Do You Love The Way She Rides It?

You know I usually have a lot to say. Today is NOT one of those days. I'm gonna need Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Bill Cosby to form an intervention of some sort. I don't want to hear anyone talking any mess about big girls and them having confidence. Having confidence doesn't come with being a big girl, there are some big people like Mo Freaka who are just delusional. I really hope this sista is a comedienne. I really do!

Click here to witness the destruction that continues to go on in our community.

Can Obama pass some kind of bill that makes this kind of thing illegal?

Wanna Hear Brandy As 'BrandNu The Rapper'?

I'm writing this whilst BrandNu spits her verse. I'm boppin my head...I like it. I'm feeling it. I really am. 

I can tolerate her voice over Nicki Minaj's any day. I must admit I was scared to hear it. I was nervous for Brandy and her transition when I heard in 09 that Brandy was going to be switching it up and coming out as BrandNu and a rapper. I was kinda side eyein' her, but you know what....Brandy/BrandNu is doing her thing. She did a better job than Ciara on that video promo that was doing the rounds yesterday on the www for her new album. Was she coming back as a boxer defending her title or as an artist? 

Now folks I know this may sound a lil off but am I the only one kinda irked about Ciara's hands especially her fingers? **SHUDDERS** Watch the vid you might get what I mean....They're just so....skinny and long and creepy.

What do you think about BrandNu? No video yet just the track.

Not really feeling the "I am a bad bish" tude in this promo video.

Ciara - 'Ride'

..."and to my left ladies and gentlemen we have Ciara looking a little Wanda Sykes-ish..."

First off, old faithful LD Blog readers know when it comes to dancers in the entertainment industry, I will rep for Ciara. The girl is bad [in the good sense] when it comes to dancing, and I personally don't get all the Aaliyah v Ciara when it comes to "who is the better dancer" talk 7 years since Ciara's been in the business and 9 years since Aaliyah's passing. As for her singing, well....I just call it speaking in rhythm.

So Ciara is back with Ride her latest single off her soon to be new album 'Basic Instinct'. Now I really don't jump on new songs and videos as soon as they get released. Everybody and anybody is claiming an exclusive on their blog/site, and I feel like I've already heard the song and seen the video [without seeing it] from everyone's on-line critique.

So I decide to go and look. I'm watching and I'm just sitting there like...OK....Whatever during the whole video. I can see why the fellas were saying a whole lot, and heard nothing much from the ladies.

Now Ciara brings it with the moves, we know she's a badass on the dancefloor, but I am OVERLY tired with the over sexualization of every damn thing in the 21st Century. One thing [aside from singing] that Ciara should stay away from is trying to be sexy. She comes across as trying to hard, that it almost looks uncomfortable and at times, painful to watch.

First off, Ciara should never make reference to her ass in any song. How can you make reference to something that doesn't really exist?

I actually felt ashamed for her ass during Ludacris's rap. What exactly were we supposed to be looking at? Was that actually a side shot of her ass? I am asking. Seriously!

No bony knee caps in shot either with Luda please! Did Ciara really give this video the green light to be released?

What was up with the swimsuit and fur coat people? You know PETA are gonna have a field day with this tomorrow unless Ci-Ci reassures them that it was indeed faux fur.

I don't think Ciara looked good in that swimsuit. I really don't. Granted she's toned and all, but she still looked a lil hungry to me.

The lyrics. Bragging about how good she rides it, and how much he loves it. My question is this, if it's so damn good to dedicate a whole song to your sexual skills and how well you can master the 'pole,' why aren't Fiddy and Bow Wow coming back for more? All of this talk from either men or women about how good their sex game is, is pretty lame to me. I'm sorry, I don't believe Ciara is that great in bed. I want to see a sex tape, and until I do I stand by my statement.

"They love the way I ride it" I wonder how many 'they's' Ciara is actually referring to?

I'm not impressed. I'm really not. Is this what you have to do to stay relevant as a young black woman in the music industry these days? If I hear Ciara reel off some garbage about she did this song, because she wanted to free herself of her good girl image I'm going to scream. So you had some sex, big deal, pretty much all of us have, and now some of these women think it's necessary to bore us with the senseless details via a song like they are the first ones to have a vagina and use it?

Wasn't this the same girl who came to us back in 2003 talking about she wasn't giving up her Goodies? I thought great, a young black woman actually making a song which was telling us all, you may want it, but you ain't gonna get it. Now she's telling us just how she rides it.

I swear I really miss the damn 90's where music was a lil more romantic. Sistas wanted to be held and loved. Karen White poured her heart out over eggs, coffee and orange juice. OK not so romantic with that example. A brotha wanted to talk, hold your hand, take you out on a date and no where did it involve slapping your ass, or talking about one. Yes, I'm referring to tri-sexual Tevin Campbell. I know, I know we didn't know back in 92-93 what the future held as far as Tevin's gay antics, but as far as we were concerned Tevin was speaking to us and only us. I'm going to cherish this moment that Justin Bieber is around and still legal, because at least if I listen to him right now I'm guaranteed not to hear anything about sex or making a girl's bed rock [I Hope].

I wonder how many pre-pubescent girls are going to be singing about riding some guy in the streets on their way to school upstairs on the 250 bus?

I got pretty bored of Ciara about 2 albums ago. I don't know what she's bringing in this new album. Maybe I'll be a bit nicer on the next track she releases. **shrugs**

I'm only 30 y'all, but I'm tired...SO SO tired of sex, sex, sex in every damn song.

In Death, Does Aaliyah Get Way Too Much Credit??

I don't know if it's just my generation and older who remembered Aaliyah in the 90's before she passed, but my thought today was "OK how many of you remember the date of the anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King's Birthday or Nelson Mandela's release date from prison?" Not saying the death of Aaliyah cannot be commemorated, but do you feel where I'm coming from? If you're going to be a braniac of historical dates that are prominent in the black community on a global scale then learn a few more and pay homage on those too, and not just Aaliyah, Left Eye, Biggie & 2Pac.

So I've been a lil off Twitter today. I've seen the Aaliyah tweets go by and some folks mention that the whole compare Aaliyah to another artist thing is going on and that they feel it's totally unnecessary...OK, whatever to each their own. You wanna talk about it fine, not a problem, I'll blog about it. 140 characters just aren't cutting it for me right about now.

Maybe it's just me but I'm pretty sure that Ciara would have been doing her thing in the new millennium had Aaliyah been around or not. I'm sorry I'm not about to give Aaliyah that much credit especially when looking at Ci-Ci her huge major influences are Janet and Michael Jackson. Aside from that both are/were vocally not that great, both dance/danced. Aaliyah went to a stage school her choreographed moves weren't all that free flowing [pretty much like how JLO's were] and Ciara is more street/crunk when it comes to her dance flow, which appear to be more natural and not learnt/rehearsed. Aaliyah had it going on in the looks department and they are both black women. Done!

Like I just tweeted to someone, Aaliyah was likeable, attractive and had a great production team behind her. She was pally with the likes of Missy, Timbaland, Ginuwine and DMX who at the time were VERY on top of their game, then some years later Ciara rolled with Missy and Luda.

Times change, music changes. I think it's highly arrogant to assume that Aaliyah was that much of a force in the industry that had there of been no Aaliyah there would have been no Ciara and whoever else that followed. I found her music bearable...meaning, aside from the tracks that were released I had no desire to listen to the rest of her albums. Now I can understand when artists say had it weren't for the likes of Michael Jackson then they don't think they'd be where they are at in terms of their influence. But Aaliyah...no. I hear a lot of "she was an angel. She will be dearly missed" etc etc. Not somebody who set the standard and made a pathway for other young up and coming artists. **shakes head** I have never heard that.

Aaliyah was a beautiful, nice [portrayed in the media] girl, OK so her career started off a lil dramatic with the whole R.Kelly marriage drama. She showed her stomach, wore her hair covered over her eye, wore boxers, danced to a routine and sang softly with no real vocal range and power.

Sorry the only thing she influenced me with was being acceptable to be a tomboy and regain that totally feminine side at the same time. She was one of those girls who you didn't mind your teenage boyfriend liking cause you liked her too [no not in that sense], but like I said she had that nice girl quality about her. Very likeable, like the sister or friend [in your head] knowing that if you met in real life you'd be cool. And yes many years on I still "wave my hands in the air, and wave em round like I just don't care" in the club.

Like today....we have a barrage of female artists whether they are hip-hop, pop or R&B, they are all doing their thing in the industry. And I'm sure that whether Aaliyah had graced the Billboard charts or not they would still be there doing their thing today.

I'm sure Aaliyah would have gotten to a point where the popularity would have died down on the music side, before she passed it seemed as though acting was becoming more of her thing, and I'm sure as the likes of Ciara may have liked her music and respected her as a fellow female artist they would have been both been able to hold their own in the music world today.

If folks want to go there with the whole comparison thing with like for like, and I'm talking in respect to a black recording artist, beautiful, mediocre singer and badass dancer then they need to stop being blinded by Aaliyah and give it up for Janet. I'm sorry, hand on heart I'd be more inclined to say had there been no Janet Jackson then maybe Ciara wouldn't be inspired or motivated to do what she does. Shit y'all... Control, Rhythm Nation 1814 the Janet album, fair enough Miss Jackson "if you're nasty" was never a Whitney or Mariah, but when it comes to "give me a beat!" Janet is on it.

What???? When it comes to female entertainers who fit the mould past and present like Aaliyah, Ciara, Mya etc Janet is the teacher the others merely students.

So no I don't credit Aaliyah for the like of newish-bies like Ciara when it comes to doing what they do. And just because she's passed and has been for 8 years am I about to sport a dunce cap and do a 'we are not worthy' motion in front of her statue like she was the best we ever had. I liked Aaliyah I was just not excited by her like I was by Janet growing up. Although Janet isn't doing it like she was, she's the baddest of em them all in her field...that's if you want to make comparisons......

And all this "there will never be another Aaliyah.." OK as a human being, a presence on this earth yes there will never be, but as an artist, what legacy did she leave behind?

Why do we act the fool when people pass and give them much more credit than we didn't give them when they were here?

My Celebrity Body Double!

If you don't know what that is, it's a celebrity who shares the exact shame body shape as you. Yeah I know WTH???

I remember reading online about folks asking others their ideal or whose body shape theirs resembled. Well I have no celeb double face wise, but looking at Ciara [especially in the Enrique] video is actually a lil spooky. Another one is Kelly Rowland.

I'm 5'8 [my sister will tell me I'm 5'9] I have no idea which is fact, long slim shapely legs, pert bottom and shapely [although mine is a lil more pert that Ciara's]. Narrow waist, shapely hips, flat stomach, small boobs [although CiCi did get hers done recently]. Broad shoulders, very toned arms. Right down to Ciara's arm definition my arms are naturally slim yet slightly muscular.

So there you have it. Ciara and Kelly Rowland are my body doubles. Although looking at Ciara's body it's like looking at my own. Now all I gotta do is master that Matrix move of hers.

That sure as hell ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

No Contest!

I have seen so many 'debates' about who is a better dancer.

Aaliyah or Ciara

Without stating the obvious, Aaliyah is of course, no longer with us, but it doesn't mean her artistry cannot be critiqued or compared to.

One thing about me, I love dancing, and yes watching it too, so when a fly dancer is on my TV screen I'm in awe. So when Ciara first hit the scene I was in my element. Then all these foolish threads on message boards came up with the Aaliyah/Ciara comparisons.

I don't care that Aaliyah went to a performing arts school and I couldn't care less if Ciara learnt her booty poppin swagger move in her bedroom. Bottom line is Ciara is a better dancer period.
Argue with me if you may, but I don't know what folks were seeing that even had Aaliyah compared to Ciara in the first place. Shoot even Beyonce can move better than Aaliyah could.

And no it's not about hateration, holleration in this dancerieee, and it's definitely not about pacifying Aaliyah just because she's passed on. Fact remains is this they're both beautiful, black, can dance, but have lacklustre singing voices that aren't even close to an American Idol Hollywood week standard. Just like Janet Jackson.

If Aaliyah were alive today I bet my money on it, she couldn't dance like Ciara, but Ciara could definitely do all her moves with her eyes closed. She's badass, haven't had a great female dancer/entertainer on the scene since Janet who I might add is a better dancer than her 50 year old brother. I loved Aaliyah but wasn't in awe of her dance skills. She danced like she was counting the steps poor thing and it all just looked a lil um....boring.

X Factor: Britney That's Not A Performance. This Is A Performance!

Go back home Britney!

Seriously, we on UK shores waited with baited breath for 7 days since it was announced she'd be performing on the X Factor. Well ummmmmm.....it was lacklustre to say the least. I've pretty much been a Britney semi-fan of the stuff you can break a sweat to, and the Blackout album is pretty decent.

Britney performing Womanizer on X Factor

She lip synced so what? That didn't bother me, the fact remains she was dancing like she just learned the routine backstage 5 minutes before coming out on stage. Britney used to dance hard and with some vigor, think 'Slave 4 U' and 'Overprotected'. If you didn't appreciate her as a mediocre singer [think of her like a white Janet if you will who is weak vocally], you could at least appreciate the fact that she's a good entertainer and would have no problem giving you your monies worth if you were to see her live. I said I'd prefer to watch a theatrical live concert of Britney's rather than Christina Aguilera's well I'll have to retract on that, because I've seen a few videos of Christina Aguilera's singing and dance routines and a show she does put on and doesn't just wail for two hours.

For three and a half minutes you'd think Britney would have made the effort to at least
(a) Dance like her life depended on it.
(b) Actually listened to what Dermott was saying rather than rant on about London.
(c) Look like she gave a damn that she was there.

Flipping heck, you have superstars like Mariah Carey and Celine Dion who have mentored the contestants and given them VALID advice. Fair enough Britney was in Germany promoting the single and album Circus and didn't have time to mentor the contestants who this week were singing her songs, but the advice of "good luck and keep doing it" was straight up bullshit. And what was up with all of the ass licking of Britney before during and after??

After 5 years of being out of the UK many of those probably filled with trips to rehab, marriages, pregnancies, head shaving, smoking, snorting and drinking, I think it's best Britney decides if she actually wants a long career, because with performances like that she's going to piss a lot of people off. I watched some a-hole on You Tube talking about the Britney performance was 'amazing' and 'she's back', yes maybe by British standards but do that in the USA and it would be deemed a huge flop and she'd be slaughtered for it.

And all those millions and her hair extensions look like that? You could see the real 3 inches of hair on the top like a Billy Ray Cyrus mullet gone wrong.

Now if you're going to sing live or lip sync then this is how it should be done if you have mediocre vocal ability but can dance your ass off. I don't wanna hear anyone tell me Brit's performance was amazing when Ciara and 40 year old Janet can still surpass her on the dance floor.

Ciara performing Get Up