REFLECTION & REASON

I am an awards show junkie, I admit it. I love the fanfare, the following day's entertainment news buzz, and I love to see musicians try their best to put on a good show, out-shine one another, and out-perform even themselves year after year. And while the Grammys, the American Music Awards, and maybe even the Billboard awards carry more clout and class...it's always the MTV Video Music Awards that ends up being the most entertaining and dramatic. Overall.... meh ! Not the greatest show, but entertaining nonetheless. It left me feeling like OK...the music industry is filled with beautiful, well-dressed people BUT the substance seemed to be lacking. And of course, it's MTV what do you expect right? But still...even the artists I really loved just seemed to be characters on this program, where the outfits, the antics, and the news kinda spoke louder than the lyrics and the music. Kevin Hart : as the official non-host of the night, I think he was kinda wack. And he...

Today, as Hurricane Irene storms over the Bahamas, we also mourn another tragic event that took place on the island ten years ago today. On August 25, 2001, I was downtown Toronto celebrating my friend Melissa's birthday at a club when the DJ announced the news: Aaliyah Dana Haughton and eight others had been killed in a plane crash. We thought it was a prank...but at the same time, realized that the DJ wouldn't stop the middle of a nice vibe unless he was absolutely certain it was the truth. The night was, of course, dampened by the news. In fact, I can't remember if the night even really continued after that. The dancing subsided. People filtered out of the club. How could they enjoy music, after all, when one of music's treasures had just lost her life? Every time we hear " Rock the Boat ," I know we all remember her last music video. Her last hit song that she would enjoy...and the way death was plaguing the urban music community far too freque...

What more can I say? The artists that touched me in the 80s when I was first old enough to truly appreciate reggae music are the artists that still speak to me. Last night (Saturday, August 20, 2011) I had the pleasure of taking in Wayne Wonder AND Beres Hammond at the Redemption presented show at the Sound Academy. This music speaks to me like no other. Here's a few clips of the outstanding performances by both gentlemen. Two of the most beautiful, pure, and unchanging voices in music. Period. Video by Stacey Marie Robinson.

I finally finished reading Sister Souljah 's 3rd book " Midnigh t ," and I have been blown away, yet again by this woman's ability to write, create, and inspire. I've only had a few books in my life that I've read that have really moved me. And I instantly know when a book has moved me because I can't put it down soon enough to begin my own writing. As a writer, I ironically find it extremely difficult to "get into" other author's books. I find it easy to purchase a book, and easy to begin a book and find interest in it...but all it takes are a few pages for me to realize that I'm either in it to finish it...or that it will join a long list of creations on my bookshelf that may never get completed. And this is no disrespect to the brilliant writers who have created their works...it's just that there is something that I internally seek out of the writing of others that somehow Sister Souljah has fulfilled in me each and every...