Shake Something is UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Will return, re-launch and update you all on my life this Fall 2012.

Love you! Hope you're all enjoying your summer.

xoxo

Nadia

Shake Something is moving to Tumblr!

In honor of the 3 year anniversary of my personal blogging experience, I've decided that it is time for change.  As of July 15, 2012, Shake Something will be a Tumblr blog.  I've already began the transition with posts that can be found HERE.

Thank you so much for your encouraging emails and tweets.  It means the world to me! I hope that you continue to follow my progress as I transition into this new phase of my life.  You all continue to inspire me... my readers, my loves.

Keep shining.

xoxo

Nadia

What You Said to Me Instead.

by Safia Elhillo

strong girls like you must be 
the world’s loneliest creatures 
your silences, their own wilderness 
where the men 
come with promises that they will be
the one that gets you to stay.
big-shouldered boys who will melt 
their bones down into currency 
and will want to conquer you but
never claim.
you are the girl they chase 
not because they actually want you
but to prove that they can catch you.
what they haven’t learned 
are all the times you’ve broken your own heart
on their behalf, those clumsy hunters
who never know the right sequence of words
to do the job properly.

Oprah Wrote A Letter To Me.

Well, she really wrote the letter to her younger self.  But, after reading, it could just as easily be written to me. I read it 4 or 5 times before deciding that I just had to post it.  Not all of it applies, but the most important parts do. Amazing how someone else's journey can so accurately mirror your own. AND, if this letter from Oprah is any indication of the trajectory of my own life, then I'm on the right track.

Take a read. I hope it inspires you, too. :)

"Dear beautiful brown-skinned girl,

I look into your eyes and see the light and hope of myself.

In this photo you are just about to turn 20, posing outside the television station where you were recently hired as a reporter. You're proud of yourself for getting the job, but uncertain you'll be able to manage all your college classes before 1 and arrive at the station by 1:30 for a full day's work. Even so, your biggest concern is how to manage your love life with Bubba. Yes, you are dating someone named Bubba.

On this day you've brought him to the station to see where you work, hoping he'll be proud, too. He seems less than impressed. The truth is, he's intimidated. You don't know this, though, because you can see yourself only through his eyes. A lesson you will have to learn again and again: to see yourself with your own eyes, to love yourself from your own heart.


You've spent too many days and years trying to please others and be what they wanted you to be. You will have to learn that the wounds of your past—rape, molestation, whippings for "stepping out of place," and not being allowed to show anger or cry afterward—damaged your self-esteem. Yet through it all, you've held on to a belief in God and God's belief in you.

That will be your single greatest gift: knowing there is a power greater than yourself and trusting that Force to guide you.

The trajectory of your life changed the day you answered the call from Chris Clark, the news director at WLAC-TV. Your response was ignited by the words of your then-favorite Bible verse, Philippians 3:14. "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Knowing there is a "high calling" is what will sustain and fulfill you.

From where I sit now, viewing your journey, there are few regrets. Only months before this picture was taken, you wrote a poem about a "woman becoming." Even then you understood that success was a process and that moving with the flow of life and not against it would be your greatest achievement.

Love you deeply,

Oprah"

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Oprahs-Letter-to-Her-Younger-Self-Oprah-Wisdom/1#ixzz1r1QMBSlM

MUSIC I LOVE: Emeli Sande - 'Daddy'

British singer Emeli Sande's album, 'Our Version Of Events' will be released in the United States on June 5, 2012.  If you like this video, be sure to check out her song 'Heaven.'  I've been jammin'!

Emeli Sande -- 'Daddy'

This Week's Random Quote...

"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny."

-Paulo Coelho

NEW VIDEO: Elle Varner -- 'Refill'

I have had this song in rotation for a couple of months now. So glad that Elle Varner is FINALLY getting some shine.. LOVE this song...and the video is kinda cute. Enjoy!




 "Can I get a refill Of your time? Cause you're intoxicating my mind Feel like a conversational lush Cause I don't know how much is too much..."    *jamming* *smiling wide*

Katy Perry Covers N*ggas in Paris!

.... and kills it! 

BLOG 48: Sweet 26.

<--- So, this is what 26 year old me looks like.


I've said it time and time again:  the wonderful thing about personal blogging is that you can tangibly track your growth.  It's strange though... because it seems like every year's birthday blog is an eery foreshadowing of what is to come.  Last year, for my 25th birthday, I wrote:


"God is not through blessing me. This I know for sure. AND every bad, filthy, ugly, unsavory, messy, hurtful, heart-shattering thing that has happened (and will happen) is part of God conditioning me to be the strongest, brightest, most-capable individual possible. In every storm there is a blessing.... and I'm more grateful than words could possibly express."


My 25th year was one big storm... and, at the end of the storm, I am able to say that I am still tremendously blessed.  Anyway, every year I make a list of things that I learned, so bare with me.

THINGS I LEARNED IN YEAR 25:

This Pretty Much Sums It Up.

Dear 16-year-old Me,

Don't go to law school.

"It's called law school. Those aren't friendly words.
It's where insecure overachievers go to do something with their Bachelor of Arts.
Well, not just insecure overachievers...but mostly.

It's a terrible place to go because it ruins everything: your social life, your family life... 

your ENTIRE life."

This is the realest thing I've seen so far in life. *cries real tears* lol

Viola Davis' NAACP Image Award Acceptance: 'You Have A Story To Tell'

"You know, man gives awards but God gives rewards. And the reward of my life is that when I decided to become an artist, I wanted to tell the truth. Not to revise it, not to erase it but to tell the truth. My life is a culmination of bad memories, uglyness, sweetness, beauty... but it makes me fully human.

 And I feel like if you occupy this life for any given time, 

if you are breathing, if you are living, then you have a story to tell."

Continue reading on Examiner.com NAACP Image Awards: Viola Davis celebrates life, truth in acceptance speech - National Urban Pop | Examiner.com

Whitney Houston, An American Icon (1963-2012)

As you all know, the incomparable Whitney Houston passed away this past weekend.  While the media sifts through the hows and whats and whys, I just want to make sure that we all remember how her life, her music and her exceptional range of abilities as an entertainer made us feel.

In the 80s, her music made us dance. In the 90s, her music made us fall in love. In the new millennium, her music told us that we could overcome.  My fondest memory of Ms. Houston is a video that my parents have shown me over and over and over again of me singing and dancing to her version of 'Yes Jesus Loves Me' in the living room of our small house when I was five or six years old.  Her music reminds me of my childhood... of innocence.

Anyway, my favorite Whitney Houston song also happens to be from my favorite Whitney movie 'The Preachers Wife.'  The way she sings 'I Love The Lord' is so comforting. Enjoy... and always remember.




Whitney Houston -- I Love The Lord

REPOST: Happy Valentine's Day

 

Valentine's Day can be either really sweet or really bitter, depending on your relationship status. Lucky for me, I've never had to spend one single Valentine's Day without a valentine. There's a man in my life who loved me before he even knew me. He has sacrificed huge things in life for me and he still sacrifices more and more for me daily. And, every single year on Valentine's Day -- almost as second nature --  he reminds me that I'm loved. 

I realize that not everyone is as blessed as I am, and I pray that you, my readers, my loves, know that I am here and I love you...

With that said, this post goes out to my father, my friend and my confidant.
Happy Valentine's Day, Daddy Daddy! This is 'A Song For You'....

"I know your image of me is what I hope to be....

I love you in a place where there's no space or time
I love you for in my life
You're a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you"

(best love song EVER!!!)

New Music: AMP Records -- 'Mutual Feelings'

Anything is Musically Possible (AMP) Records dropped this track this morning and I just couldn't help but post it.  It features singer/songwriter Ranier and was produced by the uber talented Austin Harris. Take a listen and let me know if you love it as much as I do...

For inquiries, Email: nadia@shakesomething.com

AMP Records -- 'Mutual Feelings'

"I know you wana love me, 

I wana do the same,

But we don't have to rush

We can take our time

I aint goin' nowhere...."

Here's a little clip of them making the track...

*puts hands up* :)

New Music: Mayback (of Cashflow Family) -- 'Dreams'

Mayback, one third of Summer Spotlight Artists Cashflow Family, set twitter abuzz over the weekend when he dropped his new track 'Dreams.' Take a listen and let me know what you think (nadia@shakesomething.com).




Mayback (of Cashflow Family) -- 'Dreams'




CLICK HERE to follow Mayback on Twitter.

CLICK HERE to for updates on Cashflow Family.

BLOG 47: Love Letters.

I took a break from writing in my most recent journal for nearly six months.  Things had just gotten too heavy.  But as part of my resolution in the new year, I told myself that in order to return to me -- the me who somehow disappeared while my grandmother was sick -- I had to return to writing.  Writing is my comfort zone; it's where I feel the most like myself.

On January 2, 2012, I began writing short notes in my journal. I wrote about my law school woes, my boy troubles, my love and appreciation for my family... all of my little, insignificant day-to-day everythings.  I just wrote... emptily, but with resolve.


Something happened last week, though.  I'm not sure what it was or what brought it about, but suddenly I could not NOT write in my journal. After spending long hours at school, I'd hurry home to the solace of my open notebook.  The words spewed from me as if every single thought and feeling that I'd kept bottled up was ready to be born.

Bad Girls Do It Well.

M.I.A.'s latest single/video:

M.I.A. -- Bad Girls

"Live fast

Die young

Bad girls do it well...

Get back

Get down

Pull me closer if you think you can hang..."

This video is EVERYTHING! I missed M.I.A.

Do You Not Think So Far Ahead?

I made friends with some incredibly talented people while I lived in London.  One of those people was the uber-talented Shakka. He dropped this video in my email this morning and it definitely made my day. To follow Shakka as he continues on his journey, make sure to like his Facebook page - http://facebook.com/IAMSHAKKA OR on Youtube - http://youtube.com/ShaxMusic .

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  

Shakkapella -- Thinking Bout You (Frank Ocean Cover)

"I been thinkin 'bout forever..." ;-)

This Week's Random Quote...

 

 

"How could you not hear the size of the planet I whispered into your heart? I was so much louder back then. "

Whew! I love a good set of words... :)

 

 

How Did You Make It?

Earlier this week writer/director/producer, Tyler Perry, posted a video in response to people who ask him how he became successful.  Lately, my mind has been all over the place.  There are soooo many things that I want to do.  And, in one grand epiphany (what my Godmama Oprah would call an "Aha! Moment") I realized why I sometimes feel stuck.  Mr. Perry said it so eloquently:

"Focus on one thing. Make it your priority and stick with it no matter what...

When something is for you, there is a feeling that is deep down inside of you that will not allow you to let it go.  It will keep you going when you can't even keep yourself going.

Don't stop. Narrow your focus. And make it work."

I've been trying to do way too much.  I need to focus in on my goal and nothing else.  Distractions are hindrances.

Anyway, I wanted to share this video with you because it made my little heart leap. Enjoy:

"All you can do is plant the seed and water it. God himself has to give the increase. Only God can make the sunshine. Only God can make it rain but if you planted the seed then you’ve done your part."

First Peeped on Necole Bitchie

There's Only So Much Pie To Go Around?

Today begins my final semester of law school. And while I have a flood of conflicting emotions concerning this fact, more than anything I'm excited for what's next.

I know that I'm a different person as a result of this law school experience. I'm more motivated than ever to achieve my professional goals.  I've learned that I'm happiest when I have way too many things to do. I don't get nervous speaking in front of large groups of people.  But am I more competitive?

“If all you know is how to be a gang member, that’s what you’ll be, at
least until you learn something else. If you become a marine, you’ll
learn to control fear. If you go to law school, you’ll see the world
as a competition. If you study engineering, you’ll start to see the
world as a complicated machine that needs tweaking.” 

– Scott Adams, Dilbert.com

If what Mr. Adams proposes is true, then law students learn more than just how to draft contracts and analyze cases in their three years of law school. Also learned:  it’s a rat race out there.  A dog eat dog world.  There’s only so much of the pie to go around.  If you aren’t winning, you’re losing.

You get the idea.

CLICK  HERE TO READ MORE.

-------------------------------------

Aja Monet On Unconditional Love.

 Aja Monet -- For You.

"Discovering one’s capacity to love is an intimate journey with self, not for the sake of another, but for the survival and perseverance of self. It is a journey we all deserve and are responsible for. "

To read Ms. Monet's full post CLICK HERE.

"Pious Bologna": Do WE Care about the GOP Presidential Candidates?

I was thoroughly entertained as I watched this year's Republican candidates verbally spar with each other Sunday morning on MSNBC.  It was their second debate in 2 days and, while I watched for purely entertainment purposes, I wondered:  Why do all of these candidates seem so ridiculous to me?

I know what you're thinking... "You're black.  You're going to vote for President Obama regardless." And well, you're probably right.  But it's not because of the similarities in our complexions.  Herman Cain looks just like my great uncle George and there still wasn't a chance in hell I was going to vote for him.

But why is that? Why don't 'we' -- 20-something Black Americans -- care about this year's GOP candidates? With full knowledge that this could lead to a whole slew of answers, I've decided to give the 3 (probable) reasons why WE don't care about the GOP Presidential Candidates:

"Build the Night From the Sky's Skin..."

Joshua Bennet -- Balaenoptera.

Joshua Bennett - Balaenoptera from olan collardy on Vimeo.  

  "You would be a lockAnd maybe I would be your keyAnd maybe love is a clubThat we both got into for freeAnd we just haven't stopped dancing for all these decadesBecause we really like the music here..."


So sweet. Perfect first post of the new year... #LOVE