Good Music: It's Alive!

 Earlier this week, I was telling someone about how happy I was to have "discovered" new artists KING and Timothy Bloom. They march to the beats of their own drums, and have created truly beautiful music that inspired me, and many others, I'm sure.

Said person saw this as an opportunity to go on a rant about how crappy music is these days. Insert eye roll and nail-filing here. You see, whatever you focus on expands. So I don't give a shit about the schlock. I care about, listen to, promote and am grateful for the good stuff. The Afta-1s and Nikko Grays, the Georgia Anne Muldrows and Fertile Grounds of the world. The ones who are pushing boundaries and doing it with love. They deserve my attention.

Who Cares About “What They Say?”

“You know what they say, girl…”

“The key is to make him think that he chose you.”

“It’s always better when he loves you just a little bit more than you love him.”

“You’ll know when you meet the one.”

These, and other tidbits of wisdom can be heard any time women debate the path to marriage. We’re always trying to figure out the secret, that thing that’s supposed to help us find the one.

I’ve had enough of these debates, and I think they’re fruitless. They trap us. We spend our time looking for signs that he loves us more than we love him, playing coy to make him believe that he’s choosing us, when in fact, we’ve chosen him. And I’m sick of it.

Introducing: Awkward Black Girl

We've all been there: driving down the street, shooting our own personal music video in our car, when we spot a co-worker or acquaintance in the next lane over. And that person insists on waving and/or chatting. At Every. Single. Red. Light. It's awkward, and it's one of those situations that we think only happens to us.

Fortunately, we have filmmaker Issa Rae to make light of this and other situations that the average black girl finds herself in. Issa has developed a series called "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl," a hilarious, honest look at life as a young, black woman.

KING: Got a Story to Tell

Exactly one week ago, I was sitting in this very spot, checking out my favorite blogs, when I came across a story about a new group named KING on Soul Bounce. The group is made up of twins Paris and Amber Strothers and their friend, Anita Bias. I was instantly sold on KING, and couldn't wait for their EP, The Story, which was released this past Tuesday. I began to follow them on Twitter (@wearekingmusic), and that's when I began to feel like I was a part of something truly magical.

Bilal Concert Review

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I almost didn't go. Till I got the email from Muddy Waters advertising $10 off the ticket price. Funny what ten bucks can do to the brain. So I purchased. This was my second time attending a concert by myself, and I must say, I'll be rolling dolo to more concerts in the future. I bonded with the folks sitting on my row (also rolling dolo) and ran into some old friends.

Did I mention that this concert was on Valentine's Day? Some may see that as a reason to get all depressed, or assume that I was bitter with all the boo'ed up folks who were definitely getting some that night. I wasn't. I was just happy to be there. After the fact, I even realized that I was sober the whole time. Turns out, I didn't need anyone's company—human or liquid—to have fun.