Harriet Tubman responds to talks of her being featured on the U.S. $20 bill

     For the past several months the inter webs have been a buzz with several polls and debates whether or not Harriet Tubman should be on the twenty dollar bill. Harriet Tubman has not actually responded, however I(yes me, Kearmonie) wrote a poem speaking as Ms. Tubman, which I have performed at quite a few places. This piece has just been posted on the SlamFind youtube channel. Slamfind is a cellphone app that connects the people to spoken word venues in their area. I am so very excited to be able to share this, enjoy !

Real Friends?

     Yeezus has blessed us again. Just a couple of weeks ago KanYe West released a single entitled facts. Personally not too great to me, much like "All Day", he did not have much to say; it was a bit of a teaser for us fans. Is he dropping an album or is he isn't? Well the single has shed some light on that. "Real Friends" an account on becoming so famous that everyone around you just wants to stick you for your paper, and so busy that you barely have time for the people who once cared. The slow melodic Drake-sounding track is followed by a preview snippet of another song featuring Kendrick Lamar(Jaw Drop) entitled "No More Parties". This song, or the bit that we hear, has an alternative throwback feel to it. Kane's new album "Swish" is finally set to be released this February, with a series of tracks to be released leading up to it.

"God is Gangsta"

     The latest short film brought to us by none other than Kendrick Lamar, the current G.O.A.T. or I guess G.O.T.T.(Greatest of this time). K. Dot blessed us early last year with his 3rd album To Pimp a Butterfly, a notably iconic piece of work. This video is a combination of two tracks off of the album "U" and "For Sale" both deep thought provoking, self reflection type stories much like the entire album.

Kendrick Lamar - God Is Gangsta from Top Dawg Entertainment on Vimeo.

     This short is quite moving, much like other videos he has released as of late and a clever juxtaposition of one's inner troubles as well as desires. Kendrick's testimony which begins with "I remember you was conflicted..." appears several times on the album stated his mental, spiritual, and emotional state at a certain time and what he has learned. God is Gangsta breathtakingly sums that all up. Another notable aspect is the tile itself, almost to say that this is not a twofer music video, however a short film. At one point "gangsta" was a loosely used adjective to describe something that dramatically great, pushes the envelope, impressive or dope; I guess a way to equate to any gang-related scary aspects of a certain lifestyle. To refer to someone as gangsta is state that the are bold and live without fear. The statement "God is Gangsta" is an almost humorous way to sum up the way the lord works, how he puts us in spaces and on paths we may not understand, giving us tasks and trials that may seem way too hard for us to deal with but certainly something we have the strength within ourselves to get through.

NYE look

Here's a look at my New Years Eve outfit. The romper and the tights are of course from Urban Outfitters.

Ayesha Curry's Tweets and the real problem here

Everyone's into barely wearing clothes these days huh? Not my style. I like to keep the good stuff covered up for the one who matters 😂😂😂

— Ayesha Curry (@ayeshacurry) December 5, 2015

   Ayesha Curry is Wife of NBA player Stephen Curry. The two, their lovely marriage and family have become widely popular over the past few months after Stephen Curry and his team The Golden State Warriors won the NBA Championship.
   Ayesha has been all over the media lately receiving all kinds of responses to this tweet. It seems that she is shaming women who dress a certain way, stating that she's rather dress classy than trending. As if saying that trendy club wear these days implies that certain women are not classy. She is one politically incorrect word away from slut-shaming, but it doesn't matter because others are doing it for her. I do not have a problem with Ayesha's traditional perception on how she should dress but the rhetoric here is dictating how women dress in terms of how we will be perceived and ultimately controlled by men. The ongoing feminist battle is that f liberation. We as women are claiming our bodies and our sexuality as our own, and we will dress however we want no matter want. Unfortunately there are still people who are swayed by traditional misogynistic beliefs of how a woman should walk, talk, dress, and act; especially a woman who is married to man. Mrs. Curry's tweets will and already have inspired posts calling women who do dress the way Curry is dismissing "sluts" it is fueling this "Good Girl" VS "Bad Girl" ideal which plagues women from as young as 5 years old, and it is terribly sad.

"But You Caint Use My Phone" certainly made me put my phone down

   The newest body of work by Ms. Erykah Badu. The Grammy-Award winning Neo-Soul Queen has not released a full project since "New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)"(2010). She has certainly remained relevant with appearances on tracks, concerts, never-ending DJ gigs, magazines spreads and interviews. "But You Caint Use My Phone" is a reminder of who she is musically and what she can do.
     This mixtape was preceded by Erykah's cover a recently popular Drake song "Hotline Bling", which she has titled "Cel u Lar Device" Listen HERE.

    This mixtape is an upbeat, funky, sultry ode to phones and a direct reference to her 1998 hit "Call Tyrone" most popular in it's live version this song something Ms. Badu and her band freestyled while on tour for her first album "Baduizm" and quickly became a fan favorite. The intro and title track to this mixtape "Caint Use My Phone (Suite)" is a melodic mix of phone sounds and instrumentation from "Call Tyrone" as she plays around with popular line from the song "But you can't use my phone". Each song being a phone reference, she also samples Usher's "You don't have to call" and New Edition's "Mr. Telephone Man".
    Notable tracks include "Phone Down" a very modern, trap music sounding track on which Badu insists she "can make you put your phone down", and the perfect end to a project of this sort "Hello" featuring who Billboard and millions of people note as one of the greatest rappers of all time and Erykah Badu's first Baby-daddy, none other than Andre` 3000. With the sounds of birds chirping incredible bars and vocals alike, this duet and love song is an uplifting, love-reminding, Neo-soul revival of sorts and the #1 reason to give this entire project your ears. Other features include Drake and Erykah and Andre's son Seven who's verse on "What's Your Phone Number" is reminiscent of "Thank Me Later" Drake, whom he cites as a hug inspiration.

The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

Hair-inspiration and overall #BlackGirlMagic inspiration Franchesca Leigh has teamed up with MTV Decoded to bring us another hyper-informative video:

Everything you know about Thanksgiving is wrong ft. Franchesca "Chescaleigh" Ramsey.
Posted by MTV on Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Enjoy the holiday !

Chi-what? Chi-where?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

HOLLA-Ween fashion post

This halloween I not only dressed as cruel de'vil, I turned 23 years old! Here's my costume/Birthday outfit.

Straight Outta ... Well you already know

     Finally, ya girl Kearmonie took that trip to the movie theaters to see the latest Critically acclaimed BioPic "Straight Outta Compton". Telling the story of one of the most impactful Rap groups of all time, Titled after their iconic debut album, and having dominated the box offices 4 weeks in a row S.O.C. is a must see.

     The film opening up with soundbites of scattered radio commentary and song lyrics we meet, who I personally declare as our protagonist, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, introducing us to the lifestyle he led before "blowing up". We then meet Dr. Dre and then Ice Cube through their run-ins with gang violence, police brutality and trouble at home for a simple yet effective opening sequence.

     What is revealed in those moments could have been a half-hour to 45 minutes long, as this film comes across rather rushed. You blink once and next thing you know they are on a national tour. Granted, most films are only 120 minutes long, the run time of this one being 150 minutes(2 1/2 hours), yet this film was more of a timeline, a re-telling of a lot of information fans of Hip-Hop especially those who were alive and experiencing the culture during the era in question(unlike myself) already know, and still remember vividly.

     A lot of subject matter is danced around, such as Eazy-E's promiscuity, infidelity, and all of his children. Not one of his kids a depicted in the film, or so much as mentioned; nor are the mothers of his children or other women he was seriously involved with during the height of his career. His involvement with multiple women is snarkily hinted at but not ever shown. It is hard to believe he was infected with HIV by being with one woman during the entire time. Also regarding Eazy-E, his departure from NWA(followed by a solo diss track or two) is not depicted; maybe a minuscule bit of information, but the truth is never obsolete. What else is cleverly left out is Dr. Dre's assault changes, and most importantly the woman he reportedly assaulted, who was not only his girlfriend but also an artist signed to his label who's music Dre had produced the majority of. We are given a glimpse into the life of Dr. Dre, the depiction of his career could arguably be more necessary for this film than his personal life, but the way the two have overlapped is not shown. Going back to before the fame, we do not learn how these brothas got their names or how they even fell in love with hip-hop music, we meet Dre as he is already a well known underground DJ, not how he got the name Dr. Dre or how he became established; and Cube is already an MC involved with another group.

    Enough of the negativity though, this film is beautiful. The colors, the lights, the sound, the close-ups. The depiction of the rawness and severity of what these men went through just by being young, black men, in the hood; and all that fueled their music was remarkably illustrated. This film did it's job in playing up the drama the way film and television seems to be doing these days, giving the viewer what they want, in the most cinematic way possible. What I personally felt was overdone, is the interweaving of the Rodney King incident/trial. I feel that was an obvious element used, not just to tell what year/era we're in, but to amplify all that N.W.A. stands for and the fact that the fight is not over. This is not to say that the members of the group were not greatly effected by the case and the riots that followed, but the use of it all does not add to the film, nor take away from it, its just there.

     Straight Outta Compton, is an intense look back on one of the most iconic and influential rap groups of all time. Despite feeling as if this film failed to inform me on anything that I did not already know, I was impressed, and I teared up about twice... well maybe three times.

     Oh, and one more thing that I cannot overlook, The man I am declaring as the lead actor, having portrayed who I have already declared or protagonist, Jason Mitchell(Eazy-E). That man was incredibly charming, funny, and an incredible actor. Mister O'shea Jackson, the young man who portrayed Ice Cube and who just so happens to be Ice Cube's son, got Top Billing(his name is the first to pop up in the credits and while searching the film online) but we'll see how that all changes when award season comes around. #NoShade