Source: Buzzfeed

Sorry to excite you — or incite more conspiracy theories that 2Pac might really be alive — but isn’t this visual pretty spot on? Last week Buzzfeed created a gallery showing what dead music artists of our age would look like had they stayed on earth just a little while longer, and they captured some of the most iconic stars of our kind from every genre, like Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Aaliyah, and, of course, Pac.

Though I’m sure Pac probably wouldn’t have gone from a supremely shaven bald head in his younger years to trying to hold on to this slowly receding hairline later in life, the caption Buzzfeed provided, “Director Tupac Shakur and his wife Jada Pinkett Shakur arrive at the after-party for the premiere of Shakur’s lastest film in New York City,” is probably just about right. Sorry Will!

Check out the photos and Buzzfeed’s prophesies for what these starlets would be doing now had they not passed away so soon. What do you think?

Source: Buzzfeed

Aaliyah, 34

Singer, actress, and designer Aaliyah joins this season’s cast of American Idol as a judge.

Every February, in recognition of Black History Month, we’re reintroduced to influential people in our history who have left marks in their respective industries. These people were great. Their courage surpassed their fear and they held steadfast in their fight for justice and equality for the human race. Yet, while we’re constantly reminded of the Dr. Martin Luther Kings, Harriet Tubmans, Malcolms, and Rosa Parks of the past, there are many other black leaders that often go unrecognized. Their paths were just as difficult and their fights just as courageous.

So as Black History Month gets ready to come to a close, we would like to acknowledge seven of the least recognized women in black history. Some you may be familiar with by name, but not aware of their stories. Others you will be introduced to for the first time. These women paved the way for other women and blacks in general.

Check out our list of influential black women who may have missed the mainstream recognition, but nevertheless played a pivotal role in our history.

photo courtesy of zinnedproject.org

Ella Baker

While we’re constantly reminded of the civil rights leaders who worked in front, those who were behind the scenes often go unrecognized. Ella Baker is one of those people. An active civil rights leader in the 1930s, Ms. Baker fought for civil rights for five decades, working alongside W.E.B Dubois, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King, Jr. She even mentored well-known civil rights activist, Rosa Parks.

Ella Baker is quoted as saying, “You didn’t see me on television; you didn’t see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is, strong people don’t need strong leaders.”

I love looking through Google Images at all the fly photos of black female figures wearing their hair in such an eclectic array of styles. Going against the grain, their jet-setting looks and fierce-ness opened up a lot of doors for the sistas of today to do just about anything to their hair. From Blaxploitation stars to famous singers and models, these iconic women gave us hair envy, as well as lots of innovative idea for things to do with our own strands. Check these hot mommas out.

Billie Holiday

If Billie taught us something about hair, it’s that a gal always has to have her signature style. Reinvention is for the birds! Billie’s head full of gardenias started off as an accident with a curling iron (isn’t that always how it starts??). After burning a section of her hair, a fellow jazz singer went and bought some gardenias for her to use temporarily to cover up that section. But Billie loved the gardenias so much, she decided to keep wearing them for every performance. What a smart move. It’s the accessories ya’ll! They matter…

Turban alert!