Jimi Hendrix - Hail a guitar master!

Jimi Hendrix - Born 11/27/42 - Deceased 9/18/70

I've blogged about my love for '70s funk bands and their bass guitarists for a few years. The other type of guitarist I like are terrific rock guitarists.

Eric Clapton. Jimmy Page. Jeff Beck. Carlos Santana. Joe Perry. Duane Allman. Ernie Isley. Yes, Prince. Oh, the list goes on and on. I know I've left out a ton. But the one I listen to, to this day is Jimi Hendrix.

My youngest uncle who lived in the family home while going to college, introduced me to the music of this master. I recall being 8 years old, sitting on uncle's bedroom floor and listening to the needle drop on vinyl and commence to play Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary and Foxy Lady.  And my personal favorite: All Along the Watchtower. I was transfixed. My initiation into "The Experience" had begun. Uncle graduated and eventually moved away but Jimi's talent lingered.

Hendrix's style was unique to say the least. I like that reverberating sound he got from playing directly in front of the speakers. His breakout, breakthrough came at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. He and his group were the talk of the event. At Woodstock, he stole the show with his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Dying young like Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison was part of his continued mystique.

Hendrix was celebrated in a rather overlooked film in 2013: Jimi: All Is By My Side. It didn't do well due to not being able to acquire the rights to his music. Bummer because singer Andre 3000 of Outkast was STUPENDOUS as Jimi. Andre caught the essence of the guitarist. It's a shame the film bombed. It would have released Andre into acting more and boosted Hendrix even more. But thems the breaks.

Today is the anniversary of Jimi's death. This day in 1970, he passed. Go listen to some of his music to honor a riveting talent. .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix

 All Along the Watchtower: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY

https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/09/18/little-known-black-history-fact-jimi-hendrix/





info courtesy of blackamericaweb

Beauty is in session and the industry just got taken to school - Fenty Beauty

Fenty Beauty. Fenty Beauty. Fenty Beauty.

Rihanna. Rihanna. Rihanna. Not just another pretty face.

I can take, or leave her music but I will definitely take her makeup. Definitely. RiRi's launch into the beauty biz showed wannabes like the Kardashians how it should be done. Kim, having 4 contouring kits is nothing. Kylie, Kendall or whatever K you are in the family, your announcement of the addition of something called "Brown Sugar" (conspicuously after the Fenty Beauty launch) to your makeup line was feeble at best. Anemic at worst. It's a tacky, lame attempt to appear "inclusive" in the beauty game. A game who you, and all large, mainstream cosmetic companies, LOST on September 8th, 2017 when Fenty Beauty debuted.

That large section of makeup wearers with very dark skin, or very pale skin. The ones with all that MONEY to spend but had nearly nowhere to spend it, found a place that Friday night. Through your big-company-willful-ignorance, through your business model that touts "medium" as the only shade that matters, you lost out. Oh, yeah, you might have gotten off your lazy duff to make two crappy foundation shades for ALL black or brown women, without acknowledgement of their differing undertones and the fact that we all come in varied shades! Those two shades were supposed to be enough for over half the world. How big of you. And just as bad is your poor representation of deadly pale skin with one shade of "fair" no matter the wearer's undertone.

I will admit a few major brands - MAC, NARS, Lancome, even Clinique - tried. But it wasn't because they cared. It was for the money. They understood business. Not to say that there are no Black-owned beauty companies, or companies that do not have cosmetics for Black skin. There were/are several small Black-owned beauty brands. I left a list below. But we all know how they get treated. Scant shelf space in stores. Low visibility even if they get space in a store. Just to get the endeavor off the ground is a miracle. "White beauty companies get funded on POTENTIAL; Black beauty companies get funded on PROOF!" A quote from Youtube beauty blogger Jackie Aina. Meaning: A White idea gets the moolah without question. A Black idea gets scrutinized out the wazoo, schematics are needed and SALES! Where dey do dat at? How the Hell are you gonna have a sales track record PRIOR to the effin thing being produced?

No thing. Fenty Beauty is here to take all you big boys to school and to tell you that it has it covered. This is not a flash-in-the-pan effort. This is a major effort to rival the biggies in the field. I believe Fenty Beauty is here to stay a while.

40 shades of gloriously different foundation. FORTY! Not 50 permutations of medium beige.

At least 7 of which serve the darkest skin with all its possible undertones. And don't fret pale girls. On the other end of the spectrum, there are at least 5 shades of  Wednesday Addams' complexion and the undertones to go around. And if you are anywhere in-between, you've got it made and will get giddy from the selection.

So while all you big beauty giants scratch your asses and wonder how you missed that YUGE boat and how RiRi didn't, do let me hear the clack of those stilettoes running to whip up the products you SHOULD have been making for years. I know you are in a rush but take your time to make a quality product, okay? Otherwise, you'll have to revisit square one and will have missed the boat TWICE.

Ah! I do love the smell of regret and checked bigotry in the morning!

My personal favs are: the primer, the foundation and the blotter for shine.








PS Here are some small Black-owned beauty brands that have been in the trenches for a bit:

https://www.juviasplace.com/

https://www.apdg.co

http://www.blackupcosmetics.com

https://plainjanebeauty.net/

http://www.magnoliamakeup.com/

http://www.lawsofnaturecosmetics.com/

https://www.thelipbar.com/

http://www.veramoorecosmetics.com/

https://www.goldlabelcosmetics.com/

https://baabsbeauty.myshopify.com/

https://ajcrimson.com/

Happy Birthday, Miss Lola Falana!

Born this day in 1942. Lola Falana. An Afro-Cuban Philly, PA girl by way of Camden, NJ. A woman of many firsts. A fixture on every late '60s through early '70s variety show. The one known for her perky "backside" before all the other Janies-Come-Lately. A recording star. A TV star. A dancer. A Las Vegas star before the concept of "residency" was even dreamed up. Vixen before the video age. Often casts as the temptress in films. Face of a major cosmetics campaign (Tigress perfume). Once wife to Feliciano Tavares of the '70s group, Tavares. The total package. Survivor of multiple sclerosis. Human. Lola Falana.

Happy Birthday, Lola! MUAH!

https://blackthen.com/%E2%80%8Bhappy-birthday-ms-lola-falana/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Falana











ps Rihanna vibe in the second pic? Or Rihanna is a tad Falana-ish these days? You know what I mean.

Serendipity and Sloane Stephens, champ!

CONGRATULATIONS, SLOANE!

I'd say hold that place for Serena until she gets back but...You are your own force!

I must admit. If it were not for Venus, Serena, you, Madison Keys, women's tennis would be BORING! Boring I tell you. The sport is ALIVE because of BLACK women! Big statement, you say? Well, it's true.

I did yell out loud when Sharapova struck out. Sorry. But not really. I still boil at the thought that she makes the most in endorsements when it comes to women in tennis, but is still considered a TENNIS star. She's not that good. But, that's the way of this world when one is born with that aspect. Girlfriend will be just fine, though. Maybe Enrique will marry her. They still together?

Anyhoo, Sloane, hunty, enjoy that trophy and that check. I saw your eyes. Never seen that many zeroes, right? Kick back, do the vacay thing and hug yourself. Then prepare for that Clash of the Titans should you face Venus again and definitely when Serena returns. With those genes and that talent dashing around, that court is gonna be on fiyah!


Sloane's late father, NFL Running back, John Stephens wgho played for the New England Patriots




Sloane with her equally gorgeous mom, Sybil Smith, a top athlete in her own right. Was named the best swimmer that Boston University ever had!

The Ark of Return - A tribute, erected on the grounds of the U. N, in memory of the lives changed and lost during the Middle Passage into slavery

I am ashamed that I'd never heard of this. But it's sort of par for the course here in the States. Any apology or the mere acknowledgement of an apology to for Black misery and/or sacrifice is glossed over, or reported on the news in a 10-second snippet, or ignored greatly lest certain demographics take offense.

Well, I'm here to say: Be offended.

In 2015, a monument that had been commissioned to commemorate the end of the slave trade, was unveiled at the United Nations in New York City. The marker was created by Rodney Leon, a sculptor of Haitian descent. Side note: This talented man also created the African Burial Ground National Monument which resides in Manhattan.

The Ark of the the Return, as explained by the artist, is quite involved. Read his interview here.

I read a couple articles about the piece since I discovered it and all I can say is, I was moved to tears.
It's a piece that was looooong overdue. I suggest that for every Confederate hero statue being de-throned, a replica of this evocative sculpture be set in place.

That certain demographic I spoke of would survive. My people did.


2 Youtube videos on the making of the piece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqeMLnxHmy4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx-gnst3mC8

POWER - the Starz Network show's 4th season finale was all that!

POWER. My guilty pleasure. It's not a politically correct show. Not by a long shot. But I don't need it to be. Maybe that's why I love it.

I thought the week before last's episode of POWER (Sundays, Starz 9pm ET) was filled with angst and terror and sadness but this week's season 4 finale was all that and more. The family St. Patrick's dynamic played out in all its glory. Wife Tasha wasted no time in telling husband Ghost that their daughter's (Raina) killer has to be hunted down and killed. She told Ghost to get it right and to not get caught. She was in mourning mode and had no effs to give about anyonr's feelings, least of all her philandering husband's. She questioned Tariq, her wayward brother AND Ghost's son, about what he knew about his twin sister's killing. He said, "Nothing." But he lied. Tariq saw the whole thing, He knows who killed his sister (dirty cop Ray Ray) because the killer was gunning for him. Revenge belonged to Tariq tonight. The episode ends with Ghost, Tommy, his best friend, and Kanan (series creator 50 Cent) out hunting for the man (Dre) who'd arranged the hit on Tariq, but whose hitta killed Raina by accident. The Three Musketeers. It was all about business that turned personal that turned deadly. So much death, double-crossing and lying. My head was spinning. Will Ghost stay out of jail? Will Tasha keep him down again? Will Tommy lighten up? Man needs a vacation or some Paxil. All in all, a slam-bam season ending in a very involved, deep episode. The season closed on a tense high note and set up the purpose for season 5 perfectly. Long Live la famille St. Patrick and all their crooked co-horts.

You know what time it is.

Okay. Okay. I know I did this last year But so what? It's my blog. I can do what I want. I implore you. "Get up off of that thing. Dance and you'll feel better," said James Brown. Get on your feet. Welcome the month and say bye to the last unofficial weekend of summer according to those who run resorts (actually, you got another 31/2 weeks).

Whatever. Just dance to the iconic, legendary, unparalleled elements of the Universe!

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE!  

Bring it, Maurice, Philip, Verdine et al!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk




P. S.
I don't know which is more disturbing. The white go-go boots on the dude relaxing, or his burgundy knee pants, or the lime green pants, or the red flares right behind them. Or the fact no one looks embarrassed by their individual, or collective, ensembles. Such '70s goodness.