FATHER

Someone said this music video feels like that dream you have that you can't explain. I get emotional at the beginning of it every time I see it. Like I said in his previous post.. 100 years from now, he will still be discussed. Thank you for the ART. –Will

BullyYeKanye West

Asake

Ahmed Ololade. The greatest. He studied theatre and dramatic arts and you can see it in his output, like the cover to his album "Work of Art." His stage name is his mother's and a tribute to her. Often referring to himself as "Omo Asake" (the son of Asake). I first heard him a couple years back or so when Kenny was on the 1s & 2s at my friend Q's plant shop when he mixed in "Organise" and I lost my mind, in the best way possible. He's now become one of my favorite artists. There are artists who are on the same frequency as we, he is one of them for me. His melodies and words, even though so much of the Yoruba and street language from the Nigerian scene is foreign to me, music is the universal language for a reason, because I can FEEL it! Yesterday, the vibes were needed, desperately. This video above is incredible to me, among many, but this one being my introduction to him stands apart. Every other day I… –Will

musicasakeafrobeats
You only know your spouse in divorce. You only know your friend when you are in need of something. And you only know your siblings when it's time to split an inheritance.
This is a paraphrase from something my mother told me during one of our talks in the car that I truly cherish
MotherFamily WisdomLife Lessons
I bargained with Life for a penny, And Life would pay no more, However I pleaded at evening When I counted my scanty store; For Life is a just employer, He gives you what you ask, But once you have set the wages, Why, you must bear the task. I worked for a menial's hire, Only to learn dismayed, That any wage I had asked of Life, Life would have paid.
Jessie Belle Rittenhouse
Jessie Belle RittenhouseA Song of the RoadLife Lessons
Black and white photograph of Jimmy Baldwin and Lena Horne laughing together at a social gathering

Jimmy & Lena [pure joy, I love this photo]

James BaldwinLena HorneJoy
Black and white photograph of young Nas pointing at camera with a bright smile, wearing a collared shirt and watch

Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones, Queensbridge Projects, Queens, NY

NasQueensbridgeIllmatic
Iconic album cover of Sade's Diamond Life featuring Helen Folasade Adu in an elegant black and white photograph, with 'SADE' in large white letters at top and 'DIAMOND LIFE' at bottom

Helen Folasade Adu [one of the most beautiful album covers ever]

SadeDiamond LifeAlbum
Black and white promotional photograph of Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry from the 1992 film Boomerang, showing them in an intimate romantic pose on a couch

Eddie Murphy & Halle Berry, Boomerang, 1992 .. they don't make them like they used to

photographyboomerang1992
A healthy man has many goals, a sick man only has one
Unknown
healthgoalswisdom
Marvin

He was killed on April Fools Day by his father with two gun shots, one piercing the heart.

marvin gayemusicsoul
For all in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause:
William Shakespeare, Hamlet
shakespearemortalityliterature

Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free

The High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone, Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon 2/21/33 – 4/21/03 This may be my favorite video of hers. What Happened Miss Simone? Thank you.

musicnina simonesoul
When you're born, you look like your parents; when you die, you look like your choices
John C. Maxwell
choiceslifecharacter

"New Slaves" & "Blood on the Leaves" Live

Kanye Omari West aka Ye – I sat in a parked car in downtown Providence with a friend when Yeezus released discussing this raucous salvo. His albums are usually released with so much happening around them that the music can be drowned out. Most usually revisit and reconsider their ratings, many I've seen have this one at or near the top of his catalogue; it is definitely up there for me personally. I don't know another artist in the 21st century that has had a bigger impact on my fashion & thought process. As Donda put it – "what he has meant to a generation" – controversy and all. Sometimes you have to be dead and gone for the picture to come together. He will be discussed in 100 years from now. It is what it is. "It's not that I'm not right.... sometimes I'm just not right now." –Will

YeezusMBDTFArt Music
When you're not changing, you're still choosing, but what you're choosing is something that makes you feel familiar & comfortable. Because the moment you decide to change, it's going to feel uncomfortable, it's going to be immediate
Dr. Joe Dispenza
changegrowthtransformation
Black and white contact sheet showing six portraits of Erykah Badu in various poses with different head wraps, from her 1997 Baduizm era

Erica Abi Wright [aka..] Erykah Badu, Baduizm, 1997

photographyerykah baduneo-soul

"Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge)"

by Jay Electronica

I hope the only companionship that finds me is filled with the same feeling that Erykah speaks with about Jay [if he would have only given me this in his lifetime, I might have been ok, thank you]

musicjay electronicahip-hop
Black and white photograph of Muhammad Ali training in the early morning streets of London with two friends, all wearing hooded sweatshirts and training gear

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. 1/17/42 – 6/3/16

He was willing to give up what he was put here to do for what he believed in, for that, he will always stand alone for me. I love this photo of him in the wee hours of the day training with friends in London, UK. The greatest of all time, thank you.

photographymuhammad aliboxing
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.
Joseph Campbell
authenticityselfidentity

"Wise Man" & "Self Control" Live

The other half of my favorite living artists – Christopher Edwin Breaux aka Frank Ocean – I could have seen him live during the Channel Orange rollout, I still regret it to this day. Nostalgia Ultra planted the flag, Channel Orange ran off with it, Endless brought it back, and Blond(e) blasted off into the stratosphere with it. We watched a blank screen until life appeared. I will never forget. Whenever you return, the world is yours. –Will

Frank OceanBlondeChannel Orange
4 Questions: 1. Are they kind? 2. Can you tell them everything in your heart? 3. Do they help you become the best version of yourself? 4. Can you imagine yourself having kids with them?
Life List [movie]
relationshipslovepartnership

Gal Costa - Sua Estupidez

"You know, a knife tearing me apart, a world ending, I don't know, Gal Costa the singer, Gal Costa the terrible woman, the beautiful woman and the bride, the dead woman, the widow, the wonder, it's very difficult to talk about these things, I don't know, Gal always treats me with electric shocks, I arrive to see her and I get carried away by her, I break down for her, I get messed up for her, I don't know, it's always surprising, each time something strange happens, it's as if life were breaking apart, ending, beginning, Gal Costa is very wonderful" [intro translation] 9/26/45 – 11/9/22 Thank you, Gal.

musicgal costabossa nova
Every relationship is made up of my relationship to myself, as I am with you, and my relationship with you, while I don't lose myself. It's how do I hold on to me and hold on to you and vice versa. How I hold on to you without losing me and how I hold on to myself without losing you.
Esther Perel
relationshipsselfbalance
Black and white still from Federico Fellini's 8½ showing a man in glasses and suit sitting in a car with dramatic lighting, with text at bottom reading 'Of any artist truly worth the name we should ask nothing'

Federico Fellini 1/20/20 – 10/31/93

Revolutionized cinema with his "Felliniesque" style, which blended fantasy, dreams, and baroque imagery with earthy realism, making his films instantly recognizable. considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, known for masterpieces like "La Dolce Vita," "8½," and "Amarcord." This still from 8½ speaks for itself. Thank you.

Federico Fellini8 1/2Amarcord

Sammy Davis Jr. - Mr. Bojangles

"Mr Show Business" Sammy Davis Jr., born Samuel George Davis Jr. on 12/8/25 in Harlem, NY. He excelled as a singer, dancer, actor, comedian, and musician, starting his career in vaudeville at age three. A member of the "Rat Pack" and used his prominent platform to advocate for racial equality. This is my favorite video of his, talent personified. Thank you.

musicsammy davis jrrat pack
Your mindset literally creates your ceiling or removes it
Carol Dweck, Mindset
mindsetgrowthpotential
Black and white photograph from the Kind of Blue recording sessions showing Miles Davis in the background and John Coltrane in sharp focus playing trumpet in the studio

Miles & John [Kind of Blue]

photographymiles davisjazz
Either you can play the hand you're dealt or mourn the one you've lost
Harlem, TV Show
resilienceacceptancechoice
Einstein had realized in 1905 that space and time are intimately connected with each other, thus one can think of space and time together as a four dimensional entity called space-time. Time is just as good a dimension as space is, as no matter how you boost yourself through space, you must always move forward through time… If time weren't a dimension with the exact properties it possesses, special relativity would be invalid, and we could not construct space-time to describe our universe
Unknown
physicseinsteinspace-time
We have to build our own financial infrastructure. It takes all of us to do that, investing in our own, creating our own opportunities
Unknown
financecommunityinvestment
Black and white photograph of Amílcar Cabral, Cape Verdean revolutionary leader, wearing glasses and a traditional cap, with a soldier visible in the background

Amílcar Lopes Cabral, 9/12/24 – 1/20/73. He was killed by militants from his own party. Cabral had founded the PAIGC in 1960 to fight for the liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. Thank you.

photographycabralcape verde