Are Entertainers Role Models?

Ok...so...this is a question that many celebrities get asked and conveniently when they're in the limelight and everything is going fine...they usually kindly accept and even...may i say...bask in the glow of their influence on others. HOWEVER when these "role models" run into controversy they are usually very quick to say "well I got into this to do what I love not to be a role model" So...what do I think?

I'll start with a few examples: Beyonce dons a leotard and tights in her "Single Ladies" video...Ive seen so many leotards this year I thought I was in a remake of Center Stage...Rihanna gets a daring, cutting edge haircut for her "Umbrella" video...scissor happy stylists all over the world are snapping some girl's long locks right as we speak (or taking her weave out or what have you)...even those "celebrities" made famous through their other abilities...Amber Rose is rocking a bald head...and right now there are women who are investing in the warmest hats for the cold winter ahead of them...and dont get me started on the men who wont let Iverson's braid phenomena go or how about my fellas who've been wearing black all year because Jay said so lol...So you kinda see what I'm getting at right? These people ARE role models whether they "signed up" for the position or not. They have to know that there are people (especially young people) who hang on their everyword/outfit/haircut/action and with that knowledge should come a sense of responsibility.

I wrote this blog mostly because after watching yet another video from Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce in which Sasha is most definitely looking gorgeous and putting on a show with Lady Gaga (who shall be in my blog post about the demonic side of music...geesh)...I couldnt help but think she has so many young girls who are her fans who desire so strongly to be like her...and who will subconsciously decide that the way she dresses/behaves and expresses herself as a grown, married woman...is acceptable for a young, growing, UNmarried girl. And although we older girls (or young women or twenty somethings...whatever works) may not readily admit it or recognize it...subconsciously we begin to accept those things as well. This is in no way a Beyonce bashing article...I think she is an awesome entertainer...a really hard working woman and a fellow Virgo artist like myself ;)...im just shedding a little light on a situation that is too often locked in the dark closet. Many people may know that I have a little sister who I LOVE with all my heart and honestly I could NEVER take her to a Beyonce concert...for fear that I'd walk into her room and find her dipping it low and popping her goodies while singing "its too big...its too strong...it wont fit" *kanye shrug* Im just saying. There are so many artists in the same vein as Beyonce who get a pass and are deemed "America's Sweethearts" or "Women of the Year" and it confuses me...its baffling...they cover the magazines geared to young girls and they are WOMEN not girls...they sing about WOMEN's issues/feelings/desires/pains/relationships but they get away with it and we allow it...and then for the little boys...I dont even know what will become of them if someone doesnt talk about something...ANYTHING...other than sex/clubbin/womanizing or "getting money"...its scary to consider how many little boys cant wait to grow up and get money so that he can instruct some woman to bust her p***y open and then tell her to bring it back as his hero Lil Wayne would so eloquenly put it...so per usual I dont have the solution to this problem...just starting the conversation...hoping it will get you guys talking.

And yall know its just my thoughts...

Sincerely,

@bestnewactress

Two of my biggest role models :)- so real....

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Women are...Imperfect!

So as I get older I start to think more and more about what it means to be a woman. Let's not even get started on what it means to be a BLACK woman...thats an even deeper thought process...but I digress. While reading Hill Harper's new book "The Conversation" I came to the chapter entitled "What Black Women Want" and I was so happy to find that he actually talked to Black women and gathered their opinions but it also made me think a little about myself as a...well as a woman. I started to think about the things that women are afraid to admit about ourselves and the things that make us irresistible yet impossible to figure out at times. So I decided to do the unthinkable...im gonna say what I know about women...I think I can call myself an expert:

We are irrational. We are easily hurt. We hold grudges. We think about sex as much as men do...we just dont like to admit it. When we first see a good looking man we do, indeed, think about how he would be in bed...and THEN we go into our fantasy world (thinking of marriage, kids, etc...). We will pick fights when things are perfect sometimes just to see how much you care. We are ALL insecure about something. We like to be told how pretty we are...a lot. We love our friends. We DONT tell them EVERYTHING (to all my friends..."did i just say that?" come on we all know its true lol). We do as much dirt as men do...we just do it better. We are smarter than men...and sometimes when we're in relationships we pretend not to be so that we can ignore the WARNING signs. We always know when a man isn't the right one...we just dont always accept it. We get dressed for men (dont care what we say...we want you to notice just how cute we look). We live somewhere between sanity and insanity. We lie. We probably have done #2 at your house without you knowing :). We're fragile (even all the "i dont need a man. im strong and independent and God fearing and cant nobody hurt me" sistas out there). We need to feel appreciated. We're soft and kind. We're ruinable. We're special. We laugh with our eyes and sometimes hurt with our words (we dont mean to). We're the worse during "soowoo" season. We tell our girls mostly all the bad stuff you do. We try to trust. We want to trust. We find it hard to trust. We know when you're 100% in it. We know when the fire is gone. We listen to songs and make our love stories match them...even when they dont. We hear everything you say...and we'll twist those words around to mean whatever we want them to lol. We sometimes confuse lust with love but I've never known a woman to confuse love with lust. We do all the things we did as girls...still. We are complex...yet very simple. We believe in love...even when we say we dont. We need love. We need to love someone. We love to be desired. We hate to be bugged. We love to be admired and envied. We hate to be ignored.

And so for my fellas...you're probably thinking "ok...thanks for the heads up"...or you spent that whole list thinking "yep I already knew this...mmhmmmm crazy a** women" lol well here's something sweet to smooth that over...what I know women like about men....

We like when you try to be tough. We like when you do things...just because. We like when you make french toast ;). We like when you remember something we said in a conversation. We like when you're honest about not being honest. We like when you place your hand on the small of our backs. We like when you watch us talk and get lost in our eyes for that moment. We like when you dont know how to do something but pretend you do. We like how you smell. We like how you walk especially when we're with you. We like how you pretend to not care what we think...but you do. We like how passionate you get about sports, music, movies, etc...women like passion in general. We like when you place your hand on our thighs or on top of our hand in a movie theatre or in the car. We like when you get mad about how someone treated us. We like when you let your competitive side get the best of you and wont let us win. We like when you let us win. haha. We like when you admit to liking a "chick" flick. We like when you trust us. We like when we can trust you. We like when we can smell you on our clothes when you leave. We like when you teach us about sports...even when you get frustrated. We like when you talk to our mothers. We like when you reach out to our friends. We like when you try to guess what we'll like...and get it wrong...but at least you tried. :)

Keep in mind these are for all my sane, real, mature women and men...all yall crazy, loose cannons...I dont have anything for yall on here tonight lol. Naw im just serious. HA! Well that was my nice, sweet blog for the month. Hope you enjoyed. I think I speak for a lot of women when I say the first time I heard this song I was like "OMG I am the SAME way" lol here's Beyonce's 'Flaws and All':

Flaws And All - Beyonce
Uploaded by vindiezel. - See the latest featured music videos.

Sincerely,

@bestnewactress

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2's a Scene but 3's a Show?

So this blog post is about relationships...or the lack of...I think I speak for a lot of women (and a some men although I can only honestly speak from a woman's point of view) when I say I feel let down by my brothas especially those at the top who have many ears listening to their voices. I mean where did this total disregard for those sacred bonds between men and women come from? Let me set this up by saying, sadly a lot of women have taken on the same attitudes and behave in the same way as men so this is not a man bashing post by any means...I just want to express my feelings...if you ever felt like this? Vibe with me...lol

Everywhere you turn there is a song, tv show, movie, news article about cheating men/women who have decided that what they have at home is not good enough for them. The glorification of "threesomes", "boyfriend #2", "side chicks", etc...is at an all time high i mean there is a certain female rapper who calls her self "Monica Lewinsky" (im just saying)...and so where does that leave us? It is hurtful to think that these ideas will filter themselves into what will be the marriages between people in our generation. There are many women who openly date men with wives/girlfriends i.e. Kim on RHOA and see no problem with it...in fact think its normal, justify it and glorify themselves for being the woman he spends the "most of his time with". And then there are all my "boyfriend #2"'s out there. You know the guys who would rather date someone else's girl so he doesnt have to deal with the day to day work it takes to maintain a relationship. And I will even go out on a limb and say that about 80% of the people I know who have either been in relationships or are currently in them have come face to face with some instance of infidelity. So much so that some people even now have "situations" or relationship statuses of "its complicated" or "open"...ummm where dey do dat at?

What has happened to us that we now think it is acceptable to be cheated on, lied to and under appreciated? We tolerate so much and yet demand so little out of our partners. I feel like there are so many foundations built on sand these days that the percentage of crumbling relationships cant do anything but rise. As a people in America I think we have become accustomed to never being satisfied..."oh I have big breasts, Im gonna get BIGGER breasts", "oh I can afford a Whopper, no I'm gonna get a DOUBLE WHOPPER", "oh I can bag one bad chick, I'm gonna bag TWO at the SAME TIME". And now we have no morals, no expectations, no guidelines, no boundaries. Love has lost its meaning and its importance. Saying you love someone used to set up certain expectations: never hurting that person intentionally, thinking about that person's feelings above your own and always, always acting OUT of that which you feel (that being Love so your actions could never go sour). Who knows what love means anymore in some of these relationships...and where to place the blame? It used to be that we could blame the indifference to relationships on the presence of broken homes in our community but I just dont think that's true anymore. I know plenty of people from (seemingly) wonderful families where they've seen what a good relationship can be like, who are the worst of the worst when it comes to their disregard for the idea of monogamous relationships. I could blame the media...that would be the easiest way out...but hell at this point we all should know that "its only entertainment"...but maybe we dont.

Im gonna instead take the road less travelled and hold our generation responsible for our own actions. No one can be blamed but us...how many women have entertained a man in a relationship for a little longer than you should have? how many men are giving the business to someone's wife or woman right now? how many men/women plan on being "single for the night" this weekend? Right. We make decisions every day that make a world of difference. It's up to us to bring the love and respect back to our relationships and we can start by just doing what we know is right. So to my ladies...the next time you get the number from the guy who says "i have a situation" or "we aint on good terms" delete it, throw it away and if he has yours DO NOT ANSWER...give that woman he's hurting a break. To my fellas when you meet that girl who says "we been going through some stuff" or " what he doesnt know wont hurt him"....walk away, there is nothing she can give you that's worth having...and she's probably giving a lot of it away if thats the way she's selling it. Of course I dont have all the answers...I just feel like we have to start somewhere in fixing this problem and we have to start at a very basic level. Through those common mistakes we can stop the hurt woman who gets with the good man and ruins him...and then he gets with a good girl and ruins her...the cycle continues...children are made by the ruined and here we go all over again...this was my attempt to just start the discussion...and all i ask is that you guys think about it and keep the conversation going.

Im just speaking my mind as usual... :)

Sincerely,

@bestnewactress

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Young Artists Spotlight Take II...

Ok so yesterday I began my new spotlight on up and coming "people you should know" or "people you will know...VERY soon" with Jon Redwine of 2085 Productions and everyone was really supportive and seemed to be ready and willing to read part II, so here it is... :)

Part II of my interview with:

Jon Redwine of 2085 Productions

Producer,Musician, Entrepreneur

Little info before we dive in...Redwine and his two business partners that make up the other half of 2085 Productions, have created an iPhone Application called iFlyp't...

Here's a photo of the entire 2085 crew

L to R: "Bobby Digital", Greg Lowe (manager), and of course Jon Redwine

Ok now we're ready to move on...here's the rest of the interview :)

LoveJonesBlog: so the App? what is it? why'd you create it?

Redwine: iFlyp't is the 1st iphone app to allow users to customize there music in a unique way.

I come from a producing background and a DJing background and me and my partners where sitting with Will.I.Am and heard him say the person that changes the way music is distributed will be the next dude and we sat down and made a way for anybody to be able to sit down and legally experience creating their favorite artist's music and feel the excitement of recording something.

LoveJonesBlog: What did it take to get it up and running?

Redwine: I was in NY 4 days a week for like 2 months. It was crazy sitting down with every executives boss and being young and black across from 12 older white people and having them onslaught u with questions and legal jargon. We were smart and built an amazing team though

LoveJonesBlog: thats incredible. when do you sleep?

Redwine: a little bit i work for my self so the hours are shorter. I spend all day talkin with NY and all the people on the project and nite in the studio cutting tracks for labels and for tracks from labels I made that will be available on the application

LoveJonesBlog: you have a clone. im convinced.

Redwine: i wish

LoveJonesBlog: so in closing anything you want to say...put out in the open...?

Redwine: everybody should check out www.iflypt.com when it launches this week and the app is gonna be in the APPLE STORE SOOON so check for it and whatever you do in life make sure you dont get trapped in the safety of the check in the rat race and look up and attack your passions because the worst thing to waste is time because you can always luck up with more money... and iflypt is a social network too

LoveJonesBlog:awwww you're so positive

Redwine: always life is all about energy and you make your reality and control how things come to you

So there you have it...dude is mad cool and his WORK ETHIC?!!! Killing it...go support him and 2085 productions

Below is a video example of how the App works:

Hope you guys will buy the app and support the movement...I'll spotlight a new artist every week..send me any suggestions...promote yourself...let me know...up next...an up and coming Fashion designer...I hope :)

sincerely,

@bestnewactress

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Young Artists Spotlight

So last month I spotlighted a few people I felt deserved some shine who are already in the business knocking heads around....names many people know...faces people have seen...well this month I'm doing something similar but (in keeping with my progressive mentality) different! I'm gonna take some time and give some shine to those up and comers in the game who you may have never heard of but will know all about in no time! The first person I decided to blog about is a young man who I am just intrigued by all around...and am almost certain has discovered the art of cloning because he cant be doing all these things as one person...I was amazed by his honesty, love for his craft and the eloquent way he answered my questions...and to all my ladies out there he plays ALL instruments and ain't too bad looking :)....one time for

John Redwine of 2085 productions

Producer, Musician, Entrepreneur

LoveJonesBlog: OK. So who are you? What do you do?

Redwine: Im Jon Redwine. Im a musician and entreprenuer that went to the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul. I studied Business Entreprenuership and Electronic Music Production. I was born and raised in Oak Cliff Texas and have become a globe trotter out of the quick expansion that my company has undergone in such a short time

LoveJonesBlog: So tell me a bit about yourself that people should know going into this interview

Redwine: Im young and I think people can have it all in life you jus have to make your own reallity.. Moved to LA with nothing and built a career and a company to facilitate what I wanted in life with NO MONEY and all intellectual property

Redwine: (....and Imma Alpha) off the record

Redwine/LoveJonesBlog: lol

LoveJonesBlog: So as a musician...describe your sound....and what instruments do you play?

Redwine: I play EVERY Instrument based on the western Scale. I'm a soundscaper and I'm cross Genre..last week I went in on a project I have on Def Jam then turned around and went to work on some stuff for Disney. I am live instrument based and usually am heavy with synths and guitars

Redwine: I have a production team called 2085.. it consist of me.. "Redwine" and my songwriter singer "Bobby Digital" and we been coming up on the LA scene and GRINDING... both me and my songwriter are both from Oak Cliff and if you're from Oak Cliff you'll understand how odd it is to come from there and do what we have been doing

LoveJonesBlog: Not from Oak Cliff but I'm from Detroit so I know the struggle

Redwine: indeed. But Dallas is a little different because we grow up with open racism. I've been called a "Nigger" sooo many times coming up.

LoveJOnesBlog: What can one expect from a Redwine track/2085 creation?

Redwine: 2085 represents the future of 1985 which is when Pop music and pop culture was at its peak with artists such as MJ and Madonna {killing the game} along side Earth Wind and Fire... lately I have been gettin comparison from alot of A&Rs to Maurice White from EWF and Jimi Hendrix in the production of 'The Experience' and also Timbaland and Pharrell so 2085 is def a new genre in sound textures as far as genuine touch on sounds

LoveJonesBlog: WOW those are big shoes to fill

Redwine: Definitely I grew up and still mainly listen to old GREAT Music.. I come from a musical background so Music has always been my confidant so My life story plays in my head and tracks strike up from Marvin Gaye..Donny Hathaway.. Jimmy Scott.. My frat brother Duke Ellington...Confunkshun...to Kanye West and this band out of France called Phoenix

LoveJonesBlog: Didnt know Duke was an Alpha...im a big fan (of Duke)...crazy

Redwine: Yeah main reason I wanted to become one. I actually can score music so that was a big thing to me... I write out sheet music by hand if I dont have my guitar or pianos or video camera to capture it

LoveJonesBlog: That is really incredible! When did you start with music full time?

Redwine: My Sophmore year in College when I stopped playing baseball.

LoveJonesBlog: When did you know you had to give it your all? What happened?

Redwine: When I was 13 and I couldnt express how this gurl made me feel but i started writing a song and it was soo easy and sounded good....(in college) I was tryna do everything in school and I had to learn that you only have sooo much of yourself to give so I had to dedicate to what meant the most to me and when I evaluated where my heart was at Music was my only companion besides my pham

LoveJonesBlog: a girl...lol...so im gonna get all up in your business before we get on to the App, ok?... fair warning

Redwine: lol...aiight

LoveJonesBlog: a lot of artists ( i can make this broad generalization since Im one myself) lol started out trying to express their feelings to the opposite sex...and most of the guys i know who are artists (esp. musicians) use their skills to get the ladies...guilty?

Redwine: i think everybody that really lo(i)ves music has to be guilty of that.. at this point in Life I live for the music and its the reason I'm alive.. and music is about celebrating the past and showing the beauty in what's to come and when it comes to human interaction on any level... when you want to bring someone in to show them who you are (and if who you are is an artist that paints emotion on an imaginery canvas in peoples heads) then you have to use that to SHOW someone who you are... so its an introduction to every relationship i have...whether business or personal and also the ending credits to some situations in life..

LoveJonesBlog: ending credits...love that...good answer

Redwine: thanks

LoveJonesBlog: ...but you could have said i play the panties off these women with my guitar

Redwine: lol

Cool dude, right? Well this is only Part I....Redwine goes on to explain the creation and promotion of his very own iPhone Application: iFlyp't in Part II of our interview...dude is a one man "i do it all" machine :) Part II tomorrow...hope you enjoyed!

sincerely,

@bestnewactress :)

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Black(?) Hollywood

Although I strongly, strongly detest the idea of "Black Hollywood"...I feel like because this blog is focusing on the achievements (open for debate) of Blacks IN Hollywood I didnt want to mislead any of my readers of other races. Why? You may ask, dont I like the term "Black Hollywood" well because I think it establishes a hill that almost seems insurmountable...as if to say there are separations in WHICH "Hollywood" , actors can work in. I mean after all do we say that Martin Scorcese, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Ron Howard, etc... are a part of "White" Hollywood and moreover where does that leave the Will Smith's, Denzel Washington's and Samuel Jackson's of the world? I think titles like "Black" Hollywood are only in place to continue to segregate us and ensure that in a lot of ways we are never able to fully break in to mainstream.

Dont get me wrong..."Black Hollywood" has its perks...it allows America to see/hear our concerns, stories, actors, producers and directors...it gives our artists' exposure and our stories an audience so there is some good to it. But I decided to blog about this after hearing about Spike Lee's comments regarding the work of Tyler Perry...here they are if you missed them:

“Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is “coonery” and buffoonery. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better. … I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne”) and I am scratching my head. … We got a Black president and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat? As African Americans, we’re not one monolithic group so there is room for all of that.But at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to “Amos n’ Andy.”"

So when I read this I decided that a discussion needed to be opened up...I totally understand where Spike is coming from and I agree with a lot of what he is saying...as a fan of his work and the work of others like John Singleton and Gary F. Gray....I can understand his frurstration with the success that Perry has found with roles like Mr. Brown, Madea and Joe....however, I think there is something to be gained from what Perry has done to date. Spike Lee introduced America to the issues that were almost taboo at the time...interracial relationships, drug abuse, religion as a major role in our lives...he shed light on our heroes with Malcolm X and even just last year with Kobe's docushort during the season...and he always uses his "celebrity", power, etc... to shine light on issues...which he did magnificently with "When the Levees Broke"....and then there's Singleton ( who in my opinion walks a masterfully difficult line) who tells really dark stories of what we go through in our worst moments...on our worst days...

And now lets turn the lens towards Perry. His plays/films/tv shows depend totally on the boisterous, religious, "animated" side of the African American experience but to his defense...I have yet to see any of his productions end without a positive message and he has employed so many African American actors, crew members and casting directors. He uses his power to/money to advance projects like Precious which he is coproducing with Oprah...so what do we make of it all?! Could Spike and Tyler be arguing opposite sides of the same spectrum...I think they would both agree that our stories need to be told...how our stories are told is where they would butt heads and as an African American actress I am interested in being a part of stories that dont rely on selling gimmicks and as an African American woman the reliance on overweight, loud, obnoxious, bible slinging women rubs me the wrong way in many of Perry's works. Characters like Mr. Brown and Joe perpetuate a negative stereotype of Black men (that is probably rooted in Perry's abusive relationship with his father) that is not a part of many stories in the African American experience...where have we heard these arguments before?

I'll go out on a limb and say that some of the people who now support Perry's works may be direct descendants of those who complained that the "unrealistically happy Huxtables" did not represent a true version of African American life while many people...including myself...applaude Cosby's bravery and step towards forcing America to see us in a different light. True, not everyone's mother and father were a successful lawyer and doctor. No, the majority of us did not have Judith Jameson dancing in our living rooms or visits from Dizzy Gillespie but lots of us came from families that understood the importance of education (the infamous "I brought you in this world, I'll take you out" episode as a result of Theo's bad grades) and tried their darndest to express the importance of a strong familial unit...I guess the only way to fit some of everyone's experiences in...is to allow people from all different experience's to have the artistic freedom they need to express the things they've been through...

As usual I dont have the answers...just think the discussion is one that shouldnt go overlooked...Check out these 2 videos...Tyler Perry's 60 minutes interview and the trailer for a film that makes me excited about the future of Blacks IN Hollywood :)

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Good vs. Bad...

WOW! So I hear a lot of men ask the question "why do all the good guys finish last?" and I have a few ideas as to why it SEEMS that way but I also want to ask my men a question: are you usually going for the good girl? Think about that long and hard...now back to the original question...

"Why do good guys finish last?"

Women like a few things...power, confidence, a challenge and the opportunity to feel like she can rescue someone...and of course to be adored by someone who people may think is impossible to keep...all too often bad boys encompass all of these things but where we women mess up is forgetting that men like all the things women like... so as we become puppets in these man's hands because we're all in love...we forget to pull out our "freakum dress" or have a night out with our girls...or to walk into a room and have every head turn because we're walking like we got it...we forget to do that and so we lose the interest of the bad boy...but those magnets are strong...too often good guys act like love sick women and so WE get bored...

{Before I continue let me say I totally dont think there is any such thing as a "bad guy" who was not at some point a "good guy" and the same thing goes for women}

"Bad" guys have this aura about them that screams "i dont need you woman" and the idea that we are not needed presents *drumroll please* a CHALLENGE...CONFLICT...we all live for it...we breath it...its wonderful...we love challenges...its why shows like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune have been on for centuries...we like to see a problem and then decide how to fix it...so when we, women, see a man who has this air about himself we go crazy for it. Because bad guys are often hurt good guys that mother instinct kicks in and we feel like we have to save them, we have to be there to prove to them that goodness exists..we give it all...and all in all "bad" guys just know how to play the game to get the girl...they know how to have a good time without worrying about what people may think, they're often trendsetters and are usually the adored of they're male counterparts as well...and the most obvious yet most ignored reason of all...the MEDIA...duh...in every movie. video, everything...the bad guys are the sexiest...we learn to like all the things they do (tattoos, fast cars, partying, lots of women) and they are most often portrayed as the best lovers but honestly "bad" guys always end up alone unless they channel all those things into loving the woman who has dedicated herself to him...the ultimate good guy with bad guy charisma is Barack Obama...check his steps...you dont have to become president but peep his style...its SICK!

And now I want to speak up for the good girls! Because I hear you fellas out there always complaining about this good guys finishing last idea but what about us? Lets start from the top down...prime examples...two of the biggest female stars right now are Rihanna and Beyonce...and I think it is safe to say that neither of them experienced the height of their success until they turned the corner from sweet girl next door to the freak around the corner...I mean Rihanna spelled it out for us "Good Girl Gone Bad" (sold over {and is still selling} 4 million copies worldwide better than her first 2 "good girl" albums combined)...and the video girls who you all adore and praise...sex video starlets...the list goes on and on...you men seem to want bad...sexy...dangerous but you want to not be held to the same standards? I dont think thats a fair standard...there are many seemingly plain, good girls who are wonderfully eccentric, daring, risky, educated, focused and BEAUTIFUL inside and out but you probably wouldnt give them a second look on the street because some "bad" girl wearing close to nothing would probably be stealing your eye at the moment :)

The bottom line to all of this is...we need to appreciate the good in the people we come in contact with because if one more good girl/guy had been appreciated in the way he/she deserved there would be one less bad girl/guy to break another heart...I love all my brothas (and brothas from another mother) and I encourage my good dudes to turn your "swagga" {i know the word is horribly overused} up, puff your chest up, hold your degrees up and go after your dreams and the woman who you're supposed to be with, the woman who will appreciate everything about you, will come along. Love yall!!

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