One-Man Band Experience

As an assignment in my TV News class, I had to become a one-man band journalist; where I shot my own footage, set up my own interviews and conducted them, wrote my own script and lastly, I had to create the final news package, in Final CutPro. The experience alone, was definitely a learning experience, where I was exposed to tools and practices that I had never been exposed to prior to creating this package. Looking at the entire experience now that it is over, as a whole, it wasn't as hard as I initially thought it would've been. The biggest obstacle that I had to overcome, was the potential interviewees turning down my request to speak with them on camera. The two gentlemen that I ended up having to interview, turned out to be perfect for my story, due to their positions.

Besides dealing with the hassles of finding appropriate people to interview, everything else was pretty much a breeze. Creating the package in Final CutPro was a little time consuming, due to me having to teach myself a few things by looking up tutorials and such on YouTube. Though it may not have been perfect, I was very proud of myself for completing it in it's entirety. To say the least, it was a very fulfilling feeling, and I look forward to creating an even better one on my next assignment.

BOKO HARAM? A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION?

As of late, we have been hearing much talk about Boko Haram. Many of us lacking the knowledge of what Boko Haram really is; I was one of those people did in fact lack the knowledge. I became familiar with them at first, when I heard about the kidnapping of over 200 girls in Nigeria. I knew that whoever he/she or them was, they were very rivalrous, and they cared not one bit about maybe starting some kind of war, due to retaliation. In this entry, I will share background information about Boko Haram and why they exist, historically relating events to more recent ones.

Boko Haram, meaning “Western education is sin”, is a terrorist organization based in Northeastern Nigeria. This organization was founded by Mr. Mohammed Yusuf back in 2002, but in 1995, the group was said to have still existed, but just under another name; Shabaab, Muslim Youth Organization, and with a man by the name of Mallam Lawal as their leader. After Mallam left to further his education, Mohammed Yusuf, took over leadership of the group. The organization was established originally, at mosque Ibyn Taymiyyah, which was named after the spiritual head of Boko Haram, where his objective was to put an end to what he deemed as westernization. Westernization meaning, societies adopt Western culture. 

Yusuf then established a form of religious complex, that included a mosque and a school, where poor families across Nigeria enrolled their children. 

Though this might seem to be a good thing, it is believed that Boko Haram’s leader, had ulterior motives, involving their goals politically.

The center that he had created, in time, became somewhat of a recruiting center for jihadis so they could fight the state. Almost like building their own army of men. 

The group included men from Niger and Chad, which were countries neighboring Nigeria. 

Two years later, in 2004, the center was relocated back in Yusuf’s home state, near the Niger border, in a village named Kanamma.

They began to attract and recruit unemployed youth, by speaking against the police and political corruption in the country. They painted themselves as the good guys.

The organization has been known to attack schools, churches and police station. They also often perform the kidnapping of tourists who visit the country, and assassinations of islamic members who have been critical about their group. Boko Haram is widely known to be associated with violence in Nigeria, and an estimate of 10,000 deaths from 2002-2013 has been linked to them.

However, It wasn’t always like this. During the first seven years, their operations were more so peaceful, but that changed in 2009 when the Nigerian government decided they wanted to have an investigation on the group and their activites; It was believed that the men were arming themselves.

The government had ignored plenty of previous signs that the organization was very militant.

In 2009, the government cracked down on it’s members, due to attacks being attributed to Boko Haram. It appeared that the group had now expanded beyond the religious views that were founded based on. The group now not only included Islamic militants, but also criminals and politicians.

When the government stepped in physically, members of the Boko Haram group got arrested due in Bauchi, which sparked a deadly event. 

“The immediate cause of the violence stemmed from an incident in which a group of the sect's members were stopped by police in the city of Maiduguri as they were on the way to the cemetery to bury a comrade. The officers, part of a special operation aimed at stamping out violence and rampant crime in Borno State, demanded that the young men comply with a law requiring motorcycle passengers to wear helmets. They refused and, in the confrontation that followed, several were shot and wounded by police.”

In Boko Haram’s retaliation, it was found that they used fuel-laden motorcycles and poisoned arrows to attack the police station. In this event, their leader, Mohammed Yusuf lost his life while being held in police custody.

After Yusuf’s death, one of his former deputies, Abubakar Shekau took over the organization. Abubakar’s reputation wasn’t so clean, as he was described as a “ruthless killer”. Since he has been in control, the violence has only escalated.

According to the Human Rights Watch, between the year 2009 and the beginning of 2012, Boko Harām was responsible for over 900 deaths at the time. And in May of 2013, President Goodluck Johnson, declared that it was in a state of emergency in the states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa in a bid to fight the activities being performed by Boko Harām. 

The leadership of Boko Haram also has international ties with Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, the Movement for unity and Jihad in West Africa (also known as MUJAO), and other militant groups prevalent outside of Nigeria. 

Most attacks by Boko Haram have been in the country, as their international attacks have been very limited. However, the group was still labeled as a terrorist organization, by the United States government, in November of 2013.

Reasonable Doubt Album Analysis

Over the years, Jay-Z has marked his territory in the rap game, time and time again, as one of the best to ever do it. From the beginning of his music career, with the release of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z had not only New Yorkers bumping to his music, but it made its way to being on a national scale. His album raised a lot of eyebrows and surely caught a lot of attention, some from the right people and some from the bad. It makes me wonder if maybe that’s the reason why his first album was so dope; because he put everything he had in it, knowing that critics were waiting to review his music. If we were to compare his more recent album, Holy Grail, to Reasonable Doubt, there are many differences to consider. It’s a given, times have changed and the lyrical flow is just not the same, the content however, is similar but just the simple vibe of his music has slightly changed. I have heard people say time and time again, that Jay-Z doesn’t rap the same anymore, or he doesn’t go hard anymore. To some extent that might very well be true, but if that was the case, I would think it’s because he feels he already gave enough of himself back then and now it’s time to slow down. Jay has already made a name for himself, so at this point in his career; he doesn’t have to try maintaining that.

I will be doing an album review on Jay-Z’s first album; Reasonable Doubt, and sharing my interpretations of his lyrics. I have never actually sat down and listened to his album, so it was a bit challenging, being that most of his words are coded. Nonetheless, the album as a whole didn’t strike me personally as something I would just bump to all day, but I can most definitely appreciate his lyrics.

1. Can’t Knock the Hustle: The video by itself was very interesting to me. It opened up with a scene very similar to a scene in the movie, Scarface. It all made sense when I read the lyrics to the song. Jay expressed he has “the godfather flow”, hence the reasoning for the similar scene setup from that movie.  Jay rapped a lot about him being the “illest” in the game, which is why for him, “money aint a thing”. He implies through his lyrics that the reason he’s making it, is because he’s working hard now, as opposed to other rappers just “chilling”. He basically said he’s going hard now so that he can lie back later, enjoying  the lavish lifestyle that he created by himself.  A line I found interesting was in the closing, where he said, and I quote, “All us blacks got is sports and entertainment “, which for the most art, on a wider scale, that is true. He said that to say, don’t knock his hustle, because through music and drugs, that’s how he eat.

2. Aint No Nigga: Both this song and video was quite entertaining to listen to, but most of all, watch, because it featured a 16 year old Foxy Brown. Half the things that she rapped about aren’t supposed to be exposed to a 16 year old, much less for her to rap about it. The song was kind of a playoff of “Aint no woman “, by the Four Tops. This music video also started off with an intro similar to a scene in Scarface, where he asks his girl in bed, how much money she needs to go shopping that day. The entire song implied that as long as a woman is the “main chick” in his life, she shouldn’t be worried about any other female, because she’s the one getting the respect at the end of the day. She gets the shopping sprees, “the keys to the Lexus”, etc.  Jay expressed that although he tries to be monogamous, he fails, but he makes up for his cheating by buying her things. Through Foxy’s lyrics, that seems to be just fine, when she said “he sleeps around but he gives me a lot”, implying that his actions are excusable as long as he continues to buy her things.

3. Politics As usual: The first verse went straight into Jay saying he leaves his mark wherever he gos and that’s one thing no one is able to stop. He implies that to have gotten as far as he have, he made plenty of sacrifices and his entire life was based on them. He follows up by mentioning having jewels like “Isis. For those who don’t know who Isis is, she is an ancient Egyptian goddess. With his comparison to Isis, he is making a point to say he have the diamonds, the jewelry, the money, etc.  And for those that seem to question his capabilities, thinking he’s “slipping”, will mess around and get killed.  For Jay, he made it clear that this rap thing is do or die for him, it’s not a game.

“Aint no stopping, the champagne from dropping, the law from watching- I hate ‘em, politics as usual.”

For those who have watched his interviews, we all know that Jay wasn’t the biggest fan of politics (still isn’t). So with him mentioning politics, he’s making an implication that we need less government, since all of them are for themselves and have their own agenda. An agenda that he’s not entertaining, because he’ still going to do his thing, regardless.

4. Brooklyn’s Finest feat Notorious B.I.G: Right of the back, I loved the beat. The beat reminded me of what authentic hip hop beats sounded like, and that was much to appreciate alone. In the intro a male voice says, “You motherfuckers think you big time? Fuckin’ with Jay-Z, you gon’ die big time. Here comes the pain.” That line alone set the mood for the entire song, basically saying, whoever thinks they are going to come in the game and feel as if they are bigger than him, is going to get put in their place. He mentions how the “cops sweat us” and “can the feds get us”, implying that they are big enough to even have the feds watching out for them. In a way it came off as them saying that they are powerful than the police. It appears someone socially below him is trying to mess with him, and he’s sending out a threat to them.  If and when he decides to confront whoever it is he’s talking about, there won’t be any fist fighting, but more like a shootout. I think it was interesting to hear him say “sprinkle coke on the floor” so when the cops come looking, the crime will appear to have been drug related.

5. Dead Presidents II feat Nas:  Nas opens up with “I’m out for presidents to represent me”, which in my opinion is bit controversial, being that Jay isn’t fond of the government as is.  To just make a point, I think it’s very funny that now Jay and President Obama are supposed to have some type of relationship now. It is almost as if the song manifested itself.

Anyways, Jay continues by saying that he doesn’t have to touch “lettuce to stack cheddars”, which my understanding of that is him saying that he doesn’t even have to touch the drugs that he’s selling, because he will be the one stacking the money from it anyways. They don’t have to do what normal rappers do, because they are top notch.   “You feel the ambiance, yall niggas just rhyme”.

“We illuminate the show, factions from the other side would live to kill me”/”spill three quarts of blood into the street”.

The above lyrics shed light on the illuminati movement that Jay is supposedly apart of,  and it only made sense hearing him rap about the “illuminating” of the show, in other words, his life. By him mentioning the shedding of 3 quarts of blood, only aided in my belief of him being involved in this movement, due to members of the illuminati, having to sell their lives for the fame and money.

6. D’Evils: In the first verse, the song elaborated much on the streets, and how tough they are. He speaks on how much  the strive to get money can separate friends, or others close to you, but it being for the best, because the  bigger your pocket grows, is the more envious your “friends” become.  He continues by saying regular people have to work a 9-5 to survive, but surviving is not all he’s trying to do. He wants to live life pushing the boundaries, and enjoy doing it.  Jay spoke about how money changes all of us, including him, it’s inevitable.  Money is power and lethal. In the third verse, it was no surprise to hear him say that his soul is possessed by D’evils, and they are in the form of money, diamonds, leather, etc.

7. Can I Live? : The general message that I got from this song is that he hustled out of desperation and through that, he has become addicted to his craft; rapping and making money. To make it, he has nothing to give but his life, so he offers it, to make it. That line also made me wonder how that correlates with his illuminati membership. As stated before, in order to join the society, you basically sell your soul to the devil in return for vanity. Jay continues by saying that he is not the same person who he used to be, implying that he has transformed into someone else: “No more Big Willie, my game has grown prefer you call me William.”

That last line caught my attention for several reasons, but the first one being that you basically reinvent yourself when you give your life to the illuminati. And with his mentioning of him not being that same person he once was, it’s very easy to assume that he is referring to the illuminati reinventing him and having him come back as a whole new person. That would explain his lyrics in previous songs, saying he has nothing to lose, so he gave his life.

8. Feelin’ It:  The song started off with Jay-Z rapping about refilling his glass of Moet (an expensive champagne), and him riding up in his Lexus. He goes on to say that he keeps it realer than most, and how he always keep his “bone-crusher” (gun) close  at all times. That entire phrase only means one thing to me; he knows his money will attract people who wants to take what he has, so he keep s his gun close for whoever wants to try.  He mentions everyone wanting to stay at the top, watching everyone else around them, because if one person falls, they’ll end up being a crutch for the other man. He focuses on staying at the top and enjoying the lavish lifestyle that he created for himself.

9. 22 Two’s:  The intro to the song starts out with an MC telling Jay to freestyle. From that I got that the entire track was free styled. He began by emphasizing that too many rappers are kissing ass on the West Coast.  He talks about other rappers trying to be like him, but when they try it never works because he’s an original. He follows no one else’s rule, people follow his.

He also went on to discussing women wanting the respect of a lady, but out here basically being hoes. If that’s what they are, that’s what he’ll call them.  Jay also mentions that the good women are stuck giving men chances after chances, when they aren’t even worth it.

Another verse that got me was when he talked about copping to reach his quota and pushing rocks. My interpretation of this was that he sold enough crack to meet whatever quota was set out for him. He continues how everyone is worried about how much money he’s spending, when they need to be worried about getting money because they are obviously broke. He doesn’t listen to anything they have to say because obviously there is nothing they can tell him about getting money, that he doesn’t already know.

10. Friend or Foe:  Starting out, Jay references Primo and Cold Crush. Primo is the producer of the track and Cold Crush is an old school rap group from the Bronx. He goes on by saying whether you’re my friend or enemy; he wants you to state your business, because people like coming around to mess with your “dough”. He basically says, that if there is competition, he might just get rid of you, because he runs the show and no one else

11. Coming of Age: Enter the world of Jay-Z, where you get the girls and the money. In that line alone, the entire theme for the song was set. He talks about this “shorty on the block” that’s always clocking his “rocks”(either talking about his drug or his jewelry), wondering if he likes his style because it’s obvious he wants to mock him.

Throughout the song, I almost get the impression that the boy on block that Jay raps about, was once he who he was before he made it. He rapped about his transition from just being a regular guy to now being the Don. “It’s just the cycle”, Jay says.

A line that he used that I thought was very clever, was “We out here trying to make hard white into cold green”- referencing to him turning cocaine into money.

I think the title of his song, “Coming of Age” made sense because he made several references that made me assume that what he meant was that his days of selling or dealing drugs might be retiring, so he needs to put somebody else on.

12. Cashmere Thoughts: “I talk jewels and split diamonds”, was one of the opening lines and it’s a clear indication that he is referring to money.

He goes on to mention “spitting venom up in the minds of young women” implying that his words are poisonous and corrupting the minds of women.

This song was very centered on that description of his lavish lifestyle; it’s focus on drugs money and sex. Hence, “lethal drugs, 128-carat gold pen when it hits the sheets”

He talks about women trying to run game on him, that he already sees through. Bottom line is that no woman or man is going to get the privilege of distracting him from his money. He continues by saying he splits flow “like fine wine down your earlobe”, meaning, he’s smooth but he still deadly, so don’t cross him. All in all, he makes the reference suggesting that he is very valuable to the rap game by saying, “I’m solid gold, I rap like I mink stole”.

13. Bring It On: The intro mentioned “these mothafuckas fucking talking that comeback shit like they cooking crack”, meaning that everyone is trying o talk ways to get revenge on Jay-Z, for him not letting them in on his drug business.  Jay doesn’t care about all the talks, because he won’t waste his time trying to confront it. He is focused on his money, and whoever has a problem with it, will not be entertained by him.

“The Roc-A-Fella clique” is always good, and that’s his concern. He talks about messing with girls from Sugar hill, which is a neighborhood in Harlem, and knowing that his every move is being watched by the DEA.

In most, the song focuses on him and his crew getting money, regardless of not being academically accomplished or taunted by the feds. They know the good life, the lavish lifestyle, and for this reason, their “fetish for cheddar” is all they know. And for anyone trying to touch their money, they’ll end up dead, hence the lyrics, “spread lettuce, heroes got deadish”. (If you’re trying to play a hero, you’ll end up losing your life for it.

Mark Cuban, A Racist?

Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, “started a conversation” alright, when he openly made what is known as a prejudiced comment, in a recently videotaped interview. This comment has sparked much controversy amongst black and whites, causing the topic to surface on blogs, debates, and news stations. 

The statement below was made by Cuban in an INC.com interview: 

"If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it's late at night, I'm walking to the other side of the street. And if on that side of the street, there's a guy that has tattoos all over his face, white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere, I'm walking back to the other side of the street, and the list goes on of stereotypes that we all live up to and are fearful of."

Now, there is much to consider about this statement, even when we take the situation out of a stereotypical light. 

Cuban was commenting about how far the country has come, in regards to its tolerance of different views and lifestyles, that are clearly prevalent and unavoidable in America. However, though he credited America for making some improvement on the matter, he also stressed that, "We are all prejudiced in one way or the other."

This comment made its way to becoming the topic of conversation on a live CNN debate. The debate, starring Stephen A. Smith, caused even more controversy, but more so about him and what he is defending as a black man. 

Most would agree that it was pretty obvious that Smith had no problem with Cuban’s comment, and if anyone is at all familiar with Stephen Smith, this wouldn’t be a surprise.

Smith made sure to put emphasis on the reality and practicality of the world we live in, stating that the comment made by Cuban was in no way racist; it’s just the reality of it. According to Cuban, if this was in fact a stereotypical statement, then some black people have caused this upon themselves, by “hanging their pants”. 

Smith said, “black people create some of these stereotypes themselves”. 

I do agree with him to an extent, but I wouldn’t agree with him totally, when I know and have seen with my own eyes, that black men aren’t the only ones hanging their pants below their buttocks. Given, yes, young black men are more exposed with this form of dress code, but to simply tack a hoodie and hanging trousers only on black men is a little absurd.

It’s said that instead of looking at this in a bias way, Smith is looking at the bigger picture, which is far beyond all of us as individuals. For this reason, he voices that we are getting too emotional about something that was in no way targeted at only us as black people.

My concern with Cuban’s topic was not so much only the comment about a black man having to be the one clothed in a hoodie, but because he thought the equivalence of that black man in a hoodie,was a a bald, white man, clothed in tattoos. 

With that implication is what I had a problem with. 

Furthermore, the referencing of the hoodie was highly inappropriate due to the death of Trayvon Martin’s recent murder, conducted by a white man.

From what I know of the Trayvon Martin case, he was the one attacked and killed by Zimmerman, and Zimmerman was the murderer. How are we not talking about what he was wearing that night? 

The message behind Cuban’s statement is in fact very stereotypical in my eyes, but I can see how Smith took emotions out of the case and looked at it in it’s entirety, and not only as a black man. 

Smith stated that, "Presentation matters. How you look matters. How you carry yourself matters. And for anyone that wants to tell you it doesn't, I'm gonna tell you they're full of it and they know it." Smith proceeded to suggest that the black community has a job, to not play the victim, but instead take responsibility for its actions.

His point here appearing to be that Cuban’s comments derived not from race, but more so appearance.

My question however, is if Cuban was bold enough to make the comment about everyone being prejudice in some way, (that obviously is including him) was that supposed to be some type of a disclaimer to cushion the criticism he knew was following? 

Brave Honduran Girls Cross U.S. Borders

The story that I am about to share with you, is unlike the other stories about illegal immigrants, because unlike the others, these group of immigrants weren’t trying to hide, they wanted to be noticed and they wanted to get their message across. 

A group of Honduran girls, some of which are as young as 14 years old, illegally crossed the borders of the United States. Not long after, more Hondurans admitted to crossing the Rio Grande to get here. The group of girls quickly rose to 22 children, where most of which traveled without any adult supervision at all. They were just that determined to get over the States to see their loved ones. 

One of the girls said, “because I want to see my parents in Austin”, she illegally migrated to the U.S. 

According to CNN, the girls were not looking to sneak in the country by any means, it was more of an announcement of their presence here. 

Chris Cabrera, a leader of the local chapter of the National Border Control Council, shared that many others are turning themselves in on a daily basis. “And I mean, hundreds at a time”, Cabrera said.

The immigrants are apparently creating rafts to cross the Rio Grande, where they are also equipped with directions on how to follow the river until they get to the Border Patrol Site, where they would surrender. 

Cabrera also mentioned that the immigrant children know that once they get to the station at the Border, they will be handed paperwork and allowed into the United States. 

According to the U.S. law, it prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from immediately deporting children, if they are not from Mexico or Canada. They are turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services, within 72 hours of them being taken into custody.

In most cases, the children will almost always be released to their relatives that are in the United States.

The problem however, is that upon their release, they are appointed a court date, where 95-97% of them will never show up to.

The numbers are said to be staggering and the estimate for 2014 is expected to rise. The estimate is now more than 60,000.

5 American Service Members Die

In Southern Afghanistan, five American service members were killed, due to a coalition jet and it’s failing to ward off a Taliban attack; they mistakenly bombed the americans. They were killed on Monday night along with a Afghan soldier in the Zabul province. 

According to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the troops were conducting a security operation. The service members seemed to have come in contact with the enemy forces, and that’s when the casualties took place. 

A U.S. military official told CNN: 

“There is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved”, he said.

The NATO statement that was provided, provided similar information. 

Roghliwanai said the troops had already finished their military sweep that occurred at around 9pm on Monday, when the rocket fires started from the Taliban militants. 

The air support was then called in by the service members but as stated, they mistakenly bombed their counterparts also.

More investigation is being held currently, and the Department of Defense are the ones looking into what may happened.

A U.S. National Security Council Spokeswoman, Miss Caitlin Hayden, voiced her condolences:

“Our hearts are heavy over this loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the fallen.”

Unfortunately, occurrence such as this, isn’t very foreign in the Middle East. Since the beginning of the Afghan war, which began in October of 2001, over 2000 plus Americans have lost their lives. After the confirmation of these more recent numbers, those numbers will only rise.

Back in 2004, Pat Tillman, another service member,  became a hero when gave up a contract with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals to join the Army’s Elite Rangers force, where he died after leading a counterattack.

After further investigation after his death, it was found that he was actually shot by one of his comrades.

Also, in April of 2002, four Canadian service members were killed, and a few others injured, after U.S. Air National Guard pilot dropped a 500 pound bomb on a group of troops that appeared to have been conducting a nighttime training exercise in southern Afghanistan.

It’s pretty obvious that these occurrences aren’t anything new, but is there a solution to decrease the deaths of members killing their own partners. Is more training necessary or is it inevitable? It’s hard to be a good judge when I have never been involved in the service and if going solely off of what I have heard from others, it is easy to understand that during combat of any sort, it can be pretty difficult to separate who is who. 

All of these deaths are very unfortunate, but very honorable due to their courage to be over in the Middle East to begin with. 

Though I wouldn’t encourage any of my loved ones to join the service, it is so admirable to know there are others in this country, willing to sacrifice their freedom to protect ours. 

My condolences and prayers go out to all the families who have lost their loved one, as I can only just start to imagine what it is like to have an official report the death of a loved one.

It’s so important to always keep these people in mind, as we can only imagine what they feel. We must also recognize them too, as heroes.

Rihanna's Controversial CFDA Attire

An industry that is forever changing and will continue to change is our music industry and even more changing, is the image of the music industry. I love speaking on controversial issues pertaining to the black women in music and how they are viewed by the world. Of course the actions and attire of any mainstream celebrity such as Rihanna or Beyonce are widely recognized because they are viewed as trend setters and the “it-girls” of our time. Now, a very recent matter that I just had to write about is Rihanna’s attire that has sparked the interests of so many bloggers and has captured so much of social media’s attention. Rihanna was awarded the Fashion Icon award at the CFDA Awards on Monday, June 2nd, and apparently, her achievement wasn’t what got everybody talking, her Adam Selman gown was the talk of not only last night, but days following also. 

Now, let me first start off by saying that none of us are here to judge anyone else, secondly, Rihanna’s outfit of choice, should be no one else business but her own. 

Her gown was a sheer nude dress, covered with small rhinestones, paired with fur to cover up the “not so covered” areas. Underneath her dress was nothing but a pair of nude panties and that was accompanied by no bra, therefore, exposing her breasts fully. 

For some, this might be a very inappropriate outfit considering that we have children who just might have been watching the awards. I, however, so happens to think she looked absolutely stunning. She might have been a bit daring, but that’s what fashion is all about; self expression however one sees fit. 

What bugs me the most about the discussions that have surfaced the web in the past day, is the comparison of Rihanna and Beyonce. Now, let’s be clear, how one sins from the next man, doesn’t make him any better just because he or she sinned differently. This statement aids in my belief that just because Rihanna chooses to be naked differently than Beyonce doesn’t make her any worse than Beyonce. 

Sex sells. Point blank period. And according to my observation, Rihanna isn’t the only one advocating it. In Beyonce’s most recent visual album, no more than 2 songs (Blue and Xo) were to be considered appropriate. She had on little to no clothes in most videos and most would agree that this is THE most sexual that we have ever seen Beyonce, and for her, that’s pretty surprising considering the fact that she has always been a sex icon. Beyonce had girls licking on her breasts in one of her music videos, but there was no talk about that i’m sure. 

Point taken, that Rihanna’s dress might have been a bit bold, but since we are comparing these two icons, they are in the same exact boat. They are both sex icons and both have expressed via music videos, interviews, songs, that they are comfortable with their sexuality, so the bottom line is, however either of them chooses to exercise that sexual side, is however they choose to. 

All in all, I just needed people to see that neither of these artists are better or worst than the next, because they both are doing the exact same thing.