BALLS OF THE WEEK #2...BEYONCE

Balls of the Week is a series here on Finding Me. I will be talking about someone on a level of dopeness not obtained by most. It's about the folks that step outside of what is expected of them and reach for something higher. It's about the folks that don't settle for normal. Normal is boring....

Ok, there's probably a MILLION reasons that we could think of for Mrs. Knowles-Carter and why she's dope. Whether you like her, love her, hate her, or could care less, Beyonce's got balls.

Really, I think Beyonce' has the potential to become as big as Miss Tina Turner (minus the beatdowns). If Tina announced that she wanted to ever do a tour again, TRUST, she would sell out. I think that Beyonce' could achieve that type of status in her lifetime. Let's ignore Bey's penchant for the five thousand dollar lace front wigs and onesies for a moment. She's talented, has CRAZY stage presence, and is a dope entertainer. I've got Destiny's Child Destiny Fulfilled tour and both of Bey's previous tours on DVD. Beyonce/Sasha definitely has a big personality on stage. Now I can't say that I connect with her music all the time, but I must admit, most of it is definitely catchy. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, I still break out all of my dance moves when Get Me Bodied comes on.

But here's my real reason why I think Beyonce' is deserving of the Balls of the Week title. This woman basically said "Ok, it's me, and two other chicks doing all of my videos for this album. We don't need all those extras. They can just look at us dancing for 3 and a half minutes."

REALLY BEY? You just gonna forsake all those video chicks and attention loving extras, the ones that need the money during these times of recession? Is that how you feel? You and two chicks (One is still questionable, I SWEAR that the lil dark-skinned one had a penis when it was born is a dude.) just out there gettin' it IN, just simple sets and your background dancers. Well, some could argue that it's just like Destiny's Child days, when Bey was front and center and Michelle and Kelly (and the other former members) lacked any relevance, they were just there to make Bey look good. Whatever the feeling, Bey is hot, Bey is fierce, and not many folks can just say "hey, let's just make this a video with just me and some other chicks dancing." So for that reason, Mrs. Knowles-Carter, I salute you, you've got the Balls of the Week.

BRANDY!

So I don't know how much anyone knows about me and my husband's musical taste, but one thing we both agree on is that Brandy is dope! Half the chicks that are out right now couldn't do what they do had it not been for Ms. Norwood. Here's Brandy in a new element, something you may not have expected from her. I think it's pretty good.

Enjoy!!

BALLS OF THE WEEK #1...Melody Ehsani

So this will be something new I do every week, my BALLS OF THE WEEK series. I will be talking about someone on a level of dopeness not obtained by most. It's about the folks that step outside of what is expected of them and reach for something higher. It's about the folks that don't settle for normal. Normal is boring....

So if you know me at all, you know that I'm not a big jewelry person. Sure, I've bought plenty of necklaces (and given them away). I have a ton of earrings that I have every intention of wearing, but end up forgetting about until I decide to go through my bag-o-earrings every once in awhile.

I tend to wear the same studs everyday, and if I don't purchase anymore, will continue to wear those same studs until they fall apart. My previous studs before the current ones were disco ball-esque ones that I had purchased back in 2006 from Express. I wore them things until last Christmas, when my hubby, tired of the disco ball, gave me some new studs to sport around. Of course I was appreciative, but I'm sure he's already tired of seeing me in the ones he got.

The only time I really tend to switch it up, I end up wearing big hoops. Hoops just seem to be uniform to almost anything I'm wearing when we go out: movies, dinner, parties, concerts. If it's not work, I'm probably wearing hoops...with the studs now moved to my second hole.

Anyways, this brings me to my newfound appreciation for jewelry. I'm all about the creative, and this woman gets me excited. Melody Ehsani is a dope woman. Besides the fact that she went against everything expected of her and followed her passion, she a great designer. So she gets mad props on all ends of the spectrum from me. She's been in the accessory arena for a minute, but with shoes. Her shoes are dope as well, but her jewelry is just so creative. You may have seen her jewelry on Keri Hilson. Keri wears Melody's creations alot, and it fits her style. She's a pretty stylish chick herself.

Here's a screen shot from the Turning Me On video with Ms. Hilson wearing one of Melody Ehsani's pieces (the ring).

The great thing about Melody Ehsani's jewelry line is that there are some pieces that you can design to your taste. You pick whether the specific piece is silver or gold, you pick the colors, and in some cases you can even pick the word(s) you would like to appear on your jewelry.

Melody started designing jewelry because of Saul Williams. He needed someone to do the cover art for his album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust. Melody turned out to be that person. She created him some pieces for his cover and the rest is history. She has a good creative flow. I think I'll be picking up some of her jewelry soon...

Born and raised in Los Angeles in a traditional Persian family, like many of my cousins and friends I applied to go off to law school after college, but I couldn't stay there. I decided to break with my culture and follow my heart into a field I was internally drawn to...design...CLICK HERE to read more about Melody and check out her shoe and jewelry lines. Dopeness!!!

PJ! PJ! PJ! PJ!

Ok, so I told you folks about PJ Morton last week. I saw his concert at Double Door, and I am that much more of a fan! When someone's music already makes you feel good when you're in the car, and they can then evoke MORE feelings live...MAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN....that's an artist for that ass!!!! I mean, so much profanity ran through my head as I witnessed the greatness that is PJ on Friday (it was happiness-filled profanity). That man was just that dope.

PJ's live act is beyond words. I can't really even describe it really. I was so happy to get to the Double Door and see him that I forgot to eat. I hadn't eaten since 12pm that day, and PJ didn't even hit the stage til midnight. By the time he came out, my feet were hurting (I had on pumps), I was dizzy as all hell, and I was irritated by the girl who decided to stand in front of me. Nevertheless, all ailments were forgotten (momentarily) once PJ got on stage. Eventually, I had to sit down and my hubby got me some water, cuz I was dizzy and dehydrated. Yes, big ol me neglected all sense because I just wanted to get to PJ.

I was also excited to see one of his background singers, Zebulan Ellis. If you don't recognize the name, he was one of the contestants on BET's Sunday's Best, a singing competition for the good ole gospel folks. Now Zebulan was great on the show, and he was #4 of all contestants, getting eliminated as the last man standing (the final 3 contestants were female). Anyways, Zebulan was great on the show, but I am so glad that he didn't win!!! My husband and I got to tell him as much after PJ's show. Zebulan's voice is an instrument, he is awesome. Zeb used his voice as some of the flute parts from one of PJ's songs, but his vocal range in general is just crazy. I can't wait to hear what he's going to do on his own album.

All in all, the concert was great. I didn't even want to listen to PJ's CD once we got back in the car, not because it was bad, but because after a live performance like that...yeah, he definitely needs a live album, asap! I was still excited on the way home, and on the way to work the following morning. I only got 4 hours of sleep, but it was definitely worth it. Besides, I climbed right back into the bed as soon as I got home.

Be on the lookout for PJ's album "Walk Alone" in stores 2.9.10!!! You won't be disappointed. His first single "The One" should be hitting airwaves pretty soon. It's dope!

New Music Experience

So tonight, I'm going to Double Door in Chicago to have my first live PJ Morton experience. My husband introduced me to him awhile ago, and I had been checking out some videos on YouTube of Mr. Morton. Let's just say, he's the Stevie Wonder of our generation. Just give him some time.

You may not recognize the name, but you'll definitely recognize his music. He's written songs for some of the biggest gospel, neo-soul and r&b artists. He's done musical and vocal arrangements, sang background, written songs for some of the dopest folks in the game. PJ Morton's music for himself is definitely dope as well.

I decided to purchase one of PJ's albums a couple weeks ago, Emotions. It was definitely worth my 12 bucks! It's all i have been listening to since I bought it. I also purchased his book, Why Can't I Sing About Love? It's basically about how some church folks tend to look down on what they consider "secular" music because it's not about God. PJ makes alot of sense in his book and some of the same ideas he touched on are some of the things me and my husband have discussed ourselves. PJ's music is about love, in all of its forms, and since God IS love, there should be no problem with him deciding to write music considered gospel, r&b, and neo-soul, ABOUT LOVE. None of that raunchy, babytakeyourclothesoffanddomerighthereandthenimgoingtogohometomywifeandkidsandiwillseeyouanotherday music. He talks about REAL LOVE.

Even his father, a prominent pastor/bishop in New Orleans says that he's been enlightened by PJ's book. He made a comment in the forward to the effect that he isn't going to put "Jesus Keep me Near the Cross" on when him and his wife are spending quality/romantic time together. It's all about the intention and the words in the music. You can definitely talk about love without all the nastiness. I hope you find that PJ is just as dope as I think he is. Click here to go to PJ's website and check out good reports on his book. Enjoy!!!