Let's face it, the world feels really tough right now. Folks are walking around this planet purposefully making shit difficult FOR NO REASON because... well some folks are just bullshit people. Some folks have no sense, no compassion, and no sense of joir de curve. Some folks, lack the insight to realize that their bullshit-ass actions can and often do impact other people.
However, despite all of that negativity, some amongst us remain shining beacons of light who continue to laugh unapologetically, scream with abandon, and dance like nobody's watching. Spotlight of carefree joy this week? Rapper Cardi B.
Cardi B is the epitome of a Carefree Black Girl. (And yes, I know she's Dominican. Afro-Latina is a thing. Let's just enjoy this gif she's given to the world).
Why is she so dope? She's basically Rihanna's little sister who just so happened to grow up in the same house as you. She's got all the energy in the world, minimal filter, but all the common sense of her elders. She knows exactly what she wants that there are multiple ways to get it. I mean this she's always wanted to be a rapper but whole-heartedly admits that while she worked towards the dream, she also legitimately worked to pay the bills. Sense.
She also managed to not only become a breakout star on the reality tv show and cash-cow of Love and Hip Hop New York (never watched it), but also cut the cord before her personal life blew up on TV. Oh, and that show... tell me why she's the only star to make it to the Billboard Pop Charts? Top Ten as we speak. Sense. Ambition.
She's also genuine and honest, perception be damned. And it works. The access she gives the world, her frankness and humor... all of it is refreshing and comforting. She's not packaged (yet). She's offers a ton of wisdom, playfulness, depth (yes,... depth). She's not about being perfect. She knows that she doesn't have to be. She has embraced herself and for folks like me, that's ... amazing. Sense. Ambition. Self-Love.
She's basically the best. Bodak Yellow has a great hook. And I'm here for any and all success she has in this ridiculous cultural climate in which we find ourselves. Now, below I've curated some great gifs of Cardi B so that you can collect your entire life. You're welcome.
Lesson 1: Be Forgiveness but Hold People Accountable
Lesson 2: Invest, invest, invest.
Lesson 3: Always Follow Through and Set Clear Expectations
Lesson 4: Be Consistent & Honor Your Feelings
Lesson 5: Self-Care is Paramount
Lesson 6: Destroy Hegemonic Structures & Social Norms
Solange. Muthafuckin Solange. Is a G. She is arguably the carefree-est of all the carefree black girls living on this island called "Society Doing The Most." She is one of my iconic examples of just living. She is one of my iconic examples of expressing what it feels like to be both carefree while simultaneously knowing that you might notbe. She is one of my iconic examples because she encapsulates what it is to be free... and still struggle.
Carefree: free from (or without) anxiety or responsibility.
As in "she changed from a carefree girl into a woman"
SIS! BRUH! What in the hell? That's from the dictionary! I just... I can't... I... (Breathes deeply.) To that I say... fucketh thou society. Imma be free or at least die trying. Okay maybe not die, but will definitely try. Back to Solange.
I guess if I'm honest, one of the things I like most about Solange is that she doesn't have a "storybook, cookie-cutter, perfectly-manicured" story. Well, perfect by some people standards. I mean she got married really young, had a child really young, the timeline for such is ... it is what it is.
We all know that she, just like the rest of us still faces internal battles. She still has moments of not being completely sure of oneself but she works through it. (Both her own personal struggles and that which is the elephant in the room: her older sis). And she's written about it. She's chronicled the process of the messy journey of discovering oneself, owning oneself, and the mistakes and triumphs made in the process. And then there's the whole elevator thing (which... as a woman with sisters... I'm pretty much okay with my honor being defended in this manner). She just over here living and still manages to find her joy, acknowledge her sadness, and flourish regardless.
She followed her own got-damn path, and for someone like me, who constantly feels like I'm starting over when compared to everyone else in my life, having a beacon like Solange makes me feel safer, makes me feel like I'm a part of a cool club of imperfect perfect young creatives trying to make away.
I love her aesthetic. I like that she knows who she is and does that. Nothing feels forced... anymore. I like that she's still a creative, a performer, with a unique voice. I like that her music videos have texture. Her creative team is bomb. BRAVO. I can always count on color. I can always count on small nuances from a side line character. I can always count on a still moment or shot that gives me my complete life. I mean... okay let's talk about "Cranes in the Sky" as an example. (This could be an entire dissertation because we outchea making deep artistic shit and being savage with metaphors so diatribes are needed to accurately dissect our work but we'll do a small something somethin' real quick.)
So, "Cranes in the Sky." I mean I was really just sitting up in my room one day all perplexed thinking about the song title just confused, creating new neuro-pathways really analyzing like "hrmm.. long necked birds...that are white... flying... hmmm. What do I think, what do I think?"
Then, I found an interview where she talks about how she was in Miami, which is her second or third creative home, she quite literally looked up in the sky and saw the city changing with all if it's new development. There were literal cranes in the sky changing the very foundation, culture, ecosystem upon which her home, her creative home, had thrived. One's creative home is where the heart it. The structure of her heart and by extension, how she loved and created, was undergoing a forceable change. So she's having this upheaval in her home, but also experiencing upheavals in her life. Taking that metaphor, and pairing it with the other lyrics talking of all of these upheavals in life all the while attempting to figure out a way to find balance, a sense of self, a sense of ease. And trying different ways to go about it - trying, and trying, and trying, and trying... and failing. There's nothing more human that that. Solange... WROTE THAT!
REVEALING HOW WE ALL FEEL TRYING TO GET THROUGH THIS LIFE.
AND NOW I DON'T FEEL.... ALONE.
But she's not afraid to say it. And she's not afraid to fail. She's just gonna be and do and work and live and laugh and love along the way.
"And the soul shall dance" as they say. This post... is about getting your life from dance. Phil Wright is a pretty solid choreographer. His vocabulary and musicality is interesting and textured. He creates routines that support the music and music that elevates his dance. He makes the kind of choreo that I love because it allows enigmatic dancers to put their own brand of stank on it without feeling clunky. Kendrick Lamar ain't too bad either. I think we can all agree that the song "Humble" is FIRE!
But let me be clear, the only thing I really care about in the video below is Khaleya Graham, the resident #CarefreeBlackGirl dancing in the first group, and how triflin' she is by basically annihilating this choreography and putting all the other dancers to shame. I mean... why keep watching? (You can because people are artists and they worked their butts off dancing.)
But she kiltttttt it.
I mean, I threw my shoe at my computer while watching it.
I was yelling at the computer screen. Yes, yelling "yaaaasss!" The digital age is really fascinating.
Then I felt shame that I was literally getting my life while sitting at a laptop so I did a shimmy real quick so that God knew that I appreciated having a body. Then I hit replay. And screamed again. I've watched this video so many times I've lost count and I was having a particular kind of day where I needed to encourage myself and low and behold, Youtube and all of it's algorithmic stalker tendencies said "I gotchu boo" and dropped the video into my suggestions. (What, youtube doesn't talk like that to you?) Here's a clip that features just her bit.
