Free The Fro

Spring Fever Makes Artists Say Bold Things

It seems like every year when the seasons begin to change so do people’s mindsets. It seems this spring will be filled with bold statements from the music industry side of things. First Ray J, who hasn’t been relevant since I was in high school, comes out with a new single called, “I Hit It First,” then Brad Paisley and LL Cool J team up for a song called “Accidenal Racist.”

Since being first is clearly important to Ray J I’ll discuss his single first. For those unaware the lyrics in the song refer to his ex-girlfriend Kim Kardashian. If you were unclear about this the cover for the single should make it very clear. The song also has digs toward Kim’s current man, Kanye West, and former boyfriend, Reggie Bush. Although, according to Brandy’s little brother people are taking the song out of context, “They just gotta keep it on the surface. I’m not trying to create no war, it’s all love; we’re doing music.”

Really sir? If you’re ballsy enough to publish these lyrics you better be man enough to take the backlash. The Kardashian sisters’ Dash Dolls aside, some are calling Ray J is leaning toward desperate to be relevant in the media again. Other’s say he’s jealous of his former lovers success. I believe it’s a mix of both. Unfortunately, it looks like an anticipated response from Mr. West won’t be happening as an insider disclosed.

Now, onto the lip licking rapper and a country boy. It seems that LL Cool J and Brad Paisley’s bold lyrics has garnered a mixed response from listeners. I believe the purpose of the song was to show two sides of the racism spectrum, but some of the lyrics don’t go over too well no matter how well intended the intent.

Retweets from Global Grind and Necole Bitchie twitter accounts reveal that not everyone’s a fan of the direction of this song. I myself am torn. I applaud the idea, but the execution was less than. Take for example a sample of LL’s part, “ If your forget my gold chains, I’ll forget the iron chains.” The idea was there, look past my appearance and accept me. However, I wouldn’t say I’d forget slavery. I know the generation didn’t implicate or were subjected to slavery, but erasing the past from memory isn’t the answer.

So far this spring has been a little chaotic. I can’t wait to see what the summer heat will bring!

1 month ago

Balance

While in school one of the most memorable projects I had was from Dr. Yancy in an anthropology class. The project: watch television for an hour and tally the different races in the commercials, and no sports channels. The project revealed Caucasians created an overwhelmingly majority (no surprise there.) However, Native Americans only appeared once in that hour and it was for a Western Sky commercial.

It seems that over compensation on a particular look in media just doesn’t pertain to commercials the video girls in Hip Hop and R&B music videos, to me, look the same. “Exotic,” light skin and weave down to the back of their knees. I’m not trying to knock the girls in the videos because they are pretty. It just seems that whenever someone tries to suggest a change in casting it becomes a white vs. black, light skin vs. dark skin controversy. Cue Kendrick Lamar.

In an interview with Miss Info, he divulges his reason for firing the initial female lead (a light skinned woman) and replaced her with a woman of darker skin. The basic gist is that he wants BALANCE in the videos. Finally, someone can use a word that doesn’t create a war. Now, that we’re making progress in the skin tone department, can we please have a girl with a big, natural fro?

Recently BET aired a marathon of the show, “The Game.” I know it’s supposed to be fiction, but I believe that stories derive from a little bit of truth somewhere. Anyway, in one of the episodes Malik’s wife, Robin Givens, explains to him that being a black actress in Hollywood is hard because unless you’re ok with playing stereotypical roles (the single mother in the ghetto, maid, stripper) you won’t find much work. While I’m no actress I do enjoy the movies, and after pondering Givens little spiel I can see the truth in the statement. Granted there are exceptions, but I wish exceptions would become the norm.

One of my favorite movies of all time is, “Robert and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” because of all the different ethnicities in the movie and the interracial couples! It was beautiful. When I was little I didn’t even see the color. I just thought the prince was a cutie and I liked Brandy’s braids. Basically, I believe there needs to be more “balance” in media as a whole.

1 month ago

Advice From A College Grad

I spend a lot of time dreaming of my perfect scenarios to accomplish my dreams. The only problem is I’m not 100 percent on how to get there. I see the same thing in some of my fellow graduates. I think the difference between going from high school to college and graduating college to entering “the real world” is there isn’t really a transition into the real world. After you walk across that graduation stage and shake a hand that’s pretty much it.

While I can’t go back in time and change things, here are some things that might help others who are still in school (youngsters listen up):

Start saving money – if possible, starting freshman year start a savings account for post-graduation life. Use this money after you graduate to help pay rent, buy food, etc. If you were like myself, you want to move forward with your life. That doesn’t include moving back in with your parents.
Network – the people you are in school with are future business owners and will be the superstars of their fields. Get to know and work with them now to make business relationships easier later. It’s also great practice. And, NEVER DOUBT THE POWER OF AN INTERNSHIP.
Ask for advice from professors – these people have been in their chosen fields for a while. They might be able to teach you from their mistakes or even share their network with you.

Now, if you’re about to leave school and begin looking for a job there’s really only two things I think you should know.

Follow your gut – if you feel something isn’t right about a company, chances are you’re right. Shady companies will try to be as vaguely detailed as possible. In other words, they really don’t tell you what they’re about.
RESEARCH – just by doing some slight clicking and reading on the Internet you can save a lot of time and headache medicine.

Personally, I try to avoid sites like Craigslist and Monster.com because I see more of the sketchy companies on there. Try looking at sites that are particular to your field and use industry organizations’ websites because they might have a page for job openings.

2 months ago

”

Trust is like glass. Once broken you can try to fix it, but it’ll never be the same as before.

Shannon Raymond (me)

2 months ago

Brown Face

Ashton Kutcher is known for his comedic acts, and for pushing the envelope a bit. He has recently been charged with behaving in a racist capacity in a new dating commercial. In Kutcher’s new commercial he plays a Bollywood producer named Raj.

For the most part, it’s known that having someone dress in black face will more than likely result in some uproar from the African American community. If you don’t know what black face is it’s when an actor, usually white, puts black theatrical makeup on to imitate and make fun of blacks. Kutcher is being accused of participating in “brown face.” It’s the same concept of black face, but dressing as someone of brown skin.

In the commercial Kutcher also played a hippie, a biker and a fashionista of sorts.

The company behind the commercial issued a statement to E! News saying, “The new Popchips worldwide dating video and ad campaign featuring four characters was created to provoke a few laughs and was never intended to stereotype or offend anyone. At Popchips we embrace all types of shapes, flavors and colors, and appreciate all snackers, no matter their race or ethnicity. We hope people can enjoy this in the spirit it was intended.” In addition to the apology the commercial has also been pulled off the air.

Even though the ad was supposed to be funny, I believe anyone in the film industry should be wary of an actor playing someone of a different race. Those who belong to the race being portrayed might ask (if it’s a serious role,) why couldn’t someone who actually is of that race play that role? Why bring in someone else, an outsider?

If the role is supposed to be funny, like in this commercial, the people who belong to the race being portrayed might feel belittled, especially if it’s someone of another race playing the role.

Racial issues are always something to be wary of when distributing any type of media content. Anyone involved in the production process should think about all possible outcomes when playing with the idea of racial stereotypes.

1 year ago

The “No” In Domino’s

Domino’s pizza has been through many changes in the past few years. In my opinion, of the mainstream pizza chains, like Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, Domino’s pizza markets its products in the most aggressive manner. It revamped its pizza recipe, created artisan pizzas and added chicken to the menu. The company has also experienced some foul moments. Such as, when Domino’s CEO Patrick Doyle aired a commercial featuring an unappetizing photo of a pizza delivered to a customer in Minnesota. Another incident is when two Domino’s employees posted a video online of them committing unsanitary acts with food that was said to be on its way to be delivered.

Whether the topic of the company’s current campaign was positive or negative the message that came out from the company was always clear. The understanding I get from watching Domino’s commercials is the company wants to be honest with the public. There’s no vague jargon or flashy commercials. It’s almost like the Domino’s thought process is keep it simple.

In Domino’s latest campaign about it’ artisan pizzas, the company issue the message it will not alter any of the ingredients of its artisan pizzas for any customer. This is different for any pizza company because most pizzas are made to order. Telling a customer the pizza is perfect the way it is seems kind of…bossy. I do wonder how the company would handle if someone had allergies to a certain topping. Would they take off that topping in order to serve the customer and prevent a health hazard? Would they say, “I’m sorry we can’t change the pizza, but you can order something else”?

I think Dominos should write a book explaining bullet by bullet how to send a message to a public. After viewing or reading content the company has put out I don’t really have a lot of questions or any confusion because of the clarity of the delivery. If I do have questions, they are in regard to if the kitchen the commercial was shot in is real or if it’s a set that was put together.

After the scandal of two Domino’s employees violating food and posting the video to YouTube, the company respond by issuing an apology video and posting it on the same medium the two employees posted theirs on. A simple act, but very affective. Domino’s is a company that is really embracing social media. It also calls action to its customers so they are a part of the company (sending photos of their pizza in.)

Truthfully, I believe it is Domino’s marketing and PR strategies that helped up their status and sales (changing the recipe helped, too.) The pizza is still very greasy, though.