like attributes exactly where they can shove their powdered foundation and lipstick.

We wouldn’t tolerate our young girls listening to lyrics where they’re inadvertently calling themselves “nappy-headed hos.” We'd teach them that their naturally kinky/curly hair is gorgeous.


Dark-skinned rappers would celebrate their very own skin tone in their music. And female rappers would say "I'm Margaret 'Shug' Avery" or "I'm Josephine Baker" instead of Marilyn Monroe. 

Rap legends would stand up, stamp out the garbage rap of today and use their platform to fuel a positive movement among young people.

Little black boys could proudly walk down the street with their heads held high like kings to be, unafraid of being persecuted because of how they look.

In my ideal black America the tragic deaths of Trayvon Martin and Ramarley Graham would spark a brand new black civil rights movement in the United States.

Demand respect. Fight for your rights. If you don’t, who will? 

If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything. - Malcolm X


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Red Tails: More Than Meets The Eye?

11:23 PM | 1 comments | ,

A few weeks ago I threw my support behind the movie Red Tails. I take it back.

I’ve never been one who’s afraid to admit when I’m wrong. It doesn’t happen often ;) .... but when it does I step up.

Reading about the classic story blatant Hollywood racism in the case of Red Tails really annoyed the crap out of me.

But I didn’t have the full story about the movie before supporting it.

For one, this movie does not have one black female part in the whole thing. Not a flashback nor a photo keepsake. One of my commenters mentioned it first. Additionally, I read that Jasmine Sullivan (a black girl who rocks) was cut out of the movie before it was released.

Secondly, for some reason the black male writers and directors felt it necessary to throw a fictional side-story in the movie where one of the pilots falls in love with a white Italian female. By many accounts of actual Tuskegee airmen, this type of thing was DEFINITELY not common. At least not common enough to show up in the first feature film documenting their lives.

So after plenty of reflection I had to sit back and say to myself, is there more to this story than what George Lucas spread to the media to promote his film and try to make his money back?

Is it possible that Hollywood financiers decided not to throw their money behind this film because it had an all-black MALE cast with a random interracial storyline that didn’t make much sense?

Who Are They Selling This To?
By far, black women are the main consumers in the black community. The latest stat was that blacks make over $1 trillion in purchases each year and that of that trillion, black women control 85% of all buying power in the black community.

Maybe, just maybe those Hollywood big wigs saw the writing on the wall. They saw that a movie containing all black male characters, particularly ultra-sketchy types like Terrance Howard, zero black females and a random foreign white woman (especially considering that racially charged time period), does not have much of a market in 2012.

Just who is going to the movies to support black films? Who do you think was the largest group supporting this movie in particular?

BLACK WOMEN.

Yes, it is a major slap in the face to make a film devoid of black female characters and then expect black female dollars to support it.

So I absolutely must join the other smart black female voices out there who basically said "no thanks" to supporting this movie in particular going forward. I apologize for supporting something without getting the whole story. 

By not supporting Red Tails, it doesn’t mean that black women don’t support the real Tuskegee airmen. It just means we don’t support the bamboozlement of black women.

If you want to take a dive into the black experience to make a difference in the future Mr. Lucas, just be sure you don’t neglect the 50% of the black community that makes 85 % of the purchases.


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Classy Black Lady Tribute to Whitney Houston: Thank You

9:25 PM | 0 comments | , , , , , , , , ,

Whitney Elizabeth Houston, August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012.

I felt strongly compelled to write a blog post after hearing that one of my favorite childhood celebrity role models, Whitney Houston, had passed.

Yes, role model. I said it. I admit it. I wanted to be like the younger Ms. Houston. She was an elegant, beautiful and talented black woman who I absolutely adored. After I first listened to her sing the Greatest Love of All, I was hooked.

I still remember taking a deep breath in preparation for holding out that last note:

“Find your strength in love………………………..”

Her voice gave me chills down my spine and goosebumps up my arms. To this day I still can’t put anyone above Whitney Houston in the vocal category.

I followed all of her videos. That was “back in the day” when Twitter and YouTube didn’t exist. We watched videos on television, MTV and weekend or late night video shows. She also performed the national anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) at Super Bowl 1991, which blew everyone away. See it here:



Though Whitney had her challenges later in life, she was an inspiration to many young girls like me when she first hit the scene. She was a wholesome yet fun lady to watch whether performing on stage or in a movie. (Do you remember The Preacher's Wife?) I would go so far to say that I followed Ms. Houston so much that she played a role in my becoming the classy black woman that I am today.  

When I think about what young girls of today have available to look up to as far as musicians and entertainers in the mainstream media, I am very very thankful for Whitney. And anyone who says that the way musicians, actors, public figures and other entertainers carry themselves don’t affect how some kids turn out just doesn’t want to hear the truth.

I won’t say much else here. Just that I love you and thank you Ms. Whitney Houston.

Check out some of my favorite Whitney videos:



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Okay, You’re Not Black… And?

3:22 AM | 0 comments | , , , ,

You Say You're Not Black... Who Said You Were?

While browsing around in the blogosphere recently, I came across an article by a Dominican woman who felt the need to proclaim that she was not black. She identifies as Latina/Asian and that is that.

My question to her, and others who think like her, is this… who’s to say the black American community would accept you in the first place?

There seems to be this idea in the minds of some non-blacks that black people are desperate to “claim” people who are not explicitly or clearly black. Such as Latinos and those mixed with many different races. Not so.

A few confused black people, maybe. But the majority of us, nope.

Being black is an experience. It's a constant struggle. It comes with many ups and downs. We suffer many injustices, but yet we still keep our humor. We are so innovative and dynamic to the point where young kids across the world in Japan strive to look black and emulate black culture. 

When blacks do get television shows and media attention, we dominate the airwaves and magazines. When we do decide to come together and fight for something, whoa.... watch out.

Our ancestors not only survived the slave trade but many of them also went out there and fought for our civil rights. Many non-black minorities came in after most of the struggle was over.  They benefited from the freedoms that blacks (and some progressive whites) fought for. Many other minority groups came into this country after all was said and done.

We’re the originators of many things in this country, and have helped America become what it is today. In fact, if not for African-Americans who slaved and fought for this country, I doubt the U.S. would have been strong or monied enough to win the many wars it did on its way to its current status as a world power.

So why again do people like this woman believe that regal black Americans would want to somehow “adopt” her into this royal heritage based on her skin tone alone? 

Being black in America is something that you earn, not something that you’re granted. You don’t just skate on in because you have browned skin.

Bottomline to those who vehemently want to separate themselves from black culture: no, you’re not black. Proud black folks know the deal. Please carry on with your lives, whatever you identify with.


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