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@Troy she is doing both. Again my psychic friend believes Beyoncé is an inspiration and she is. I don't know if that is her motivation. Jay-Z is a savvy business man. And he is becoming a philanthropist. Beyoncé and Jay-Z have a similar arc. He flaunt the drug dealing, she flaunted the sexual thing. And even though the are not the first to do so. They are building an empire that both allows them freedom and is philanthropic.

European culture has a of traveling to exotic places and enslaving people. The Vikings preferred more local enslavement. White American culture isn't even that good for white people. Hollywood and Modelling is about using people. You can throw the music industry in as well. The casting couch , drugs , tge busted contracts. And allowing people to self destruct because it sells papers. Chaka Khan was using so much drugs an engineer told her she is worth more to the label dead. Maybe it's not a white thing. Perhaps it's about. The Mayans and the Egyptians were legendary. They both built pyramids that showed their knowledge of Astrology. Before the invention of the telescope. Yet both had ritual killing.

Mel I agree with this 100%. Jim Brown said this in a video a few years back. He did not invent the idea, but he articulated it very well. All people are subject to this. It is just in the Black community we cannot validate each other. We seek validation outside our community. For example, writing for a Black platform is less prestigious than writing for a Black one, winning an award from a white entity is more desirable than a Blak one. The main reason for this I believe is that white validation leads to more money. This does not have to be the case, but we make it so. @Delano I know you can ride a fix. Recall we rode 100 miles together one day. You were definitely in better riding shape :-) now i know why ;-) Cynique there is indeed a gene(s) for ambition. I think in most cases something in the environment must trigger it for the gene to be expressed. Maybe it is a discovery of a passion for a particular skill or a dire situation in which extraordinary effort and drive are needed suddenly. It could also be the right combination of ambition, greed, and egotism. Which explains why mediocre people like Trump can become President. I never really got really motivated and passionate about something until I stumbled on the world of books. I just wish I had more time to read...

OK you know more than I Mel. Master teachers like Dr. Ben, who knew a thing or two about African history, live and die in relative obscurity. Meanwhile, people like Beyonce are being thrust into the role of religious icon, spiritual leader, and the vessel for sacred African knowledge. I don't like it when corporations choose our leaders--this has never served us. Corporation made Steve Harvey our relationship expert despite the fact that Steve has littered the landscape upset ex-wives. I have demonstrated far more skill at relationships than Steve Harvey has, but I do not have the temerity to promote myself as a relationship expert. But corporations have no problem doing this because it is about entertainment which means money. Again, entertainment has replaced education, because entertainment is more profitable. This is just another example or converting spiritual enlightenment into entertainment in order to profit from it. This is a perversion of spirituality and can not serve us. I don't believe in the "AND" proposition in the case. I don't think you can teach spiritual enlightenment when your primary or only motive is profit. None of our great spiritual leaders were wealthy. Indeed many eschew material wealth in exchange for a spiritual wealth. While Beyonce and her team are great business people, I don't think they can do a good job conveying spirituality and uplifting people in a meaningful sense. Once that revenue stream starts to wane, it will be jettisoned like any other failed business.

@Mel Hopkins Thanks for all the pertinent interesting information! To me Beyonce is, among many things, a phenomenon whose time has come. She filled a vacancy crying to be filled, and is, indeed, Destiny's child whose fate is entwined with providing a happy alternative to the sorrowful Virgin Mary, mother of a crucified son whose promises of salvation have been relegated to the hereafter. As a charismatic distraction from this gloom, Beyonce is about the living not the dead, a beautiful esoteric symbol who embodies the joy of womanhood and is deemed worthy of the adulation because she dares to encourage it. In the black section atop Mount Olympus where Queen Oprah has been joined by Michelle Obama, Beyonce completes this triumvirate, there for the black masses to take pride in and - for those more pragmatic and less star struck to note how it pays to be at the right place at the right time and - to be ready.

@Mel Hopkins As usual i was being the contrarian in questioning the advisability of not caring about being accepted. You speak with more sincerity than I do on this subject. To me, trying to make your mark out there in the real world is akin to playing a game in which initially conforming to expectations is a ploy to get past the first hurdle. The upper hand is gained by your manipulating whoever was misled enough by your facade to give you an opportunity. The second step in the course of doing your job efficiently, is to take back yourself, and become aloof if being well-liked in the work place requires you to put on an act. I don't think I need to tell you to never underestimate the effectiveness of passive aggressiveness. In another post, we talked about there being genes for different inclinations. I, myself, never had the "ambitious" gene but I do think I have a "lazy" one. So, over the years, I did not pursue positions of authority because, as Pioneer said on another post, I didn't want the responsibility or the challenge; didn't want to take my job home with me. For some reason, however, I would often have the ear of those in authority, who would unofficially seek my input about problems that would arise. I would offer advice and when it proved beneficial, I'd gain a smug satisfaction from being the "power behind the throne". (In one case, I prevented a co-worker from being fired by pointing out certain things about him to our supervisor.) Meanwhile, I'd collect my pay check and all of my fulfillment would occur away from my regular job, doing what I enjoyed and this included writing for the love of writing. @Delano, Like you, I am comfortable in any company, even if it's hostile because i like to argue. That's why I try to stay up on things, something which enables me to converse with Millennials as easy as "intellectuals", with "bougie" sistas as well as baby mamas. I hold no degrees, my employment resume is unimpressive, but I am a people-watcher and pretty well-schooled in the book of life. @Troy I must confess, however, that the black dilemma has me stumped. Obviously it calls for a many- pronged attack on the racist, capitalistic system. But "black unity" is just an empty phrase, and talk is cheap. "Lifting others as you climb", is too often neutralized by the "I got mine, now you get yours" attitude. I'm looking down the tunnel but I don't see a light.

Absolutely agree! We shouldn't confuse the two! One is the entertainment business... I, however, believe in the power of AND... AND in business there's still a chance for enlightenment. For example- Moses, Cleopatra, Jesus, Thor, et al. were not blue-eyed Europeans but that did not stop Hollywood from sharing the mythology while enlightening all those who went to see Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, King of Kings and most recently Thor ( who is actually the much older Shango, the Orisha God of thunder and lightning). It takes a large platform to get a message out to those who don't know their history. Remember how many people were on the Egyptian KMT Hotep research kick? Those folks only scratched the surface but at least they no longer believe Egyptians were Europeans, (at least not origin). So now you can only imagine how many young black women have now moved towards West Africa to find out the history of an even older group of the Canaanites - the Yoruba people. BTW, This is win for authors of black books both fiction and nonfiction...If you read some of the reviews for my novel published in 2006 - most didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about. Yet I spoke of the very things in my book that Beyonce is now promoting through her visual music. She's educating the market for those of us who write about African mythology... Heads Up: Twins babies (Ibeji) are sacred & magical in the Yoruba religion so expect more symbolism from Bey once she deliver her twins. As for wikipedia - Maybe the Beyonce' mystique doesn't want the public to see that she's more than just the public face to her empire but after doing so quick sleuthing - Parkwood Entertainment is owned by Beyonce and here's why - Parkwood's attorney is Brad Rose who is also listed on her website as the contact for Parkwood entertainment for any copyright infringement. Rose is the attorney also listed as Beyonce's licensing company BGK Holdings, Inc's attorney and also represented her along with his other clients ( yes the usual suspect crew Kanye, Rihanna, Jay Z and Pharrell ) in a lawsuit against eleven paris .. It would be a conflict of interest for Brad Rose to represent Sony in anything AND Beyonce therefore Beyonce owns Parkwood Entertaintment - But here's more behind the scenes look at why Beyonce is the fronting her own company... From FastCompany "The core of Beyoncé’s business is Parkwood Entertainment, a relatively small operation perched on an upper floor of an unremarkable office tower in an unglamorous neighborhood just south of Times Square. Parkwood’s employees quietly guide an enterprise that has an enormous impact: from music to film to ancillary businesses such as the exercise-clothing line Ivy Park that she recently debuted in collaboration with British retailer Topshop. Beyoncé is the CEO and has been known to sit in on meetings and walk from office to office to query her deputies on details of upcoming projects. "There’s nothing that happens in that organization, either businesswise or artistically, that Beyoncé doesn’t fully sit on top of," says former HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo, who helped negotiate the Lemonade TV special. (Beyoncé and her team declined to speak on the record.) Though Beyoncé’s label, Columbia Records (a subsidiary of Sony Music), is a partner in Parkwood, the company still approaches business like a startup, leveraging its scale in all kinds of ways."

Mel you obviously know more about the music industry than I do. I'm sorry to hear about the casting couch and the murder of your friend. No, I don't any other singer doing what you describe. I assume Beyonce stands alone in her wealth particularly when you combine it with Jay-Z. Great wealth allows you to do a wide variety of things that other entertainers can not do. I doubt she has a peer. Mel I'm not sure you can attribute all of the things you described to Beyonce herself. But again you know more about her than I. I assumed Beyonce is the public face of a very sophisticated organization. I doubt she is sitting back calling the shots. Also, I thought Sony owned Parkwood (I saw that on Wikipedia, so it is possible that it is complete fiction ). But that does not change my points, who said that Black folks don't behave like corporate entities? BET was a perfect case in point. You don't become fantastically wealthy in the United States without getting grimy on some level. I doubt the Beyonce machine, owned by Sony, is any different. Am I the only one who thinks that Bey (her team) has coopted the African imagery for monetary gain? Exploiting these images to reach her followers on a deeper level--to get deeper into their pockets? Del called Beyonce a "religious ico.," This may be true, and if it is, it is very dangerous. I see this no differently than the charismatic religious leader who convinces their followers to give them their money in return for salvation. This is not about spiritually or uplifting people, it is about commerce. We should confuse the two things.

I have an Afro-Cuban friend and he admires Black Music. I an African women tild me she felt sorry for Black Americans. My barometer with all people is one of a few things, can they think rationally, are they emotionally intelligent and are they diminishing me. That is inthe reverse order of importance. Troy iwas ridinga fix gear for 10 hours a day with stuff on m back when i was in my 40's. New Yorkers think they are at the center of things. So is the butt hole. Ill engage with different points of view. Ignore when needed or be mentally combative if i have a worthy opponent. There is as this big Jamaican dude named Bob i think that was his name. He was a massive dude he rode a fix and was a messenger. He had one leg. And Country rode fix before itwas crazy popular. And my man Chuckie. And my brother Tabu from the Soul Summit Parties in Brooklyn. Shamelessly name dropping.

@Cynique you always challenge me to seek clarity! Thank you so much! Of course, I put my best foot forward with anyone I meet. Kindness and respect goes a long way... What I can't afford in this lifetime is seeking outside validation for the life given to me. When I said I don't seek the acceptance of white people; it's because I don't allow anyone to tell me who I am or what role I shall play. I tell others what role I shall play in their life and they can decide "Yes" or "no" . I was looking at my professional recommendation letters, the other day and I realized they have the same theme - " leader with an attitude" white folks code for uppity negress. It is what it is. I never felt like I needed my life validated. And yes, living like this has positive, negative and a lot of heartbreaking consequences. When I was younger, many called it hubris. If I believed I could do it; I did it. Now that I'm older it requires a lot of courage to continue to live this way. I may cry a lot, but I sleep well. I think the black community's pathological tendencies come from allowing others to invalidate us. It's as if we believe we are the illegitimate children of America and Africa and we're doing everything while failing miserably to gain legitimacy. It's as if we (black Americans) are waiting to do our version of Sally Fields' Academy Award acceptance speech "You like me, you really like me". Although it is so cliche, we have to learn to like ourselves first even if our validation never arrives.

D. Amari Jackson, who has participated here in the past (In fact, Cynique reviewed his novel the Savion Sequence) wrote a well written, accurate, and inspiring about Paul Coates, "How an Ex-Black Panther Waged a Successful, Four-Decade Revolution In Publishing Without Planning To" check it out Paul Coates, who is Ta-Nehisi's father has always been supportive of AALBC.com. It is elders like him who provide the inspiration and support (including financial) which allows independent Black-owned business to grow. People like Paul are usually overlooked, by the press, who rather expend valuable resources on degenerates like Milo. The Atlantic Black Star website is an increasingly rare exception.

I agree. I don't believe anyone can teach anything. The first step to learning, however, is AWARENESS... if you aren't aware something exist, learning cannot occur. The same can be said for spiritual enlightenment - no one can teach it; you can only become aware there's a path. BAM!!! Yep, I never been to a Beyonce concert and I have one album because it contains a song me and my daughters would sing on road-trips. But when it comes to business, I'm fascinated as to why some make it and others don't . So I study the successful and this is exactly what I gathered from her "meteoric" rise...Like you've written, The lesson is from the Girl Scouts motto "BE PREPARED"

Bwhahahaha!

#BlackMindsBlackPower Cassie Owens, writer, links to AALBC's list of Black Bookstores in this ode to one of the last two Philadelphia black bookstores,Black and Nobel" Black and Nobel is opened 7 days a week and according to its owner Hakim Hopkins " “Health and wellness keeps us open,” “but the books are a foundation — everybody knows us as ‘the bookstore.’” If a bookstore were a tourist destination it would be "Black and Nobel". This article gives the bookstore a feel of a popular haunt for both residents and visitors alike.

Not my feelings on Beyonce personally but on Beyonce, the singer, songwriter, producer, entertainer and business woman. Here's my story - in the late 80s I was in a girl music group, Flexx... It was a struggle and I can't tell you how many bad contracts folks tried to get us to sign. So bad that if we signed we would've been shaking our asses but broke. Now that's pimpin ish. Plus we were cute so there was the casting couch everywhere you looked. We ran from the best of them back in the day. By the time, we got our record deal we aged out and one of our members got killed. So to see a woman who looks like me and my group members make it to the top of the game - is nothing but "hallelujah" My feelings on Beyonce are attributed to her business acumen. Plus I love a good story and she controls her narrative. Case in point, she released her last album exclusively on her husband's streaming music service for 24 hours - did this cut into her sales? Not sure but music reports from Billboard to the New York Times did stories on the availability of her album on other outlets. It was that serious to them. Last I read, Tidal will have exclusive streaming rights of Lemonade for awhile. It seems Sony and Beyonce are working together ... from the CEO's mouth in 2015. Ever since Destiny's Child there's seems to be a rule (thanks to Matthew Knowles I suppose) if you sing the song you get writers credit. That is unusual in the music business but her deal is even sweeter. Beyonce also gets publishing credit too and producers credit. According to these copyright infringement cases it seems that folks come after Beyonce not Sony. So It seems she does have some control over her music catalog. Also, there are few artists who are presidents of their own corporations that employ hundreds and contract and launch careers of others. Beyonce is president of Beyonce, Inc and she founded Parkwood Entertainment LLC which is the label that produces video, films, shows, music on the Sony label. There's Beyonce Touring, Parkwood Touring, Ivy Park clothing and currently she's in a legal battle to trademark her children's wear company "Blue Ivy Carter". She helped launch one for her mother House of Dereon ...and it seems the list is growing ... Now correct me if you know of any other black woman (singer) who controls her music empire...Ok there's Rihanna who is said to own her masters now and I'm proud of her too! These young women are in control of their craft and professional image and as a woman who had a small taste ofthe music business, I'm glad to see young women stepping up and controlling their professional destiny. By the way, Chrisette Michelle recently said she is also the master of her domain.

One's beliefs are a reflection of who they are not reality. My conclusions, however, have nothing to do with Beyonce or Jay-Z; I know little about them and do not consume their products. My reaction to her Grammy performance was taken from Cynique's opinion I did not watch it. My opinion on this matter is driven (I believe) by what I know about how corporations operate. How they manipulate and brainwash people to into behaviors that only serve to enrich the owners. Beyonce is a tool to generate revenue. She is no different than any other entertainer--other than the fact she makes more money that most. Which is the most important thing in our culture. Rich people are worshipped. Will anyone argue that Beyonce is the most talented vocalist singing today? Enslave people for a few centuries to get cheap good--no problem. Sell cancer sticks and shorten the life spans of millions--you bet. Sell the raving of a rabid, racist troll--but of course. Needless to say, I could go on and on, but you get the point. This is what corporation do. Beyonce serves this master. Of course, some could make a convincing argument that corporations are, net-net, all things considered a plus for society. I used to feel that way too, but not anymore. The biggest corporations are like the drugs dealers. They sell products that no one needs or are outright harmful, they make the owners fantastically wealthy attracting attention and envy from others, and mitigate their evil and confuse people by doling out a few dollars in charity and employing a few folks with mediocre wages. Their critics are simply failures who are jealous of their success. @Cynique was right there is a gene (likely a great many genes), which make people more susceptible to viewing Beyonce as a religious icon. I ain't hatin' on Bey. I just haven't drunk that Kool-aid (the reference to the People's Temple cult was deliberate).

The Lunatic President Trump Was At The African American,History Museum..He Says He Will Combat Bigotry,Racism. And Unite The Country .Dr. Ben Carson,Silent,Behind Trump. Trump Has Racist,KKK,White Supremacist People He Has Appointed To Political Positions. Jewish Places There Have Been ,Attacked,Hate Crimes On The News,Swastika Graffiti . Trump Not One Word About Racist White Police,Murdering Black Males..The Charleston Church,Terrorist Dylan. Roof Was Planning To Attack Other,Black Churches.....Dr. Ben Carson ,His 3 Sons Want,Be Shot Down By Racist White Police. He Believes No Racist People,In Trump's Presidential Cabinet .....Amazing..Protest Against Trump Goes On,White Republicans With Obama care,Vocally Attacking Republicans,They Want To Keep Their,Obama care.....

Because those platforms are NOT AALBC.com I never understood why we would expect to find our breakthroughs outside of our community. I only need to look in my own backyard, literally, to find a remedy for menstrual cramps. (Dead nettle grows in my backyard ) In fact, I spend my time posting here and looking for ways to make this website of record - so that we can produce breakthrough... My next step is asking for a AALBC press pass so I could bring enterprising content... maybe others can do the same? Just a suggestion.

Del I think as you immerse yourself into different worlds you gain a perspective that is necessarily more open. I too shared many of the experiences you have. Speaking of being a bike messenger, have you ever heard of Kurt Boone? He writes about delivering packages riding a fixed wheel bike. I worked as a foot messenger for a couple of years--delivering packages to offices wowed me with their grandness, and the I would be working in a few years later. Experiencing other locations is also why I balk at the idea that places like NYC are so cosmopolitan, urbane and sophisticated. In reality, NYC often is very provincial, racist, crude and segregated as any place in the country. Many communities I've visited in the south are FAR more integrated than NYC. Though mainstream media and NYC itself likes to tout itself has been better that other places...