Coming Alive w/Erykah Badu & The Roots @ The Greek

It's been almost 24 since the show and it's still on me...still in me.
I feel like I've been up all night long eating delicious food,
engaging in mind-blowing conversation.
And I'm still NOT tired!

When you watch the Roots perform, you ask yourself a couple of things. One is "How in the world are all those other fools who call themselves rappers surviving in the rap game?"
The other is "Why after being in the game at least 10 years are they still opening for people?"
This is a live band with a conscious that actually has something meaningful to say. They are the Earth, Wind & Fire of Hip Hop.
The Roots Are The Truth!
They're music means something.
They are speaking about us, to us and for us.
And it's sad that not enough people are hearing it!

I must admit that I was expecting complete foolishness from Erykah.
But she brought it last night!
Erykah has changed over the years.
The dreads, the incense, the sarongs had all been replaced by this ridiculously large afro with goldfronts and name rings.
So when she sauntered onto the stage in a red plaid polyester suit w/ light colored chucks,I was afraid...
Until she started singing!
It didn't matter what she had on when she opened her mouth.
She was STILL Erykah Badu!
The new album is an aquired taste and I love it. It's a social, political work.
A piece that would make Marvin Gaye proud.

We transitioned between Baduizm to Mama's Gun to
Worldwide Underground and then New Amerykah.
She took us there and then told us 'to scream your own damn names.'

Her background singers were thick. brown. vivacious. lovely.
And they sang like they needed money for food.
Their harmonies were so tight I thought to myself 'Erykah must be beating them'.
I can see her walking through their rehearsals,
stick in hand like Debbie Allen on Fame telling them to get it together.
These girls are SICK!!!
They smile while they sing.
They are trying to kill you.

It was Hip Hop R&B. Pure delightful deliciousness and we were pumping our fists in the air with fury, moving our bodies and belting out the lyrics to the song 'Danger' to the top of our lungs...

"Because they got the block on lock
The trunk stay locked
Glock on cock
The block stay hot
Block on lock
The trunk stay locked
Glock on cock
The block stay hot" !!!

At the end of the show, Erykah shook hands and said to hello to everyone in the
front row of the pit. I was fortunate enough to tell her how beautiful she is.
She is.


photo~ken hively latimes

Sex And The City

I hadn't seen the girls in a while so I was excited.
This had been a long time coming. I treated it like I was going on a date.
I showered, flossed, threw on my lipglass, and I was on my way!
The anticipation was more than I could handle.
The previews before the film seemed endless.
I was thinking 'Get on with it already'!

And then it happened. Carrie appeared on the screen.
Aaaah!! I knew it'd be brilliant.
Michael Patrick King had written and directed the movie.
And if you're a true SATC buff you know that he was born to do this.
Some of the most classic episodes and quotes from the show were written by him.

Back to the movie....

So suddenly they were all there....Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha!
I was jumping up and down on the inside.
Carrie was with Big...er, uhm, John Preston!
Samantha was in Los Angeles with Smith Jarrod.
Charlotte and Harry had their adopted daughter.
And Miranda, Steve and Brady were still in Brooklyn.
Even Magda was there. I thought that was a nice touch.

The girls looked fantastic! Especially my girl, Miranda.
She looked absolutely amazing in every single frame of this movie.
And they owed her that because we all know that Miranda wasn't
looking so great the first couple seasons! Kudos to Pat Fields!


So....the movies good! I'm getting reaquainted w/
everybody and then things fall apart.
I didn't want to Steve to cheat on Miranda.
I didn't want Miranda to be so unhappy throughout the film.
I didn't want Samantha in L.A.
And what was up with Smith's hair?
I certainly didn't want Big to freeze at the wedding.
I didn't want Carrie to go on her honeymoon without him.
I didn't want Carrie to even go on the honeymoon.
(Shout-out to SJP for going on camera w/out makeup. She's a true artist.
Not many actresses would've done it.)
From the moment the wedding went wrong I felt myself holding my breath.
Everything got really slow from that point.

Why didn't they just turn around and go back to the church?
No one would've noticed. There was still time.
Why didn't Miranda just let Steve finish.
It wouldn't have been that long.
Why? Why? Why?

Overall, was the movie good? YES!
Did it have it's usual quick wit and sarcasm? YES!
Was Jennifer Hudson FABULOUS and believable and a welcome
diversion from the gloom? YES!
Did I eventually get to breathe? YES!
I just didn't want to sit uncomfortably throughout the whole movie
waiting for it.

I didn't want so much reality.
I wanted to laugh more.
I wanted more Stanford...more Tony.
I wanted more blowjob speeches and teabag on the sofa laughter.
All in all, I wanted the movie to start where it ended.