I came on home...
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Since you know I'll be discussing Beyonce's 'Homecoming' documentary, I thought I would start this week's newsletter with some exciting news. Are you ready?
After three weeks, I finally finished reading The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen and Reshma Saujani's Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder. I suggest reading The Wife Between Us. Once I got into it, I could not put it down. There was a twist I didn't see coming. Brave is good, BUT you have to be in the mood for it which I wasn't. Nonetheless, what are you reading currently ?
Now to Beyonce and Homecoming. Did you watch?
More than likely you've seen some part of last year's Coachella performance but 'Homecoming' was so much more. We got to see the concert in it's entirety, and we also go an inside look into the world of Beyonce with the behind the scenes footage. I loved the quotes that separated the concert and the unseen footage. I also loved hearing about Beyonce's experience with childbirth this go around and how difficult it was to give birth because of the health issues she experienced.
Regardless of your feelings about Beyonce, I think 'Homecoming' is another testament to why I love her so much and why, I teared up--don't judge me. Beyonce is always pushing the envelope. She's always topping what she did the last time. She doesn't always have to try to be the best because she's above the benchmark really for other artists, but she still does. She's never going to stay at the same level, she finds something else she can do to add shock value and up the ante. She's my spirit animal. I often think to myself WWBD (What Would Beyonce Do?) when faced with adversity.
I did have a really random thought while watching 'Homecoming', which was I wonder what it feels like to be the baby hair on her face and having the ability to feel all that excellence.
Also, not only did we get a documentary--we got a 40-track surprise live album.
Here are a few of my favorite reads post Homecoming:
All The Quotes in 'Homecoming' Show Beyonce's Commitment To Recognizing Great Black Thinkers
8 Times Beyonce Got Real About Being a Mom And Staying On Top Of Your Game In 'Homecoming'
Beyonce's 'Homecoming' is a Masterclass on Radical Disruption
What I'm Listening To:
You know who has the most annoying voice ever--well in 2019? Khalid. I'm convinced someone hacked my Spotify account because all this Khalid music started playing.
My poor, poor, poor, ears.
You know whose music doesn't suck? Bobby Valentino! Nice segway right?
Initially I planned to devote the newsletter this week to Bobby V but Beyonce came, saw, and conquered, and it went out of my mind like his music career. That was rude, I know so let me not go there.
You may be wondering why I mentioned Bobby V--let me tell you why: Last weekend, I was at a party which ended in a Flashback Friday segment through some of the hits from the early-2000's. After making our way through Ashanti, Murder Inc, B2K and Vita, we ended on Bobby Valentino. My thoughts of Bobby only go to "Slow Down" which is his greatest song, but my friend Stephanie (hey, girl hey) reminded me that Bobby has some other jams and/or has been on some great songs. Since I went through a lot of his music this weekend, I created a playlist for you here so we can be in sync it's pretty sparse, but it's there.
In more current music news, Anderson Paak released his new album, Ventura last Friday and I’m on the fence with it. For whatever reason, none of his new music is really hitting me in the same way it used to. I’m always able to find a song or two that I like on the albums, on Oxnard it was “Cheers,” and on his new album it’s “Jet Black” featuring Brandy. I’m not sure if it’s because they came out so close that neither were super fleshed out for me, but I was left wanting more from both. What are your thoughts on the album ?
Back to listening to Beyonce Homecoming (Live Album) I go in particular to the remake of "Before I Let Go" with that bounce beat.
What I'm Reading:
How beautiful does Janelle Monae look in these photos?
Because she looks so beautiful, I wanted to bless this week's newsletter with a few photos from her cover story in Them magazine. For the interview, Janelle was interviewed by Lizzo and I loved it all. The interview covered a lot of ground--Janelle coming out and being an advocate for the LGBTQ community, her music, and women finding their voice in the "boys club."
This quote in particular really stuck out to me:
"Everyone is on a journey of self-discovery, and those of us who may not understand others’ journeys should be more empathetic and tolerant and supportive. A big thing for me is just being patient with myself, and not allowing myself to make decisions based in fear, or a fear of people not understanding me. And it's hard. You go through experiences where you feel fearful, and you end up being depressed, or having anxiety, and not taking care of you. But that fear should not get in the way of how you love or who you love."
I thought this was a pretty interesting read, as it goes deeper than just Kris Jenner. I will say this however, say what you want about the Kardashian's but Kris is pretty smart. I listened to this interview with her and Janet Mock and learned a lot. Since we are talking about mothers, here's another great listen from Janet Mock's podcast with Ms.Tina Knowles-Lawson.
June 9th can't come soon enough. I think I've watched the first season five times in completion--I love this show. Can't wait for the new season and Meryl Streep is going to be on it and Wendy from Sexless!
That's it for this week,
xoxo Erin