“I’m a Phony”… Euphoria.

Kendrick FLAMED Drake.

Flamed.

Nuked.

Dragged.

Murked.

… and if you don’t agree, you probably prefer a combo meal at McDonald’s to the filet mignon at Ocean Prime… you don’t know any better God bless. But for those of us who know that a Kendrick joint requires a sit down, a few listens in quiet, he flamed old boy. Period.

I like Drake. Well I like Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, More Life Drake. I could do without thot Drake, he’s too, uh, seasoned, to be trying to be a baddie. It’s just not cute. And in my opinion, Push Ups and Taylor Made were thot behavior. The former was dissing Kendrick about his splits … and when you are doing business with Baby and J. Prince, you doing the front facing splits, the ones only the cheerleaders, gymnasts, and heauxs could do. Just saying…you have no room to talk. The latter with the silly AI was just… silly.

But then yesterday, a random Tuesday before lunch, my guy… be clear, I love Kendrick and I am biased, but I love hip hop more so if he isn’t honoring the culture I will call it out… dropped Euphoria. And baybee… it was atomic.

He is just different.

The entire premise of the song is that dude is a fraud, he’s cosplaying being a Black man for the culture. So when some Twitter guy posted that the opening line was Richard Pryor, in The Wiz, when it’s discovered he has no powers, saying “Everything they say about me is true” I knew this was about to go hard. The end of that statement in the movie is “I’m a phony”… and Kendrick lays him out for being the wiz who lives in hip hop land.

Let’s see, he used the Teddy P sample from “You’re My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration” to start off slow walking Drake into quicksand. If you know Kendrick’s pattern, he drops a project, maybe a feature or two in between, and is pretty incognito otherwise. But Aubrey “Drake” Graham got him outside. And dude stepped OUT, ya heard.

The title and many of the bars reference Drake’s alleged questionable history with young girls … his texting and relationships with Milly Bobbie Brown, Billie Eilish, Kylie Jenner, and Hailey Bieber when they were 18 and under and he was well into his late twenties and early thirties has sparked controversy. Euphoria is a show he produces about teen angst, drug use, and lots of teenage sex. So Kendrick calls him out for making music that is pacifying (play on pacifier again alluding to the age issue) the masses to Step in the Name of Drake.

He agrees with me, and basically calls Drake a thot with the demon line (a reference to Future whose middle name is DeMun and Drake’s penchant for Future’s old work), the Sexxy Red line, the “real women” line. He’s exposing Drake’s misogyny, which he’s done nothing to hide, particularly lately, and it is one layer in his Drake is bad for the culture premise. He manages to paint Drake as kin to Blueface… Bust down Drakiana.

He calls him a liar and simultaneously warns him about bringing up his wife, with the bar from The Heart, Part 4, “don’t tell no lies about me, I won’t tell no truth about you.” The song implies throughout that there is a secret about Drake that Kendrick is holding on to… a tactic Drake used in Push Ups as well. Could just be talk… or not.

As the beat and Kendrick’s voice changes. It’s a masterful use of tone, inflection, and production to change the mood. His adlibs are memorable, kinda prep you for the next barrage of bars, and are quintessential Kenny. He also shows his creativity and versatility without using AI or there even being question… the way he delivers the line “push-a-T” and “it ain’t even gotta be deep, I guess” are brilliant. You can hear the sarcasm. I was impressed, can you tell?

Then he questions:

•Drake’s pen, which is a common diss of Drake with his ghostwriters;

•Drake’s Blackness, and not because of his biracial identity or even his light skin but his use of Black American culture that he doesn’t give back to, according to Kendrick;

•and Drake’s authenticity… which he clearly believes Drake lacks. He says he doesn’t raise his son (the one PushaT exposed … oops), he uses other artists like Lil Yachty and Pac’s legacy for credibility, he has fake abs, he never responded to Pusha T, and his claims that he’s tough are baseless, cuz dude’s a former child actor from Canada… not Compton, the Bronx, the Fifth Ward, Chicago, the D, or other places where dudes get it out the mud.

My personal favorite parts come when he uses the DMX Breakfast Club rant to iterate how me he hates Drake too… “I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, the way that you dress.” That is hilarious. And the last two lines Kendrick sings… “we don’t wanna hear you say nigga no more.” LOL. I think this line is super potent though because it extends the discussion of who can say “nigga” and why people want to, who are Black adjacent. Kendrick is basically saying as an invitee into Black American culture, you don’t share the same history with the word and furthermore with the culture at-large. So you can’t say nigga my guy. He pushed Drake’s chest in yo.

Unless Kendrick hides infants in his attic or cooks meth in a trailer in the desert, Drake gotta come with the best lyrics of his life to beat this. While most of this wasn’t new about Drake, K.Dot laid him out proper… all his biggest controversies in one place, with the stamp of Black Lack over his face. I listened to some podcasts, and much of the commentary from men was the same… this wasn’t hard and it wasn’t No Vaseline or Hit ‘Em Up level dissing. That whole perspective is wack. These dudes aren’t reformed hustlers, one is a child actor and the other a conscious rapper, and the times are different. Yelling about smashing someone’s wife is not gonna go over. Talking about being booty bandited by White Jewish managers is not gonna go over. But telling this dude that he, his actions, and his music are additions to Black American culture that harm more than do good, and that he’s basically cosplaying a hip hop superhero in his own person movie, collecting dollars, and allegedly (so he implies) dropping dimes is brutal. You need more people, in other words. And “we don’t wanna hear you say nigga no more.”

On your Aubrey Sh!t

Like most Black women in my generation, I heard stereotypes regarding my skin color, my entire life. Between “You think you _____”… fill in the blank with any elitist toned word that means at it’s heart superior, and I being asked through primary school school if I were “mixed” because I was lighter than the ubiquitous paper bag. I didn’t understand it at the time, because my Black family ranged from eggnog to mahogany. But the Blackest of Black.. hold your ear when the hotcomb passes by; Vaseline on your face in winter; hot water cornbread; don’t sit that cast iron in that soapy water too long; money hidden in Royal Dansk cookie tins and change in Crown Royal bags; and Die!Nigger! Die! about H. Rap Brown on the bookcase. The subtitle of that book: “See it’s no between: you’re either free or you are a slave.” Over time I learned what it meant. House and field shit.

People constantly made assumptions about me based on hue and not on my personality. People assumed I was mean or stuck up without knowing me. My retreat from those people likely just made the assumptions persist. I soon realized there were legions of light skin people doing light skin people shit (LPS) out in these streets. Acting holier than though, like their closeness to massa made them closer to God, and frankly just irritating as fuck, their modus operandi. In a recent interview, a B list celeb explained her harsh “tone” as a function of being a New Yorker, and it’s criticism as a result of her light skin. I guffaw at her ridiculousness. First, moving to New York doesn’t suddenly turn you into the accent (she has NO accent) wielding, subway riding, hustle and bustle, move the crowd girl on the IRT. You just got a fucked up holier than though tone sis. LPS.

For me, the desire not to be asked about my ancestry or my character assumed, I didn’t invoke anything but my Blackness because if race is a construct, then color is racism’s get cousin. Cousin Faye at that. She is nasty work. Like White tears , the light skin tears are too much. For example, B-list crying about not being let in a party, she felt entitled to attend (more LPS ) thrown by a woman she expressed disdain for and being criticized for being smart and a critical thinker like “Stokely Carmichael and (get this) Martin Luther King Jr.” but with light skinned and proper articulation. It’s some real Southern cotillion curtsy bullshit. The whole light skin trope is sad. You are Drake with the curly bob and barrettes. Not a good look. LPS.

I get it. The negative stereotypes used to justify prejudice and fuel racism resulted in treatment across the culture that was predicated upon skin tone. The notion that I am going to be more agreeable, über confident, and free from sensitivities is borne out of an ignorance of how aesthetics and reality cohabitate. Often women who don’t abide, ask alot of questions, are emotional, are deemed difficult and too this and overly that, extra. Rarely are we allowed to just be, our behavior is expected… and many of us get stuck there and embrace the stereotype. LPS.

These stereotypical views of Black women persist in our cultural, personal, and social spaces. Brown girls are expected to be nice; dark skin women are perceived as just angry, because of their placement on the hierarchy that has whiteness at its pinnacle; and light skinned girls got it easy because of their proximity to Whiteness. When we embrace that proximity…particularly by believing our nastiness, discontent, and bitchiness is acceptable… from there stems the character assumptions across the population. The fact is, we aren’t treated better or afforded more privilege because of who we are, but because of our closeness to something we are not. White women aren’t the ideal. Light skin women behaving badly like they get a light skin pass to be an asshole are often the super villian… LPS.

Despite seeing my brown and dark skin sisters, our natural hair, a few of our voices celebrated, I also know that colorism and skin color are still used to divide both in the Black community and the greater global community. Trust that almost everything people say is put through a filter and act accordingly. All one’s skin tone factually informs is how much melanin we have… anything else you heap on top of it is not based in fact but opinion, informed by your own perception. Whether we are fluorescent beige or cosmic umber, we are diverse, complex, and worthy. We are Black women and susceptible to all its truths. However, consistently complaining about how people see and respond to your privilege is demeaning to the plight of other Black women without it. LPS.

Stop it. Our rainbow is our greatest wonder, and most often defined by what you don’t see. Real Black woman shit

Spark Mad -Isms

What is racism? Sure you can find a definition but can you find it codified?! Is there any intergovernmental group that has come together to explain in real-time the experience and history of racism and slavery of Africans? Nope. Is there any such definition adopted by this country, which was the main beneficiary of the transatlantic slave trade and the impetus of systematic Black discrimination? Nope. Considering the impact of racism and slavery on capitalism, poverty, prejudice, and liberty IN THIS COUNTRY, that seems odd. However, the concept of antisemitism and holocaust remembrance are well rooted in American government and society.

Interesting.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), of which the US is a member, has a definition of antisemitism that states it is a “certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” It includes making stereotypical allegations about Jews; denying the fact, scope, mechanisms or intentions of the holocaust; and conflating the relationship between Jews and Israel. This definition is used to define anti-Jewish discrimination in federal laws, is officially adopted by the Department of State, and many states are also trying to include it as a way to stop criticism of Israel. The length of its reach shows the extent of the importance of Jewish equality and equity.

We remember more shit that didn’t happen in American than what did… there has been a national Holocaust museum since 1993. The national African-American History museum didn’t open until 2016. A history that happened HERE! Snack on that…

When we attempt to create a similar concept regarding race, it is disrobed and stoned in town square. Critical race theory (CRT), an ideological concept by Kimberlé Crenshaw, is the theory that the social & systemic construction of race has perpetuated a racial caste system that relegates people of color to the bottom tiers. It’s basic premise is that slavery, segregation, and the systemic second class status of Black Americans is apart of the national identity. This working definition of “racism” is repeatedly trashed by the right wing of American government. Even the idea of being “woke” about these practices has been usurped like “My bad” and “Whoop there it is.” Instead of being an exposé, it has been determined divisive and anti-American.

Yet, somehow, we are to believe that antisemitic rhetoric is at the forefront of hate speech, discrimination, and violence in America… right now. While it is certainly heightened by the genocide in Palestine, the forefront is wild. This country allows one group to define it’s oppression and accepts that definition into its canon as a legitimate human rights issue in this country, yet rejects that same theory from the people this nation stole,oppressed, and used to build it’s streets and toil its land. As Black men and women are murdered by State actors in the streets, it is no surprise a people killed and tortured on foreign land are welcomed and it’s children dismissed. So much for child support.

Our neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Tulsa, and New York were razed. We have been pushed out of the urban centers we built. It is claimed that this land has eradicated racism because we elected a Black president. The same President often depicted as an orangutang and his citizenship questioned. There is no sensible denial of the atrocities against Jewish people. But how this country has treated its guests is far better than how it has treated its citizens. They may have gotten only the cold dark room in the back of the house when they first arrived, but we couldn’t even come in. Then they eventually became apart of the family. Mazel tov.

When Americans of all colors and genders criticize Israel, we are called antisemitic. How Sway? According to their own law, it’s antisemitism to align the Jewish and Israeli agendas. Doesn’t that make your definition deeply flawed? Yes, yes it does. When holocaust and slavery are compared like they were one in the same, especially when post slavery trauma is still being inflicted upon us by present day, government sanctioned, social action, is that not anti-, is that not an -ism. When Black people are stereotyped in a way that perpetuates the American caste system’s second-class designation, is that not anti-, is that not an -ism. But women and children are 57% of the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, and we cannot criticize that or the Jewish people who believe 1,200 killed yesterday justifies 30,000 killed today. Is that not anti-, is that not an -ism. It’s wrong. Period.

An -ism is a doctrine, system, set of beliefs or ideas. An anti-(fill in the blank)-ism is the system or theory that is against a thing. We need a working definition of “antiracism” that includes systematic discrimination, particularly of Black people in America; failure to acknowledge the historical, financial, familial, medical, and social impact of slavery; and the use of stereotypes that depict all Black people in a collectively negative manner. But that won’t happen… so racism it is… and what even does that mean!?!

When you are left stumped, just call on the spirit of Nate Dogg to help you through… today, he suggests these words… “smoke, everyday!”

-signed, a Black Girl Therapist

Hold ‘Em… One at a Time

If two Black women do a thing, the commentary is, well Tamika did it better than Sadie ever did, and Tamika is number one. We like Sadie and Tamika… but the narrative is… only one. Only Amil in Roc a Fella, and Rah Digga in Flip Mode. Only Quinta, only Halle. Only Naomi or Tyra. Only Nicki or Cardi or Meg. Only Beyoncé, Mickey, Rissi, or K. Michelle… and not. That is exhausting and ridiculous.

K. Michelle nor Beyoncé have established themselves in a space Mickey Guyton and Rissi Palmer already occupy successfully… so these comparisons and this desire to pit these women against each other is borne of intersectionality . Nobody ever said either Freeway or Beanie Sigel… only Tim Mc Graw or Garth Brooks. But frankly neither is there room for only Meryl Streep or Jodie Foster. But two Black women succeeding… let not get outrageous.

I could personally care less about country albums. I care A LOT about how Black women are treated and how much we are being subjected to prejudices in these ways that are masked as competition and entertainment, but really are present in every facet of our lives. I used to work in a place that was diverse when I joined, but slowly the plentiful number of Black women were pushed out and never replaced until there was just one in any type of management position. Multiple Black women was too many… is often deemed too many… because in many of these spaces (particularly when White men take over) we are still looked at as a token. Sure, we’ll give you this little back corner office because then you can’t say that we haven’t given you anything… I believe is the sentiment. But we are rarely given anything, we earned that shit… give us what we have earned.

Again, I don’t stan for anyone. But I am rooting for everybody Black… Black women in particular in this realm. I am aware of how many of my own friends and peers have been in only positions then had their presence in those positions questioned. So often in these discussions, Black women I know personally have had experiences that amount to:

“… being punished, passed over, ostracized, black balled …”

“I am IN CHARGE and people are still like, “Why is she even talking?” Unbelievable.”

“Just shut up, get the work done, make money for us, rinse and repeat!”

“…being called intimidating and difficult…”

“We are walking by each other on some hey gurl hey, big upping black girl magic…knowing the magic is on display but not the reality. Why we got to pull out wands and share potions and all that stuff just to be.”

This is the very real experience of being relegated to these made-up singular positions. It isn’t real, it’s misogyny and racism. It’s she isn’t strong enough, logical enough. It’s they aren’t smart enough, professional enough, talented enough. It’s bullshit. Let me reiterate… this “only one” shit, is just that, shit. We can, should, and DO exist across the zeitgeist. On most days, we wake up with every intention of just being. When we are allowed that experience, our magic is reality, it permeates, and blossoms, and flowers. It doesn’t desire to take over anyone else’s space… it is only interested in being given space; not black-balled, questioned, and accused so you can push us out.

Our magic is living and breathing, a spirit of collective hope, joy, creativity, and connection. We want to be a part of, not the only. We don’t need to force anyone else outside the lines, we are the blueprint for most of this stuff we end up having to fight to regain. But when forced into the singular, we push at the seams. And most of us really have zero desire to boot scootin’ boogie, trust… but if we need to put on ten gallons and spurs to be seen…

And where there is one, there are many. Ain’t no hold ‘em!

-signed, a Black Girl Therapist

Scientists & Engineers

Hey ya’ll…

It’s been a minute. Welcome back!

This time around, it’ll be a little different, because…

So… enjoy! Let’s gooooo….

****

Ok, sorry, I had to say wassup.

So, ya’ll say you love hip hop, wait for weeks for Kanye’s Vulture’s to drop, commit every Playboi Carti verse to memory, and praise the name of J.Cole at the altar, but you don’t know Killer Mike… you buggin! You can’t be a good mechanic if you only work on new cars. The old cars lasted longer, have better parts, represent history, and had ashtrays on the seat backs. New cars are, well, gonna get you from A to B at an increase of $20,000 from Mom and Dad’s 8 track joint, and there isn’t even enough room in the backseat. You were conceived in that DeVille with the hand-crank windows and leather bench seat. Your brand new sedan, I mean, it’s nice, it has seats and tires. Old school hip hop was about the love, the experience, the ride, the personality. In so many ways, new stuff is just about wild stories, simple rhymes, and the bag.

Killer Mike is a 20 year veteran in the game, repping ATL and the South real big. Rakim is the GOAT, to this day nobody weaves words around each other like he did, in that dope ass cadence. Nas is smoking on your top five, even J. Cole would tell you that. Run DMC is the reason any of these dudes you listen to even exist. And Grandmaster Caz of The Cold Crush Brothers had his cadence and lyrics stole wayyyy before Drake ganked Soulja Boy. You wanna claim to be true to some shit you know nothing about. That’s the definition of cap.

Let me learn you. My first hip hop cassette was Salt-n-Pepa “Hot, Cool, and Vicious” and I memorized start to finish in one night so the next day I could do Salt’s part on the playground, ok the parking lot of St. Cecilia’s at recess. The first rap records I learned the words to were Rapper’s Delight and The Breaks by Kurtis Blow. Rapper’s Delight was on the radio, and my mom had the Kurtis Blow album with him shirtless and arms crossed on the cover… and I played it on the record player moving the needle back several times to catch the words. When I was seven, Run DMC came out… “money is the key to end all your woes, your ups, your downs, your highs, and your lows”… and I was hooked.

I cherished that Salt-n-Pepa tape, nestling it back in its plastic cradle each time I was done listening to protect it at all costs. Second only to my “Cool it Now” 45 by New Edition. Even though I was too young to remember from experience, I knew Sha-Rock, the plus one with the Funky Four, and Roxanne Shante were mic checking before Sandra and Cheryl. I respected it. I learned it. I felt seen by it, so I showed it love. I don’t rap, never have, don’t want to, but my love of hip hop dictates that I honor it’s legacy, it rich history, and it’s humble beginnings. The pioneers didn’t buy their moms a house, they still lived in mom’s house. No Richard Milles and Balenciaga sweaters, just shelltoes, Kangols, and dreams. Everything done for love is better than that done for money.

Fortunately, hip hop’s legacy is something I was born into, so it’s history is a part of my history. I get excited when I discover new samples, hear DJ Jazzy Jeff scratch, or my ear picks up a Dilla or Alchemist beat. I know the history of the Juice Crew and BDP Bridge Wars, and the fact that Grandmaster Flash is the inventor of sampling. I know the RZA was once Prince Rakeem and that Jay-Z’s parents Adnis and Gloria “made love under the sycamore tree” which made him a “more sicker MC.” If this shit doesn’t move you, you might love trap or rap or whatever, but not hip hop. But whatever you do, show some respect.

“Like Percy with me, it just can’t be no limit/A hundred percentage authentic, see I got no gimmicks.”

Scientists and Engineers, Killer Mike

I bet ya’ll complaining, asking folks to name three Killer Mike sings, don’t even know who Percy is. “I do wish I had scientist or engineer friends…” say that while you close your eyes and click your heels three times. Expand your knowledge, open your mind, respect legacy, and find some folks smarter than you to help you out. They’ll tell you, Drake is not the GOAT… he is Aubrey Graham, a very successful rapper, who used to play Jimmy Brooks on DeGrassi. DeGrassi and Percy Miller… look it up!

-signed, a Black Girl Therapist

She by She

Black Women are the kryptonite of the establishment.

We aren’t the socially superior. They only want the colorful, creative, Nicki Minaj voice over tik toks, cornrows, and asses minus oppression. Their oppression. We aren’t the femininely fair. Not willowy milky white or sweet, untouchable, and shiny. Our sun swathed skin and strong bodies the manifestation of our ancestors. Our bodies the result of having to fight instead of being loved, to toil instead of being bathed in coconut milk and manuka honey, and to assert in order to win, as it’s not our birthright in America. That was stolen from us. Both our bodies and our wins deemed unfair and unearned.

They will place rules on your
body, say it’s a distraction from
their game,
as if they know better than you
how your bones should wear your own body

Jessica Mans, Serena

Descendants of Maat, Lady Justice. But they don’t know justice. She is disguised by a blindfold and drapes of fabric hiding the body as if it’s femininity cannot coexist with its power and it’s genderless to negate the male gaze. Adorned in purity and holding balance in her hands, she is a source of false imagery not represented in reality. Yet, we live in this feigned utopia, where Black billionaires are bred… but even billionaires are Black. Still nigga. Justice, the epitome of who we are, doesn’t live here.

Your daughter’s face is a small riot, her hands are & civil war, a refugee camp behind each ear,
a body littered with ugly things but God, doesn’t she wear
the world well.

Waran Shire, Ugly

Gods and Goddesses. Queen and Kings. Mermaids and Mermen. The ancestors are of the spirit, swathed in royalty, and some even live under the sea. We are fluid. From our native land to the belly of the boat. Middle Passage. From our living room to our roof. Katrina. From the foamy river to our drinking glasses. The Flint River. The ghost of Queen Makeda walks through the 8th Ward. Oshun withholds and calls back the waters in plagued bodies. Yemaya, mermaid goddess, protects & swims the seven seas. The granddaughter of Poseidon welcomes any who prefer the ocean floor to the plantation.

When they tell the Black girl
She can’t play play mermaid ask them, what their people know
about holding their breath
underwater. About giving their bodies
to the current

Jasmine Mans, The Little Mermaid

We are unicorns. Our horns antennas to the heavens so we can dial into James, Maya, Frederick, and Sojourner. Our bodies stallionesque. Thick like Luke dancers. Legs strong enough to walk the Serengeti. Angel wings and rainbows, myths and legends. But like our music, our art, our minds, even our mythology is covered in the darkness of hatred. Superior yet inferior. Greater but lesser. Not fly despite their wingspan. Not colorful despite Mr. Crayola. Not a unicorn, just Mr. Ed. But we are not defined by their definitions. We determine who we are… our ancestors passed our identity down to us: braids, curls, bodies, color, soul, spirits, and magic.

The black unicorn is restless
the black unicorn is unrelenting
the black unicorn is not
free.

Audre Lorde, The Black Unicorn

We hold the key to our freedom!

Real Bad (Updated)

Many women have wasted their youth on Diddy, while he ran the streets with his thugs. His hit list is long: Kim Porter, Cassie, Gina Huynh, Jennifer Lopez, Misa Hylton, Lori Harvey, Miracle Watts, and now Caresha, “Yung Miami” of the group The City Girls. He has children with the late Kim Porter, who he didn’t seem to appreciate until after her passing. They had three kids, Christian and twins , D’Lila and Jessie who are the same age as his daughter Chance, by another woman. He later dated Jennifer Lopez for several years; Cassie Ventura, a singer, for over a decade; and Gina Huynh since 2018. He’s simultaneously been dating Caresha since late 2021. Most of these women have been much younger than him, waiting to be chosen. But he remains unmarried. He is perpetually single. Real single.

Listen, everybody ain’t mean to marry. And based on his track record and the fact that he’s 52 years old dating a 28 year old, he likely is one of those men. And really this isn’t about him… it’s about young women not wasting their youth on men who have ZERO desire to marry them and they know the women desire marriage. I mean this woman declared publicly that they were a couple… to his surprise… she clearly is tryna get chose. Sadly he likely won’t keep it a buck and tell her that’s not his desire. If he knows -and you must make sure to tell him, that your purpose in dating is marriage and family- and he isn’t headed there or talking to you about it, it’s time to run. Real fast.

Men interested in commitment will pretty quickly during the dating phase ask you questions and set up experiences you can enjoy together that gear towards that end… to see if you align. They will want at some point to be exclusive, and make plans with you, talk to you like you’ll be a future fixture… if of course you are a woman who has readied herself to be a wife. And while commitment and marriage is nothing to be rushed, men that are interested in that will lead you with intention closer and closer to that until together you decide to take it no further or to meet him at the alter in your white dress. Real shit.

Now how that will look… won’t be textbook. All relationships are different. But be sure it’s a relationship and not a situationship, usership, sexership, or bullshitship. He will show you he is serious because his words and behavior will match. He’ll be consistent and excited to see you, and he’ll make time for you. He’ll also respect that you are choosing to spend your pre-midlife stress-free energy, flat stomach season, and yet to be ruined credit score on him. I mean let’s be honest, you will be fine as frog hair with Meg knees, and he that is worthy will not take of those years then leave you off his life insurance after a 20 year relationship. He’ll appreciate the value of your youth. Men with their shit together, if you are a likeminded woman and share a personality he can appreciate, are gonna scoop you like real Superman ice cream during a Detroit summer. Real hero-like.

Caresha, you are a young tenda and he’s a beyond middle age guy still trying to diddy bop his way into young ladies panties. Make him work to even look at you. The least he can do is treat you like the prize that you are. Ladies, demand what you deserve. He should always make you feel appreciated, desirable, and chosen… especially if he’s an old man you are blessing with the beauty and value of youth. And if he doesn’t, you make sure you do. After ten years of dating Diddy, Cassie was married with a child on the way in less than one year. Don’t waste your time on anyone who isn’t choosing you! You need a new boo. Real bad.

Periodt!

But if he is really gifting you $250,000 a month, carry ….. skkkkkrrrrtttttt!

Yooooooo…. What is ya’lls man doing out here girl?!? Yes, ya’lls cuz Diddy is bopping all up in the streets, if the streets are vaginas.

This guy is making babies and huddling up on street corners with his macaroni and cheese and collard greens Caresha… but you out here going off like you the fried chicken of this shit. I thought the main wife had to agree to having sister wives, I mean that’s how it was on Big Love. But whatever this is dude is giving you is not big love, it’s very selfish love for a man of his age to be stealing your best years from you knowing you are blinded, in part, by name, money, fame, position. Caresha Please, we know you care.

We want you to win sis… seriously, and your internet aunties are concerned. Life is short, waste it on no man or woman. Nothing wrong with dating and nothing wrong with polyamory if that is what you choose, but we see you arguing your worth while this negro is having a midlife hoe crisis. We want better for you. You gotta want better for yourself!

We don’t talk about Peri

There are a lot of things Black folks don’t talk about… Nana’s full mustache, Uncle James and Uncle Charlie are not just roommates, Cousin Tanya’s drug habit, that baby don’t look like Ray, and menopause. Your mother & grandmother either hid it, described it only as hot flashes, or they had complete hysterectomies and never experienced it. Whatever the case… we gotta talk about it. Specially peri menopause, cuz it’s that joker right there that is not for the weak.

So let’s get into it!

Peri menopause is the transition into menopause, which is the end of a woman’s reproductive years. It is during this time estrogen levels rise and fall and cause a myriad of symptoms that basically feel like everything from your hair to your feet is on that bullshit! An internet search led me to a few lists of symptoms: irregular menstrual cycles, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, incontinence, bone fragility (1), more severe PMS, hair loss, weight gain, inflammation, headaches, back pain, forgetfulness, loss of libido, inability to concentrate (2), shortness of breath, heartburn, loss of appetite, depression/anxiety, vision issues, bloating, skin breakouts or dryness (3). And just personal one’s I’ve noticed… cold feet, spatial confusion, and tastebud changes. It typically starts in a woman’s 40s, but may start in her 30s, and can last anywhere from a few months to over a decade. (4) Not talking about peri is no bueno!

It makes no sense that women have to get surprised by this very normal and natural phenomenon. It’s not just hot flashes and your cycle ending… it is a whole fucking life change that women need to be prepared for, especially Black women. We know that Black women often face disparate treatment in healthcare settings because doctors don’t understand or have compassion for our unique health concerns, not enough medical research is done into the health realities of Black women, healthcare access is limited in poor and urban communities, and health education is lacking across the board for and regarding Black women’s bodies. When you add our reproductive health into the fold… we need to talk about Peri! She is a whole beast wrecking unnecessary havoc out here…

Our hormones are tied to damn near every physical process in our bodies. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency,

The endocrine system, made up of all the body’s different hormones, regulates all biological processes in the body from conception through adulthood and into old age, including the development of the brain and nervous system, the growth and function of the reproductive system, as well as the metabolism and blood sugar levels. The female ovaries, male testes, and pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands are major constituents of the endocrine system. (5)

Women with hormonal ebbs and flows are a whole environmental concern lolol! Why? Cuz we are literally a whole emotional system out in these streets, suffering from physical changes that mimic everything from mental illness to going blind. She is not to be fucked with. She might bite you. She is savage af, and she is probably sleepy and hungry simultaneously. She can wake up completely happy,

and in a matter of moments cycle through every emotion from confusion (about people, places, things, everything),

irritation,

uncertainty,

disinterest and lack of desire… to do anything,

upset,

choosing violence,

choosing calm & scary violence, or

scaring her damn self.

But whatever it is, she need to be adequately prepared to face it. And ladies, we have been thrown into the pits of hormonal chaos without a life preserver all because we don’t talk about Peri.

So if this sounds like you, if you read this and feel seen, talk about Peri… ask your sista friends, talk to your doctor, find another doctor if the one you have doesn’t listen and tells you that you are imagining these very real symptoms, and peruse social media. Women aren’t being silent… we gon talk about Peri’s raggedy ass!

Check out @kari_wright on Tik Tok… life changing!

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(1) mayoclinic.com (2021) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/perimenopause/symptoms-causes/syc-20354666

(2) Cherney, K. (2020). Healthline.com https://www.healthline.com/health/menopause/difference-perimenopause#symptoms-of-perimenopause-and-menopause.

(3) Sharkey, L. (2021). https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sex/i-have-weird-symptoms-with-perimenopause

(4) health.harvard.edu (2020). https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/perimenopause-rocky-road-to-menopause

(5). USEPA (2021). https://www.epa.gov/endocrine-disruption/what-endocrine-system

It’s Sh*t in the Pool

The dating pool that is… and the shit is fresh!

Yep, if you are single and in your 40s, it might be best to take up Cricut crafting, learn to backwards skate on your hardwoods, or maybe even pull out those old Billy Blanks VHS boys and tae bo your way to that 1980s flat stomach…but dating… CHILE.

So I know some awesome men, so I know they exist. The problem is I always date men I already know or know of… and that has not gone so great. So if you want something different, you do something different right… so let’s meet a man I don’t know already, I said to myself. I hadn’t thought that out well though, since I rarely go anywhere anymore. I mean I love him deeply, but the Amazon man is not my type. So my dearest boonapolis suggested a dating site… and I figured that would give me time to ready myself should God send my rich husband anytime soon… So ok.

Did I mention the pee and dead bodies …

These are real conversations…

This not joy. This is not the dude I could “sit and talk to…for hours.” This is not fair. Chitlin boy had on Cazals, a kangol, and a silver Jesus Piece. I cannot Krush Groove with you homeboy. I do not have the hook up. Ass man had an eye that was less sure of itself than Forest Whitaker’s joint. Then the Hi guy… yeah I’m not playing these reindeer games with your ass. Say something.

It’s definitely shit pebbles floating past you in the dating pool.

Then… THEN they using all these acronyms that really just mean “I like freak shit!” I am an ENM, seeking FWB, with NSA. I am D2F on a ONS, and I am EVWE! (in order of use: Ethically Non-Monogamous; Friends with Benefits; No Strings Attached; Down to f#{%; One Night Stand; and Extremely Very Well-Endowed). All the No’s in No Village! I mean this gives a whole new meaning to alphabet people. So many men are trying to practice polyamory with polyhater pockets. Sir, you need a lot of money to have a lot of women. You barely have enough for one, and I’m not eating beans and vienna sausages for dinner just to look across at you. I’ll have a filet on my plate… cuz that is what is on my plate now. Ain’t nobody downgrading for your raggedy ass.

Then others on the long ball side of fifty talking about they want more kids. Kids???? Is kids another name for Icy Hot? You want a woman to have children at 45 and up!?!? Can you retire her? Are you prepared to pay all the bills while she stays home the entire pregnancy until the child goes to a full day of school? You got college money saved? You got a ranch style house, cuz who chasing DeVante up the stairs? You know where they sell patience… cuz my good sis will need some after Madison does a 265 cartwheels in a row, saying, “Ma, Ma, Ma, look.” EACH TIME! Can you handle all that big daddy? If not, you better join Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The hell. A baby…

Point is… It’s shit in the dating pool… so be careful out here.