Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Why We Need The BET Awards

We're fabulous, we look good, and we never know what to expect from each other. Usually the surprises are amazing. This is why we all tune in every year for the BET awards. 

This awards show is a permanent fixture in our lives. For some people, it's one of the few times they can see Black people come together in unity to celebrate talent. For the 2015 BET awards so much talent was celebrated. The show started off with Kendrick Lamar, who is unarguably the best rapper out right now, and ended with Fetty Wap, who has been having the best year ever. 

Speaking of the best year ever, this awards show allows us to get more creative with our looks every year. Last year Debra Lee showcased her new natural look and this year it was obvious she had embraced her natural hair even more. She looked good. We were also able to see Dej Loaf's transformation that's clearly still a work in progress. Dej started off looking like a tomboy and is embracing her femininity more and more as her career grows. We can probably attribute Dej's changing look to her connection to Nicki Minaj. 

While others definitely disagree, my favorite hair look of the night was Keyshia Cole's fabulous Blue hair. It's one of my hair goals. 

As you all probably noticed Keyshia Cole used the platform to let everyone know she's releasing her next album independently. That means no record label will be backing her up. This is one reason why this awards show is important for us. We can promote ourselves to each other. 

For those that disagree, just think about it. Where else can you get Tamar Braxton, K. Michelle, and Patti Labelle on stage together singing one of Mama Patti's classics? We don't want that on MTV. Where else could you have a Bad Boy reunion and be able to laugh as Diddy shows out? We wouldn't want to give that to Billboard awards. No other awards show could do us justice like our own. Plus only on the BET awards could Smokey Robinson remind us to stay humble while receiving his Lifetime Achievement award. 

Really, we need the BET awards. We need to embrace it, love it, and care for it as much as possible. Every year we need to continue tuning in and making the ratings higher because supporting our artists is important no matter what we personally think about them. 


Monday, June 29, 2015

#BETAwards2015 Bad Boy Performance


P. Diddy and some of his artists from Bad Boy records were able to make it to the BET awards this year to perform.

The performance showcased Diddy having so much fun he fell in the middle of dancing, Mase coming out of hiding, Faith Evans being fabulous as usual, and the greatest part was Lil Kim rising from under the stage doing her famous squat. No matter how much she's tried to change herself she'll always be the Queen B. Watch the whole performance below.

       

Big Sean's 'Martin' Inspired Visuals For 'Play No Games'


Friday, June 26, 2015

Fetty Wap & Jhonni Blaze~ Ride or Die

There are many R&B and Hip Hop artists trying to be heard through the Love & Hip Hop franchise, but not all of them make it past the ratchetness. While Jhonni Blaze seemed like she was going to get lost in the drama on LHHNY, she is now proving otherwise.

She and Fetty Wap recently released a very catchy hit called Ride or Die.  Listen below. 

Celebrities Text Instead of Answer Calls Too

One of our favorite R&B singers/actresses, Brandy, will have a cameo appearance in the upcoming movie The Perfect Match. She talked about how she received the opportunity on her website and in that moment she did what many of us tend to do. Instead of answering the phone when it rings, we sometimes text the person back.

The person calling Brandy was Terrance J and she was glad she responded to him. She has even made a video where she talks about her experience. 

#RomanceInTheSummer 7 Whole Days (Poem)

I used to think Toni Braxton's 7 Whole Days song meant that if he disappeared for a whole week it automatically meant you were single again. However, as I'm getting older and running into more men with commitment phobia, I'm starting to realize maybe there's something deeper. 

When this happens we are single. We are absolutely free to date as many men as we want. However, we have feelings and most of the time we want that man of the moment to be the only man for many moments, if not forever. So from experience, I now know that some men will disappear on you after they've gotten what they initially wanted, but then they'll eventually pop back up again. How do you react to that? Do you push them all back out of your life for good? Do you allow one or two back into your space because of unfinished business? I don't have the answer, but I do have a poem. Keep reading. 

7 Whole Days
7 whole days, not a word from you. 7 whole nights, if you come back around again, you’re just here to fulfill my physical needs.
And I’ll call you a friend, or associate, whatever fits in the moment.
Let’s keep it casual, the way you wanted in the beginning.
See I’m working on suppressing my feelings, trying to not to dream up ideas of what could be, what I know you don’t want.
No, we’re not that beautiful couple that was seen walking down the street holding hands, and we’re not the type to spend all our free time together trying to get to know each other.
Fuck it all, not letting my imagination run wild about wedding ideas and imagining what our beautiful kids could look like.
Forget ideas of growing old together and being an example of what real love looks like.
What’s real love to a man who’s only offering his dick for comfort and what’s real love to a woman who’s only been exposed to males willing to fulfill her sexual desires?
See I’m trying to compromise, give up a fantasy for a reality I’m not so sure about.
I want to feel your touch, let your hands explore my body, let the words you only mean in the moment take control of my mind.

I want to touch you and feel you for as long as you allow, and then when you disappear again I want to accept that too.
Also check out my Twitter hashtag Romance In The Summer. Add to it if you'd like. I'd love to read your romance or road to romance stories. 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Marques Houston~ Need You

When starring in a movie and you have the gift of singing, the only thing better is putting out new music.

Marques Houston will be starring in the TV One movie Will To Love Saturday June 27th. He's also released a music video for a song called Need You. Listen below.



'Will To Love' Introduces Draya Michele As An Actress

Draya is working on her Will To Love and moving past reality television, sort of. 

When reality stars get together, there is bound to be some kind of confrontation. The latest happens to have featured Draya Michele (Basketball Wives) and K. Michelle (R&B singer & reality star). They were on BET's Post show and the tension was noticeable. Finally K. Michelle admitted that she was still holding onto the fact that Draya called her ugly via twitter years ago. Usually something like this can lead to a huge fight, but Draya simply said that she didn't recall saying that. Why try to remember old messiness when you're about to star in your first film? 

Lately we've been seeing Draya all over the internet streets because another seasonn of BBWLA is about to start. However, her name is also out there because she's about to show us all that she can act. 

The movie is called Will To Love. It stars Keshia Knight Pulliam, Marques Houston, and introduces Draya as an actress. Ready or not, we're about to see her growth. 

Will To Love comes on June 27th on TV One at 8 pm eastern .

Big Sean ~ I Know Featuring Jhene Aiko.


I Know by Big Sean and Jhene Aiko describes my dating fantasies all the way. If only I could meet a man that was willing to follow through and make the fantasies a reality.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Leave It In, Ginuwine Is Trying To Get Us To Make Babies

There are condoms, there's trying to pull it out right before he cums, and then there's just letting everything naturally happen as your bodies flow together and he cums inside of you. That's when it becomes about much more than sex. Ginuwine's newest song is definitely baby making music.

It's called Leave It In and nothing is left to the imagination in the song. Listen below. 

Video By Singersroom.com


This Is Not A Goodbye To Cable

How much longer can MiMi Faust's sex tape be a topic on Love & Hip Hop Atlanta? Will Kendra and Hank finally reveal what really happened with the transgender person on Marriage Bootcamp Reality Stars? Devious Maids was initially cancelled and then renewed for a 3rd season after complaints, so will I feel bad for no longer being able to watch it? These are just a few thoughts that have run across my mind when thinking about canceling my cable.

The plan is to watch the BET awards first. I haven't missed an awards show since it first aired in 2001. While others may feel different, this is the awards show that helps me to appreciate being a beautiful Black person even more. Every type of personality gets shown at the BET awards. There are the celebrities that don't care about media training, the new artists that are trying to shine, the ones who have been around for a while, and the legends. It's the award show where Gospel music gets stuck in the middle of the most profane secular music and it still flows. I just absolutely appreciate it all.

However, I don't appreciate an unstable cable bill. Currently I'm also not appreciating more bills with the same amount of money hitting my bank account every two weeks. It's stressful watching my "get out of the house money" go to staying in the house stuff. Cable is a "staying in the house" activity.

While it will be cool to save a little money, this is going to be hard. Every night after coming home from work my first activity is to find out what I missed on television. The DVR is your best friend for still catching missed shows the day of. I'm going to have to say goodbye to my best friend for a while.

On the other hand, I'm replacing it with Netflix, so there's a bright light in the middle of this tunnel. This isn't the end of my cable days. It's just a "see you later" moment.

Friday, June 19, 2015

(Poem) Promises You Made

I was listening to K. Michelle's song Right One and started reminiscing on some things men said they would do but never did. I've had several men talk about taking me on dates, but at the end of those days they never planned anything. I could have planned something, but I wanted to see what they could do. See deep down I can be the best lover a man has ever had, but he also has to cater to my needs. Anyway, listening to that song inspired a brand new poem. 
K. Michelle knows how I feel. 

You had one job
 To impress me
But you couldn’t even get that right.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, or the good old Cellphone
There are a million ways we could’ve kept our communication going
Maybe I would’ve come off more flirtatious, a little more relaxed
But somewhere along the way you started a conversation and forgot how to continue responding back
A gentleman is what you claim to be
So I thought it was smart to hand you the control
You were supposed to decide where we were going
Dinner and a Movie, Picnic in the Park, a trip to the Museum, Art after Dark
There’s an unlimited amount of options
So I decided to wait very patiently
You asked me what I wanted and I told you upfront
I waited and waited long after you were gone
Got a little caught up in the fantasy of all the promises you made
Be there for me when I needed you?
Yeah you can do that
Make me feel like I’m special to you?
Yeah you can do that
Call me your boo?
There was never any chance of that because upon getting back to reality, I realized we never started a relationship.

 One day I'll write poems about love, but until then feel a little bit of the pain I've been through. 



Wednesday, June 17, 2015

#FreakinYou Bobby V. Says It's All That's On His Mind

"And when I get that feeling, girl I just need some healing."

Bobby V. has remade Total's classic hit,  Kissing you, but he's not missing his girl like the woman in Total's song was. All that's on Bobby's mind is sexing her. That's why he calls it Freakin You. If Bobby V. told you that getting freaky with you was all that was on his mind lately, would you let him?

Video By Singersroom.com

#Coffee That Time Miguel Did Porn


And pillow talk turns into sweet dreams. Sweet dreams turns into coffee in the morning.

We all know that Miguel is a freak, but a sex tape has never been leaked to the public. Instead he's showing us some of his erotic moves in his new music video for Coffee. Warning: the video is spicier than going to a porn site. Watch below.

You Can't Make Sense of Crazy #AskRachel #RachelDolezal

I have a confession to make. As a person who pulls her writing ideas from social media, huge stories that grabs almost everyone's attention knocks me off my game. I can't write on a new subject every day when everyone is still stuck on the same subject. With that said, this is my Rachel Dolezal post.

According to google CRAZY has several different meanings. Crazy can mean:


  • Mentally deranged, as in manifested in a wild or aggressive way
  • Extremely enthusiastic 
  • Extremely, as in any huge emotion you've had lately 


Clearly everyone doesn't have the same depth of enthusiasm. What one person may see as aggressive behavior, another will see as normal. Some people also exaggerate how extreme things are to them. Therefore, you can't reason out crazy. It's not to be understood.

However, in the last several days dissertations have been written about Rachel Dolezal. People have been angry with her actions and have begged for answers. Upon giving answers, people can still bee seen expressing how much they dislike (or hate) her.

If you haven't heard the news, she's a White woman who went to an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) and didn't feel like she fit in being herself. So over the years she decided to try and turn herself into a Black woman by wearing Braids, Afro's, doing community work in African American neighborhoods, and becoming the leader of Spokane, Washington NAACP. Outside of Washington her name was barely known until last Thursday when an article in a newspaper and a local television news story was done on her. It was a local story in the Northwest, but when something controversial hits Twitter it never stays local.

If this woman sounds crazy to you, then more than likely she is. In no way is this post meant to break down her CRAZY or dive too deep into her life. This is just written to let you know You Can't Make Sense of CRAZY.

Monday, June 15, 2015

#RomanceInTheSummer That Special Attraction / #BlackMusicMonth

I let him back in. He had access to my mind and freedom to explore my body. If only for one moment, I just wanted to feel him and him feel me. There was no fighting with my own emotions. I was lonely. I was horny. He had perfect timing.

Now lets get it understood (Oh Yeah)
That I'm a treat her real good (Oh Yeah)
And I'm a love her all my life (Oh Yeah)
And keep her flooded with ice (Oh Yeah)
Now just take my hand (Oh Yeah)
You'se my woman I'm your man (Oh Yeah)
Now you the one that I done chose (Oh Yeah)
And I don't love them other hoes (Oh Yeah)
Now make them niggas understand (Oh Yeah)
You already got a man (Oh Yeah)
You need a player that's strong (Oh Yeah)
And that'll never do you wrong (Oh Yeah)
And if them boys try to touch (Oh Yeah)
You should kick them in the nuts (Oh Yeah)
Cause them tittys just right (Oh Yeah)
Make a player wanna bite (Oh Yeah)
Cause I'm your one and only lover (Oh Yeah)
And we don't have to use a rubber (Oh Yeah)
Now look what we done did (Oh yeah)
Messed around and had some kids (Oh Yeah)
- Mannie Fresh (Oh Yeah, 2002)

In the months since we had last seen each other I'm pretty sure he had forgotten about me. He held onto my number, but I wasn't important enough for him to call. I had removed his number long ago after realizing it wasn't going to work out. Our minds were in two different places. While sex seemed to be the only thing on his only motivation, I was letting my imagination explore the possibilities of an actual relationship.

People still do relationships. They date and then eventually start referring to each other as their girlfriend/boyfriend. Thanks to the internet some couples prefer to say their Bae. A lot of them don't even wait until marriage to start having children together. The love is there, so why not start having children as soon as possible? People get into relationships and aim for that lifetime commitment with each other.

He'd stated before that a relationship and marriage wasn't something he saw in his future. This time I stayed away from asking. I didn't want to know. I didn't want to know about any changes of heart toward having a significant other or of any previous women he'd been with during those months. I just wanted to live in the moment.

And we lived. We searched for pleasure within each other and found it. And afterward I was able to keep my sanity at bay. I knew he would leave and it would be like a dream. There would be no point in waiting for his phone call or expecting him to show up again anytime soon.

However, the attraction he can't quite understand will have him coming back again.

Oh yeah, it's still Black Music Month.


Sunday, June 14, 2015

#RomanceInTheSummer Where Is Our Picnic In The Park?

In the 90 degree Houston heat, there is this perfect spot near a highway to take a significant other on a date.

Across from the highway is a building with employees from several different jobs. During their lunch breaks they have a huge tree with tables under it in order to eat lunch. They can relax on their regular breaks too, unless they get annoyed by the sounds of tons of cars driving by. However, if they don't enjoy that big relaxing tree on the side of the building across from the busy highway, couples can go to that spot on perfect dates too. It's the alternative to a picnic in the park.

If you think I'm revealing this relaxing spot, then you're mistaken. I'm coming up with alternatives to regular dating spots. Maybe that is why I haven't been on a real date in a while. Men are tired of the normal stuff. I'm getting creative. Below are a list of ideas I've come up with and just maybe some guy would agree. 


  • Go on a picnic date to a job where neither of us work at, sit outside with food, eat, talk, and enjoy the scenery. 

  • Entrap him with food and a good movie at the house. I've had trouble getting dates, but men have begged me to come over to my place. I don't always give in. However, I'm in the process of starting to cook regularly. He could think he's coming over for sex, but get to my place and have a nice home cooked meal first. Maybe he won't even want sex if he has a full stomach. Then again, if I say yes to him coming over sex is probably on my mind too. 

What do you think? Throw some not-so-common date ideas at me on social media? I've been going out by myself for a while, but I really want that date. 

Twitter/google- mrsstarstatus

Facebook- Lashuntrice Bradley 

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Why He Didn't Have To Worry About Baby Mama Drama #RomanceInTheSummer

He loved her at one point. He loved her so much that he didn't protect himself from her. He wanted her to experience all of him: his dreams, his reality, his intelligence, him physically. His physical needs were more important than anything else. His trust was high, so he did what he felt was best. He threw all caution to the wind and imagined creating a future with her.

Then again maybe he didn't imagine creating anything with her at all. He may not have been in love with her either. This guy was just open with revealing everything about himself and it just happened. This guy just woke up one day to the news that his girlfriend was pregnant. Then sometime between discovering that she was pregnant and her giving birth he started to question whether he was really the father.

He didn't have to worry about a paternity test though. The day his (ex) girlfriend gave birth another man also showed up thinking he was the father. It was more than likely a stressful situation. However, the baby came out still-born. For the woman, this was probably worse than anything else she could experience in life. She gave birth to a child that did not survive being inside of her. He, on the other hand, was very happy.

He called and I wanted him to open up to me about what had been going on in his life. This is the story he told. In his case by the due date, the woman that could have been the mother of his child turned out to be lying the whole time. However, one of my hugest fears is ending up in a situation where a man is questioning whether he is really the father of my unborn child. A woman does not have to be a cheater for a man to say that.






Ray J & Lil Wayne Are Loving That "Brown Sugar"

I love you like Brown Sugar? We've screamed and yelled for male rappers and singers to pay attention to us brown skinned women so much that maybe, just maybe, they are starting to get the message.

Lil Wayne has been one of the many rappers to give more praise to the light skinned women and women of other ethnicities. For instance in his song Right About It, Wayne says, "Beautiful Black woman, I bet that Bitch look better red." That song was released five years ago so maybe he has changed his mind. It definitely sounds like it on his feature in Ray J's new song Brown Sugar.

Ray J sings all about how he loves his woman like brown sugar. The artwork for the song also shows a brown skinned woman posed seductively with a ring next to her. Wayne joins him to bring the point on home. Of course several drugs are referenced and the addictiveness of the brown sugar is also mentioned repeatedly. Listen below.

The Support Of Friends Is Important For Bloggers (Video)


Blogger Brittany Gibbons was featured on Steve Harvey's daytime talk show recently and she proved a point many of us bloggers get caught arguing with friends/family over. That point is them actually showing support toward what we are doing.

It's not necessarily just us bloggers that get caught up in debating on why our families and friends should support what we do. People in many career fields find themselves alone in chasing their dream jobs. They reach out to family and friends when they are first discovering their talents. In this post we'll just stick to the creative fields. Friends and family struggle with accepting the idea of being an artist, or a musician, or even a writer. We're all taught that the real money is in teaching, banking, pharmaceutical/medical field, and engineering.

Even if they accept what you do they have a hard time making themselves available to support you. I don't know of any family that have actually viewed my blog. If they have they never let me know. As far as friends I have a few that actively show support and their support is very appreciated. However, I've lost count of other friends who have either said they don't read or they have wanted me to personally send them a link every time I publish. There is one person specifically who told me in several tweets how he's lazy and just can't click on the link to the my blog ever. I could have gone on in life without reading those words.

At one point I convinced myself that if anyone close to me showed support it was beautiful, but if they didn't then that was cool too. There are tons of strangers who are willing to read and interpret whatever I put out. However, Brittany Gibbons (unknowingly) proved that friends absolutely make a difference when they support your message.

Gibbons is an author, blogger, professional speaker, model, and has many other titles. Her current career started off from starting a blog to broadcast being confident in her skin. She was fat and she wanted to feel confident in her fatness. It has worked. This is also why she ended up on Steve Harvey's show recently. She was broadcasting her confidence, but she received a big surprise along with that.

Several women who were also fans sat in Steve audience and told Gibbons how she affected their lives. More than half of those fans were also friends of Gibbons. Yes, her friends were in the audience to tell her how her blog encouraged them to be better and feel better about themselves. Another amazing factor is that she actually met some of these friends because they started out as fans. However, the topic of turning fans into good friends is for another day. Watch the video below.

Again we can't force people to do anything they don't want to do. However, the support of friends makes a world of a difference.

P.S. This episode really didn't need to point out how important support is for bloggers. This is a support driven field. It thrives on views, shares, and comments.




Wednesday, June 10, 2015

#RomanceInTheSummer How Many Kids Is Too Many For Him To Have?

When you're a woman with no children, the expectation is to date a man with no children. At least that has always been my mindset. Even at 28, I prefer a man that is dealing with no baby mama drama. Rita Dove's Second Hand Man couldn't even change my mind after reading it so many years ago. I've always thought of it as his children will be my children. We'll create our own together. However, the older we get the harder it is to escape kid-less men.

That brings me to a huge question when trying to meet the man of my dreams. If a man has children, how many children are too many? See he could have that comfort, attentiveness, and enough money to understand my needs but if he has children I won't know how to vibe with that.

Some men get a thrill from being fathers even if they aren't with the mother(s). There are no limits to the amount of kids they create because they love the sound of the word Daddy. Then some men just love raw sex so much that they don't think about the consequences until they are swimming in tons of court-ordered child support. That might be Basketball player Dwight Howard's problem.

We've been exposed to Dwight Howard's parenting through Royce Reed. She was once a cast member on Basketball Wives, but he put so many limitations on what she could say or do as a mother that there was nothing to talk about when the cameras were rolling. Through that exposure we also found out that Dwight had several other baby mama's. Via The Jasmine Brand, there are currently eight of them. If at least eight women are mothering his kids, the amount of children he has is extreme.

Nothing could be as extreme as the man from Iyanla's Fix My Life last year. He had at least 34 children that he knew of. This put a whole new meaning on the desperation of love. It taught us that even after a man has 10, 20, or even 30 kids, women will still sleep with him in hopes of being that special woman. That sounds crazy, right?

Maybe my mind won't change any time soon but still let me know on social media how many kids is just enough for you to consider dating a man. It may be the circumstance of how the child (or children) was created that makes you give in.

Lashuntrice Bradley Facebook

+Lashuntrice Bradley

Twitter

P.S. I've also thought of it from the other side. What if I have a baby by a man that's not trying to have a family? No Joke! I've considered that if that happens I might take myself out of this crazy dating situation for good.

Planning Romance In The Summer

Hello single ladies. This is the summer to plan out romance. What type of significant other do you want? How do you want him to sweep you off your feet? What little romantic gestures will they have to do to make your day? Will you settle for a man that you see every once in a while or does he need to make an effort to show you that he cares about you?

Typically most single women (and men too) start searching out their next significant other around August or September when they realize cuffing season is coming up. During the winter months they want to have a warm body to lay next to. Also, we women want to make sure we have a man buying us Valentines gifts. Valentines Day is a lonely day when a woman is by herself.

However, it's 2015. Valentines Day was four months ago. Should we really be waiting another couple months to take the comfort of a relationship seriously? I'm not. I'm thinking of romance in the summer, kinda. A friend gave me the idea of really concentrating on what type of man I want. I know what I don't want. I know what I've been settling for. However, I have to concentrate on what type of man I really like. The old saying is to speak what you want into existence, so that is the goal.

There is one huge thing I've always wanted in a relationship. That is lots and lots of dating. This is also why a long-distance relationship has never been an option. I can't date if we're purposely thousands of miles apart.

You might be wondering where all this came from. Music inspired it. Men that are constantly sexualizing me, but not paying attention when I say I want more inspired this. Happy couples inspired this. But mainly music inspired it. I've been listening to Tamia's Love Life album. It would be amazing to experience what she sings about for myself.

Lashuntrice

Lashuntrice