Real Love & Hip Hop

Rappers: Remy Ma & Papoose (Hip Hop’s Personification of Ride or Die)

In the early ninety’s Mary J. Blige was looking for a Real Love. Everyone wants that kind of love, but few us are fortunate enough to find it. She sang from the depths of her soul: "Real love, I'm searching for a real love, someone to set my heart free, real love..." Rappers Remy Ma & Papoose happened to find real love with one another and are the personification of that Real Love Mary J. was singing about.  Remy Ma and Papoose captured our hearts on the season 6 premiere episode of Love & Hip Hop New York. 

Photo Credit:@thereakremyma Instragram 

It’s been a year since Remy has been out of prison.  After doing a six year bid for literally slapping a heaux, Remy Ma is looking good, setting stages on fire and killing the game in a major way. While she was away her husband/bestfriend was there to hold her down. It’s common for a woman to hold a man down while he's locked down, but quite a rarity for a man to play that position. I applaud Pap for being a faithful man for better or for worse. You can tell by their interaction on camera, he literally loves, honors and protects Remy to the fullest extent. Their love is so TRILL that these two were married over the phone while she was away in prison. 

It wasn’t the ideal situation, but when you love someone you live by the “By Any Means Necessary Code.”  Can we say: #RelationshipGoals!!! Papoose understands how Rem felt about their phone nuptials so he reserved a castle for their wedding “do-over” in exchange for a baby to complete their family. Although Papoose has 3 children from previous relationships and Remy Ma has 1 son; Papoose wants to create a child with his one true love. They can never get the time they lost back, but Pap is making sure he does everything in his power to make sure every moment counts. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for Hip Hop’s real life ride or die couple! 

Photo Credit: @therealremyma Instagram 

Black Girl Magic

                          Black Girl Magic

You may have seen the hashtags that read: #blackgirlmagic and wondered to yourself what does that mean exactly? Well I’m here to give you some insight as to what #blackgirlmagic (bmg) is. You, yourself possess this super power. Black girl magic is not what you’ve seen in a Disney movie with a little fairy dust and a bippity, boppity, boop! 

No, black girl magic is richer and more potent. Black girl magic is what sustains the black female in the midst of this chaotic world we live in. In a world that writes stories that read we are: “not-rape-able”, “ugly”, “sluts” and “aggressive. Black girl magic is the power to see negative imagery, read negative comments, encounter rudeness, endure discrimination and still carry yourself like a queen, a goddess and in modern terms: a BOSS ASS BITCH! 

Black girl magic is in our ancestral DNA and when we need it most it automatically activates. 

#Blackgirlmagic is being 42 years old and looking 22 years old, maybe it’s Maybeline… Nah it’s Melanin

#Blackgirlmagic is turning a Rainbow outfit into red carpet ready

#Blackgirlmagic is slickin’ dem edges down to perfection, throwing on a red lip, hence going from drab to fab!

#Blackgirlmagic is protecting your kids

#Blackgirlmagic is holdin’ down ya whole squad!

#Blackgirlmagic is the power to be hurt by men emotionally time and time again and still be able to open your heart to love one more time

#Blackgirlmagic is making a 5 star meal on a $15 budget

#Blackgirlmagic is taking a head scarf, making it a head wrap and then a fashion trend

#Blackgirlmagic is restraining yourself when you should have slapped that hoe ass co-worker

#Blackgirlmagic is praying for your enemies as well as your friends

#Blackgirlmagic is loving GOD & Trap music

#Blackgirlmagic is refusing to give up when the odds are against you

#Blackgirlmagic is standing up for what you believe in

My Black Queens continue to spread love and share that Black Girl Magic wherever you go! 

I AM HERE FOR THE WIZ LIVE 3.0

I AM HERE FOR THE WIZ LIVE! 3.0

The magicalness (my new word) of The Wiz was everything! To sit in front of the television and watch a two hour production that kept my five year old child fully engaged was phenomenal and a true miracle in itself! It took me back to my childhood when my family would sit around the t.v. with snacks to watch a network television special. I remember when the Jackson 5: The American Dream debuted on ABC in 1992 and how excited I was to be watching it with my family and how glued to the screen I was.

 What a joy it was for me to share a similar experience with my own child. My son was absolutely delighted with the onscreen production. At every scene and musical number his eyes lit up. He kept asking me questions and wanted to wear some of the costumes. He even requested I buy him the green jacket from one the Emerald City scenes for Christmas so he could rock it with his green “chucks”. Therefore, it is written that the 2015 production of The Wiz was indeed a major hit!

Emerald City Bouncer! Common

The Hair & Make Up:

One thing I know for sure is that black people know how to show up and show out and that’s exactly what they did with the hair and make-up for the cast of The Wiz. When I tell you the hair was laid and was giving me all types of Black Royalty and Regal feels. To see locs, crochet braids, afros, colored hair, asymmetrical cuts, fades, flat irons, etc… made me feel so proud to black and a woman! It was reminiscent of the 70s when we were screaming it loud that we were black and proud and unafraid to accept our own brand of beauty. Oh and then the make-up was beat to Zeus, Athena, Venus and all the gods! I was yelling things at the tv like: Yaaaaaasss! You betta be fine! Face is beat hunty! Eyebrows on fleek! I mean The Fashion Fair Cosmetics Company of yesterday’s past and the MAC team of today are just twirling their brushes in excitement.

The Dancing:

The Dancing Poppies

The dancing was so relevant and on point. To see Queen Mary herself Hit da Quan when we all know The Queen struggles in the dance department was just fantastic! The choreography was created with a great sense of bridging the generations. There was voguing and dabbing and nay nay-ing and just everything in between. The Crows were getting it, the Poppies were serving it, the flying monkeys were killing it and I loved every moment of it! My son and his friend even tried to do some of the moves in the middle of the living room.  

The Cast:

The Cast of The Wiz Live

Every person cast in the Wiz from the leads to the extras were awesome! Every person that took to that stage shined bright like a diamond. The irony of that is diamonds come from Africa and this diamond studded cast was glistening. Dorothy played by newcomer Shanice Williams was giving me all kinds of African-American Pride. A cute little brown girl from Jersey who can saaaaaannnnng! Her voice. Her facial expressions. Her eyes. Her movement. Her countenance. Her overall essence brought so much to the character of Dorothy and it resonated through the television screen. The Scarecrow’s innocence was so sweet and his voice was angelic. The Tinman played by singer Ne-yo was great. He truly was the heart of the main characters. But the Emmy worthy performance of David Allen-Grier is what really brought everything together. David played the Cowardly Lion, but there was nothing cowardly about his performance. His performance was spot on! He hit every beat. He hit every note. He hit every cue. His comedic timing was perfection and he made me want ease on down the road with him arm in arm.

I AM HERE FOR THE WIZ LIVE 2015!  

ME vs. me

ME vs. Me

Internal and external battles are a real thing! I’m constantly battling me all the time. There’s so many things taking place within me, I rarely have time or energy to battle someone else.  Here’s a glimpse of one of my many battles…

Polite Me vs. Pop Off Me:

Every now and then I have an encounter where I have to make a decision to either display my polite self or the “pop off” version of me. In many cases people are able to enjoy my pleasant side. Usually I’m upbeat. I’m kind, I’ll flash my Colgate smile, embrace you with a hug or even crack a funny joke. That’s pretty much me ninety-five percent of the time. Then there are times when I am placed in scenarios where certain situations call for me to make a vital decision: To pop off or not to pop off? That is the question. Just recently I was put in such a predicament. Here’s the story:

I go to the doctor for my annual check-up. Seems pretty routine right? But for some strange reason at my new doctor, in my new town, my educational background is on my patient chart. This should have been my first red flag when I first started going to this physician, but then I figured they must use this information for statistical data, however after this visit I think they use it to be pricks! With that being said you can imagine this visit didn’t go so well. In walks my doctor with her laptop, she pulls up my chart and after “hello” she says: “I see you have a Master’s degree.” (Strike 1) My reply: “Yes, indeed.” However, in my head I’m thinking what does my degree have to do with the price of tea in china? What does my degree have to do with this visit and why in the hell does it matter?

What happened next could have led to a path of probation or even jail, had I allowed the “pop off” to me win. She proceeds to go through the steps of my physical and puts the stethoscope on my back and asks me to take a deep breath. I do as instructed and I inhale while simultaneously moving my hair out of the way. (I’m currently rocking a very cute natural styled weave that falls close to my bra strap) The doc then says: “Is this your hair?” (Strike 2) I reply: “No.” Her response: “Good, I was about to say that’s not fair because my hair is so thin.” (Strike 3) Let me not begin on what's not fair lady!!!

WTF???? I literally had to do a Zach Morris Time Out moment and have a come to Jesus meeting with myself. I was truly appalled at this educated professional’s lack of cultural sensitivity, considering she was a woman of color, although she wasn’t a Black. But based on the comments throughout my physical, I could tell she identified with certain stereotypical ideologies.

I could have popped off, which I really wanted to, or I could have educated her on her ignorance, since my actual hair is as thick and strong in texture as the extensions in my scalp. But then I thought: every moment of my life shouldn’t have to be a teachable moment, and I just went on and let polite me live.

Be Kind... You Never Know Who You're Sitting Next To...

BE KIND: You never know who you’re sitting next to…

I work in education and I always tell my students to always be kind to their peers. I encourage them to interact with everyone, not just their clique. I learned this valuable lesson from my beloved mother, Beverly Sims, who always told me and my sister to treat everybody right, because you could be entertaining an angel. This jewel of advice came from a Bible scripture, Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

From the day I started school I was a social butterfly. I would talk to anyone with a pulse, and this behavior still holds true as an adult. My best friend says I will even talk to a wall. Sounds a tad bit nuts, but it’s true. I say all this to say, one should always be polite and kind to others because you never know who you’re sitting next to.

Back in 1997, as a 7^th grader at Whittier Middle School in Flint, Michigan, I had no control over the seating arrangement in Mr. Earl Crowder’s math class.

Whittier Middle School, Crapo St. Flint, MI 

I was a very studious student with an affinity for good grades, good laughs and singing. Little did I know I’d be seated next to the school’s resident rebel, Mr. JaQuavis Coleman. “Quavis” as we called him was your typical middle school heartthrob: handsome, athletic, funny and bad as hell! Due to his sense of humor and my love for talking, we became fast friends. JaQuavis would have me cracking up every day from blazing on people to him telling me who his next girlfriend was going to be. If you know me, you know I laugh obnoxiously loud and so I got in trouble every damn day. JaQuavis knew I could sing, so he would request for me to sing to him after I finished my work. This too led to me getting into trouble. My punishment would be a writing assignment from Mr. Crowder, dirty looks from Mr. Crowder and threats of calling my mother from Mr. Crowder. My poor hand would be hurting and my nerves would be shot! Quavis’ punishment was much harsher than mine, he would get his classes closed or kicked out of class. However, none of this would stop us from doing it all over again. Soon our middle school lives would be up and we would enter high school; we remained friends throughout.  Even though Quavis had a “reputation” that I won’t get into, I never once judged him. He was just my friend who always made me laugh and looked out for me if I was low on lunch money. Senior year Quavis and I were both voted “Biggest Flirt”. I think that happened because we were both kind to people, even to the not so cool kids, no matter what. People can often take politeness the wrong way. 

But, I digress. During our Senior year, JaQuavis and I would share one last class together. That class would be DRAMA class. Although we would hang out at lunch, at parties, or when I could convince him to come to church with me, we hadn’t shared a class together since middle school due to me being in the “gifted” program. So we were both geeked to be reunited in class again. And guess what? We sat next to each other. We were back at it again like we had never been separated, cracking jokes, laughing and him telling me about his girlfriend at the time, who would later on become his wife (Hey Ashley). Our teacher at the time, couldn’t understand how a student like me could be friends with a student like JaQuavis. Adults can be so petty sometime. Anyway upon graduating high school administrators, teachers, and others pretty much had high expectations for me. But what would become of Mr. Coleman, who had the world on his shoulders and the odds stacked against him? 

How about Mr. JaQuavis Coleman became a New York Times Bestselling author, producer, screenplay writer and director on they ass!!!!! I am glad to call JaQuavis my friend. I am glad Mr. Crowder allowed us to sit next to each other.I’m glad my Mother taught me not to judge people and to be kind to all those I encounter, because you never know who you could be entertaining unawares. I happened to be entertaining a future mogul.

Author/Director JaQuavis Coleman and I at his movie premiere "White House" is Dallas, TX

JaQuavis isn’t my only successful friend, I could name about 100 more or so, but if you’re reading this I want you to understand the lessons in this story:

Lessons:

1.       The Power of Networking- If at any time I call one of my successful friends for a reference, a word of encouragement or to help my students, they’re always down for the cause

2.       Friendship- Friendships can start at any point in life. True friendship can always pick up where it left off; build friendships with people from all walks of life  

3.       Thou shalt not judge- Friendship may not always fit the bill of a Huxtable kid, Accept people for who they are, not how the world views them (including teachers and adults)

4.       Laughter- Always find a way to laugh

5.       Keep in touch- As we get older our lives become busy, but always find a way to at least say HEY!

6.       SUPPORT- Always support your friends in their endeavors!

Who knew that the kid I sat next to, who got me in trouble would grow up take over the world?

A few of my Successful Friends/Family:

1.       Jon Connor- Rapper/Songwriter/Producer on Aftermath @jonconnormusic (Instagram)

2.       Tonika Arline- University of Michigan-Flint  Rockstar of Admissions

3.       Kendra Cochran- Makeup Artist @kcofaces (Instagram)

4.       Tiffany Cole-Allen- Technical Designer/CEO of Non-Profit Org: Fashion Focus Initiative

5.       Chuniq Inpower- NFL Players Association Digital Content Manager/CEO Just Regular Girls

6.       Karhema Simon- A woman in S.T.E.M. that rocks!

7.       Quintisha “Molly” Burns- Fitness motivator/Awesome Mom @napturalmolly (Instagram)

8.       Laneishia Lamb- Fashion Designer/CEO Pretty Geeky Bowtique @prettygeekybowtique (Instagram)

9.       Trevon Davis-  Singer/Actor/Broadway Star @instagramtrevon (Instagram)

1.   Pamela Balentine- Financial Guru/ Owner/CEO Viking Financial Services

1.   Keysa Smith- Owner/Chef Spectacular Spudz @spectacularspudz (Instagram)

1.   Brianna Grier- Owner D-Town Coney Island Dallas, Texas @dtownconeyisland (Instagram)

1.   Kala Wilburn- Fashion Designer/Founder Vehicle City Fashion Week @kalasantrese (Instagram)

There’s more, but I’ll stop here for now…

Til Next Time… Be Kind 

Retail... Everyone has a story... Here's mine

Retail… Everyone has a story… Here’s mine:

I never had the pleasure of flipping burgers although I desperately wanted to. Flipping burgers meant I could have fun like Bon Qui Qui from Mad TV who worked at King Burger or I could work with “Calvin” from McDonalds. I mean who didn’t want to work with “Calvin” from the McDonald’s commercials and possibly date him? Working at McDonalds was a teenager’s dream during my teenage years. I wanted to work at the Mickey D’s franchise on Clio Road, in Flint, MI, where I’m from. That location used to jump, especially on Friday nights, and I wanted in on a piece of the action. I filled out applications and even went to the on sight interviews, but nope the burger gods just wasn’t feeling me. But, guess who was feeling me? Yep, you guessed it: The Retail Gods!

My First Retail Job

My first retail job was at David’s Bridal, a reasonably priced bridal shop for women looking to get hitched.

 I was 16 years old when I got the gig. My cousin Erica was hired first and then she told me to apply and just like that my cousin and I were slangin’ wedding gowns. We were getting paid above minimum wage and working in a girl’s dream shop, so we thought. The dream soon turned into a nightmare like episode of the Twilight Zone. How did it turn into a nightmare you ask? For starters, our manager was going through a terrible divorce and the broad was bitter as hell. Imagine you’re going through a divorce and you have to work in a place where you see happy, optimistic brides every day. Talk about torture. Since she was on an island of miserable, of course she needed company, so she took her frustrations out on us and the rest of the employees. It was a tense environment. Some days were great. Like when a bride found her dream gown and her bridesmaids dresses all in the same day. The joy and gleam in her eyes is priceless. But then there were the days when a Bridezilla would enter the store and all hell would break loose. When the ‘zilla would enter, the aura of the store would change. This is the “bride-to-be” that would have us getting every dress in the store for her to try on, only for her to be disappointed at every turn. We would be yelled at, cursed at and treated cruelly. This job was so savage that Erica and I were let go on our day off. You would think that my experience at David’s Bridal would have been my first and last tango with retail, but it was only the beginning.

The Red Bullseye

The next time I would find myself at a retail chain, I would be 24 years old. I was in graduate school, looking to earn a few extra bucks and since the red bullseye was in close proximity to my apartment, it seemed like a good fit. Emphasis on “seemed”. Now, I’m never one to brag about my credentials, but if someone asks me questions, I tend to answer honestly. With that being said, when I first started, my co-workers would ask me if I was a student at the local university nearby and I would reply I was a graduate student there. Wrong answer. For the people who were trying to make the red bullseye their life career, I was a threat to their entire world. For some strange and irrational reason, they thought I wanted a high ranking position at the company. Nope wasn’t in my book of goals at all. I had tasks like finger spacing the hanging clothes, which meant the hangers had to be a finger space apart. Ummmm, really? Like why? No need to worry honey, you can have that. Then there were the rude ass people. One day I was folding clothes in the girls’ section of the store. My tables were all nice and neat and I was ready to move on to my next department, when a customer from the bowels of hell decided to purposely destroy my neatly folded tables. She then proceeds to walk by me and say: “I’m giving you job security.” I looked at the heaux like Bih! I will slap the taste out yo’ mouth. But, the way my life was set up at the time, I had to humble myself and re-fold those clothes.

The Pretty Panties Store

In the middle of my pregnancy with my first and only child, I decided to work at the pretty panty store known as Victoria’s Secret. It was no secret that my pregnant behind couldn’t fit nothing in that store, but the body mist. The great thing about working at Vicky’s secret is that I got to wear black every day and if you’ve ever been pregnant you know “black” is your very best friend. Working here was cool, I got a nice little discount and the consumers of this store were actually friendly. Go figure. The only downfall to my experience at this retail store, was my pregnancy hormones. I was constantly sick and having to barf. I would be in the middle of conversation with someone and start crying. Another downside to working here was standing on my feet for 8 hours. For a normal person that is perfectly fine, but if you’re preggo this is a death sentence. Needless to say my time there was extremely short.

The Orange Life

Most recently I needed to break up the monotony of my everyday life so I decided to don the orange apron. I’m in a new city so I figured the best way to get an idea about the locals is to work at a retail giant. In my salaried position, I see and work with the same people every day and that can become uninteresting. Working here and in retail in general allows one to meet all kinds of people from all walks of life. I am able to interact with the stay-at-home mom looking to redo her baby’s room, the college student trying to build a trampoline from scratch, the artist working on a mural, the business owner buying supplies, the landscaper getting extra items for the job, the dad helping a son with a science project and the list goes on. I don’t have to worry about meeting deadlines. I do however, learn a lot about people’s citizenship status when I ask them to apply for credit cards. But most importantly I get to work with really cool people.

 But don’t be fooled, there’s always that one crazy customer that makes you be like, you know what screw this job! The customer that made me feel this way was an irate customer that came in the form of a man. If you haven’t been shopping in a while or you’re stuck in the 20^th Century, you may or may not know that companies and banks are switching over to “Chip Cards”. Chip cards are allegedly safer for the consumer against fraud and theft. Using the chip card, however takes longer than the old way of just swiping your card and going about your business. So, said customer comes through my line and the chip card process is taking longer than he’s mentally capable of handling. He starts yelling at me and telling me how horrible this new system is. He goes on to tell me that I need to tell the manager that this system sucks and from now on he will be shopping at Lowes! All I could do was *Blank Stare* Ahhhh… the joys of retail.

That’s my story, what’s yours?  

Genesis: This is the beginning...

Hi, I'm Tynee` and I like to talk. And all the people said: "Hi Tynee`" Now that I've admitted to my addiction, I'd like to share with you beautiful people all the the things I like to talk about. Trust me, I have a boat load of topics that I'm just busting at the seams to delve into. This is my Genesis.

Tynee` Talks

The Beginning 

There are a few reasons why I started this blog: my quest to get discovered by someone from Saturday Night Live (SNL), I think I'm funny, and my thoughts are pretty cool. But seriously, I decided to start this blog because I'm tired of giving my intellectual property to Facebook for the free. Ya feel me? I mean Mark Zuckerberg has already sold my identity and numerous pictures to the CIA(joke); I may as well give myself the opportunity to make a buck, but I digress. I've always had a love for writing ever since I was in 4th grade writing for my elementary school paper, the Pierson Panther Gazette. In undergraduate school I wrote for the Michigan Times and in graduate school I wrote for the Grand Valley Lanthorn. so just know I ain't new to this, I'm true to this. When "blogging" started gaining momentum, I never really thought it would be my thing. Not that I have anything against blogging, I just didn't see myself as a blogger per se until recently. Any by recently I mean today, Friday, October 30, 2015. I was sitting in my car listening to the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, as I do everyday before I go into work. I was  battling if I should go in or if I should go ahead and become a reality star/stripper. Going into to work always wins. Here are a few reasons why work wins 98% of the time: 1. My body isn't stripper ready yet, emphasis on yet. 2. I luh God and if I hit that pole he'd be like what's wrong witchu? These are not the plans I was referring to in Jeremiah 29:11. 3. My son talks too damn much and he'd be telling everybody you know my Mom is a stripper and I'd be looking at him like I'm trying to be lowkey and you're blowing it. Then I'd have to whoop his a**, but then I'd feel guilty cause he would just be being honest as I taught him to be. (See the downward spiral) 4. My life isn't ratchet enough for me to star in a Love and Hip Hop franchise. 5. I'm a better story teller than exotic dancer, pretty basic, but true. Anyway, as I'm sitting there listening to my favorite morning crew, when my best friend shoots me a text that reads: "Doneice said you should be a blogger."

The Text that started it all!

And you know what she was fucking right! Doneice wasn't the first to suggest this genius idea, but something in the atmosphere said now is the time to let your gifts make room for you. And that folks is how the birth of Tynee` Talks came to life. This is only the beginning.  Stay tuned for all the things I have to talk about because baby it's a lot! Peace.

My cute self. Give me a Mic and I'll never give it back!