FAREWELL PRINCE ROGERS NELSON AKA PRINCE

Prince has died and it hurts so bad, especially when that person is closer to you in age and you start questioning your own mortality. It's particularly frightening when many artists from the soundtrack of my life are dying and it feels like life is moving fast-forward.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to hear and see him perform at The Essence Music Festival and I will never forget that night. The Superdome was glowing in purple, looking like a purple flying saucer and he asked all of us to dress in purple to commemorate that night. Prince was the ultimate performer and the crowd went wild as he performed his classic hits. 

Death is inevitable and all of us will experience it one day, so live your life to the fullest. Stop wasting the best years of your life with people who deduct from your lives and stop worrying about people who hate you. Live unapologetically!!


I thank Prince for the great music and the wonderful memories and may his soul rest in power. His music legacy will live on forever.

Illustration Credit: Vonmiwi

What I’m Reading Now: Grace Jones "I'll Never Write My Memoirs"

Nothing makes me happier than reading a book about one of my favorite idols and a woman who has been an inspiration to so many. I could not wait to get my hands on a copy when I first heard about it. So far, this is a really good one!

 Nothing makes a rainy day more relaxing than a good book.

Her Royal Fierceness...Miss Naomi Campbell for HARPER'S BAZAAR RUSSIA

The November magazines are coming out slowly but surely and this time Miss Naomi Campbell fronts the November 2012 cover of HARPER'S BAZAAR RUSSIA. I just might have to buy this one because she can be on the cover a million times and I'd never get tired of seeing her. Rock On Naomi!

Photo: Harper's Bazaar Russia

Currently Loving: Destination Iman

I follow Rachel Zoe on Tumblr and this info rolled through my dashboard so I had to click and check it out. i Likey!

Fashion icon and mogul Iman has launched her own online magazine, Destination Iman, where we can get a few pointers in the latest beauty products and style that her brand and other brands have to offer the stylish woman.

Have I finally found something that speaks to me---the woman over 40 who is sophisticated, aware, fabulous and has her own identity? While other magazines, either print or digital start off catering to the established and mature women, they quickly abandon us once we build up their brands and revenues in favor of a more youthful market thus rendering us invisible and insignificant.

Can a woman find one that can thrive and coexist with her younger peers on a respectable level?? Anyway, I love what I see thus far and will bookmark her site.

You can follow Destination Iman or connect with Iman at the following places: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Photos: Destination Iman

Artist Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012)

Thank You Elizabeth Catlett for having inspired the world and may you rest in peace!

Her legacy will live on forever...............

Happy Birthday Whitney Houston!

Today marks the legendary Whitney Houston's birthday. No matter what you've gone through you still rock!

Defining Fabulous: Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy of Mother's Finest

What do you get when you cross Funk with Rock & Roll? You get Mother's Finest. While trying to decide what to do with my huge album collection, I came across their album, 'Mother Factor' and wondered what had happened to the them. I gave the internet surf and it appears that they are still rocking and rolling to fans all over the world who still support them.

When we close our minds to experience different things in life, we miss out on everything. While growing up I had so many experiences that shaped who I am and I hardly ever excluded anything from it, to include listening to Rock music. Whatever music that was created, we listened to it. 

Mother's Finest is one of those groups that was greatly under appreciated by a lot of people, but is greatly appreciated by true music lovers who don't look at outward appearances.

Joyce Kennedy is the lead singer of this group which hails from Atlanta, GA and she's still as beautiful as ever. Ask any man over 40 if they remember Joyce Kennedy. I'm sure they will and I'm sure they had one of her album covers on their walls. She may be a little older now but she still rocks and has the voice that can still hold a note.

Check out Mother's Finest and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Remembering Florence (Flo-Jo) Griffith-Joyner

Over the last few years it seems that many of us have become engulfed by popular culture that we forget about many of the great ones who left their true marks on our lives and inspired us to be the best at what we did or tried to achieve.

Florence (Flo-Jo) Griffith-Joyner defined fabulous on and off the track field with her alluring beauty and her own sense of style. She reclaimed an aura of femininity that had been denied to us for so many years and she looked good too all the while leaving a trail of dust in her competitors faces.

I miss you Flo-Jo...

Shakara Ledard For CHICO's

"Shakara Ledard for CHICO'S Spring Catalog"

It's great to see Shakara back on the scene and I must admit there has been an resurgence of many of the "Top Models" from the '80s and '90s and these women still look great! Shakara is signed with One Management. Check out CHICO'S latest ad campaign and also their new Spring arrivals here 

Photos: CHICOS|One Manaagement

A Moment In Afro Herstory: Zezé Motta née Maria José de Oliveira Motta

Zezé Motta  famed film star, singer, activist and humanitarian is considered as one of the greatest actresses in Brazilian culture. Throughout her career Zezé  has fought for non-stereotypical roles that often limit the talents of her and her fellow entertainers and to this very day she continues to create opportunities for future generations of Brasilian youth.
...And the drum still beats.

A Moment In Afro Herstory: Dr. Shirley A. Jackson

In 1973, Dr. Jackson became the first Black woman to graduate with a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating from MIT, she became a research associate at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a visiting scientist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. Jackson was faculty at Rutgers University in Piscataway and New Brunswick, New Jersey from 1991 to 1995, in addition to continuing to consult with Bell Labs on semiconductor theory. Her research during this time focused on the electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional systems.

She lectured at the NATO International Advanced Study Institute in Antwerp, Belgium in 1982. Her research on high-energy theory has given her international recognition. In 1995, President Clinton appointed Jackson to serve as Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), becoming the first woman and first African American to hold that position. 

Dr. Jackson is presently the 18th President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she became the first woman to hold this prestigious position in 1999.