this email is late (double entendre)
volume 11
Greetings Baddies,
Happy Pride to the gays! And bittersweet Monday-eve to everyone else.
A bunch of you reading this may be new here so as a recap, each Sunday we recap some things things that happened last week and categorize them as “late” (meaning not good), “neither here nor there” or “great.”
Let’s jump right in because I am fully watching the BET awards, writing some scripts for work all while writing this too AKA doing too much….
LATE
9) Ikea’s racist Juneteenth Menu
Luckily for me, I haven’t patronized Ikea since college because I inherited beautiful vintage wooden furniture. However, the Swedish company went viral this week because of a racist menu they had for Juneteenth at one of their Atlanta locations.
Atlanta is like the blackest city in the world so I’m not sure what they were thinking? Does this offend you, or just make you hungry?
8) Usher made T Pain Depressed for 4 Years
This story made me super sad this week. As someone who recently emerged (am I even out?) of a depressive four months…which was sparked by someone who I thought would have more compassion for me, I felt this shit.
T Pain revealed that years ago he was on a plane with Usher, who he considered a friend…when his life changed forever. The men were both seated in first class of course, when the flight attendant woke T Pain up out of his sleep and said Usher wanted to speak with him. Usher proceeded to tell T-Pain that he RUINED MUSIC!
This was super uncalled for and false! Plus imagine how vulnerable you are waking up from a nap to hear such hatred. T-Pain certainly changed music and inspired people to use autotune more, but autotune isn’t T-Pain’s fault as he wasn’t the first to use it. I think what the issue was, is that people stopped caring about Usher’s music and Usher was jealous.
If there is a lesson to be learned here… stop projecting your insecurities onto other people and diagnosing them/telling them what’s wrong with them. Unless you’re a therapist… we’re all just out here doing the best we can. T-Pain is better than me, and says he still has love for Usher…I’m not sure if I would. But God is still working on me.
7) #FREEBRITNEY
As I’m sure you know by know…audio from Britney's court hearing re: her conservatorship came out and she let us know the hell she’s been living in for years. The things she expressed are horrifying. The craziest thing outside of having no control of her money, is that she’s not allowed to remove her IUD/have more children. I don’t even turn on my Zoom camera so I can’t imagine this level of control over my life…especially if I was rich. Was she even ever that “crazy” ?? This is super fucked up, and I think her dad/anyone else involved should be in jail. #FreeBritney!
NEITHER HERE NOR THERE
6)Trick Daddy attacked by Bey-Hive
For some strange reason, rough faced Florida rapper Trick Daddy came out this week saying Beyonce can’t sing. Not only is this not true… it’s a dangerous statement to make, which Trick quickly learned. Moments after going rogue in his uncalled for comments…he suffered the consequences.
Trick Daddy’s restaurant ratings took a deep dive after this transgressions against our Creole Queen. Afterwards Trick Daddy did an interview saying he’s “more afraid of roaches than bees.” How are you a thug afraid of roaches? Uh huh, okay, wassup, shut up!
5) BBL Line at Airport
A video surfaced this week from an airport in the Dominican Republic at the gate going to Atlanta, and everyone is in a wheelchair leading the poster to assume they’re recovering from BBL surgeries. BBL stands for Brazilian Butt Lift and it is the most popular surgery of our current self-hatred era:
The surgery is apparently EXTREMELY dangerous despite the popularity. I don’t really know what to think. I support people having freedom over their bodies, as it’s not really my business. There is a sadness I feel that so many people are getting a surgery to look exactly like somebody else, though. Perhaps I’m not allowed to speak on it, since I already have an ass and tits…so I don’t know how it feels to not have either.
In fact, I’m kind of thinking about getting a breast reduction because I have TOO MUCH tit. I’m grappling with this, because I’m not sure how I feel about altering God’s divine creation (me).
To each their own of course, just make sure you love yourself first and foremost… surgery can’t make that happen.
4) Subway Tuna Sandwich Contains no Tuna
I put this in “neither here nor there” because if you’re still eating Subway in 2021, after Jared was touching them kids and after we learned the bread is not even bread…that’s on you!
I also find tuna and mayonnaise both disgusting… anyone who eats either is gambling with their lives! Good luck.
GREAT
3)Wing Stop Pivots to Thighs
Speaking of missing ingredients, there is a chicken wing shortage so wing stop has pivoted to thighs. This is very exciting because the thigh is secretly one of the most juicy, flavorful parts of the bird! They released this announcement via their most illustrious franchise owner, Rick Ross:
Life is all about staying on your toes…or your thighs?
2) Telfar to design Liberian Olympic Looks
When I tell you I SCREAMED when I saw this! Liberian Queens native Telfar Clemens announced that his powerful brand TELFAR is designing the Liberian Olympic uniforms.
This is truly iconic and I’m speechless. It made me care about sports for a moment as did the iconic Sha’Carri Richardson
1)Mary J Blige’s Amazon Prime Documentary
I had this written in my planner for several weeks now, and it did not disappoint. Mary J Blige is just as important to me as women in my family. The pain and triumph she encompasses through her music is just….phew.
Her documentary on Amazon Prime is about her second album My Life, which is a bonafide CLASSIC. Mary discusses her upbringing (a bit too briefly for me but I’m greedy) and some of the things going on in her life that she poured into the project.
In the documentary, Mary speaks about healing her inner child as well as her inner young adult…goals! I cried at 2 minutes in and continuously through this documentary.
I was so touched when Mary talked about listening to Roy Ayer’s “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” while growing up in the projects…where sometimes it felt like the sun didn’t shine. She flipped the song on her title track from the album, which makes me cry every-time.
I also related to her saying that on her second album she was “writing for her life.” I kind of feel the same way. As I alluded to in the Usher x T-Pain section, I’ve been dealing with depression as many of us are. I started this newsletter in the midst of it, to give me something to look forward to…and something that I must do every week.
That’s why I still put this out today, albeit super late and kind of mid compared to the other volumes…. maybe next week will be better?
thank you for managing to piece together another GREAT newsletter in spite of all that's been going on in your personal life. i, too, patiently await every drop but won't be mad if you need to take a break one of these days... we here and ain't goin nowhere. sidenote: my team at Leo Burnett did that Wingstop spot and sadly i didn't get to fly down to ATL to shoot it at Ross' crib. =/ also i hollered at that Trick Daddy shade using his own lyrics, well done lol
if you're still eating subway in 2021, then that's on you.....mary j. blige is LIFE, thankful we can celebrate her in real time and not in a time of tragedy.❤