TLC- (LIVE)ON 95 MUSIC AWARDS....ThrowBack

It's Been 10 Years.... We Miss You Left Eye

Ten years ago today my heart was broken when I learned that Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez from TLC died in a car crash. I did not know her personally but I'm a 90's baby so I grew up on TLC so it felt like losing a friend or family member. TLC changed the music game and inspired so many people wiith safe sex message and party anthems. Left Eye had her own signature rap style. According to band mates T-Boz and Chilli she was playful and hot tempered in a good way and loved the media she felt as though all press is good press.  Can you imagine her being on Twitter and Facebook? I really hope we don't lost anybody else this year we just lost Heavy D, Etta James, Don Cornelius, and Whitney Houston although we are here on earth with borrowed time.





Waterfalls 1995
Left Eye's Rap
I seen a rainbow yesterday
But too many storms have come and
Leavin a trace of not one God given ray
You say because my life is ten shades of grey
I prey all ten fade away
Seldom praise him for the sunny days
And like his promise is true
Only my faith can undo
The many chances I blew
To bring my life to anew
Clear blue and unconditional skies
Have dried the tears from my eyes
No more lonely cries
My only bleedin hope
Is for the folk who cant cope
Wit such an endurin pain
That it keeps em in the puourin rain
Whos to blame
For tootin caine in your own vein
What a shame
You shoot and aim for someone elses brain
You claim the insane
And name this day and time
For fallin prey to crime
I say the system got you victim to your own mind
Dreams are hopeless aspirations
In hopes of comin true
Believe in yourself
The rest is up to me and you

I Cry: Tupac's Poetry

Sometimes when I'm alone


I Cry,

Cause I am on my own.

The tears I cry are bitter and warm.

They flow with life but take no form

I Cry because my heart is torn.

I find it difficult to carry on.

If I had an ear to confide in,

I would cry among my treasured friend,

but who do you know that stops that long,

to help another carry on.

The world moves fast and it would rather pass by.

Then to stop and see what makes one cry,

so painful and sad.



And sometimes...



I Cry



and no one cares about why.

Smart Brothers

I thought this is something worth sharing.

After 9 Years...OTH (One Tree Hill) Says Goodbye

"Okay guy in need of a clue. Here's one. Women send signals. That was a brush off. Before you dip into your shallow pool of wit, let me paint us a picture and save us both the trouble. Here's your evening. You are going to slink back off to your buddies, laughs this off, get wasted, go home, and make nice with yourself. But don't be thinking of me because even your fantasy of me isn't interested in you."
Brooke Davis- One Tree Hill
Actress Sophia Bush



In the Fall 2003 One Tree Hill premiered and most people were skeptical about the show because they thought the show would be more like Dawson's Creek and 90210. The shows main themes were basketball, love, friendship. I doubted the show myself but after I watched a marathon I became hooked and I'm really sad the show  went off the air last night. Over the years I laughed, cried, with the Nathan, Lucas, Peyton, Haley, Mouth, Skills, Brooke, Jamie, Chris Keller, Dan, Karen, Deb, and many other recurring characters. Me and my friends from middle school and high school enjoyed the show. I know good things don't last forever. We watched the characters begin the show as smalltown  high school kids and mature into twenty something contemporary adults that faced various challenges along the way.



Tonight I'm gonna take a trip down memory lane listening to the show's theme song and Gavin DeGraw's breakout hit "I Don't Wanna Be."

Something About That Number 4

Baby it's you.
You're the one I love.
You're the one I need.
You're the only one I see.
Come on baby it's you.

You're the one that gives your all.
You're the one I can always call.
When I need you make everything stop.
Finally you put my love on top.

Ooh! Come on baby.
You put my love on top, top, top, top, top.
You put my love on top.
Ooh oooh! Come on baby.
You put my love on top, top, top, top, top.
My love on top.
My love on top.

"Love on Top"- Beyonce'

I freaking love this song for a number reasons showcasing her vocals, up-tempo 1980's vibe, meaningful lyrics. What's not to love. I love the idea of being in love and I really respect married people. Ten years ago Jay-Z and Beyonce' began dating and it has been 4 years today since the two walked down aisle. I don't know them personally but I respect how they keep their relationship private. They have been making headlines lately for the birth of their daughter Blue Ivy Carter she's a cutie. I love Black love.

Happy Anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Carter wish you many more!

Toni's Thoughts: They did it the right way some call it old-school or traditional.  But they courted each other, got married, and started their family. By the way Blue Ivy is their baby Beyonce' got pregnant carried the baby for 9 months and gave birth. I'm so sick of reading rude and dumbass comments saying they had a surrogate. Yes she had a miscarriage previously but I'm sure she is healthy enought to bare a child. One more thing for all the non-believers Blue Ivy resembles both of her parents and she is light skinned because her mother is light skinned. Look at the pictures above.

44 Years Later

It has been 44 years since the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and I wonder if America truly listened to King's message. I give him credit for wanting to remain optimistic and see the good in people. He practiced civil disobedience and his Christian faith influenced how he dealt with racial oppression. Since Dr. King's death America has evolved in some ways and the lives of Black people have been like a song filled with high notes and low notes from the integration of schools, Barack Obama being elected as President, and recently the unfortunate death of Trayvon Martin.

Rest in peace thank you for all that you have done.

Words from Brother Langston

A Dream Deferred

by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Who is the E.N.D.?

Dave Damage and Elizha Colquitt

Social netoworking is good for connecting with people you know. I was crusing on Facebook and stumbled upon a link with music from the up-and-coming sensation The E.N.D. I say sensation because I believe in real talent and with the music industry is these days its great to hear an artist or group that has actual raw talent. The E.N.D consists of Dave Damage and Elizha Colquitt they hail from Nashville, TN they attend MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN.  The group is making a huge slash in the Tennesse region. OMG I must say my favorite song is "Outer Space" the track showcases their vocal skills.

Doing It Big..... In less than a year they've already opened for Pleasure P and performed in venues as large as the Municipal Auditorium with a established fan base. These guys are grinding like The Clipse and Pharraell.

Chris Connects

What's Their Story?  One Machine was founded by "Chris Connects", "Duke Dishin" (producer and head engineer)Elizha Colquitt and Dave Damage who the members of the group The E.N.D.

One Machine

Chris Connects says "We love to work with other artists and talents regardless of musical preference. Thats where One Machine gets its name from. Just as a machine is built from many separate parts in order to accomplish the same task, as are we. One Machine is built from a diverse group of music lovers who simply want to put the "music" back into music."

Listen for yourself....Get connected, Check them out they are talented and easy on the eyes ladies. I can spot a cutie from a mile away. Trust me you will see these guys performing at the Grammy's, BET Awards,  and appearing the cover The Source, Vibe Magazine sooner than you think. I'm telling you I'm cheering these guys on singing the hook to "Outer Space" so let's go, let's go.

o    Facebook.com/onemachinemusic
tumblr.onemachinemusic.com
twitter.com/onemachinemusic
youtube.com/user/onemachinemusic

We Wear The Mask

April is National Poetry Month


















We Wear the Mask
Paul Laurence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

 
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

 
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

The Prince of Motown, Prince of Soul

I want you the right way
I want you
But I want you to want me too
Want you to want me, baby
Just like I want you

I give you all the love
I want in return, sweet darlin'
But half a love is all I feel
It's too bad, it's too sad
You don't want me now
But I'm gonna change your mind
Someway, somehow, oh baby
"I Want You" Marvin Gaye

From 1958-1984 Marvin Gaye wrote and sang songs that made us fall in love, lust, and challenged audiences to understand the meaning of "Inner City Blues" and "Love Mother Earth." Marvin began his career as a member of the doo-wop group the Moon glows after the group disbanded he became a session drummer at Motown Records. As the 1960's rolled on Marvin became known for his solo hits as well his duets with Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell.

After  the death of close friend and singing partner Tammi Terrell he fell into a depression and didn't record or perform any music after her death although he returned to Motown on June 1, 1970.
Marvin achieved more success with his music during the 1970s and infleunces the genres of quiet storm,  urban adult contemporary  R&B, slow jam genres.

After a self-imposed European exile in the early 1980s, Gaye returned on the 1982 Grammy-Award winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album before his death. Gaye was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.


In 2008, the American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Gaye at number 6 on its list of the Greatest Singers of All Time,^[6] and ranked at number 18 on 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.He was also ranked at number 20 on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.


Happy Birthday Brother Marvin we miss you thank you for giving the music, talent, passion, and swagger.