Currently Making Black History
"I do too much because you do too little" - Phaedra Parks
Happy Black History Month! We are officially one full week into February, and since this newsletter is about current happenings/what I currently love and care about, it makes perfect sense that all month long the newsletter will be a weekly recap of the best Black history making moments of right now! From a Grammy awards where several talented Black women were awarded (did anyone peep how barely any men won hence barely any men spoke the whole night) to an iconic episode of Traitors where Phaedra Parks cemented her status as one of the best to ever do this reality tv thing, it’s been a fab first week of Black History month. Here are some of the best Black History making moments of this past week!
Grammy Awards - SZA, Victoria Monet, and Tyla win big, Tracy Chapman (woman that she is) stuns in performance of Fast Car
Everyone who paid attention last year knows that Sza’s record breaking album SOS was THEE album of 2023 whether the Recording Academy wants to admit it or not. SZA who in my opinion has been making history since the minute she put pen to paper to write Feelin Myself for Beyonce took home 3 awards Sunday night; Best Pop Duo/Performance for Ghost feat. Pheobe Bridgers (a song I do not listen to lol), Best Progressive R&B Album, and Best R&B song for Snooze ( a song that I love now, but shamefully admit took me a while to understand the hype about. A rare case of me 2000 and late)
SZA also gave one of the most electrifying performances of the night! Showcasing not only her skills as a performer, but her even more impressive skills as a creative director with strong vision and a great eye for aesthetics (her exquisite face and body transformations over the year prove that…also…is she gatekeeping her surgeon because why don’t all the girlies look this good????)
Victoria Monet, the singer, dancer, songwriter extraordinaire also took home three Grammys, an especially iconic moment considering the rinky-dink-hasnt-been-good-in-years VMAs told her it was “too early in her story” for her to perform on the VMA stage. Monet who in my opinion made Black History the day she wrote Be Alright, one of Ariana Grande’s absolute best songs (not up for debate.) took home the awards for Best Engineered Album (non-classical) for Jaguar II, Best R&B Album, and Best New Artist. Would I have loved to see Miss Monet onstage performing Sunday night??? As a wise Tokyo Toni once said, “WELL YES!!!”
AHHH! The stunningly beautiful Tracy Chapman performed a duet of her prolific song Fast Car with Luke Combs whose cover of the song was wildly popular this past year. In the Tik Tok era it seems like once every few months a cover of a song that was originally written and performed by a woman skyrockets to popularity, often without those women being mentioned or given their flowers. Because of this, I never really got into Luke Combs’s cover and would in fact very obnoxiously go “WHERE IS TRACY CHAPMAN???!” over and over again every time it would come on (I sound like a real treat I know.) After hearing Combs in the opening package before the performance speak so beautifully and respectfully of the song and Tracy Chapman, saying that this was his first favorite song as a kid, really warmed me to him. Of all the winners that night it truly felt like we had all won the most because we got to see Tracy Chapman smile, sing her song, and receive her praise.
There’s actually a great episode of one of my favorite podcasts Black Girl Songbook that touches on this in regard to the popular cover of Corinne Bailey Rae’s Put Your Records On.
Tyla the (22 year old!) singer of the hit song Water, made history by taking home the first ever Grammy for Best African Music Performance (a little broad but okay). Award or not she already won by showing up looking like this. While this is certainly a historical moment, my favorite Tyla-related moment in Black History is when she went on Big Boys Neighborhood and said that she “knew Drake would follow her, and he did” LMAO she’s funny as hell for that.
Flyanaboss on the first digital cover of Blavity!
Flyanaboss who gained popularity with viral videos of them running through various locations performing their hit song You Wish have been living up to the hype! After having Missy Elliot on the You Wish remix, brand deals and commercials, hosting gigs, and the release of their newest single, ‘Candyman’ it’s giving that these girls are here to stay. In their Blavity interview they address the industry plant allegations, saying that at first they were kind of annoyed, but now they really don’t care because they know what it took for them to get there. Industry Plants or not (Idk I think Black people are rarely given any favors or a leg up so we’re allowed to be plants and nepo babies) Flyanaboss are doing something that feels really refreshing and exciting, and I’m rooting for them every step of the way.
The World falls in love with Rachel Chinouriri and her music
3 days ago Twitter (X if you’re nasty) user @yassnito tweeted a clip from a music video saying “Just discovered this girl and I’m living. This song is everything mamas” The Girl? Alt rock, indie artist Rachel Chinouriri. The Song? Never Need Me an indie-pop banger that sounds like it belongs on a teen movie soundtrack. In the days since the tweet my timeline has been full of people discovering Rachel and her music, and rejoicing in the fact that she’s a Black woman making music that we don’t normally associate with Black women artists despite popular artists like SZA, Willow, Jensen McRae, and more making waves in the genre.
It’s delightful to see not only music fans but other Black indie artists like Shamir, and Aaliyah’s Interlude praising her as well. I highly recommend checking her out because I’ve been listening all morning and loving every song.
Phaedra Parks is the greatest traitor to ever traitor in the history of traitors??? …and Dan is possibly the worst?
Phaedra Parks has had an incredible run on Traitors with basically no one up until this most recent episode suspecting her to be a Traitor for even a split second! In this most recent episode however, Phaedra really got to flex those lying muscles, letting us all know that when it comes to this Traitor shit she’s not one to be played with. This former lawyer (Dan obviously was unfamiliar with her professional history as a lawyer and more importantly a liar.) was basically forced to weaponize her law degree after Dan a fellow traitor and one of the all time best Big Brother contestants attempted to throw her under the bus, in a desperate, attempt to the beat the Traitor allegations being hurled his way.
Every bit of “proof” he had was so weak and almost uncomfy? To bring up her “breakfast reactions” (consoling her friend Larsa after Marcus was eliminated, calling Bergie “her Bergalicious,” and the already iconic exclamation of “Lord, not Ekin Su”) and the fact that everyone seems to like her felt a little like a personal attack, and only made him look more guilty. However Phaedra was armed and ready to defend herself against every piece of “evidence” that Dan foolishly presented, even calmly and coolly replying “I do too much because you do too little” when Dan tried to use the fact that she’s “extra” against her. Watching this known liar lie so damn well after a few years out of the spotlight (a consequence of her lying) was fun and satisfying and a reminder that Phaedra while not always on the right side of history, has always been incredibly entertaining. I predict that Phaedra, like most entertaining liars is about to have a legendary reality tv run comparable to that of mainstays like Tiffany Pollard, her fellow traitor Parvati, and Johnny Bananas. …As for Dan maybe one day I’ll do an edition of the newsletter all about moments when the male ego has ruined or at least came close to ruining a great season of reality competition tv because there are many.
Blue Ivy in the VIVI!!!
Maybe it’s my love and admiration for her parents and their work, maybe it’s because I remember too vividly how so many people spoke ill of her before she could even speak, or maybe it’s my love of the signature Westwood look, but when it come to Blue Ivy Carter, I just get so emotional. When she walked onto the Grammy stage in this Vivienne Westwood dress I screamed so much that I almost missed Jay-Z calling the recording academy a bunch of tasteless, racist, losers (I’m paraphrasing lol). I can’t wait for Blue to continue making Black History during her inevitable modeling era one day.
Thanks for reading, and lookout for next week’s newsletter. I don’t know about you , but I can’t to see who makes Black History this week, the next, and for the rest of time!