Left My Scarf for the Beauty Shop
This image really has nothing to do with anything that I wrote about for today's newsletter, but she's cute, and I'm cute so I feel like she's my spiritual twin for the day. #twinning
Anyway, this weekend it's supposed to snow here in DC which means it's the perfect time to chill, be lazy, and do some annoying but serious adulting. I also plan to spend some part of my weekend watching the new episode of 2 Dope Queens, and Ken Jeong's new Netflix comedy special,"You Complete Me, Ho." What are you doing this weekend?
In other news, happy belated Valentine’s Day. How was yours? Was love in the air everywhere you looked around? I hope it was. For me, Valentine’s Day was good and special and shared with my love and one of my favorite things, Mexican food.
Also for things that happened in the past, how about The Grammys. For me, one of the biggest questions from the evening was why was Alicia Keys the choice for the host? I thought and still think that it was quite a random choice and I wasn’t much of a fan. She looked like she was running late to the hair shop for most of the show--scarf and all, and I was often quite puzzled. She’s also very ZEN where it was annoying to me personally like I couldn’t tell if she had really, really strong weed, or what the issue was. I was also prepared to say some really shady stuff but….well I will actually just say it below just to entertain you:
Although she has some great songs: Wreckless Love, Teenage Love Affair, Un-thinkable, Girlfriend, You Don’t Know My Name, Diary and such, let’s be honest--Alicia can’t really sing. She’s really Alica can’t hit the Keys (I laughed) often because her live performances are always a rollercoaster of searching for notes, but such is life--I guess she came, saw and somewhat conquered. This is where I would insert my emoji shrug face.
Now, for my opinions of the evening in general.
I think Jennifer Lopez looked great on the red carpet. That dress, and the big hat and the big ponytail were goals.
What I wasn't feeling though was her Motown Tribute. My problem wasn't that she was not black singing a Motown Tribute. My issue was that when you think of Motown, you think of sangers who shifted culture--think: Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight, Eddie Kendricks, Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Teena Marie, The Isley Brothers and the roster goes on and on. Most of these people could sing, and not to be shady again but singing has never been Jennifer Lopez’ selling point. Jennifer Lopez is just beautiful, with a banging body, and is a good entertainer but that’s it. All of her top charting songs have just been catchy with great dance breaks like my favorite, Get Right, but she's not a singer. Her performance almost felt like a dance break--and that's what it should've been. Smokey came out for a hook and dipped. I just think if we wanted her to dance, great performance, but if it was a real tribute to pay homage to the legends selecting Jenny from the block was in poor taste.
In the words of Sherri Shepherd, Jennifer Lopez doing the tribute was the equivalent to the Migos doing a tribute for Barbara Streisand--or like my Twitter friends said the City Girls doing a tribute for Selena. I do think though, that would be interesting--I can see the “Twerk” video to the beat of “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.”
I was confused by Cardi B’s dress, but loved her performance and was felt so excited for her when she won best hip-hop album of the year. Maybe it's the Libra connection, or like her, I feel like regular degular shmegular girl too.
Kasey Musgraves won album of the year, which was fascinating to me given how boring her performance was. Again, here's my moment for the emoji shrug.
My boo Shawn Mendes performed. I wish he sang "Lost in Japan" but such is life. He still sounded good--and I liked Miley joining him. I also enjoyed Miley singing "Jolene" with Dolly Parton. Speaking of which, isn't Dolly so cute? Whenever I see her, I just want to smile.
WHAT I'M HOPING FOR:
Whenever the Grammy’s comes and goes, it always makes me think about the people who I wish were there and who I wish would release a new project. At the top of the list is one of my favorites, Corinne Bailey Rae. Corinne released her last album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers, in 2016 and I’ve had major life events happen since then: fell in love, turned 28, 29, and 30, moved across the country and got much cuter--see I’ve lived. I think it’s about time that she makes a new album and goes on a tour with Leon Bridges and another boo who needs to make a new album Lianne La Havas. I’ll spare you the details of the time I met Lianne, but it’s far overdue for her to release a new album as well.
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:
I'm loving Lucky Daye's new EP II, in particular the song "Karma" which preceded the EP. It's a funky, funky, funky tune.
Listening to the new album from Ariana Grande in particular the song, "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" has me revisitng one of the best songs ever--NSYNC's "It Makes Me Ill." I performed this song for my sixth grade talent show, and the versatility of these fellas is love. Sing along with me, "I was hanging with the fellas, saw you with your new boyfriend it made me jealous."
I made three new playlists that I have been listening to heavily this week: Girls Need Love Too which features some of my current favorite songs by female artists including Summer Walker, H.E.R, Syd, Emily King, Jessie Ware and more. Player Shit is as the title alludes to, all the things of the players including: Stevie Wonder, Teddy Pendergrass, The Isley Brothers, Teena Marie and more. Fitness Goals for when I actually take myself to the gym. There are a lot of gems on this playlist: the guy with the best comeback of the year, Soulja Boy, Silk Tha Shocker, City Girls, Meek and more.
New Podcast Alert: The Investigation - Read the description: Former Trump lawyer slams Mueller probe, maintains president will be cleared in premiere of ABC News’ new podcast on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Still listening to The Dropout podcast about Elizabeth Holmes and now, HBO is airing a new documentary about Holmes March 18th--sips tea. Read about here--also listen to the latest episode of The Dropout, phew.
This is technically a WATCH but do you need some light and humor in your life? Revisit this interview with Mariah Carey. I could not stop laughing with the commentary on “Drunk in Love.”
Aside from “Location” I think Khalid has such an annoying voice but bruh, “Talk” with Disclosure is a WHOLE vibe. I’m convinced that Disclosure has the ability to make people less annoying--look at Sam Smith on “Omen and “Latch.” Both songs are better than his whole depressing, I’m crying in the ocean sounding like an orca discography.
Reliving Drake’s So Far Gone, because I want the money, cars and the clothes, the hoesssssss….. I suppose. I just want to be successful. Welp. This is one of my favorite Drake projects, but let it stand THIS is my favorite Drake song ever.
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“Prioritizing good sex isn’t exactly easy—it means doing the emotional work, shedding centuries of stereotypes and oppression, and most important, rediscovering my voice as a black woman. It’s a challenge. But it’s worth it. Black women deserve validation, one orgasm at a time."