Beauty in Many Forms

Some women I have come to crush on. Hard.

Tracee Ellis Ross is the epitome of a woman comfortable in her own skin. She’s taught me to embrace my hair, my breasts and to be completely comfortable with what I bring to the table. I’m a big fan of Girlfriends, and her quirky personality continues to shine through in the form of her blog. In my head, we are friends.

Besides being my older sister, Sanaa Lathan is such a classy woman. I’ve loved her in all the roles she’s played in (especially Love & Basketball, one of my favorite rewatchable movies) and to me, she’s still very underrated.

Tamia also falls under the category of underrated. She seems like a diva who put her family before her career, and has been happily married to Grant Hill for many  years. Watching one of her latest videos, Beautiful Surprise, makes me think “I want that body after kids!”

Jada is a woman who juggles parenting, fame and her career well. I love her acting, I love to hear her passion against human trafficking and I especially love to hear her speak Spanish!

Jilly from Philly is an inspiration on so many levels! She’s a poet, a mother, a singer, a writer and her music is always filled with so much raw emotion. Her music always meets me at my point of need! Here’s one of my favorite songs: I am here.

Lisa Bonet is effortlessly beautiful. That’s all.

Sade’s music makes me feel beautiful, sensual and worth more than gold.

I loved her in Slumdog Millionaire. Freida Selena Pinto, has a humble aura about her. I want to see her in more movies.

Lianne La Havas. The buttery voice, the cocoa butter skin tone. Can’t get enough.

Who makes your Top 3 list of most beautiful women, most importantly, why?!

Into Me See

The Soundtrack…

This could be the only time for us
Baby take your time and don’t you rush
Something in your eyes makes me know that you still want me
I miss the way we touch…

Do I have great taste or what? 🙂

Feel free to add to the list. I love discovering new artists/tracks!

Firey,

She

The Legends and Their Songs

Here’s my personal compilation of favorite songs by legends who have passed on but whose songs still give me the chills.

Beginning with our most recent lost: Ms. Whitney Houston.

Legend: Whitney Houston

I don’t really need to look very much further
I don’t want to have to go where you don’t follow
I won’t hold it back again, this passion inside
I can’t run from myself, there’s nowhere to hide

Mic Down: February 11, 2012

Track(s): I Have Nothing, Saving All My Love For You, Run to You (click for videos)

Reason: Pure nostalgia. There’s hardly a song of Ms. Houston’s that didn’t stir some deep emotion.

Legend: Amy Winehouse

I love you much
It’s not enough
You love blow and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I’m a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside

Mic Down: July 23, 2011

Track(s): Help Yourself

Reason: I’m in love with the beat and the feel of this song. Plus she speaks the #truth, ‘I can’t help you,{bruh}, if you won’t help yourself.’

Legend: Michael Jackson

There’ll Be No Darkness Tonight
Lady Our Love Will Shine
Just Put Your Trust In My Heart
And Meet Me In Paradise, Girl

Mic Down: June 25, 2009

Track(s): Lady in My Life, I Can’t Help It

Reason: I don’t know about you, but I want to be someone’s #1 Lady. The most memorable lady, the muse, the fantasy incarnate. #Ican’thelpit.

Legend: Bob Marley

Oh please don’t you rock my boat (don’t rock my boat)

Cuz I don’t want my boat

to be rocking…

Mic Down: February 6, 1945

Track(s): Sun is Shining, Satisfy My Soul

Reason: Globe Tracing takes much imagination. I listen to the first song in the middle of winter when I want to be transported to a warmer place. Satisfy my soul is a sappy love song, every time I listen to it I imagine a Caribbean breeze on a shared hammock.

Legend: Tupac

When will they let the little kids in the hood play?
I got shot five times but I’m still breathin
Livin proof there’s a God if you need a reason
Can I believe in my own fate
Will I raise my kids in the right, or the wrong way?
Dear mama I’m a man now
I wanna make it on my own, not a handout

Mic Down: Arguable

Track(s): Wonder Why They Call You B#tch, Letter to My Unborn, Shorty Wanna Be a Thug

Reason: Tupac was versatile, I truly don’t think there’s any issue he could not have rapped about passionately. I think like Nas, he was a compelling griot, and rapped about issues, truths, and tragedies that should never be forgotten.

Legend: Notorious B.I.G.

While we out here, say the hustlas prayer
If the game shakes me or breaks me
I hope it makes me a better man
Take a better stand
Put money in my moms hand
Get my daughter this college plan, so she don’t need no man

Mic Down: March 9, 1997

Track(s): Warning, What’s Beef?

Reason: The video for Warning scared the Beejesus out of me. The dogs barking, the ominous feel of it. Especially because back in my day, they actually censored videos. So I didn’t see all the action in the first couple of minutes in the video until I walked in on my uncle watching the uncensored version. (Apparently, now they removed this shoot-out from the video entirely.) And like some rapper said, Thanks to Big, now I know what beef is.

Of course I couldn’t feature all the legends in my short list, but in the wake of the passing of Ms. Houston, I thought I would end this with my favorite show’s rendition of I’ll Always Love You. If you can’t watch the six-minute video, start at 3:34.

What are some of your favorite tracks, perhaps not known by many, from said legends?