presence.

today's post is all about presence. you know, that enigmatic "it" quality that silently commands respect and attention. some say you are born with it, but i think that it can be acquired. in my opinion, the only difference between the haves and the have nots, is self-confidence. when you are confident, you don't have to try so hard. you are just fabulous. most of us have glimpses of this power, but never seem to harness it. you know, you get a new outfit, you just had a big accomplishment or something, and next thing you know, you are walking a little straighter with a touch of swagger in your step. perhaps, if we do little things to make ourselves feel fabulous, we can have this feeling all of the time. tell your self that you are beautiful. take yourself to dinner. get a pedicure. have some pictures taken of yourself. go to the MAC cosmetic counter and get a full makeover. whatever it takes, but i promise, if you take care of yourself, you will wake up one day and say to yourself...self, look at you and how far you have come. this week i got some lash extensions, and i must say, i am cute. the day i got them, i was like, i can't be stopped. folks were looking at me differently and interacting with me differently. not just because i was so cute, though i was, but because i felt good about myself, and ain't nothin sexier than that!

World on Wheels

I missed a skate party last night and I am so sad that I did (Happy B-day Jessica). Now, I have the flattest feet on the planet, so I can only skate for about 7 minutes before I am in pain, but I remember those as being the best 7 minutes ever. There used to be this place that we used to go to as kids, called World on Wheels. It seemed like everyone wanted to have their birthday parties at that spot! We would sit on the side (because my 7 minutes was up) and pick out a cute guy and watch him go round and round, daring somebody to go bump into him. Those were the days. I think they shut World on Wheels down because folks were gettin shot (man, we can't have nothin') but the memories will live on! Good thing we still have that dude at Venice beach who rides around with his ghetto blaster and shiny suits, lookin like Bootsy Collins! Long live that dude as well for keeping the lost art alive (although I think he's on some kinda illegal substance)...oh well, details. bye for now

T I M E L E S S : A SUITE FOR MA DUKES

So, it is 12:46 am and we just walked in from an incredible night at the Luckman Theater in LA. We saw a 40 piece orchestra, under the direction of uber-hip conductor, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, do a symphonic tribute to J-Dilla and his work. It was amazing! The place was packed and the arrangements were so fabulous that words could not describe how beautiful they were! Halfway through the show I found myself thinking, "Self, you are part of a beautiful collective moment"! The work was called, "A Suite of Ma Dukes", Dilla's mother. Ma Dukes was not only in the house, but sitting a few seat away from me. We spoke briefly at the intermission and she gave me a big hug. I asked her how she was feeling about seeing her son's work like this. She said, "This is an historic moment. This is something that we never get to see and I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of love that I feel from this work and everyone here". It is true, that we rarely see the art form of hip-hop "elevated" to the orchestral level, but hearing Dilla's work portrayed this way made so much sense...probably because his music was so melodic. Some of hip-hops luminaries came out to be a part of the event as well. Common, Posdenous (De La Soul), Dwele, Bilal, Illa J, J*Davey, Amp Fiddler, Shafiq Husayn (Sa-Ra), Kareem Riggins and Talib Kweli all made surprise cameos which only made the night more stellar! ZEven better, almost everyone signed my poster of the event! There is one last event in this trilogy of events in honor of Dilla and I suggest that if you are in town, that you come out and support. For more info visit: www.artdontsleep.org.

Entropy- A Measure of K-OS

I think that K-OS and I are kindred, some way, some how. From the time he stepped on the scene, i felt like we shared some strange wavelength. Like he was my long lost twin. Maybe more like an older brother. I appreciate that he seems to cut his own path and puts love into his every creative expression. It is clear to me that his strategy is very thought out without coming off contrived. His videos are the best and his music makes me smile and dance. Here is a fun one that I thought I would share. (This song is great to get dressed to in the morning!)

Oh Sesame Street! Such Good times!

What better way to start the week, but with a lil bit of Sesame Street! Oh, the memories. Waking up at 7 am, dancing along with fluffy friends with no noses (many without blinking mechanisms). There was even the occasional celebrity sighting (They obviously threw that in for the adults, because there is no reason that I should have known who Richard Pryor was when I was 3 years old)! Anywho, here is a blast from the past. Feel free to share your favorite Sesame Street memory with me!

sidenote: Is it just me, or does something seem very Rated R about Richard Pryor's alphabet. Like, I know it is just letter, but I feel like he's about to cuss or something! (lol!)

Undone by An Okra!

So, last night at 11:35 pm, while i was minding my own business in the produce aisle of my friendly neighborhood Ralph's market, I was attacked. Not by man. No, not even by beast, I was humbled by a mere okra. How can that be Joy? (you ask, feigning interest). Well, it happened like this. I was walking by the brown onions, thinking to my self "self, you should get some strawberries so that you can make gingered berre-aaaaaayyyy". That's when it happened. In a flash, the okra had planted itself under my left foot and took me down in one fell swoop. My first thought was "Ow! Tha hurts?" My second thought was " oh know, this fall has been immortalized in Ralph's store camera memory for ever. " I looked down and saw a green streak left behind of the kamikazi okra that gave its life to destroy me. My husband helped me up (and didn't laugh, which really impressed me because if i didn't hurt so much I would have laughed at myself).  To make matters worse, the manager brought me a motorized shopping cart to roll around in and complete my shopping. I could figure out the controls, I nearly ran into the fresh egg display...it was a bad bad scene. Several hours later, after I left the emergency room for a wrist and ankle sprain, heavily sedated from ibuprofen and fatigue I thought to myself, if my life were a movie, it would be a comedy. Moments like this remind us not to take ourselves too seriously and to know that you will never be so great that you cannot be taken down, by an okra!

Viva Frida!

It is not so secret that I love Frida Kahlo. It was not just her artistry that captivates me, but it was her unapologetic living. Her life was no authentic and because of her candid nature, she was able to open our eyes to her innermost feelings. I strive to do this not only in my music, but in my everyday walk. It is hard to not use others as a measuring stick, to not conform or shrink to make others more comfortable (in the words of Mandela). The beauty of it all is that her life shows us that it is not easy, but that it is worth in, both in the quality of life and in the legacy left. Viva Frida!