Surprisingly, I didn't ruffle as many feathers with last month's edition of "1350 Okie Doke Street" as expected. When it comes to five of the most classic and/or discussed hip hop albums of the past 25 years, either more people respect difference in opinion than for which I give them credit, more people agree with me than expected or people simply weren't checking for me that day. Either way, I ain't mad and I'll move on to one of my favorite subjects and the thing on which I've spent way too much money in my lifetime: food. (I could've easily said women, but food has always been around. The ladies are ji late to the Dirk Scribbler Is Totally Awesome Extravaganza.) However, if the way to a man or woman's heart is through his or her stomach, then I'm about to give some folks coronary artery disease after this edition. As I go through five of the most overrated franchise restaurants, fast food chains and/or particular items on their menus, I run the risk of watching my like count and number of followers decrease in five...four...three...two...one...
"She can't sing"..."Such-and-such can sing better than her"..."the only reason she's famous is because her father managed the group"..."she wasn't even the best looking one in Destiny's Child"..."her fans are sheep"..."all she does is shake her booty"..."she's a devil worshipper"..."I heard her breath stinks"..."she's whitewashed and wears European hairstyles"..."she's much older than they're saying that she is"..."she's too sexy"...these are just a few of the most asinine reasons that I've heard for people to dislike Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. It doesn't matter that she's clearly a family-oriented woman who loves her husband of nearly eight years and her four-year-old daughter with all of her heart. It doesn't impress people that her net worth is somewhere between $250 million and $450 million, earning $54.5 million in and being named Forbes magazine's most powerful female musician of 2015. It makes folks no never mind that she has sold over 118 million records worldwide as a solo artist, 60 million records worldwide with Destiny's Child, won 20 Grammy awards and is the most nominated woman since the award's inception. Heck, it doesn't even matter that she just put out what will end up being the most discussed music video and song of 2016, "Formation", let alone have the unmitigated gall to perform it in the Pepsi Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show with a colorful assortment of sistas in all black rocking berets and afros to honor the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party. Some Beyoncé defector out there is still holding on to their baseless beef by the skin of their teeth--a beef that probably has less to do with Beyoncé and more to do with the fact so many like, love, adore and even idolize her as if she's Jesus Christ in Givenchy. However, what I appreciate most about Beyoncé's statement is that she's decreeing the beautifully complicated layers of her Blackness loud and clear while telling anyone who has a problem with that to either fall in line with the much bigger plan of unity and empowerment or build a bridge and get over it. The best way to break down this moment of artistic bravery for an artist of her particular magnitude while exposing a deeper problem within the Black community is through Bey's own lyrics...
