Jully 2012- K. Michelle

www.FordEntertainmentMagazine.com Info@FordEntertainmentMagazine.com 814-FordMag @FordEntMagazine @IamLadyChelle 2

Young & Influential

Magazine

Ford Ent Magazine targets young and influential readers, core ages 18-42. Most have their own audiences and distribution platforms via blogs, social networks, and online communities.

Cover $500 Full page $150 1/2 page $75

Music Lovers Websites

Ford Ent Magazine targets music lovers who are always looking for the next banging hit to download. They value quality music and always keep and ear out for who and what’s new in the music

Header banner (468 x 60) $59/mo.

Skyscraper (125 x 430) $29/mo.

Sidebar square (125 x 125) $15/mo.

Email Blast

scene.

Urban Readers

Email blast $25/message

Ford Ent Magazine targets urban readers who love reading articles with wide ranges of topics they can relate to. From nutrition, music business insight, fashion, relationships, sexual education to make up tips. These readers, whether they model, teach, rap, sing, design, or spend their days protecting our streets, Ford Ent Magazine ensures a variety of topics each month to reach them all.

Published monthly both in Print and online.

www.FordEntertainmentMagazine.com

Websites

1- 814-Fordmag

www.FordEntetainmentMagazine.com

Info@FordEntertainmentMagazine.com

Approx. 3,000 hits per week

Twitter/FordEntMagazine

Magazine

Twitter/IamLadychelle

15,000 online readers

Facebook/LadychelleEnt

1500 mail-in subscribers Over 1,000 copies in monthly online sales 68,000 page views (digital version) Total of 1,500 to 2,500 copies printed each month.

3

Sports 2012 USA Olympic Team……………….6 Exclusive Fight Pics

Credits Publisher Ladychelle Enterprises LLC

Courtesy of RMR Paparazzi.…….…..8

Editor In Chief Rachelle Ford

Senior Writer

TheGame101

Lola Sims

You Need a Manager…………………...12

Beauty/Fashion Writers

Beyond Your Backyard………………..14

Graphic Designer

Supreme Makeovers

MuzikPro Entertainment

Music

Contributing Writers this month:

K.Michelle

Michael Forbes Paige Diamond

More Than A Melody……...16 Q&A With Dj Samore………………..….18

Special Shout Outs: Team Bigga Rankin BSnS Radio Network

Fashion

First Lady Niki

28

You, our reader.

Shoegasm

by Jazzy Styles Fashions PlaySexxxy Juicy Reader Confessions……………..28 Black Male Stereotype: The Brute……………………………………...30 4

www.FordEntertainmentMagazine.com Info@FordEntertainmentMagazine.com 814-FordMag @FordEntMagazine @IamLadyChelle

5

Sports Editorial

2012 USA OLYMPIC TEAM guys. Dwayne Wade did not make it due to injuries as well as Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh & Derrick Rose.

We still have the best players in the world on one team. And it will show.

Let’s get to the nitty gritty, do we have what it takes to defend our title and bring home the Gold? Many have asked a few have answered. In short, I’d say Yes we have more than enough of what it takes to win it all.

Team USA has always dominated the competition since it started back in Basketball, Basketball and more Basketball. If you’ve

1936 and only 4 times we haven’t won the Gold

been keeping up with U.S. sports lately, then you’d

medal, receiving 2 bronze and a silver. Though there

know this seems to be the case. And we are certainly

are a few factors that will not allow us to win with

not complaining especially after a key year like the

extreme ease, we can overcome the short term di-

2011-2012 NBA season which was key for all the All-

versity to compete at a high level in these games.

Star players in the league. Great for a few and a tad

One of the first things that you’d notice is size. Our

bit cloudy for others, one thing’s for sure we have an

team doesn’t have as many big guys as the others so

amazing Olympic Basketball team this year and I

this will be a factor in a few of our games depending

don’t mean that in terms of talent or hype. I say it as

on how we rotate the 12 we have. Kobe Bryant will

a means to shed light to a few aspects of this year’s

be at Guard while Lebron James and Carmelo Antho-

team that stands out amongst the storyline of our

ny are at the Forward and we only have one Center

USA team defending the world title which we won in

in Tyson Chandler. Here’s a glimpse at our road to

2010, and the last Olympic Title that we’ll be defend-

the Gold:

ing that we’ve won in 2008.

This year our team does not include every possible All-Star that could have made the roster. Here’s the

Date

Preliminary Round

Time (ET)

rundown starting with the coach, Mike Krzyewski

Sun., Jul. 29

USA vs. France

2:30 p.m.

also known as Coach K. He’s a stabilizing factor to

Tues., Jul. 31

USA vs. Tunisia

10:15 p.m.

this year’s team and he made sure he had gotten the

Thurs., Aug. 2

USA vs. Nigeria

10:15 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 4

USA vs. Lithuania

2:30 p.m.

Mon., Aug. 6

USA vs. Argentina

10:15 p.m.

players he wanted. Very early on he vied for Lebron James to make the roster which he did alongside the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams to name a few 6

These are just the preliminary matchups which de-

We excited and all, but not get ahead of ourselves

termine the Quarterfinal, Semifinals and Finals which

right now we are only in scrimmage games and that

are all to be determined based on the outcome of

next month August will be interesting as our 2012

the competition. Two teams for us to watch for that

USA Olympic Basketball team will begin their journey

are Spain and Brazil. Both teams have size, skilled

to the Gold. And keep in mind, it’s not the size of the

players both current and formerly of the NBA, and

dog but instead the size of the fight in the dog that

benches that could put up just as well as their start-

matters. Team USA will show the key to winning is

ers. Spain’s playing style consists of a steady rotation

sometimes just as simple as wanting it more than the

of their big 4. And no I’m not talking about big 4 as in

other side.

superstars. They have very tall players that shoot, pass, rebound and hustle up and down the court Please follow me on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Viddy | +more Social Networks or Google: @iKnowMrForbes, I speakback, talkback, followback, trackback, snapback, even more, my hairline aint like Neyo's, #WayBack.

well. Still though, I feel their no match for an energetic Lebron James on explosive fast breaks, a hot Kevin Durant behind the arch or Kobe Bryant when he’s comfortable. And I’m not only positive that we’ll win because we have what It takes, I’m also hoping

www.iKnowMrForbes.com Twitter: @iKnowMrForbes Facebook: @DadeCounty Google+: Michael J. Forbes Instagram: @iKnowMrForbes

we do because some of the guys we have now are getting older and the Olympics comes every 4 years, so this is a significant factor in why we should all cheer and root our current team on. How else can you get Kobe, Durant & James passing the rock off to one another? Not even All-Star games permit that!

7

Tampa, Fl 6/29/12

Alessi Promotions

Exclusive Fight Pics Courtesy of

8

Great thanks to photographer Robert Richards, owner of RmRPaparazzi for these exclusive photos from the June 29th fights.

For more pictures from this event, log on www.RmRPaprazzi.com.

Also, special thanks to Alessi Promotions for a great event.

Congrats to all the winners that night.

9

10

11

TheGame101

You Need A Music Manager.

Do you need a music manager? Is this really a question you should be asking? Have you even ran across a business with no acting managers? Why should your music career be any different? On the checklist of ”I want to be an artist”, a manager should be top 5.

What is the role of a manager exactly? The simple answer? To manage your music career. But for the sake of having a blog with more then 60 words, let’s dive into a little bit more details on the roles of a music manager: 1. Contract Negotiations- Whether its for a for a performance, a feature, a club appearance, or purchasing beats, you need your manager to handle those details.

2. Career Planning- My favorite saying is “failing to plan, is planning to fail”. You need a clear-cut path for your music career. Where do you see yourself in a year? 5 years? How many albums/mixtapes will you be dropping this year? Will your music be released for free or set up for sale? Those questions and more are answered in a career plan, put together by your manager. Even the smartest of all smart business man would never attempt a venture without a business plan. You should take that as a hint and make that your first move in your career, an actual career plan with objectives, projected goals and expectations and such. When I was younger, I would pass by my brother’s room and read “Failing to plan, is planning to fail” and that

poster couldn’t be more right 3. Creative Guidance- In this game, branding yourself is key. Your manager is there to help you with that very important task and assisting you in making all the creative decisions that goes along with that endeavor. Also, under creative guidance, is the vital role of helping you pick out singles and songs for your album/mixtape.

Your manager’s role is to also provide you with constructive criticism on your songs. Hope you’re starting to see how important the role of the music manager is. He/She is your business advisor, organizer, close companion, your confidant, and a lot more. I must add though, the one thing a business manager is not, is a Yes-Man. Now that I’ve shared the importance of having a music manager, it’s only fair that I share exactly what qualities to look for in a good manager. If you were to be flying via private jet and was sorely responsible for picking the pilot, you’d make sure that pilot was up to par right? You wouldn’t just mindlessly pick a friend or family member to entrust with that task just because you guys are cool would you? Well, same thing with your music career.

Here’s what to look for: Organization: There will be a list of things to stay on top of: meetings, contracts, performances, contacts, deadlines and more. Your manager should be able to navigate everything smoothly as well as document and 12

organize your music career skillfully.

Knowledgeable: Needless to say, your manager needs to know what they’re talking about. I’m not necessarily saying college degree, but they need to have general business knowledge, music industry knowledge and common sense (plenty of it!) As an effective manager, they should leave you with only one responsibility, and that’s to make good music. That means they will be in charge of making the decisions that will lead you to either success or failure. Which brings me to my third quality I want to touch on.

Trust: Trust is a must! (I like that saying..and it rhymes- bonus! lol) Your manager will be your closest ally.

Your confidant, your support system, the mac to your cheese, the beat to your rhymes, the peanut butter to your jelly, and most often times your best and most understanding friend.

Trusting that person is an understatement. Your manager will be handling your income, your career, and most often times will be the first representation of you people get to see. Make sure you trust them to have your best interest at heart.

Blog by @IamLadyChelle

13

TheGame101

Beyond Your Backyard

Today’s market is so exiting for Indie artists and

stand

much

labels. If you have followed my columns over the years,

less attempt

I have never been a big FAN of Major labels. The music

to listen to

industry is like any other business, create/find great

the creative artistry and real life that is in front of us.

product and build the brand. Consumers will follow

We have to be “better” than the next person. We have

and so will the big companies. The business today is

to find that “stunt” or make “attention” fall on us in

really no different than 50-60 years ago when there

order to feel like we are successful. The reality is, we

were no Major labels and music was sold at the local

are successful with each step we take towards our

Woolworths or Mom and Pop record shop. We are in

goals in this business.

an industry that no longer gives out “Stupid-Idiotic”

I have lived in many cities during my career in

deals for millions of dollars. Majors are letting go the

the Music Business. What is funny is that I hear the

BIG Dogs who take salaries that are not allowing the

same thing over and over. “My city won’t support…” or

companies much less the artists to make money. So

“I have to go somewhere else in order to make it hap-

where does that leave you? All I can say is sky is the

pen then come back here…” Well in many ways I agree.

limit. Look far beyond your own back yard.

If you want something different, then you must do

The music business today has so many outlets

something different. Take a chance and explore new

for artist and indie labels. The Internet provides options

areas, create new opportunities, build outside of your

for marketing, sales, advertising, streaming and promo-

comfort zone. Whose says that you cannot build a busi-

tion (song and video play) not just in the US, but world-

ness for your sound in Brazil, Japan, and Argentina?

wide. Music can go father, faster than they did five

Study the culture. Does your story or sound fit them?

years ago much less 50-60 years ago. It just takes pa-

Can it make sense? If so, just get out and learn some-

tience, persistence and planning. Most of all it takes

thing new.

GREAT MUSIC! That is what Indies are known for. Not

I have seen DJ’s from Chicago tour Europe and

the commercial garbage that is force fed down peo-

make tens of thousands of dollars in a weekend and

ple’s throats, but quality music that speaks to the mind,

come back home to know one really even knowing

body and soul. When you attempt to sound like some-

them. I have seen Reggae artist that the US will not

one or fit into a genre, then your niche can not be ex-

support go on 2 month tours to Asia and make what we

ploited. Artists and labels have visions. They have a

make in two years. Why not take the chance and see

message to extend beyond themselves and to allow the

what is really out there opportunity wise.

masses to hear.

Be it Rap, Hip Hop, Rock, or R&B if you are mak-

It may seem like a vast endeavor to take on, but

ing GREAT MUSIC then find those who believe in it and

looking beyond where you are and into other countries

support your sound and vision. Don’t be afraid to com-

may allow your bank account to grow. If big business

municate with others that are beyond your back door.

can do it, why can’t you?

You may find opportunities that extend beyond just

The portals to other countries allow you to extend be-

getting sales such as touring, endorsements, and col-

yond your block, neighborhood, town, city, county,

laborations. Money is money and if you can get paid for

even the US. Many times we Americans are so caught

your passion and vision, who really cares where it

up in our own views and self that we cannot under-

comes from. Just make it happen.

14

15

16

More Than a Melody

By Lola Sims

regarding why she chose to do the show, she stated:

While most new artist fall into the current wave of the moment, K. Michelle is instead making her own lane. Currently signed to Jive and commander of a powerful voice reminiscent of the time period when singers really “sang,” she is a generations version of what R&B music is all about.

“I wanted to use the show so that people can know [me]. When I was sitting with the producers, [I told them that] I wanted to focus on K as a person, K as a friend, you know throw some music in there but for my music that’s for me really to go out and push. So, there are some things that I am doing to get the music out there. I’ve got an EP coming out July 9th and that’s music that I am proud of. If I’m not writing from the inside the music isn’t going to work again.”

“I’m not impressed with the watered down R&B on the radio,” states K. Michelle. “I go more in depth in my music and relate to what you want to hear and what you don’t”

“I’m working on a lot,” starts K. Michelle. “The label needs things. I’m preparing for this mixtape and alFor those not familiar with the Memphis born and raised songstress, a research of her music can answer bum. My schedule is pretty grueling but in the end I a lot of questions. Drawing inspiration from her own feel it’s worth it.” life’s trials and tribulations which she feels is almost Worth it, she is. Be sure to check out K. Michelle, better than having a conversation with a close friend, R&B’s newest star. her music has become an outlet. Currently in the studio working on a mixtape and her upcoming album she’s cranking out songs at a great pace. While her current single “How Many Times” is also making quite the impact and drawing a lot of buzz for her highly anticipated album, songs like Fallin, Where They Do Do That At, and I Just Can’t still remain crowd favorites and boast impressive followings on YouTube.

Never one to compare herself to other artists, K. Michelle sees herself as just a new singer who makes honest music that loves to be in the studio. Although it can be grueling work, being in the studio from 11 in the morning to 6 or 7 am the next morning, K. Michelle wouldn’t change it for the world. And to think she’s juggling all this and still able to be a very much involved single mother.

And in addition to her music, you can also check out K Michelle on VH1’s hit reality show: Love and Hip Hop Atlanta. In a recent interview with gossiponthis.com

17

That’s My DJ DJ!!

Q & A with DJ Samore How Long you been DJing Since 2007 when it kicked off big , damn the years be going by fast!

that was a great way to promote my show and play music to see the action people reactions to the records I play, my bad, I mean break.

What is your specialty?

Mixtapes, radio, clubs etc.. main specialty, radio and mixtapes...I'm working my way to the clubs and shows...but I can do it What was your first Gig as a DJ and how did you land that?

Owl radio (FAU radio station) - I had my show and we had event they needed a DJ to play music, well I was like okay lets get it done. So I did that, since i had my show on,

What current projects are you working on?

My radio show, Urban Ent Radio Show now called "The urban experience" preparing for the next big national move for 2013, go to www.sourbanentertainment.com for current stations now broadcasting the show, I'm tighten it up now too look more attractive , my goal with the radio show is to be the female version younger version 18

of the Steve Harvey morning show.

Also new mixtape series called I'm back bitch vol.1 , seems like I took a break from the mixtape scene but some other things were going on.

The mixtape should be dropping hopefully end of July so i can hit at least 6 editions of the tape by end of 2012.

What made you choose Djing as a profession?

The love of music and entertainment; I cant sing nor rap but I love the music industry, and this was my gateway in.

“How many females does what I does....I'm just sayin�

What is the BEST thing about being a DJ? Breaking new records! Making people feel good via the music I play and/or entertainment I bring via my radio show urban ent radio show. #theueshow.

Finish this phrase: The Game Needs me because

What has been your most memorable moment so far in this industry? Interviewing people like Jagged Edge, Flo Rida, Gabrielle Union, Omarion and Marques Houston, I could go on! but live in the building with Jagged Edge on my radio show. All of that is good but the biggest is Elle Varner on the show and building the relationship with her people to actually have her in the bldg, since I know she will be the next Alicia Keys I said it that's a moment of 2012 like best interview this year so far.

Where can we check you out?

WWW.SOURBANENTERTAINMENT.COM @Yodj_sourban ON TWITTER, ALL OTHER INQURIES POP DJ SAMORE IN YOUR GOOGLE OR SEARCH ENGINES NOT JUST GOOGLE YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING.

How many females does what I does....I'm just sayin.

Facebook.com/theurbanexperience @theueshow on twitter theueshow@gmail.com djsamore@mybeat945.com All indie artist please please, You send your music, let's be professional. tag your songs. give info about yourself. Unless you want djs to charge to listen to your ish, because most of the djs I know they do that just because they are tired of the b.s. that hit their inbox.

What is your dream gig?

The next big urban national syndicated radio show up there with Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner, even the Breakfast Club in New York.

What role do you personally play when it comes to breaking records?

I am my radio show's music director and program producer, so i choose what songs are in the monthly playlist! Any record can be broke, If the record is not the best record, it can be broke! It's playing more than 1 time on the show, or more than 1 time at an event.

Playing and Breaking records two different things, breaking the record you are exposing the record to more medians than just playing a record on a radio show or DJ set!

WWW.SOURBANENTERTAINMENT.COM 19

SHOE

By Jazzy St

Fashion

$13.99 Su

20

EGASM tyles Fashions

ummer Sale

21

WWW.IAMJSF.COM

22

WWW.IAMJSF.COM

23

24

25

26

27

Confession… I feel like a very sexual person and always believe the beginning sex is always the best sex…. a few years ago I will make trips out of state and a make sure i got some … not from no stranger but a friend (not the same one every trip) but it was just that lust because you know what you wanted to do … and there was no strings attached or any headaches… I think I will get more turned by the adventure and the secret then anything… just knowing you were being bad… and it was no regular fucking … the only thing I wouldn’t get down with them is anal … saved that for hubby…(this is crazy) I don’t ever share shit like this … Haven’t done that in a long time but I am so tempted … especially when I feel down… new dick will make me happy… LOL … haven’t found anyone worthy…. but don’t get me wrong what I have at home is very good …. but sometimes its the same shit… I’m a freak and he’s undercover.LOL ~ Anonymous

In my early twenties winter during a bad snowstorm a childhood friend said I could stay with him and his then girlfriend. While there him and I realized we had a sexual attraction to one another. His girl got sick the night I arrived so as we sat up talking we made love right there on his sofa while she slept in the back bedroom. The next day she was still too ill to get out of bed and him and I were able to be with each other 3 more time – 1 in the shower, 1 in the spare room and 1 more in the living room. Him and I fell off shortly after that but I still wonder lol if their still together. ~Anonymous

A few years ago a friend of mind had to leave for a conference out of town. I had always considered him cool peeps. Well, his girl calls me up and ask me to come over to help her move some furniture. I thought ok cool…so I get over there and she was like I need to show you something. Again, I’m like ok…so she comes back out NAKED…now I'm like wow!!! She has always been very sexy…but I never front on my peeps until she showed me something else. She goes on and says that her man was fucking with my ex…while we were together and shows me pics. Now, I’m pissed because I was thinking this was supposed to be my boy.

She says since he fucked both of us over. I want you to fuck me… and I did. We fucked everyday for that week at least two maybe three times a day. I have never told him. They ended up moving but every time she comes back to visit her family she makes sure she stops by for a good dick down. Talk about the big payback!Anonymous 28

On my 25th birthday I set a goal for myself, I had been courting several women at the time and I really wanted them all. In total If I remember correctly there were 7 and I wanted all 7 of them ( greedy I know ) . anyway on the day of my 25th birthday I had scheduled different times of the day to spend with all 7. In my mind my intention was to have sex with them all, but of the 7 I had only nailed 1 before my birthday. I started my day at 9am with breakfast with the one I had already been intimate with needless to say it was my birthday so I hit it again, as the day progressed and I met up with the other women, I nailed all of them with the exception of the last two and that's because the way my day was going I never got around to meeting up with them two. So my confession Is I had 5 different women in 1 day I used protection of course and I've grown as a man since then and wouldn’t advise anyone try and attempt that, but amongst my crew my record still remains as the most new cooch in one day lol- Anonymous

I met a great friend of mine on twitter about four months ago. He & I met up in his hometown in VA & we had sex about 10 times the first we saw each other. The second time we met in VA we sexed each other about 5 or 6 times. I ended up falling in love with him but he and I are friends but we still want each other. We act like we are strictly friends while we talk to each other on twitter but aside from that it’s on and popping. The sex is sooo fucking good between us & I want to have a threesome with him.

Sometimes I think he wants more but then other times I don’t know. I want to tell the world who he is but I don’t. We talk quite often but when we see each other it’s less talk and more sex. The attraction between us is awesome. It’s hard acting as if nothing goes on.-Anonymous

When I was at Boston University, I had a 6 foot tall hi jumper and we used to get it in. one day we get dared to fuck in Popeye's. So they take us at one of their busy times and she wears a short skirt and sits on me in the restaurant and for a while people don’t notice but when she got to hyperventilating the manager starts eyeing us and right as she is getting off security comes and by that time it was to late cuz when they come to us to break it up she wasn’t having it and swings on the cop gets off then we both spend the night in jail.

One year my husband (ex now) went out of town for a homecoming football game. I wasn't able to get off work so I ended up not going. He wasn't out of the city good before two of his friends came over and we all had a threesome.

It was the best one of my life and I will never forget that weekend.- Anonymous

~ Anonymous

One time i was at this boy house and his baby mom was at work and he wanted to fuck so we did it the bad thing was his 3 month old baby in the bed with us. ~Anonymous (Later email revealed this confession is from another male) 29

Black Male Stereotypes: The Brute

by Paige Diamond

men showcased in the media.

The exaggeration of black men

I felt it was important to pay special attention to sexual stereotypes directed at the black community.

Some of the stereotypes are so deeply embedded in American culture that I fear that younger generations who have no idea these stereotypes exist embrace them as if these are what black sexuality is. In a previous post I focused on the Mammy stereotype which is pretty popular thanks to Aunt Jemima pancake mix among other displays of the mammy prototype but I wanted to direct attention to a stereotype which isn’t paraded blatantly to some- The Brute.

raping numerous white women

What is a brute? A brute is described as a black man who is innately savage, animalistic, destructive, criminal, sociopath, hypersexual, angry and strong. The brute came to life during the Radical Reconstruction period (1867-1877) when white writers argued that by abolishing slavery, blacks were going to revert to criminal savagery and slavery was needed to keep blacks in line. This stereotype at that time wasn’t displayed much due to the fear of this actually coming to past.Central to the stereotype of the brute was not only that he was criminal, but that he went around raping white women. This of course alarmed Southern whites because even though they raped and had consensual sex with black women, having mixed children, they couldn’t have their white women being tainted by having sex with black men as they were seen as the epitome of respectable women and the key to keeping the white race pure. Even interracial marriages between black men and white women are less acceptable in our society currently due to this stereotype (Think O.J. Simpson, Tiger Woods) whereas you will see more interracial couples that are black women with white

One of the most popular work which spawned the movie The Birth of a Nation is Thomas Dixon’s The Clansman which described blacks as “½ human, ½ animal, the sport of impulse, whim and conceit…a being who, left to his will roams at night and sleeps during the day, whose speech knows no words of love, whose passions, once aroused are as the fury of the tiger.”

The Clansman also includes the rape of a white virgin who then her and her mother commits suicide. As a result the Brute is lynched by the Klu Klux Klan. One of the most well known instance of a black male being killed in relation to this stereotype would be 14 yr. old Emmitt Till who came down to visit relatives in Mississippi from Chicago and allegedly called the white clerk in a store “baby”. Several days later he was taken from his uncle’s house, beat to death- his head was crushed and his eye was gauged out. His body was thrown in the Tallahatchee River. The men were caught, tried and found innocent by a jury of whites.

30

cause the widespread lynching of black men and unfortunately black men when accused were in more cases than not were lynched before they were even proven guilty. Literary works were produced emphasizing the lustfulness of the brute starting with Nelson Page’s Red Rock in 1898 which has a character named Moses who was a sinister politician who tried to rape a white women and was later lynched for the crime.

Historically the Brute stereotype was pushed and has gained popularity in periods when blacks pushed for social change and equality. Notable time periods for example is the 1960s & 1970s Blaxploitation films which usually portrayed black males as angry, aggressive, antiwhite, hypersexual & criminal.

The first of these movies was Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and from then on it went down hill. You see it again in the 1990’s when rap music took a positive path then gangsta rap entered the scene praising and glorifying the very same traits of the stereotypical Brute as well as movies and it hasn’t come to an end as of yet.

Today’s Brute has evolved into the gangster, thug, misogynistic, angry, ex con who is lead by his penis with no regard for anyone else but himself. Biggie Smalls said it best “Fuck bitches, get money”. Other portrayals of Brutes in the movies are in American Gigolo, American Pimp, The Color Purple, What’s Love Got to Do With It, majority of Tyler Perry films, Never Die Alone, New Jack City… hell just about every black film made. Even Denzel Washington didn’t get an Academy Award until he catered to the stereotypical brute role when he played Alonzo Harris in Training Day. I’m sure by reading this, you probably can identify a few. What this has caused the youth to do is embrace the Brute stereotype as what black manhood is, not being respectful to himself, family or others, not being educat-

ed and responsible as these are commonly seen as not being “black enough”.

The crazy part of all of this is that I know black women who feel that if a man isn’t a killer/thug/ gangster that he is “soft” or isn’t a real man. What this causes are men acting out of their character to attract women because they believe the good guy finishes last which unfortunately is the case because of the screwed up standards a lot of black women have for what black manhood is. I receive countless emails from black men who work hard, are educated, they have a plan but are single because according to them- black women aren’t checking for them. They want a thug.

We are all responsible for the stereotypes that are out there when we continuously embrace them.

31

32