Fly Natural Hair Styles

Jay, 50, and Weezy (by Dee-1)

He's such a cutie! I'm trying to get with him lol I love real rappers with a message.

Tales From The Mecca: Coming To Terms With My Dark Skin - The Hilltop - News

Tales From The Mecca: Coming To Terms With My Dark Skin - The Hilltop - News

The club flashed red and blue lights on the dance floor at Club Next, one of the hottest clubs in DC. We were among hundreds partying and sweating to the DJ's mixes. The host for the night started to hype the crowd, calling out neighborhoods.

"Is Acres Home in the building? What about Cypress?" he asked. "I know 5th Ward is live. We scream when he called out North side of Houston. This night was just too fun. "There are some beautiful ladies in here tonight," he said. The crowd screamed again with excitement. We just know he is talking to us.

"Yea, that's right, I'm talking to the light skinned girls! Team light-skin lets go!"
All my friends, except for the lightest one Brittney, were silent. We waited for our shout out, "dark-skinned girls in the house?" None came.

My friends and I prayed for team dark skinned. None, at least not for this evening.
Unlike Brittney, I come from a family where mostly everyone is greater than or equal to my dark complexion. Lil Wayne would not find a "long-haired thick redbone" anywhere at my family reunion. I'm sure my family and millions of darker skinned women, could imagine my shock and slight hurt at the club that night. I wondered how they did it for decades when I could barely handle less than 20 years.

Up until 9, I had a caramel complexion. I got it from my grandmother. My mother used to say, "I prayed you wouldn't come out so black." Now I didn't think much of it until I went to Disney World and stayed in the sun without sunscreen too long. My mother nearly keeled over at the sight of her overly chocolate child.

Ever since that fateful trip I have forever been dark. I was already a nerd at school. My white classmates would joke on how they could only see my teeth and the whites of my eyes at night. My favorite had to be when we colored pictures. They would pick the blackest of black markers to draw me. By 5th grade, I had enough of the ridicule. I had to fix it.

Every night I would scrub my face till my skin was raw and sore. Then I'd take of my mother's skin bleaching cream and rub it all over my arms, face, and legs. It burned because of the scrubbing. After all, pain is beauty.

I was determined never to hear the words "you're cute for a dark skinned girl" again. In the morning I'd apply two types of sunscreen. They had two different SPF levels. One had SPF 30 and the other SPF 50. I figured SPF 80 applied twice a day would block any chance of the sun making me darker.

At first I was excited to go back to my lighter hue. Finally, I was going to be accepted. I would just have to be extremely greasy for a couple of months to get to where I wanted. I would leave for school shining like a freshly basted turkey.

I eventually grew tired of sneaking using my mother's night cream and applying all these products on every day. It wasn't even working anyway. They lie on the boxes and the bottles. Truthfully, once you go black you never go back.

Days in the summer would drag on. I refused to go outside in the daytime. I was starting to get bored with myself. I decided to accompany my aunt on a trip to her dermatologist. I put on a wide brim sun hat, SPF 70 sunscreen, and sunglasses to walk to the car with tinted windows parked two feet away in my driveway.

I was growing out of hand with this skin pigment thing. No one stopped me. So I kept on with my ridiculous antics. Once at the dermatologist, I began to read their handouts on bleaching your skin. I started thinking about how that would make such a fantastic Christmas gift. Most kids my age would ask for a dirt bike or a CD. I was going to ask for a chemical peel.

Looking at magazines in the waiting room just proved how America favored light skinned individuals over darker ones. Every celebrity, whether it was Gabrielle Union, Beyonce, or even Oprah, looked lighter than they did on TV. That was the only way they could get sales up and be accepted. I just knew I had to do the same.

Maybe I was asking a little too much for a chemical peel. Let's face it I had no insurance and a chemical peel would cost most of my year's allowance. I put that dream aside and continued my sun avoidance techniques.

Until sophomore year in college I bought every new "even toning" cream and or wash. Still none of them really worked. My bathroom cabinet was absolutely ridiculous. I was what they called a product junkie. Bleaching cream, toners, and even tone masks polluted my space. It looked like part of the beauty section of Target with dozens of bottles and jars. White, brown, green, red, blue containers all with the same promise of lighter even skin just sat there taking up space.

I thought to myself, "does it really matter how dark or light I am?"
As a college student in undergrad, I have been surrounded by the more mature and educated crowd in terms of beauty. I had not heard "cute for a dark skinned girl" and it felt amazing. I threw out my miniature beauty store.

I looked in the mirror and realized I have to love myself and be happy with how I look no matter how dark I am. I don't think I would even change my skin tone if I had the chance.
Black is beautiful no matter the shade.

Willow Smith is Killing the Game for a Little Girl

A 16 year old FAMU freshman has earned his spot

FAMU freshman, Ralph Jones Jr., a 16 year old from Atlanta, Ga. turned down offers to Howard, Fort Valley State, Morehouse, Stanford, and Harvard to attend FAMU. With an SAT score of 2,120 out of 2,400, it is understandable how he was admitted to the top institutions in the United States.

Jones is a National Achievement Finalist recipient of FAMU's Life-Gets-Better Scholarship. Jones was awarded $120,000 in scholarships, which includes a stipend, tuition and fees, room and board, books and a laptop.

Being a member of a family who has a three-generation history of attending Fort Valley State University and parents who are educators, Jones feels that his childhood played a huge role in his development.

“My background growing up is a little different,” said Jones. “My parents are both educators. My mother is a first grade teacher and my dad was a college professor for some time. Needless to say, a large focus was on education in my house.”

By the time Jones was four-years old, he was adding, subtracting, dividing, reading at the ninth grade level and doing basic algebra.

As impressive as Jones’ ability to learn at a young age may seem, he continued to excel by setting a record of having the highest SAT scores in the past five years at his high school.

Jones’ former SAT math prep teacher and FAMU alumnae Kemberlee Pugh Bingham challenged her students by promising them an “A” in her class if they scored high on the SAT test. As a junior in high school, Jones scored a 1,910. The following year, he increased his SAT scores by more than 200 points.

When Jones shared his score with Bingham, she immediately inquired what college he planned to attend.

“When I first told her, she was excited,” said Jones, a mechanical engineering student. “One thing I can say about FAMU alumni is that they will lobby for their school. Before I knew it, she had gone over to her FAMU billboard and gave me a brochure on the Life-Gets-Better Scholarship, which was the first time I heard of the scholarship. She was like ‘Baby did you know you can go to FAMU for free for four years with a full scholarship and a computer?’ and I was like ‘no ma’am.’”

The following year, Jones attended the recruitment fair that FAMU hosted in Atlanta, Ga., where he felt the energy in the room as President James H. Ammons began to articulate the Rattler Charge.

“When Dr. Ammons got up, he began to say ‘When the dark clouds gather over the horizon’ there was this atmosphere of tension and I knew something was going to happen,” said Jones. “I did not know exactly what; it was very exciting. Then suddenly you heard hissing from all over the room and you saw people with fingers in the air and that is when you start to feel it. I was like wow! This is something bigger than what I could have expected.”

During the award ceremony, Ammons awarded Jones with a $120,000 scholarship for four years along with a list of other incentives. It was Jones first scholarship before he learned about being selected as a National Achievement Scholar.

“Everything that I have worked for has helped me earn my place here,” said Jones. “I am going to earn my right to stay here and when I graduate, I am going to have earned my degree.”

Man finishes up surgery to look like a woman!

This is crazy. He looks better than most females.The world is going to hell I tell you!

Happy founders day FAMU! 1887

Florida A&M University is the home of the school that made me a woman! This school is the best school to attend as an African American. You learn so much about your ancestors history, and develop yourself into a well-educated individual in society who can overcome adversary and succeed in your career goals.

NY vs. The South

I consider myself a very diverse person being a military brat my entire life, traveling to different countries and living throughout the U.S. I chose to move to New York because it was one on the states that I was not familiar with, and I like experiencing new environments. When I arrived, it was nothing like I thought I would be. Coming from the South, I got comfortable with the comfortable environemnt of big space between houses, bigger highway lanes and nice people. New York was the exact opposite. Everything is cluttered and it feels like it is no room to breathe here. Eventhough, New York has its many negatives; it also has its many positives. There are a lot of events to attend. I decided to do a breakdown on the advatages and disadvantages from my personal experience of both places.

Advantages of New York
Good place to help your career in business or journalism
Diversity
Easy transportation with no car
More places to hangout at
More men to date
Cleancut men
Easier place to stay fit
More stores and outlets nearby

Advantages of South
Big houses for cheap
Can get houses built
Houses look better
More space
Inexpensive living
Friendlier people
Black bond
Good place to raise kids-cheaper and more room for them to play
More blacks in executive positions
Down south Fla boy swag

Disadvantages of New York
Rude People
Bad Driving
Tight Space
A lot of walking
Constant racism on Muslims
Terroist Threats
Black women into more of superficial
Lack of Blacks in executive positions
Men that are cocky and dress plain
Women that are cocky
Houses look the same, no individual style

Disadvantages of South
Hard to get around if you don’t have a car
Racism within black race
White Racism
Not a lot of different cultures
Men that in some cities wear bright colors

The Same
Segrageted between race
Stick to local music mostly

Society Views on Kinky vs. Straight Hair

Coming from the South to New York, I thought that I would finally get rid of the 1960 ways that Southern Americans are still living in. I thought that North would be different from the South because over the years the South has been still enduring the psychological effects of slavery. The Willy Lynch theory and slave mentality shows the many effects of these individuals.

When I made it to New York to accomplish my dream without having to deal with any prejudice, I still encountered it, and it was from my own family. My family bashed me for my hair as they seen me. They didn’t understand why I would go on an interview in Manhattan displaying my natural, soft, puffy hair pinned up neatly in an updo by bobby pins. They proposed me perming my hair or using a texturizer. They felt that I would look better going on the interviews with straight hair. My own cousin, at the age of 11, said my hair wasn’t pretty because it wasn’t straight like white people. As these insults were flying through my brain , creating stains and leaving its marks in my memory box, I started to see that New York was just like any other place in the United States.

The media has consumed our daily lives everyday. We see diversity on major television stations with black anchors and actresses, but the diversity that we see are just darker reflections of white people. We do not see many black natural hair women. We haven’t seen this diversity since the Cosby’s, but even Claire Huxtable displayed on the show as a business woman wouldn’t dare to be seen in braids or an afro because to viewers it would loose her sophistication and class that she carried along with her being a lawyer on the show.

Attending FAMU, it had me forget about the American standard of beauty outside the campus. I forgot my own experience with trying understand the standard of beauty at a young age. At the age of 12, I begged my mother for a perm. I was tired of getting teased from classmates because of my thick, puff, soft as bounty hair. It was the natural state of hair that God gave me, but my hair was different from the many children around me. I didn’t have hair that was similar to the children in school. Their hair was straight and when damp it displayed big loose curls, and my hair when damped, displayed small tight curls. They teased me because their standard of beauty was different.

When I first got my perm, I was so excited. I finally thought that I reached this level of beauty that the kids talked about and the celebrities had that I seen on TV. When the new growth in my hair began to show, I knew it was the ‘bad hair’ being showcased, and I needed to get a perm. When everyone saw the new growth, they told me that I’m lucky because I have ‘good hair’ and I don’t need to get a strong perm. What is good hair? Chris Rock tried to tell us in his documentary, but it neglected to go into details on why black people think straight hair is ‘good hair’. How is the natural hair texture that we are given by God bad hair? There’s no such thing. Why must us black women and society teach our children that straight and long hair is the best kind of hair to have? Do our hair really make us who we are? Does our hair make up our personalities? We have been subjected to this television propaganda giving us subliminal messages that black hair is not good hair unless it is mixed with hair from India or synthetic. This is purely ridiculous. Since when did our hair showcase our personal attributes? Why must I have to go on a job interview with a perm?

Because television has been embedding our children with false information telling black children that their natural hair is bad, it is up to parents to teach their children that the media is wrong. Black successful individuals must be role models to children, and tell these children that they are beautiful the way they are. I have been stared at by white people every time I wear my big fro in public. Some may think I’m part of the black panther party, probably scared thinking I’m trying to bring back the 80s, but I’m just displaying the hair God gave me. I even get stares from black people.

Before I made it to NY, I was in the airport and I seen some elementary students walking with their teacher. One of the little girls resembled me as a child. Just like me, she was different from the other children at her age. She had natural puffy hair, while the other children had straight hair. As the children passed, this little girl paused and starred at me and saw her hair was similar to mine. Here I was in the airport wearing this big fro and wearing a FAMU Alumni shirt and I smiled at her, showing her you can succeed in life no matter what your hair looks like, and it is alright to be different then what television shows us.

A friend by the name of Ms. Callendar gave me this quote,
"Don't remove the kinks from your hair. Remove them from your brain."-Marcus Garvey

ten things I want to say to a Black woman- Joshua Bennett (verse + text)

After seeing this, I was inspired to post it because of the negative way black women have been getting publicized by media and degraded by many. This poem speaks positive of black wopmen.

College Bound Struggles-Poem

Waking up in the morning and making it to class is a struggle
Making good grades is a struggle
Living in this life is a struggle

Finding loose change
Living day after day with no money
Being surrounded by monopolies and societies dwelling on the fact that money is more important than anything

People put money on a pedestal
Making it so high
Higher the branches of the trees in the South America trees in paradise
Higher than quality of family time
Because of the long hours we work to provide
Higher than personal health, we have to decide
A college world of living check after check
Loan after loan
Writing hot checks,
Not knowing what’s next
Filing bankruptcy
And not having enough money to feed your family
When the irony is that money aint nothing but a creation from a tree

Then when you get out of school, you are playing the blues
Because you are already in debt
Because of the lack of grants
And over exercise use of loans
And you are left with all of this at 23 years old

Continuing this struggle as you get older
Few have chances to escape these burdens that is weighed upon each shoulders
They are able to become millionaires
But still it becomes a struggle
To keep all you own
To keep your fancy home
For you wont go back being broke like your just getting out of college trying to pay off loans

The situation is covered from everyone like aluminum foil
People are dieing left to right because of money
Not having enough for hospital fees
Dieing for the bling of someone else’s jewelry
Dieing to obtain hierchy in business
While people are not having enough money to feed the sick
As time continues to tick
Tick, Tick until life is seen as always being a struggle
But it isn’t something to reside in
Its something to escape from while being positive but even that will be a struggle

Yes to Tiny and T.I. Wedding

My girl Trina was looking fabolous at the wedding. She should of gave that dress to Tiny for the reception. Toya and Monica were looking fab, but for some of the other guests, it was a H.A.M. I know I'm not the only one that is happy with Tiny and T.I's wedding. Tiny has been a real strong women to T.I. She has held him down, while he was in prison, and I'm happy to see him finally see how good a woman she is, as well as the many people who have watching her on television holding him down.

Congrats to T.I. and Tiny!

Lakers have been hitting the news lately

Yahoo! Sports reported that Barnes agreed to a two-year contract worth $3.6 million.

"Its official I AM A LOS ANGLES LAKER. I wanna thank u for all ur patients and understanding. This is a dream come true!!! Good lookn Kobe," Barnes posted on his Twitter feed. Barnes was scheduled to go to Tornoto, but it was limited sign-and-trade options available to Orlando.

Meanwhile Barnes is heading to the Lakers, the Lakers have also been in the media lately for other topics. Former Lakers player Magic Johnson also joined the dicussion about Lebron going to Miami.

"We didn't think about it cause that's not what we were about," said Johnson, whose Michigan State squad beat Bird's Indiana State team in the 1979 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship. "From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird."

Johnson's comments came during an interview Tuesday morning at Baruch College in New York, and they're just more proof that LeBron James' decision isn't sitting well across the league.

The only problem with this week's Lakers spotlight is that the Lakers maybe getting too much spotlight and making wrong decisions. Especially with Shannon Brown not knowing where he could be potential heading to, and a miss opportunity in getting Chris Paul. The Lakers may have altered their chances 4 next years title.

Jordan says he would never join a superteam like Lebron

Is it just me or does everyone see that Jordan doesnt care too much for Lebron. In many interviews Jordan has shown distaste in Lebron. He has said that Lebron is not better than Kobe when many people view him as the current best basketball player. I see Jordan's critical opnion on Lebron because Lebron is not as clutch as Kobe or Jordan have been, but could Jordan not like Lebron because he has the potential to become more marketable than him.

God can do things your degree cant do

Even though the pastor at my church preached about God doing things that by degree cant do, weeks ago, I have been currently facing a situation that I feel that only God can help me with. I’m trying to get the intended message of Pastor Elwood of New Mount Zion in Tallahassee. He spoke of Exodus 33 about Moses going to speak with God in a tent. The tent was away from everyone. When Moses approached the tent to ask god to help him, he was humble and he had a relationship with God. This is how all people should be when they approach God for help. I realize that I haven’t been given the opportunities of having great internships because I have not been humble. I have assumed that because of my credentials, I have the guarantee position. I have been selected for interviews with these great organizations so it shows that I have all the qualities that they are looking for, but I have not been able to get the internship.

By having a better relationship with God, I must show him this through my actions. I can not beg him for forgiveness and continue to do the same things as before. It is important to trust God. In my past, I have had many situations in which I felt that their was no help, but I have got through every tribulation that I have encountered so I must have more faith. Moses was able to obtain results because he had a strong relationship with God, and he was humble.

Pastor Elwood told the church that when we are going through tribulations, we must continue to fight because God gave us favor. If God is your heavenly father then he is part of you. Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit. We must speak life into our situations. The devil wants you to quit. If you quit, you never know what winning is all about. God preserved you for some reason. It’s because he has something special to you. Some of us are walking on water and we don’t realize it. We must keep focusing on Jesus and not get distracted even though distractions look good. They could be that good looking girl or guy distracting you from achieving your goal.

Since we are winners, we must look out for losers. People may see where we were and currently see where we are now and be jealous. We also must never apologize for being who we are.Don’t be discourage or afraid of the vast army. We must move over and let God handle our battles. Sometimes you don’t have to fight the battle, you just have to show up.

Tampa sinkhole swallows car, continues to grow [VIDEO] - CSMonitor.com

Tampa sinkhole swallows car, continues to grow [VIDEO] - CSMonitor.com


This is crazy. I truely think the entire state of florida is going to break off from America. Florida has the most sinkholes out of all the U.S. states.

Should I Be A Groupie?-The recession aint completely over yet

The Chad Ochocinco show debuted today, and these women have really made me rethink my life of continuing by career. I have had hopes of marrying a strong man and having a lot of children, but I realize that I am getting older, and it seems that as years past, a new baby is being born by one of my past high school classmates. I hear many women talking about having sperm donors or adopting children if they can not find a husband by the time their in their late 30s. I think these women should instead be a groupie like the women are in Chad‘s show.

As I watched the show, I realized that these women are very low class for going on this show. It seems that women who are gold diggers and that are not independent settle for unattractive men who are cocky like Chad just because they have money. Chad on the show feeds into these women because they help boost his ego. Most of these women probably don’t have real careers besides modeling or acting. You will not see any lawyers or business women on the show because they got money, and they are not going for someone just because he has money. They want a total package.

But if these women don’t have to work hard to become rich, why not let every women change their careers and do the same. Before, anyone judges me and my character, they must think about this logically. When a women has a baby by a millionaire, they will be set for life with medical and dental benefits. Why adopt children and get a sperm donor when you will have to raise these children by your own with your own money.

The media and television shows make it seem that celebrities love groupies. They have reality shows with tons of groupies. I rarely see celebrity men date a female with a career that is not acting or modeling. You will rarely see a celebrity men with a nurse, marketing consultant or lawyer.

Also, who cares about celebrities feelings? You hear people complain and say it is hard for a celebrity to date because most women are just out for their money. It seems that most of these celebrities don’t mind this because they actively date and have babies by women who don’t have real careers. These men tend to cheat on their wives, who are with them before they had money. Who do they cheat on their wives with….Groupies.

It seems that the groupie is having the perfect life these days. Not only do we see entertainers dating strippers and other groupie job associated females, but we see them marrying these women too. It’s time for us hard working women to have a piece of the cake and relax. We have already worked hard to get our degree or good job, but we see these groupies living the lavish lifestyle. I’m not putting everything against the female groupie, but I’m also saying that most of these celebrity men have no hopes in finding a women with quality and substance. Forget about playing the lottery or going to school to obtain a degree, instead, go start a new career to be a groupie. The recession is not completely over yet so why not?

A Trio of lost legacys

This dream team is taking the fun out the game! Lebron should of stuck it out with Cleveland. This was a punk move. It wasnt like the Cavs were horrible. So Lebron goes to a team with two Allstars and leaves a team, where he was the only Allstar. He goes to MIA to win a championship and spread the MVP wealth and credit for the team wins. His legacy is completely tarnished no matter how many championships he wins because he will not prove to win on his own like Kobe Bryant has proved. Lebron is not a leader, but a follower. He will never be Kobe, Majic or Jordan. He is immature, and he has lost fans. Wade will always have the advantage over him with his extra ring. Wade will be in Bron's media shadow because Bron will get all the media attention, which it seems like Wade doesnt like anyway. Bosh will finally be on a team with friends because he has been close to the two players, and it seems like he didnt care about his own legacy during the summer, but he seemed to care about Lebron's more than himself. He could of went to Houston and build a bigger name for himself and be real competitors against the Lakers, but he didnt. This triple threat all worked out in the favor for eachother. Lebron no longer has to be a leader, Wade doesnt have to be in the spotlight in Miami anymore and Bosh will be around friends, who he cares about more then himself. They're some cute trio. Look out Miami, a group of athletes with a tarnished legacy bringing home the title.

Black women-something new?

This past weekend for the fourth of July, I went to Orlando to have a relaxing vacation. One of my friend’s who was with me brought her friend along with us to Orlando. Her friend, who was white, joined five black women on an exciting tour of the town. When we arrived, we went to two separate majority all black clubs and then we all noticed that our white friend was getting all the attention from black men. Everywhere she went with us, all the black men followed. She got more attention then us black women, who came in all shapes, looks, hairstyles and sizes. She even got more attention than all the other black women in the club. I wasn’t mad at the girl because she was cool to hang with, I was just curious to why so many black men wanted solely this white girl in an all black club. My friend Alvin told me, “It’s like when your not use to seeing something your curious about it and therefore you want to know about it.” He said it would be the same thing if a black man was in an all white club.


After seeing this reaction with black men to our white friend, I noticed that black women are really depending too much on black men to be loyal to black women and solely date them. I think it is time for black women to…date outside their race. “All black women should try at least once in their lives to date a white man,” said one of my friends, CAT. Im am a strong advocate for black love, but oviously there is more disapproval of black love among black men than black women so why not change the way us black women think. Why don’t we think more like the black men?

I currently believe that black woman don’t date outside their race because 1) They don’t know where to meet other races and 2) They have a strong commitment to the black race because they have been currently caring the race over the past few years. Black women currently account for:
 Double the bachelors degrees than black men
 71 percent of all masters degrees earned by African Americans
 Majority of the black entrepreneurship

Along with education, black women are raising most black children without a father figure in their household. I’m not trying to butcher the black male, but until these statistics change, I think that black women need to start dating outside their race. It seems that black women settle for the “bum” black man because of not seeing many successful black men and seeing all the successful black men dating white women. They become inpatient and end up dating the black men who are players, criminals or lazy to just have a man because of the scarcity of black men. I think that black women should not settle for less then the best. Rather then settling for a black man who is not doing anything with his life, they should open up their options and date outside their race. This might help the statistics of black women being married rise or it could give them something to do until they meet that good black men.But black women make sure you look at all your options! Dont solely go looking to date a man just because he is of another race and distant yourself from all black men. It might be a form of 'self hatred'. The truth is that you might have dating problems because you do not like yourself and your black skin. My point is to just be open-minded about dating other races.
PART 2 BLACK MEN SPEAKING DOWN ON BLACK WOMEN(One of their reasons for interracial dating) COMING UP SOON

Free-Agents can officially sign, Lebron's options???

It’s now officially July 1 and free-agents can get signed! Lebron met up with the New Jersey Nets today. Jay-Z, of course was there trying to convince James to seal the deal with the Nets. The next meeting for him was with the Knicks. Lebron wasn’t wearing any special pair of Yankee-styled Nikes today, but I doubt he’ll choose the Knicks because he is a big Yankees fan. I think the Knicks have the best chance of signing him. They don’t have to choose Dwayne wade to compete against him, but they can choose Center Amarie Staudermire. They even got room for one more star player. The only thing that the Knicks need to do is build the rest of their team because three players wont win a championship. They need a decent team overall. The Knicks and Heat have the best chance for getting Lebron to play with another superstar, but many people say that they doubt Lebron James and Dwayne Wade can play together because both players will be battling each other over MVP. They would be successful with winning a championship though. Kobe and Shaq both superstars won 3 championships together despite their differences. It depends on how hungry both players are for championships.

I think the Bulls are a good choice. They have been on the uprising for the past couple of years, but they haven’t had the opportunity to be the head contender in the east. Who knows, I might like Lebron if he goes to the Bulls. Awaiting in Chicago will be point guard Derrick Rose and an entire decent team. I just don’t think he will want to be compared to Jordan more than he is now because his entire style of play will be analyzed against Jordan. I doubt he’s going back home to Ohio. The mavericks may be a good team also for him to go to, but they are getting into the competition very late with selling.

All I know is that if Lebron goes to the Knicks then there will be alot of mad fans. People will start their hate for the City of New York.

Kobe competitive spirit has cost him his finger

Kobe’s competitive nature with basketball has been at the cost of a finger. Reports say he might never play again without wearing support for his damaged right index finger. The middle knuckle on that critical finger on Bryant’s shooting hand is so debilitated by arthritis after the past season of misuse and overuse that there may be no real way to fix it. This is one reason why Kobe shooting has been off during the last couple of weeks in the regular season. But through all of this no other player in the league has played so great with a injury like him. I guess that’s what makes him a real superstar.

Woods wife getting 750 million from divorce

Tiger Woods' divorce settlement with his former wife Elin Nordegren is almost finalized, with Elin set to receive $750 million in exchange for her silence, according to reports. Elin reportedly wants to move her and the children back to her native Sweden, where she owns a home. However, reports say that while Elin will get full physical custody of Sam and Charlie, the parents will have joint legal custody over their children, which could prevent her from relocating to Sweden. -- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York

Man, Michael Jordan wife didnt even get that much.Dwade ex should have been hanging out with Elin. White woman really get that money!

Strikers All Stars, 22-26 ~ America's Got Talent 2010, auditions Chicago

I'm glad to see them repping for FAMU everywhere. Go Strikers! They giving us great publicity.

Hoodrats in college

Sitting in BW3 restaurant Tuesday, I felt the need to continue this theme on thugs in college. Now, it’s time for me to address ‘hoodrats’ in college, which is a group of women who are in the same family as thugs. As me and two friends sat in the restaurant, there were many appalling scenes that would make Harriet Tubman and Madam CJ Walker roll over in their graves. Tubman would have been saying, “I rescued slaves for this! These women are acting ignorant when they have been allowed the opportunity to be educated. Slaves died for this opportunity.” Madam CJ Walker would have been so upset to have invented perms that she would have stayed natural and went into another business. She would have been disturbed to see that black women have turned straight silky hair into catastrophic disasters from the addition of green and blue highlights to long 20 inch ponytails added.

Crazy hair colors are not the only thing that can make a college hoodrat, but also clothing can create them. There’s nothing wrong with wearing black name brand clothing, but it can get overboard. You can be put in this category of ‘hoodrat’ if you are in public wearing every item that BabyPhat has invented with the addition of blonde and red highlights. This overall appearance is just adding to the ‘hoodrat’ stereotype. Also, you can fall into this category if you decide to wear your club dress as a casual day outfit. There’s not a problem with a woman having a nice body. Some black woman are blessed with having boobs and a butt, but there is not a need to flaunt both of them during the day at the store or on Sunday at church. It seems that everyday, I see a college ‘hoodrat’ half naked in public with shorts that are overly short and breast that are hanging all the way out. I knew that rap videos influenced many uneducated women to want to be like the girls in the videos to get attention, but I'm just now finding out that college women are also being influenced.

There is also the attitude of the college ‘hoodrat.’ The ‘hoodrat’ is always loud in public saying things like, “hoes are always jealous of me because I have style.” The truth is the ‘hoodrat’ woman needs a stylish. Halle Berry role as a crack head has more style then the hoodrat does. The college hoodrat is also cussing out teachers, not caring about their education and focusing most of their attention on men. The hoodrat also always starts fights. Come on, we are in college so why are we fighting? I understand that sometimes fights may occur, but when they become consistent to the point that every time you go out you are fighting then you are labeled a ‘hoodrat.’ This isn’t just my opinion, but when people in public see you fighting then they put you in that ‘hoodrat’ category.

College hoodrats are also overly sexual active. They have many sexual partners, and they speak about it to all. These hoodrats are also easy. They tend to have sex or participate in sexual activity the within the first two week or couple of days after meeting a guy. This is not classy. It is also not classy if you have more than one sexual partner at a time then it could cause potential problems. You may have an unplanned pregnancy and not know your child’s father. You may also get an STD and not know who gave this to you. You will only be seen as a ‘hoodrat’ because of these things. Hoodrats are seen as nothing but sexual objects.

One question I ask, “Why are there so many ‘hood rats’ in college? It is said by many that when you excape a negative environment, you dont try to bring that same environement with you. College is suppose to educate us and make us more aware of our image. Women should know how to dress. They should know that just because Nikki Minaj is wearing pink hair, it doesn’t mean that it is suitable for everyone. Minaj is a performer. This is not what educated women wear to work. Women, stick to natural hair tones. No men in college is going to want to date a college hoodrat unless he is a surburban thug or he is just trying to have sex. Young ladies have more class for yourself. Care about your appearance and watch how you act in public. Stop portraying these ghetto personalities, while you are in public. This is just making black men continue to treat black women with disrespect because you are disrespecting yourself. You are adding to rap lyrics. You are making them continue to release these Cds that degrade us. Your creating the hit booty dropping songs in the club. It’s time to grow up and act educated!

Suburban Thugs- there's no thugs in college

As every new season starts, there is always some kind of amazing store sale. We have seen parents almost get trampled over racing others into Toys R Us during ‘Black Friday’ to gather their Christmas gifts for their children. As Spring arises, we have seen families shop for bright Easter outfits just to be sitting in an overflow room at church because of a large amount of people attending church who haven’t been to church since Christmas season. It’s one month until ‘back to school’ season, and I’m sure there will be some kind of craziness among students rambling through sales racks to find clothes that will make a statement for everyone on the first week of school. As these students are rumbling through clothes, there will be nothing more absurd then those few students who decide to spent this time in Best Buy looking for that hard rap CD that will give them a hood lifestyle impression on others the first day of school. These students are called Suburban Thugs.

This topic have been brought up after thinking about my ex. He was a Suburban Thug. I wish I would of known sooner. He was from Key West and lived on the beach. Folks, what hood is in Key West, Fla? As I analyzed his personality traits and habits, I realize that rapper Gucci Mane played a major part in his Suburban Thug actions. As Gucci Mane played through his laptop, he transformed into a new person. The only thing that he had in common with Gucci Mane was Gucci because the boy had money to afford it. This young boy had studied a couple of rap videos, and thought he had street cred, wearing a 305 shirt to boost his self image when he is not from there. He thought he was Young Jeezy, but Jeezy aint carrying no damn arithmetic or quantum physics books in his book bag, but he my ex was.This boy had a rough life, I guess many suburban would say. He lost his scholarship to FAMU and had to go to community college as punishment from his parents. Oh no, not community college! He also couldn't drive is 2010 car his parents bought him because of a DUI. I guess it’s the life of being a Suburban Thug.

Since I have been in college, I have met many Suburban Thugs. I have had them in classes, study groups and been approach by them. There is no role for thugs in college. Many folks that are from the hood try to get out of that environment so why are Suburban Thugs trying to go visit. Many people want to rebuild these communities because of the harsh effects that it have had on people in their community. Many people who live there have died over pettiness, and there are many people who wish they had the opportunity to get a degree. I think this is just plain ignorant to be a Suburban Thug. They are just perpetuating the stereotypes of these communities by telling everyone that these things are positive and should be celebrated. It’s nothing wrong with being yourself. I don’t think students should be mesmerized by the harsh lyrics of rappers when they know nothing about that lifestyle. I guarantee if these students are taken to the hood then they will be ready to leave with in minutes. These fake thugs might have some kind of insecurity. Maybe there should be a college Suburban Thug boot camp episode on Maury.


Check out this video on these thugs in college.Get a life fake college thugs.

Lil Kim and Nikki Beef

Last night, I was listening to the Lil Kim interview talking about Nikki Minaj not paying homage to her. After watching the interview, I completely understand where Kim is coming from. I do like Minaj and even though Minaj has spoke about Kim in her interviews before she got well-known with Cash Money, I still think that it is important for artists to continue paying homage once they get mainstream. Everyone artist when they are coming up is going to talk about which past artists who have inspired them, but when some artists make it big, they forget who got them there. I personally think that Minaj needs to show respect to the people who have got her here to fame. I think she needs to reach out to Kim and tell Kim that she respects her because Minaj is biting off of Kim style every bit. If Kim decides to come out with her old style then what will people say. They cant say that Lil Kim is biting her style because Kim invented it. Also, Kim invented the ‘black Barbie’ saying. This situation is like if one of my role models is mad at me and I know they are mad, but I decide not to reach out and talk to them. I don’t believe that Nikki should ’kiss her behind’ by any means after she reaches out to her if Kim still doesn’t approve, but I still think that she should try to reach out. This doesn’t have to be publicized, but I understand why Kim is mad. People shouldn’t forget Kim just because a new artist is out. This is like people forgetting Tupac or Biggie because Drake is good lyrically like they were too. Also, I believe that Drake recent comments about Kim trippin on Minaj is not a good arguement. Drake said that Jay-Z is not not mad at him after he first showed respect to them. This is not a good arguement because Drake style is not similar to Jay-Z. If Minaj was original then Kim could not make an arguement because Minaj is following Kim's style of the head to the toes.





Lil Kim talks about how P Diddy is just about the money and doesn't values friends

Here are some of Nikki Minaj songs that have dissed Kim. After listening to these verses, I see why Kim is upset.

Rappers influence on black men

It seems to me that men don’t want a good woman. I’m getting tired of these rappers parading women in their videos around like their sexual objects. I’m getting tired of seeing artist dating strippers. What is this telling the world? In order to be with black men then you have to be overly sexual. I know a lot of attractive young females, but I feel that men just don’t want the good girl these days. They want the good hoe. To all the men who say “girls like bad boys.” This is such a lie. The only reason these men are saying this is because they may be seen as unattractive to the women they are approaching or they are a ‘pushover’. You don’t have to be a bad boy to showcase style and a great personality. Women just don’t want to date a ‘pushover.’ We want a man who is strong. It’s all about confidence. I would take a good guy with a career any day over some street pharmacist or ‘wanna be’ rapper.
I’m fed up with most rappers. They are the most influential people in this country, but all I hear on television is the same coonery degrading women. I hate when rappers say that they shouldn’t be blamed for what’s going on in the black community. Hello, black children are being raised by you. Their parents can’t raise them because most of their fathers are absent and their mothers work long hour jobs just to provide for their children. I think rappers are playing the coward role. They are not standing up against these record companies and speaking about some real issues that will help our community. The only thing I hear is “hoe shake this” and “bit#$ bend over”. It’s no wonder our black men are treating us like we are all hoes.
As a black woman, I feel that I have endured every stereotyped thrown at me, whether it’s been a stereotype associated with me or a stereotype I have encountered dating a black man. Sometimes it feels almost hopeless to obtain love with a black men. I just knew that I would marry a strong black virtuous men when I was younger, but with the constant statistics that I hear from the media about black women being unmarried to what I see in media as a representation of black women married to black men, I get doubtful at times. I may be young, but I’m already tired of the dating scene. It seems like every guy I encounter thinks his life consists of an imaginary rap video with all the hoes, and I refuse to be that video hoe playing any part in it.
I just want some diversity in music. I want to hear music speaking positively about a black women without calling saying, “I love my bad bit$h”. Folks, that is not a compliment. I want to have a black men approach me with class for once.

Want a relationship-CLOSE YOUR LEGS

I was watching a youtube video explaining why women don’t get that commitment from men. The young man who spoke in the video said what most women already know, which is that “women, you need to close your legs.” I’m not judging anyone. I’m just using my opinion to show how having sex with a man before commitment will make the dude still not want to commit. I have heard all too many times friends excuses about the men their dating saying why they don’t want a relationship. Some have said they don’t want the title because their trying to get their lives together, etc…But if a man doesn’t have himself together then why are you dating him still? You hear the saying, “why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free?” My point to all the women who want a relationship and they have been dating these men for over three months-Stop Having Sex.! Have class and respect, and let the man know you mentally. I completely agree with not rushing into a relationship after my bad experience, but I believe that as it comes with not rushing into a relationship, you should also not rush into having sex. Any man who says he doesn’t want to wait to have sex doesn’t want a relationship. Either he doesn’t want to wait or he wants someone easy. As a woman, you should not want to be considered easy, but classy. You should have a man work hard to get you in the bedroom. It shouldn’t take an uncommitted relationship to do so unless you want to be single. On the other hand, women that want to be single then this doesn’t apply to you.



I feel like he was talking about me at the end with the comment on cleavage hanging out at the club. I completely agree, but I dont go out to club to find my husband. But, ladies he is speaking the truth. Every women needs to brush up on some things.

When I Met My First Crush

Dedicated to Bean

I can remember the day he first walked in my life. I was in the 7th grade. I knew it was a crush because I had this bubble gut feeling giving me the shivers every time I saw him. We all have these feelings that come and go quickly, but this wasn’t no ordinary crush. His face left an everlasting impression on the right side of my brain, where I constantly had dreams about him everyday. I was a little behind other students when it came to crushes. They constantly talked about which guy or girl they liked. Some even had girlfriends or boyfriends at the age of five. But for me, I was different. I use to be real quiet, a contradictory to what I am now. I was a military brat, and I moved every three years so I had few close friends. But in the 7th grade, I found a friend in him. We both had the passion for the game of basketball, and that made us even more compatible. He was also a big Lakers fan, and everyone knows how I feel about the Lakers. It was just something about him that stood out to me and told me he was special. I stayed in contact with him as the years passed, and I entered high school.
Our distance was so far, I knew I would never be able to see him. I was in Germany, and he was in the United States. When I was in middle school, he had a fro so that was the image that stayed in my dreams. My mom approved of him. Just like a father would do, my dad disapproved of him. I didn’t even understand why. Yes, he had his fair share of getting into trouble. Every young man does, but I never judged him. It hurt me that he was going through so much in his life from his family abandoning him to people not liking him. I could not abandon him at this moment because he was my first crush. He eventually got through all these obstacles in life. Now I’m 23-years-old. It’s funny how I never had the opportunity to tell him that he was my first crush. But I knew he was always going to someone great even when no one saw it. Well, since he may so happen come across this embarrassing outpour of me expressing how much he meant to me growing up, I’ll just say this to him, I’m glad to hear about your recent success, obtaining 5 rings had to be difficult. Hopefully, I can one day watch you play before you retire because I never had the opportunity to tell say to you, “Kobe Bryant, You were first crush.”

NBA Draft Today....Who really cares

All everyone cares about right now is July 1, and where all the free-agents will decide to be at next year. Yes, it is important to have some fresh new blood in the game, and the draft picks could have an influence on these free-agents choice of destination. But as of right now, I'm ready for July 1st, and I'm pretty sure that everyone in America is ready too. There is no recession when it comes to basketball so I'm pretty sure what ever decision these players make, people still will be lined up in stores ready to buy these players new jersey. I just hope these players surprise us to where they decide to book their flight to in the fall. Also, congrats to all the players who get drafted today. Welcome to the big leagues!

Week 4 In My Breakup

Today, I woke up and everything seemed fine until I had that same conversation about my ex with my best guy friend Randy (yes, I’m giving you a shot out). I just still feel upset with this situation. Yes, it has been four weeks since we split, but for some reason I wake up and think about him. I have nightmares about him, and his ex is constantly in my head speaking bad about me. I hear those words of hers, “He still loves me and I love him” and “[JC] don’t like fat girls.” I can’t believe I never told this young girl off. I took the classy road, but it was hard preventing my ‘hood, undergraduate, before I found Jesus’ side out on this girl.

After being done so wrong, I’m emotional drained. I’m doing good day by day. Sometimes, I just can’t help but think about how he is doing. I wonder whether he has thoughts about me. While my friends are calling me crazy for wondering if he still has thoughts about me, I still do. They tell me that the [JC] is living his life and having fun with no thoughts of me. They tell me that he probably is back with his ex, [SI]. I want to know if he feels any guilt or if his mind has made him think that he was rightly just for how he treated me. I guess I’m living this daydreaming fantasy when I’m awake. Whitney Houston song, Exhale, is encouraging for me right now.






Things Not To Do When You Have Had A Bad Breakup

1. Listen to Luther Vandross
I was listening to his music, and I almost got in a car accident. Luther music is too depressing. I call his music 'jump off the bridge' music.
2. Key a car, stab someone, or anything that can have you catch a case
Avoid going to jail for anyone. This is just going make him/her feel better about breaking up with you and you look crazy.
3.Hoe...hooking up with the next guy/girl
Sometimes you need time to re-evaluate why the relationship ended and get yourself back on track. 'Hoeing' will only get you kids or a disease so have class for yourself.
4. Staying in the house in the dark
I was so upset with this breakup, I ended up staying in the house so long in the dark that I thought I start seeing dead people. When I finally got out, I realized I was two shades lighter. If your in the house, you will only start thinking about past memories with the person or either going crazy.
5. Be near any knives, prescription pills or guns
This is not only for your safety, but your ex as well. Who knows what will happen?
6. Go in public looking terrible
Hey, you never know if you see your ex or one of his/her friends.
7. Use social media as your source of therapy about the breakup
Hey, no one on facebook wants to see your constant depressing status updates. I have done this, but I refuse to be the talk on facebook in everyones minifeed.

Think sinkhole in Guatamala was bad..this has been going on for years

After looking at this videos, it is crazy to know that this is normal. This happened in Florida just in 1994, where a 150ft deep sinkhole was reported swallowing a toxic plant. The news just have not reported it that much as they do now...crazy aint it.

Venus Williams Tina Turner Inspired Outfit

Venus Williams rocked a Tina Turner outfit at Wimbledon on Monday afternoon. Venus and Serna Williams have always made an impression in the fashion industry from the beads to the weaves. It actually makes the games more interesting to watch, other than how they play. Growing up, I didn't know what tennis was until the William's sisters grace the court. I then told myself I would be the next "sister" to be good at the game. I eventually failed, but it was fun playing at the time. When your that talented like these women, it doesn't matter what you have on. I consider them the fashion icons of Tennis.

Kelis: Caught Out There

Right now, I relaize that I feel this way. I'm still mad at this lame man. I'm trying to get over him everyone day by day, but he was such a liar. After looking at this video, I realize Kelis must was really going through some things. She probably played this same song after she decided to split up with Nas. I'm still mad they broke up. I thought they were cute together. Nas is my favorite MC and Kelis is my favorite fashion icon. Rihanna always is biting off her style.

Lil Wayne - Kobe Bryant ( Offical Lyrics)

Lakers 2010 Champs

I was just looking at NBA.com, and I noticed this picture. Not only was I pleased that the Lakers won on my birthday, which was June 17, but it was nice to see Kobe celebrating his 5th ring. Kobe has a lot of Haters who diss his game, but if he wasn't as good as people say he is then he wouldn't have 5 rings so folks can be quiet. Also, look at that product placement shot of the Vitamin Water-very interesting.

My Natural Hair Journey-Finishing up my second year

My hair showing more length-Feburary 2010

Hair twice as big as last year- April 2010

April 2010

May 2010

My Natural Hair Journey

The big cut started-May 2009

Hair after the cut -August-November

Silky natural hair

Natural hair when washed-December 2009

It's growing out-December 2009