Trey Songz Needs a New Muse

The jig is up Trey! I mean really...how many sex songs can you make? You do NOT have to be the new R. Kelly...we already have him & even HE isn't being overtly sexual anymore.

The second of two mix-tapes that the he released (the other was a rap one called "Lemmeholdatbeat 2")  is full of his somewhat-signature, sexual songs. I was cool with the 1st Anticipation mix-tape (which made me a fan of his), then Ready, his most successful album to date which yielded "I Invented Sex" and equally-racy video. But THEN it was "Passion, Pain & Pleasure" & now this.

Trey has made other songs about other topics, but real R&B does not have to be JUST about sex! Yes, I enjoy songs like "Does He Do It" & "Jupiter Love" but I feel like he's putting himself in a box. Marvin Gaye had "Sexual Healing" & "Let's Get It On" but he also make socially-conscious songs like "Inner City Blues" and "What's Goin' On" to offset that. Even R. Kelly made BLOCKBUSTER collaborations with people like Celine Dion & Ron Isley. He has classics like "I Believe I Can Fly" to go along with "Bump & Grind"

He has a few songs that steer away from that topics and are actually good, like “She Needs Me” and “Top of the World”, which he talks about his hometown and his supporters in Virginia. But just a look at some of these titles lets you know EXACTLY what you’re about to hear: “French Kiss”, “Inside", "Bomb (a.p.)", & "Girl on Girl". 

Here's my favorite song from the mixtape, "She Needs Me", which has an old-school, doo-wop feel to it...Check it out:

~Elle Shanice~ APPROVED ✔: Black Girls Rock!

Last night, the 2nd-annual Black Girls Rock! awards aired on BET. Hosted by Tracie Ellis-Ross & Regina King (who I met last year), the night celebrated black women who have made a difference in the lives of other black women and the world.

Honorees included Angela Davis (who I met last year), Laurel J. Richie, Taraji P. Henson, Tatiyana Ali, and Shirley Caesar. Performances during the show included Erykah Badu, Melanie Fiona, Elle Varner performing "Give It To You" (one of my FAV songs right now),  Estelle, Mary Mary, and Mary J. Blige.

Angela Davis,  the political activist who I was honored to have met last year in Syracuse, was honored for her contribution to the fight for equality and prison reform. In her speech, she advised black women to make connections with each other and to stand up and work together.
Laurel J. Richie was honored as the 1st black woman president of the WNBA who has helped the league with branding and targeting women & girls. This was a special one for me, as the WNBA was a BIG part of my childhood and seeing women play basketball inspired and empowered me to play and it got me to college.

Taraji P. Henson (who I was honored to interview in 2009) was presented by LaLa Anthony. She has worked hard to make it in the movie industry as a single mother on her way to being an Oscar-nominated actress. In her speech, she said that black women must maintain love and respect for each other and that it's important that we support each other.

Sisterhood is very important...we don't have to be an afterthought!

Tatiyana Ali, who was a child star best known as Ashley from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, was honored for her efforts in promoting education as an activist . She left the industry who left to get an education and is now a Harvard grad.

Other honorees included Imani Walker and Malika Saada Saar, incarcerated expectant mothers who were abused. 

Presented by Sheryl Lee Ralph & CeCe Winans, gospel legend Shirley Caesar was given the "Living Legend" award. In her speech, she said of black girls: 

My mama always said 'the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world'...As black women, we have  been challenged but our faith is strong!

~Elle Shanice~ NOTE: As someone who wants to inspire black teen girls, I commend Beverly Bond & the Black Girls Rock! organization for acknowledging celebrating black women, young & a little older.

Here is video of Jill Scott's POWERFUL spoken word performance: 

Season 4 of Real Housewives of Atlanta Premieres

Last night, the 4th season of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" premiered on Bravo and these women are at it again...with new projects, new babies (on the way) and of course, new DRAMA!!!!!

Last season saw Cynthia get married, Nene file for divorce, Sheree pursue an "acting" career (and I use those words LOOSELY), Kim find a new man who can go out in public with her, Phaedra welcome her 1st son, and Kandi balance career & motherhood.

Now this season kicked off with Kim Zolciak moving stuff from her storage unit into her dream house with boyfriend Kroy.  In addition to her live-in assistant Sweetie and her two daughters, they are expecting a baby so they probably DO need some extra space.

We join my FAV housewive (who may not be a wife for much longer after filing for divorce from Greg) NeNe Leakes at a car dealership where she is buying son Bryson a car so he can help her out by running errands. He's still living with her but she will just put him to work running errands. She's enjoying success from her appearance on "Celebrity Apprentice" and other business ventures and writes the check for the car on the spot.

Sheree Whitfield visits her friend Lawrence in the studio where he's working on new music. She talks to him about some drama she's having with NeNe based on an event with a promoter. She claims that they were supposedly hosting a party together and NeNe tried to backdoor her & take money from it. Why is Sheree SO upset about a little hosting gig? Hmmmm...interesting!!!

Newlywed Cynthia Bailey-Thomas started a modeling agency in ATL & enlisted diva runway coach Miss Jay (Oh how I've MISSED him) to teach a class to some prospects. She gives the BEST quote about modeling:

I want to teach them that being a model isn't the same as auditioning for a rap video. 

AMEN Cynthia!!!!! A few notes about the other housewives:

• Phaedra Parks wants to start a funeral home after setting up a funeral for her great aunt
• Kandi Burress is starting a “adult” sex toy line...by the way, her hair looks GOOD! That brown straight mid-length look works for her

·      Meanwhile, NeNe & Sheree meet to have a “grown lady conversation” but end up arguing and insulting each other (of course). I DO think Sheree is a little jealous of NeNe because she's doing things outside the show and Sheree can't get her acting career off the ground.  She brings up the stereotype of black women not supporting one another but she should take her OWN advice. 

     After the meeting, Cynthia consoles Nene because she’s upset that Sheree believed the promoter who she knew for a short time over her who she's known for years. Cynthia gives good point about real friends and keeping a good attitude. NeNe ends the show with another GREAT quote: 

“(If you cross me) I’m not gonna stab you in the back…I’m gonna stab you in the chest”

Season 4 is off to an EXCITING start and I'm looking forward to next week! Here's a video of the confrontation courtesy of Dime Wars:

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

Why I Don't Like Kim Kardashian

Last month, I read an article on Essence.com about how black women should stop hating on Kim Kardashian. Demetria L. Lucas wrote that we as black women shouldn't hate her just because she makes the kind of money that we can't & has dated the guys that we want. Well EXCUSE ME Ms. Lucas...I didn't know that I had to like her or kiss her ass because she's a celebrity.

I'm NOT going to use the word "hate" because I don't know her personally but I STRONGLY dislike her. It has NOTHING to do with race or her dating FINE black guys like Reggie Bush (I honestly think that she took some of his sexy away when they broke up but that is just my personal opinion).

I don't expect her to be an honorary black woman or give back to the black community just because she dates black men. I just honestly think that if she were black, she'd be LESS famous. Take a look at people like Superhead: yeah she sold a couple books based off her life as a groupie but didn't flip it into a career like Kim K did w/ her sextape (btw KUDOS to her mom-a-ger Kris Jenner, who is already at work spinning this divorce).

I'm tired of our culture idolizing celebrities for NOTHING. These reality shows follow the lives of REGULAR people and then they become BIG stars (i.e. Jersey Shore). I guess I am a little salty that a woman with NO college education...NO real TALENT...& NO morals apparently can get THIS famous.

Everyone is talking about her filing for divorce like it's BREAKING NEWS...when I heard about it, I was like "DUH! Did you not see this coming??? They don't even LIKE each other. It's funny that she's asking for privacy after filing for a divorce, when the whole thing will probably be covered on the next season of Kourtney and Kim Take New York. 


Here are just a few reasons why I don't like her:

1. She is famous for NO REASON- She may get paid BIG bucks to be a "host" for parties or to "endorse" products, but let's face the facts: she has NO real talent to speak of. She got famous off of a SEX TAPE!!!!! No matter how much she wants us to forget about that incident with Ray J or how much she denied her part in its release, she is still known first and foremost for this. 
2. She does EVERYTHING for publicity- If a family reality show weren't enough, EVERY personal moment in her life has been put on TV. When her & her sisters open a store...it's on TV! When she went through the ordeal w/ the sextape...it was on TV! Even her "engagement" and "wedding" (& I use those words LOOSELY) were both shot for the reality show. Some things are just meant to be PRIVATE (-_-)
3. She's ALL ABOUT MONEY- Yes, I admit that she is a business woman that has made MILLIONS for herself over the years but my thing is this: There is a such thing as a "grind" or "hustle" but that's different from being a fame whore. 
4. She comes off as FAKE- I don't care if she X-rayed her butt to prove it's real...She doesn't seem like the kind of person that I would hang out with...& I get along with pretty much ANYBODY! I've seen the way that she acts on her show & it's just AGGRAVATING. 
5. She wants what EVERYONE else has- I used to think that she wanted to have a wedding and get married just to say she did...but I think that's BS now. I feel like she wants what everyone around her has. First, her sister Khloe gets married to an NBA player (Lamar Odom), then her friend Lala married an NBA player (Carmelo Anthony) and she felt like she could do the same.

Here is the link to a video from this CW show "H8R", where Kim confronts a black woman who is hating on her (skip to around 26:47). While I don't agree 100% with the lady, I think it's funny that Kim put on that "fake" attitude and tried to put it on the Armenian culture (I wonder how much MONEY she made off of this SMH):

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/h8r/?play=95aa9557-0150-4745-bb1e-21f2a76854b4