I first met Kandi Burruss on a summer day in 1993. I was an intern on the set of the first music video for the group Xscape. The song was “Just Kickin It” and I was doing more than just kickin it on what felt like the hottest day ever!
Trivia… the club was the Masquerade, the neighborhood was little Five Points and the convertible actually belonged to Tiny.
My nondescript role was to do whatever anyone on set told me to do. However, my personal mission was to make sure that I STOOD OUT FROM THE REST of the “low folks” on the totem pole.
If I was asked to go get something, then I was off to the races, sprinting to my final destination in record time. I remember being so focused and watching everything and everyone around me. Back then as I surveyed my surroundings I remember Kandi Continue Reading…
It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.
Not failure, but low aim is the sin. – Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
When I was a li’l gul, 3450 Sewell Road was just a big old hill with a bunch of trees next to I-285 expressway that we passed if we took the long way to Southwest Hospital. A couple of years and a street name change later, it became Mays High School.
I went to its feeder middle school, but I didn’t go to Mays because I was lazy. While they cleared a number of the trees, the school was built at the tip top of that dang-on hill. My momma didn’t have reliable transportation, so if I had to (or chose to) stay afterschool, I had to hike “The Hill” to get home. Do that in 90 degree August and May Atlanta heat, get on a MARTA bus and then do some homework:
But I digress…
Back in my day, Mays was virtually an all African-American institution at the pinnacle of urban public education. It was located in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in the city and the Math and Science Academy magnet program was literally churning out rocket scientists. Continue Reading…
I caught up with an A-town legend a few weeks ago during birthday bash…the one and only DJ Kizzy Rock and of course I couldn’t resist grabbing a bit of Old School Atlanta Memory footage from him for the archives. Kizzy Rock had us all in stitches as he reminisced about Freaknik 94 and Club 559. Check him out below:
Today’s flashback video is none other than DJ Kizzy Rock’s skripper anthem “Yeah Shawty Yeah.” Back when asymetrical hair cuts were the norm and all the cool dudes drove Jeep Wranglers. Peep the full video under the cut (NSFW):
Once a staple at Greenbriar Flea Market, Eddie’s Gold Teeth catered to any ATLien who had an appetite for a grill. So in honor of the “Flashback,” I thought I’d devote a post to Mr. Eddie Plein. The “godfather of grills,” also known as the owner of Eddie’s Gold Teeth. I’ve never met Eddie personally, but I HAVE met several recipients of his custom works. By the way, you have too…there’s Big Boi, Andre 3000, Big Gipp, Lil Jon, Cee-Lo….the list goes on and on. Not to mention the non-rapping regular joes who just wanted to have a lil GOLD in their mouf!
The fad has since gave way to porcelain veneers but the fond memories of the bling shall remain in our hearts forever.
Yep…Eddie Plein was/is responsible for all of THAT and contrary to popular belief, wearing grills started in South America and not Southwest Atlanta! Ha! Peep what Eddie had to say about how the fad started, why his craziest request was from Andre 3000 and what he’s up to now: Continue Reading…
So, I’m sitting at my daughter’s honor’s program with one of her best friends, Braves-game-ghetto-cheering for all of their ‘The Smawwt One’ buddies. I love this kid! He was all hugged up in the parking lot with his Sasha/Malia-looking girlfriend yesterday who is on her way to UGA to study pre-med, I believe. He plays in the inner-city high school band and was actually in a fairly popular snap music video for a few seconds (below).
Dem Franchize Boyz ~ Talkin Out the Side of Yo Neck
When they all went to the Battle of The Bands college fair earlier this school year, they got stopped by members of other bands who recognized him from his cameo. Purportedly, “He got that fire!” Did I mention that he’s white?
That White Kid. Remember him? Not the Jamie Kennedy, Straight From The ‘Bu caricature kid who walked around “acting black” and only saw black folk on tv, one lunchroom table over and at his back door, but the kid who was very aware of his “whiteness” in a sepia-toned world and didn’t care. Continue Reading…
Brad Pitt & Robin Givens (circa 1989)
