The Rebirth of Janet: Don't Stop Till You Get Enough

It took Janet to bring me out of blogging retirement, God bless you Ms Damita Jo. But I had to, just HAD TO give props to the woman who I’ve admired since I was a greasy faced teen trying to learn the entire dance routine to ‘What Have You Done for me Lately’ in my Ma’s bedroom. 

Back in the 80’s Janet was unstoppable. Ladies, who didn’t want to be as sassy and badass as Janet in the Pleasure Principle video? Remember that banging fringed weave? The casual cool of her black slacks and denim jacket get up? The rude girl choreography? One word: fiyah! And what about the effortless execution of the intricate military moves in the iconic Rhythm Nation video?There’s no denying that Janet was the shiznit, although she didn’t receive the respect and kudos that the likes of Madonna and Whiney did. But then the unthinkable happened. Janet fell off. It happened somewhere after the Velvet Rope when her musical output nosedived in quality and became a sea of banal, uninspired, corniness. By the time the Superbowl ‘nipple-gate’ incident occurred I had sworn off Janet completely. The woman who I once held in such high regard had in my eyes transformed into a desperate, attention-seeking has-been, who was doing her hardest to try and stay relevant Ooooh the shame of it!

In a tragic twist, it would be the death of her big bro Michael that would bring her back to form (or at least in my eyes anyway). To be honest, when I heard that Janet had a new tune out I couldn’t have been less interested. But the opening bars of ‘Make Me’ stopped me dead…Wait a minute, this sounds like throwback Janet. Like hot gyal Janet. Like ‘do you know who my brother was’ Janet. Yay, what a result. The video premiered today and I’ve played it around 5 times already. Admittedly there could’ve had a bit more choreography for me to copy, but I know I'm just being greedy. Great to have you back JJ!

Sidenote: And how much do I love that little ode to MJ "Don't stop it baby, don't stop till you get enough"? Awww, RIP Michael. 

Relax. Just Do It.

Hey folks! How you doing? Just wanted to take a few moments to apologise for my blogging absence. I wish I could say there was a particular reason for me going awol, but there isn't really. I guess I'm just feeling a little burnt out. So my brain has decided to take a mini vacation, but I promise I'll be be back soon. In the meantime take the time to get acquainted with the fabulous links listed on the bottom right. I'm promise you pure Blog Fiyah! Oh and I haven't disappeared offline altogther. I've more or less given up on Facebook, but you can catch me on Twitter pretty much all the time.  Click on my Twitter button if you wish to follow follow me.

Ciao for now

Ms Quichexxx 

Stills from BBC Drama - Small Island

Here are some images from the forthcoming BBC Drama, Small Island, starring Naomie Harris and Ashley Walters. The two part series is based on the award winning novel of the same name written by Andrea Levy, and tells the common tale of young Jamaican immigrants who arrive in the UK in hope of a better life, only to get a hostile reception from their host country. Really looking forward to this. Let's hope the Beeb do it justice. Transmission date is unconfirmed but will most likely air in October. 

R&B Singers Turn Entrepreneurs

Here's a sneak peek of Beverley Knight's ad campaign for her new make up range K By Beverley Knight (launching on September 17th) and Mica Paris's fashion collaboration with plus size retailers Simply Be. What do you think?

Naomi Would Rather Keep Earning Than Not Wear Fur

Naomi Campbell is featured on the Daily Mail's website, after pictures emerged of her modelling in a new ad campaign for New York fur designer Dennis Basso. The writer of the piece accuses the model of being a hypocrite due to the anti fur stance she took when she was a model/spokesperson for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), who created the famous tag-line "I'd rather go naked than wear fur". In all honesty I thought Naomi had long severed ties with  PETA, and had been spotted wearing fur on a few occasions since. Whatever the case, she still looks amazing. Click here for the article

My Carnival U Turn

Picture source

Wasn’t it me who only a few days ago said I wouldn’t be going back to Notting Hill Carnival? Umm, so why did I find myself yesterday afternoon packed like a tin of sardines being carried along with the crowds on Portobello Road? Yup, I succumbed. It took only a few persuasive phone calls from my cousin and there I was heading to our designated meeting place, bringing Khy along for the journey. The good news: it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be, and to my surprise Khy wasn’t at all frightened by the crowds or the noise, and on the contrary was bopping along to the sounds of Donaeo like a carnival pro. The bad news: it was long. We spent the whole day walking for miles trying to find the floats with the flamboyant costumes and before you knew it Khy started to get really tetchy. Things got progressively worse when he announced that he needed to go to the toilet and needed to go quickly. Anyone who has ever been to an event of that size knows that’s an impossible feat. But my son being my son refused to empty his bladder in a discreet place “Mum, I can’t, everyone will see my bum bum”. So instead I headed to the yucky Porto loos where there was a ridiculously long queue, and I knew there was no way he would hold out for that long. My only other option was to use a shop or someone’s house. Sounds like the perfect solution, but the catch is of course you have to pay for the privilege. The places I came across were charging anywhere between the region of £1 to £3. I know - blue murder! Eventually we came across this lovely looking Notting Hill apartment where the man at the gate uttered the magic words “kids go free”. I virtually pushed Khy through the doors before he changed his mind, and voila - problem solved. Or so I thought. After rejoining my fam and anticipating at least a couple of hours of dancing, my son simply decided he had enough. All it took was me refusing his request for an ice cream before he embarked on one set of wailing that could be heard above the booming sound systems. That was it. Enough. I promptly said goodbye to my carnival crew, headed to the nearest train station and was home in an hour or so nursing the biggest headache and sore feet. What is it they say about always trusting your instincts?

Kinda Strange: Puma's Bolt Arms Ad

Okay, I'll admit I've developed another obsession with Usain Bolt following his earth shattering, record breaking performance at the World Championships in Berlin. I just came across this ad by Puma advertising the Bolt Arms -  which is basically a foam constructed pair of arms replicating his famous lightning pose. I saw a few spectators at the games waving these around, and thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, the ad is kinda cheesy. Poor Usain.