Cartoon by Tom Burgos

With all the songs folks request on the radio, watch as videos and dance to in the club, you’d think they would be uplifting to black women. Well, you guessed wrong. If we’re not getting called hos and being told to drop it and shake it and bounce it every five minutes in a song, other black women are calling each other hos, or doing the dropping, and shaking and bouncing in little to no clothing in YouTube videos seen by millions. But not everybody goes out of their way to degrade black women in music. Some people have proclaimed their love for chocolate (of all shades) sistahs out there and have done so in an eloquent manner. You already know we love “Brown Skin Lady” from Black Star, now check out some of the other tracks that put shower us with praise. Feel the love ladies!

Natural hair is making a comeback and we love it! In the past few years, singers, actresses, films, ads and commercials have been showcasing the beauty of natural hair. With the pressures on women to fit the ideal standard of beauty- thin, long hair and blue eyes- it is great to see more and more women redefining what beauty is. Madame Noire celebrates all forms of beauty including these the veteran natural ladies and those who have rocked with the natural manes long before it was considered cool.

Before the Grammys kicked off, The Roots hosted their 7th annual jam session at The Music Box in L.A. The band was joined by some of our favorite artists, many of whom performed, as well as Hollywood actors. See who made an appearance in the pictures below:

It is no secret that 23-year old soul songstress Jazmine Sullivan has a short fuse. On her latest track, “10 Seconds,” the Grammy-nominated singer gave her cheating man a 10-second warning before she started “throwing and breaking s**t”—but who would have guessed that the same deadline applied to the budding singer’s mainstream career. After announcing her hiatus from music earlier this week—only three years in—fans were left wondering why Sullivan had opted for only 15 minutes of fame. After plenty of head scratching we began to think that maybe Sullivan’s short fuse with the music industry was justified because of its unwillingness to embrace Neo-Soul artists such as her.

Here are the top 10 reasons why we are losing our “Jazmine Sullivans”:

“Silent Superheroes” is a weekly column on Madame Noire, which showcases ordinary women doing superordinary things. Stay tuned for more topics, comment or write us at editors@madamenoire.com if you have suggestions!

Rafiya is a Philadelphia based Afro-Soul performer who spends her days immersed in masterful conversations with young crowds. That’s right, in true superhero form she operates a dual lifestyle — high school teacher by day, and soulful songbird at night. Her smooth and solid sound is comparable to India Arie and Les Nubians.

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