Author Archives: Just Jolie

Deuce Caliber [via Groundsounds.com]

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Recently got added on as a contributor at Groundsounds.com, a music art and culture blog based in Los Angeles, California. My first feature was an unsigned independent artist from Baltimore, Deuce Caliber.

Edem Kwame aka “Deuce Caliber”

Born Edem Kwame, Deuce Caliber (“D-Cal” for short) entered the rap game a very young age and never looked back. Citing artists like 50 Cent, DMX and even Elton John as inspiration, D-Cal pens his own rhymes and tries to make a name for himself in the rap game as well as a name for his label: Black Star Militia.

Check out my full interview here: Groundsounds.com presents DMV rapper Deuce Caliber

In your ear September 25, 2012

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Singer/songwriter Robyn

You may know Robyn as the blonde songstress behind the club banging hit “Call Your Girlfriend”. But today I heard her in a whole new way that’s completely old-school.

I was sitting in a restaurant and found myself grooving to the ambience. A seductive voice was crooning over the restaurant’s speakers and without even realizing it, I was nodding and bouncing to the soft, smooth melody over a tight beat. I had never heard the song before but it had an element about it that made it seem like it was a timeless kickback classic. Naturally, I had to know the origins of the mystery song. One quick Google of the lyrics later, I was shocked to find pop-electronica diva Robyn belting out my new R&B Jam crush, “Just Another Girlfriend”.

The song is so 90’s-esque, similar to R&B icons like Brandy, TLC, and Monica. Robyn really showcases her vocal range in this ballad to an indecisive boyfriend on her debut titled album “Robyn is here” released in 1995. She’s obviously taken a new turn in her music genre with the passing times. But I wouldn’t be mad to hear her take it back this way sometime soon.

My rating: A

In Review… “Think Like a Man”(?)

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“Think Like a Man” Theatrical Poster

The long awaited DVD release is finally here.

I figured now was as good a time as ever to watch the blockbuster hit, “Think Like a Man”, based on the bestselling self-help book by Steve Harvey, “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”. My assessment? “Think Like a Man” was an hour and thirty minutes of watching sexy people be cute, funny, and To be plain, the film is purely for entertainment ONLY. There’s nothing  in the film that I could see actually happening in a real life situation. It was completely unrealistic relationship wise. Maybe, I simply refused to have a man tell me how I should behave as a female to get the perfect relationship. That’s not to say it was a bad film. Not at all, actually. The film was entertaining and comedic in almost every opportune moment and a joy to watch. But I wouldn’t call it the self-help film of the year.

My Rating: B

The characters in the movie don’t appear in the book. Rather, the movie us about a group of men and women who all read the book and use it to help their love lives. I can’t assess the amount of self-help this movie could actually give viewers.  With such compelling advise as, “Men respect women with standards-get some!”, I think it’s safe to say the flagship book won’t added to any reputable psychologists’ bookshelves. But thankfully, it wasn’t too overdramatic and in your face with lessons about how to have the perfect relationship. In fact, the movie focuses around how trying to follow a prescribed formula for happiness can, and often will, backfire. It was more of a satire of the book it was based off of, which seemed strange to me.

Credit must be given to the great writing and acting in this film. It was a really funny movie with skillfully hidden humor and sarcasm. For example, Michael Ealy, who plays would-be chef Dominic in the film, complains about seeing the movie “For Colored Girls” citing a part where some crazy guy throws his kids out of a window, referring to the role he played as that same crazy guy!

Speaking of Ealy, the star studded cast was a definite distraction from the unrealistic plot. Gorgeous actors and actresses including one of my Favorites, Taraji P. Henson, graced the screen with seemingly good chemistry. Director Tim Story did a fantastic job staying true to the characters’ personalities on and off screen without succumbing to stereotypical portrayals of blacks (except in periodical jest).

At the end of the day, “Think Like a Man” was funny and well put together. It was creative and refreshing in this era of remakes. I’d definitely watch it again.

The “Think Like a Man” DVD is on sale now in the United States.

Production Value pt. 1

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This summer, I had the honor of interning at National Public Radio. During my tenure (I just want to be fancy), I was able to work on a variety of stories with other interns as well as actual NPR reporters on lots of different stories. Below are some of those project summaries with links to the full article(s). Enjoy!

AS SEEN ON TV

“The Cosby Show” was popular black sitcom in the 80’s and 90’s

My first professional blog! About a topic very close to my heart: Black Sitcoms. I did a lot of research about how my peers felt about today’s sitcoms versus those from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s. The basic conclsion: today’s black casted shows just didn’t come up to snuff. Check out my sentiments here:

“As Seen on TV” by Jolie A. Doggett

WHITE SHEEP

As part of my internship, I was able to work on NPR’s “Intern Edition”, an entirely intern produced program. I donned the role of producer and helped a fellow intern put together this social commentary about what happened when two white students joined a historically black scholars program. This one instance paints a larger picture of racial tensions that still exist in the United States. Listen to this audio piece below:

 

“White Sheep: Tensions Rise When Roles Reverse” by Madeline Tutman

Who is David Barton?

This is probably one of the most fun projects I worked on while I was at NPR. I was very lucky to work with the talented Barbara Bradley-Haggerty and the innovative Elise Hu on a web accompaniment to one of Barb’s biggest pieces: a feature on the controversial evangelical David Barton. It took a lot of strenuous tape watching and backup researching but the end result is a compare and contrast of fact and fiction-what Barton says versus what’s widely considered fact. Sidenote: After this piece was published, Barton’s publisher of his book, “The Jefferson Lies” dropped him. Coincidence? Or excellent intern reporting?

“Cue the Tape: How David Barton Sees the World” by Elise Hu and Barbara Bradley-Haggerty

David Barton is the evangelical founder of WallBuilders and author of “The Jefferson Lies”

 

In your ear… August 22, 2012

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Anthony Brown and Group TherAPy

Let’s start with Anthony Brown and Group TherAPy (not sure why the “AP” is capitalized. But the journalist in me approves) I had the pleasure of attending his album release concert at First Baptist Church of Glenarden earlier this week. Some of Gopsel Music’s biggest names were there including Richard Smallwood, Maurette Brown Clark, After the energetic and emotional performances of some of the most talented individuals, I was compelled to buy the album. It’s actually the first CD I’ve purchased in a long time and I do not regret it. I’ve been listening to it in my car and on my laptop. Even if religious music isn’t your scene, you’ll appreciate the eclectic mix of voices and harmonies and the inspirational messages about success and perseverance attached to each song.

My rating: A

 

“Safe and Sound” single cover

Okay, maybe I’m late to this song’s bandwagon but I’ve recently watched The Hunger Games. Great movie and great series of novels. However, I was most interested in the closing credits where I heard this haunting collaboration from Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars: “Safe and Sound” Now, I’m not a Taylor Swift fan but there’s no denying the beauty of her voice on this record. A sorrowful song  that deviates from her goody-two-shoes-girl image but she bears it well.

My rating: A-

So, my Twitter feed has been exploding with Tweets about this new Miguel song “Adorn”. Most people think it’s a soon to be played out hit. Others are in absolute love with the record while still others find it overrated. What do I think? I feel like I’ve heard it before. The melody sounds done before. Still, I did listen to it more than one time in a row-not a bad sign. But I’m not too pressed over it.

 

My rating: B-

Spring Break 2012 Pt. 3

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Happy Hump Day (also known as Wednesday)

So my Spring Break 2012 is still going strong. But things are starting to get a bit more stressful as the week progresses (in a good way)

TUESDAY

A lot more driving around today. Went to lunch with my wonderful grandparents at their favorite Chinese buffett. After that, I went thrift store shopping with my mommie. Got a ton of books and this amazing shirt! What do you think?

My new Shirt

Afterwards, I went to visit my God-sisters and my 3-year-old niece. I haven’t seen them in almost a year so I was super excited that they were here.

Sounds like a pretty relaxig day, right? So why am I stressed? Well, part of the reason I’m home is because my family and I are planning a big surprise party in honor of my grandpa’s 66th birthday and retirement. It’s going to be a big fun family affair but party planning is super stressful. I have to make a iMovie out of old pictures of my grandpa, I have to take family photos, I have to cook,and I have to sing. It’s a lot to do!

So these next few days will be all about my Spring Break adventures/my Grandpa’s Birthday Celebration! Stay tuned!

Spring Break 2012 Pt. 2

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Greetings fellow Spring Break-ers!!

I’ve been having a wonderful break so far just hanging out around the house. So many amazing and beautiful things have been happening and I’m going to share them all with you!

MONDAY

So, I drove to Norfolk State University to visit my good friend Nick and we took a drive to the lovely Virginia Beach!!! Isn’t it beautiful?

Virginia Beach <3

Unfortunately, my camera died after these two pics! So, Nick purchased a handy dandy disposable camera (real old school style!) Check out my Just Pics tab at the end of the week to see all of the pics we took when they develop.

Old School Camera

So, although it is my Spring Break, I’m still working hard to make my mark on the journalism world. I got an email on Monday from the T-Howard Foundation, this really cool organization that helps diversify the media world. They help students (like me) find internships with big media companies and networks. So anyway, I finally got an email from them about an internship opportunity. Guess where it is? (drum roll please)

CNN in Atlanta, Georgia!

I’m so excited! Fingers crossed, I get the job! Wish me luck and look out for more great news about my Spring Break 2012!

Spring Break 2012 Pt. 1

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HAPPY SPRING BREAK !!!!!

Hi everybody ! I hope you’re all enjoying the wonderful weather (if you’re having wonderful weather like I am). My Spring Break (my LAST spring break) is underway! Now normally, I do community service during my breaks from school by traveling to Philly and tutoring and mentoring urban city students. But this year, I decided to relax and go crazy like normal college students (and by go crazy, I mean do basically nothing extreme) and I’ve decided to photo-document every minute of it! Here’s part one…

FRIDAY

So, I drove to North Carolina to visit my best friend (7 hours from where I’m from in Maryland) so the majority of the first day of my Spring Break went like this:

But I did finally arrive and got to explore and experience life at a HBCU (Historically Black College or University) and it was so much fun! And I made baked spaghetti for the first time! Yum! What do you think?

“]

My baked Spaghetti :

SATURDAY

After a long Day 1 of driving, I slept in on Day 2. My best friend and I cooked breakfast. Unfortunately, I burned the toast. But the omelets came out pretty good.

The Omelett

I had heard so much about the famous North Carolina “Cookout” burger and shake joint, I had to check it out. And I was not disappointed! The best burger I’ve ever received for under 2 bucks. And I had my first Cheerwine (I think I’m addicted)

SUNDAY

I made my way back to my hometown in Virginia that afternoon. I spent most of the day with my family. My aunt insisted on sharing her chicken livers (it’s a country thang, YUM!)

Chicken Livers!

Be on the look out tomorrow for more of my Spring Break 2012 photo updates!

Favorite Movies

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Hey everybody. Sorry this post is also on Monday (I’ve had an ECON exam to study for this weekend. Wish me luck!). Today’s Favorite Things post will be all about my Favorite Movie, arguably one of the best animated movies of all time, “The Lion King.”

 

The Lion King

The Lion King is a coming of age story about a young cub named Simba who can’t wait to be king of his pride and his treacherous uncle, Scar who also hopes to be king and murders Simba’s father King Mufasa and sends Simba into exile. Simba eventually meet an endearing pair, Timon and Pumba (a meerkat and warthog respectively) who teach him to live a life of no worries and Simba grows up without a care in the world. That is, until he runs into his childhood friend Nala, who urges him to take up his responsibility as the rightful king. Simba is reluctant to face his past until Rafiki, a wise but eccentric baboon, helps Simba remember who he is meant to be. Simba returns home, overthrows his uncle Scar, and takes his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful king.

I love this movie for many reasons the first being that is stars Matthew Broderick who quite possible has the sexiest voice a lion could have. Another reason, and probably the most important reason, is the gentle way it reveals life lessons such as taking responsibility, not worrying, even how to deal with death of a loved one. Also, like any other Disney movie, the songs were amazing! (Academy Award -winning actually). It’s not just my favorite movie, but has been a favorite movie of Americans since it’s intial release in 1994. It was re-released for a limited time in theaters in September 2011 to celebrate it’s BluRay release. It remains the highest grossing hand-drawn animated movie in history and has been my favorite movie since the age of 5.

Red Tails Theatrical Release Poster

Since we’re talking about movies, I’m going to take this time to review one of this past weekend’s new releases “Red Tails”. This war film is based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first  African-American aviators to serve in the US Military. They fought during World War II and faced severe adversity in their attempted to be respected as an aviation team. The movie itself faced some adversity of its own, its production delayed because major film studios were apprehensive to dsitrubute a film with an “all-black” cast. Eventually, George Lucas decided to fund the film from his own pockets. This CNN article by Roland Martin and many other institutions encouraged people to go see the film opening weekend to send a message to Hollywood that films with talented black casts can be successful.

That being said, I must say, I was incredibly disappointed in the movie as a whole. A slew of under developed characters delivered subpar acting in a storyline that wasn’t nearly as dramatic as I expected it to be. Seriously, it’s the Tuskegee Airmen story! How can you possibly make that story anything but moving? Somehow, writers John Ridley and The Boondock’s Aaron McGruder managed to turn what should have been a riveting story into a script of clichés and corny dialogue. Even the surprisingly few fight scenes were disappointing because they were so boring! How can a fight scene in WWII movie be boring? Only 2 pilots in the movie actually died. Also, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s facial expressions throughout the film were terrifying to me.

On the positive side, this movie was a great opportunity for Hollywood to take notice of some talented Black actors. Even the newcomers delivered wonderful performances despite the limitation of their characters. It could’ve helped the story if there were fewer central characters leaving more room for background character development and possibly a more dynamic story. But the truth is there were just way too many stories being told in this movie and none of them was the story the movie should have been about: The rise and triumph of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Still, Red Tails did pretty well financially opening at #2 in the Box Office grossing approximately $18,782,154 (in U.S. dollars). But how long will it stay in the top once people actually see the film they’ve been recommending to friends and family? Now that I’ve seen it, I find it hard to tell my friends exactly what the movie was about-there was just so much going on! This movie goes in my Category of Biggest Cinematic Disappointments (Also in that category are The Notebook, Sex and the City 2 and of course The Last Airbender. Ugh!)

Favorite Gentlemen

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Okay, so I know it’s not Sunday. However, I felt today would be the perfect day to introduce you guys to my Favorite Gentlemen (part 3 of my Favorite Things) because today is a day we honor one of the most tenacious, dedicated, life-changing gemtlemen to ever live: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today is Natioanl Dr. King Day in the states, a day we remember the life and legacy of the famed Civil Rights leader and peace maker.

Dr. King led a life dedicated to bringing equal human rights to colored people, to bringing nations together and to spreading a message of peace and love to all mankind. Keeping his lifestyle led me to carefully choose the gentlemen you see below.

Jolie's Favorite Gentlemen

Those men featured in my mash-up are influential and beautiful through their choices, their messages, their talents, their acceptance, their differences as well as in their initial appearance. They are my favorite gentlemen because to me, they stand out from the Status Quo of what society says a man should be (emotionally distant, hard, tough, sexual, powerful, dominating, etc) and they instead redefine what it means to be a man (Sweet, kind, understanding, tolerant, intelligent, imaginative and dynamic).

So enjoy the holiday guys and enjoy looking at some of my Favorite Gentlemen (I know I am)! Be on the lookout for more of my Favorite Things and remember to live a life of purpose as Dr. King did. [collage by Photovisi.com]