GONE – Music Video by Love-Logiq

Watch our first music video by R&B artist Love-Logiq! #Love-Logiq #KindredSpiritENT #ShesGone

THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Film

https://www.youtube.com/user/kindredspiritE

Subscribe to my production company YouTube channel! Tomorrow, THE OTHER WOMAN premieres at 6pm EST/9pm PST! Here’s a sneak peek…you don’t want to miss this. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram!! (Links are on the YouTube page!)

Writing About Writing

Writing can consume you. Not in a it-must-be-perfect type of way, but more in the obsessive did-I-use-the-best adjective/noun/verb/phrase/sentence/paragraph/story structure type of insanity that can turn a simple explanation into a ten page abstract. In these times, it is best to walk away from the computer, pen and pad, and/or typewriter.

Take a break from the page, for your sanity, well-being. When you do, dance to this: Idris Elba – DJ Big Dris

Black Fathers & Daughters: Our History, Our Words

Some 500 years ago, a man, woman, and child were forcibly removed from their homeland. They were the first family of millions to be taken from Africa, shackled, beaten, and stripped of their rituals, religions, and basic sense of humanity. Families were often arbitrarily torn apart for monetary gain. Children were sold away, not raised by their parents. This cycle would continue legally until 1865, subconsciously even to present day.

Throughout the institution of slavery, a man’s value was placed on his physical strength. The broader their shoulders, the bigger their muscles the better workers they would make. Many slave owners took their strongest and biggest enslaved male Africans and treated them as any owner of horses would treat their best stallion—put him in a room and hope that the mating would be successful.

Millions of African and African American men fathered children they never saw, never knew existed or even worse, interacted with daily and could not tell them that they were their fathers. The structure of the African American family unit was annihilated. This created a rift within the legacy of African American fatherhood. Marriage was not allowed between slaves, which helped many owners further the cause of using one man to create an army of slaves. African American studies scholars Delores P. Aldridge and Carlene Young state that the “imbalance, alienation and non-cohesion” within many African American homes presently can be identified as a “collective post-traumatic stress disorder” of the prolonged campaign of dehumanization within America.

According to a 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, 63% of African-American households are spearheaded by single moms. Although popular forms of media have addressed the disappointment associated with the absentee African American father, they rarely depict the process by which a relationship is established, or can be established, between a father and child when the two reconcile.

Below are memoirs and personal accounts some daughters experienced with their fathers. Some famous, some not, some traumatic, some exhilarating but all, nonetheless, a part of our history.

Daughters of Men: Portraits of African American Women and Their Fathers

By: Rachel Vassel

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007

Pages: 192

Vassel compiles more than 40 personal essays from pop icon Beyonce Knowles, actresses Sanaa Lathan (Love and Basketball) and Malinda Williams (Soul Food, 2000-2004), entertainment moguls Cathy Hughes (TV ONE) and Tracey Edmonds (Edmonds Entertainment Group, Inc.), and Harlem’s Studio Museum curator Thelma Golden among others detailing the relationships they have (or had) with their loving fathers. Each intimate account showcases a present, supportive, and wise father figure. Each testimonial is accompanied by a photo of the specific father and daughter as tangible evidence that positive relationships can and do exist between African American women and their fathers.

 

Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: A Personal History

By: Danzy Senna

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009

Pages: 208

Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: A Personal History uses a child’s perspective to uncover the story of her father’s past. Senna honestly describes the events that created the dysfunctional relationship she and her father share and how her trip through the Deep South gave her a better understanding of her father. In order to paint a vivid picture of both of her parents, Senna also includes her mother’s familial history—a history that is well documented and intertwined with Boston’s industrialization. The daughter of two writers, an African American poet and Irish-American poet, and an accomplished writer in her own right, Senna relays each incident with just enough information to continuously engage the reader  and allows the reader to reach his or her own conclusions. She employs fragments as a powerful storytelling technique rather than listing her memories in chronological order which makes the book stand out from other memoirs and hard to follow at times. Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: A Personal History  describes one daughter’s journey to find the missing pieces of her father’s past and in many ways to find a piece of herself.

 

Jokes My Father Never Taught Me

By: Rain Pryor & Cathy Williams

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2006

Pages: 224

Pryor gives a loving, yet prosaic glimpse into her childhood with comedy icon and her father, Richard Pryor.  Pryor briefly examines the difference between her father’s African American heritage and her mother’s Jewish heritage throughout the memoir as a larger critique of racism within America. Pryor adds an intimate aspect to the memoir as she describes the challenges she faced trying to define herself between the two. Through humor and bitterness, Pryor describes her father’s periodic presence within her life, the evolution of their relationship and the ever-present entourage of Richard Pryor’s girlfriends, and other wives. Pryor uses this village of women and their interactions with her father as the foundation for the relationship she had with him. Pryor also addresses incidents of child abuse, sexual molestation, and self-esteem issues.

 

Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer

By: E. Ethelbert Miller & E.E. Miller

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, 2001

Pages: 192

In this riveting account of loss and triumph, E. Ethelbert Miller chronicles his life following the death of his father and older brother. Miller focuses on the internal and external factors which help to create an African American writer and more importantly, the influence parents have in their children’s lives. Miller employs unwavering love and profound bitterness to describe this coming of age story. A poet, Miller, uses vivid imagery and figurative language to depict his experiences without getting bogged down in elaboration.

 

Angela’s Ashes

By: Frank McCourt

Publisher: Scribner, 1999

Pages: 364

In this enthralling masterpiece, McCourt tells the story of his childhood, beginning when his family is forced to relocate back to their homeland of Ireland due to family struggles brought on by his father’s alcoholism and financial challenges. McCourt writes from the perspective of an adolescent examining the world unfold around him instead of an adult remembering past experiences which makes the memoir unique. McCourt does not sugar coat any experience nor does he shy away from graphic details. McCourt beautifully depicts his alcoholic father’s unresponsiveness to his family’s suffering and his mother’s heroic, yet feeble attempts to bring stability to their family and his financial struggle to return to America—the land where his dreams can become reality. The book was a New York Times Bestseller and the film adaptation was released in the same year as its publication.

 

The Tender Bar: A Memoir

By: J.R. Moehringer

Publisher: Hyperion, 2005

Pages: 368

Pulitzer Prize winning author J.R. Moehringer recounts his childhood in Manhasset, Long Island in this touching memoir. Moehringer describes needing an escape from his grandparent’s abusive marriage and dysfunctional household and his need for a substitute father since his own father abandoned him shortly following his birth. He finds comfort and a slew of father figures at the corner bar, Dickens. Moehringer moves through his initial overwhelmed state to a “regular” visitor at the bar. He employs vivid, elaborate descriptions of the bar’s patrons, which capture the reader and cause them to become emotionally attached to the patron’s dreams and aspirations.  The Tender Bar: A Memoir tells of the creation of a surrogate family and how that family guided the future of its youngest member through rituals and kind gestures.

(*2011) 

Here’s to a better experience for the next generation:

 

 

 

The Track: Lost Dialect

Summer is here! While you’re changing out your playlists and updating your iTunes library for the parties, bonfires, and BBQs, be sure to add Inglewood natives Lost Dialect to your “Must Have” list!

True Hip-Hop heads, ActRight, J. Qwest, and Mistah Redd bring consciousness and humor back to a genre that’s saturated with violence, degrading of women, and over-indulgence.  Their accounts of self-development, triumphs, financial and emotional struggles, and their love of Hip-Hop are evident on each track. Their lyrics are memorable and refreshing and their beats range from hard-hitting to light-hearted. If you enjoy listening to great music that’s entertaining and poignant, you’ll start rockin’ with Lost Dialect, just like I did!

Don’t trust me? That’s fine. Rap giant Snoop Lion, formerly Snoop Dogg, made their video “10×10” #1 on his “Underground Heat” countdown and B.Real of Cypress Hill listed them on his Taste Makers website! That’s a feat by any standard, but has a deeper meaning when you take into account that Lost Dialect  is also from the Westside. Epic!

One of my favorites from the new EP that’s been on repeat is “Faith in You”. If you’ve ever been in a relationship or just loved someone and it just didn’t work out, you’ll love this song! Check out the video, shot in famed Ladera Park in Inglewood, CA, here: http://lostdialect.com/2013/06/11/lost-dialect-faith-in-you-official-video/ .

To download their latest EP “Baggage Claim” and to find out more information about this group, visit http://lostdialect.com. Follow them on Twitter @Lost_Dialect and on Instagram @LostDialectTribe.

What If? – ‘Whitley & Dwayne’

What if Whitley married Senator Douglas?

My first glimpse of college did not come from a tour of the local campus or from the nostalgia of a baby picture of me wrapped in a certain school’s sweatshirt. I first experienced college life while watching reruns of NBC’s hit sitcom A Different World.

A spin-off from the wildly popular The Cosby Show, the story line centered on two college students trying to find their way through life and adulthood while attending fictitious Hillman University. Main characters Denise Huxtable and Dwayne Wayne (Lisa Bonet and Kadeem Hardison) dated but Denise never warmed to Dwayne’s goofy and loving personality. Following Bonet’s departure from the show, writer’s shifted focus to a budding relationship between Dwayne and spoiled Southern Belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy).

Fast forward a few years later and Whitley and Dwayne were getting married, but Dwayne’s uncertainty halts their impending nuptials. As with most shows, their relationship was strained to boost ratings and enter Whitley’s dream man here, Senator Byron Douglas (Joe Morton).  A melting pot of ambition, status, passion, and stamped with her family’s approval, the Senator made Whitley’s every wish a reality. Throw in a few episodes of her trying to work alongside Dwayne on the good Senator’s campaign trail, not to mention the cheating episode where she slept with Dwayne and lied to the Senator and you have quality programming at its best!

Whitley’s dream was to marry a man who would support her, mostly financially since her world revolves around money, and who better fit than a Senator? Leading up to the ceremony, it seems that we’d seen the final chapter in the Dwayne/Whitley saga. That is until this moment. Click here: Dwayne’s Proposal

But, what if it never happened?

What if Whitley rejected Dwayne’s passionate and shocking (and completely disrespectful if you were apart of the Douglas family) request?

If she had, she would have every tangible item her little heart ever feigned. The status she desperately sought would be hers. The months we spent watching her live in poverty, selling her clothes for rent money and wearing the same dress twice in one week would be erased because the Senator provided her every wish. If Whitley had married Senator Douglas, she would have made the practical decision—marrying for financial stability instead of marrying for love. But is it that easy to choose practicality when your heart is elsewhere?

Let us consider the positives first. Money. Whitley would have the life she was accustomed too. She would never want for anything. She could waste money on frivolous things better than Diddy and the entire Bad Boy legion circa 1998! Bad Boy Production complete with flying money, literally!

Status. Country clubs, spa days. Whitley would be one of the top Trophy Wives.

And would you blame her? Guilt her? Or fault her for making such a decision? Sure you would, but would it matter? No. She wouldn’t even notice you on the other side of her $3,000 Louis Vuitton sunglasses. (Hey, Tamar!!)

Maybe it would have been better for her to refuse both men and become a single Black woman in America.

Angela Stanley shares her views on what it means to be “Black, Female and Single” in this New York Times op-ed. (Link to “Black, Female and Single”). I agree with her assessment of the modern Black woman’s quest for higher education and the decreasing population of Black men on college campuses across the nation. How are we supposed to find “Mr. Right” between writing 15-page research papers, studying for our Anatomy practicum, and running BSU? Not to mention coordinating the student/faculty mixer and spending atleast 25 hours at our work study jobs. But, Whitley didn’t have that problem so back to the drawing board.

Now, on to the negatives. If Whitley had decided to marry Senator Douglas, she might be the Black version of Will & Grace’s Karen Walker (Megan Mullally). Karen Drinking There is a growing number of alcoholic Stepford wives in our society who have yet to reach their individual potential because they swim to the bottom of any available wine bottle and reside there for months, years, decades.

Boredom. Whitley spent 20 years being spoiled and living a privileged life. We watched her evolve from dependent to independent, snobby to socially engaged, ignorant to intrigued, naïve to worldly. To deny her personal developments and revert back to the Whitley of old would only do her a disservice.

Surely, from a financial and economical standpoint, Senator Douglas is the better choice on paper, but no one could love her quite like Dwayne. He didn’t just love her; he understood her and all of her quirks. If you ever watched the show, you know she had several.  Maybe Whitley realized that while standing in front of her family and friends. Maybe, in a flash, she saw the next 50 years of her life and knew that no matter what, as long as Dwayne stood by her side, money and status would never amount to the bliss they’d have together.

Like Ms. Stanley, I’m living the single life. In due time, my Dwayne will show his face. I’m not going on a quest for him and I’m not going to activate a beacon with his sign and I’m definitely not going to gather a group and try to summon him with potions, spells, and other tricks. As the lyrics go, “What will be, will be.” Just look at Whitley’s situation. You can head to the church with the intention to marry a Senator and end up leaving married to a dedicated and ambitious schoolteacher.

Feel the love here: Whitley & Dwayne – the saga

how to become a raisin

As a grape, you are sought after.
Raisins envy you because you are full of life.
You are bright, round and gorgeous.
They are dried up and in need of love.
You could never be friends with a raisin.
They are ill equipped to love you because they inherently hate themselves.
The only way for you to be friends with a raisin is to become one of them:
Void of sunshine and peace,
Depleted of love and joy,
Absent of greatness and laughter,
Filled with anger and agony.
Remember when you befriended a raisin? There you were, a beautiful grape who saw a lonely raisin and only wanted to care for him.
You wanted to make him happy, see him smile more

so you opened your arms and your heart to him.
You shared your joys and your loves with him in an attempt to make him feel some of what you felt as a grape.
His nature, as a raisin, kept him from appreciating these sacrifices. Instead, he pushed and sucked and pinched you until you were no longer the beautiful round grape of old. He beat you into a raisin. Made you feel just as inferior and just as lacking as him.

Weeks and weeks went by. Your grape friends finally found you among the heaps and droves of other destitute raisins. They carried your limp and lifeless body and nursed you back into the gorgeous grape you once were with doses of love, shots of joy, hours of peace, and a large prescription of happiness. In time, you eventually returned to your joyous plump state.
While on a journey, you ran across the raisin and remembered the good times you spent together. Your memories made you feel love and guilt simultaneously. The raisin, now filled with hate and resentment, because you left him wanted nothing to do with you. He barely acknowledged your existence. You wanted to be angry, too. You wanted to yell at him and make him remember all of the things you’d given up for him but you soon realized that he would never understand. He couldn’t.

He’s a raisin.

12 Things You Should Know About ’42’ Before You See It

1. Wear your Dodger gear. You’ll get extra brownie points if you wear your authentic Jackie Robinson jersey. You can also wear Kemp’s if you must.

2. Sit near the elderly woman who remembers life before Jackie. She won’t ruin your experience by texting the whole time.

3. Prepare yourself for one of the most powerful scenes surrounding the n-word and bigotry that you’ve ever seen in your life.

4. Get comfortable. That means turn your phone off. The constant vibrating of new texts and Instagram posts will only distract you.

5. Stare at the characters longer if you need to. Kudos to the Casting Director and Costume Designer because some of your most beloved TV actors make this movie. Yes, that is T.R. Knight.

6. Pay attention. The history lesson is grandiose but the movie makers do a nice job of incorporating the details.

7. Don’t expect to hear Jay-Z’s voice at any point during the movie. His song, “Brooklyn (Go Hard)” was used on the trailer to entice you into the seat, not to play part to the period piece. Come on, the movie is set in 1947. Billie Holliday is a much better choice.

8. No drinks. You don’t have time for a bathroom break. The movie progresses at a steady pace and you don’t want to miss anything.

9. Relax. The movie is non baseball fan friendly, meaning it’s not bogged down in terminology and references that the average person wouldn’t know. Remember, it’s about a man who played baseball more than the game itself.

10. Stay with the message of the movie, the dialogue won’t necessarily move you. There are no poignant quotes that need to be tweeted or posted following the movie but the message is remarkable and the movie’s progression makes it an achievement.

11. Don’t succumb to the ‘Scary Movie’ pressure of believing you will enjoy that movie more than you will ’42’. Yes, there are derogatory phrases used repeatedly and yes there are other moments in the film that will make you uncomfortable but it’s a part of our legacy as a country. Deal with it. Not to mention, there are comedic moments and other heartfelt areas that will touch you in a way the cameo-filled and ridiculously cliched ‘scary movie’ cannot. If you must, it will still be in theaters next weekend.

12. Finally, appreciate the legend. Jackie Robinson not only changed the game of baseball, he helped change our culture as a nation.

42 – Official Trailer

The Track: Constant Drinking and Love Songs..

I’ve been playing this song since February.

I don’t know if the hard-hitting seductive beat captured me more the first time I heard it, or if it was J. Cole’s nonchalant delivery opposite Miguel’s passionate crooning. Either way, I was hooked midway into the first verse.

If you’ve ever feigned for one person, you can relate to this song. If you ever wanted to experience someone physically and were never able, you can relate to this. The gift of fantasy is really symbolized in this song because the song is about the one who got away. The one who keeps you up at night because anticipation “is the purest form of pleasure.” Or so they tell me.

I mean, think about it. Before you ever went on a date with someone or even held a conversation with him/her, there’s a window where all you have is your anticipation, your curiosity. The mind is a powerful entity, so powerful in fact that you have all of these thoughts about what will happen, what could happen, what you want to happen, what you want to feel, what you want to do, over and over that you build the perfect vision before you really know the other person. You don’t know if they shower on a regular basis, if they are married, if they have ten kids holed up somewhere, if they’re clinically insane, if they are freaky or more conservative, if they are taking STD antibiotics, and truthfully you don’t care. You’ve made up your mind about the type of lover they are, the type of lover you want them to be and are not open to deviate from your prototype.

I’m guilty of the same. When I first heard the song, I started to think about my past crushes, the guy who first made me dinner, the other guy who wrote me poetry, and even the other guy who would look at me and within an hour we were at his place. But, the kicker out of everyone is the mysterious, sexy guy who never made it out of the Friendzone. He’s the guy who used to have me on a power trip. The thoughts and dreams of what we could have experienced together used to haunt me in college. After graduation, we tried to see if we could make something happen beyond the sensual hugging and harmless flirting but something would always happen—a fight breaking out, one of us had a significant other, etc. etc.

Maybe certain things between two people just aren’t meant to exist outside of our dreams. Maybe we’re supposed to crave that which we don’t know and can’t experience because the fact that it’s unattainable makes it that much sweeter. Maybe the pundits are right; maybe reality would be too boring. Maybe he doesn’t shower, has been married for five years, working on their third child, has PTSD, is freaky, and got Chlamydia last week from his office secretary. Who wants to know all of that anyway? He just smiled at you from across the room and it’s not like you want to go to the altar tomorrow, right? So go on and enjoy your daydream where he sneaks you into the wine cellar at the party and starts to explore your assets. “Constant drinkin’ and love songs” should keep you occupied for the next three to four minutes. Repeat as needed.

For your viewing and listening pleasures, courtesy of GotHipHop.com, live from Barclays Center in New York, Power Trip (LIVE)

**It’s not the best quality, but you’ll live. Let the video load first, then play it. Trust me, you’ll be less frustrated in the long run. Watch J. Cole. Around 3:20, he’ll give you the laugh you needed for this Monday.**

Read along here: power trip lyrics

The Track: Marvin, Tammi, Meth, and Mary

When Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terell belted out this timeless love song in 1967, Method Man and Mary J. Blige weren’t even thought of yet. A year later, when the Motown machine released this epic love song that mind you stayed at number one on the R&B/Soul Singles Chart for five weeks, Method and Mary still weren’t in the picture. (Both were born in 1971.)  No factors alluded to or made their 1995 remake seemed destined. Or, some would think.

Marvin Gaye and Method Man were born in April; both had very public turbulent moments with their wives; both dealt with drugs (Marvin was addicted to them and Method Man sold them). Likewise, Tammi Terrell and Mary J. Blige have shared experiences. For instance, sadly, both were molested at very early ages, signed to major record labels while still in their teens, and involved in multiple abusive romantic relationships. Despite all the negativity surrounding them, these artists are considered to be among the greatest of all time. Their singular contribution and subsequent remix changed R&B and redefined the perimeters of Hip-Hop.

First, let us consider the masterpiece that is the original song, “You’re All I Need to Get By.” Penned by dynamic couple Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the 2:38 soulful duet that captures an audience with its first four chords might not have been recorded. At the time, a wheelchair bound Tammi Terrell was recovering from brain surgery on the malignant tumor that would later claim her life at the age of 24. With their seamless harmony and spot on ad-libs, no one (outside of industry engineers and others with keen hearing abilities) could have guessed that Gaye and Terrell recorded the song separately and that their vocals were later mixed in!

“You’re All I Need to Get By” became a staple for which a duet’s success would be measured. The song’s simple, yet masterful lyrics placed carefully over the expressive and spirit filled music provide a universal appeal to a global audience. Themes of sacrifice, true commitment, and desire create the recipe for a perfect love that would make any Disney princess swoon. “Like the sweet morning dew/ I took one look at you/ And it was plain to see/ you were my destiny” can be likened to Shakespeare—a complete and utter surrender to another based on first attractions and ideals of fate. Marvin Gaye’s sultry tenor and Tammi Terrell’s effortless soprano combine to create an undeniable fusion of passion and honesty. Their voices bring the words to life and make the impossible seem attainable. This very sentiment is echoed in the second verse, “Darling in you I found/ Strength where I was torn down/ Don’t know what’s in store but together we can open any door.”

The same is true of 1995’s Method Man and Mary J. Blige remake “I’ll Be There For You/ You’re All I Need To Get By”. Just as Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell set new heights for R&B, Method Man and Mary J. Blige challenged audiences to re-examine their definition of love and Hip-Hop. (No pun intended.) In a time when social norms and most rap videos were geared toward men having hypersexualized encounters with multiple women, men degrading women, and a slew of other non-committal images, Method Man set a new standard for male rappers.  He made it not only acceptable, but dare I say sexy for a man to declare his love for one woman in a world that often turns a deaf ear on monogamy.

Method Man begins his declaration as if in response to an ultimatum of some sort. His initial word choice suggests that he is trying to persuade and convince his love that he can (and will be) the man she needs him to be in her life.  “Shorty, I’m there for you anytime you need me/ For real girl, it’s me in your world, believe me,” he sternly delivers. This of course is back when rappers rapped and singers sung, but make no mistake that Method’s use of his lower tone can be argued as another tool used to convey his sincerity. He goes on to comment on her loyalty and how appreciative he is in the next lyrics. “Back when I was nothin’/ You made a brother feel like he was somethin’/ That’s why I’m with you to this day boo, no frontin’.”  Additionally, Method Man slyly addresses the fact that many people get caught up on outward expressions on love, rather than defining their status by their words and actions. He says, “ Word life you don’t need a ring to be my wife/ Just be there for me and Ima make sure we be/ living in the effin lap of luxury…And I got mad love to give.” Method Man brings the power of the word back into the forefront of one’s mind. What are we if our words to one another are nothing more than small ploys with no action?

Similarly, Mary J. Blige belts out a gritty rendition of the chorus, but her interpretation is not without merit. Her words, slow and deliberate, soulful and agonizing, convey the pain of an unappreciated woman who probably packed her bags before Method Man sat down next to her and began this announcement to her. Known for her ability to convey her raw emotions through a song and her voice’s uncanny ability to relate hurt and sorrow, no one else could have pulled off this remake as successfully as the Queen of Hip-Hop soul.

Method Man saves his best lines for the third verse. Commenting on her physical stature, because as loving and devoted a man as he claims to be in this song, he’s still a man. As a visual being, he alludes to his attraction to her physical body with, “I got a love jones for your body and your skin tone/ Five minutes alone I’m already on the bone.” However, his appreciation of her mental assets and his dedication to remain faithful are showcased just as boldly in, “…I love the fact you got a mind of your own/No need to shop around you got that good stuff at home.” Method Man concludes his proclamation with the single most powerful hit to materialistic audiences swept away with performing ritualistic obligations on so-called “romantic holidays” and indirectly jabs those whom choose to be unfaithful (both male and female) with the following:

I’m your Mister, you my Mrs. With hugs and kisses

Valentine cards and birthday wishes? Please

Be on another level of planning, of understanding

the bond between man and woman, and child

The highest elevation, ‘cause we above

All that romance crap, just show your love.

These chart topping and award winning songs (Method Man and Mary J. Blige’s remake won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1996) are monumental because they make true love believable. Marvin and Tammi and Method and Mary make you believe their words resonate not only for their characters in song, but that those same words, those same decrees, those same candid messages of sacrifice and dedication can be applied to your life if only you will give true love a chance. Call me naïve if you want, but these songs have lasting ability for the simple fact that they connected with someone else in California or Philadelphia or Illinois or Florida or Texas or Europe or China or Africa who felt the same thing the first time they heard them. We are conditioned to get lost in the romance of the moment or the huge glorious gestures that we do or do not receive, but in the wise words of Method Man, “just show your love.” The rest will fall in place.

Now, ladies. Go find your hoodies (and a wall) and let’s reenact this one with Mary!