Andre 3000’s New Blue Sun

3 Stacks released a new album after quite some time on Friday 11/17/23. Many people aren’t here for it to say the least. Black Twitter especially is eating this alive. I really don’t want to laugh but some of these comments are laugh out loud funny. Many die hard Outkast fans are vicious with the comments. All laughs aside though, I don’t share the same sentiments. First off, music is near and dear to my heart. My musical tastes span far and wide, always have. I listen to many genres, it just depends on what I’m feeling in the moment. On any given day, I can listen to classical, jazz, ambient or space music, and back around again to gospel, zydeco, and southern soul. You get the picture.

What Andre 3000 put out in the world with this album is both new and not so new. Musicians and artists in general have done what he is doing with this album for eons and centuries; experimenting, exploring, and embracing where they are in their art’s and life’s journey. This is a time stamp in his life, I’m sure, and he chose to contribute it to the world. It’s the beginning of something and even more so, the evolution of something much bigger.

It’s avant-garde and frankly ahead of its time for a “hip hop” artist. Art is expansive, free. It is not intended to be held, stifled, or caged in a box. Blue New Sun is the epitome of the very thing art is meant to be. So many artists before him have traveled this very road, Dizzy Gillespie, Lonnie Liston Smith, Miles Davis, Earth Wind & Fire, Jimi Hendrix, and George Clinton and Parliament and that’s just a few. All have branched out of their respective boxes to bring us all sheer ecstasy in music. True music lovers and the world at large are the better for it.

Our taste in art and music is subjective, yes. Everyone is entitled to their preferences and tastes. Not everything is for everybody. But when artists chooses to walk in the freedom of being authentic and have the bravery to deliver it to the universe, those who it’s meant to touch, it’ll touch. More importantly, the contribution will be magical and simply a blessing to the world at large.

Love in Color by Bolu Babalola (A Book Review)

‘This is a beautiful collection of stories about the many different facets of love. The first story was bursting with jewels. “One could enjoy but never possess. Experience but not capture” was a description of Osun but as the story progresses, it was also a testament of perspective of Shango’s and Erinle’s feelings about Osun and love in general.

I was not familiar with much of the source material that many of the stories were based off of. However, the richness of love flowed through each story. What I really appreciated about this collection was the beautiful, deep and raw testaments of love. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing these lovely stories.

Rating: 9/10

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (A Book Review)

Identical twin sisters Stella and Desiree Vignes were products of a small black community in Louisiana. The community had clear expectations based on class, as well as a more definitive way of being that was rooted in colorism. After running away at the age of sixteen, the twin sisters’ lives take on different forms. Stella decides to leave all she knows to live out her life as a white woman. Desiree, lost after being abandoned by her twin, decides to move on and purposely goes in the opposite direction of her sister. Years later, their paths cross again by way of their daughters’ lives. Will they pick up where they left off or will the wounds of abandonment and betrayal be too much to heal?

This was such a rich and interesting story. The layers of lies that Stella had to weave to ensure a solid chance of a self proclaimed better life was hard to watch. It seeped into her daughter Kennedy’s life in the strangest of ways. Desiree restarting her life in a fit of rebellion caused by resentment and betrayal, affected both her and her daughter Jude deeply. Even though the chasm between Stella and Desiree was profound, the connection that resurfaced was undeniable and ran extremely deep. A beautifully written tale of loss and love with many lessons sprinkled in between. I really enjoyed reading this.

Rating: 9/10

Book Overload

I did it again. I grabbed more books to read while already reading one. I keep telling myself that the next time I won’t check out or purchase another book until I finish reading the current one. It did not work again this time. Once I started reading another book blurb, I was like a kid in a candy store. I kept grabbing and now I have five books on standby. But they all looked so good. It’s a wild ride but oh so much fun. Do any of you experience this? Leave a comment.

Are You A Reader?

Do you like to read? If you do, what kind of a reader are you? Are you a surface reader? You know, the kind of reader that reads enough to get by. Or do you absolutely hate reading? Yes, I actually asked this preposterous question. For a book lover like me that statement is an awful thing to hear. Who hates reading? The horror!!!!

Yeah, I got over the inital shock of hearing that statement, but I have to admit I was taken aback, seriously. Different strokes for different folks. But I have seen the sweetest reversal of this. Years ago, I volunteered with a literacy agency. Some of the most beautiful testimonies were the ones where some adults who could not previously read became avid readers once they learned how to. Their entire world opened up with endless possibilities. They traveled, learned new skills, and walked into wonderful seasons in their lives. They accomplished all of those things by reading books.

All of us have things that we don’t like. For me it’s coffee. I know coffee drinkers who need it to start their day have the same sentiments about me that I had about non-readers (The horror!!!). Lol. But I actually gave coffee a try several times. I could take it or leave it. But I’m not opposed to drinking it occasionally nowadays. I encourage non-readers to step into the reading waters slowly. Just try it. Speak with a person who absolutely loves to read. Let them know your interests and ask them for a good book recommendation based on your interests. Test the waters. That’s all.