Birthday Love, Life Lessons: a Decade With The Diva

Dear Daughter Nia, Last Monday wasn’t the sunniest of days: thunder roared, lightning flashed and storms swirled over and around us. But what still made it special for all of us was that on April 11, ten years ago to the day, you became a part of our lives. With outstretched arms and a steady… Continue reading Birthday Love, Life Lessons: a Decade With The Diva

No ‘Cans’ Left, Zero F’s Given: Beyond 40 & Over The BS

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”― Audre Lorde A few years ago, I went to a concert featuring former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino. Just as she had been during Season 3 of the program, Barrino was a stage-slaying siren who moved the crowd… Continue reading No ‘Cans’ Left, Zero F’s Given: Beyond 40 & Over The BS

Anthony Hamilton’s “What I’m Feelin’,” CD Preview/Review Link

…..Six CDs into a stellar career (seven including 2014’s Home for the Holidays), Anthony Hamilton’s spent a decade building a reservoir of hearty, slow-burning soul grooves, modern in theme yet brimming with traditional grown-man sentiments cloaked in the ambience of the ‘lived-in’ and the ‘down-home.’ It’s been years—four and some change—since Back to Love, and… Continue reading Anthony Hamilton’s “What I’m Feelin’,” CD Preview/Review Link

Forever On-Point: Malik Taylor, AKA Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest (1970-2016)

…….For hip-hop fans who enjoyed a more cerebral and copasetic approach, A Tribe Called Quest represented a breath of fresh air amongst the more agressive of their ilk. Introduced to the public as an offshoot of the Native Tongues movement (which included The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Monie Love and Quee Latifah, to name… Continue reading Forever On-Point: Malik Taylor, AKA Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest (1970-2016)