The "Down Low" Man vs. The "Up High" Brotha... Where Is The Love? Part 2

Check out Curtis and Belmo's take on men trapped in the closet versus openly gay men in the workplace.

The "Down Low" Man vs. The "Up High" Brotha... Where Is The Love? Part 1

Check out Curtis and Belmo's take on men trapped in the closet versus openly gay men in the workplace.

Tamia - Stranger In My House

This video came on vh1 Soul and instantly brought me back. Take a trip with me and Tamia back to 1999.

"The Power Of The Pussy"

Does the female sex fail to realize how much clutch they possess? Believe it or not, there are some ladies out there who take a seat and forget what they are sitting on. All around me, in reality and fiction, I see how women are subjecting themselves to any bullshit men throw at them and taking it. What if I were born a woman? Something tells me if I were born a female, I would be the baddest bitch there is.

While changing in the men's locker room at work, some of my mother's former co-workers asked me how she's enjoying her retirement. After telling them she was doing just fine, one gentlemen, Tony, spoke briefly about the first time he encountered my mother, Janet. The 5 foot, hazel-eyed beauty was given a stare from Tony that clearly said "Damn! Who the fuck is that?!" He said she then counteracted with a side eye look that loudly spoke volumes of "Nigga, please!". As a consolation, I mentioned to the guys that my mother gave me that same side eye, " Nigga, please!" look all the time as a teenager. Laughter erupted throughout the room. My mom had all those sorry ass bastards' noses all up in the air with every switch she threw at them.

I understood the strength of a woman after a dispute with my mom when I was 17. My grandfather, my mother's father, gave me my first man-to-man talk about women including his daughter. I can't remember much from that conversation since at that age I wanted no parts of girls and was convinced that I liked men. However, I can recall my "Pop-Pop", a man of the cloth, saying after the talk, "It's all about the power of the pussy." For the first time in my short life, I gagged.

Whenever I'm out and about with my friend, Skyi, we people-watch mainly at the fellas. Every now and then a lady with tossed hair, tight body, and natural beauty who exudes all types of fierceness will walk by. Then without a cue we'll look at each other and say," Now THAT'S how I'd look if I was a bitch." Skyi would follow up with, "See bitches don't know how to do it. If I was a girl, my hair and nails would stay done. My ears, hands, neck, and wrists would stay iced out and my clothes would fit me like an extra layer of skin. I'd have these niggas eat'n out of the palm of my hand. You feel me? I'd get it all without giving up any pussy." I would pipe in with "Meanwhile, there are some women who give the ass up for a juice box."

If I could stress one point to my female counterparts, it would be for ladies to accept dominance between the sexes. If men have physical strength then women have the power of the pussy.

I Dig Wayne Brady

Today I purchased from iTunes " A Long Time Coming", the debut cd from Emmy award winner Wayne Brady. Now this is the same Wayne Brady who only a few years ago hosted his own daytime talk show which succeeded Rosie O'Donnell's chat fest. This is also the same Wayne Brady who, in my opinion, dominated the one hour improv show, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

What made me purchased his CD were his attempts to remake the classic, "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke as well as his jazzy, laid back version of "All I Do" from Stevie Wonder's "Hotter Than July" LP. His first single from the disc, "Ordinary", has stapled itself onto the urban adult contemporary radio playlist of many R&B/Soul stations nationwide. His deep, smooth vocals delivered ear satisfaction worth sealing the deal.

Check out the CD "A Long Time Coming" by Wayne Brady.

Ain't Nobody Like Chaka!

Here is my first video created with the Windows Movie Maker software featuring the one and only, Chaka Khan singing live at the N2N Festival held in Philadelphia during the Labor Day Holiday. Enjoy!

It's Unofficial ( Summer's End )

The "unofficial" end of summer known as Labor Day came and went with the 19th annual Neighborhood to Neighborhood Street Festival. Hosted by Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, the N2N Festival gathered thousands to the West Philadelphia area for an afternoon of food, fun, and music. Headlining the event was Multi-Grammy Award winner Chaka Khan singing her greatest hits. Below are pics from the celebration.

Chaka Khan performing.

State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams

Master of Ceremonies local comedien TuRae

Philly Def Poetry Jam Great Black Ice

Philly native soul singer and fellow C.A.P.A. H.S classmate Bilal

Out With The Old And In With The New

With the summer season out, so was the old blog template. Here is our new digs for the fall season titled, "Chacoyrami - When Darkness Falls".

Sunday Of Unity

Veteran Philly R&B radio station WDAS 105.3 FM hosted its Unity Weekend on the Waterfront as a celebration of 30 years of unity. For the first time in the station's history, the annual event has changed locations from the Ben Franklin Parkway to Penn's Landing's Great Plaza. In addition to site switch, the festival's line-up has been split into two, giving attendees an extra day of entertainment.

Belmo, our friend, Skyi, and myself arrived towards the end of the day when we caught the headliner of the concert series, R&B/Soul singer, KEM, who performed a set of his many hits such as "Love Calls", "I Can't Stop Loving You", along with a rendition of Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much".








KEM being police escorted offstage.

concert stage left

Spirit of Philadelphia cruising upriver




Curtis, Belmo, and Skyi

Carribana

The following are pics from the annual Carribean Festival at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing whick took place on 8/17/08.