MUSH LOVE MONTHLY

To quote Lil Kim, I been gone for a minute, now I'm back with the jump off. Except in my case, the jump off is issue 2.0 of monthly lovin' from y'girl Danai! It's been a whirlwind month, I'm feeling more grateful and filled with emotion than ever, but my creative life took a bit of a halt, but I'm always thinking of a master plan and what to write next. I hope you enjoy this one, and if you want to see anything new, interesting, cool, not that cool, then just let me know! I live for this stuff, you guys!

XO

WHAT I'M LISTENIN' TO

a r t i s t

st. beauty

St. beauty, y'all! An Atlanta (A town doooown) based duo signed to Janelle Monáe's artistic collective called Wondaland Art Society, and they are dope dope dope. They have only released a few songs, and three singles - the first of which, going nowhere, was released on Wondaland's EP titled Wondaland Presents: The Eephus in August, 2015, and the second of which called borders came out two weeks ago, and the third of which was just dropped last Friday (you can peep it on Spotify . Their vocals are captivating and their harmonies are gorgeous. Not to mention, the two of them are absolutely stunning and I want to hang out in whatever magical place where they shot this video in, sitting on our carpets and talking about how good our hair looks with fairy lights all around us. So so so dreamy. I expect nothing less than whimsical vocal runs as they continue to release more music, and I can't waaaait.

Also, make sure to listen to their other unbelievably beautiful track borders here and their brand new track holographic lover here.

p o d c a s t

women of the hour

I freeeeakin' looooove podcasts. They're hands down the best thing about being an adult other than the realization that I know that I can buy candy whenever I want to, but exercise the self-control and discipline not to. and I'm obsessed with how much better they make any commute, or intellectual conversation that I have with someone. And I listen to all sorts: from non-fiction crime drama, to feminist rhetoric, to stand-up comedy, to sermons to celebrity gossip to advice columns, you name it, and if you suggest I listen to it, I probably will. But one podcast that I adore and am soooo excited to see return for season two which STARTS TOMORROW is Lena Dunham's Women of the Hour miniseries. During her summer/fall hiatus, she released a couple of incredible episodes, one with the amazingly talented Gina Rodriguez (such a babe) and another aptly titled Nasty Women of the Hour which was a super-panel of women discussing the US election. If you haven't listened to those, check em out, they're a must listen. But what i was reminded of was episode 5 of season one titled The Big Picture, which gives such a beautiful perspective from different women on of life, death, and spirituality. It's my favourite episode, if you listen to it, you'll understand why. Aaaand if you're down to listen to the whole first season, you'll catch up in time for season two to begin very soon. If you're anything like me and you get so inspired by hearing the experiences of other amazing women, check this one out, i promise it'll make your commute a grand one.

WHAT I'M READIN'

a few words about breasts, nora ephron

By the time I was thirteen, I was well-endowed and spent most of my formative resenting the literally weight of my mammaries. They simply got in the way, limited my fashion choices, and meant that I often had to double up during high intensity cardio (which I seldom do, for that exact reason -- it truly is the perfect excuse). In theory I knew they were beautiful (still are, heyyy) but in practicality, they sucked. It was only in my early twenties that I sloooowly acquainted myself with them and most of that had to do with my maturation and self-acceptance. A lot of it also has to do with having girl friends whose cups did not runeth over in the breastices department and realizing that life is always greener on the other side. That's why I loved reading the essay A Few Words About Breasts by a fave of mine, Nora Ephron in her book The Most of Nora Ephron, an anthology published shortly after she passed away in 2013. It's so refreshing and interesting to read what life was like on the other side of the spectrum is, and for women (or men) with lots of lovin' or itty bittys, it's a brilliant, funny, poignant read.

WHO I'M LOVIN'

Issa Rae, HBO's insecure

I meeeeeean, Issa Rae has been in the game for a minute, and really this love note about her should've started 5 years ago when i was introduced to her by my cousin Nyasha (who I should add has far superior music, fashion and television sense than i, love you Nyash x) on the web series that she created and starred in called The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (ABG). This series humorously and perfectly articulated the obscurities of being a black woman coming into her own in a world that she doesn't quite fit in. Since then, Issa's career has steadily propelled, and season two of ABG was even aired on Pharrell Williams' multi-media creative collective iamOTHER. But now my friends, she has her very own HBO show called Insecure (!!!!) that is currently airing on Sunday nights! Yay!

Insecure is so so so awesome, and while Issa's character in many ways mirrors the character of Jay, (her name on ABG) there is a new level of maturit and ease that she now possesses. Having said that she still maintains her awkward demeanour, her quirky and unique sensibilities, and still makes it abundantly clear that she doesn't necessarily adhere to the stereotypes that are associated with being black. This is cleverly demonstrated not only by her, but also by her on-screen boyfriend Lawrence who is highly educated but unemployed and is taking time "to create an app" that he hopes will be picked up and bring him millions, and by her best friend Molly, who is a fancy corporate lawyer (she wears Fendi stilettos, and has a laaaaiiiiid weave) and is looking for love but has a "list" of BF criteria as some girls do, which proves to be tricky for her as she navigates the dating game.

In one scene, Issa's white female co-worker asks her if she knows what the term "on fleek" means. Issa, being a woke and trendy millennial absolutely knows what "on fleek" means (I'm pretty sure even my dad knows what "on fleek" means) but just to shut down the convo real quick, she says "I don't know what that means." then turns away, and in her inner monologue says, "...I know exactly what on fleek means." Ha! I CAN RELATE TO THIS SCENE SO MUCH! While this show addresses very real scenarios, it remains light hearted, funny AF and ahead of it's time.

It is so hilarious, brilliantly written and I can't even begin to tell you JUST HOW IMPORTANT it is to have a character and a show like this on a major television network. It is also such a great representation of the awesome talent that comes out of YouTube, and a reminder to all creative types - vloggers, content creators, journalists, writers, musicians, poets and those I've forgotten to mention - to continue to share your work with your online community because people are listening and you are changing lives, I promise.

Insecure is doing what shows like Broad City (which also started as a web series and I am OBSESSED with) and Girls have done by drawing from the real-life experiences of young women coming into their own in a city and time that is often unforgiving, confusing, lovely, peculiar altogether amazing, but also experiencing these things while being black, which is something inherently different than what is depicted as 'normal' on television. Many half-hour scripted shows in addition to the ones aforementioned have represented minority groups in supporting roles, but seldom as the protagonist and even more rarely in a representation that is so contrary to the stereotype (i.e., the super confident and obnoxious sidekick who always has something quick and slick to say). So in addition to what this show, Issa's character, and Issa Rae as an actress, writer, director, producer and creator has done to entertain an audience, she is also educating a generation of people and is inclusive of a demographic that is disillusioned and perhaps even misunderstood, but in a way that's inviting, non-discriminatory and brilliant.

And the best news: this show just got picked up for a second season. BLESS (TF) UP! I can't love on her enough, thank you, thank you, thank you Issa for what you're doing, and I can't wait to continue to see you shine.

that's it folks!

Okee, see you next month! Here's a photo of Common, being fine as ever just cuz xo