REFLECTION & REASON

She done did it again. This woman can write! Sister Souljah has created yet ANOTHER classic novel with the Porsche Santiaga Story, " A Deeper Love Inside " released in January of 2013. Re-reading " The Coldest Winter Ever " helped to bring the characters of the Santiaga family back to the forefront of my mind. Winter, the spoiled and beautiful princess, Lexus and Mercedes, the twins and babies of the family, the stunningly gorgeous queen of the family, Lana, and of course the charming and powerful Ricky Santiaga...legend, respected drug lord, and eventually the fallen soldier who's demise is the downfall of this envied clan of Brooklyn's finest. And then there was Porsche. Younger than Winter, older than the twins...she fell in between and was almost an oversight it seemed. Her most impactful moment in " The Coldest Winter Ever " was in the last scene, at the funeral of Lana Santiaga when through Winter's narration, we see Porsche a...

I read this book over 10 years ago, and it was an instant favourite . In fact, I've never met a person who read this book and didn't automatically crown it as the best book they had ever read. This story was phenomenal. It was groundbreaking. This book, these characters, and this author were the foundation of many great things to come. Now despite loving this book so much, I actually didn't remember much about it when I found myself ready to read Sister Souljah's latest novel, "A Deeper Love Inside." So with my autographed copy in hand, I realized that I couldn't read Porsche Santiaga's story until I had revisited the journey of her older sister, Winter. It was like I was reading the book for the first time, all over again. All I could remember that Winter was beautiful, and the story was gritty and an exhilarating page-turning journey...but the details had been forgotten. After entering the world of Midnight and his family and adventures in S...

I recently watched two movies I had never heard of prior to last week, via Netflix, as a result of a casual browse...and I was really fulfilled by the viewing experience. The movie "Mooz-lum" was released in February of 2011, and was written and directed by Qasim Basir. It's a story about a young Muslim man, Tariq (played by Evan Ross ), and his journey to college and battle with his identity. Raised by a strict Muslim father, Hassan (played by Roger Guenveur Smith ), and separated from his loving mother Safiyah ( Nia Long ) due to her problems with Hassan, Tariq grew up under religious scrutiny from his father and abuse at the private school he was forced to attend. He knew no other life, and various flashbacks from his childhood show that Tariq always battled his Muslim identity . He was teased in school, he often took off his Kufi cap whenever he was not in the presence of his father. It was an obvious battle, and made him extremely introverted and visibly distu...

Wow. Why did I not know about this movie until now? It's been almost two days  since I finished watching the 2012 film " Luv " and it's still resonating with me. What a powerful film! It was great. I wasn't sure what to make of it initially, having never heard of it...kinda expecting a typically low-budget/"ghetto" black ensemble film, BUT I was quickly drawn into the characters and plot. Starring hip-hop-artist-slash-actor Common as "Vincent" and the adorable Michael Rainey Jr. as "Woody," it didn't take long to connect to the gentlemen and their aspirations. The acting was phenomenal from the jump. Just a few minutes in, I could tell that I wouldn't be disappointed with their performances...and I wasn't. The tale is about 11-year-old Woody missing school one day, to hang out with his uncle Vincent who has just been released from spending 8 years in prison. Vincent takes Woody along for a ride as he handles his ...

Trixx is a funny dude. No two ways about it. And what makes him hilarious is that everything he talks about is so fundamentally TORONTO that you can't help but relate. On the evening of Saturday, May 11, 2013 at the Janet Mallett The atr e (St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts), Trixx performed a two-hour one-man stand-up comedy show to a packed house. No opening act, just a musical introduction from DJ Lissa Monet, and he jumped right into it...starting with Drake's "Starting From the Bottom" and immediately started discussing the thoughts we ALL have about the song and video... The unspoken words. You can count on him to speak his mind, and that's what made the show great. From the taboo topics like oral sex, to the familiar subjects like raising children, Trixx had a conversation with the audience, and naturally spoke about the things we all discuss, and the events that we're all aware of. And he did it in his expected hilarious form, and didn't mis...

It was like meeting Michael Jordan. Or The Rolling Stones. Will Smith. It was like the opportunity of a lifetime, being able to connect face-to-face with THE top of the writing game, and the woman who has single-handedly written a collection of books that have defined a generation of urban fiction. Sister Souljah's visit to Toronto this weekend was legendary for me. I got to meet my literary role model. I got to connect with a tangible example of what I would love to achieve: storytelling genius. I can't remember exactly when I first read " The Coldest Winter Ever ." It wasn't long after it's 1999 release. I just remember hearing SO much about this book, that I had to pick it up. And when I picked it up...I couldn't put it down . It was freaking fantastic, from top to bottom. That story moved me on so many levels that it made me forget about the dozens and dozens of other books I had read in my life. This book was the TRUTH. After discovering this gem...

If she never sings another song, wins another Grammy, makes another dollar, stars in another film, or poses for another cover photo again...she will have still been one of the most powerful and influential musicians in my life. Ms. Lauryn Noelle Hill is still phenomenal , even in her absence. Needless to say, I was so excited to see her face and hear her in the news again this week...but so disheartened that it was for her legal troubles. Lauryn has just been sentenced to 3 months of jail time after pleading guilty to tax evasion, for $1.8 million dollars owed between 2005 and 2007. In her open letter to fans on April 26, 2013 via Tumblr, she stated that she will be starting a new label with Sony, and that she is working on new music. She's described her absence as a battle between "art and commerce," and her fight for financial freedom. After briefly touching on the inquity of the music industry, and manipulation of business arrangements, she hinted that more would ...