PrettyOddBird

I'm out here on a mission and I'm all alone.  I'm far from where I'm goin but I'm far from home.  Least I know I'm movin in the right direction. Mama always told me I was gon be special.  -Nipsey Hussle, "Love"

We have been lucky enough to witness a reemergence of phenomenal female rappers lately. We've got range from Cardi & Meg, to Noname & Rhapsody, to Renni Rucci & LightskinKeisha, just to name a few. But the girls are most certainly out here and we LOVE to see it. I would like to take a moment to appreciate Sasha Go Hard. This Detroit-based gem is a real one, as explained on her 2018 "No Problems" album . I want her to be great. I love her story, her voice (& accent), and her music. Sasha Go Hard tells the all-too-familiar plight of a young Black woman with a daughter to mold. "Done Being Nice" & "Shake" are two of her most popular singles and my personal favorites. These tracks are found on her second album of 2018, "Make America Ratchet Again", which is obviously an amazing title, and the anthem this nation actually deserves.  "The Porch" on MARA is a perfect song, descriptive of hood life and nostalgia. Th...

That's it. That's the tweet. Jidenna is special. I am still listening to his debut album, "The Chief", which came out in 2017. And it is still fantastic. Fortunately for all of us, Jidenna has graced us yet again with his latest project, "85 to Africa", which dropped late last year. "The Chief" was hardened. It is an ode to his late father and travels to Nigeria where he was lain to rest. Straight away, "A Bull's Tale" sets the tone for the album with a warning: "I made a promise When I was six and guerillas ran up on us Taking my sis, beating the shit out of my mama Shot me in the foot put a bullet through my armor I'mma kill 'em when I see 'em again" After the grammy-winning single "Classic Man", Jidenna needed to set himself apart and make his presence known. "The Chief" certainly established him as a sophisticated lyricist who was nowhere near afraid to speak on contentious issu...

Truly. Making me laugh will make me a fan of your art. That's the reason I love E40 so much. I know it's a silly metric but that preference is obviously personal. I assess other styles and variations for different purposes. And, of course, it depends on what I'm in the mood for. Lil Wayne is a comedian. First off, his voice is nasally, high, and raspy at the same time. He just sounds funny. He is a wordsmith who delivers vivid analogies. He is a master at genre bending, collaborating with an array of artists from Willie Nelson to Adam Levine. But let's step back into 2010 for a second to discuss Lil Wayne's feature on Nicki Minaj's "Roman's Revenge" remix, which should be played with volume UP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FBEdoxBF4I "I'm Tune/Salt in the wound I'm up in this bitch /pardon the goons (flex) Throw dirt on the floor/get caught in the broom ("what goes around comes around") I like a big wet pussy...

Cap. Cap One. Capone Bone. Capernick. CapJuan Don. CapeTown. What's Capalappin. My A1 Day 1, my Ace, my ride or die, My boy Blue, my confidant, my p.i.c., my One, Who I get Hyphy, go Dumb with  who I get weirdest with, Tolerant receiver of face grabs, belly rubs and general shenanniganery. Purveyor of ratchetry, my favorite guy. The realest, my Johnny on the spot, "A loyalist not just a friend to me" My little tuna casserole, my chicken-leg boy, You will be missed beyond measure. I know you're up there getting all the love from Grandma Billie, Jamming out w Bob Marley & 2Pac. I'll see you on the other side little man, I love you forever. 🌈❤ ️ 💛

I'd really rather stay here and watch my hair grow.

I'm still a Lion.  Even if those I trusted Most Sheared my mane,  And plucked my claws, And filed my teeth, I'm still a Lion. 

I blow out bad thoughts through my mouth so I don't get caught too much on idle reflection. I clench my fists tighter so my blood will pump steel back through veins into my heart that hurts to pulse and I can't look through this pain of rage. I open my lungs to SCREAM, release this hatred from my burning diaphragm So I can stop coughing up poison. The venom to honey ratio is imbalanced again and there's fire behind my eyes. I can't see when I get like this. I want to rip and tear apart every piece of me until there's nothing left but concrete, Choke my throat and cut holes in my palms as punishment for self-inflicted sins Of trusting even though I know I'm not built to forgive.

You are who you think you are.

I don't want to betray my grandmother's blood, but I'm tired of being a wolf.

“In the wild, every woman is a hunter.” - Jidenna

It's a fine line between loyalty to someone else and disloyalty to yourself.

Don't discount your value, darling. You're priceless.

Time may not heal everything, But it changes everything. 

What if instead of berating ourselves for every second of every misplaced step...? We said: I love you. I forgive you. You're perfect the way you are. Self-love begins within. We can't expect to contribute to our world, our communities, or our people, if we do not first accept ourselves completely. We determine the weight of our worth, the standard of self, and the price of perception. Practice being kind to yourself in an effort to love others naturally.

Part of infatuation is wanting to capture another person's mystery - to jar the firefly of her spirit - if it's infectious enough.

Real people. Real problems. Real potential.

Cracks in a diamond still sparkle.

I have to tell my story because it's my own, The only one I know.   And each time I try to convince myself I am a bird, or a coward, or a rhinestone, I fall short. I am afraid to fly, afraid to write, afraid to turn this corner And look myself in the mirror. To see this trinket bitch with red lipstick I don't even recognize. She's beautiful but she's cheap and she's EVERYTHING I learned not to be. Worst of all.. She's forgettable.

I smiled at myself in the mirror as I sang along to Karen O..... "they don't love you like I love you ❤️  Wait... they don't love you like I love you."