TV Rundown 1
Real Housewives of D.C.
CHANNEL: BRAVO
Season 1, Episode 4
You Like Me! You Really Really Like Me!
The other cast members are all wising up to the fact that the Salahis are insane. We all know now about the infamous White House dinner fiasco, but in this episode, the ladies learn that the Salahis also snuck into the Congressional Black Caucus dinner and ended up being escorted out by security. Stacie is particularly appalled by this and the ladies (and gents) cackle and gossip about Michaele and Tareq on the way to the wanna-be-celeb couple’s winery. Oh and the winery is full of security because Tareq’s mama counter-sued his behind about the property and according to him, she is determined to ruin the Salahi’s day with their “friends.” I guess she doesn’t know that none of them are really friends. Cat leaves the dinner early because she’s an ornery English person and Michaele does her best to insult as many people as possible, especially Lynda and Mary. An earlier scene at a birthday party for a hair stylist shows Mary and Michaele battling for the unofficial title of most beloved client. Weird. There is a touch of substance to the episode though. Stacie, who is adopted, finds her white birth mother and discovers that she has a Nigerian father who does not know she exists. Interestingly enough, she’s the most well-adjusted person of the cast. The episode ends with Tareq about to make some kind of explosive announcement. Of all the Real Housewives shows, this cast (with the exception of Stacie) seems the most inauthentic, which is quite a feat considering the women on the other shows. Are you watching this version of “Real Housewives?” Which version is your favorite?
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My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women And Hip Hop
CHANNEL: B.E.T.
(Air Date: August 31, 2010)
Ladies, First
BET is trying to get some act-right these days. The recently aired, hour-long documentary “My Mic Sounds Nice” explores the challenges and triumphs of XX chromosome havers in the male-driven world of hip hop. MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa, Russell Simmons, Jean Grae, Eve, Trina, Jermaine Dupri and Missy Elliot are just a few of the dozens of hip hop artists and music industry insiders who chime into the conversation. They cover everything from the drought of female MCs that caused the Grammys to drop the Best Female MC category in 2005 to whether or not it’s chivalrous or sexist to almost always have new female rappers introduced or groomed by male colleagues. Everybody seems to be a “first lady” of something, right? The documentary is only an hour long, so they try to squeeze in a little bit of everything instead of really digging into meatier topics. They did, however, offer a fairly large, but overwhelmingly positive stack of opinions about Nicki Minaj. Admittedly, I have lowered expectations for BET, but this documentary is actually pretty good even though it’s trying to do too much in too little time. If nothing else you’ll get put on to some under the radar (but dope) MCs like Invincible, Medusa and Tiye Phoenix. What do you think of Nicki Minaj? Is she good or bad for hip hop in general and women MCs in particular?
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Hip Hop Shop
CHANNEL: Fuse TV
Miss Me A Little
On Wednesday, author and journalist Touré checked out the much-anticipated Rock the Bells tour for its New York Show. He chops it up with some hip hop heavy-weights from your younger days like KRS-One, Busta Rhymes (who never seems to dial down less than 10) and the Wu-Tang Clan. Method Man looks spectacularly handsome as always, but it is the sorely missed Ms. Lauryn Hill who is the highlight of the show. Touré only spends a few minutes with the platinum-selling artist, but in that brief time she offers up her reasons for saying “deuces” to the music industry. Basically, she has kids and a life and she hasn’t been interested in bending her life and theirs to fit into the mold that the music industry demands of their stars. Her youngest baby is two and half years old, so now she feels like she can get out a little more and perform and record. She doesn’t commit to putting out an actual album, but she does say there will be new music put out in some form or another. Better something than nothing. We miss you Ms. Hill! On a side note, do you like Touré? Some people think he’s corny, but I think he’s a pretty knowledgeable dude with some impressive bylines.
