PSA: Understanding Style With Solange

Solange is cool af and a vibe. She effortlessly serves. Let me explain & school you. Style is different from fashion because it’s an expression of self. If you’re a copycat with no personality, cough- Kim Kardashian and her weird hoe family- cough, possessing style is an impossibility. It’s a pre-requisite for high fashion, you can’t play atelier games without it. As I said it’s a sport. I stand by the fact that not every body is meant for it.

While everyone has the ability to swim, that doesn’t mean they’re Olympic tier. I’m not going to use inclusivity as an excuse to justify for the obesity that plagues America. An Olympic swimmer couldn’t compete in sumo wrestling successfully. Different sports require different skill sets and fashion is one of them. Florence Pugh is a style icon and she’s short, same with curvaceous Marilyn Monroe. Some bodies are Olympic level mannequins, others are not. Coddling feelings has allowed for laziness and mediocrity. Via: Charlotte_Prevel & Solange Knowles

Missing Solange Part Deux

To not point this finger of mine so much at others, but take those same fingers to grip a mirror up to myself.
Reflecting on the ways I could have shown more grace and compassion.
Been more thoughtful.

Via: Harper’s Bazaar
Photographer: Naima Green

Just When I Missed Solange

I watched a movie about this very thing.
How you shouldn’t leave your sheets out overnight because spirits might jump into ’em and now u sleeping with a ghost who doesn’t even belong to you.

Photographer: Naima Green

Brown Face

Brown face
Black skin, black braids
Black waves, black days
Black baes, black things
These are black-owned things
Black faith still can’t be washed away
Not even in that Florida water

Not even in that Florida water
In that Florida water

Brown face
Black skin, black braids
Black waves, black days
Black baes, black things
These are black-owned things
Black faith still can’t be washed away
Not even in that Florida water

Artist: Gherdai Hassell

Black Is King Styled By Zerina Akers

Visually stunning, nothing less to be expected from a Knowles. My only wish is my uterus be as gifted as Miss Tina’s; I mean this is bananas, the talent that womb birthed is extraordinary. For the haters in the back, Beyoncé is allowed to celebrate her ancestry any way she chooses. This isn’t appropriation, she’s reconnecting the black diaspora. Showing accurate representation of black divinity, which is so feared they try to white wash our history and degrade us to caricatures of the white imagination. Operative word try, as in attempted, as in failed. And FYI for the brainless, although the African American was created by the rape of our ancestors, our lineage does not begin there.

Round of applause to Zerina Akers for styling this film. SHE WENT OFFFFFFFF. That effortless cool we exude perfectly captured. I truly don’t know which look was my favorite and this isn’t even a fraction of what was done. THIS amongst many things is why black folks set the tone. Take notes, don’t steal our shit and give us credit. Period. You welcome and thank you Queens. Which look is your favorite? Which do you think is going to be the Halloween costume of 2020? Via: Beyonce 1, Black Is King, Valentine Bey & Miss Beyoncee

Happy Birthday Solange

Few people possess the fortitude and resilience of this woman. Having a highly successful sibling all your life is usually advantageous, for Solange it was a means to tear her to shreds. Before A Seat At The Table, she was ridiculed as a teen pregnancy stereotype, who would never make good music, win any awards and destined to live in the shadow of her sister. Never once did she let that stop her from pursuing her passions, Solange refused to let anybody define her but Solange. Ahead of her time, she told society who she was and challenged us to catch up. The embodiment of The Tortoise & The Hare, go at your own pace and you’ll succeed. I hope this grammy winning goddess has the best birthday. I really don’t even think I can put into words what she’s done for my soul with her work, or existence. Make no mistake that everything she’s gotten she’s earned. A model human being, a pillar of integrity, a genius, living art, a fashion icon. What’s your favorite Solange song? Via: Solange Daily

Ashley Pena: Boys Don’t Cry

Watch us walk.
Watch us move.
Watch us overcome.
Listen to our voices, the sway.

The resilience.
The innovation.
The raw, unfiltered and untouched
Soul we have
can not be touched.

*Solange: Why are you proud to be black?

On My Gratitude List

Just thankful that these two queens exist. Their creations have gotten me through life’s rough moments, happy moments, lost moments and everything in between. That is the beauty of artist. Thank you for you legacies. Just happy I get to see it in real time. Photo: Lawless Bey