Will There Be “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City: The Movie”? | The Urban Daily

Will There Be “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City: The Movie”? | The Urban Daily

Not long after the success of "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City" the album, Kendrick Lamar suggests there is a short film in the works based off the Album. This kid has great talent and I'm excited to see what new things he adds to the rap game.

Django; loss of black solidarity and the "nigger"

Quentin Tarantino's latest film "Django Unchained" is not for the squeamish at heart. While the film tackles issues of race relations and the brutality of slavery in the South two years before the Civil War, what is most interesting is the relationships between the black characters.

Through a series of brutal torturings of human bodies, the slave masters often pit the slaves against one another. So when Django and his German born partner devise a plan to rescue Django's wife, the black slave overseer played by an older Samuel l. Jackson, finds it fit to tell his beloved slave master candie, played by Leonardo dicaprio. Instead of helping a fellow slave to freedom, he seeks to keep everyone in the same place or below him.

The western drama paints a very graphic portrayal of slave life in the south. While each slave is of an equally low status, when one slave rises to a somewhat higher status the others despise him as he rubs it in his face. When Django appears before other slaves as a freeman, instead of sympathing with them he treats them as if he is ten levels above them. Django even goes so far as to refer to other slaves as property. Similar to modern times when a black person rises to even a shred of success others who are seemingly below him show qualities of "haters". In contrast those who do rise above often forget where they came from and begin acting like the same ones that oppressed them.

The use of the word "Nigger" and it's slang counterpart "nigga" has been up for discussion a thousand times but viewing this film resonated a new meaning to the word. Words like "nigger", "boy", and "jimmy" were used interchangeably as a sign of ones unintelligent property or slave. The slaves weren't viewed as people but as a good that was bought and sold and if a certain slave were to get out of line they were either tortured or fed to dogs.

The movie does little to justify the historical era of the institution of slavery. The film more so drones on over three hours as an old western with disrespect for human life with all the bloodshed. It isn't until the end of the film that there appears to be a sense of comradely among African Americans. By that time everything is torched and all the major characters have died a bloody death. If there is anything to be learned here, it is that Hollywood never gets the black story right be it of slavery or modern day life of the black experience In America.

New Year's Resolution

So I'm not usually one to make a new year's resolution because I usually forget them like most people. But this year I plan to challenge myself. In 2013, my resolutions are to;

1. Find Freedom
Through any and all means possible. This year I want to let myself live, to write what makes me feel free and share it with the world. To chase my dreams despite the thoughts of others. I want to be me without the judgement and criticisms of others.

2. Be unafraid of opposition
A lot of the things I've wanted to do or say or write or publish this past year I haven't because of fear of opposition of others. So this year, inline with my cry for freedom, I'm going to go for my dreams by doing what makes me happy.



3. Do what makes me happy despite the demands of others
While I've always squeezed fun stuff for me at the end of the day, this year I'm going to start putting me first. So instead of always doing what is expected or right, I want to do more for of what is best or right for me.





So as a new year approaches, remember both the good and bad thing that have happened in 2012 and decide what you plan to at least try to do to make 2013 ten times better!

Be Creative; Have some Fun!

Since the holidays are here and we are already taking a break from work don't forget to take some time and focus on you. 

-Try a new hair style

Take a note from Jada Pinkett Smith and don't let your hair define you. You define your hair and define your look.

-Try a New Look

Mix in some fun patterns and look up a few DIY ideas for clothing you already own.

-Practice fun nail art

Here is my try at a tribal/ Aztec nail look

-Watch a few classic T.V. Shows

Watching Living Single always makes me laugh and feel really empowered

-Write some poetry
Put your pen to the paper and let your thoughts flow!!

-Black Love & Smilez

Problematic Music videos Part. 1

FUTURE FT. KELLY ROWLAND - Neva End (Remix) lyrics

After getting over Future's horrible vocals in his latest song "Neva End" featuring Kelly Rowland, the video and lyrics are quite displeasing! The images and romantic relationship that the video promotes continues the long trail of on & off relationships found among many black couples.

A romantic relationship among many other things is about give and take, respect, love and commitment. But in Future's latest video it appears that whatever the man decides to do in a relationship is okay because "ride or die chic" will put up with anything. Which includes him stepping out of the relationship with or with out her knowledge because according to the chorus "You got all the questions and I know all the answers". "You" being the woman with all the questions and her male counterpart, all the answers.

So if we take the song apart in the first verse Future declares that's as long as his money stays long and he keeps giving her that "good lovin" she'll always be dependent on him "Long as I’m swimmin’ in Benjamins, you shop with no limited You’ll see reminisce every session, know you’ll come back again I know you can’t breathe without me, you gon’ need the oxygen I damn near gave you an overdose, on my own medicine".

Next verse, Kelly's bridge she found out that he was cheating and even tho he made her so mad, she stays because she still loves him and continues to come back!? "You showed your true colors I can’t believe you played me/ I let you meet my mother!/ Oh, you hung out with my brother, my significant other/ you know I still love you, oh baby/ Oh boy, you make me so mad, but I come right back".

My question is why? Why are women continually going back to men who treat them bad repeatedly? One key factor is the images portrayed in the media when other black women in music and movies find no fault even set the tone to stay in bad relationships. Black women are the most beautiful creatures on the planet and women in general are the most hard working so why subject yourselves to a man that cannot respect your worth?

Special Messages From Jada Pinkett Smith

A Special Message From Jada Pinkett Smith “The war on men through the degradation of woman”

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith had been in the news a lot lately concerning her views of how women are viewed in america. First, in a recent interview where Smith was questioned why she would let her daughter cut her hair, Smith first challenges the use of the word "Let". She goes on to explain that her daughter, Willow's body belongs completely to Williow and not even her mother should decide what she should do with it. The hair cut is also a statement that her beauty is not determined by the length of her hair. Pretty powerful statements!

In this most recent facebook post shared by Smith, targeted to the youth of this generation, she describes how both black men and women have begun to strip themselves of their true fullness. She pronounces that man has demoted himself to a "walking bank" to only attract women. Of the women she has traded in her original Goddess status for a "big ass and full breasts for physical comfort only". In doing such black men and black women have subjected themselves to half full beings and thus the two have become lost in a society that already seeks to push down their "trueness".

"Power and Control Will Never outweigh love, May we all find our way" (Smith)

Black Love

Black Women Do Stuff Like Worry About Bills and Pray

   

News Flash: Black Women Do Stuff Like Worry About Bills and Pray - COLORLINES


Stereotypes of black women shape the way society views them and ultimately how black women view each other. The article argues that black women have not been able to define themselves because the media insists on do it for them. Black women have been consistently labeled as strong, angry, no- man having church goers and many have subsequently fallen into those categories. It's not that black women haven't been telling our side of the story, we have since Sojourner Truth's Aint I a Woman speech. The problem is according to Akiba Solomon "Is that Main Stream Media DON'T LISTEN".  So I guess its our job as black women to make them listen make them see who we really are. The next question then is who are "Them" and how can we make them listen.....

My Thoughts on Audre Lorde's "Poetry is Not a Luxury"

             Black feminist thought is a class that I am glad that I took. The class has helped me to grow both intellectually and mentally. In the begining I did not have a clear definition of what a feminist is but soon after I declared myself as a activist feminist. In doing such I have dedicated much of my poems to the plight of the black woman in america. One such Black Feminist that has inspired my idea of poetry is Audre Lorde and her essay "Poetry is Not a Luxury". 

          In the piece Lorde mentions that Poetry is illumination, it is through poetry we are able to give ideas a name "feeling births idea, knowledge births understanding". Many of my poems start out as strong feelings about certain life situations. Those feelings create ideas which help to formulate my poems. Lorde then states that Poetry helps us to bear the scrutiny we face by making it a powerless attack against us.As women each of us have a deep place that is a reserve of creativity of power of un-examined and unrecorded emotion and feeling. "The women's place of power within each of us is neither white nor surface; it is dark, it is ancient and it is deep." 

So then Poetry helps us to bear the scrutiny we face by making it a powerless attack against us. The power women posses, we use to cope in america and create powerful pieces of creative genesis like poetry. "For women, then, poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action." For me poetry is not simply something I do for fun, I am compelled to put my feelings down in pen otherwise I would go completely insane in a world that continues to push black women down. 

Quotes that stood out to me

"Poetry is not only dream or vision, it is the skeleton architecture of our lives."

"The white fathers told us, I think therefore I am; and the black mothers in each of us-the poet-whispers in our dreams, I feel therefore I can be free. Poetry coins the language to express and charter this revolutionary awareness and demand, the implementation of that freedom."
"In the forefront of our move toward change, there is only our poetry to hint at possibility made real. Our poems formulate the implications of ourselves, what we feel within and dare make real (or bring action into accordance with), our fears, our hopes, our most cherished terrors."
"For there are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt, of examining what our ideas really mean (feel like) on Sunday morning at 7 AM, after brunch, during wild love, making war, giving birth; while we suffer the old longings, battle the old warnings and fears of being silent and impotent and alone, while tasting our new possibilities and strengths."

Poetry is the way in which women are able to deal with the world and create it anew. Life as a black woman in a patriarchal society demands we have some sort of coping mechanism and like Audre Lorde, mine is poetry.

Try Being A Woman

An Original poem by Yours Truly!

Refer to "On Being a Woman" for lyrics

New Poem: Somewhat Unfinished

I've always got bits and pieces of poems in my mind
Scattered pieces of poems that never quite made itself into a full work
But I still claim them as one line Lycrial pieces of genus
At 1:00am on a Thursday night I come up with things like

The truth about love is simply that it doesn't exist at all
Or
Time like. Men is a concept I've never been able to put a fixed handle on
It escapes me
Either moving too fast or too slow
Or sometimes it the wrong time
And baby we just ran out of time but I want you here for all times

Or

Can u be my muse?
I wanna be inspired by your passion
Taken a back by your endeavors
Excited by your enthusiasm
Impressed by your knowledge

I'll be ya Lena Horne, Josephine baker, Billie holiday, Etta james and
I'll sing you a beautiful ballad of through poetry
Let the whispers of my words touch your ears with enticement
Or I'll be the activist Angela Davis asanta shaqour

The moments are beautiful
But the memories,
They last forever