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Juke Box Love Song
by Langston Hughes

I could take the Harlem night
and wrap around you,
Take the neon lights and make a crown,
Take the Lenox Avenue busses,
Taxis, subways,
And for your love song tone their rumble down.
Take Harlem's heartbeat,
Make a drumbeat,
Put it on a record, let it whirl,
And while we listen to it play,
Dance with you till day--
Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.

we will miss you, Michael!

Unfortunately, I never got to see Michael Jackson perform live, it was a wish and goal of mine for a very long time. He was of course THE greatest performer and entertainer that this world has ever seen and his influence is fluid. The man behind the music had many troubling issues and cases as many of us know but I truly believe that a man of his stature and with his popularity was bound to be conflicted by much more than his art. In the past 24hours I have mostly heard the beautiful affect Michael has had on people and then slowly but surely there were disgusting and rude comments made about his death in reference to his child molestation cases.
I want to make sure I say this, Michael did not mess with them kids, and if these sorry disgrace of human beings cant see that in the midst of all the media frenzy, I am utterly ashamed and completely disgusted. Michael loved children, he was simply a man that lost his childhood so that he could make music for us. He gave an ultimate sacrifice and because of this, the poor man revered childhood in the most magical of ways, truly he reminded us that children are simply little people that deserve to be listened to and appreciated. I believe that many people have taken advantage of Michael's kindness and his innocence. Michael fought for children's rights and believed that children deserved a special day devoted to them much like mothers day or fathers day. His children were the heart of his life and I can not understand how anyone who has ever watched Michael speak of children could find anything different in his true love for the spring of youth.
I am aware that Michael has been an extremly controversial figure but it seems that all of these accusations have held no water when confronted by legal officials. It seems that many of these accusations were falsified and fabricated truths. I believe that Michael may have shared his bed with children but I strongly do not believe he has ever dealt with children in any violating way. Michael believed that sharing your bed, the place where one lays their head, is one of the nicest and most childish things one can do. He handled it as a gesture of love and concern rather than how the rest of the accusing world did, they portrayed this image as a very distasteful and perverted gesture.

I truly hope that people look at the depth and complexity of Michael Jackson's life. Michael was a mystery to many of us and his dizzying response to the world has confused many. But all in all this man grew up before the world and his life portrayed celebrity tribulation at its best. His self criticism is perhaps the most disheartening, i think as much as people loved and revered Michael, there was a lot he did not feel and that did not resonate with his self-image and internal conflicts. People need to come together in this time and remember an amazing and incredible force in the lives of many many individuals. Michael Jackson's music has played as the soundtrack for many generations. His creativity was luminous and his music was uplifting and inspiring always. He will forever play as an example of greatness and incredible work ethic, his passion and drive is nothing short of exemplary. Michael was neither "good" nor "bad," he was human and a highly complex individual who represented the best and worse in us all. Not to mention that Michael Jackson has transcended generational barriers and racial barriers. What saddens me most, is that such a great and amazing icon died in debt and alone in his home, the idea of such a lonely death for such an incredible world force is perhaps the most heartbreaking. Also, let us not forget how much Michael did for people, he provided numerous scholarships for people and did an extreme amount of charity work. I think he was an all around beautiful humanitarian and hoped for the best in us always. My prayers to the Jackson family. I am touched by his affect and the power he has had to move people, to inspire smiles and more importantly to spark the child in us all.

Here was a recent cartoon made by Mike Luckovich about his death...please feel free to respond:



One of my favorite Michael Jackson music videos, oh there were soo many...

In Memory of Neda Agha Sultan

There are many things I wish I could say about having watched the startling and horrifying footage of Neda Agha Sultan's murder. Unfortunately, I feel words may fail me when it comes to this. But it is completely outrageous and Obama's response, "heartbreaking" barely scratches the surface of a necessary US response. It is easy for many of us to turn our heads and Americans have never been subtle about such an embarrassing gesture more like a trait. I hope to share this footage and that it creates some sort of response and activism within the community of concerned and empathic individuals. This footage has been circling the internet from what I gain, hours after the shooting and since last saturday has caused an outpour of further protests and blog site responses. With all the work I've been trying to do here as an American citizen and as a poet, its not hard to feel helpless miles away when witnessing such horrendous imagery. In these moments, mostly I am brought down to the knee-buckling truth that my words can only do but so much, at the very least may they document the spirit of human condition in a time where I am not certain we remember what humanity looks like, feels like, loves like... The romantic in me will write the ugly into some beautiful thunder cloud of an image. However, this blog does not serve the purpose of helplessness rather may it inspire some type of inkling human compassion that quarrels the soul and awakens the fighter in us, the passion and drive of human concern. I do not know what it is to hold my daughter as her breath leaves, to watch the blood flood her face, to see a spirit flee in the midst of hope...but I know that this should not be the price of equality, of free speech, of basic human right to live and speak against injustice. My prayers, though they are a frail reminder of loss, may they reach the hearts of those in Iran and the family of Ms. Neda Agha Sultan and may they also offer some small morsel of consolation that there is a God somewhere fighting along with us, in us, always...there are moments I am torn to pieces with the doubt of this, yet and still, in the whirlwind of human terror and injustice there is always something utterly other being born and blooming, protecting the best of us. may Neda Agha Sultan's death not be in vain....

always,
aja monet


ps. please be advised that the footage is graphic.



click here for more info

she may be weary

cool music video

i caught this video from Novena aka Baby Stone's post and I really loved it. Thought I'd share with you all...

young women on violence

dedication to the 90s LADIES!!!

Alright so I had to dedicate a blog to the 90s female R&B groups. I had like an ol school jam session with one of my home girls last night and it ranged from diana ross to stevie wonder to swv and when i heard their song i was like damn i miss the feel of music in that time...it was like one of the best times to be a little girl with the range in images of black female groups. so here's an ode to all you ladies out there!!!!

always,
aja monet


i can not begin to explain how much i used to love these ladies...like i was totally one of those little girls in the mirror singing my heart out to Xscape songs, i couldve sworn i was gonna be a member when i grew up...haha, yea rite. imagine little aja with a brush in her hand, thinking i was getting it in to a mic and i coulda sworn i was hittin them notes too...lol hilarious




I used to the love these girls...they were the ish, the baggy clothes, swag, and beauty.




and of course the infamous TLC...them on stilts in the water is forever a lasting image ingrained in my mind. mad love for these ladies...


these ladies defined female sexuality in the 90's. they're always gonna be the classic female group, no denying it...



ahhhh, EN VOGUE!! these girls used to work the shit out of their vocals...


do yall remember these girls?? no one brings them up anymore...

Watch more No Doubt videos on AOL Video

an old L Boogie interview with Howard Stern

There are many troubling things with this conversation yet and still Ms Lauryn Hill keeps composure and addresses questions openly...take a listen, what do you think?

off duty black cop shot.

Omar Edwards and his wife along with his 1 1/2 year old son and his 7 month old son

In the last minutes of his life, Omar Edwards lay handcuffed in the middle of Harlem's East 125th Street on Thursday, felled by bullets Officer Andrew Dunton fired after Edwards turned toward Dunton without lowering his gun, police said Friday.
Emergency Services officers cut open Edwards' white shirt. They found a Police Academy T-shirt and a shield and identification in his pants pocket.

"10-13!" an officer at the scene screamed into his radio. "Officer down! Officer down!"

Edwards, 25, a two-year rookie, was rushed to Harlem Hospital Center, where he died.

I am certain this hasn't been a national story because it is rather normal for police faults to be hushed and swept under the rug. Last weekend an off duty black cop was shot by a white cop on 125st in Harlem. Particularly in Harlem as of late I have seen my fair share of injustice when it comes to the police department. It is rather a horrifying truth of this community and the lack of concern for anyone not white in this gentrified state we are currently fighting. There are more cops in Harlem than ever yet and still they are not protecting any of its citizens it seems but rather intimidating and instigating problematic situations and something has got to be done....

always,
aja-monet

Rangel: Comment about Obama in NYC after fatal cop shooting 'was entirely inappropriate'

By Associated Press

2:30 PM CDT, June 1, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel says it was "entirely inappropriate" that he made a comment about President Barack Obama needing to be careful when visiting Harlem, where a black police officer was fatally shot by a white colleague last week.

Rangel said in a statement Monday that it "was entirely inappropriate to bring the president and his wife into this discussion." He also says he hopes his "off-the-cuff comment did not cause embarrassment to anyone."

Rangel was answering a reporter's question about what Obama should do on his trip to the city Saturday with the first lady. He was apparently alluding to the fatal shooting of Officer Omar J. Edwards on Thursday in Harlem.

The shooting is under investigation and sparked concerns about whether race was a factor.

what is freedom?

it's rather interesting that i have taken the title "poet" and most days in my personal life, words rarely ever seem to do justice to the very thing I'd hope to communicate. how do you explain, describe, articulate a feeling? i'm not sure it is possible but perhaps we can recreate those feelings in how we express ourselves in the motives and methods used to share experience...nina simone is obviously an incredibly moving woman, and i am more intrigued by her inabilities in this moment. there is something quite humbling about that, and beautifully human. words are merely symbols in moments...some things have no representation in this language...what is freedom to you? Do you agree with nina? and what of love? what are these words?

motherwit

it was in the summer cricket of her voice
the gentle hug and hold of words
where i found a mother in her heartache
in the truth of bodies making love and falling apart into each other
theres truly no way to unlove this memory of us, she tells me of my father
of missing him in my smile--some days it hurts so bad
that you can never forget, never melt away this love no matter the fist thrown, the belt buckle flung, the boomerang of insult lightening
there is no fire flammable enough to burn a heart given to him into ash, into a past
and she gave me the kind of advice, the kind of listening i believed never capable
deemed impossible in moments i remember most yelling into the telephone
walking over a highway, streetlight of tears shimmering on my face
i've adopted abuse like a step-in dad, worn its dimples
like a favorite shirt.
its a shame it took so long to hear her call me beautiful, call me a work of art
for her to see the mirror in me, the careful fracture and bend in my soul
to realize, i was never a mistake.
and even so
i am not a mistake.
i do not come in and out of your life for the sheer nature of passing moments.
we are not meant to be reminders of what we do not have
but what we make together, in the midst of what is not ours
and i will love you like a listened-to heartbeat, will learn how to love you
the way my mother never learned to live, to be captivated and held
to be treated like a memory worth having...