Apr 17, 2014

What The Heck Just Happened?

IMG_20130922_191032So I have a confession I don’t watch television often but chile whenever I sit down to watch it, it’s for Scandal ( my favorite show) Mary Mary, and Love and Hip Hop Atlanta! Whenever I miss any episode of any of these shows I’m hoping on Hulu going to YouTube to catch up. But before there was ever a Scandal, there was a huge Scandal on VH1 called Love And Hip Hop ATL! Honey that show consisted of the washed up producer Steebie J ( yes y’all his name is Steebie) Joslin his Jump off that wanted a music career more than she wanted to learn proper English, MiMi his baby mama and faithful “I miss you and my family I need a place to stay partner” Lil Scrappy, his baby mama, and his jump of, so on and so forth oh I can’t forget about K Michelle crazy self! LOL and a plethora of friends and relatives of the cast. But there was a baby momma on here that I really wanted to show their strength stop getting on Steebie J’ s bus and stand on her own two feet and that was MiMi. She’ s very smart has her own business she’s not a bad looking chic, her and Steebie have a very beautiful daughter. We learned on Season 2 that she had a rough childhood which explained why she sought out  attention and love in all the wrong places. The last season she ditched Steebie and started a relationship with Nikkio who really resembles Stebbie, has his mannerism a little less Swag and apparently according to Steebie fake rolex’s that tick? LOL but anywho I was happy that she was happy with anybody besides Steebie. Even though her and Nikko in my opinion had a very strained relationship I was like whatever as long as you not the third wheel in the Steebie triangle. The last episode of the last season MiMi said this long Monologue about how she’s done with Nikkio, Steebie, and wants to just focus on her business and her daughter. I was like finally this lady is making the main thing the main thing.

We fast forward to last week, I’m scrolling on Facebook and boom I see MiMi and Nikko has a sex tape. Being nosey and shocked I’m like nah this is a joke. But before I could even see the results a coworker shows me the “promo” I was like Jesus (y’all know I’m churchy) what about her daughter what about her dignity or self worth? Then I sat and thought ok she’s only relevant when she’s on the show, she probably trying to get on that “Kim Kardashian’s ” plan where you get a sex tape and blow up. But boo that’s a whole different ladder of success that you don’t have the strength, money or power to climb. My thoughts why as women do we degrade ourselves for fame? This is now apart of your legacy. Goggle  and search engines will forever store that. And your daughter can find this information about you at anytime. Selfish desires affect everyone connected to you not Just you!! MiMi you could Never say nothing crazy about Joslin anymore your right there on her level. Sad shame!!

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE EXTENDED PREVIEW ON VH1

[twitter style=”vertical” float=”left”]

[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[fbshare type=”button”]

[linkedin_share style=”none”]

[google_plusone size=”standard”]

 

Mar 25, 2014

My View on the Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop

Hey family my name is Samuel “The Bridge” Jones. I am a hip hop artist from the Midwest and I absolutely have your best interest at heart with news from the hip hop world. Recently, there was a documentary on the evolution of the hip hop; “Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop” on VH1. I absolutely loved getting an intensive view on the history of pop culture’s most famous genre.

When watching the documentary, it felt like I was taking an introductory course, hip hop 101. It was hard to believe, that over a course of 40 plus years, hip hop would influence fashion, politics, the media, television, publications, and social norms. To hear that even the Jewish culture had so much to do with its evolution was amazing. Can you imagine that popular outputs like The Source and Def Jam had founders that were not African American?  Well it’s true! Even fashion moguls such as Tommy Hilfiger caught on to the firestorm created by people like Snoop Dogg, wearing his clothing. It inspired a generation of rappers such as LL Cool J, Sean Puffy Combs, and Jay-Z to represent their lines.

Hip Hop encouraged the idea of cross-platform merchandising and the parental explicit label. It made jewelers like Jacob the Jeweler a commodity destination instead of a rarity to visit. It became the outsource for political messages and gave way to a cool view of an African American leader in the white house, who used urban language and quotations from popular rappers. This tanning of America led music’s upper echelon to become acceptable of hip hop at the Grammys when it was not included in its original broadcast as an award. It led to the creation of Yo! MTV raps and In Living Color as competitors against the likes of Saturday Night Live.

Hip Hop is more than just music that tells stories of drugs, women, money, and street horrors. It is the music that essentially changed a nation to gradually accept African American cultural and social norms as their own. So it was not just a music, genre, or trend, it became a lasting impact on Americans from all nationalities, religions, and creeds.

Friend Me on Facebook: Samuel Jones or purchase my music on itunes and cd baby: The Bridge. Be Sure To Leave A Comment!

[twitter style=”vertical” float=”left”]

[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[fbshare type=”button”]

[linkedin_share style=”none”]

[google_plusone size=”standard”]