National Geographic

Beyonce is featured on the July 2011 issue of Essence Magazine featuring her own cover story called "Eat Play Love" about her break from her busy lifestyle to focus on the simple pleasures in life: spending time with her hubby Jay-Z, her family, her nephew, having girls' night out, learning how to cook, and traveling with no agenda. Yes, she wrote the article too, now you can add Beyonce Knowles [the journalist]...




The photo shoot gives a glimpse of Beyonce's southern upbringing in Houston, Texas with a Western style theme. She looks gorgeous as always, but it's crazy how every time I see her in a photo spread or any advertisement, she looks like a white woman! I seriously thought she was a white woman when I saw these pics, her skin is lighter seems like it continues to get lighter and her hair is really blonde!




I've mentioned before her questionable blackface photo spread commemorating Fela Kuti, and I've also mentioned the rumors about her skin whitening, but seeing this spread just makes it seem true. No matter what color Beyonce was, the public loved her for her talent, not skin color. She's a beautiful and it seems confident woman, but why would she possibly go through a procedure like skin whitening? Is it true that the more "white" celebrities look, especially black celebrities, the more popular they will be? I sure hope not, but you can have a look for yourselves.







You Just Do You, Imma Do Me

Camille

Beyonce was awarded the Artist of the Millenium last night at the Billboard Music Awards and she definitely deserved. Though I haven't been so pro-Beyonce as of late, she definitely shut me up with her performance yesterday.





The whole tribute to Beyonce started with her family and musicians saying nice things about her and talking about her great success at the young age of 29! Then she performed her latest hit Run the World [Girls] which was so creative and out-of-the-box that it's already considered one of the Top 10 Billboard Music Awards to this date! I've never seen a performance like this, and I seriously can't stop watching it. Beyonce combines innovation with her sexiness and immense talent she's ultimately known for, but she definitely raised the bar on this one.








What made this part of the show special was the award being presented by her mother Tina Knowles and nephew. During her acceptance speech, she thanked her family, all current and former members of Destiny's Child, even her husband Jay-Z there at the event, whom she described as her "best friend".

Nothing else to say but...BEYONCE RUNS THE WORLD!!!






You Just Do You, Imma Do Me

Camille

A JESUS PIECE is a depicted face of Jesus adorned with diamonds and platinum/gold/silver hung on a heavy chain. In hip-hop culture, the Jesus Piece is a symbol of making it in the hip-hop community, it pays tribute to Jesus...all you have to do is wear the loud accessory on your neck. But what combines such symbolism of religion together with hip-hop? Though there isn't an exact answer, it may have to do with the struggle these artists have faced in a world full of failure and criticism. Though it has been a rough road to get to where they are now, the Jesus piece signifies their success in a dog-eat-dog world, where they glorify their blessings.
Urban Dictionary defines: "The Jesus piece, and other styles of large pendants worn with rope style jewelry have been a staple of hip hop youth culture for nearly thirty years. Presently, hip hop artists and fans alike use the Jesus piece as a symbol of being "hood" or keepin' it real and being extravagantly wealthy at the same time. The Jesus piece testifies to the fact 'you can take the man out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the man.'

In many hip-hop songs, artists use the materialistic item in one of their verses:
"Cubans with the Jesus piece" -Notorious B.I.G., Hypnotize. See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2taRwe_6afk

"I'm far from religious but i got beliefs, so I put cannary yellow diamonds in my Jesus Piece" -The Game

"I stay fitted from the Polo fleece to the Jesus piece." -Kanye West


Notorious B.I.G. started this fascination with the Jesus piece that has made it's way to present day hip-hop culture seen on artists such as Kanye West (he has at least 3!), Jay-Z, Timbaland, and Kid Cudi. But this phenomenon is making it's way to non-hip-hop related celebrities such as Lebron James and Amber Rose, along with non-black celebrities like Pau Gasol, Louie Vito, and Trouble Andrew.
From diamond and gem entrusted designs that the usual hip-hop artist prefers to don, the Jesus piece is now becoming popularized in the form of colorful wood. Regardless if you're flashy or low key, the Jesus piece represents wealth and fame.

You Just Do You, Imma Do Me


Camille

Controversy arose over Beyonce's fashion spread for the March 90th anniversary issue of L'Officiel Paris where she was seen wearing BLACKFACE in tribute to Fela Kuti, the Nigerian human rights activist. The wardrobe for the fashion shoot was designed by her mother, and the whole idea behind the spread was a "return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened." Blackface has been a popular trend among elite European fashion.
In history, blackface had connotations of vaudeville and racial hatred. The University of Arizona reports: “Although it existed before the advent of Vaudeville, blackface minstrelsy played a major part in the song, dance, and comedy acts and routines that Vaudeville promoted and popularized. Prior to and during Vaudeville blackface minstrelsy generally entertained audiences at the expense of those it ridiculed.” This can be seen in many early broadcasts where white men would put on blackface using greasepaint or shoe polish, exaggerate their lips, and wear wooly wigs and ragged clothes to portray black people as lazy, buffoonish, ignorant, joyous, and musical.
Beyonce being such an icon in the entertainment and fashion world really made a statement because she is of black descent, so why does she need to voluntarily darken her skin to pay tribute? The idea of Fela Kuti is in connection with her husband Jay Z's Broadway musical production "Fela!" But wearing blackface and tribal clothes doesn't necessarily constitute paying homage to a worldly figure.
Many critics are confused about the whole inspiration of the spread. Jezebel writer Jodai Stewart says, "It's fun to play with fashion and makeup, and fashion has a history of provocation and pushing boundaries. But when you paint your face darker in order to look more 'African,' aren't you reducing an entire continent, full of different nations, tribes, cultures and histories, into one brown color?...It's one thing to feel moved by Fela Kuti, and quite another to treat blackness as a fashion accessory, like a pair of glittery heels you put on because it looks cool...The message we're getting from the fashionistas, is that it's bad to actually have dark skin, but totally cool to pretend you have it."
Charing Ball from Atlanta Post thinks Blackface is a modern form of racial discrimination passed off as an art form. She says, "Blackface is not fashion forward or edgy and, in my opinion, it is just flat-out offensive."
Beyonce is a beautiful and talented black women, but she is getting scrutinized by the press for her obvious skin lightening in beauty ads such as for L'Oreal. Her ads not only make her skin noticeably whiter, but her features resemble that of a white woman as well, especially with her blondish hair. So this raises the question: Is black really beautiful when the fashion world is trying to portray black women with lighter skin tones as the real definition of beauty. Dark skin is praised in the high fashion world like Alex Wek, Naomi Campbell, Grace Jones, and Naomi Sims. But we see light skin black women as a more universal type of beauty seen in superstars like Beyonce, Rihanna, and Tyra Banks. I feel that Beyonce could've paid a tribute to Fela Kuti in a different artistic manner. A black woman shouldn't have to wear blackface since she's already black.
IS BLACK REALLY BEAUTIFUL, OR IS IT JUST AN ARTISTIC EXPRESSION ACCORDING TO WESTERN IDEALS?