I run a risk in putting these words in black and white, to come back and haunt me, but here goes:
I watched the BET awards. I kinda liked it. It was...thought provoking, through the requisite coonery and such. But seriously, I did like it. You hear me Debra Lee? Its an educated black woman outside of the 18-24 bracket singing your praises, but for *Jennifer Hudson as Effie White voice* one night onlyyy.
The highlight of the night, if you've been living under a rock was the Michael Jackson tribute. We network naysayers only hoped BET would be better than the year before (in their defense, they had 3 days to get it together) and that the King would get his proper homage. What we actually got-on top of a slightly better than mediocre dance imitation-was another performance by Sir Fistopher Brown. Entertainment turned to drama as we were to fall hook, line and sinker for the Tebow tears shed for his sins.
Don't call it a comeback just yet. Either you're team "he needs to let it all out, he's suffered enough, he made a mistake" or team "I hope he paid good money for that PR agent who concocted this stunt." Which do you think I'm on?
Breezy is Rrah is that dude that blacked your girl Trina's eye last month but didn't mean it, and its cool cause he bought her the new air max's plus threw in diaper money. Or your uncle who's been his kids for years...everyone knows and not only has everyone forgiven, they've accepted it as the norm. You just know not to bring YOUR kids around during the family cookout.
Similarly. Riri is your girl Trina, and while no woman ever deserves to be beaten, you leave a little room for doubt, because while that dude is fucked up for blacking her eye, she CAN be trifling and maybe she called him a "no good n*gga" one time too many.
The woman NEVER bounces back in the way the man does. He can easily lay low for a minute, get his weight up (a new outfit, a legit story) hit the street, and be the man once again. She, on the other hand, learns that even when she did nothing wrong, she suffers. She can tell her story to whoever will listen, but were good about making excuses for him--things she could've done differently, ways for her to avoid or get out of the situation, reasons why he does what he does. Nothing to the effect of "here's how you deal, here's how you come up," aside from a kanye shrug and a casual "f*ck that n*gga." Well, she DID f*ck that n*gga and look where it got her.
All this to say, iont really care for either of their careers but its a shame that Breezy's been able to bounce back and Riri hasn't--and probably can't--in similar fashion. When will she get to perform in such a hi-profile manner like yesterday? Is she too much damaged goods? Does she need better PR? When does she get her public breakdown performance, where her fans come running back and can restore their faith in her career and celebrity?
She needs her release using the same platform and talent he was given. CB can have "Man in the Mirror," maybe Riri can do "My Life?"
2 comments:
I said what I needed to say in my blog, but I think this needs to be said as well.
For the majority of my youth, I watched my sister get abused by her husband. Saw it, heard it, lived it. I DON'T condone DV, I don't think she deserved it. But you have to look at his/her history before you can say anything about the incident.
Yes, I fully admit to being a Stan for CB, and I was never really a fan for Riri . . . But they both need to be able to move past this incident, and get on with their lives without the consistent media scrutiny and stifling.
I have to say that I do not agree that Rihanna hasn't had the chance to bounce back career wise. I don't believe her career took any beating because of the situation. Her music wasn't removed from airwaves or her video's stripped from television or cd's removed from selves. Her career wasn't damaged... I think the reason that we haven't seen her lately is because I believe she did a small tour not to long (well, a few months) after the DV event took place. Another reason I believe Rihanna hasn't been in the public eye as much is simply because she doesn't want to be. After the DV situation, Rihanna was the victim in the public's eye. Chris Brown was the bad guy. He was affected by this event on a totally different level.I remember hearing earlier this spring that CB still couldn't get a few clubs in NY and FL to allow him to throw a party... Or that some radio stations still wasn't playing his music... Don't get me wrong... he deserved to be treated by the law criminally, but being that he is a black male being arrested on a count of DV that works in the entertainment field, the situation was blown 1000xs over.... in my opinion..... This was a personal altercation that took place among a boyfriend and girlfriend. NOT two performers performing on stage. So why did his career have to take such a critical hit?
In our families, our communities,we deal with these same situations day in and day out..... But because we are not famous... or too afraid to speak... they go unpunsihed and unreported.... As I get older, maybe my views will change.. But until I'm shown differently from my counter parts........... It's just another day in the hood.....
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