Author: asiamber

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J. Cole’s #ForYourEyezOnly Concert Review

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Today, is January 28th which is J. Cole’s birthday and a title of a track on his “2014 Forest Hills Drive” album. Back in August of 2017, I had the opportunity to attend rapper J. Cole’s #4YourEyezOnly concert in Duluth, Georgia at The Infinite Energy Arena. The concert started on time at 8 P.M. and lasted until about 11:30 P.M. J. Cole had four opening acts. The first to perform was the singer, Ari Lennox followed by rappers J.I.D. and Bas. These three artists are signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records. Also, Grammy nominated singer-musician Anderson.Paak and his band the Free Nationals were the last opening act for J. Cole.

After Anderson.Paak’s performance of “Am I Wrong” there was about a fifteen-minute break and all of a sudden all the lights in the arena went off and the sold out diverse crowd of over 10,000 people went crazy!

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J. Cole’s songs and the concert theme reflect his life perspective of growing up in North Carolina, dealing with life, love, racial politics, and becoming a famous rapper.  The stage was centered in the middle of the arena as if it was a boxing ring with no ropes and instead streetlights props and surveillance camera footage being displayed on the jumbo screens showing various audience members in a surveillance camera type filter. All of a sudden J. Cole was spotted walking in the audience wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and being escorted through the crowd by men wearing police uniforms as he walked up the stairs and got on the center stage to perform “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Immortal” followed by the smash hit “Déjà vu”.

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The thought provoking fourth song performed was “Ville Mentality”. The live band with violins and keyboards offered for a very thematic and soulful background as J. Cole took time to speak to the audience about the meaning of the song and the pros and cons of living and being in the moment, yet also being aware of having a future.  After speaking J. Cole went back to performing a few of his other songs from other albums such as “Nobody’s Perfect”, “Power Trip”, and “No Role Modelz” and then continued to perform other songs off of his latest album.

Next J. Cole performed “Neighbors” and took the time to passionately explain the origins of the song. J. Cole was inspired to write this song from an unfortunate incident where one of his white suburban neighbors called an armed SWAT team to his property accusing him of “criminal activity”. The heavily armed SWAT team, with loaded rifles, broke the door to his home down and turned his home’s surveillance cameras off as they searched the premises, but they did not find anyone or anything. After J. Cole explained to the audience what happened the arena jumbo screens showed the real life footage of the surveillance video cameras capturing what the SWAT team did to his home.

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After this song, J. Cole performed a few more songs and then the show ended. I thought of J. Cole as a pastor speaking to his congregation through music. The message he delivered that night was about life and living and enjoying yourself. I really had a good time and would pay to see him perform again. He has a positive and humble vibe. Overall his energy, stamina, and stage presence was great. If you ever have a chance to see J. Cole perform live I would most definitely recommend you to go.

 

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Newspaper Nail Art

Hey y’all! I love to do my nails and I decided to do some newspaper nail art at home. To achieve this look you’ll need the following items:

-White or a light colored nail polish of your choice

-Newspaper articles cut into small squares

-Clear nail polish

-Rubbing alcohol in a small bowl

#1) Apply two coats of white or a light nail polish on your nails and let them dry for about 10-15 minutes.

#2) Dip a finger into the bowl or container of rubbing alcohol for about 5 seconds and take out and apply/rub the cut up newspaper square on your nail for about 10 seconds and peel off. Repeat on other nails.

#3) Once finished apply a clear top coat and let nails dry for 10-15 minutes.

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That time I met Ms. Susan L. Taylor.

Happy Birthday to the legendary Ms. Susan L. Taylor. Years ago I had the opportunity to meet the former editor-in-chief of ESSENCE magazine, Susan L. Taylor, at my alma mater, Fort Valley State University. She was so kind and spoke about the importance of mentoring and taking care of  your mind, body, and soul. The other day I was going through some old emails and stumbled across the notes I wrote down years ago when she spoke and I felt like sharing them with you all because they are still relevant today.

  • Sometimes you have to shut up and listen.
  • When you wake up in the morning smile and thank God.
  • Be a lifelong learner. College is about exploring.
  • Be personal and write handwritten thank you notes. Call people and remember birthdays.
  • Be kind to your parents.
  • Fire your inner critic who says what people say.
  • Know how to accept constructive criticism that can help you, not knock you down.
  • Read more books and expand your vocabulary.
  • Watch the company you keep.
  • Learn how to be your own best friend.
  • Your body is a temple: Before you sleep with someone think about them being stuck in your life forever.
  • Someone should love you for who you are.
  • Have a ten minute quiet time. (NO computer, NO music, NO phone)
  • Life is change don’t be an empty vessel.
  • If you do not know your history, you do not know who you are.
  • People judge you on your grammar and speech.
  • Elders need to know when to let young generations take reign.
  • The song “Lift Every Voce and Sing” is a powerful song with meaning and paved the way for us now. Lets not take it for granted.
  • Everyone is not a Christian or your religion, have tolerance.
  • Anything that is known is knowable.
  • You are a divine original and have a unique life.
  • Everything in magazines and pictures are edited and Photoshopped.
  • Celebrities and models have flaws and problems..
  • Exercise 20 minutes a day, be healthy, not necessarily a certain body size.]
  • Love Yourself first.
  • Have walk on water faith.
  • Mentor to young children in your community and help them with their reading skills.
  • Sometimes you can physically be here, but mentally elsewhere, so take one thing at a time.
  • Every time you are drunk or high you are eroding brain cells.
  • Know who you are and dream big.
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MLK Holiday Field Trip 2017

I share a birthday with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so, to celebrate back in 2017 over the MLK holiday weekend my family and I traveled to Washington, D.C. to visit Dr. King’s Monument and tour the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visiting Dr. King’s monument was free and is within walking distance to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. On 1964 Independence Way is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Memorial. The address for the memorial references the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The 30-foot statue of Dr. King emerges from two stone boulders as his arms are folded and he looks out. When I saw the statue towering above me in my mind I thought of Dr. King’s words from the “I Have a Dream” speech.  On the side of the statue is a quote from the speech that says, “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” I felt such an array of emotions visiting the museum and seeing Dr. King’s monument. We have come a very long way in the United States, however, we still have some ways to go.

Poet Langston Hughes’ “I, too am America” quote is written on the walls of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The quote is an excellent example of the well-known and unsung Black people who have contributed to American society. The museum’s grand opening was in September 2016 and various celebrities and philanthropists such as: Oprah Winfrey, Bill and Melinda Gates, Denzel Washington, and Robert Wright financially contributed to the building of the museum. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga), spent years fighting Congress to make the museum a reality.    In 2003, former President George W. Bush signed the legislation authorizing the National Museum of African American History and Culture to be built.

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The three-tier bronze aluminum building, which was designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, sits on the National Mall near the Washington Monument. Admission to the museum is free, but you have to pre-order the timed entry e-tickets by going to the museum’s website at www.nmaahc.si.edu. It takes several hours to tour the entire museum, and if you get hungry from all the walking there is a restaurant located in the museum. The self-guided tour is such an emotional journey, but I recommend all ages and races of people to visit. The basement of the museum starts at The Slave Trade and each level ascends to another time period. These other time periods range from: The Civil War, The Signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, The Era of Legal Segregation, The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panther Party, African-American Achievements, and music, sports, and pop culture of previous decades, up until The 44th President Barack Obama’s presidency and present day. Overall, the museum is very nice and detailed. My family and I stayed for several hours and still did not absorb everything the building has to offer! I’m pretty sure if I were to visit again I would see things that I didn’t notice the first time. Even if you don’t have an opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. my hope is that all people will take time out of their schedules to read and educate themselves on Black history. I’m so appreciative of my ancestors and everything they endured for me to have the privileges I have today as a young Black woman in America.

 

 

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The ArchAndroid

On this episode Amber & Zac are discussing Janelle Monáe’s #ArchAndroid album. Click here to listen or go to http://www.anchor.fm/asiamber. Also, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Listen on Apple & Spotify Podcasts
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My Hair, My Choice

I like the choice of wearing my hair in different styles. Most of the time it’s because I get bored easily and other times I don’t feel like doing my thick hair or permanently having my hair look the same. Some say “it’s just hair”, but to me, it’s not. Haircare is a multi-million-dollar industry and hair is sometimes a controversial topic. Even comedian, Chris Rock, did a documentary back in 2009 called “Good Hair” about black women and their relationship with natural hair, hair straighteners, and weaves. I have noticed how some people treat others differently based off of their hair texture, hair color, hair length and hair style. I have also been treated differently or receive more or less attention depending on how my hair looks.

More recently film maker, Matthew A. Cherry’s , animated short film “Hair Love” about a black father styling his daughter’s natural hair won an Academy Award. More and more black people are embracing their natural curls and coils. However not every person, workplace, or environment is as accepting. The state of California is one of the first states to ban discrimination based off of ones natural hair, but other places have currently not followed suit. Recently I’ve read dozens of articles on how some people have been suspended from schools, sports teams, fired from jobs and even told they would not be able to walk at graduation ceremonies, not because of the content of their character, but simply because of their hair texture, hair color, or hair style preference. Why are we judging someone solely off their natural hair and not their character?

In our society depending on the community or culture hair that is straighter or wavier or long is considered ‘good’ and anything that is not like that is considered ‘bad’.  I had relaxers (chemical hair straightening) for 14 years of my life and at age 19 I decided to stop getting relaxers and “go natural” (stopped using chemical straightening). I decided to go natural because the stylist I had been going to moved and I was away in college in another city and didn’t feel like experimenting with any more different stylists who said they did relaxers, but ended up damaging people’s hair. I was also curious how my natural hair looked because I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t have relaxers. I also did not want to cut all my hair off so I transitioned by getting weaves and braids.  IMG_0856

I have now been relaxer free for nine years. I get my hair blown out and flat ironed and I sometimes wear it un-straightened. One thing that I’ve noticed is that my natural hair is healthier and thicker than it was when I was getting relaxers.  I still like to wear braids and weaves simply because I think they’re pretty and less maintenance, especially when exercising. There is nothing wrong with wanting versatility in hair. Just because you choose to wear your natural hair chemical free, just because you choose to get relaxers, just because you choose not to wear weave does not make you better or less than. Not everyone that wears their hair straight or weaved is bald or hates themselves.  Whatever happened to style preference and upkeep? What if you want your hair straight today and curly next week? What if you want length and don’t have the patience to wait until it grows a certain length? What if you want to have short hair without actually cutting your own hair? All I want to say is let’s focus not only on hair style, but what’s underneath, like our hair health and spiritual health.