I REMEMEMBER EXACTLY WHO I WAS,WHAT I WAS DOING, AND WHY I WAS DOING IT. THE YEAR IS 1992, MY SON WAS 2 YEARS OLD! I WAS GOING TO COLLEGE, AND I REALLY THOUGHT I HAD THE THING CALLED LIFE FIGURED OUT. ALL THIS AT 21 YEARS OLD.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
MARY J. BLIGE...
A TRUE ICON.
I have always been a fan of Mary J. Blige. She represents true Strength, Triumph, and Transformation for and her many fans.
I get goosebumps watching her appear on Oprah, Tyra, and many other shows. We are the same age. I remember how raw, and hot! she was when she came out, I was living the typical hip hop life as a young lady in my early 20's (not that I am old). I was in College, with my 2 year old son Samuel on my back. Life was a hustle, I was working 2 jobs, catching th bus, and having drama with his daddy and his "other would be's. I have to admit, when I first heard her, I did not like her. However as I kept listening to her music I was like DAMNNN!! This chis is HOT!! I started trying to sing like her! (at home of course).
A TRUE ICON.
I have always been a fan of Mary J. Blige. She represents true Strength, Triumph, and Transformation for and her many fans.
I get goosebumps watching her appear on Oprah, Tyra, and many other shows. We are the same age. I remember how raw, and hot! she was when she came out, I was living the typical hip hop life as a young lady in my early 20's (not that I am old). I was in College, with my 2 year old son Samuel on my back. Life was a hustle, I was working 2 jobs, catching th bus, and having drama with his daddy and his "other would be's. I have to admit, when I first heard her, I did not like her. However as I kept listening to her music I was like DAMNNN!! This chis is HOT!! I started trying to sing like her! (at home of course).
She became my TOP FEMALE RECORDING ARTIST OF ALL TIME. She reminded so much of the 70's music era I grew up listening to.
Bobby Womack
Al Green
Barry White
Brook Benton
Sister Sledge
Chic
Aretha Franklin
Marvin Gay
Curtis Mayfield
Rolls Royce
Heck even the BeeGees's & Andy Gibb was Hot!! The list goes on! anyhow, enjoy the interview!
MARY J. BLIGE: Men, Marriage, Motherhood and 'Mahogany'
Posted May 14th 2007 2:20PM by Karu F. DanielsFiled under: Entertainment Newswire
By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
What is there not to love about Mary J. Blige?
For the past 15 years, we've watched her blossom from a hard-edged, street-savvy new-jill songstress to a critically-acclaimed, polished, much emulated cultural icon.
And 'Essence' magazine has been there every step of the way -- to help chronicle her remarkable journey.Talk about transformation.
The Yonkers, New York-bred Queen of Hip-Hop Soul is gracing the June edition of the best-selling black women's magazine. For her record ninth cover, the recently-married Grammy Award winner gets double exposure -- with two different magazine covers; one very beauty-oriented, the other with her new husband/manager Kendu Isaacs.
In a remarkable photo spread shot by Mark Liddell, the 36-year old Chevy spokeswoman channels the 1976 urban romantic classic 'Mahogany,' which starred Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams. (Pick up the actual magazine(s) to see the Asian-inspired centerfold. Very fashion forward!!!)
Together with Isaacs, a former business associate of Queen Latifah who now is a partner of Mary Jane Productions, Blige looks the happiest she's ever been.
They were married Dec. 7, 2003.
And for the first time the royal couple sits down together and talk about their courtship and marriage and how breaking through Mary's pain brought them to love.
"I came from hatred," Blige shared with writer Kierna Mayo. "All my life I've been in a bunch of junk where men were jealous of me. They wanted my career, they wanted money from me-something."Though Isaacs was married (with three children) at the time of their initial meeting, he turned out to be her knight in shining armor. "I said, Damn, he's cute, and then I left it alone because I thought he and Latifah were a couple," she recollected. "I didn't know for sure what was going on, so I went to work. We all hung out later that night, and we got to know each other better."
Blige's doubts of a relationship with Isaacs caused her to question her role in the ending of his marriage. "I thought, 'I can't do this. I'm not a home wrecker,'" she revealed. "I was like, give me a gun and I'll just blow my brains out, because I'm at the point of...like I said...my spirit is dead. There was a lot of pain, so I ran straight into more self-destruction. I was thinking about the wife, I was thinking about the kids, and I was thinking, I just don't want to be responsible for that."
Isaacs clarified to 'Essence' that his first marriage was already dissolving before Blige was "fully on the scene;" He said that today he and his ex-wife have a good relationship.
The six-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter has had her fair share of romantic ups and downs throughout her life. She has mastered the art of connectivity with her massive fan base due to the fact that her music has been an emotional canvas.
Future-wise, Blige contemplates motherhood -- as Isaacs' three children are very much present in their lives. "God's got to be done with me, the low moments and all the insecurities of the past," she confided about the possibilities. "Your kid is around you 24/7. When you have stepchildren, they come around and then they go home. My child is going to be watching me go up and down on the days that I go down. I don't want my child to feel what I felt when I was coming up, what it was like for my mother to hurt all the time. So I have a fear-it's probably one of my biggest fears-a fear of my child suffering, you know, with that energy."
On the professional front, Blige, who recently starred in the CBS series 'Ghost Whisperer'-- has been attached to a Nina Simone biopic project. According to Bridget Bland of 'MTV Radio Networks,' Blige will star in an upcoming episode of HBO's red-hot Hollywood series 'Entourage.'
The June issue of 'Essence' -- with that scandalous Andrea Kelly story in it -- arrived on newsstands, nationally, May 14.
ROCK ON MARY I SO LOVE YOU!!
Bobby Womack
Al Green
Barry White
Brook Benton
Sister Sledge
Chic
Aretha Franklin
Marvin Gay
Curtis Mayfield
Rolls Royce
Heck even the BeeGees's & Andy Gibb was Hot!! The list goes on! anyhow, enjoy the interview!
MARY J. BLIGE: Men, Marriage, Motherhood and 'Mahogany'
Posted May 14th 2007 2:20PM by Karu F. DanielsFiled under: Entertainment Newswire
By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
What is there not to love about Mary J. Blige?
For the past 15 years, we've watched her blossom from a hard-edged, street-savvy new-jill songstress to a critically-acclaimed, polished, much emulated cultural icon.
And 'Essence' magazine has been there every step of the way -- to help chronicle her remarkable journey.Talk about transformation.
The Yonkers, New York-bred Queen of Hip-Hop Soul is gracing the June edition of the best-selling black women's magazine. For her record ninth cover, the recently-married Grammy Award winner gets double exposure -- with two different magazine covers; one very beauty-oriented, the other with her new husband/manager Kendu Isaacs.
In a remarkable photo spread shot by Mark Liddell, the 36-year old Chevy spokeswoman channels the 1976 urban romantic classic 'Mahogany,' which starred Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams. (Pick up the actual magazine(s) to see the Asian-inspired centerfold. Very fashion forward!!!)
Together with Isaacs, a former business associate of Queen Latifah who now is a partner of Mary Jane Productions, Blige looks the happiest she's ever been.
They were married Dec. 7, 2003.
And for the first time the royal couple sits down together and talk about their courtship and marriage and how breaking through Mary's pain brought them to love.
"I came from hatred," Blige shared with writer Kierna Mayo. "All my life I've been in a bunch of junk where men were jealous of me. They wanted my career, they wanted money from me-something."Though Isaacs was married (with three children) at the time of their initial meeting, he turned out to be her knight in shining armor. "I said, Damn, he's cute, and then I left it alone because I thought he and Latifah were a couple," she recollected. "I didn't know for sure what was going on, so I went to work. We all hung out later that night, and we got to know each other better."
Blige's doubts of a relationship with Isaacs caused her to question her role in the ending of his marriage. "I thought, 'I can't do this. I'm not a home wrecker,'" she revealed. "I was like, give me a gun and I'll just blow my brains out, because I'm at the point of...like I said...my spirit is dead. There was a lot of pain, so I ran straight into more self-destruction. I was thinking about the wife, I was thinking about the kids, and I was thinking, I just don't want to be responsible for that."
Isaacs clarified to 'Essence' that his first marriage was already dissolving before Blige was "fully on the scene;" He said that today he and his ex-wife have a good relationship.
The six-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter has had her fair share of romantic ups and downs throughout her life. She has mastered the art of connectivity with her massive fan base due to the fact that her music has been an emotional canvas.
Future-wise, Blige contemplates motherhood -- as Isaacs' three children are very much present in their lives. "God's got to be done with me, the low moments and all the insecurities of the past," she confided about the possibilities. "Your kid is around you 24/7. When you have stepchildren, they come around and then they go home. My child is going to be watching me go up and down on the days that I go down. I don't want my child to feel what I felt when I was coming up, what it was like for my mother to hurt all the time. So I have a fear-it's probably one of my biggest fears-a fear of my child suffering, you know, with that energy."
On the professional front, Blige, who recently starred in the CBS series 'Ghost Whisperer'-- has been attached to a Nina Simone biopic project. According to Bridget Bland of 'MTV Radio Networks,' Blige will star in an upcoming episode of HBO's red-hot Hollywood series 'Entourage.'
The June issue of 'Essence' -- with that scandalous Andrea Kelly story in it -- arrived on newsstands, nationally, May 14.
ROCK ON MARY I SO LOVE YOU!!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
TEENS WORRY ABOUT ENDING UP ALONE ACCORDING TO STATISTICS.
ALSO I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT MORE AND MORE TEENS HAVE BROKEN BARRIERS IN TERMS OF RACE AND RELATIONSHIPS, THAT THEIR PARENTS STILL STRUGGLE WITH.
READ ON...
Youths fear decay of family
Posted by: "freeteensusa" freeteens@aol.com freeteensusa
Fri May 11, 2007 1:30 pm (PST)
Youths fear decay of family By Cheryl Wetzstein. THE WASHINGTON TIMES April 27, 2007 Family breakdown tops the list of concerns for young people when discussing their futures, while getting married and having children are overwhelmingly popular life goals, according to a survey. The findings were released this week by New America Media, in cooperation with the University of California Office of the President and Bendixen & Associates research company.
Young people have a "fear of winding up alone," said Sandy Close,executive director of New America Media, an association for 700ethnic news organizations that was founded in 1996 by the Pacific News Service. Members of the new generation, who spend much of their time on cell phones and text messaging, and "who we think of really as the connected generation is, in a way, most afraid of winding up without intimate connections," she said. There is a "deep yearning for traditional structures and values."
Another hallmark of this generation is its embrace of across-cultural "global society," said Ms. Close. Fifty-three percent of white youths and Asian youths say most of their friends are of a different race/ethnicity, while a smaller 41 percent of blacks andHispanics say the same. Sixty-five percent of those ages 16 to 22said they had dated someone of a different race, and 87 percent said they would be willing to marry someone of a different race. "So this is a generation that has worked through, in their own experience,problems their parents are still wrestling with," Ms. Close said.
The survey asked the 601 youths, 80 percent of whom were born in California, 7 percent elsewhere in the United States and 12 percent outside the United States, to identify "the most pressing issue facing your generation in the world today." Twenty-four percent chose "family breakdown" as their biggest concern, followed by violence in local communities (22 percent),poverty (17 percent) and global warming (14 percent). War and government issues ranked low on the list; drugs,"environmental issues in general," "economic issues" and "racism/discrimination" barely registered. Nearly 90 percent of the youths, who were all interviewed by cellphone, said it was very likely or somewhat likely that they would "be married or have a life partner at some time" in their lives.
The same overwhelming majority also thought it was very or somewhat likely that they would have children. The survey also showed a surprising interest in religion and spirituality: Seventy-three percent said those things were very or somewhat important, and a second question about religious expression found that only 3 percent of youths had no religious expression in their lives. The faithfulness of youths contrasts with other poll data that rank California as having the "highest percentage agnostic' adults in the United States," New America Media said. The poll's margin of error is four percentage points. Source:
(http://washingtontimes.com/national/20070427-121505-3193r.htm)
ALSO I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT MORE AND MORE TEENS HAVE BROKEN BARRIERS IN TERMS OF RACE AND RELATIONSHIPS, THAT THEIR PARENTS STILL STRUGGLE WITH.
READ ON...
Youths fear decay of family
Posted by: "freeteensusa" freeteens@aol.com freeteensusa
Fri May 11, 2007 1:30 pm (PST)
Youths fear decay of family By Cheryl Wetzstein. THE WASHINGTON TIMES April 27, 2007 Family breakdown tops the list of concerns for young people when discussing their futures, while getting married and having children are overwhelmingly popular life goals, according to a survey. The findings were released this week by New America Media, in cooperation with the University of California Office of the President and Bendixen & Associates research company.
Young people have a "fear of winding up alone," said Sandy Close,executive director of New America Media, an association for 700ethnic news organizations that was founded in 1996 by the Pacific News Service. Members of the new generation, who spend much of their time on cell phones and text messaging, and "who we think of really as the connected generation is, in a way, most afraid of winding up without intimate connections," she said. There is a "deep yearning for traditional structures and values."
Another hallmark of this generation is its embrace of across-cultural "global society," said Ms. Close. Fifty-three percent of white youths and Asian youths say most of their friends are of a different race/ethnicity, while a smaller 41 percent of blacks andHispanics say the same. Sixty-five percent of those ages 16 to 22said they had dated someone of a different race, and 87 percent said they would be willing to marry someone of a different race. "So this is a generation that has worked through, in their own experience,problems their parents are still wrestling with," Ms. Close said.
The survey asked the 601 youths, 80 percent of whom were born in California, 7 percent elsewhere in the United States and 12 percent outside the United States, to identify "the most pressing issue facing your generation in the world today." Twenty-four percent chose "family breakdown" as their biggest concern, followed by violence in local communities (22 percent),poverty (17 percent) and global warming (14 percent). War and government issues ranked low on the list; drugs,"environmental issues in general," "economic issues" and "racism/discrimination" barely registered. Nearly 90 percent of the youths, who were all interviewed by cellphone, said it was very likely or somewhat likely that they would "be married or have a life partner at some time" in their lives.
The same overwhelming majority also thought it was very or somewhat likely that they would have children. The survey also showed a surprising interest in religion and spirituality: Seventy-three percent said those things were very or somewhat important, and a second question about religious expression found that only 3 percent of youths had no religious expression in their lives. The faithfulness of youths contrasts with other poll data that rank California as having the "highest percentage agnostic' adults in the United States," New America Media said. The poll's margin of error is four percentage points. Source:
(http://washingtontimes.com/national/20070427-121505-3193r.htm)
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
"DRESS FOR SUCCESS WITH SWEETGYRL"
AS YOU ARE AWARE SWEETGYRL INC IS A PROGRAM FOR TEEN GYRLS. WE PROMOTE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, DRESS FOR SUCCESS, WHY HATE THE OTHER GYRL, MATH & SCIENCE CAREERS, AND WHY HATE THE OTHER GYRL. TODAY MANY GYRLS DO NOT HAVE THE TRAINING OR UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF HOW TO "NOT" DRESS FOR WORK OR INTERVIEWS.
THIS ARTICLE WILL SHED LIGHT ON SOME OF THE DO'S & DON T'S.
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