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Kendrick Lamar has been hailed as one of hip-hop’s latest “saviors” with his razor sharp skills and ability to make the listener visualize the story he’s trying to tell. He seems keenly aware that he’s doing great things for the state of music.

K-dot, as he’s affectionately known, recently released a video for his latest song “Poetic Justice” and it featured a beautiful young lady named Brittany Sky.  Ironically enough, she was not the original lead chosen but when Kendrick was finally involved with the process, he revealed a different vision. As he told Miss Info:

“We had another girl for the lead but I had an idea where I just wanted a little bit of a darker tone [girl] in the video. It’s almost like a color blind industry where there’s only one type of appeal to the camera.

“I give [Brittany] the credit, too, for just being there, and being a natural, genuine young lady. She wasn’t  all in the open, trying to jump in [front] of the camera. She was cool, just chilling. I always kept in the back of my mind  like ‘you don’t ever see this tone of a woman in videos.  No disrespect, I love all women, period. But at the same time, I still feels like it needs that balance.”

Kendrick wanted to be clear that he wasn’t trying to add to the whole “light-skinned vs. dark-skinned” argument that often happens so he tweeted to Miss Info, who originally alluded to it being a “light vs. dark” issue:

“Not Light “Vs” Dark tho. More about “BALANCE”..Givn every shade of woman life, not jus what da industry thinks is “Hott” 4 camera. When u put the term light “Vs” dark continues it as a BATTLE. My point 4 poetic was to spark the idea of making it an EQUAL.”

He went on in his interview with Miss Info saying that he knows his video is just a drop in the bucket and he was just glad he could do his part to counteract colorism in the music industry.

Image: AP Photo/Eric Gay

Much of the discussion during this presidential campaign season has been squarely focused on the economy and the divergent paths that President Obama and Mitt Romney have proposed for getting it back on track.

The general consensus (here in the Madame Noire office and elsewhere) is that the President missed opportunities to be more aggressive with Romney, not highlighting Romney’s “47 percent” comment that has now become infamous, and letting him get away with claims about Medicare and other policies that weren’t quite true or weren’t explained with any specificity.

But generally speaking, the debate was all about the middle class; both saying that their policies wouldn’t burden them with extra taxes, promising to lower the unemployment rate and generally restore security through overall economic growth. We’ve got links to recaps here, here, here and here.

President Obama will continue to talk about the economy during stops in Colorado and the University of Wisconsin before heading back to Washington.

What did you think of the debate last night? Was there anything that you heard that will impact your vote?

Total aside, Twitter was lit up last night over the #debate, becoming the most tweeted event in political history. Some of the things that got Twitter attention: people’s defense of Big Bird after Romney said he would make funding cuts to PBS and moderator Jim Lehrer’s “let’s not” response to Romney’s attempts to move the debate on to another topic (Lehrer has been given an “F” for his performance last night).

By Dantel Proctor

Source: natreview.com

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that hair is a very sensitive topic among the black female population. One topic that keeps arising in the realm of that is the natural hair versus relaxed hair debate. Why it’s “versus,” I still don’t really understand.

I remember in high school seeing black girls get ridiculed for not having a relaxer and have their locks labeled as “nappy.” Yet I also remember how in college no judgment was passed; people were celebrated for making their own decisions and not being afraid to stray from the pack. With time, we were all becoming more accepting of doing whatever worked for our hair. There were girls with relaxed and natural hair and you were saluted for whichever route you took. Then I entered the “real world,” coincidentally at the same time that the recent resurgence of the natural hair movement seemed to really take off, and that same high school judgment returned, but this time it was for the opposing reason. This time rulers were hitting the knuckles of the non-natural women, the ones who would dare to still relax their hair.

I am now one of the ridiculed ones, but I’m having a hard time understanding why. I have been relaxing my hair since I was eleven years old. My hair is soft and fairly curly and my roots do in fact grow up, not down. However, I prefer my hair straight. I like my hair to flow, lay across my shoulders, and I hate to say it, but I am a habitual hair twirler as well. I can’t help but get the “I need a touch-up” itch every couple of months to maintain the ultra-straight look that I’ve loved my entire life. This once was also the practice of all of my friends, but now everyone is natural, and that’s fine, but they’re pointing a finger at me because I have yet to “convert.” Do I have to?

A close friend of mine told me that all women that wear perms are only doing so because they are insecure and care too much about what men and society think of them. Another friend was a little less judgmental and said that those aren’t the reasons for all women, but it sure is for a lot of them. I have also been told that I am living an unhealthy lifestyle and that I am just assimilating to what “White America” wants. My question is, why does it have to be that I’m appeasing white folks if I like my hair straight? I am the type of person who doesn’t adhere to every new trend or fad and style-wise, I am basic and constant, knowing what I like and not straying too far from it. My mother had her reasons for giving me my first perm, but my continuing it for all these years has little to do with what others think and more to do with my own personal style choices and how I like my hair. Keyword, my hair.

To hear some of the harsh things said about women with relaxers is hurtful. I don’t insult people who have decided to be natural, that would be prejudice of me; so why the double standard? If people think getting a relaxer is strictly to please white people, then wouldn’t that mean going natural is being done strictly to please black people? I know that this isn’t true, and it’s a pretty far assumption, correct? But the assumption that this is the only reason a person would get a perm is pretty far reaching too, and warrants this kind of logic. I bet natural women would be offended by that accusation, so why shouldn’t we, those who choose to use relaxers, be offended too? Is it a crime to do your hair the way YOU want to versus what everyone else feels is right?

Honestly, I have given a lot of thought into going natural and I’m still undecided. I have not relaxed my hair in four months and I am experimenting to see if I can still maintain the hair style I love, without a perm and without doing the big chop, but I just don’t like a lot of the natural styles that I’ve seen. I’m entitled to my own opinion. I see the benefits of natural hair, but a relaxer has never actually done any damage to my hair, and by all accounts my hair is healthy–just ask my stylist. If my hair is still thriving, despite the fact that it is relaxed, then am I really doing wrong by not going natural?

I think what a person does with their hair is a personal choice and there should be no pressure surrounding it. It should not be assumed that because someone goes natural, it is because they just want to be in on the newest fad or that if they keep a perm, it is because they are insecure or want to blend in with everyone who isn’t black. I don’t like people pushing me to try and feel ashamed or as though I haven’t “evolved” because I still like my hair relaxed. It’s nice that there is sense of camaraderie and celebration in the black community in regards to wearing hair natural, but shouldn’t all black women share that, despite the way they choose to wear their hair?

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Chris Brown took a lot of heat during his performance at the 54^th Grammys. It has been three years since Brown has been to the annual awards show as a result of his domestic abuse event with his then girlfriend, singer Rihanna. Domestic abuse sadly happens all of the time to all types of people, but because both of these young performers are in the public eye, everyone saw their problems and criticized them both. There’s a love/hate split for Chris Brown in the music community. He still has tons of female fans who have forgiven him for what he did to Rihanna. They’ve forgiven him so much that they went on twitter complaining how Rihanna was stupid and would love for Chris Brown to beat them. Yes you heard that right. It speaks volumes to the self-esteem of some of the young ladies who admire the young singer. But it also shows that they don’t view Rihanna as a victim.

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If you ran into Target on Wednesday to pick up your usual products, depending on where you were, you might have been surprised to run into woman after woman breastfeeding around the store in areas around the country. It all started when Houston-area mom, Michelle Hickman, was repeatedly asked to relocate her feeding to a fitting room after she was found sitting in a clothing aisle trying to discreetly breastfeed her child. According to Time.com, when she reported the incident, guest relations told her, “just because it’s a woman’s legal right to nurse a baby in public doesn’t mean she should walk around the store flaunting it.”

Not a good move. Girlfriend rallied up friends, set up a Facebook account to organize a “nurse-in,” and yesterday, women showed up at Targets all over the country ready to feed in public–no matter who was looking. From one participant to more than 50, different stores attracted different groups of women to take part in the nurse-in. However, the reaction seemed to be similar all over: a few funny looks, some support, and for the most part, a lot of indifferent people too busy trying to get some post-Christmas deals. They came, they saw, they breastfed, and they’re hoping their small but courageous movement will change some attitudes about the very natural and healthy action.

The breastfeeding debate is and has been a tough one for a long time. While most mothers (I won’t go as far to assume all) just want to freely breastfeed their children with no fuss or muss, a lot of people still seem to be uncomfortable with boobs going free in public, even if they’re only out for a minute for a child’s sake.

If you ask me (which I know you didn’t), I think a woman should be able to breastfeed her child when she needs to, even if it’s in public, without feeling like people are giving her the death stare. It definitely is a very natural thing and while it definitely was something I had to get used to/comfortable with when I was younger, I’m not phased by it anymore (maybe just surprised though when I turn around and see a boob I wasn’t expecting). A child has to eat, and a mother has to do what she has to do. I understand that.

However, my only issue is with why the recommendation of covering yourself with a small towel or even going into a fitting room to breastfeed for others who might be uncomfortable with it gets met with such a strong disapproving reaction from mothers? I feel the idea that what your child needs is more important than what a grown a** person who should get over themselves already thinks. But for those who might not want to take their older children into an aisle and encounter an unexposed boob, I just want to understand why having an area for women to breastfeed without being bothered, just as there is an area to change young children in public places, gets met with such ferocious opposition? Especially when some mothers don’t even try to play discreet and literally just have their boob out to see, even when the child isn’t feeding on it. Maybe making a mother move and somewhat “hide” gives the idea that breastfeeding is somehow shameful, even though it isn’t, making some want to combat that feeling. But still…

While the struggle of the breastfeeding mother is very real, and the grown men who Tweet and make stupid or sexual comments about it should cease, we all know you can’t force people to be comfortable with something they’re not comfortable with. You can tell people that they need to look at it as something as simple as feeding a baby with a bottle, but if they still don’t see it that way, they’re going to feel a way about–and therein lies the problem. Therefore, I’m wondering, is compromising by moving to a breastfeeding-friendly area really all that demeaning and bad for a mom? Feel free to school inquiring minds like mine below (but BE NICE).

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The title of an article published on USA Today today says, “‘Natural hair’ is making waves among black women.” Well, of course. If you look around you these days, so many more women are coming out of their homes with large eclectic afros, locks of all colors, TWAs that they proudly boast, braids, twists and pressed hair that have reached new and exciting links. The proof is in the pudding, and now it seems to be in statistical form.

The hair-care company, Design Essentials, started a study in 2010 to measure the popularity of natural hair. While the number of women who ditched relaxed hair was 26 percent in 2010, it has jumped up big time with a 10 percent increase hitting 36 percent for 2011. According to USA Today and Mintel, a consumer spending and market research firm, relaxer kit sales have also dropped by nearly 17 percent since 2006.  “Natural hair has been a movement for several years. What we’re seeing now is a confirmation that this is a lifestyle that is very important to a lot of women,” says Cyntelia Abrams, a marketing coordinator for Design Essentials.

There definitely seems to be an appeal in going natural these days. This might have to do with the money and time some women are saving by decreasing their salon visits, and from the comfort of knowing that whatever amazing or crazy things their hair may be doing everyday, there’s something fab about knowing that it’s all from their own scalp. And let’s not even get started on the rain benefits…I think all hair is beautiful (no pressure, do your thing), and I realize that natural hair isn’t the way most women are necessarily trying to go (yet), but it’s nice to hear that women are embracing their own strands one day at a time. I can only imagine that numbers are going to continue to increase as the years go by. I see 50 percent for 2012 easily!

Do you feel like you’re seeing a huge increase in natural-haired women as you move around? 

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(Conservative American News) — New Black Panther Party, Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz, persists despite controversy. The New Black Panther Party has been embroiled in a battle between Republican Congressmen and the U.S. Department Of Justice battle over a ”voter intimidation” scandal for the last 18 months. During these 18 months right wing and Republican Newspaper and Electronic media have gone to exhaustive lengths to discredit and slander the New Black Panther Party and its Chairman and Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz.

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(Arizona Daily Star) — State Superintendent Tom Horne’s latest attack against Tucson Unified School District’s ethnic-studies department is nothing more than a publicity stunt.I teach two of the ethnic-studies courses in question: Native American and African-American Literatures. When Mr. Horne leveled his same accusations three years ago through the media, I responded by articulating the purpose and objectives of the courses and encouraged him to actually attend the classes he so vilifies. To this day, he has never been in any of the classes. Horne continued his attack on a visit to TUSD on May 12. According to the Arizona Daily Star, “Horne said he merely wanted to meet with TUSD to learn about all of the ethnic-study programs it offers.”

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