Why so much backlash over VH1's Sorority Sisters

A couple of days ago one of my good friends asked me my thoughts on Sorority Sisters. Not knowing he was talking about the VH1 reality TV show, which has drawn tremendous controversy as of late, I said I thought they were OK.

Baffled by his question, I Googled the term (as I often do whenever I get asked anything I'm unsure of) and found out all about the show, which chronicles the lives of several women from different sororities and is set in the Atlanta area. The big piece of business about the show - it's being hammered by critics while advertisers have been pulling away from the show left and right. You can click here for an article that goes into it in more detail.

Now before I take another step, I want to give a huge disclaimer - I did not pledge or even try to pledge Greek when I was in school (all those years ago). It just wasn't me. So what I'm about to say (write) might come as a huge shocker - but I don't understand why there is so much backlash about this particular show.

To me, it's no different from Love and Hip Hop Atlanta, or Real Housewives of Atlanta - two shows that are controversial in their own right and often show African American women in a negative light. If advertisers feel so strongly that Sorority Sisters is so negative and feel compelled to pull their ads, why don't they pull their ads for Love and Hip Hop Atlanta or Real Housewives of Atlanta, where there have been several incidents of onscreen violence. I have not seen any fighting on Sorority Sisters, but just a tremendous deal of cattiness.

Is it negative - yeah, it is. I would not want my daughter to behave like this when she gets older. I'm not going to argue on that point and say that this isn't offensive. But if people want this show cancelled and if advertisers want to continue to drop their support, how about doing it for the other shows that are negative toward African American men and women as well. If not, then all this backlash comes off as being highly hypocritical.

Rogue Dynamo releases On My Own video

     Anyone who has read my posts frequently knows that I have been a fan of this young artist's work for a very long time.

     To me Rogue Dynamo is everything that is right about Hip Hop... from her cadence, delivery and the raw emotion she presents - the self proclaimed anti-hero(ine) of rap is the embodiment of a true MC.

    This time out, Rogue is hitting us off with the  video of, On My Own, the first single of her upcoming EP Roses &Karma. I reviewed the single a few blog posts ago, you can check it out here.

Here's her video, On My Own. Enjoy.






You can hit Rogue up on Twitter at  @_RogueDynamo

Atlanta teacher creates Orange Barrel franchise

Darren Patterson creator of the Orange Barrels brand shows off related merchandise.

It was almost ten years ago, when Darren Patterson came up with the idea of The Orange Barrels - a series of children's books and products designed to help parents teach their children about fun facts in their respective states.

The idea all started from an innocent drive.

"We were riding down a street called Euclid Avenue in Cleveland Ohio, and I said see those orange construction barrels down - I'm going to make a book about a family of construction barrels that travel to different places and wherever they travel, they're going to teach their kids about the places they travel to," Patterson recalled.

Now, the metro Atlanta middle school teacher has two books in the Orange Barrel series published - one covering the state of Ohio and another discussing the state of Georgia. Each book contains important land marks and bits of history about each state. Plans call for Patterson to eventually branch out and write about other states.

"They're educational and entertaining," Patterson said of the books.

Donaven (left) and Danielle Barrel - the youngest members of the fictional Barrel family.

But to simply think that the Orange Barrels are a book, would be a gross underestimation of what Patterson is trying to accomplish. The Ohio native coyly admits that he's trying to establish and brand with the characters of the book, that can be used in anything from coloring books to cartoon shows.


"I want to have stickers and bookmarks, and also a coloring book which should be ready pretty soon," he said. "I also want to have an app and a board game [with the characters]. Definitely I want to have it evolve into a cartoon."

There's even a monthly newsletter to update readers about the products and how they can take part in the Orange Barrel franchise.

The drive to work on the brand actually came from Patterson's family, who set the example of hard work and going above and beyond the call of duty.

Pops and Mimi Barrel, the caretakers of the fictional Barrel family

"I think it may come from father because he worked for this Gas company back in Ohio and then I remember when he first started his own business, which was a family business. Then he started his own real estate brokerage. His mindset was not just one thing, and not just being a broker, but to have something bigger and have it grow. So I definitely don't want to be looked at as just an author."

For more information on The Orange Barrels contact Patterson via e-mail at dp@theorangebarrels.com

Hip Hop is still alive with Carolina Dirty Still At It.

Carolina Dirty

      My first exposure to Carolina Dirty was nearly 18 years ago, when the artist was going by the moniker Flower (Fly, Legit, Outspoken Woman Entirely Respected). It was the late '90s and Hip Hop was experiencing a renaissance of uber-lyrical MCs who relied simply on their ability to craft concrete rhymes around strong beats.

     Fast forward to today, and Hip Hop has changed - lyrics have taken a back seat to pulsating beats; R&B like choruses; and videos that show off assets more than lyrical prowess. It's an appropriate
time for Carolina Dirty to return to the forefront in an effort to defy the current mainstream and return to the era of the lyricist, with her latest effort aptly titled Still At It.

In 17 tracks, including skits, the South Carolina native creates a cohesive experience for the listener that puts the emphasis back on lyrics and the spotlight on the ability of an artist to carry their own project. In other words don't look for features - as Dirty implicitly states that this time out she wants to firmly re-establish herself. Features will come on the next album, she promises.

Hip Hop heads will appreciate Dirty's first single, Seers of the Truth, a track, that laments the current state of Hip Hop and wishes for the return of stronger lyrics to the mainstream.

"Like a bullet when you pull it/ my flows just drift/can't duck or dodge it/it's just too swift - she proclaims on the T-Blenda produced track.

But the true show stealer is the DJ Shakim produced track - About U. Carolina Dirty comes off as a lyrical tyrant letting challengers just what they're in store for if they ever think about thinking about .

I sell Hip Hop and they sell crack/Now I'm killing B***s softly Ms. Roberta Flack/if your mouth gets saucy I'll show you what I do/ 'cause the next rhyme I write might be about you/

Carolina Dirty has even more strong cuts on the album- whether its the mellow yet somber Eulogy, or the club induced Saturday Night Live, where she lets her hair down a bit to create a bouncy club sound, the album, which also features production from Amiri and more, does not disappoint.

So if you're looking for tight lyrics, dope beats, and an excursion from what passes as mainstream "Hip Hop" give this a try. And for those clamoring for a bit more, Carolina Dirty has told the O.A.W. Report that she's already well into the writing for the second album. Check out the Still At It below and judge for yourself.



Also check out the classic video Good Neighbor from Carolina Dirty featuring her brother, Spectac.






You can hit up Carolina Dirty on twitter at @carolina_dirty.

Rogue Dynamo: A movement on her own

      Rogue Dynamo isn't just another ordinary Hip Hop artist. She's a whole movement. Giving a voice to the voiceless and a constant rebel to established order, the 5'3 emcee is consistently bucking the trend and conventional thought.

     One has to look no farther than Rogue's latest single, On My Own, to see that she's not going down the path of traditional artists of the genre.  Teaming up with longtime friend and producer Stealth Is Metal, Rogue goes for a sound that hearkens back to the soundtrack of the 1980s action flick Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. 

     Yet the real punches and kicks in the song come from untrustworthy relationships and the hardships in life that the emcee has encountered in her path. From the first line Rogue lets you know it hasn't always been a crystal staircase or a bed of roses.

"This music is a love hate relationship/but I insisted/ Just that and my business the only thing that's been consistent/On occasion I have been visited by so many pursuants/ But I can't trust one of them eventually they become truant."
   
The true beauty of Rogue's music comes from her ability to rise above all these hardships and continue her undying commitment to her craft.

"So with this music I stay/ my own personal vacay/ may not always get along but he's always down for replays."

Simply put, Rogue is a movement unto herself. Armed with unconventional beats, Rogue is restoring Hip Hop to its roots - making music that has an impact and touches the soul, through sharp lyrics and clever wordplay. Be a part of the Rogue Nation. Check out the single below.

Caution:  Contains some explicit language.






Check out this throwback from Rogue Dynamo:

Caution:  Contains some explicit language.

Hair heists and weave thefts on the rise

    

     News reporters often don’t report on this crime seriously. And when it’s discussed among friends there are slight giggles and laughs – with the phrase “are you serious”, usually tacked on for good measure. But the truth of the matter is, hair weave thefts are becoming more common place – and in some instances the crimes turn out to be downright deadly.  
   
     In December, a Conyers, Georgia woman was killed over the sale of hair weaves, according to a report from the RockDale Citizen. You can click here to get more details on that crime and click here for a follow up to that story. 
   
     Even prior to the shooting, beauty shops from Atlanta to Texas have reportedly been the targets for these hair heists. Most notably, burglars broke in a southwest Atlanta shop using a rock a few years ago, and made off with $30,000 worth of hair extension packages, according to an article published on V-103’s web site.
 

     But why hair weaves? Why are these pieces becoming a target for thieves? Simply put, the false hair is profitable – highly profitable and the demand is off the charts. Everyone from Beyoncé, to your next door neighbor is wearing some type of extensions. The American market alone for hair extensions has been estimated at more than $250 million annually. On top of that, packs of hair weave can run from $20 to more than $200. 
   
     Can anything be done about these crimes? Well, until the media starts taking them seriously, and can stop snickering while they’re discussing these thefts, then unfortunately I don’t think things will change. Also, more importantly, until the demand goes down… until weaves go out of style (which is highly unlikely), I think that we’re only going to see a steady increase of these weave thefts. 

Check out this video that chronicles a hair weave heist in broad day light. 

Don't judge a book by its past

     A few weeks ago, America was taken aback by footage of an Omaha Nebraska toddler that was prompted by adults to curse and utter out vulgar phrases. The recordings made quite a stir as the Omaha police union posted the video footage on their website and called this the Thug Cycle.

    

     Popular pundits tackled the story from all sides – from attacking the parents, to attacking the police association for making comments regarding the video. There’s one particular angle that I want to discuss and that’s the question of whether or not this video is being blown out of proportion and that events like this are isolated in this country.
   
     Well, I’m here to say no. This isn't isolated. But that's not to say that you can't overcome what you've seen in your past. And I’m not going to speak about what I have heard about, but rather what I have experienced and how that shaped me into the man I am today. I’m a 35-year-old black man, who grew up in a rural South Carolina town, during the 80s and 90s.

     When I was 6-years-old, I witnessed my next door neighbor savagely beating a woman out in broad day light with a wooden board. His porch was filled with spectators of both sexes that cheered him on after each painful strike. No one did anything to break it up – until an off duty police officer just happened to pass by and took the neighbor into custody.

     I can remember when I was in middle school – a man, who lived right down the street from my parents hit his pregnant-teen daughter in the head with a  glass plate. I still remember her cries as her family held a blood soaked towel to her head … hoping to staunch the bleeding. At the same time, he yelled out that this was his home and he runs it, and no one could tell him any different.

    I recall a young couple that lived in front of my parents’ home, that would have bare knuckle fist fights in view of everyone at the end of every month. Often times the woman would be on the losing end.

     Some of the things I saw and experienced as a child are unspeakable, but they were common place for my neighborhood back then. They were also the foundation for me to want something better for myself and my family.

     I now have a wife, that I have never and will never lay a hand on,  as well as a daughter now, and they are both far removed from the foolishness that I along with countless others in my neighborhood experienced.

    Some weren’t as fortunate and went down a different path, but a strong mother, who saw to it that I graduated from college, and a father who stayed in the household, helped shape me into the man I am today.


     So I close with this, children are often exposed to a whole lot more than they should be, but that isn't always an automatic death sentence. Some are able to become productive members of society and escape the "Thug Cycle." You can be successful.