Category: Free-Write Fridays

Country Music & Me: My Time Capsule To The Yesteryears

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One of my favorite childhood memories is riding in the car with my mom on Saturdays, while listening to Kicks 101.5, Atlanta’s Country Music station. It was during these rides around my hometown of Marietta, where my mom and I would discuss the importance of self-esteem, earning good grades, and cultivating healthy friendships. Sometimes, my younger brother would join us and and our conversations would become more abstract, like discussing my brother’s interest in Gargolyes and Dragon Ball Z. Country music served as the background soundtrack to a time in my life when I didn’t have to worry about anything. Career goals were a thing of a distance future. Making friends was easy and my idea of establishing a long-term relationship was reduced to planning the most outlandish fairy-tale wedding possible. Life was good.

Nowadays, when life becomes challenging and decisions become overwhelming, I revert back to the days when life was simple. Music has an amazing ability to help us remember our yesteryears. Country Music serves as my personal time capsule, helping me travel back in time to when life was simple. I listen to Country Music daily. In fact, I not only listen to it, I sing along with it. Loudly. While driving around my city.

So, today, I’d like to welcome Friday by sharing my all-time favorite Country Music songs with you. I hope these tunes help you relieve the tension you may have stored up after a stressful week. And I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.Read More »

On My International Playlist

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“Yaa, can you make me a playlist of your African music, please?”

“The music on your alarm clock; I love it. Please send it to me.”

“I heard that track on your iPod yesterday. Kinda unique. Play that for me again”

I receive comments like this on a daily basis now. My love for international music is no longer a secret. I listen to music from Africa, Haiti, and Jamaica more than I listen to music from American artists. I prefer an international clubbing scene more than a hip hop one. I have an eclectic taste in music. Some of these tracks are old, while some of these tracks are a recent. See my playlist below:

Watch My Ting Go by Lola Rae

Try to sit still when this beat drops. I bet you it cannot be done. My Ghanaian sister has a lot of potential to take over the international pop music scene. I cannot see what’s next in her future.

Yes/No by Banky W

Released in 2012, I am sorry that I am only discovering this track and this Nigerian artist one year later! The lyrics are relevant, the dance routine is on-point, Banky is sexy, and the beat is catchy. I’m hooked. This song has been on repeat for three weeks now. I have no plans of removing it from my playlist.

Kilon Poppin by Ms. Jaie

They call her the African Beyoncé. With catchy dance beats and killer dance moves, they may be onto something here…

Carry Me by Carimi

My Haitian friend posted this song on her wedding website and that was my official introduction to the Haitian band, Carimi. She gave me their 2009 album Buzz, and I have been a fan ever since. This track is almost 5 years old, but it still gets my hips swaying.


Vibes Cyah Done by Machel Montano

Released in 2011, I discovered this song during Atlanta CaribFest in May this year. My cousin is heavily resolved in the party-planning and entertainment detail for the three-day, so I frequented many a parties. Whenever the DJ dropped this track, everyone in the arena started dancing. I love songs that have that effect on the crowd.

Where He Took Me For Our First Date (A Restaurant Review)

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Mimosas, Biscuits & Jam
Mimosa, Biscuits & Jam

Two weeks ago, I solicited your advice about which restaurant to choose for my first date with a guy. After much contemplation, I decided to go with a restaurant in the Low-Key-Yet-Nice-Vibes category. I selected Park’s Edge for brunch on a Saturday afternoon.

He picked me up at 12:30pm and we arrived at Park’s Edge at around 1:30pm. Yelp reviews advised that a reservation should be made for brunch on Saturday and Sundays, as they tend to get quite busy on the weekends, so a reservation was made for 1:30.

We arrived on time and surprised ourselves at how successful we were at finding street parking at a building that offered limited parking options. Park’s Edge is located in a residential area, which makes it difficult to find. Fortunately, management noticed this fact and are in the process of relocating to a new location. Read More »

Free Write Friday #3: Writer’s Block

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Deciding on a topic on this Friday morning was a bit of a challenge. For the past 90 minutes, I have been perusing through the notes app on my iPhone and other pre-crafted blog entries. None of them striked me as anything I’d like to publish today.

Bloggers face a great deal of tension while crafting material for their personal websites. How much do we reveal about myself without compromising our privacy and the privacy of others? What if we are misunderstood? How will others perceive us after they have read our blog?

Don’t get me wrong, S&T readers, I have been extremely transparent on my blog thus far. I’ve shared things with you that have required a lot of guts and I am pleased with my posts thus far. However, sometimes, I want to hold back. I want to keep those  gems — incidents, thoughts, and stories –to myself. One day, I’ll hit the publish button, but right now, I’d like to password protect those jewels.

Although I am back to my regular Tuesday/Thursday/Friday blogging schedule, I am up against a real challenge. How do I create blog entries that will edify and entertain my readers while still holding back pieces of me? Blogging about personal things is an art. Bloggers must make the reader feel like s/he knows her, without divulging too much information. I never want you to ever feel like I’m not being authentic with you, but at the same time, I do want to maintain some level of privacy. How do I do this?

I took a 3 month hiatus and I still cannot answer this question. So I’ll bring it to you S&T readers, how do bloggers master the art of baring their soul but still maintain their privacy? And, help me out, what would you like me to write about on S&T? Please leave me a note in the comment section. I’d love to hear from you!

Free Write Friday #2: Why I Heart Beyoncé

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Beyonce Pic CI don’t make much commentary on pop culture nowadays because frankly, I don’t care about it. Very few artists on the scene inspire me and on a typical day, I listen to music from artists who do not even live in the United States.

Beyoncé is the epitome of Pop Culture today. This leading lady is an icon: sold-out concerts, numerous awards and accolades, commercials, and product lines. I cannot listen to the radio for 10 minutes without at least one of Beyoncé’s songs playing, and while I enjoy her music and can sing every word to her hits, (Get Me Bodied is my favorite.) she never really did much for me.Read More »

Free Write Friday #1 – Valentine’s Day Reflections

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ValentinesDay Reflections Main Image

I live my life according schedules, lists, Google calendars, and starred items in my G-mail inbox. My blog posts are scheduled, social gatherings scheduled, gym time scheduled and each item on my To Do List must be marked completed before I fall asleep each night. Luckily for me, this routine has been the reason I have been successful, but unfortunately, my schedules and lists are a recipe for BURNOUT.

ValentinesDay - Task List

So, a break from the monotony is needed. Today, I’m starting a routine called Free-Write Friday, where I discuss any and everything that’s on my mind. I don’t know how long this will last or if this will even be a weekly thing, but I’m starting now, and we’ll see how this goes.

Here are my random thoughts from Valentine’s Day.

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