Chris Brown Bashing Doesn't Let Rihanna Live Either

Fox News is apparently not one of Chris Brown’s greatest fan networks. After bashing the Today Show for allowing the convicted Brown to perform, and set records, on July 15. He was met with praise and girlish smiles as he danced around and entertained everyone watching from the audience and watching from home.

So what he was all smiles throughout his performance, constantly acknowledging the love and dedication that he has to his fans? So what there was no implication of violent behavior on or off the stage? Fox News anchors felt the need to go back two years into an incident that virtually ended the young performer’s career. But while everyone seems to be entirely content and concerned with rehashing the events of that night to consistently place Brown in a bad light is anyone considering how the rebirth of such a horrible incident is affecting the victim?

Rihanna has grown quiet about her ex-boyfriend and probably will remain that way. After firmly addressing the events of that night with Diane Sawyer and a few magazine articles where questions were aimed at the assault, Rihanna seems more than ready to graduate from that moment of her life.

Yet, every time she hits a new landmark in her career, people like Andy Levy deem it necessary to rip the scab off of a wound that has been healing for a while now. Does anyone truly feel she wants to turn on her television and see people talking about how Chris Brown beat her almost senseless? Regardless of the extent of her injuries and her reaction afterwards, people are making it seem as if she should be looked at as a sheep for the rest of her life. Something that her latest album embarks to prove she has not been a sheep, is not and will never be.

The growing icon has expressed her hope for his future in the business and throughout life in general. Not that she wants to explore a relationship once again with him, but she wants to create new chapters in her book. How does anyone expect her to while every person with a voice refuses to allow her to turn the page?

Brown has tweeted his dislike for all the attention he is getting as opposed to ‘celebrities’ who have been stepping across the line for years and still will for years to come.

People make jokes about Charlie Sheen but refuse to adequately sit in front of a camera, with the exception of TV’s Dr. Drew, and have a concise moment to let him know how disgusting his actions are. Sheen has children involved in his eyebrow-raising lifestyle, while no one is doing reports upon reports about how they should be permanently removed from his home until he grows sober. How long did it take people to forget about Casey Anthony’s release after the verdict was confirmed? I have yet to see continuous sarcasm and subliminal shots thrown in her direction and she was accused of killing her own child.

The fact of the matter is that people are targeting Chris Brown. It has little to nothing to do with the extreme nature of the crime he committed or the parties that were involved. Brown is simply an easy target and the people attacking his character on a day to day basis find provoking a reaction from him entertaining. If you do not think he should be in the spotlight, why continue to place him there? If you really believe the kid should be stricken from this earth, then act as if he does not exist.

Contributing to his name by constantly mentioning it makes a person seem more agitated with his success than disgusted with his behavior. 

Watch The Throne Because This Is It

I wanted to become a bit more in tune with culture. No, I did not turn to the incomparable CNN newstation to get a taste of the latest riot clean up in London or the economic degradation the United States is showing an ample refusal of pulling ourselves out of. I add myself to the general population of citizens who know nothing about the economy clean up but everything about the effects until.

There is no good reason to turn on something that is present-day when trying to discover the better half of world history, the more profound and literate pieces of our being. Besides the inevitable lure of condescending music and scantily clad young women in front of a low budget camera, there are not many avenues to explore in today’s artistic expression. Unless the recent arrival of JayZ and Kanye West’s collaborative “Watch The Throne” effort is accounted for. The long anticipated album was predicted to give listeners a taste of royalty that the jesters of hip hop have made fans long for. The demonstrative script of fine wines, beautiful women and other worldly possessions that the common man has yet to dawn upon was released and set records with nearly 290,000 ITunes downloads through Sunday night. Who would have thought?

Sean Carter and Kanye West.

These two men have fallen upon a point in their careers where they can take the suicidal risks of a flop without truly losing any of their fanbase or their landmark credibility. Watch The Throne is not hip hop of the future or the past. It is simply something slick to listen to as you are cruising down the highway or just getting your day started, if you like to wake up to the blood curdling but somehow philosophically soothing screams of Otis Redding. Not only did the duo take a huge chance of backlash with the record ‘Otis’, but there are not many men in the business that could dish out the cash necessary to use a loop of such a historically trended voice. There is no doubt the overtly confident Mr. West and the business mogul that is JayZ have their fair share of a king’s diction and a mesmerizing definition of success, but why do their past reputations merit such a sound response for a somewhat bare project?

Where they came from is much more motivating than where they arrived and it should be that way. The journey of a millionaire should be mind-quaking enough to strike hope and change. When JayZ’s first album was released, Reasonable Doubt, on June 25, 1996 a legend was brought before us. At the age of 7, no one told me what real music was supposed to be. I just used my prior knowledge of my mother’s spinning Aretha, Anita and Marvin records to form my own juvenile conclusions. This marked the honesty and the true depiction of what Sean Carter was experiencing in everyday life. This was before it became more popular to rap about where you wanted to be as if it was where you stood in class as you spoke. The single “Ain’t no N*gga” featuring a then 17 year old Foxy Brown with racy lyrics, had a beat that you could dance around to and lyrics that most teenagers and younger adults could have a strong feel for. This album marks the beginning of a long journey for Mr. Carter. Not that he needed much sculpting, but as he traveled to the heights of his career, the capacity of hustler tales waned as they are morally expected to. The timeline for his albums is extensive however each album does not put a staple in the turning point of his attitude towards the game, his life and his lyrics. That would be left up to the next hip hop hall of fame worthy display by the Jigga Man.

But, we all know JayZ’s legacy. We all have made reference to it whether we were bringing up the good old days where  a quarter bag of chips was still a quarter or when the only cigarettes small children had in their mouths were the ones made of gum that just so happened to blow powder. It made you feel just a little older while enjoying the adolescence of the empty summer days and the occasional ice cream truck. Kanye West, on the other hand, came into his own through controversy, teddy bears and a College Dropout CD with an air of guideline deformity and golden pillars that have yet to be touched again by the sometimes troubled rapper. Yes, we saw the coming and going of the ‘Graduation’ and ‘Heartbreak & 808s’, but there has never been a greater shaped compilation than his debut album.

There was also nothing much stronger a statement than when he was on live television after the Hurricane Katrina massive disaster and said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Of course you could add his comments of the up and coming Taylor Swift for shock factor, but that spoke volumes of embarrassment, not social change and the African American position in America. What he said about George Bush meant something as did his lyrics in songs like “Spaceship” and when he rapped about his life-changing car accident through clenched jaws in “Through the Wire.” Mr. West is still ever so creative, but it was so much easier to relate to someone rapping about things that took place in modern society than to listen to someone brag about their riches, jumping lines at the hottest clubs, swimsuit models of all races and money stacked to epic proportions. Those lyrics give a tad bit of inspiration, but there seems to be less of a grind now that both of these men are sitting at the top.

Is there anything obscene about being comfortable? No. We work every day and all day just to be able to be placed in a spot of comfort for a few seconds, let alone to be able to rest for the rest of our lives. JayZ and Kanye West have worked hard enough to achieve and amply take advantage of that opportunity. Still, while I was listening to ‘Watch The Throne’ I could not help but think that they were at the peak of their talents. This is it. There is nothing after this album that could come as a shocker and the ‘Otis’ single is not a precursor for greater things to come. There may be many notes played with a Jay or Ye hook and/or verse attached to them. The production may be mind-boggling, but the reason you may not thoroughly enjoy another ‘pre-ranked’ album from either of these men is that it will not reach the height the pre-described gesture of grandeur supported.  The lyrics will be merciless. But aren’t they always?

Kanye West and Sean Carter have done tremendous things with their talents that have generously been separated from the characteristics of the average man. But, we as fans will have to settle for a repeat effort.

Watching the throne has become so redundant that the dethroned and commoners walking around the gated kingdom wish to watch Mars or Saturn instead. Is there anyone that can survive at those heights? 

Sex, Love And Drugs

There were tears

There were those moments where blood covered the wounds

Those internally scarred emotions hidden

Smiles showed only what was supposed to be

While the reality was pure Hell wrapped in tattoos and vodka

Shot glasses tossed into walls as a drunken rage

Led to red spotted walls and stupors into tomorrow

The morning breakfast fills the room with an aroma

That momentarily guided the attention from the swollen joints

To the perception of a perfect day

Far away lying in a ditch of wishes

Souls intertwined through love clash as titans

As Aphrodite appears every blue moon until Ares blasts through the body’s temple

That was raw emotion

It was the steady flow of passion that made the fists so powerful

Leading to a heart beating rapidly repeatedly

The sweat burns the scratches but feeds the moment

Two lovers disappearing in time

Closing their eyes imagining the memories replaying in their memory

Brains shut down as a colossal misjudgment allows a diehard bond

Never belonging in the same region cupid forces the reunion

Half praise, half nays no explanation is given

The rhythm of the pulse keeps him and her aware of the time

Clocks aligned on a wall meant for photos

But the wallpaper dwells beneath pretend happiness and faulty appreciation

That was raw emotion

Sitting in the corner rocking and wondering

Comparing love to the comedic relief on the movie screen

Not realizing that no love story ends with winners

Losers stem from the mentally abusive aspect of it all

She bleeds as he needs to define the purpose and refine the structure

No one can bless a union so filled with hate and anger

God tries to push them apart

And while they strain to remain they spontaneously combust

Into a force of redemption and excuses

Feeling less than nothing the numbness allows continuance

The rawest hand ever dealt

Far after they’re long gone

We point and wonder

Wish and hope

Miracles and Dreams

The reality of a nightmare.

Ladies Stop Pretending!

Why when a woman expresses her desire to be in the sports world, off field or court, she is deemed a groupie? There are actually those of us who grew up on the games. Not that we all had those magical moments where our fathers sat down with us and tried his darndest to teach us the ins and outs of football, but some of us just assimilated knowledge on our own free will. It has nothing to do with how much they make or how good they look in those uniforms, which honestly are not that appeasing.

I want to look the women in the face who watch the games for the a** and request their female freedom papers. You are setting us back ladies. I, for one am infatuated with the amount of aggression in sports. But, not just the men’s leagues. There are women in the sports world that do just as good of a job, but are regarded much less than men with half of their talent. The WNBA has grand potential. Unfortunately, the uniforms are not short and skimpy enough to make enough men take notice. Only true lovers of the game will be drawn to a great female athlete with an unguardable hook shot.

Back to the pretenders. Acting like you appreciate the game is doing nothing for the women who actually know what they are talking about. What is the point of pretending anyway? Who said that the blueprint to a man’s heart involved and avid love for his favorite squad? You are better off buying cooked food from your local grocery store and passing it off as your own. If your life goal is to get a man, cooking and self-respect should be your main priorities.

Or what about accentuating the great things about yourself? Keep it clean. Keep yourself properly groomed. There are some things a fake love for sports just cannot contend with, such as a lack of personality, originality, sense of style or intelligence. You may pretend to love the game but you cannot spell it, you probably will not travel too far up the totem pole.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to watch the game with your man to let him know you can take time to enjoy the things he takes part in as well. Just do not challenge a man to a sports’ trivia sound off simply to impress.

It does not work that way. 

Waking Up

I woke up this morning with a huge smile on my face. Not because I woke up to a bank account trembling with zeroes and commas. Not even because I woke up beside the one I love the most. I woke up this morning with a huge smile on my face because of the fact that I woke up. That type of appreciation for life has never dawned on me before, so it took me by surprise.

My happiness was actually awkward.

This is a moment in life that should never take as long as 22 years to come upon. Yesterday, I turned 22, and still had no feeling of growth or change about myself. This morning, however, I woke up knowing who I am and where I am going to arrive in the near future. I never thought too deeply about direction, simply because I always felt lost in my own space.

Of course there are things that I would love to accomplish. But, never before had I truly sat down and calculated the moves I needed to make to get there. I guess it is called maturity. I am finally a mature young woman with goals in mind (and a five-year plan in the works J ). You should be proud of me.

I’ve made a mental step towards becoming the most desirable woman on the planet. I’ve already got the physical 80% covered. Oh, come on. There is always room for improvement. 

Pursuit of Happiness

I crave the air you breathe so that I may become higher than those around me.

You are blessed with the credence of spirituality and the tenacity of love.

Striking my heart’s chords with the same thumbs that brush my hair out of my face

I looked into your eyes for the first time last night

Really looked

I saw the inner makings of a miracle in the VIP lounge of heaven

Promoted by God’s graces neverending with kisses and love for the ages

I spoke to you

Through my mind’s eye creeping into your bedroom

Your bed, your sheets

The feeling of warmth as glaring eyes increasingly open to what’s really happening

Am I in love

That can never be

Love was never meant for those who didn’t believe in the existence of glory

Fate was only made for those with a craving curiosity of the future

Believing in the power of the present does not allow the consistency of emotion

Therefore I sit back and watch as everyone pours out their heart

Their souls resting comfortably on their sleeve

Never dawning on me that mine’s has been caught in an emotional rapture

Smiles come easier without lying to the only one who can truly tell the difference

Yet mines are forced and pushed the forefront of a rock hard persona

That keeps me from being broken

But keeps me from pursuing happiness

A beautiful smile comes from a place of faith and resurrection

A soul at peace

A heart broken and mended

A love untamed