Ciara – Work

Ciara’s been busting her ass trying to stay relevant and I appreciate her grind. Apparently her new album, Fantasy Ride, hasn’t done as well as anticipated. I must admit that I was feeling several  joints off of her last effort, Ciara: The Evolution, but I’m sort of uninspired this time around (honorable mention to Love Sex Magic and Never Ever). Still, I love this girl’s style and I want her to win. Check her new vid for Work, featuring Missy Elliot (where she been?).

Bitch, hold my ponytail (c) B.Scott

Some thoughts:

1. I hate to agree with the folks out there but I’m inclined to believe that Ciara has indeed pulled a swagger jacking on Ms. Beyonce. Not to say that one person owns a style or that another cannot be inspired by some hot shit, but the transition was too fast. One minute Ciara was rockin that Aaliyah-type steeze (sexy, innocent, long hair, slim, young, belly-bare, baggy pants, etc). Next she’s all Ciara-Fierce, becoming a superhero with a magic ponytail and rocking bodysuits with no pants! Do you girl, but damn…

2. Oh, the Kids are going to love this one aren’t they? Who loves to “work” more than a gay man on a Friday night? I mean, Ciara even employed a classic kid move at 2:00 in.

3. This bitch makes me wanna stop eating. How many days must I live on Tic-Tacs and H2O to properly work that cyan latex/vinyl number??

4. I want Ciara to do some Spectacular-style shit and challenge some heifers to a dance off. I know she’ll come on top. I can’t think of one R&B/Pop chick who can out-dance her right now. Who wan romp? CHALLENGE!

You ain’t gotta put a ring on it, but…

I thought of this when I saw a Tweet from Skinny Black Girl posing the question, “Do grown folks really need to “go together?” is it just me or are options still open until you’re engaged???”

Even before the ring, I know she wasn't cosigning no extra-Beyonce activities!

One of the lies women AND men tell ourselves is that we have no claim on the person we’re spending time with because there’s no ring on anyone’s finger (peace Bey). I mean, essentially that is true. If you are not promised/betrothed/engaged/sold (jk) to someone, well then what can you say? They’re still single, at least that’s how Uncle Sam sees it. No one wants to come off as the clingy one. The person who is trying to make more out of the relationship than the other. Know why? Well if you are the clingy one, you can end up pushing him/her away or making them feel claustrophobic. Plus when you let him/her know that you feel some type of way about exclusivity, you’ve basically laid down your cards and shown your hand. Power has likely shifted at that point and you open yourself up to the possibility of getting hurt. Vulnerability is difficult for the majority of us. So we just minimize it all. “If you really want to see other people, I mean, that’s cool. Not like we’re married or anything.” Yeah, okay.

You’re straight up lying to yourself. Of course it’s different when things between the two of you are young, fresh and new (Hi Phonte!). That’s another story. But when things have been going on for a while and you’re spending time and energy, you are most assuredly entitled to feel like exclusivity is warranted. At the very least, you have to admit to yourself and him/her that you would feel some kind of way about them seeing other people. I mean, you can’t tell me that it’s nothing to you if your boo of like two years just up and decides to start dating someone while seeing you. Yall aren’t married. Not even engaged. So you don’t have any call to say whether they should be seeing other people? GTFOOH!

You’re really just doing a disservice to yourself in the end. So in answer to SBG’s inquiry, yes… grown ups still need to “go together” (although I wouldn’t call it that). You ain’t gotta put a ring on it but at some point, there are expectations and both parties need to be held accountable.

Sorry, this racquetball court is occupied

it’s currently being used to film a remake of Beyonce’s new video, “Single Ladies.” Thanks for understanding. Come back tomorrow.

The chubby “beyonce” in the middle needs to do better. The tall boys on the ends shoulda recruited the tangy white dude dancing in his closet.

All the single ladies…

I subscribe to a lot of blogs. That way, I get a lot of news, perspectives and insights. I get put on to new things and get to reminisce about old ones. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of hate in the blogosphere for Beyonce and her new singles.

I read a lot of those reviews before hearing the tracks. After listening, however, I’m wondering what all the rah rah was about. Of course at first glance, the song If I Were A Boy might seem like a Ciara knock-off, but the songs are totally different. Beyonce sings beautifully on it and I love the video. I haven’t given it many rotations yet, but that’s because it’s not a dance track. For that, I’ll look to Single Ladies.

I don’t care what yall say, that song cranks. First listen, I wasn’t blown away. Thereafter, every listen the song gets better. It’s really fun when you’re in the car with your girls or on the dancefloor. Hell, I can’t wait to clean my crib to that song. It’s fun and has a beat that makes you want to shake your hips (and whatever else you can move). Can’t hate on the words, either. Really tho… how are you going to break up with a chick, see her out getting attention from some other guys and now you get salty? Nah son. If you was on it like that, you shoulda put a ring on it!

Then there’s the video. Lots of rah rah going on about how Beyonce stole the concept from Bob Fosse‘s choreograhy in Mexican Breakfast. Well that’s stupid. Bey admits she was influenced by Fosse. She used his work as inspiration for the Get Me Bodied video too. Stole, however, is too strong of a word. Why a person can’t see something that was done in the past and reinvent it or pay homage to it is beyond me. Beyonce and her two backup dancers are working it. Legs out, hips gyrating! Very seldom can you have a video with once scene that holds your attention.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Oh, and let’s not forget about how all the Kids will be working this out for the rest of ’08!