a period of 365 days that has me shook. that I don’t feel ready for. that will challenge me in new ways, some of which will be undesired. yet a period in which I will prevail over the hurdles that have plagued me for nearly two years. a period in which I will rediscover purpose in my work. in which I will build on the relationships I forged in 2016. in which I will travel more domestically and internationally. in which I will put my mental, physical, and emotional health first. (Written 12/31/2016)
I may not have travelled internationally, but a year later I am proud to say I held myself to this definition. Here are a few new pictures that capture some of my best moments in 2017.
At the start of 2015, I had 6 goals. Seeing (and meeting) Jojo was one of them.
Two years ago that may have seemed impossible, but after a year of leg work under her new label Atlantic Records, Jojo has finally been able to get her career back on track. The artist formerly known as translucentbrownsugar went into full promo mode in August 2015 releasing new music, embarking on a international tour and prepping a new album for 2016.
I’ll be honest, when I first heard her three new singles (the #tringle III.), I was so distracted by the direction of her music I didn’t fully appreciate the EP for what it was. (I had hoped she’d maintain the urban/r&b influence from her early years, and I didn’t hear that in any of the singles.)
There was no greater confirmation than hearing the tracks live that musically Jojo is exactly where she needs to be. As she has evolved, so has the music and ultimately she is still serving transcendent messages that her fans can connect to — maybe more powerful than ever before.
If her near-perfect 45-minute set wasn’t enough (I sang EVERY word from the front row), it was her encore performance that was the nail in the coffin. Jojo performed “I Am,” a new record that may be the title track off her upcoming album. It blew me away and really struck a chord.
Though I wish I could teleport you all back to U Street Music Hall, we will have to settle for the footage below. Check it out, and support her album when they set the release date.
#TeamJojo Out.
When one of your favorite artists has an appreciation of a cappella music ?. Jojo had a Ohio high school group join her for "Save My Soul," only wish the mics were working properly! If you can't get enough, check that out as well above.
A lot of black women put up an exterior that says: “Everything is together. ‘I’m fine. Perfect. Don’t worry about me. Keep it moving.’ That is the trend,” Andrews says. “Put on new stilettos. Put on a mask of bitchiness.” But that image — prevalent in both the media and the workplace, Andrews believes — is one-dimensional.
“When people think about black women, they have only one adjective for us, which is ‘strong,’ ” Andrews says. “The girl you see walking down the street looks like she has it all together,” but she may not.
Helena Andrews is the author of the unreleased book and soon to be movie Bitch is the New Black. She writes about women in the Washington, D.C. area “who appear to have everything: looks, charm, Ivy League degrees, great jobs. Closets packed full of fabulous clothes; fabulous condos in fabulous gentrified neighborhoods; fabulous vacations, fabulous friends. And yet they are lonely: Their lives are repetitive, desperate and empty.”
Honestly I seems like my worst nightmare is being put into book form.
I’m still in college working toward this lifestyle and I already feel the weight of many of her words and sentiments. The disappointment she describes in the article is something my best friends and I talk about all the time. So what is the solution? That is the question that will probably never be answered. At the end of the day it will probably just be written off as another bitter black woman writing about other bitter black woman looking for sympathy. I look forward to the books release in 2010 along with the response it receives.
