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Funky Divas With Funky Attitudes

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : August 20, 2012
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En Vogue’s Never Gonna Get It Right

Cindy. Maxine. Terry. Dawn. You may not know them all individually, but you definitely know them as a collective….1990s R & B group, En Vogue. They are one of the biggest female groups in history with hits like “Hold On”, “Don’t Let Go”, and “Never Gonna Get It”. In recent years, it seems like the group has never gotten it together long enough to reunite with all four original members. And in the past few weeks, things have really come to a head. The group’s lineup has changed over the years going back and forth between Dawn Robinson (lead singer) being in and out of the group. The remaining members enjoyed modest success as EV3, minus the presence of Dawn (who also enjoyed some success on her own as a member of Lucy Pearl- with Raphael Saadiq and Ali Shaheed Muhammad).

The group had seemed to put their differences aside, gearing up for a new reality show, a new CD and a reunion tour. Seemed like a smart move for a group that still has a large fan base…But that hasn’t lasted long. Member Maxine Jones recently learned that she has been kicked out of the group and being sued by Terry and Cindy. Not to mention, Dawn had already left again by this point. And just last week, Maxine and Dawn used Twitter as their venting platform, stating the following:

Maxine Jones ‏@MaxineJonesEV
Yup Terry n Cindy r evil! They took over the LLC n bank acct, forced me out, gave my gigs 2 that chick LOL, and SUING 

Maxine Jones ‏@MaxineJonesEV
Real arrogant bitches drunk with power lol! My lawyer and I look forward 2 court! We’re gonna catch it on our reality show 2 lol

Dawn Robinson ‏@dawnrobinson_
@MaxineJonesEV Dont worry about it Max lol! The truth about they’re asses had to come out sooner or later! Do NOT erase these messages lol!

And here’s a piece of what Cindy and Terry had to say about it all…

“….There are always two sides to a story and many internal facts that you the fans aren’t hearing about. In an effort to not air dirty laundry, or appear to point the finger at anyone, we respectfully choose to remain silent on the internal issues…..”

Who knows, this could all be fake and just a ploy for ratings for their new reality show. Do we really want to see En Vogue come back, especially if they’re acting like this? Time will tell, but for now they have plans of making two separate groups of “En Vogue” with new members…SMH

Check out a throwback from En Vogue, “Giving Him Something He Can Feel”. The song was previously recorded by Aretha Franklin for the Sparkle movie soundtrack. The group’s concept for the video was taken from the movie and the remake of it, starring Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks, hit theaters this past weekend.

Nicki Minaj and Foxy Brown vs. Lil Kim???

During a recent concert in NYC, Nicki Minaj surprised her fans by bringing out one of rap music’s original bad girls, Foxy Brown. The crowd went wild as the two performed together and Nicki Minaj publicly gave Foxy Brown her props and referred to her as her idol (really???). Ironically, both of them have had beef with Lil Kim in the past. Could this really be nothing more than a staged alliance for a combined attack on Lil Kim? Who knows, but since Foxy Brown is somewhat of a has been now, she’s definitely getting the better end of the deal if this is the case. It’s great that Nicki Minaj is paying her due respects to those who came before her, but if that’s the case, shouldn’t she be really thanking Lil Kim (since she copies much of her style)? I’m just saying….

Bland Chance for Spice Girls Reunion

Remember how huge the Spice Girls were in the late 90s? I always thought Mel B and Victoria Beckham were cute, but other than that, I didn’t get the hype about them. They were literally an overnight success (getting on my nerves in the process, lol) and broke numerous records during their brief stint in the music industry. Then, all of a sudden, they just disbanded and focused on marriage, motherhood and solo careers. But after a well received closing performance at the Olympic games in London, there is buzz (mainly being spread by Mel B) that there will be a reunion tour, along with new music. But there’s one problem…Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham). Stating that family life and prior obligations have got her tied up, she says she has no plans for a reunion. But the show may go on without her and she may be left off the tour. Well, reunion tour or not, at least they have their own musical, Viva Forever (based on their hit songs) to look forward to in December of this year.

What’s the deal with women in music (especially girl groups)? And why can’t they all just get along?

Stop Pressuring Me!

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : August 10, 2012
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The year was 1995 and I remember being glued to the TV. It took me a while to figure out that the chants of “Jush Shthop Pretherin Meh” were actually saying, “Just stop pressuring me”! LOL. You probably know what the song is by now and if you don’t it’s Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson’s duet, “Scream”. Confusing diction aside, I loved the lyrics of the song, once I understood what they were saying, and the special effects of the music video too. Sadly, we never got to see the commercial juggernaut of a tour that would have been that Michael Jackson was preparing for. Can you imagine the amount of pressure he had trying to put the show together? No matter who you are…everyone experiences it…the pressures of life. The sad part is, since we know we all have pressure, why do we feel the need to put those negative feelings on someone else?

Take recent Olympic gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas. She has won 2 of the 4 gold medals she was eligible for. But before she even competed for all events, people were speculating if she would win all 4. Whatever happened to the joy of living in the moment?! I can only imagine how hard it would be to focus at that level when people won’t even let you celebrate. She was quoted as saying, “I heard cameras and camera crews are at the airport waiting for me. And it’s going to change in a big way that I’m not going to, you know, be prepared.” And who could be prepared for this at 16? Hardly anyone…Michael Phelps, Serena Williams and Venus Williams are all probably celebrating their winnings right now, but how can they enjoy it when people are waiting on the next best thing?

Ok, so you may not be a celebrity, Olympic gold medalist or worldwide icon. But we all still face pressures. If we’re not careful, we can let the buzz of people around us work us up into a frenzy and trip us up. We live in a microwave world with short attention spans, so victories are never lasting. Think about it. If you get a promotion at work, get comfortable in your job and stay at that level for a few years, people start to ask, “Well when do you want to move up again?” I actually know a person like this who has been in the same position for years, loves her job and has mastered it. Her husband makes enough for two households to live off of and she feels she is too old for the career hustle and bustle at this point. But if she’s truly content and happy at home, can you blame her?

All of us don’t have dreams of “going for the gold” and for those that do and have, let’s congratulate them, period. We spend so much time invested on what other people are doing that we forget the constant work in progress that we all are. The late Whitney Houston would have celebrated her 49th birthday this past Wednesday. We can debate on what ultimately led to her death, but one thing is for sure: the pressures of her fans, peers and maybe even family crippled her to some extent. Let’s not find ourselves guilty of this. There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy ambition, but everybody has a breaking point. Let’s be the force that lifts people up, instead of holding them down.

Lauryn, Please Miseducate Us Again…

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : April 16, 2012
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“Ha ha ha ha….you shouldn’t diss refugees and ha ha ha ha…your whole sound set boo-ty and…” It was a bold statement that was backed up by as much talent as cockiness. The year was 1995. The Fugees were about to reach the pinnacle of their success and launch an even greater success with their lead singer/sole female MC, Lauryn Hill. The writing was on the wall for Lauryn Hill to eventually go solo and she initially seemed hesitant about branching away from the group. All of this despite the hugely successful “Killing Me Softly” single taken from the Fugees 1996 release, The Score.  Not to mention the other songs on the CD that featured Lauryn Hill’s unique vocals and conscious rhymes (I’m still jamming “Ready or Not”).  Lauryn Hill quietly released her worldwide success, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998. The Score was such a commercial juggernaut, that it had just lost its steam by the time Lauryn’s solo CD was released. Those were the days when music actually had staying power on the charts….but I digress, lol.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill seemed to be an overnight sensation with fans, except me. Never being one to jump on the popularity bandwagon, I bought the CD but couldn’t figure out what was so good about it. But I always respected the creativity and originality of the music on it. Then one day it just hit me…I started liking the CD more and more every time I heard it. By this time, Lauryn Hill had also proved herself as a worthy actress in the film Sister Act 2. Although she played a troubled teenage singer in a high school choir (not too far-fetched from real life), she proved that she could effortlessly switch lanes between singer, actress and rapper. Everything she touched turned to gold and it seemed like she could do no wrong. Songs like “Doo Wop (That Thing)” and “Ex Factor” are timeless classics in my opinion that will forever live on. Despite the millions of records sold and 5 Grammys won in one night (which at the time was the most ever by any female artist), unfortunately, you’re only as good as your last hit. It’s amazing to think that Lauryn Hill has really built her solo legacy from just one CD. So why haven’t we been able to get more music from the former Fugees front-woman? Well, technically we have…

In 2002, Lauryn Hill released a double disc collection of new material from her MTV Unplugged concert. Although the CD did contain some great songs and thought-provoking lyrics, the content was also a bit sporadic. Plus something now seemed a little off about Lauryn Hill’s voice. The smooth, raspy tone that we all knew and loved had turned into….well, just plain raspy. There was still an amazing talent there, just not the kind of spark we saw from her first solo release. She even admitted herself that the craze of stardom messed with her mind and caused her to withdraw from the public eye. Now, 10 years later from her last official release, we have heard promises of new material from her and the Fugees reuniting. Neither have yet to see the light of day. But there may be hope…just this past weekend, Lauryn Hill performed some of her classic hits and new material from her “upcoming” sophomore CD in London. There’s no word yet on a release date of the new material. But I must admit, this is one of her best performances in recent years. Check out one of the clips below.

At a time when hit music is driven by gimmicks, sex appeal, and tabloid headlines, we need Lauryn Hill now more than ever. I really hope she makes a comeback and shows the world she still has it. What do you think? Can Lauryn Hill actually come back to the music scene and still be as relevant as she was over a decade ago? Or have her 15 minutes of fame already expired?

Lauryn, come back. We need you. Some great new music would really be “The Sweetest Thing”.