Tumbum - Yemi Alade

white people stop romanticizing imelda marcos challenge

The Beyhive was abuzz when Beyoncé dropped a teaser for her two new country-adjacent song (“Texas Hold 'Em” and “16 Carriages”) during the Superbowl. But when it comes to African American soul divas dabbling in country music, as so often the case in pop culture history, Queen Tina got there first! I’d always mistakenly assumed Acid Queen (1975) was Tina Turner’s debut solo effort, but no – the record Tina Turns the Country On was released in September 1974 (so it turns fifty this year. Note that Tina started releasing solo material when she was still married to Ike). On it, the R&B tigress wraps her gravelly rasp around material by the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Hank Snow, Bob Dylan and James Taylor. While Turns the Country On garnered Turner a Grammy nomination that year for "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female" it belly-flopped commercially (no singles from it were released) and the reviews were decidedly mixed (“She sounds so woeful doing country on Turns the Country On, you would think she grew up overseas” Ron Wynn concludes in his 1985 book Tina: The Tina Turner Story). You can judge for yourself – the album is streaming on Spotify. Ultimately, as the Saving Country Music website notes “perhaps Tina Turner’s biggest country music contribution came from being a muse, not a performer. In 1969, Waylon Jennings was hanging out at the Fort Worther Motel in Fort Worth, TX when he breezed by an advertisement for Tina Turner describing her as a “good hearted woman loving two-timing men.” Waylon immediately recognized the phrase as the perfect premise for a country song” – and it resulted in his 1972 hit “Good Hearted Woman.”

ALICE RANDALL, on how she became a country music writer at the age of 23

Well, I decided to become a Black country songwriter and publisher. I was founding Midsummer Music because I was born in Detroit City in 1959, at the same year as Motown Records, and my father did not read books to me. He told me stories, and one of the stories he told me over and over was the founding of Anna Records that Barry Gordy's sisters had founded a year before Motown.

So he talked to me about women being song publishers and record company executives and songwriters, and I heard those stories and followed in Anna's footsteps.

On writing country melodies

I teasingly say that my melodies are so simple that when the ones I come up with, if I can sing them, the whole world can sing them, so it goes well for having hit sometimes. But I came to Nashville via Harvard in Washington, DC so I sort of took the skills that I learned analyzing the Harlem Renaissance poets and Shakespeare and Jane Austen, and I applied them to country lyrics. I love British metaphysical poetry and American metaphysical poetry, and it was alive and it was alive and hiding in country and western music, and I found it.

On race in the country music industry

The racial fault line in country is all around that theme of the past is better than the present. In much of white country, the past that is better than the present is a mythologized Dixie. In much of Black Country, the past that is better than the present, is a time in childhood where your parents were able, against all odds, to protect you, or a lost Africa before colonization that's manifest by nature.

On what makes a country song, country

Well, the equation is Celtic, that's English, Irish, Scottish ballot forms, plus African influences, plus evangelical Christianity equals country music. Don't have the Black influences, and you probably got folk music. Don't have the evangelical Christianity, and you may have blues.

It's emotional, and they're themes, the big themes of country, as far as I see it. Life is hard, God is real, the road, family, and liquor are significant compensations, and the past is better than the present.

On metaphors

Well, these lyrics, these really complicated lyrics such as, ‘Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalpost of life,’ that's an extended metaphysical conceit. And you know what? On Beyoncé’s new album, Cowboy Carter, Bodyguard is another one of those extended, complex metaphors that we see all through country.

On Black women in country music

I feel actually a Juneteenth, which is good news at long last. Because I will be 65 May 4th, and I have been in country and western music for 41 years professionally.

When I arrived here in 1983, Charlie Pride had been to the number one spot 29 times. It was about to go up for another time. So many Black men have gotten to the number one spot.

I can't remember all their names, but literally not one Black woman performer had gotten there. There's a phrase I want to say, cultural redlining. Black women have been culturally redlined out of that.

They had not been given the economic resources to make the campaign to get there. And Beyoncé eclipsed all of that. And I can retire now with a joy that all three of the things I wanted to see, they got done.

One came in right at the last moment, wouldn't have gotten there without Queen B.

On representation and the first time she heard one of her songs performed by Adia Victoria, a Black woman

I cried. I cried. Just thinking back on it right now almost makes me cry again.

It changed the whole beginning of my book, because I knew I had to start with that moment. Over the years, I've been honored, and I tell the story. Glenn Campbell, Moe Bandy, Radney Foster, Tricia Yearwood, so many extraordinary stars had sung my songs.

But no one had ever looked like me had sung one of my songs. And more significantly, listeners thought all the heroes and sheroes in my songs were white, because the singers were white. And some of those heroes and sheroes, I had imagined them, all of them I had imagined as Black.

And I was willing and embraced people projecting their identities onto them, but I resisted the identities I had originally imagined and created being erased. And Adia Victoria added the color back to that cowboy. And 20 to 30% of all cowboys in the American West were Black and Brown, and they deserve to be remembered.

And if we don't remember them, we cannot properly encounter Cowboy Carter.

What are you currently listening to music-wise

I love this question and music is certainly a Beloved of mine in my slow, vagus-nerve tending, passionate, regenerative, temple arts, creative life. :)

I am often laying around to South African and currently falling in love "Zoë Modiga's" album "nomthandazo" which means "woman who prays" and that's so so beautiful to me. hahah!

I'm also in a feely listening cocoon with Arabic music, feeling into how can I merge my "belly dance" playfulness with my "pole dance" strength-training and sassiness, lol! I like Arabic music because it tends to be deeply passionate and storytellling, telling the most chaotic stories (someone told me) but I have no idea because I don't speak the language. I love to listen to music where I don't know the language and get to arrive into feeling and sensing and allowing. And in Arabic music, a song will start off slow and a bit sad then in the middle the tempo speeds up out of nowhere into something a little more playful and lighthearted (feeling) then ends slow again with little shouts to close it out. HA! Too wild. I love it! Currently listening to long 10 minute songs like "Kon Sadiki" by Majida El Roumi and stretching to them at night

Blessed full moon. ❤️❤️❤️.

1928-2014

By Dr. Kelly A. Spring | 2017; Updated December 2021 by Mariana Brandman, NWHM Predoctoral Fellow in Women’s History, 2020-2022

Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.

On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to her parents’ tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce, Angelou went to live with her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas at an early age. Her older brother, Bailey, gave Angelou her nickname “Maya.”

Returning to her mother’s care briefly at the age of seven, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. He was later jailed and then killed when released from jail. Believing that her confession of the trauma had a hand in the man’s death, Angelou became mute for six years. During her mutism and into her teens, she again lived with her grandmother in Arkansas.

Angelou’s interest in the written word and the English language was evident from an early age. Throughout her childhood, she wrote essays, poetry, and kept a journal. When she returned to Arkansas, she took an interest in poetry and memorized works by Shakespeare and Poe.

Prior to the start of World War II, Angelou moved back in with her mother, who at this time was living in Oakland, California. She attended George Washington High School and took dance and drama courses at the California Labor School.

When war broke out, Angelou applied to join the Women’s Army Corps. However, her application was rejected because of her involvement in the California Labor School, which was said to have Communist ties. Determined to gain employment, despite being only 15 years old, she decided to apply for the position of a streetcar conductor. Many men had left their jobs to join the services, enabling women to fill them. However, Angelou was barred from applying at first because of her race. But she was undeterred. Every day for three weeks, she requested a job application, but was denied. Finally, the company relented and handed her an application. Because she was under the legal working age, she wrote that she was 19. She was accepted for the position and became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Angelou was employed for a semester but then decided to return to school. She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.

After graduation, Angelou undertook a series of odd jobs to support herself and her son. In 1949, she married Tosh Angelos, an electrician in the US Navy. She adopted a form of his surname and kept it throughout her life, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1952.

Angelou was also noted for her talents as a singer and dancer, particularly in the calypso and cabaret styles. In the 1950s, she performed professionally in the US, Europe, and northern Africa, and sold albums of her recordings.

In 1950, African American writers in New York City formed the Harlem Writers Guild to nurture and support the publication of Black authors. Angelou joined the Guild in 1959. She also became active in the Civil Rights Movement and served as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a prominent African American advocacy organization

In 1969, Angelou published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her early life. Her tale of personal strength amid childhood trauma and racism resonated with readers and was nominated for the National Book Award. Many schools sought to ban the book for its frank depiction of sexual abuse, but it is credited with helping other abuse survivors tell their stories. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been translated into numerous languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Angelou eventually published six more autobiographies, culminating in 2013’s Mom & Me & Mom.  

She wrote numerous poetry volumes, such as the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Just Give me a Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), as well as several essay collections. She also recorded spoken albums of her poetry, including “On the Pulse of the Morning,” for which she won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. The poem was originally written for and delivered at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. She also won a Grammy in 1995, and again in 2002, for her spoken albums of poetry.

Angelou carried out a wide variety of activities on stage and screen as a writer, actor, director, and producer. In 1972, she became the first African American woman to have her screen play turned into a film with the production of Georgia, Georgia. Angelou earned a Tony nomination in 1973 for her supporting role in Jerome Kitty’s play Look Away, and portrayed Kunta Kinte’s grandmother in the television miniseries Roots in 1977.

She was recognized by many organizations both nationally and internationally for her contributions to literature. In 1981, Wake Forest University offered Angelou the Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. President Clinton awarded Angelou the National Medal of Arts in 2000. In 2012, she was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame. The following year, she received the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award for outstanding service to the American literary community. Angelou also gave many commencement speeches and was awarded more than 30 honorary degrees in her lifetime.

Angelou died on May 28, 2014. Several memorials were held in her honor, including ones at Wake Forest University and Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. To honor her legacy, the US Postal Service issued a stamp with her likeness on it in 2015. (The US Postal Service mistakenly included a quote on the stamp that has long been associated with Angelou but was actually first written by Joan Walsh Anglund.) 

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Angelou the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. It was a fitting recognition for Angelou’s remarkable and inspiring career in the arts.

This woman was a woman of rape, abuse , and even a victim of racism. She stayed writing in her life as life went on and she did not ask other people to suffer either was well she was a woman of many gift. A big wake up for womens rights and also a good reflection on what is wrong with today's society. People use religion, marriage, laws and even age to determine what is and isn't rape and that is the sick culture all women have to endure. It is never a woman's fault. It happened to me recently and now I am diving back into my music arts. Even research as well . Getting different domains for different topics as well while putting my story out there . It is scary to put it out there because there are so many different things that make writing scary/

Race & Representation

Henry Louis Gates: The Blackness of Blackness; A Critique of the Sing and the Signifying Monkey

In Henry Louis Gates' essay “The Blackness of Blackness; A Critique of the Sign and the Signifying Monkey,” he defines the act of Signifying, a phonetic strategy deployed within the diaspora of African American cultures. Signifying is a practice of ‘double-talk’ where the official definition and the meaning of a sign, accepted as such by the dominant social class, is circumvented by attaching a secondary inverted or unrelated definition to the sign. In Roger D. Abraham’s words, presented in Gates' essay, it is, “the trickster's ability to talk with great innuendo, to carp , cajole, needle and lie”. This practice, within black communities, arose out of necessity, during periods in which they faced repressive laws. In Stuart Hall’s “What is This Black in Black Popular Culture?" aspects of culture such as speech, hairstyles, ways of walking, standing and etc, “were often the only performative space we had left.” Using this definition of Signifying and understanding its origins within black communities, Gates explores the legend of the Lion, the Elephant, and the Signifying Monkey. While there are thousands of variations of the tale, the root story is of a Lion, representing the dominant social class as the King of the jungle, the Monkey, the Great Signifier, who uses its trickster abilities to influence the lion into action against the final character, the Elephant, by suggesting to the lion that the elephant had insulted it. It is only after the Lion is ‘trounced’ by the Elephant, and thus lost its degree of dominance, that it realizes its mistake was taking the words of the monkey at face value. 

Christina Aguilera’s, “Can’t Hold Us Down” as a music video serves as an excellent example of this legend in a postmodern setting, especially once Christina’s past and more importantly future are contextualized. To deconstruct this we can explore another segment of gates essay, “The monkey and the lion do not speak the same language; the lion is not able to interpret the monkey’s use of the language” The monkey speaks figuratively in a symbolic code; the lion interprets or reads literally and suffers the consequences of his folly, which is a reversal of his status as king of the jungle, the monkey rarely acts in these narrative poems; he simply speaks.” Throughout the music video Christina Aguilera, to the best of her abilities, is attempting to engage in the act of Signifying. Gates' essay provides an example in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” of how participating in signifying can be a powerful tool in allowing gendered stereotypes to be broken and provide a voice to those in a historically dominated class. While this is clearly the song's goal, it is undermined first by Christinas race. Christina, as a white part Ecuadorian woman, who grew up in wexford pa, (a Suburb of Pittsburgh with a median house value of $345,578–), the authenticity of her performance, or lack of, is immediately evident. The tan, the black hair (she’s blonde), the clothes she wears, and the setting are all attempts to speak the language of the Great Signifier, but as the lion, not having a full understanding of the language of signifying, her efforts are instead is ‘trounced’ and eventually ‘suffers the consequences.’ Along with other stars in this era of 2000’s hip-hop, who directly profited off of black-fishing, she received backlash from her 2002 album “stripped” which included “Can’t Hold us down”, both for aspects of black-fishing, but mostly what was for the time exceedingly explicit content. This backlash was enough to shift her musical scope, her 2006 album title, “Back to Basics'' saw her remove the smokey eye, black hair, or even dreads she had in the song “Dirty”, and return to a platinum blonde with blue eye look, that remained consistent for the rest of her career. 

Ella Shohat and Robert Stam: Unthinking Eurocentrism; Stereotype, Realism and The Struggle Over Representaiton 

In Ella Shohat’s and Robert Stam’s: “Unthinking Eurocentrism; Stereotype, Realism and The Struggle Over Representation” both authors illustrate how realism within media is constructed. Realism as a goal is effective in deconstructing hegemonic representations but realism as a style or as an illusion can be problematic because “‘Reality’ is not self-evidently given and “truth” is not immediately ‘seizable’ by the camera” Realism within literature or cinema is an extensions of extensions of reality. Conversations and social discourse are natural societal reflections of reality. Shohot and Stam explain that, The facile catch-all invocation of “stereotypes” elides a crucial distinction: stereotypes of some communities merely make the target group uncomfortable, but the community has the social power to combat and resist them; stereotypes of other communities participate in a continuum of prejudicial social policy and actual violence against disempowered people, placing the very body of the accused in jeopardy.” “Can’t Hold Us Down” and Christina Aguilera again serves as an example of the weight of this representation when viewed through the lens of race. Christina Aguilera’s character in the music video, which deploys similar techniques to the guidelines presented by “How to make an Indian Movie” serves as both the “Imported greek” (white-skinned) princess, and the white man (woman) who is “compassionate, brave, and understanding.” Even despite portraying herself in a very black-coded way, her whiteness still excludes her from the synecdochical stereotypes placed upon peoples of colonized communities. “Socially empowered groups need not be unduly concerned about ‘distortions and stereotypes, since even occasionally negative images form part of a whole spectrum of representation.”

Henry Louis Gates: The Blackness of Blackness; A Critique of the Sing and the Signifying Monkey

Iggy azaleas song, “I am the Strip Club” is similar to Christina Aguileras song through its purposeful breaking of gender norms, and a general reclaiming of sexual expression and desire. The similarities unfortunately continue in Iggy azaleas attempts to Signify. She is an artist who has already come under a lot of backlash for her artificial American black cent, as she lived in Sydney, Australia until she was 16, so its existence is already odd. But in this music video her natural blonde hair is yet again made black, and her tan is more excessive than ever. Again this attempt to mimic black culture, to speak its language, is faulty, and the lion who cannot speak the Signifying monkeys language is left to face those consequences and lose face. 

Ella Shohat and Robert Stam: Unthinking Eurocentrism; Stereotype, Realism and The Struggle Over Representation

This music video, just like Christina Aguilera’s is not all bad though. When it comes to representation they did a good job incorporating details that shift the power dynamics of gender and sexuality, allowing for not only representation, but the control of the narrative of their communities stereotypes. The Music Video incorporates erotic dancers, who would most often be played by women, as-well as a truck surrounding by bike riders who would most often be represented with men. However Iggy inverts these stereotypes by having her dancers be black and possibly male-identifying, who are themselves bending gender norm by their clothing, and breaking heteronormative expectations by dancing with eachother. The women riding the bikes at the same time don’t hold back, popping wheelings and dragging sparks it is clear they are experienced and skilled riders representing themselves in a way that challenges gendered stereotypes. 

Discussion Questions 

“Critical Spectators can thus exert pressure on distribution and exhibition, and even affect subsequent productions. While such pressure does not guarantee sympathetic representations, it does at least mean that aggressively hurtful portrayals will not go unchallenged… Latin American audiences laughed Hollywood’s know-nothing portrayals of them off the screen. What are ways in which those who feel misrepresented can change how they are represented/ has there been progress in this regard? 

Today with the internet and social media do we still see examples of attempted Signification/Black-fishing?

In the tale of the lion, the monkey, and the elephant, what does/who does the elephant represent? 

Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden… is the latest instalment in composer, improviser, saxophonist, bandleader and visual artist Matana Roberts’ visionary project exploring African-American history through ancestry, archive and place. Weaving together elements of jazz, avant-garde composition, folk and spoken word, Roberts tells the story of a woman in their ancestral line, who died following complications from an illegal abortion. At a time when reproductive rights are under attack, her story takes on new resonance. “I wanted to talk about this issue, but in a way where she gets some sense of liberation,” Roberts explains. By unpacking family stories and conducting extensive research in US public archives, Roberts has created a rounded portrait of a woman who is, as their lyrics put it, “electric, alive, spirited, fire and free.” Each part of Coin Coin explores radically different musical settings, from the free jazz and post-rock eruptions of Chapter One to the solo noise collage of Chapter Three. Featuring a new ensemble steeped in jazz, improvisation, new music and avant-rock, helping to expand the project’s existing sonic palette, Chapter Five is no exception. Roberts is joined by fellow alto saxophonist Darius Jones, violinist Mazz Swift (Silkroad Ensemble, D’Angelo), bass clarinettist Stuart Bogie (TV On The Radio, Antibalas), alto clarinettist Matt Lavelle (Eye Contact, Sumari), pianist Cory Smythe (Ingrid Laubrock, Anthony Braxton), vocalist/actor Gitanjali Jain and percussionists Ryan Sawyer (Thurston Moore, Nate Wooley) and Mike Pride (Pulverize The Sound, MDC). The late, great trumpeter jaimie branch, who was due to play on the album, receives a credit for “courage”. The album is produced by TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone, who also contributes synths. As a composer, Roberts draws upon strategies associated with the post-war avant-garde, including John Cage and Fluxus member Benjamin Patterson’s conceptual approaches to scoring and performance. The immersive work of Maryanne Amacher, in which “sound and the body almost collaborate” is another key influence. “That is the foundation for me of the Coin Coin work,” they explain. “It’s not just the alto saxophone as an instrument placed in the jazz canon, it's the alto saxophone as an instrument that can be utilised to affect the body.” Listeners will be struck by Roberts’ ability to mould diverse sounds into a cohesive whole. The spoken word passages are accompanied by driving modal jazz on “how prophetic”, minimalist synth loops on “enthralled not by her curious blend” and cantering folk forms on “(a)way is not an option”. These are interspersed with instrumental pieces that range from avant-garde abstraction and squalling free jazz, to solo saxophone reflections and Mississippi fife and drums blues. There’s a further evocation of American roots music in the powerful group vocal arrangement of “but I never heard a sound so long”, adapted by Roberts from the plantation lullaby “All The Pretty Horses.” While this new chapter of Coin Coin focusses on a female-identified protagonist, others haven’t (Chapter Three being from the perspective of a male ancestor) and Roberts intends for future chapters to continue to cover the breadth of the gender spectrum, as well as their Native American heritage. “I'm proud that people say that the Coin Coin work speaks of a woman's story. But I want to make sure that it retains its inclusivity, because what we look like is not always what you see.” This reflects Roberts’ own experiences as a queer person of colour. For the remaining chapters of Coin Coin, Roberts will continue exploring identity and ancestry. “Expect it to keep heading towards a liberation of the human spirit.”  

ALBUM REVIEW- Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

“Do yourself a favor and get a mirror that mirror grievance/ Then point it at me so the reflection can mirror freedom/ She told me that she need me the most, I didn't believe her/ She even called me names on the post, the world can see it/ Jokes and gaslightin'/ Mad at me 'cause she didn't get my vote, she say I'm triflin'/ Disregardin' the way that I cope with my own vices/ Maybe it's time to break it off/ Run away from the culture to follow my heart”

Kendrick solidified his placement as a greatest of our generation years before the release of his fifth official album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. He could’ve fallen off Earth and left behind one of the best four-album runs in hip hop (section.80, good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp A Butterfly, DAMN). I had high expectations for this album, having waited nearly five years for its release. And as expected, Kendrick met the mark once again.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is a smaller scale album, the main thematic elements focusing on family issues, generational trauma, and interpersonal toxicity, amongst other topics of similar nature. Over its 78 minute runtime, the listener gets a detailed look at a man battling the symptoms of common plights within the African American community. The narratives are emotional, gut wrenching, and effortlessly moving. Each track flowed together so smoothly, I often times didn’t realize the song transitioned.

This speaks not only to the thematic elements, but the production style as well. Mr. Morale features a mix of R&B sounds, techy-synth attributes, and epic drums. Eerie, angelic vocals are heard throughout the album, and start off a couple tracks as well. Kendrick himself utilizes much more vocal extensions that bridge the line between singing and rapping, most notably on the track “Die Hard”. Overall, the style is different from jazzy or boom bap production like his last several albums. And, as expected, he nails this production fusion; not a single track feels out of place (except the final track, The Heart Part 5, which was the single before the album).

Mr. Morale featured several singers, the strongest performance being Summer Walker on “Purple Hearts”, which also featured the strongest rap feature, Ghostface Killah. Baby Keem had a not-awful appearance on “Savior”, but I couldn’t done without Kodak Black’s appearance on “Silent Hill”.

There is no stand out track on this project; each song was a gear in Mr. Morale’s clockwork. “United in Grief” and “Mirror” were epic intros and outros. While not my favorite “N95″--the most streamed song off the album--is catchy and interesting to listen to production-wise. However, many narratives off this album were particularly powerful. 

“We Cry Together” is a chaotic fight between a mutually toxic couple that ends in an anger-induced scene of intimacy. Auntie Diaries tells the story of a young boy navigating his Uncle coming out as a trans woman, and criticizes how the black community treats slurs against them vs. the frequency in which they use slurs on other marginalized groups, specifically the LGBTQ+ community. “Mother I Sober” tells a gut wrenching narrative of generational abuse and breaking the curse so his children do not experience pain similar to what he experienced. The narratives feel like a glimpse in the experiences rather than a how-to guide to resolve them, a delicate line that a lot of “woke” songs/albums fail to toe.

Besides the Kodak Black appearance mentioned earlier, there aren’t any drawbacks or criticisms of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. I hope he doesn’t wait this long to produce another excellent project; the thought of not getting another Kendrick project until 2027 is horrifying. However, if I do have to wait that long, I’ll have this album on repeat indefinitely.

Top 3 Tracks:

1) Mother I Sober

2) Mirror

3) Auntie Diaries

Overall Grade: A

AYRA STARR RELEASE PARTY FOR HER HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ALBUM, "THE YEAR I TURNED 21"

FEATURES ANITTA, COCO JONES, ASAKE, GIVEON, SEYI VIBEZ AND MORE

Get ready for the ultimate coming-of-age vibe with Ayra Starr’s new album, The Year I Turned 21 ! This Gen Z queen is bringing her most personal stories to the table, mixed with those empowering anthems we all love. Ayra takes us on a ride through themes of growth, love, heartbreak, and finding your inner power, all wrapped up in her signature style. This album shows off a fresh artistic maturity, born from the wild year this Nigerian star has experienced. If you’re ready for a soundtrack to your own glow-up, Ayra Starr's got you covered! 🌟🎶

I had the utmost pleasure of attending the young star's album release party at Republic Records. Ayra's upbeat and welcoming energy had everyone feeling right at home. She took us on a journey through each track. She took us on the journey through every individual song, and even had the track list as included in her album art work (see image below).

Ayra Starr opened up about making music with her brother Milar, who co-wrote some tracks on her iconic 19 & Dangerous album. Now, he's back as a featured artist on her upcoming album, The Year I Turned 21. This sibling duo is seriously unstoppable! 🌟🎶

The first song "Birds Sing of Money" is an absolute vibe! As Ayra put it her self "the first song was just to flex on you guys." The beat put you in an automatic trance with a desire to dance.

On the album, Ayra Starr stated,

 “This is a coming-of-age story. The rollercoaster of emotions and genres intertwined tells the story of a 21-year-old African girl and superstar. Twenty one isn’t just an age, it’s a moment of change in your life. A time of necessary growth, hurt, realizing your power… love. Not everybody’s “21” happens at 21. Whenever it is for you; learn from it, feel through it... that’s what matters.”

On one of the more emotive stories told on the album, “Last Heartbreak Song,” Ayra Starr cuts herself off from a one-sided relationship and goes straight into self-protection mode. In a push-and-pull with American R&B heavyweight Giveon, she vows over atmospheric beats, “This is my last heartbreak song, I’ll be better on my own.”

The masterful body of work also features "Commas", Ayra Starr’s feel-good hit, which has exceeded 100 million streams across all platforms in just two months and spent five weeks on top of the UK Afrobeats Chart. Keeping up the confident vibes, Ayra Starr ropes in Anitta and Coco Jones for the empowering “Woman Commando.” Fusing urgent Afrobeats rhythms with Latin pop and R&B; this global “Sabi Girl” anthem is poised to soundtrack the summer.

Throughout the album, Ayra Starr shows an uncompromising focus on self-care and personal growth – a mindfulness well beyond her years. Tracks like"Bad Vibes", featuring renowned Nigerian wordsmith Seyi Vibez, hears her doubling down on her commitment to protect her energy from negativity. On the magnetic “Warm Up” featuring Asake, Ayra Starr experiments with jazz with an effortless, free-flowing cadence as she taunts an ex before moving on to the next. “Now you miss my warm touch… it’s a warm up to my next.” Rose-colored love songs like the soulful ‘"Rhythm & Blues"’ and “Lagos Love Story” show rare glimpses of Ayra Starr allowing herself to be carried away in the moment. Elsewhere, “Control” is a seductive siren’s call across a crowded Havana bar, paired with summery guitars and hip-swaying rhythms that nod to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” However, it is the searingly honest songwriting on the more personal tracks on “The Year I Turned 21” that the Gen Z star truly shines. As the centerpiece of the album, “21” captures a rollercoaster of emotions from youthful bravado to moments of weary, self-doubt. An unfiltered snapshot of a transitional period in life, where one feels both green yet well beyond your years at the same time. 

The deeply personal album closer, “The Kids Are Alright,” is written for her late father who passed away before she became “Ayra Starr,” and features voice notes from her siblings and mother. She also shared that a lot of her music is written with her brother and that she owes a lot to him. This summer is shaping up to be yet another monumental season for Ayra Starr, who has now amassed over 1 billion global streams. Following her critically-lauded, sold-out first world tour last year, she is set to make her Glastonbury Festival debut on the Pyramid Stage next month, building on the incredible momentum around the album release.

TEAM CREDITS

Shot by: @STEFANBUNBURY

Edited by: Shirley Reynozo  @moyamusic_

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO REPUBLIC RECORDS

Patti LaBelle - All This Love (Official Music Video) Happy Birthday Patricia Louise Holt-Edwards (born May 24, 1944), better known under the stage name #PattiLaBelle, is an American singer, author, actress, and entrepreneur. LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and front woman of the vocal group, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Following the group’s name change to Labelle in the early 1970s, she released the iconic disco song “Lady Marmalade” and the group later became the first African-American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. After the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, “You Are My Friend”. LaBelle became a mainstream solo star in 1984 following the success of the singles, “If Only You Knew”, “New Attitude” and “Stir It Up”, with the latter two crossing over to pop audiences becoming radio staples.Less than two years later, in 1986, LaBelle scored with the number-one album, Winner in You and the number-one duet single, “On My Own”, with Michael McDonald. LaBelle eventually won a 1992 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album, Burnin’, followed by a second Grammy win for the live album, Live! One Night Only. Her 1990s albums, Burnin’, Gems (1994) and Flame (1997), continued her popularity with young R&B audiences throughout the decade. Following the release of two mildly receptive solo albums in the early new millennium, she reunited with her Labelle band mates for the album, Back to Now, followed by a briefly well received promotional tour. LaBelle’s success has extended as an actress with a notable role in the film, A Soldier’s Story, and in TV shows such as A Different World and American Horror Story: Freak Show. In 1992, LaBelle starred in her own TV sitcom, Out All Night. A decade later, LaBelle hosted her own lifestyle TV show, Living It Up with Patti LaBelle on TV One. In 2015, LaBelle took part in the dance competition, Dancing with the Stars.In a career that has spanned fifty years, she has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. LaBelle has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. In 2005, the World Music Awards recognized her years in the music business by awarding her the Legend Award. Possessing the voice of a soprano, LaBelle was included in Rolling Stone on their list of 100 Greatest Singers. LaBelle is commonly identified as the “Godmother of Soul”.Early life and careerPatti LaBelle and the BluebellesLaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte on May 24, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the third of four girls to Henry and Bertha Holte. Her father was a railroad worker and her mother was a domestic. Despite enjoying her childhood, LaBelle would later write in her memoirs, Don’t Block the Blessings, that her parents’ marriage was abusive. When Patti was seven, she was sexually molested by a family friend. At twelve, her parents’ marriage came to an end, though Patti remained close to her father. Patti joined a local church choir at the Beulah Baptist Church at ten and performed her first solo two years later, while she also grew up listening to secular music styles such as R&B and jazz music. When she was fifteen, she won a talent competition at her high school. This success led to Patti forming her first singing group, the Ordettes, in 1960, with schoolmates Jean Brown, Yvonne Hogen and Johnnie Dawson. The group, with Patti as front woman, became a local attraction until two of its members left to marry. In 1962, the Ordettes included three new members, Cindy Birdsong, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx, the latter two girls having sung for another defunct vocal group. That year, they auditioned for local record label owner Harold Robinson. Robinson agreed to work with the group after Patti began singing the song “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman”. Initially Robinson was dismissive of Patti due to him feeling Patti was “too dark and too plain”.Shortly after signing them, he had them record as the Blue Belles and they were selected to promote the recording of “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman”, which had been recorded by The Starlets, but was assigned as a Blue Belles single due to label conflict. The Starlets’ manager sued Harold Robinson after the Blue Belles were seen performing a lip-synching version of the song on American Bandstand. After settling out of court, Robinson altered the group’s name to “Patti LaBelle and The Blue Belles”. Initially, a Billboard ad cited the group as “Patti Bell and the Blue Bells”. In 1963, the group scored their first hit single with the ballad “Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)” which became a crossover top 40 hit on the Billboard pop and R&B charts after King Records issued it. Later in the year, they recorded their rendition of the standard “You’ll Never Walk Alone”; the single was later re-released on Cameo-Parkway Records where the group scored a second hit on the pop charts with the song in 1964. Another charted single, “Danny Boy”, was released that same year. In 1965, after Cameo-Parkway folded, the group moved to New York and signed with Atlantic Records where they recorded twelve singles for the label, including the mildly charted singles “All or Nothing” and “Take Me for a Little While”. The group’s Atlantic tenure included their rendition of “Over the Rainbow” and a version of the song “Groovy Kind of Love”. In 1967, Birdsong left the group to join The Supremes and by 1970 the group had been dropped from Atlantic Records as well as by their longtime manager Bernard Montague.That year, Vicki Wickham, producer of the UK music show, Ready, Steady, Go, agreed to manage the group after Dusty Springfield mentioned signing them. Wickham’s first direction for the group was for them to change their name to simply Labelle and advised the group to renew their act, going for a more homegrown look and sound that reflected psychedelic soul. In 1971, the group opened for The Who in several stops on the group’s U.S. tour.LabelleLabelle signed with the Warner Music imprint, Track Records, and released their self-titled debut album in 1971. The record’s psychedelic soul sound and its blending of rock and soul rhythms was a departure from the group’s early sound. That same year, they sang background vocals on Laura Nyro’s album, Gonna Take a Miracle. A year later, in 1972, the group released Moon Shadow, which repeated the homegrown gritty sound of the previous album. In 1973, influenced by glam rockers David Bowie and Elton John, Wickham had the group dressed in silver space suits and luminescent makeup.After their third successive album, Pressure Cookin’, failed to generate a hit, Labelle signed with Epic Records in 1974, releasing their most successful album to date, with Nightbirds, which blended soul, funk and rock music, thanks to the work of the album’s producer, Allen Toussaint. The single, “Lady Marmalade”, would become their biggest-selling single, going number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling over a million copies, as did Nightbirds, which later earned a RIAA gold award, for sales of a million units. In October 1974, Labelle made pop history by becoming the first rock and roll vocal group to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House. Riding high on the success of “Lady Marmalade” and the Nightbirds album, Labelle made the cover of Rolling Stone in 1975.Labelle released two more albums, Chameleon and Phoenix in 1975 and 1976 respectively. While both albums continued the group’s critical success, none of the singles issued on those albums ever crossed over to the pop charts. By 1976, Patti, Nona and Sarah began arguing over the group’s musical direction. Personal difficulties came to a head during a December 16, 1976 show in Baltimore, Maryland where Nona Hendryx went backstage and injured herself during a nervous breakdown. Following the incident, LaBelle advised the group to separate.Solo careerEarly solo career (1977–1984)Signing a solo contract with Epic Records in 1977, she recruited David Rubinson, producer of Chameleon, to record her self-titled debut album, which was released that year. The album was noted for the disco hits, “Joy to Have Your Love” and “Dan Swit Me” and the gospel ballad, “You Are My Friend”, the latter song becoming her first career-defining single despite its low entry on the R&B chart. Three more albums were released in succession on Epic through 1980, with the songs “Eyes in the Back of My Head”, “Little Girls”, “Music is My Way of Life”, “Come What May”, “Release (The Tension)” and “I Don’t Go Shopping”, the latter song co-written by Peter Allen, being the most successful.After four albums on Epic, LaBelle signed with Philadelphia International Records where she recorded her career-defining version of “Over the Rainbow” on the album The Spirit’s in It. In 1982, she was featured on the Grover Washington duet “The Best Is Yet to Come”, and earned accolades that year for starring in the Broadway musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God. “The Best Is Yet to Come” later earned LaBelle her first Grammy Award nomination. In 1983, LaBelle released her breakthrough album I’m in Love Again which included her first top ten R&B singles, with “Love, Need and Want You” and “If Only You Knew”, the latter song also becoming her first number-one single as a solo artist in early 1984. Later in 1984, she scored another hit with Bobby Womack on the song “Love Has Finally Come at Last” and appeared as a club singer in the film A Soldier’s Story.Crossover success (1984–2009)In 1984, LaBelle recorded the songs “New Attitude” and “Stir It Up” for the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film, Beverly Hills Cop. Following the release of the film, “New Attitude” was released as a single in late 1984 and became LaBelle’s first crossover solo hit, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a signature song. “Stir It Up” found similar success on pop radio and as a staple in dance clubs. In 1985, LaBelle performed on the TV special, Motown Returns to Apollo and also as part of the all-star benefit concert, Live Aid. LaBelle’s notoriety from performing on these two specials made her a pop star and led to having her own television special later that same year. Also in the same year, a video of a performance from her tour of that year was issued on VHS. During this period, LaBelle ended her contractual obligations to Philadelphia International and signed with MCA Records.In 1986, LaBelle released her best-selling solo album to date with Winner in You with the album reaching number one on the pop charts. The album included the international number-one hit, “On My Own” and the hit ballad “Oh People”. The success of Winner in You would prove to be the peak of her solo success, though she continued her acclaim with the 1989 release of Be Yourself, which featured “Yo Mister” and the hit ballad “If You Asked Me To”, which found bigger success in a remake by singer Celine Dion. In the year of that album’s release, LaBelle began a successful stint in a recurring role on A Different World, the success of which spawned a brief sitcom of her own, titled Out All Night, which only lasted a season. In 1991, she recorded a hit duet version of the Babyface composition, “Superwoman” with Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick. The trio had previously appeared in the Sisters in the Name of Love TV special in 1987. The same year of the release of “Superwoman”, LaBelle issued the solo album, Burnin’, which went gold, with three successive top five singles on the R&B charts. This success led to LaBelle winning her first Grammy Award in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category, sharing the win with singer Lisa Fischer, who won for her hit ballad, “How Can I Ease the Pain”, in a rare tie in the history of the Grammys.LaBelle’s 1994 album, Gems, also went gold and featured the hit, “The Right Kinda Lover”. Three years after that, LaBelle released the album, Flame, which included the dance hit, “When You Talk About Love”. LaBelle released her best-selling memoirs, Don’t Block the Blessings, in 1996, and released the first of five best-selling cookbooks in 1997. In 1998, she released the live album, Live! One Night Only, later resulting in a second Grammy win the following February. It remains her most recent Grammy win. In 2000, LaBelle released her final MCA album, When a Woman Loves, before signing with Def Soul Classics to release the 2004 album, Timeless Journey. Following the release of her 2005 covers album, Classic Moments, LaBelle engaged in a rivalry with Antonio “L.A.” Reid over the direction of her career, leading to her leaving the label. In 2006, she released her first gospel album, The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle on the Bungalo label, the album later peaking at number one on Billboard’s gospel chart. LaBelle also released the book, Patti’s Pearls, during this period. She returned to Def Jam in 2007 and released her second holiday album, Miss Patti’s Christmas. In 2008, LaBelle briefly reunited with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash as Labelle on the group’s first new album in more than 30 years, Back to Now.Later career (2010–present)On September 14, 2010, LaBelle made a return two decades after her last Broadway performance to star in the award-winning musical Fela! about Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. LaBelle replaced Tony Award-nominee Lillias White as Fela’s mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and remained with the production through the end of its run on January 2, 2011.On May 23, 2011, LaBelle appeared on “Oprah’s Farewell Spectacular, Part 1” the first show in a series of three shows constituting the finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show, singing “Over the Rainbow” with Josh Groban. LaBelle was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards on June 26, 2011. LaBelle and Aretha Franklin, among others, performed at the “Women of Soul: In Performance at the White House” concert hosted by President Barack Obama at the White House, recorded on March 6, 2014.On June 10, 2014, LaBelle returned to Broadway as the cast and creative team of the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight, welcomed her as “Special Guest Star”. In August 2014, it was announced that LaBelle would appear in a guest role on the upcoming fourth season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Freak Show.On February 24, 2015, LaBelle was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars. She partnered with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev. The couple was eliminated on Week 6 and finished in eighth place. LaBelle has consistently toured the United States selling out shows in various markets. In 2012 and 2014 she appeared with Frankie Beverly & Maze on cross-country USA tours. In 2015 LaBelle made a guest appearance on Fox’s television series Empire as herself.She is scheduled to be a “key advisor” on the NBC series The Voice.Her first jazz album, Bel Hommage, was releaased in 2017.Personal lifeLaBelle later accounted in her memoirs that she was sexually assaulted by Jackie Wilson while at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre in the 1960s. Around 1964, LaBelle was engaged to Otis Williams, founding member of The Temptations, but broke it off due to scheduling conflicts. In 1969, LaBelle married a longtime friend, Armstead Edwards. After LaBelle started a solo career, Edwards became her manager until the couple separated in the late 1990s. In 2000, the couple announced they had legally separated. Three years later, their divorce was finalized. They have a child, Zuri Kye Edwards (born 1973), who is now her current manager. In addition to Zuri, LaBelle has two people in her life who are like sons to her, Dodd and Stanley. LaBelle came to know them after the death of their mother, Veaunita, a neighborhood acquaintance.In 1972, her eldest sister Vivian Rogers died of lung cancer at 42. In 1982, she lost her second-eldest sister, Barbara Purifoy, to colon cancer at 41. ln 1978 she lost her mother, Bertha, to diabetes. In 1989, she lost her father Henry to emphysema brought on by complications of Alzheimer’s disease and her youngest sister, Jacqueline “Jackie” Padgett, to lung cancer. Jackie was only 43 when she died. LaBelle dedicated her album, Burnin’ and her rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings” in her 1991/92 concert tour to Padgett. After burying Padgett, LaBelle shot the music video to “If You Asked Me To”. In 1995, LaBelle was diagnosed with diabetes. LaBelle has a home in the Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood and also has condos in Los Angeles and in the Bahamas.Civil suitIn June 2011, a West Point cadet filed a civil suit against LaBelle after he was allegedly assaulted by her bodyguards. LaBelle and her entourage were on their way to a gig in Louisiana when Richard King, a 23-year-old cadet on spring break, approached her limousine. Having been drinking, he then verbally assailed LaBelle and exchanged heated words with her son Zuri Edwards, working as her driver at the time. King punched Edwards, and Holmes stepped in, striking King several times. According to court documents, King’s intoxication level was almost 3.5 times the Texas legal limit that day. Initially, he could not remember what happened and authorities reported him as the aggressor, but no one from LaBelle’s team pressed charges.King was later given a suspension from the U.S. Military Academy. He sued LaBelle and Holmes for assault, seeking $1 million in civil court. LaBelle filed a counter-suit. Efrem Holmes, Labelle’s bodyguard, was acquitted of misdemeanor assault on November 12, 2013, a charge stemming from the 2011 incident at George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas.VoiceLaBelle is a dramatic soprano, with a range spanning approximately 3 octaves, 2 notes and 2 semitones (Bb2–E6). With exceptional control over every aspect of her voice- including its dynamics, tone, timbre and phrasing- she wields it with freedom and an instinctive edge. LaBelle is distinctly known for her explosive, powerful and incredibly emotive voice.InfluenceAs lead singer of the idiosyncratic group Labelle, Patti LaBelle has been called one of the pioneers of the disco movement due to singles such as “Lady Marmalade” and “Messin’ With My Mind”. In turn, “Lady Marmalade” has been also called one of the first mainstream disco hits (Jones and Kantonen, 1999). Rolling Stone included LaBelle in its 100 Greatest Singers list in 2011, citing her as an influencing factor to “generations of soul singers” including Luther Vandross, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, and Christina Aguilera.Pop cultureLaBelle made some headlines in late 2015 when a vlogger known as James Wright (No Chanel) spoke enthusiastically on YouTube of her brand of sweet potato pies. The video went so viral that one pie was sold every second at Walmart, selling out across the country. She also appeared in two Walmart commercials, one of which was for her sweet potato pie.DiscographyThe Bluebelles & LabelleSolo career“You Are My Friend” (1977) – R&B #61“If Only You Knew” (1983) – US #46 R&B #1“Love Has Finally Come at Last” (with Bobby Womack) (1984) – US #88 R&B #3“Love, Need and Want You” (1984) – R&B #10“New Attitude” (1985) – US #17 R&B #3“Stir It Up” (1985) – US #41 R&B #5“On My Own (with Michael McDonald)” (1986) – US #1 R&B #1“Oh, People” (1986) – US #29 R&B #7“Kiss Away The Pain” (1986) – R&B #13“If You Asked Me To” (1989) – US #79 R&B #10“Yo Mister” (1989) – R&B #6“Feels Like Another One” (1991) – R&B #3“Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)” (1991) – R&B #2“When You’ve Been Blessed (Feels Like Heaven)” (1991) – R&B #4“The Right Kinda Lover” (1994) – US #61 R&B #8“When You Talk About Love” (1997) – US #56 R&B #12“New Day” (2004) – US #93 R&B #36

Blog post #4

During class, we’ve discussed topics of race and culture, it was embedded a lot this week with the discussion of Beyoncé’s Lemonade album. Lyrically, it’s deep, honest, and raw. She reveals a lot about her family dynamics to the world, within her marriage, her childhood, and family patterns. Her including a visual aspect to the entire album was an integral part to how Lemonade came to be, it’s understood best paired with the music videos. Visually, Lemonade is an homage to the South, a place rich of customs and culture for Black Americans and African Americans. Each song had their assigned emotion and spoken word that provided a deeper understanding of where her head was at during the creation of the album and added to her story. Specifically with “Daddy Lessons”, she explores the family pattern of unfaithful men and her response to what an unfaithful man should be. She can’t let go of her man because of the issues her father left her with due to his infidelity, but she mentions being forewarned about “men like him”. It’s introspective.

Beyoncé also inserts herself in scenes of the past, like in “All Night”, and in scenes of the present-day, like in “Sorry”. It serves a sense of empowerment to Black womanhood, both in the present and past, and the same empowerment will continue on into the future. In all music videos, she’s reclaiming her power and pride as a woman. It’s afro futuristic in the sense that she puts herself in a leadership role, she has become the boss in her life and re-centers herself in her life. It is empowering for womanhood. Her album just makes me think about how culture can shape gender identity. In my culture, womanhood is strong and respected but also made to seem small as a man. I wonder of the ways Afro-futurism can be used to mitigate these issues in the media so it can then translate into real life. With my culture’s history, women have been seen as deities before but they do not nearly carry the same weight societally now. With a reconnection from past to present and future, I can only hope for a progression. A deeper appreciation of the past can create a positive future. With class discussions, I appreciated Beyoncé’s work for what it has done for other women. The work was solely for her release but the impact is caused was beyond just her own emotional release.

How you durrin?": Chuck Knipp, Shirley Q. Liquor, and Contemporary Blackface by Jennifer Schlueter

The problem with Shirley Q. Liquor 

Blackface drag performer may leave listeners In stitches, but what's up with the Confederate flag? 

Queen of Dixie Shirley Q. Liquor Do stupid people work your last nerve? Do you like to go out and holler at the hot guys? Do you like to get your groove on every now and then? Have you ever participated in an Internet chat room?

Of course, the answer to all of these questions is probably yes.

You may not have realized it, but you have a great deal in common with one Shirley Q. Liquor.

If you don't know her, think of Edina of AbFab fame as a welfare mom with 19 kids who lives in the projects of Orange, Tex. Shirley Q. Liquor loves to get her groove on with a 40-ounce along with her number one girlfriend, Watusi Jenkins — that is whenever she can get a break from dealing with her enormous brood.

If there's one thing Shirley simply cannot stand, it's "ignunce." "Ignunce" comes in many forms — from the suicidal banana headed lady who lives across the street to the spectacle of line dancing.

Shirley pontificates on any number of subjects on her latest CD, Queen of Dixie.

Whether she's trying to get all of her children on the Greyhound to go visit her sister-in-law or giving the pre-flight checklist as a stewardess for Ebonics Airways, Shirley Q. Liquor is undeniably, hysterically funny.

Shirley is also a stereotype of an African- American woman on welfare portrayed by a gay white man, Chuck Knipp, from Beaumont.

Oh yeah, Knipp also wears black makeup when he performs as Shirley Q.

If all of this smacks of racism to you, you are not alone.

Taken at face value, Shirley might be reminiscent of black caricatures from the '30s and '40s, but we exist in a post-modern, post-political correctness world.

Knipp, the creator of Shirley Q., believes that most people — even black people — are smart enough to know the difference between hatred and what he characterizes as "good-natured comedy" and satire involving parody of Southern Black culture.

It is true that many black people do seem to love Shirley Q.

If you live anywhere in Texas, you may have even come across someone like Shirley Q. and most likely remember her fondly.

Most gay men can really appreciate her way-over-the-top take on life that is so wrong that it's right.

In many ways, Shirley Q. is a mirror to our own subculture.

She just happens to be a black woman with 19 children living in public housing without insurance.

Think about it for a second — if gay men could get pregnant, who among us would not have at least 19 children? 

By John Baker Contributing Writer 

Re: Dan,  I know I got weird the last 24 hours and I figured out why. I felt like I sold out and betrayed my whole ancestry based on rumours and 3rd hand accounts making them seem like drunken Klansmen, when I have zero proof of any of it. I felt like I made them all into caricatures instead of real, full people.  These are just a FEW of the things I admire/enjoyed about our visit:   How thoughtful you were to get me a literal granny-jug of Bacardi. How sensitive you were to my micro-moods. The way you turned a “5 minute story” into a complete movie script of paranoid madness. ( I still have chills behind it) Not even caring if Karen the maid was a holy roller (she’s not), but cussing like a sailor in front of her. (She loved it, and she now loves you)   Aunt Bunny picture and the story behind it Your imitation of the drag whore from Risky Business was SPOT ON. I never saw that one coming. How appreciative you were of memory foam and 15K BTU window units You sent me on a re-learning expedi

First albums my daddy bought me in 1971

_Dark Shadows soundtrack

_HAIR 

_5th Dimension.

- "I hope you find some peace of mind in this lifetime" -

Live From The Studio: The Hillbillies Kendrick Lamar & Baby Keem

-you can call me mars, african-american, cancer, straight, she/her

-this blog is for atwow/afop, record of ragnarok, jujutsu kaisen, and atsv.

- atwow/avatar requests: CLOSED.

record of ragnarok: OPEN.

atsv requests: CLOSED.

JJK requests: OPEN.

Links!

01. main masterlist

02. Tour Dates

03. 2nd blog

Most Recent Albums...

001. Meddle About - y/n grew up around cars with her dad, going to street races and shows all the time. as she got older she realized that she wanted to race. around her junior year of high school she got her first street car and entered into a race. not long after she became the best in her city. After she graduated she enrolled in college where she has new competition. Megumi Fushiguro, the best in the college.

002. avatar the way of water currently on hold- Jake Sully and Y/n have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.

003. loose - neteyam was courting you before he left with his family to the other clan, loak had always had feelings for you but never would want you to not be happy so he kept quiet, until a trip to visit neteyam turns your world upside down

004. The Lost Clan - the sarentu. nomads. known for their story tellings yet they normally stay on the western frontier, until they travel to the other side of the frontier. being the future tsahik of your nomadic clan, that is until disaster stikes and your clan goes off the maps and are said to be extinct, but what happens when you see a boy from your past years later when your clan comes out of hiding.

005. White Widow - you where one of the first spider women miguel recruited into the SS (spider society) your a dj/producer/singer in your universe, you use this to your advantage by going to other universes and preforming and scouting out the spiderman/woman in that universe to recruit them. everything was going good in the spider society until a new villain threatens the spider society and the whole multiverses' existence.

Other Projects...

the cave navi currently on hold

- the undercover ghostxblack!reader (prologue out and on hold)

Credits/Inspo!

@inlovewithpandora my lovely mutual for helping me out while making this, and helping me make my gradient text and divider🤎

copyright © 2024 avatarl0v3r - on tumblr. do not translate/ remake/repost my works in any platform without authorized permission.

Pod-Alization: Amplify Color On Black Broadcaster; Intel Podcast Gets Tech-Nical; What Had Happened Was Season Four

Amplify Color podcast focuses on legendary African American Broadcaster Cathy Hughes

Warner Music Group's in-house podcast network, Interval Presents, debuted its latest episode of its newest series, "Amplify Color" hosted by Ryan Cameron, a 2x Emmy winner, the host of “Voice of Atlanta,” a member of the Georgia and Black Radio Hall of Fame, and long-time Atlanta DJ. In the most recent episode, Ryan Cameron discusses the life and legacy of Cathy Hughes. When she was just in her early 30s, Cathy Hughes created the largest African-American broadcasting company in the United States. This did not come without extreme adversity. When looking to buy her first radio station, she was denied bank loans 34 times. Listeners will hear how Cathy’s persistence and determination led not only to the creation of a new radio format, but to Cathy becoming the second-wealthiest Black woman in America. Her impact and legacy have changed Black radio forever. Produced by Double Elvis, the 14-episode “Amplify Color” series tells the stories of how trailblazers like Charlamagne tha God, Wendy Williams, Big Boy, Sway Calloway, and more have left an undeniable impact on the radio industry. The next upcoming episodes will discuss the life of Dyana Williams who is an activist for the rights of Black musicians and Tom Joyner who was nicknamed America’s “Fly Jock” and was the #1 voice of Black radio for over 25 years.

Intel's podcast highlights how technology can help paralysis patients

Technically Speaking: An Intel Podcast is, no surprise, a podcast produced by Intel. This show highlights how technologies such as smartphones, smaller computer chips, 3D ultrasound machines and implants that can help paralysis patients regain movement are revolutionizing the way we live, work and grow. Tune in on Tuesdays every other week to learn more about how Intel and its teams of engineers are at the start of many of these innovations impacting the future of society and humanity.

What Had Happened Was podcast announces fourth season

Talkhouse has announced the fourth season of What Had Happened Was, devoted to exploring the life, legacy and indispensable work of Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. For the past three installments of the revelatory podcast series, host and rapper Open Mike Eagle has profiled legendary creators in hip-hop through in-depth interviews discussing their impact and immense catalogs. Previous subjects include DJ Prince Paul (De La Soul, Handsome Boy Modeling School), El-P (Company Flow, Run the Jewels), and most recently A&R/producer Dante Ross, but now the focus will shift to the Oscar and GRAMMY-winning drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur, best-selling author and bandleader. Together, Open Mike Eagle and Questlove will unpack all the stories behind The Roots' first four albums, his personal rise alongside Black Thought, Dilla, D'Angelo and Jill Scott, and so much more over the course of the upcoming episodes, dropping on a weekly basis beginning next Wednesday, October 11th. Subscribe to What Had Happened Was, and learn more in Season 4's trailer out today: WATCH As the flagship show from Open Mike Eagle's own Stony Island Audio network, What Had Happened Was is helping to bring "both hip-hop history and future legends to the podcast space," says Fast Company magazine. "There is perhaps no better venue for a rap legend to spill their guts than What Had Happened Was…but Stony Island Audio's strength is the variety of subgenres it spans, and its emphasis on the kinds of stories that fall between the cracks."

Maya Angellou

Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.

On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to her parents’ tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce, Angelou went to live with her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas at an early age. Her older brother, Bailey, gave Angelou her nickname “Maya.”

Returning to her mother’s care briefly at the age of seven, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. He was later jailed and then killed when released from jail. Believing that her confession of the trauma had a hand in the man’s death, Angelou became mute for six years. During her mutism and into her teens, she again lived with her grandmother in Arkansas.

Angelou’s interest in the written word and the English language was evident from an early age. Throughout her childhood, she wrote essays, poetry, and kept a journal. When she returned to Arkansas, she took an interest in poetry and memorized works by Shakespeare and Poe.

Prior to the start of World War II, Angelou moved back in with her mother, who at this time was living in Oakland, California. She attended George Washington High School and took dance and drama courses at the California Labor School.

When war broke out, Angelou applied to join the Women’s Army Corps. However, her application was rejected because of her involvement in the California Labor School, which was said to have Communist ties. Determined to gain employment, despite being only 15 years old, she decided to apply for the position of a streetcar conductor. Many men had left their jobs to join the services, enabling women to fill them. However, Angelou was barred from applying at first because of her race. But she was undeterred. Every day for three weeks, she requested a job application, but was denied. Finally, the company relented and handed her an application. Because she was under the legal working age, she wrote that she was 19. She was accepted for the position and became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Angelou was employed for a semester but then decided to return to school. She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.

After graduation, Angelou undertook a series of odd jobs to support herself and her son. In 1949, she married Tosh Angelos, an electrician in the US Navy. She adopted a form of his surname and kept it throughout her life, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1952.

Angelou was also noted for her talents as a singer and dancer, particularly in the calypso and cabaret styles. In the 1950s, she performed professionally in the US, Europe, and northern Africa, and sold albums of her recordings.

In 1950, African American writers in New York City formed the Harlem Writers Guild to nurture and support the publication of Black authors. Angelou joined the Guild in 1959. She also became active in the Civil Rights Movement and served as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a prominent African American advocacy organization

In 1969, Angelou published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her early life. Her tale of personal strength amid childhood trauma and racism resonated with readers and was nominated for the National Book Award. Many schools sought to ban the book for its frank depiction of sexual abuse, but it is credited with helping other abuse survivors tell their stories. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been translated into numerous languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Angelou eventually published six more autobiographies, culminating in 2013’s Mom & Me & Mom.  

She wrote numerous poetry volumes, such as the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Just Give me a Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), as well as several essay collections. She also recorded spoken albums of her poetry, including “On the Pulse of the Morning,” for which she won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. The poem was originally written for and delivered at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. She also won a Grammy in 1995, and again in 2002, for her spoken albums of poetry.

Angelou carried out a wide variety of activities on stage and screen as a writer, actor, director, and producer. In 1972, she became the first African American woman to have her screen play turned into a film with the production of Georgia, Georgia. Angelou earned a Tony nomination in 1973 for her supporting role in Jerome Kitty’s play Look Away, and portrayed Kunta Kinte’s grandmother in the television miniseries Roots in 1977.

She was recognized by many organizations both nationally and internationally for her contributions to literature. In 1981, Wake Forest University offered Angelou the Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. President Clinton awarded Angelou the National Medal of Arts in 2000. In 2012, she was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame. The following year, she received the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award for outstanding service to the American literary community. Angelou also gave many commencement speeches and was awarded more than 30 honorary degrees in her lifetime.

Angelou died on May 28, 2014. Several memorials were held in her honor, including ones at Wake Forest University and Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. To honor her legacy, the US Postal Service issued a stamp with her likeness on it in 2015. (The US Postal Service mistakenly included a quote on the stamp that has long been associated with Angelou but was actually first written by Joan Walsh Anglund.) 

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Angelou the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. It was a fitting recognition for Angelou’s remarkable and inspiring career in the arts.

This goes to show you only get real honor after death, she was amazing and very inspiring, after reading her story gave me encouragement to always continue with mine no matter what anyone says