The Original Drunk & Hot Girl

What separates a a good movie or a good book, for that matter, is its use of narrative. The best films tell stories that are timeless and apply universally regardless of the incidental details through which the real story is allowed to unfold. I watched one such film last night.

For the first time ever, I saw "Breakfast at Tiffany's." The 1961 film tells that story of Holly Golightly, famously played by Audrey Hepburn. The image of Hepburn as Golightly is not only her most notable but one that has become one of the most iconic characters of the 21st century. She popularized the term "little black dress." Her rendition of "Moon River" in the film, earned the songwriter an Oscar. It would be safe to say that the character of Holly Golightly is landmark in American films and her influence on pop culture is significant.

What few consider though is the tragic nature of the character. Ms. Golightly is the original, as Kanye would put it, drunk and hot girl. While sophisticated and charming, her character is as described by another character, "a phony." She appears to be of high society but is, in fact, an expensive escort who is obsessed with attaining the wealth of others. Holly's profession plays out in the typical tongue-in-cheek manner of the 1960's whereas her gentlemen friends all give her $50 dollars every time she visits the powder room. Although the character is completely deplorable on paper, when brought to life by Hepburn, her charm, popularity, and influence on the larger culture is undeniable.

The Holly Golightly's of the world are everywhere. They're on our T.V.'s in shows like "The Hills" and "The City." On those MTV reality productions, beautiful women with undisclosed backgrounds, lead lavish lifestyles and perpetuate a dangerous image. Because, just as with the character, people often forget the realities that go along with the glamour. Yes, the society women plastered across magazines are fabulous but at what cost? On his recently released album, Wale features a song titled "90210" named for the recently revitalized drama about pretty people with problems.

And she throws up whatever she eats

She leave the bathroom wit a nose bleed

Regular girl, Celebrity dreams

She is...(90210)

She live her whole life like tv

And she would do anything for everything

Regular girl, Celebrity dreams

She is...(90210)

~From "90210" by Wale

Wale wasn't the first to offer this commentary but his work among other examples provides a mirror to society about what we value and the factors that we disregard. In the end, Holly Golightly wasn't hot or charming. She's sad and not worth emulating. While many remember the opening credits of the film, it is at the cost of the real message of the movie evident in the final scene where the character of Paul says to Holly,

"You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact...because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself...It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself."

Wisdom From the Velveteen Rabbit

"What is Real?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Beyonce x Lady GaGa – “Video Phone”

Wale, Drake & Cudi Killed the Gangsta in Hip Hop

According to a recent GQ article, these 3 together killed the "gangsta" image in Rap. I'm sure somewhere Kanye is screaming about how he had the pinkest Polo's of all time but that's beside the point. If Gentleman's Quarterly is to be believed, one cannot help but wonder what did Wale, Drake, and Cudi do to drive out a character that has been as pervasive in the industry as gold chains.

Music has been peppered by the likes of 3000, Common, and Mr. West but never simultaneously and with such widespread success. As a proud Hip Hop head, I can attest to the skills exhibited by plenty of non-thug rappers over the years and their relative success but the mainstream appeal of these new jacks is a little jarring. People are taking note mostly because it all seems to be happening at once. In explaining the "gangsta killers" phenomenon, I would point to a few factors that may have influenced this shift, the first being attributed to the our Hip Hop head of state.

President Obama along with his First Family ushered in an image of Black America that wasn't new but had yet to be subscribed to. There is something undeniably Hip Hop about Barack Obama. He walks like a ballplayer and has a mastery of language that could rival Rakim's. People know that Obama is cool and his qualifications and political skill allowed them to vote for the smart, cool, black guy. With his election and the movement that accompanied it, many Americans have been able to experience Blackness that affirms more than guns, drugs, and hoes and I think the power of that experience has made its way into the buying power of the masses.

And then there was the Internet. While in years past, an emcee would have to struggle for distribution through a major label to get his songs to the masses, artists like Wale, Drake, and Kid Cudi have been able to use internet downloading as a proving ground for their unique brands of Hip Hop. In short, millions of downloads equal leverage. So instead of being molded into 50 Cent by label heads, now artists can blow up off of a mixtape while maintain their artistic integrity. There is no better example of this than Drake. After the huge success of his mixtape and the ensuing buzz, the rapper was able to secure a deal selling his music and image as is (a Canadian former star of a teen soap opera.)

With Hip Hop transitioning to allow for wider expression, I'd look to see what effect, if any, it will have on the culture as a whole. It brings me to question whether or not the "gangsta" will ever be killed in Hip Hop without the archetype being killed in our society?

These and other questions will hopefully be answered on mixtapes and albums to come...

Melanie Fiona "It Kills Me"

Wale - "Attention Deficit"

Wale - "Attention Deficit" Tracklist

1. Triumph
2. Mama Told Me
3. Mirrors (Feat. Bun B)
4. Pretty Girls (Feat. Gucci Mane)
5. World Tour (Feat. Jazmine Sullivan)
6. Let It Loose (Feat. Pharrell)
7. 90210
8. Shades (Feat. Chrisette Michelle)
9. CHILLIN (FEAT. LADY GAGA)
10. TV In the Radio (Feat. K’naan)
11. Contemplate

12. Diary (Feat. Marsha Ambrosius)
13. Beautiful Bliss (Feat. J. Cole Melanie Fiona)
14. Prescription

Download Here

Lisa Borders & The Tale of Two Cities

Much has been said about the recent Atlanta mayoral elections, specifically what the results say about the future of race relations in the city too busy to hate. Pundits have discussed whether or not runoff front runner Mary Norwood could be the first White mayor of Atlanta in over 30 years. They've discussed Kasim Reed's relationship to the city's Black mayor system, one that includes his former boss Shirley Franklin and his political mentor Andrew Young but within the easy narrative of Black vs. White is an untold story. Former candidate Lisa Borders, having been eliminated in the general election, represents the conflicted identity of Atlanta, one that is often ignored.

Almost from conception, Borders was a woman in the middle. Born the granddaughter of Wheat Street Baptist Church Minister and Civil Rights activist Rev. William Holmes Borders Sr, she was naturally endeared to the Black church community of Atlanta. In a city where the Black church is an institution producing civic leaders like Ambassador Andrew Young and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, religion met with her purpose. From her family, Lisa Borders inherited more than a pedigree but a call for social responsibility to vulnerable, often Black communities.

It was grounding that was necessary when Borders was among the few Black students that integrated Atlanta's prestigious and private Westminster Schools. This experience became her introduction to the bridge builder position that she would hold for most of her life, being on one hand deeply embedded within Atlanta's Black history and on the other learning and building relationships in the ultra exclusive and uber White private school of Atlanta's upper class.

Of her background Borders has said,

"We have had two Atlantas for far too long. Through my lifetime of experiences, I have lived, worked and played in both. As a child on Hunter Street, as a student integrating Westminster, as a healthcare leader and as a business executive, I have not had the luxury of choosing where I fit. I have been and must always be of Atlanta. "

When Borders announced her candidacy for mayor, she was the presumed front runner. Even after an extended break in campaigning, she maintained high numbers in the race, almost guaranteeing a runoff with City Councilwoman Mary Norwood. Norwood, while having raised a respectable war chest, was disregarded by Atlanta's politicos as a political lightweight who had done little in her eight years on City Council. The other candidate, Kasim Reed was substantial in his own right. Reed, after serving as the sitting mayor's campaign manager was heavily tied to the Black mayor system of Atlanta and seemed to garner little support across racial demographics.

Then, as if all at once, the carefully crafted coalitions that Lisa Borders built along racial and political lines began to crumble under her. In August, a controversial memo penned by a group calling itself the Black Leadership Forum was circulated calling on Black voters to throw their support behind Borders as the only viable Black candidate in the race. Within days, the conversation surrounding who would be the next mayor went from public safety and finances to the loaded elephant in the room. Reed called the memo divisive and "racist" while Norwood invited voters to judge her on her character not her color. In all, Atlanta's little problem of race became fodder for news outlets from the Wall Street Journal to the LA Times.

For her part Borders, dealt with the issue by releasing a statement that sought to pull Atlantans together around race. But by then, it may have been too late. Having identified the most sensational topic of the campaign, the media swarmed around the issue. The stage was set for the battle between White and Black Atlanta and as too often in her life, Borders was not easily cast on either side. Reed quickly adjusted his characterization of Borders to that of a puppet of her corporate and sometimes Republican associations. Norwood sharpened her attack of the longtime Black-run City Hall, including Borders in the cadre of Black leaders in her role as city council president. As the attacks persisted, Lisa Borders' numbers declined and voters moved to her competitors. In short, she couldn't out-White and Republican Mary Norwood or out-Black and Democrat Kasim Reed.

On Election day, the numbers reflected a shift that had been occurring the entire time. In the end, race won out and voters supported the candidates that best aligned with their racial identities. Borders walked away with hard-won 14% of the vote to Norwood and Reed's 46% and 36% respectively. The media has mostly been preoccupied with who she might endorse. Today it was announced that Borders will campaign on behalf of Kasim Reed and one can't help but wonder what this means for Atlanta. Is it this race's last act of racial conciliation and will it all matter come Tuesday, December 1st?

"We Were Once A Fairytale" - Kanye West Dir: Spike Jonze

What do you think? Does Beyonce still have "the greatest video of all time," as Kanye put it or did he give her a run for her money?

Morehouse College Plays Fashion Police

While at Morehouse College, I've become very skilled at ignoring the public perception of my institution. I've learned that it comes with the territory. Because HBCU's cater primarily to Black students and Morehouse specifically to young men, we Men of Morehouse find ourselves emblematic of any phenomena related to the Black community. That's why when Morehouse administration announced a new dress code, I wasn't at all surprised that the media hopped on it like vultures to a carcass. The policy included 11 points restricting attire to be worn on campus. The most notable are:

• No caps, do-rags and/or hoods in classrooms, the cafeteria, or other indoor venues
• No sun glasses worn in class or at formal programs
• No jeans at major programs, as well as no sagging pants on campus
• No clothing with derogatory or lewd messages either in words or pictures
• No wearing of clothing usually worn by women (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at college-sponsored events.

Media outlets including CNN, the AJC, and U.S. News & World Report all ran stories on the all-male school's decision to define, for students, what's acceptable dress and what's not. Why wouldn't they? Black men dressing anappropriately is a major issue according to Bill Cosby.

Of the dress code, new Vice President of Student Services William Bynum said, "I would say that about 95 percent of the students on this campus feel that appearance matters to them." He also called the measure an effort to "get back to the legacy." A student at the college was quoted as saying, "If anyone sees this policy as something that is restrictive then maybe Morehouse is not the place for you."

I would argue that neither Bynum nor the student quoted know what the hell they're talking about. To Bynum, I would say that the legacy of Morehouse is more endangered by misguided people with no connection to the institution who have unfortunately been given positions of power. As for the student who would make a comment to a major news outlet, without first thinking, limiting options is by nature restrictive. The purpose of any code or law is to restrict behavior. So while "maybe Morehouse is not the place for you" is a cliche often used by people who think that they are Morehouse, it sounds just as callous and stupid with every utterance, especially when in relation to words that you clearly don't understand.

With that said, there are two issues around this event that are worth serious exploration, the first of which is Morehouse's relationship to it's LGBT student population. Some people may be surprised by this but there are gay students at Morehouse. It may be hard to believe but Blackness and homosexuality are not mutually exclusive,even on a college campus. The same can be said of transsexual and transgendered students. Unlike with gay students, there is an issue presented when students at an all male institution identify as women, as was the case with a transgender student who enrolled last year.

Morehouse has undoubtedly made efforts to incorporate LGBT students into the school's mission and the ideas that it espouses. Most recently, President Franklin has stepped forward to address the conversation head on. After discriminatory behavior was found among members of the school's staff, they were promptly fired and an apology issued. I believe that the campus is dedicated to expanding acceptance of alternative lifestyles but the new dress code is nothing more than a poorly concealed measure designed to eliminate cross dressing in its student body. I cannot respect such half-assed efforts around an issue that is critical to the development of Morehouse. If we are, in fact, seeking to redefine the "Morehouse Mystique" then we must do it in a spirit of honesty and openness.

The second problem surrounding the new policy is the misguided nature by which it is designed to "get back to the legacy," as Dr. Bynum so ineloquently put it. There is no evidence to suggest that students currently enrolled are not performing well. In fact, Morehouse is graduating at higher numbers than ever. I would venture to say that the new dress code is an overreaction to alumni who think that "things 'aint like they used to be." Newsflash: things are never what they used to be and elders always decry the behavior of the youth. Their overreaction is not cause for this shift or the ensuing spectacle.

If there is a legitimate, measurable decline in the "legacy" or reputation of Morehouse College than I challenge the school to think of effective measures to challenge it. Instead of telling students what they can't wear, we need to facilitate an environment where young men can develop into professionals and scholars. Demanding that a man remove his hat isn't half as powerful as teaching why him why he should want to do it himself.

To see my college, in the news, in relation to anything but accomplishment is annoying. To have the media storm brought on by carelessly conceived policies turns my stomach, especially when we all know that Morehouse Men are nothing if not well dressed.

When a Gaffe Is a Gift

The voting public has become too comfortable with the everyman. Our narcissism has led us to supporting and sometimes electing official like Sarah Palin, Joe Biden, and George W. Bush who appeal the "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in all of us. Atlanta is on the cusp of making a decision that could put one of the like into the city’s most powerful seat. City Councilwoman Mary Norwood, polling in the lead, could very well be the next mayor of this major city because she is the person that voters would most like to have a glass of milk with.

If you haven’t heard of her then do yourself a favor and give her name a search on Youtube. What you’ll find is a peek into manic mediocrity. He hair is cut in a style that is reminiscent of third grade teachers. Her voice sounds like sweet tea being poured over ice. More than anything, I’m sure that you’ll get a sight of her old green Buick that she won’t let anyone forget she owns. Missing from all of this, however, is a platform that takes serious the very pressing issues that face our city.

I think it’s fair to say that Mrs. Norwood has built an entire campaign on the premise that she either cannot or has not read through the city budget, an item that has become a pseudo prop for her to wave at debates. “It’s nutty,” she says and by golly I betcha she’s right!

I’m sure that maybe you or I would have trouble combing through the dense document. But we’re not running for the office of mayor, neither is my third grade teacher or uncle who also happens to own a green Buick. While Norwood’s run makes for cute narrative, it also flies in the face of rationality and respect for the complex responsibilities of mayor. Yes, the budget is nutty but so is public safety. Her ignorance of both is not endearing. It’s scary.

I am terrified to imagine what Mary won’t know next. I hope like hell that the safety of my family and economic viability of the city that I live and work in will not be her next great mystery. Every now and then, the public is given rare insight into public figures through the occasional gaffe. Boy, is Mary chocked full of them. Those gaffes are like gifts from the electoral gods. Let’s take the omens that spew from Mary Norwood’s mouth as the blessings that they are.

There's a pretty funny video of Norwood out there too:

UPDATE: There's another floating of Norwood's greatest hits.

Kelis - "Get Along With You"

In Memory Of: Edward Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy
(1932 – 2009)

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die."

The Casualties of War

"You gangs, not that any of you are smart enough to read this, had better watch yourselves. We have guns too you lowlife punks." -Reader comment from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

In his first inaugural address, Franklin Roosevelt defiantly proclaimed that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." In doing so, he reassured a nervous nation in the valley of an economic depression. It was a sentiment that sustained the American people even throughout a great world war. What Roosevelt was espousing, a notion that seems to have been lost in time, is the crippling and dangerous affect of unchecked trepidation.

Today, in Atlanta, residents seem to have fallen prey to that which Roosevelt so wisely warned against over 70 years ago. Atlantans are afraid and more than anything they are afraid of violent crime. Recent stories, run by the city's major newspapers like the AJC, Sunday Paper, and Creative Loafing all suggest that lawlessness in rampant in the street of "The City Too Busy To Hate."

The headlines are not completely without merit. Over the course of an ATL summer, a City Councilman member was carjacked at gunpoint, a beloved boxer murdered, and the President of City Council had her house broken into twice. There is, without a doubt, crime happening in Atlanta but high profile crime doesn't necessarily mean an epidemic. In fact, according to recent statistics released by the FBI, violent crime is down in Atlanta by 10%.

These numbers haven't stopped newspapers from running headlines that depict Atlanta as a war zone or mayoral candidates like Kasim Reed from running on a platform created to whip up public hysteria and indignation to a problem that may be a matter of perception. Reed and other reactive lawmakers have gone as far to propose extensive city curfews that would keep citizens off the street after 6pm.

As a result of the frenzy around the issue of crime, conversations have begun around new measures to deter crime in urban areas, the most predictable being to restore the city's famed RED DOG unit which stands for "run every drug dealer out of Georgia." Despite the unit being riddled with citizen complaints in their heyday, the idea is picking up traction.

All of this points to a terrible possibilty that when people become afraid for their property or their lives, some of our most vulnerable are villianized and too often, victimized. While the Sunday Paper sells ads, networks get ratings, and some candidates garner votes, Atlanta's homeless population and residents of color are by menaced by the threat and reality of police brutality and neighborhood overreaction. These people exist in the "over there" that their neighbor's fear and seem to always "fit the description." They are the casualties of our irresistible fear and the wars that inevitably result from it.

The Sunday Paper Going Out of Business?

For weeks now, Atlanta’s “Sunday Paper” has been allowing a writer who will hereon be referred to as “She Who Will Not Be Named” (SHWNBN) masquerade gossip mongering and libel as journalism. Within the latest issue, she has littered perfectly good newsprint with an article about Atlanta’s Police Chief Pennington. In it, she clumsily insinuates that the tenured public safety official has been cooking APD’s books to make it appear as if crime is down in the city when in actuality, she argues, it is probably up.

“How does she prove it is up,” you might ask. She doesn’t. What she does though is give an inept explanation for how one might do such a thing. Then that explanation is supported by an anonymous statement from an officer who claims to have been encouraged to use the tactics. Never is there a piece of evidence showing that Chief Pennington is guilty of anything alluded to, just smoke, mirrors and carefully placed question marks.

The Pennington article is one in a series of printed pieces and blog entries where SHWNBN has decided to take on the establishment of the City with all the investigative grit of Nancy Drew and none of the due diligence of even TMZ. Her coverage of the mayoral race provides more blatant examples of bias and shady journalistic practices. This, my friends, is textbook yellow journalism.

The common definition of Yellow Press newspapers is as having daily multi-column front-page headlines covering a variety of topics, such as sports and scandal, using bold layouts (with large illustrations and perhaps color), heavy reliance on unnamed sources, and unabashed self-promotion. The term was extensively used to describe certain major New York City newspapers about 1900 as they battled for circulation.

I’m no Pennington enthusiast. I think that there is a legitimate claim that the citizens of Atlanta don’t see him enough and that the presence of a chief of police is most critical when people feel unsafe but I wouldn’t go as far as to accuse him unethical and probably criminal behavior. I wouldn’t do it because 1) I don’t want to be sued and 2) my mother taught me to not throw rocks and hide my hand.