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Jamieson Diaries

Married | Mother | Millennial

All Posts, Dear Diary

Adjust Your Crown, Queen..

February 29, 2016 Leave a Comment

Tomorrow is the last day of Black History Month and I wanted to end the month on a note that will educate and uplift our community. My Facebook friends have had to endure my rants the last few months about my growing dislike of the words, “bitch” and “hoe”, to describe my beautiful Black sisters. I wanted to share a little more insight on why I hate these words, and why I pray, after the enlightening of our beauty and history, in the last month, more of you will join me in the understanding of addressing ourselves as the queens we are, and nothing less. I purposely used the three Black women on the featured image of this post (Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, and Janelle Monae) because these are the images I want to circulate of Black women, but more importantly, I want you to remember and LISTEN to the lyrics they have shared with us in numerous songs. We have fallen so far away from music mainstream music highlighting artists that empower us I wanted to share influential lyrics from these beautiful ladies reminding us of our power.

Remember Queen Latifah’s 90’s hit “U.N.I.T.Y” with the multiple messages of loving ourselves, specifically our Black women, and of course the classic chorus/phrase:

“Who you callin’ a bitch?
U.N.I.T.Y., U.N.I.T.Y., that’s a unity
U.N.I.T.Y., love a black man from infinity to infinity
U.N.I.T.Y., U.N.I.T.Y.
U.N.I.T.Y., love a black woman from infinity to infinity”
 

Look at the beauty in this chorus telling us to love our Black men and women from infinity to infinity. Even better, listen and read how Queen Latifah demands at the end of each verse, who could possibly be daring enough to call her out of her name? I want us to command power like this in our music again, but also in our every day lives.

I will be fair and say, my generation and younger, thankfully have the beauty and empowerment of Janelle Monae. I definitely have a borderline crush on her and all of her fabulous-ness. But seriously, her music and her persona, is all about empowering young women to be the best versions of themselves, and I am such a huge fan. I particularly love her song “Queen” featuring Erykah Badu. Specifically this part of the song:

Am I a freak for dancing around?
Am I a freak for getting down?
I’m coming up, don’t cut me down
Yeah I wanna be, wanna be

Even if it makes others uncomfortable
I wanna love who I am
Even if it makes other uncomfortable
I will love who I am

I love how bold and unapologetic she is about her blackness in this song. I love that she points out others discomfort means nothing to her pride and self love. I love that the overall name of the song is QUEEN because she addresses by the name we should embrace.

Most people who know me know how much I love the entire “Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” album. It is still one of the best albums recorded in the last 30 years. One of my favorite songs on the album is “Doo Wop”. I didn’t realize how much I loved this song until I recently listened to the words, I had been rapping word for word, over the last few years. [Side note: it’s amazing how many songs we know word for word but don’t actually LISTEN to what we’re saying. Be careful what words and songs you allow to feed your spirit. But that will be a blog post discussion for another day 😉 ] This part of the verse in particular is what really hit me:

Showing off your ass ’cause your thinking it’s a trend
Girlfriend, let me break it down for you again
You know I only say it ’cause I’m truly genuine
Don’t be a hard rock, when you really are a gem

Baby girl, respect is just the minimum
Nigga’s creepin’ and you still defending him
Now Lauryn is only human
Don’t think I haven’t been through the same predicament

I love this verse because it really is the truth, especially for me, in the actions she speaks of. I used to be the girl who casually referred to her friends as “bitches” and “hoes” and I saw nothing wrong with it. But then I grew up, and more importantly, brought a daughter of my own into this world, everything changed for me. How could I be mad at anyone calling her out of her name when Mommy has been listening to music referring to other Black women by these inappropriate names, and even worse, Mommy has referred to other women around her by these names? What kind of example would I be? This reasoning is one of the reasons I love this verse because Lauryn Hill makes it known she used to be the same person. I also love her reference of us being gems. As awesome and “lit” as Black girls are right now, in spreading all of this #BlackGirlMagic, can you imagine how much more magical we would be if we treated ourselves, and fellow sisters as the GEMS we are to this world? My book choice for this month was “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and he said one of the hardest things for mankind to do is to challenge their current ideals and morals, because it’s the first step of admitting we are wrong about something. I couldn’t agree with him more, because had someone had this conversation with me just five years ago, I would’ve come up with every excuse in the book to tell you I wasn’t wrong in my use of such nasty words towards people I love.

I wrote this because I really and truly want us to start holding ourselves and those around us accountable for the language used to describe ourselves. This includes challenging everything from close friends to the musical artists you support. We have to step outside of the box and realize a nice beat to a song doesn’t change the message you’re sending to masses regarding our beautiful Black women. This goes for both male and female musical artists. I challenge all of you, my Black sisters specifically, to find and remember our/your Queedom at all times. Although we all will have our moments of forgetting, always remember, it’s never too late to: Adjust Your Crown, Queen.

I will leave you all with my favorite quote from Dean Davenport’s lecture regarding the use of the word “hoe” between two Black college students on the show “A Different World“.

“I suggest, no I warn you: never call a woman something you wouldn’t want somebody else to call your mother”….”A family can never be united with it’s brothers and sisters divided…NEVER!” -Dean Davenport

Have a great evening and I hope you all have a great upcoming week!

4Ms.jpg

Brie <3

[02.28.16]

All Posts, Music Favorites

Throwback (Music) Thursday

January 21, 2016 Leave a Comment

I didn’t realize Aaliyah and Sade share the same birthday until earlier this week. How I’ve never known this information before then I’m not sure, because Aaliyah and Sade, are two of my favorite artists. I’ve known for a while I wanted to share a throwback song for this Thursday’s blog post. Since their birthdays were less than a week ago it lined up perfectly for me to use one song from each of these ladies for timeless throwback music.

As a 90’s kid, Aaliyah was the definition of perfection so many girls like myself wanted to be. Her death is still one that hurts my heart all of these years later. Thankfully, as a musical artist, one thing that will remain forever is her music. On the other hand, I have always known who Sade was because my family listened to her music, but didn’t get into her music until I got older. I’ve heard the line “Sade makes music for grown folks” for many years, and it’s only since I have gotten older I understand what the adults meant. Sade makes music for people who are so deeply in love or have experienced deep love that it’s truly something a younger child wouldn’t grasp. In honor of their birthdays and throwback Thursday I will share my favorite song by each of these lovely ladies below.

P.S.- Apparently musical artists born on January 16th are drop dead GORGEOUS because…look at their faces!

Happy throwback Thursday, everyone! Enjoy the music and the rest of your evening.

Brie <3

[01.21.16]

All Posts, Music Favorites

“Fortunate”

July 28, 2015 Leave a Comment

Maxwell is amazing. He is the definition of feel good music. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him on his BlackSummersNight tour, and he sounds just as amazing live as he does on his songs. Did I mention I love Maxwell? Oh, well, it’s true. Now enjoy some beautiful Maxwell music on this Summer night. Fall in love with someone if you aren’t already in love, and if you are already in love, fall in love with them again.

Have a lovely evening! 🙂

Brie <3

[07.28.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary

My Old School “Man Crate”

July 21, 2015 Leave a Comment

If you are like 99.9% of the world, we love the nostalgic feeling of going down memory lane in our lives. Particularly, our childhood and what made it so special and different from other generational childhood memories. I was recently contacted by the community manager for a company called, “Man Crates“, after she read my blog post from a few months ago titled “90’s TV Show Theme Songs“, to contribute ideas towards an old school create idea. Man Crates is a company who specifically concentrates on putting together “out of the box” creative gifts for men. We all know how difficult it can be to think of an anniversary, birthday, or Father’s Day gift for the special men in our lives, and this company has made life a little easier for all of us. What is even more unique about their gifts is, instead of being wrapped up or put in a decorative bag like most presents, the gifts are shipped inside actual crates with a personal crowbar to open them. Which is where the name “Man Crates” comes from.

As a person who was born in the late 80’s, 1988 to be exact, I am extremely nostalgic about the 90’s. From the TV shows, to the popular toys and food, it takes me right back to my childhood. Some of the memories are so vivid I can even remember what I wearing and/or where I was at the exact moment. If I was able to get ahold of any items from the 1990’s and I had to build my own Old School Crate from scratch, I would put these items in the crate:

1) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (movie)

TMNT

I was quite the tomboy when I was younger so if there is one movie I know for sure would bring back a rush of great memories it is for sure this one. I mean what more could we want at our age that was better than turtles who happen to be ninjas, fighting bad guys in the city, who ate pizza all day long? Exactly. There is nothing better than this image when you’re a child. Not to mention they were all named after Renaissance artists, which means not only was the movie entertaining, but it was also partially educational in teaching us about artists’ names we would learn down the road in school. Go TMNT!

2) Power Rangers (seasons 1-5)

PowerRangers

While on the topic of movies/television shows, Power Rangers was the all time classic TV show for our generation. Boys and girls rushed home after school to be sure we were in front of the TV to watch these amazing people transform into the greatest animals and dinosaurs, and kick butt to save Angel Grove from all of the bad guys. Especially those annoying putties! Okay, so I’m getting a little into it, but you get the point. The theme show music alone was enough to hype us up and want to jump off of our parents furniture doing kick splits and front flips.

3) Pokemon Cards

Pokemon Cards

Fun fact: I have known my husband since before we were old enough to remember meeting each other. This information is relevant because I remember being younger and him collecting Pokemon cards in a binder to keep them organized. Or as I should say, my husband, and every other little boy in our age group. I was not a die-hard Pokemon fan as most other girls, but I did watch it here and there. However, Pokemon cards/trading sessions were seriously like a well constructed cult that demanded you know the secret password, know all 2 million names of the Pokemon off the top of your head, oh…and be a boy.

4) Surge

Surge

There were plenty of foods and drinks in the 90’s that were very specific to our generation. However, I believe Surge is the one drink nobody could forget if they tried. The advertisement for the drink alone was enough to scare parents to not buy this drink for their children. But we all know how it goes; we took a shopping trip to the grocery store with Mom, we saw Surge, we asked begged for it and we were told “NO”, we asked begged even louder (added some extra whining and borderline tears for special effects), and eventually drove Mom crazy enough for her to say “PUT IT IN THE CART ALREADY”! Once we were home and able to drink it, Mom quickly realized the mistake she had made. Ahhhh, yes, childhood memories.

5) Sock’em Boppers

Sockem Boppers

I’m pretty sure ALL of my cousins and friends had these. I guarantee as soon as someone opened my crate the song from the commercial would get stuck in their head immediately. “Sock’em boppers! Sock’em boppers”! This was such a wonderful and terrible idea wrapped into one. Fighting wasn’t good unless you were fighting with big balloon like plastic bubbles wrapped around your fist as you threw several punches to someone’s stomach or possibly their eye. Either way, all that mattered was you had the time of your life while doing so. I wanted a pair very badly, but my Mother told me my Power Rangers gloves were enough. Now that I am a parent, I completely understand her thinking.

I hope this post has most of you going down memory lane and reminiscing about the 90’s. I know it definitely has me feeling quite nostalgic after thinking and typing it out. Maybe one day, if you or a loved one plans to send and/or receives an Old School Man Crate, some of these items will be in there to enjoy. If any of you order a Man Crate after reading this post, please leave a comment or send an email to me about your experience and if you recommend it to anyone else. I now know what I will be getting my husband for Christmas this year. Thanks to Alex for reaching out to me for my own personal ideas and sending me on a wonderful memory journey! 🙂

Brie <3

[07.21.15]

All Posts, Music Favorites

“Beauty”

May 20, 2015 Comments : 2

I love R&B music. I specifically love 90’s R&B when male and female R&B groups were everywhere making great music. So you will see a lot of 90’s R&B music/groups on my page for music days. This song came on my Pandora station the other day, and you know that feeling you get when you hear one of your favorite songs? This song does it to me every time.

Enjoy the “Beauty” of today and enjoy some Dru Hill to make it even better 🙂

Brie <3

[05.20.15]

All Posts, Music Favorites

“Brown Sugar”

March 5, 2015 Leave a Comment

This is one of my favorite D’Angelo songs, and whenever I hear it, it puts me in the best of moods. It’s such a grown and sexy song. Plus, you can’t go wrong with D’Angelo 🙂

Happy Wednesday! 

Brie <3

[03.04.15]

All Posts, Music Favorites

90’s TV Show Theme Songs

February 12, 2015 Comments : 5

Last week, Jimmy Fallon, took us all back to Bayside High School with the a majority of the original cast from the 90’s television show, “Saved By the Bell.” I legit felt like I was back in elementary school again, watching “Saved By the Bell” with my Mom, on Saturday morning. If you haven’t seen the Jimmy Fallon skit, you can click here.

Naturally, this 90’s television show reunion, caused all kind of nostalgia for me. While reflecting back on memory lane, I started to think of what other 90’s TV shows were my favorite. But then I really started to think of some of my favorite 90’s TV show theme songs. You know, the theme songs you only have to hear the opening three seconds of to know exactly what show is coming on, and more importantly, gear yourself up to sing along at the top of your lungs.

In honor of the one and only, #TBT otherwise known as “Throwback Thursday,” here are a few of my favorite 90’s TV show theme songs. Some of them have multiple intros based on the season, but these are my particular favorites out of all of the seasons. I didn’t realize how many TV show theme songs I love until I started this list! To save this list from being 50 songs long, I will do a separate TV show theme song list for my favorite 90s TV show cartoon theme songs, another day. For now, enjoy going down memory lane, when TV was AWESOME.

What are some of your favorite 90’s TV show theme songs? Share them with me below 🙂

About Me

ABOUT BRIE:

Hey there! My name is Brie Jamieson. I've been a lifestyle + mom blogger since 2014. I'm Kris' wife. I'm Jordyn and Riley's Mom. And I'm Apollo and Chronos' fur-mama. We're a military family currently living in the burbs of Shreveport, LA. I'm a simple lady who loves God, family, food, and travel. If you'd like to learn more about me head on over to the "my story" page. But more importantly: Welcome to Jamieson Diaries!

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