My mom loved Tina Turner! Actually, whenever my mom dances, I would often chant her on by saying "go Tina"! It was a term of endearment and a way to encourage her expressing herself via movement. (It was also my way of letting her know she "ate" whatever throwback dance move she just brought back to life and executed to perfection. lol.)
In a way, Tina was her Beyonce. Not in a weird, Swarm sort of way, but in a strong woman icon sort of way. Tina was such an inspiration to all of us. I remember re-familiarizing myself with her music for EllaMaeFlossie. Something that I admired about Tina Turner as a performer was her bravado. She shied away from the dainty vocals of the women from her era - Diana Ross, Lena, Aretha and she dug into the rugged, raw, tough bravado vocals. I LOVED THAT about her. I was inspired by her sho[wom]anship and her perseverance as an artist- surviving and thriving in spite of the bigotry of racism and misogyny.
I was so happy to hear that she had a statue dedicated to her memory in Nutbush, TN. Long LIVE TINA!!!!
While I didn't make it to Brownsville, I did make it to Music City and let me tell you, Nashvegas is a VIBE. I missed my NY chapter event this past month, but my dear friend and former co-worker Victoria Wasylak said it was AMAZING!! <3 However, since I was in Nashville to celebrate my partners' birthday, there was no way that I could miss the annual Block Party.
Let me tell you something, Daisha McBride doing a cover of Missy Elliott’s”Work It” is all you need to see this week in celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop.
First of all…can I say, hip hop artists don’t do enough covers. I’m not sure why or what the blow back is for newer hip hop artists to cover (or pay homage to) legendary artists…but every other genre thrives on cover bands. Not to mention in Music City, you can’t walk down Broadway without your ears being intercepted by musicians singing their hearts out and plucking the strings off their guitars belting the most popular classic rock hit or country ballad you’ve ever heard this side of the Mississippi.
With that said, I was so excited to get an invite to the Nashville Block Party at 6th and Peabody yesterday.
And more...Hot Topics this week...
Shiv Roy ATE and if you think that was an “emotional” decision at the end of Succession - you clearly don’t know Shiv. If you have to “eat sh!t” , you might as well swallow it whole. And Shiv said she rather carry the heir to Waystar Royco/GoYo. versus live in Ken’s shadow forever. (Also what was with Ken’s delusion “I’m the oldest boy!!!” Like Connor doesn’t exist in "your" universe? And the complete denial of killing that waiter was insane- he would’ve fumbled that company, eventually. And I think Shiv saw the future.)
Megan the Stallion - this none of my business, but if Queen Meg the Great has decided to go across the pond to find her a tall dark handsome gladiator- kudos to her. I worry about my cis straight sisters often. Just to reiterate...Y’all there’s a whole other world of men in Europe, on the Continent and in South America- do not feed into those trauma bonds with American black men. The system lied to us and sold us a dream…girlfriend wake up and find your gladiator- or at least let him find you...and guess what, he may not be American.
The debt ceiling- listen, Ronald Regan raised the debt ceiling 18 times, so don't be coming for Biden- and that’s all I have to say about that. NEXT TOPIC...
Tina Turner - we gave her her flowers while she was here and it still doesn’t feel like enough. <3
Remember that Tina dropped her debut album at 44...and the Nuggets are in the finals-so always believe in yourself... anything is possible.
To add to the excitement this week, I'm back again for the opening night at Photoville. Photoville is one of my favorite summer events- each year, I'm blown away by the curation and the talent presented. At this years opening ceremony Shani Kulture, Jamel Shabazz, Sue Kwon, Vikki Tobak and Joseph Patel.
peep all the dates this weekend: www.iamlikwuid.com
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