Why Y'all Hatin' On Beyonce?

I used to joke back when Destiny's Child was the hottest group going that they were the Supremes 2K version. Not long after that Beyonce released her solo album followed by Kelly Rowland's and Michelle Williams' solo releases.

I've noticed over the last year or so the increasing negativity from the Net and other quarters being directed at my Houston homegirl. I've heard people take perverse glee in the fact that Jennifer Hudson emerged as the breakout star of Dreamgirls and I'm a big Jennifer Hudson fan. I refuse to watch American Idol because she was screwed that year.

I'll be honest. If the technology were available for me to look like ANY woman past, present or future on the planet, she'd be in my top five. (hmm, there's an idea for a post. I'll get back to y'all on that later)

I had the pleasure of meeting Beyonce and her parents on an LAX flight I worked several years ago. I've had other peeps who spend extensive time around her report that she's a sweet kid. (I observed the same thing myself).

Frankly, I think a lot of the industrial sized Hateraid that's directed at Beyonce Giselle Knowles stems from jealousy. She's living what seems like a fairy-tale life. She's breathtakingly beautiful but down to earth. She's won Grammys. She sings the national anthem at the 2004 Super Bowl played in our hometown. She has a wealthy boyfriend in Jay-Z. She just became the first non-athlete, non-model and the second African-American woman to do the coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover solo. If I'd come up with her story as the basis for a fiction novel people would roll their eyes and claim it's unrealistic.

It's real folks. Check out the videos and the Billboard Top 100 lists.

You have to admire someone whose father believed in his daughter's dream so much he quit his job at IBM to manage her career. Her mom Tina's shop is where during the 90's the power sisters in H-town got their hair done. The Knowleses were successful peeps and entrepreneurs before Beyonce blew up in the music biz. They have given money to their home church in Houston. The House of Dereon fashion design house they just started will drive that point home once again.

It's time for some of y'all to stop hatin' on the Knowles family, start appreciating and start taking notes.

Tres Chic

The dictionary definition of chic reads: smart elegance and sophistication especially of dress or manner. That's a dead-on target description of one of my favorite bands of the 70's.

Chic's music like most of the stuff I grew up listening to has proven to be timeless and ground breaking as well. I fell in love with their amalgamation of deep bass guitars, the lush strings courtesy of the Chic Strings (Cheryl Hong, Karen Milne and Marianne Carroll) and funky rhythms. Sometimes it was at a disco pace. Other times it was pure 70's funk with some cool soulful ballads and instrumentals thrown in just for good measure.

While Dad introduced me to Parliament-Funkadelic, I discovered Chic on my own. I opened the package of promo albums that got mailed to the house one day back in 1977 from Atlantic Records and noticed Chic's debut album. It was the self titled one that contained what would become their first hits 'Dance Dance Dance' (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah) and 'Everybody Dance'.

Dad sometimes used me to screen albums because I tend to be analytical about the way I listen to music. The lyrics are extremely important for me. I'm into great guitar players, sax players who can blow and great producers. I got spoiled listening to peeps produced by Holland Dozier Holland, Gamble and Huff, Maurice White, Quincy Jones, et cetera. In Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards they already had the quality producers and musicians.

Norma Jean Wright started out as Chic's front singer. They decided after a year of touring to support the first album they needed another female singer to expand what they could do in the live show and musically. Norma Jean suggested her friend Luci Martin. When Norma Jean Wright was forced to leave the band because of her contractual solo career obligations. Alfa Anderson, who sang backup on the second album C'est Chic was moved up to replace her in 1978. Norma Jean did get to sing some vocals on the monster Sister Sledge 1979 We Are Family LP.

C'est Chic got released in late 1978 with 'Le Freak' as the lead single and sold six million copies. Risque was released the next year. It contained a a song that would help propel a new music genre to prominence. That song was 'Good Times' and it became the basis for the Sugarhill Gang's breakthrough hit 'Rapper's Delight' and a host of other rap records that sampled it throughout the 80's. The basslines were sampled by rock, rap and R&B producers as well.

C'est Chic was supposed to contain the song 'He's The Greatest Dancer'. While producing Sister Sledge's album they decided that this song was a better fit for them and swapped it with another song. The song they exchanged it for that ended up on the Risque album was 'I Want Your Love'. They also featured an up and coming commercial jingle and session singer by the name of Luther Vandross on several of their albums. Luther hit it big singing lead vocals on Change's 1979 album featuring the hit singles 'The Glow Of Love' and 'Searching' and set the stage for his debut Never Too Much LP in 1981.

Nile and 'Nard also produced Diana Ross' hit singles 'Upside Down' and 'I'm Coming Out' for her 1980 Diana LP.

They struggled to get airplay in the early 80's and disbanded. They did produce Madonna's 1984 breakthrough album Like A Virgin album and scored some successes producing other artists.

After a 1992 party in which Nile and 'Nard played old Chic tunes along with Paul Shaffer and Anton Fig to thunderous applause they organized a reunion of the band and produced CHIC-ism. It not only charted but received critical acclaim and airplay all over the world.

In 2005 they became three category inductees in the Dance Music Hall of Fame. They have received nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, 2006 and 2007 but have yet to be elected.

Here's hoping that someday they'll be enshrined there as well.

Vanessa L. Williams

Another installment in my ongoing series of articles on transgender and non-trans women who have qualities that I admire.

I remember that September 1983 morning that I woke up, opened up the Chronicle and read the story about Vanessa Lynn Willams becoming the first African-American to win the Miss America crown.

It along with the Miss Black America, Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants were my favorites to watch back in the day. I got more than a little fed up about the gorgeous sistahs who had graced the Miss USA, Miss America and Miss Universe pageant stages over the years who sometimes didn't even make it to the twelve semifinalist phase of the pageant. Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago broke through in 1977 to becme the first woman of African descent to win Miss Universe, so I did hold out hope that a sistah would eventually do the same here in the States.

That year she and Suzette Charles made it to the five finalists but for some reason I turned the TV off and went to bed mumbling to myself, "They're gonna end up third and fourth runners-up." I was happy to see the picture of Vanessa eating breakfast in bed while I ate a Texas-sized portion of crow. (For the record, the first runner-up was Suzette Charles)

She goes from that lofty height of being Miss America 1984 to tragically having her crown stripped before her historic reign was about to end. After holding that press conference resigning the crown, many people wrote her off.

In 1988 I was driving home from work and was jamming to a brand new song being played on Majic 102 called 'The Right Stuff'. When the DJ annnounced that it was Vanessa Williams I was blown away.

Vanessa still has it going on. She oozes style and class. She's had the right stuff for years. She's done hit movies, Broadway, television and recorded hit albums. She's nominated for numerous awards, won a Grammy and NAACP Image Awards. Vanessa turned a moment that would have broken some people into a triumphant career that makes her arguably the most successful Miss America ever. I still laugh when I read the story about the prophetic birth announcement her parents issued when she was born March 18, 1963 that stated 'Here She Is, Miss America.'

As you can tell, I'm proud of her and I'm still a fan. She's on my short list of artists who if they release a CD I don't insist on listening to it before I buy it. I just simply snap it up and take it home. I have the same reaction to any movie or television show that she's involved in. I'd heard about 'Ugly Betty', but once I found out she was part of the show's cast it's Must See TV for moi.

One of the lessons I take from her life is never give up on your dreams no matter what obstacles are placed in your path. Keep fighting for them and they will happen.

P-Funk Forever

One of the things that I enjoyed about my dad's radio job in addition to the comp concert tickets was getting those promo albums. Thanks to those promo albums I was musically two months ahead of my peer group by the time they finally released it for sale to the general public.

I remember the day I got introduced to Parliament-Funkadelic and the whole P-Funk universe. I was in eighth grade at the time. Dad came home from work, tossed Parliament's Mothership Connection album in my room and said, "You need to listen to these guys."

I did and I've been a Funkateer ever since. A documentary was done that I gleefully watched on PBS late one night called Parliament-Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove. I even tested out to Doctor of Funkology level on the P-Funk quiz. If you want to take it, it's on the PBS Independent Lens website.

Besides learning about the various players in the P-Funk universe such as Starchild, Sir Nose D'voidoffunk and Dr. Funkenstein, I got to spend my high school years grooving to Bootsy's Rubber Band and the other components of the Funk Mob. The first concert I was allowed to attend without parental supervision was a Funkadelic one. I even learned how to spell psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop correctly. My high school class jokingly calls 'Flash Light' our unofficial class song.

There are some fond memories of attending a Funkadelic concert that had a skull prop that smoked a giant joint. The lavish P-Funk Earth Tours that rivaled the ones that rock bands were doing. Pedro Bell's provocative cover art and the cartoons inside the liner notes and covers detailing the battles between Sir Nose and Starchild.

And the music. Funky, sometimes political and in many cases ahead of its time.
Flash Light is the most sampled song by rap artists. Dr. Dre used the music from 'Mothership Connection' for his song 'Let Me Ride'.

I couldn't even begin to list some of my favorite Parliament-Funkadelic songs...aaah why not? Flash Light, Knee Deep, Aqua Boogie, Tear the Roof of the Sucker, Up For the Down Stroke, One Nation Under A Groove, (not just) Knee Deep, Atomic Dog, Bullet Proof, Do Fries Go With That Shake...(and the list goes on)

The P-Funk Empire may be gone, and you have a few pretenders out there faking the funk, but George Clinton's legendary status as a music innovator and his music will be around forever.

To take the P-Funk quiz

Battlestar Galactica-Frakking Awesome

During my junior year of high school the original Battlestar Galactica debuted on ABC in 1978. I quickly fell in love with the show and was dismayed when it was cancelled after only a year. Over the years I hoped that the original show would be revived and kept up with news of the various attempts of Richard 'Apollo' Hatch to do just that.

In 2003 a 'reimagined' version written by veteran Star Trek writer Ron Moore debuted as a miniseries. It had some radical changes to the basic story. The Thousand Year War between the Cylons and humans was shortened to 40 years. The robot Cylons were now creations of humanity that rebelled and nearly destroyed their masters, not an alien race. To throw another curve ball into the mix the Cylons not only have 12 humanoid models, they don't die. Their consciousnesses are downloaded and they wake up in somewhere else in a resurrection chamber.

The Galactica was about to be decommissioned and serve as a museum. Even some familiar characters like Colonel Tigh, Commander Adama, Starbuck and Boomer changed race and in some cases gender. In Boomer's case, she was revealed to be a Cylon sleeper agent. They also gave all those characters first names.


When the Pegasus appeared in this version of Battlestar it was commanded by Admiral Helena Cain. Even Baltar's character underwent changes. Instead of crassly selling out the human race for his own personal gain and getting double crossed by the Cylons, Gaius Baltar is a scientific genius who couldn't keep his pants on. He lets his girlfriend poke around the Colonial Fleet mainframe and submits a command navigation program she wrote to the fleet. Unfortunately for humanity Baltar's girlfriend (Number 6)is a Cylon. The algorithm program she wrote contains a backdoor that the Cylons use to cripple Colonial defenses for the surprise Cylon nuclear attack on the Colonies and the Fleet.

New characters are introduced such as Laura Roslin, the Secretary of Education 43rd in the Colonial line of succession. She becomes president of the Colonies in the aftermath of the attack. She discovered just before leaving Caprica City for Galactica's decommissioning ceremony that she has terminal breast cancer. We're introduced to Chief Galen Tyrol, Lt. Felix Gaeta, Laura Roslin's aide Billy Keikeya, Tom Zarek, the Cylon Number Six and Chief Petty Officer Anastasia 'Dee' Dualla.

When the new 'reimagined' show debuted I was still pissed about the fact that the highest ranking character that looked like me was Chief Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla and boycotted it. On the original BSG Booomer and Colonel Tigh were African-Americans and were respectively the third in command of Galactica's best fighter squadron and the XO of the ship. I also had to wrap my mind around a female Starbuck named Kara Thrace.

When they repeated it the next year in preparation for the first season I decided that my love of Edward James Olmos as an actor outweighed my anger over some of my fave characters from the old show being played by new actors. Curiosity also got me to tune in. I wanted to see Edward James Olmos play Commander William Adama. I'm glad I did.

One of the things I constantly complain about besides my outright hatred and refusal to watch 'reality shows' is the lack of good writing in the non-reality TV shows that are currently being broadcast.

This version of Battlestar delivers the goods. I fell in love with it. The writing is first rate and they always keep you guessing in terms of the plot. The various episodes cover issues that seem as though they were ripped fresh from the headlines. It's fascinating to see a world similar to ours in which they have this space travel technology far in excess of our own, but yet haven't found a cure for cancer. It's interesting that they use projectile weapons and guns instead of lasers to fight battles.

This Battlestar is one of the highest rated show on Sci-Fi and has garnered several awards over the past two seasons. There have been rumors over the years since Richard Hatch joined the cast to play Tom Zarek that other original BSG actors would either be doing the same or come onboard to do guest appearances.

One interesting guest actor on this show is Lucy Lawless of Xena fame. She's currently playing Cylon Deanna Biers. They even addressed one of my issues with it when Dualla was promoted to lieutenant and second in command of the Pegasus under Lee 'Apollo' Adama at the end of Season 2. Unfortunately the Pegasus got destroyed in the escape from New Caprica.

Season 3 picks up where it left off January 21. I'll be tuned in. Until then I'll be watching my collection of Battlestar DVD's trying to figure out what the Cylon Plan is.

My Favorite Things

I was playing Christmas music the other day and Luther's version of the song 'My Favorite Things' popped up in my random MP3 rotation. While listening to him croon (God, I miss Luther) I recalled a post that IQ had written on TSTB that asked people to list their favorite things Oprah style.

Well, here are my Top Ten Favorite Things

1-Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Everytime I eat Blue Bell ice cream it brings back fond memories. Blue Bell is just the bomb ice cream wise. It's not just me bragging about something Texan, people in the industry have said the same things. Since there are no local Blue Bell distributors in the Da Ville yet, the only places that I can get it are at Carrabas and Ruby Tuesday restaurants. They serve it as their dessert ice cream.

2-Texas high school football

Kentucky high school football is about a predictable as a George W. Bush press conference. Either one or a combination of three Louisville area schools (Trinity, St. Xavier or Male) will be involved in the 4A championship game and win it. Every now and then a Lexington area school or a Cinderella team from another part of the state crashes the party.

In The Lone Star State we have dominant teams, but they aren't guaranteed almost every year to play in the championship game, especially if they play in Region III (southeast Texas). Texas high school football history is chock full of stories of teams that made Cinderella runs to the championship. They either did it with star players that eventually went on to college and NFL glory in their various classes or made deep playoff runs before getting knocked off. Like Indiana and Kentucky basketball it's an ingrained part of Texas culture.

3-An Eric Jerome Dickey or Kayla Perrin novel

I've loved Eric's books ever since I read 'Friends and Lovers' and haven't missed one since. I discovered Kayla by accident. I was browsing a bookstore one day, saw 'If You Want Me' on the shelf and picked it up. I'm glad I did. I now have seven of her novels.

4-R&B and Jazz CD's

Growing up as the child of a disc jockey that programmed an R&B station it's no surprise that I love R&B music. Being that Houston is a jazz hotbed I used to attend a lot of live jazz performances. I got to see Kirk Whalum perform more than a few times at Midtown Live before he hit it big along with HSPVA alum Everette Harp.

5-A sistah that has it together from head to toe

I love seeing a sistah that has her hair and nails freshly done, wearing a fly suit or dress that accentuates her curves, shoes and the purse to match and entering a place like she's the Queen of Sheba. Whether she's light skinned or dark skinned, full figured or slim build, genetic or transwoman, young or senior citizen, I just love seeing a together, confident woman.

6-A brotha that has it together from head to toe

Ditto for the brothas. Nothing like a handsome Black man in a suit or just wearing the hell out of some jeans and a sweatshirt.

7-Any spare moment I get to write

Nothing calms me down and centers me more than sitting down at my computer and spending a few hours writing, whether it's my TransGriot column, my novels, a short story, poetry, or posting to various Yahoo lists.

8-Fresh seafood

One of the things I miss most about Houston next to HS football. We're only 55 miles from the Gulf of Mexico so I always had access to fresh seafood. In some cases I'd make the 30 minute drive to Galveston to go get it. Usually it involved a trip to a neighborhood fish market.

9-A road trip

I've always loved doing long drives. Whether it was trips to New Orleans, Dallas or Jackson, MS or the long ones I've done to LA, Washington DC, Atlanta or Phllly, I just relish the opportunity to get on the road, enjoy our nation's beautiful scenery, the conversation with friends or if I'm solo play some of my massive collection of 500 CD's and just drive until I arrive at my destination.

10-Intelligent conversation

I love to talk with people who have interesting jobs and lives. I like to discuss current events, politics, sports, and whatever subject du jour that piques my interest. I love diverse viewpoints that allow me to expand my own mental horizons.


There's a lot of other things that I love such as chocolate, fly clothes, movies, barbecue, Frenchy's chicken and history. But when you have to choose only ten, something gets left out.

Then again, I can always write a separate post about them. ;)

It's Finally Football Season!

One of the things that I love as much as Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream is football. Whether it's high school, college or pro I don't care.

I once wrote that loving football is part of a Texan's DNA and I'm not kidding about that. When August rolls around on the calendar and I start seeing the preview magazines on the bookstore racks like Dave Campbell's Texas Football, I get happy knowing that two-a-days and the games aren't too far behind.

One of the things that I miss about Houston is the smorgasbord of high quality high school football games that are available on Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights.
When some of the players that I got to see were future NFL stars or Hall of Famers such as Darrell Green (Jones), Mike Singletary (Worthing), Dexter Manley (Yates), Santana Dotson (Yates) Thurman Thomas (Willowridge) and Rodney Hampton (Kashmere) you get spoiled. I saw Vince Young play for Madison High before moving on to UT and the Tennessee Traitors.

Then I get to shift my attention to the two Division I colleges in the city limits, Rice University and the University of Houston. The Texas Southern University Tigers are our Division I-AA program and proud SWAC member. Several family members are alumni of that school and I got to see Ken Burrough, Doug Williams, Sam Adams and the late Walter Payton play for and against the Tigers. I can't forget the other HBCU in the area, Prairie View A&M.

Much of the fun of attending TSU games is watching halftime and the 'Ocean of Soul' battling the other SWAC bands. If I felt like it driving within a two hour drive was Texas A&M, Texas, Sam Houston State and Baylor

I would be remiss as a proud Cougar fan and alum if I didn't mention our 31-30 victory over the Rice Owls Saturday night. Eat 'em up Coogs!

Then there's Sunday. Until they moved and became the Tennessee Traitors (oops, Titans) I was a die hard, Luv Ya Blue Oilers fans. Now my loyalties have shifted to the Texans. I still hate the Irving Cowchips with a passion (that's Dallas Cowboys to the rest of y'all).

The NFL season kicks off this Thursday, and I'm anxious to see how the Texans are going to fare this season. We have Houston homeboy and Aggie Gary Kubiak coming back from Denver to coach. I'm old enough (darn it) to remember when Gary was the quarterback at St. Pius High School. I'm also proud that we have a African-American GM running thangs now in Rick Smith. I know these guys play in a tough division in the AFC South so my expectations on how well they do are tempered by that. I'll consider it a good year if they make a serious run at a playoff spot and sweep the Traitors.

Hmm, by the time the Texans play them Vince Young may be starting at QB. Damn, they're making it hard for me to hate 'em. Nahh, not as long as Kenneth Stanley 'Bud' Adams owns them.

Oh well, let me check out the Courier and see who U of L is playing this week.

A Different World

A few nights ago I was watching my DVD set of the first season of A Different World. I have been a huge fan of the show ever since it aired on September 24, 1987 and I'm anxiously awaiting the releases of the DVD sets for Seasons 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. With the passage of time and after watching the show in syndication I have come to appreciate just how groundbreaking and special A Different World actually was.

A Different World introduced us to Jasmine Guy (Whitley Gilbert), Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne Wayne), Dawnn Lewis (Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor), Charnele Brown (Kimberly Reese), Cree Summer (Winifred 'Freddie' Brooks) and Darryl Bell (Ron Johnson) as students of Hillman College, we got an opportunity every Thursday night to see young African-Americans portrayed in a positive light on their local NBC stations.

While I was overjoyed to see representations of my generation on TV, it was glaringly obvious during Season One that the unique flavor a HBCU (Historically Black College and University) has wasn't being replicated onscreen. After that first season Bill Cosby brought in Howard University alum (and Houston homegirl) Debbie Allen as producer to shake up the show and make it more relevant to our culture.

To accomplish that task, she drew upon her experiences at Howard and instituted a yearly trip to Atlanta's Morehouse and Spelman colleges for the show's writers. During those trips they got the opportunity to talk to professors, administrators and students. During those conversations several story ideas came out of them.

In addition to fostering an increase in HBCU enrollments A Different World was an incubator for a generation of African-American writers and directors such as Gina Prince-Bythewood and Yvette Lee Bowser. It also launched the careers of Jada Pinkett Smith, Allen Payne, Sinbad, Gary Dourdan, Kim Wayans, Jenifer Lewis, Eriq LaSalle and Halle Berry and provided quality work for others. Blair Underwood, Phylicia Rashad, Thomas Mikal Ford, Khandi Alexander, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Kristoff St. John, Tisha Campbell, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Obba Babatunde and the late Tupac Shakur are some of the long list of people who made guest appearances on the show.

We also got a chance to see long time African-American actors get introduced to a new generation. Ron O'Neal of Super Fly fame played Whitley's father Judge Mercer Gilbert. Richard Roundtree played Kim Reese's father. Glynn Turman played Colonel Bradford Taylor, Hillman's military science and math teacher. Lou Myers played Vernon Gaines, the elder statesman of The Pit to whom all the Hillman students turned to for advice at one time or another. Roscoe Lee Brown played Professor Foster. Robert Guillaume and Rosalind Cash had recurring roles as deans.

And who could forget the legendary Patti LaBelle endlessly bragging about her 'Chipmunk' and spoon feeding Dwayne her infamous prune cobbler in her role as Adele Wayne? Diahann Carroll playing Whitley's socialite mother Marion Gilbert?
Even Debbie Allen had a recurring role as therapist Dr. Langhorne who advised her clients to 'relax, relate and release'.

It was definitely 'Must See TV'. Nestled in a timeslot between NBC powerhouses Cosby and Cheers, A Different World was ranked Number 2 in its first season and was a Top 5 show for five of those six years In its final season it was ranked number 18. It tackled topics such as AIDS, date rape, race relations, pledging, the LA riots, apartheid and the South African divestiture issue that was raging on college campuses at the time.

It garnered numerous NAACP Image Award nominations, earned Jasmine Guy a 1992 Image Award and set a standard for excellence that future shows featuring African-American casts would do well to imitate.

Say It Ain't So, Patti!

For many Black GLBT people, Patti Labelle is The Diva. She's the face that has launched a thousand female illusionist careers with her larger than life stage presence and antics, unique wigs and designer costumes. She's the sistahgirl that everybody can relate to. She had a long friendship with Sylvester and other gay men. She's had her share of tragedy and bumps in the road too.

Through it all her loyal Black GLBT fan base has been there to scoop up her records, buy her books, watch her TV appearances such as 'A Different World' and lend a sympathetic ear to their favorite singer. Walk into any Black gay club in the country. I can guarantee that if they're doing a drag show, somebody will come out dressed as Patti, will perform with her music playing in the background or the entire club will be dancing to a remix of it.

So it was a shock to hear that Patti sang at a recent Easter Sunday service in the Georgia Dome sponsored by Atlanta's New Birth Baptist Church. It's the home church of gay-hating Bishop Eddie Long and his associate pastor Rev. Bernice King. (the baby daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King) Two years ago they led an odious anti-gay march in the ATL that started at the foot of Dr. King's grave to protest marriage equality.

In addition to hating on gays, Bishop Long belives that women were put on earth to procreate.

"Woman is the soul of man. She is his flesh consciousness. In
essence, God made Eve to help Adam replenish the earth. Woman has the
canal…everything else is an exit. God had to separate Adam and Eve
where they connected so he could tell them to reconnect in covenant
to duplicate Him. In Christ, God puts his seed in us. Any other way
is a spiritual abortion. Cloning, Homosexuality and Lesbianism are
spiritual abortions. Homosexuality is a manifestation of the fallen
man." ---Bishop Eddie Long

Patti's also alleged to have made comments during an NBC television interview that seem to suggest that she supports Bigot Long. I'm still looking for the transcript of that interview to verify that.

If it's true, Black gays would be justifiably outraged and within their rights to call for boycotts of everythang Patti. If she won't stand with and stand up for a community that has loyally supported her career from jump street, then we don't need to be giving her our hard earned dollars.

We can start sending the message with the new flick she's in called 'Preaching to the Choir.' It also has a slammin' movie soundtrack that I won't be adding to my massive CD collection. That's too bad. Patti's vocals were slammin' on the house-flavored 'I Believe' track.

But we're standing on principle here. Patti LaBelle is either a friend to our African-American GLBT community or not and we need to know where she stands. If she's choosing to stand with Bishop Evil, Mini-She and all his faith-based bigot friends, then I'll be bypassing her CD's for a while.

You know, I've put off buying the Alicia Keys 'Unplugged', Kem and John Legend ones for way too long anyway.