Feeling the Beat of the Rhythm of the Night with El DeBarge, A True Talent

A few weeks ago, I was graced with the presence of the one and only El DeBarge at Chicago's hottest new club, (and one of my favorite spots) The Shrine.

The talented singer and musician performed all of the faves from Switch's "There"ll Never Be" and "I Call Your Name" to his hits with DeBarge that included "Time Will Reveal", "I Like It", "All This Love" and "Rhythm of the Night". With Chicago musicians and backup vocals backing him in the intimate setting of the club's atmosphere, it really felt like all of El's love was with each and every one of us. At least, I felt like it was for me (he looked right at me twice, I don't care what my sister says, but I digress...).

What can I say? That man has still got it! He had me screaming like a teenager one moment, while shedding a tear like a lovestruck lady the next. He hit every note and could still move like he did 2o+ years ago. It's no secret El has faced tragedy and experienced difficult times in his life. But, he wants (and deserves) a second chance, which is why he's coming out with his new CD, Second Chance, set to be released at the end of the month. His track with Faith on the CD is pretty tight, I must say.

Much love to El and thank you for bringing your love and talents to Chicago!

BLACK GIRLS ROCK! DUH!

I know I'm a little late talking about this, so please forgive me. As a journalist, it's important to be timely, but to no fault of my own (my other job) I missed the first airing of BET's "BLACK GIRLS ROCK". The last two days, I've heard nothing but rave reviews of the show. From comments on Facebook to commentary from my mother, "BLACK GIRLS ROCK!" sent a message loud and clear for the world to hear. And the world was listening.

The other day, my mom was discussing the deets from the show with me and said, "YOU ROCK!" (I think my mom rocks too and I told her so.) I thought that was one of the most precious things I could hear from my 66-year-old mommy. One of my favorite sayings is I could put her in a display cube and put her on my dresser. :) But I digress...

In this day and age with an African-American First Lady in the White House, we look at how far we've come. (I wish my grandmother was here to see it.) Unfortunately, in other aspects, we're reminded of how much work we need to do. But, shows such as these FINALLY reflect the positivity in our community. As a journalist, I take responsibility in saying the media (of which I am a member) MUST take that responsibility in portraying the positive lights in our community, rather putting the spotlight on the negative parts of it. Every opp I have, I choose to write about a black girl who rocks. And there are A LOT of us out there!

Young girls and ladies need more shows like these and programs to reflect why we rock and how hard we rock! From the various ways we rep our beautiful manes and our stylish flair to our intelligence, strength, wisdom and creativity, WE ROCK HARD!

One of my favorite black girls who rocks (literally) is Chicago hip-hop alternative artist Nikki Lynette. I'll leave you with a quote from her, which is one of my all-time favorite quotes I captured as a journalist.

"My life kind of rocks right now, and I want it to rock harder."