Yo Latifah we can do this….. Okay so. I never really had beef with Latifah. I admire her. She was like a butch role model for me. No. She never came out or anything like that. However, she was harder than Mariah. It was the face of 90's hip hop. Pimping oneself hadn't become a matter of flesh yet. The hood opinion of itself was that we weren't one to be taken advantage of and if you tried. You might get your ass kicked.
No, for real.
In 1989 it was on. Vicariously my burgeoning masculine identity grew through Latifah (and MC Lyte more on that later). She was tall. Brown. Thick. And smart. She was the epitome of feminist black nationalism for the hip hop generation. She had backup dancers. The Safari Sisters. Fuck being a tomboy if I could just be a girl/woman like her it wouldn’t even matter. I would have respect. That’s what she had. Respect.
I learned to embrace my history through the stories 90’s hip hop was telling I was a backpacker and Queen Latifah was the first lady of conscious rap. I rocked red, black and green everyday. You couldn’t front on nationalism styles. That in itself was disrespectful. I brought the brown to my white ass school everyday and taught them words like dashiki and huto jambo.
Her first album All Hail the Queen was exactly what I needed. Hard. Smart. and to the point. I would also like to point out that the first song I ever heard in life was - Come into My House. I'll repeat that: THE FIRST HOUSE SONG I EVER HEARD WAS - COME INTO MY HOUSE. The Queen in Ms. Latifah was becoming more and more evident with each hook of "Give Me Body, Give Me Body" I loved the sound. I loved the range she could do no wrong.Ms. Owens moved into acting – this seemed to be the one place that either made or broke hip hop artist. You either came off corny, wack, or the audience was like “Damn, Let me find out they can act” Enter Set it Off. What is my blog called ? Dammit I said what is it called. I’m not even gonna speak on the role. But it was good. Why, cause she wasn’t acting.
Somewhere. Somehow things got ugly. She killed it when asked to sing. But now they wanted a show. A show of ass. Of flesh. The parades of yes men saying "you’re beautiful in that gown". A GOWN. Queen Latifah. Is not a gown wearer. Sure Sure. Dana Owens is not ugly. But she just isn’t the gown sort. More like Prada suits. (See Diane Keaton & Ellen Degeneres - Oprah is the Gown wearer) The yes men, turn Yes’m when the minstrel show asked her to be, what ? Funny. There’s nothing like black buffoonery, let’s put you with Steve Martin he’s good at prat falls and accidents….we need you to make your eyes biiiiiiiiig. Real biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig. Mister Charley? Mister Charley? The shuck soon turned to jive which brings me to the reason I’m posting. I was minding my business watching the fake lesbians fuck on Showtime. When I caught a preview of Queen’s latest: Last Holiday. I have suffered with her success, wanting for her the freedom of pride. I have seen her play a madam, a cop, a nanny, & lots of a loud ass black stereotypes. But the this, this was last straw. She’s playing meek, shy, and doomed. And to top it off – she kisses LL. It’s Ladies Love Cool J not Dykes Love Cool J. (He has nice lips I'll admit. dick sucking lips they're called) What the Fuck! Isn’t that some incestual hip hop shit. I mean if anyone knows what’s up with La it’d be a veteran like LL. But let me think…hey maybe he’s gay (maybe it is DL Cool J). I’d kiss a fag too. Do you La. Do You.
6 comments:
haha!! leave her alone. lol. no need to call out a fake butch. if it ain't in her, it ain't in her. maybe she's not even butch. yes, i have seen her in her element. i know. but still not every one who seems so, is so. everything isn't always what it seems. gotta add in thoughts and feelings.
Never called her butch. not once.
son. what?
her eyes what?
I see you are saying something about intensity. but it's too plain.
licking?
come again.
A
Thanks for this.
I thought I was the only one who noticed the horrific/horrible transformation or perhaps de-evolution is a better word. As a young black boy dyke in the late eighties/early ninties, definitely a Black woman centered woman, I drew a lot of strength from seeing her being so proud and fierce. There was Ya Kid K, too, who was way more butch boy than Latifah. But she seems to have faded away.
No one person can be one way. We all have a different side to show, it's up to us to decide if we are ready to reveal it. When in the media, those actresses and actors strive to do what they can to continue maximizing their cash flow-even if that means acting as someone else. Acting as another person can be tricky though because you need to make certain that you are not losing yourself in the process.
Peace and love to all those their process. Let your process be your own, but don't limit yourself to one identity. Explore every part of yourself so that every part has a chance to be revealed.
i think Queen Latifah and LL Cool J are very good parallels. i saw a hysterical cover of U.N.I.T.Y. at the Miss LEZ event this week - as a feminist anthem (a capella, natch) - hilarious.
yeah - more on MC LYTE! please?
Post a Comment