Dark Chocolate⏤Vol 14
Hi Friend! Today's lunch treat is brought to you all the way from Haiti, and it's handcrafted by women⏤Les Chocolateries Askanya.
What's been going on? What have you been up to? Listen, I’ve had a whirlwind of the past two weeks. I blinked; two weeks passed. I also realized that I had over-committed myself this month with my hobbies and work.
Have you ever done that before? How did you get out of the pickle? Yes I said pickle.
I'm eliminating stuff for the rest of the month. I'll share more in this week’s topics.
Two major things happened that I have to share.
I flew private for the first time.
I invested $1000 in a virtual business conference.
"Flying private was everything I dreamed of," in the words of my husband. He got asked to attend the UofSC vs. UCONN women's basketball game in Connecticut, and he asked if I could go (great job hubs). Two Covid tests later, we were sitting on the school's private jet with 6 others for a turnaround trip to watch the Lady Gamecocks play. I must admit, I did enjoy the quietness of the arena. I practically was able to call out my own plays. Plus I got to see Dawn Staley, the legend, in action.
I've paid for professional development conferences before, but I've never invested more than a few hundred dollars. When I saw the $997 price tag, I leaped. I was already bought into the creator’s systems and return on investment; now, it was up to me to walk out on faith to trust that this wasn't a scam. Because we all know the scammers are REAL right now. Ever been in a "make a million dollars today" Clubhouse room?
I sat in front of my computer in my office Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday from 9 am - 6:30 pm in awe. I think, no, I know I got a discount. Some of the most beneficial things are going to cost you. Not everything is free, cheap, or discounted. Whoever you are buying from spent their time, energy, and money to create something so your life, taste buds, body, or style could be better. The value I received from this talented entrepreneur was everything I needed to reset and refocus what I am building.
We still got topics y'all! Here they are:
ASL
90s Black History
Choosing myself
He's Mine
I hope you ready for an extended lunch because it’s all about the hyperlinks, baaabbbbyyyyy. Let's go!
ASL anyone
Y'all remember this from the Yahoo and AOL chat rooms? Age, Sex, Location.
It was one of the first things you said when you entered a room full of strangers. My first ASL said something like 13/F/Phoenix. I didn't get on the internet until I was 13, and the only reason I was able to do that was using those AOL installer CDs that came in the mail, allowing two free weeks of internet.
If you didn't know you had to "install" the internet on your computer, you might be too young for me. Browsers were not standard on early computers, you had to have some CD, Netscape or AOL, and a credit card number to get access. I was able to figure out how to get my hands on both at 13. That is a story I might come back to another day.
But I've wanted to ask this question again, for a long time. What’s your ASL?
Reply or respond in the comments! I would love to know who I am having lunch with.
35/F/Blythewood, SC
90s Black History - The Rundown
I overcommitted. I don't know where I was getting the time to research, create, post, and comment for 28-days straight on my new Monday Lunch Instagram and Twitter. I was trippin. Yesterday was my last Instagram post; I stopped sharing on Twitter after the first week, lol.
What I realized is my love for the 90s is too deep for me to share bullshit. I couldn't just pick one picture of a female hip-hop artist, I had to list out all of them. There was not one TV show I could highlight I wanted to share all of them. So here is the truncated rundown, only for my Monday Lunchers.
Beware, heavy nostalgia ahead.
BET Shows of the 90s
Midnight Love. By far my favorite. Everyone remembers that intro that showed Ginuwine, but do you remember the early intro? This was from the 90s. (1985-2005)
Hits: From the Streets. Moo Psi Moo, Milk it Milk it Milk it. Starting in '99, Hits aired for four seasons and graced HBCU campuses like no other. I was distraught when this ended, by killing his character. (1999-2003)
Cita's World. The first to show a Black virtual reality character. Cita always had the bomb two-piece outfits and the attitude I needed when I was a pre-teen. (1999-2003)
ComicView. The greatest comics of all time have hosted or graced this show. But I have to admit, Don DC Curry was one of the best hosts in '96. (1992-2008/2014). I went to a taping of the revitalized ComicView in 2014 in ATL, not the same.
Honorable mentions: Spring Bling (1997-2010), Rap City (1989-2008), Teen Summit (1989-2002)
1995 Source Awards
On August 3, 1995, The Source held its second annual Source Awards at Madison Square Garden. This was the hip-hop version of the Grammys and every other very white award show that existed then. The Source Awards were for us.
The musical giants that were in the building were insane. A lot are no longer with us⏤The Notorious B.I.G., Aaliyah, Nate Dogg, Heavy D, Jam Master Jay, Ol' Dirty Bastard, even John Singleton. The line up was crazy.
But we all remember the moment when Suge Knight disses Puff. This not only impacted the night but shifted hip-hop in the following years.
Because that moment is such a marker in hip-hop history, other great moments were overshadowed. Like how Outkast put Atlanta on the map and won New Artist of the Year for a group and got boo'ed! But Andre 3000 had something for that ass.
This will probably go down as one of the greatest Hip-Hop award shows of all time. Relieve the entire show here. You're welcome!
One Hit Wonders of the 90s
The 90s brought a lot of one-hit wonders, and here some of my fav of the decade.
Men of Vizion - House Keeper (1996) - This basically told me that my husband would cater to my every need when I got older, now looking back, this screams lazy AF moocher.
Positive K - I Got A Man (1992) - I used to sing this ALL the time, knowing damn well I ain't have no man at 8, lmao.
Queens of Hip-Hop in the 90s
The female rap scene in the 90s was nasty. I first fell in love with Foxy Brown. Her deep raspy voice with mahogany skin enamored me as a young girl. I knew Lil' Kim was heavy on the scene, but I always rolled with Foxy. Her underdog gutta swag hit different. And then there is my love for Queen Latifah. Queen stepped on the scene in '89, in '93, she dropped U.N.I.T.Y. that spoke on women's disrespect in society, I was like OK, another angle for a lady of hip-hop. Between Queen and MC Lyte, I loved the variety they created for women in Hip-Hop, TV & Film.
Lauryn Hill only needed one album to be labeled one of the greatest female rappers. I was barely 10 when The Score came out in '96; in '97, I was almost 13 when The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill debuted. Hearing Lauryn go from rap to ballad, back and forth, captivated me. My love for hip-hop probably started with The Score. It was the only rap CD I could play without my mom bursting into my room to tell me to shut it off and hand it over. I played The Score more than any other hip-hop album when I was a pre-teen.
Philly's finest, Eve, came on the scene in '98 and gave me what Foxy no longer could. I loved everything about this short hair cut jawn from Philly. Baltimore girls have a love/hate relationship with Philly, and she was on the love side. I use to want paw print tattoos like Eve. When I turned 18, I thought it would be my first tat, never got it; thankful I didn't. Her first single, "What Y'all Want," will always be my favorite.
It was the ladies of hip-hop in the 90s for me.
Listen, I had so many lists to share and create on social. I was going to list my favorite Black authors from the 90s and pay homage to Sistah Souljah's "The Coldest Winter Ever (1999). Share my love for how lit music duos & groups were in the 90s. And of course, talk about how I fell in love with reggae after watching a bootleg copy of Hype Williams film "Belly" (1998).
But Sis is tired! I give many props to content creators that share uniquely designed images for social; it’s hard work. I hope you enjoyed my condensed run down. There is enough nostalgia packed in here to keep you busy for the next two weeks.
Choosing myself
This morning I shared a story via my Twitter thread about saying NO to multiple job offers from the company I consult with. It was easy to decline the first time, but the second time not so much.
I'll let you read the story, and hopefully, it inspires you in some way.
He’s Mine
He might be doing you, But he's thinkin' about me. So lay that finger on another lover, And go find another brother...
These are the opening lyrics to MoKenStef's '95 one-hit-wonder "He's Mine". I was still six months from 10, and I knew every verse. When this song would come on while I was riding around in the backseat of one of my parents’ car, I would mouth every word with a slight neck roll. Clearly not knowing what I was saying. But when you think of it, this song is wild. The group explained its message behind the song in a live Video Soul performance.
You went on out on a date, You wasn't out too late. He took you to a room, And you gave it up too soon. Played you like a trick, Cause you let him hit...
We had so many songs like this from the '90s that talked about breakups, relationships, sex that we all sang, knowing every lyric. I had my good sis and @BlackWifeLife playlist curator Bee Sherel put a 90s Heartache playlist together for your lunchtime power hour entertainment pleasure. Be aware you will sing and bop around, heavy.
Play it in order first, don't shuffle. Stream on Apple Music, Tidal, or Spotify.
We don't have time playing these games, You had him once but it's me on his mind. No need to cry, go dry your eyes, Get over it, it was only for one night…
For those who watch Love & Marriage Huntsville, don't the lyrics of 'He's Mine' give you Martell Holt vibes?
Jems 💎
#read
#watch
Legendary (HBOMax)
#inspiration
Well friend, we had a BIG lunch today. I’m sure you have leftovers (hyperlinks) to munch on you until we eat again. If you enjoyed today’s lunch, respond or leave a comment and tell me your favorite course (topic). Invite a friend to our next date, if you enjoy it here, I am sure they will too. See you next month