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Hey Mofos!
I don't know about y'all but I start body rolling when "I've Been Searchin' (Nobody Like You)" comes on the radio. I was super hype to chat with THE Glenn Jones about his classic hits and his new music. Peep the interview on Check the Rhymes TV:
So, do you have a favorite Glenn Jones song?
~Meik
Hey Mofos!
Up next on the Black Music Month spotlight train is Father M.C.! He stopped by Check the Rhymes and we chatted about his new music and took a trip down memory lane -- 30+ years since his debut album, Uptown Records, and working with Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. Check it out cuz he is a helluva story teller:
Did you have a favorite Father M.C. song? Lemme know in the comments!
~Meik
Celebrity Interviews
Happy New 2021 + Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Check the Rhymes!
Sunday, January 10, 2021Happy New Year Mofos!
I hope despite all the craziness going on you are still able to find some sunshine in your lives in 2021.
I'm super excited about the one year anniversary of my YouTube channel rebrand and relaunch.
Last year, I decided to make the channel a different vibe from the blog and it has done so well. So Happy Anniversary errr Birthday? Check the Rhymes!
If you haven't already subscribed, make sure you do. After all, that's where you'll find content where GenX Meets Pop Culture, legends telling their stories their way, and the latest on new television shows, movies, and music from our favs. Speaking of legends, if you haven't already done so, make sure you check out my interview with the amazing Alyson Williams. She had a lot to say about being left out of Def Jam conversations.
I'm super excited about the content planned for this year! Let me know in the comments who you want to see on the show!
~Meik
Check the Rhymes
Interview: Melvin Riley from Ready for the World Shares His New Direction & New Solo Music!
Monday, November 30, 2020Hey Mofos!
Y'all know I love my old school artists so I was super hype that Melvin Riley from Ready for the World stopped in for an interview! You probably saw him on the Soul Train Awards Pass the Mic after show.
We chatted about the 35th anniversary of Ready for the World's debut album and the new direction he's taking as a solo artist. Let me know what you think!
~Meik
#ChecktheRhymes
Interview: Multi-Platinum Singer-Songwriter Avant Talks Ninth Studio Album and Stories Behind the Music
Sunday, August 30, 2020Hey Mofos!
Y'all know I love good music and I was super excited to see Avant is back! I invited him to stop by Check the Rhymes to talk about the new album, "Can We Fall in Love." We chatted about the stories behind the music and it was a fun time! WHO KNEW Avant was so hilarious?!
Check out the interview here:
Do you have a favorite Avant song? Let me know in the comments!
~Meik
Happy New Year Mofos!
Imagine that.. I am actually posting a blog close to the start of 2019. Yay me!
Have you ever been kissed ...by a frog?
What you mean Meik?
I'm glad you asked, but I'm not talking about a literal frog. I know the stories of the princess kissing the frog and he turns into a prince, but since this is me--that ain't that kind of fairy tale.
As most of you know, I love covering red carpet events. So a couple of years ago, I found myself on a red carpet about to interview a certain old school artist. While he wasn't THE MAIN singer of his group, it was still awesome to chat with him. I knew things were a little strange when the first thing he said to me was:
"OMG, you are really real!"
Me: Excuse me?
"I mean, I've seen you on social media but like you are real!"
Me in my head: I wasn't aware I was a unicorn bruh.
Me in real life: tee hee hee *sniggles* thank you I think, uh so tell me... *insert whatever question I asked him that pertained to his performance in the event we were there for*
"But, you're so pretty and real in person!"
Me in my head: I think we've established that I'm real negro.
Me in real life: Oh thank youuuuuuu!
So then to gas him up a little more--I ask for a selfie and his fingers continue rubbing my arm.
Me in my head: STOP TOUCHING ME.
Me in real life: Thanks for the pic! Good luck tonight! *steps away and directs my attention to the next artist coming down the carpet*
He just stands there staring with a little drool on his lip.
Don't look at me like that. If you go back to any pic of this dude--it always looks like there is drool and crust in the corner of his lip. I ain't lying--however I ain't telling you who it is either. :)
Fast forward to the after party that I had absolutely no business going to.
Dude walks in and sees me and me being polite I walk over and tell him his performance that evening was awesome and he hugs me. He then says he wants to introduce me to a couple of other artists and so we walk over--chit chat with two other old school artists--one of them a former Bad Boy artist that my ex King Mofo so wanted to be but that's another story.
I notice my sidekick aka my mama (yes I took my mama with me--judge your own mammy not me and mine)
and she is kee-keeing it up with Kid from Kid N Play--again another story for another time, but I step over to ask her if she's ready to go and she nods yes.
So I step back over to my mini-circle of old school artists to do my nice to meets, have a good night pleasantries--shaking hands--exchanging info. I turn to leave and the one that discovered I'm a real live whole ass person asks for a hug--so I oblige..but before I can break away or even turn my head....he mumbles.. "GIMME A KISS!"
His crusty drool filled lips are on mine and I can feel my entire body tense up, my mind is saying don't slap the shit out of him in front of all these people and don't curse in front of your mama.
I'm thinking is this fool really doing this in front of these other artists, and I know that my "employer" is also in the room and I don't want to act a donkey. That 3 seconds was the longest 3 seconds of my life and all I could do was push him firmly to remove his lips from my face.
He FINALLY backs away and smiles and says "keep in touch."
Ew. No. Thank. You.
Now if you know me..you KNOW chapped/dry lips are a pet peeve, and for him to put his DRY CRUSTY LIPS WITH DROOL IN THE CORNER ON MINE.. gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag.
I am dry heaving now as I write this. He wasn't even cute. This makes me even more sad.
Lesson learned: Clearly I didn't learn a damn thing cuz I have many many stories of encounters with the old school famous. Wait for the book! HOWEVERRRRR don't go putting your lips where they aren't wanted or requested. Thank yew, Amen.
Have you ever kissed a frog?
Until later..and still vomi-gagging,
~Meik
Imagine that.. I am actually posting a blog close to the start of 2019. Yay me!
Have you ever been kissed ...by a frog?
What you mean Meik?
I'm glad you asked, but I'm not talking about a literal frog. I know the stories of the princess kissing the frog and he turns into a prince, but since this is me--that ain't that kind of fairy tale.
As most of you know, I love covering red carpet events. So a couple of years ago, I found myself on a red carpet about to interview a certain old school artist. While he wasn't THE MAIN singer of his group, it was still awesome to chat with him. I knew things were a little strange when the first thing he said to me was:
"OMG, you are really real!"
Me: Excuse me?
"I mean, I've seen you on social media but like you are real!"
Me in my head: I wasn't aware I was a unicorn bruh.
Me in real life: tee hee hee *sniggles* thank you I think, uh so tell me... *insert whatever question I asked him that pertained to his performance in the event we were there for*
"But, you're so pretty and real in person!"
Me in my head: I think we've established that I'm real negro.
Me in real life: Oh thank youuuuuuu!
So then to gas him up a little more--I ask for a selfie and his fingers continue rubbing my arm.
Me in my head: STOP TOUCHING ME.
Me in real life: Thanks for the pic! Good luck tonight! *steps away and directs my attention to the next artist coming down the carpet*
He just stands there staring with a little drool on his lip.
Don't look at me like that. If you go back to any pic of this dude--it always looks like there is drool and crust in the corner of his lip. I ain't lying--however I ain't telling you who it is either. :)
Fast forward to the after party that I had absolutely no business going to.
Dude walks in and sees me and me being polite I walk over and tell him his performance that evening was awesome and he hugs me. He then says he wants to introduce me to a couple of other artists and so we walk over--chit chat with two other old school artists--one of them a former Bad Boy artist that my ex King Mofo so wanted to be but that's another story.
I notice my sidekick aka my mama (yes I took my mama with me--judge your own mammy not me and mine)
and she is kee-keeing it up with Kid from Kid N Play--again another story for another time, but I step over to ask her if she's ready to go and she nods yes.
So I step back over to my mini-circle of old school artists to do my nice to meets, have a good night pleasantries--shaking hands--exchanging info. I turn to leave and the one that discovered I'm a real live whole ass person asks for a hug--so I oblige..but before I can break away or even turn my head....he mumbles.. "GIMME A KISS!"
His crusty drool filled lips are on mine and I can feel my entire body tense up, my mind is saying don't slap the shit out of him in front of all these people and don't curse in front of your mama.
I'm thinking is this fool really doing this in front of these other artists, and I know that my "employer" is also in the room and I don't want to act a donkey. That 3 seconds was the longest 3 seconds of my life and all I could do was push him firmly to remove his lips from my face.
He FINALLY backs away and smiles and says "keep in touch."
Ew. No. Thank. You.
Now if you know me..you KNOW chapped/dry lips are a pet peeve, and for him to put his DRY CRUSTY LIPS WITH DROOL IN THE CORNER ON MINE.. gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag.
I am dry heaving now as I write this. He wasn't even cute. This makes me even more sad.
Lesson learned: Clearly I didn't learn a damn thing cuz I have many many stories of encounters with the old school famous. Wait for the book! HOWEVERRRRR don't go putting your lips where they aren't wanted or requested. Thank yew, Amen.
Have you ever kissed a frog?
Until later..and still vomi-gagging,
~Meik
I know I know.. I ain't ish..but heyyyy Mofo's I'M BAAAACKKKKKK! I missed you all! But you know where you can find me if I'm not blogging..over on Twitter @Mofochronicles or I'm busy writing for SoulTrain.com or WEtv.com--so see.. I haven't neglected you COMPLETELY.
What brings you back now Meik?
I'm glad you asked! My 90's baes H-Town!
What you mean Meik?
Well..originally I started off writing a review of the show for one of the other sites since it is Black Music Month and all, but then I decided I just gotta keep it all the way real and squeal and fan girl versus trying to remain semi-neutral..so here I am.
The revival of the 90’s R&B groups hitting the road and doing shows across the country would be remiss if one group out of Houston, Texas wasn’t among them. H-Town made a stop in Rock Hill, South Carolina over the weekend thanks to RJ Productions. This was my first time going to Rock Hill and it was definitely an experience.
If you know me, you know that H-Town is one of my favorite groups so this was super exciting for them to be coming back to the Carolinas. I have been rocking with that group since they first burst onto the scene in the early 90's. In my head Dino was the bae-est bae's of all bae-dom. I was going to marry him and have allllllllll the sleepy eyed babies with huge dimples he wanted! But clearly that didn't happen and hell I never got the opportunity to meet him, but luckily I was able to catch H-Town when it was all three members. I digress tho.
The past two times that I have seen H-Town in Charlotte, it was just club appearances, so this was the first time I got to experience G.I. and Shazam without front man and singer to the gawds Dino Conner. God rest his soul. I swear I don’t think I have ever gotten over him passing away in 2003. For the deets on that and the interview head over to SoulTrain.com and read my tribute. Anyhoo, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when my sister and I got to Rock Hill, South Carolina. The area is kind of a down home small town feel so I don’t know if that’s correct but hey, that’s the impression I got. However, it is hotter than a mofo across the state line.. lawd jeezus, I think I left my perm sitting in SouF Cackalak from all the sweating! Not to mention, the venue was in an auditorium..which was cool, but jeeezus it was hot in there.. not sure what was going on with the a/c but I forgot all about that ish when H-Town and their "Fever for Da Flavor" got on stage.
(note the fellas have grown up from sessy shirtless young men into mature sessy bae material.. I'm here for it!)
Let's address this ish right here and now.. over the years, I’ve heard the nonsense that folks have ASSumed without Dino, H-Town wouldn’t be able to hold their own during a concert. SHEEETTTT lies you tell. ASSuming gets you nowhere.. until you have gone to an actual show and seen them perform.. then what exactly are you basing your ASSumptions on? I'll wait.
From the moment they took to the stage they had everyone on their feet, including me and this heavy arse boot I have to wear (thanks to the nerve damage in my leg and tendons being munked up.. WHOLE OTHER STORY).. While I can’t give you the exact rundown of the playlist order, I can tell you they sang ALLLLLLL the jams.. From "Don’t Hold Back the Rain," "Lick You Up," "Like it Slow," to "Knockin’ Da Boots" —chile.. I GOT MY ENTIRE LIFE LAST NITE! (Again, s/o to Rich Jamison for bringing the fellas to the area—I always have nothing but love for folks that bring good music round these parts!).. which reminds me.. someone in the audience kept screaming sing "KICKIN DA BOOTS" and I think I bout tinkled on myself from sniggling. Gotta love country folks!
I loved that the fellas paid homage to Hi-Five’s Tony Thompson (who passed away also) by getting the audience to sing along to “I Like the Way (Kissing Game)” –and then of course you can’t have an H-Town show without showing love and celebrating the life of the group’s backbone Dino. The guys sang “Emotions” and everyone in the building threw up their “H’s” to show love for one of my absolute favorite singers who had one of the most underrated vocals ever in my opinion. Have I mentioned how much I LOVEDEDEDED that dude? Like.. I need a tee shirt that has his pic on it or something.. someone make that happen thank yewwww..
I was quite entertained by the ladies that ran up on the stage to dance/twerk/body roll/ and hunch on Shazam and G.I’s legs during their new song “Green Light” which after hearing it, I give it the green light.. it’s pretty catchy. The fellas threw out stuffed animals and roses to the ladies, and at one point squirted whipped cream into the mouths of the willing and able. I’d be the one to choke on the ish so I stayed right where I needed to be .. in my seat throwing my “H” up singing and swaying. While some of you tend to think these groups should let the chips fall where they may and sit down somewhere after losing a lead singer, or if the group breaks up and new members slide into place, I am one that is open to giving the new version of the groups a shot, hell as long as they play the songs I wanna hear, we good LOL. For those that asked me who sang the lead parts since Dino is gone.. well hell you shoulda carried your arses to SC to see LOL .. or you can look it up on youtube..they have plenty of videos from shows they have done over the years.
While it wasn’t a sold out show, one thing is for sure.. the fellas rocked the house like there were thousands of people in the building by giving nothing short of 10000000000 percent.. and to me.. that says a lot, especially that they want to give their fans a good show, and leave a GOOD lasting impression.
Lesson Learned: Take a personal fan next time I travel over the border to SC .. and maybe next time H-Town comes, you mofos will come out and support and see for yourself how good they still are. I'm a fan and will always be one. *throws up the "H" til my fingers cramp*
Keep up with H-Town on Twitter @HTown4Life @gijackson @shazamconner (and you can check out their website at htown4ever.com --tell em I sent ya!
What is your favorite H-Town song?
Until later...
-Meik
What brings you back now Meik?
I'm glad you asked! My 90's baes H-Town!
What you mean Meik?
Well..originally I started off writing a review of the show for one of the other sites since it is Black Music Month and all, but then I decided I just gotta keep it all the way real and squeal and fan girl versus trying to remain semi-neutral..so here I am.
The revival of the 90’s R&B groups hitting the road and doing shows across the country would be remiss if one group out of Houston, Texas wasn’t among them. H-Town made a stop in Rock Hill, South Carolina over the weekend thanks to RJ Productions. This was my first time going to Rock Hill and it was definitely an experience.
If you know me, you know that H-Town is one of my favorite groups so this was super exciting for them to be coming back to the Carolinas. I have been rocking with that group since they first burst onto the scene in the early 90's. In my head Dino was the bae-est bae's of all bae-dom. I was going to marry him and have allllllllll the sleepy eyed babies with huge dimples he wanted! But clearly that didn't happen and hell I never got the opportunity to meet him, but luckily I was able to catch H-Town when it was all three members. I digress tho.
The past two times that I have seen H-Town in Charlotte, it was just club appearances, so this was the first time I got to experience G.I. and Shazam without front man and singer to the gawds Dino Conner. God rest his soul. I swear I don’t think I have ever gotten over him passing away in 2003. For the deets on that and the interview head over to SoulTrain.com and read my tribute. Anyhoo, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when my sister and I got to Rock Hill, South Carolina. The area is kind of a down home small town feel so I don’t know if that’s correct but hey, that’s the impression I got. However, it is hotter than a mofo across the state line.. lawd jeezus, I think I left my perm sitting in SouF Cackalak from all the sweating! Not to mention, the venue was in an auditorium..which was cool, but jeeezus it was hot in there.. not sure what was going on with the a/c but I forgot all about that ish when H-Town and their "Fever for Da Flavor" got on stage.
(note the fellas have grown up from sessy shirtless young men into mature sessy bae material.. I'm here for it!)
Let's address this ish right here and now.. over the years, I’ve heard the nonsense that folks have ASSumed without Dino, H-Town wouldn’t be able to hold their own during a concert. SHEEETTTT lies you tell. ASSuming gets you nowhere.. until you have gone to an actual show and seen them perform.. then what exactly are you basing your ASSumptions on? I'll wait.
From the moment they took to the stage they had everyone on their feet, including me and this heavy arse boot I have to wear (thanks to the nerve damage in my leg and tendons being munked up.. WHOLE OTHER STORY).. While I can’t give you the exact rundown of the playlist order, I can tell you they sang ALLLLLLL the jams.. From "Don’t Hold Back the Rain," "Lick You Up," "Like it Slow," to "Knockin’ Da Boots" —chile.. I GOT MY ENTIRE LIFE LAST NITE! (Again, s/o to Rich Jamison for bringing the fellas to the area—I always have nothing but love for folks that bring good music round these parts!).. which reminds me.. someone in the audience kept screaming sing "KICKIN DA BOOTS" and I think I bout tinkled on myself from sniggling. Gotta love country folks!
I loved that the fellas paid homage to Hi-Five’s Tony Thompson (who passed away also) by getting the audience to sing along to “I Like the Way (Kissing Game)” –and then of course you can’t have an H-Town show without showing love and celebrating the life of the group’s backbone Dino. The guys sang “Emotions” and everyone in the building threw up their “H’s” to show love for one of my absolute favorite singers who had one of the most underrated vocals ever in my opinion. Have I mentioned how much I LOVEDEDEDED that dude? Like.. I need a tee shirt that has his pic on it or something.. someone make that happen thank yewwww..
I was quite entertained by the ladies that ran up on the stage to dance/twerk/body roll/ and hunch on Shazam and G.I’s legs during their new song “Green Light” which after hearing it, I give it the green light.. it’s pretty catchy. The fellas threw out stuffed animals and roses to the ladies, and at one point squirted whipped cream into the mouths of the willing and able. I’d be the one to choke on the ish so I stayed right where I needed to be .. in my seat throwing my “H” up singing and swaying. While some of you tend to think these groups should let the chips fall where they may and sit down somewhere after losing a lead singer, or if the group breaks up and new members slide into place, I am one that is open to giving the new version of the groups a shot, hell as long as they play the songs I wanna hear, we good LOL. For those that asked me who sang the lead parts since Dino is gone.. well hell you shoulda carried your arses to SC to see LOL .. or you can look it up on youtube..they have plenty of videos from shows they have done over the years.
While it wasn’t a sold out show, one thing is for sure.. the fellas rocked the house like there were thousands of people in the building by giving nothing short of 10000000000 percent.. and to me.. that says a lot, especially that they want to give their fans a good show, and leave a GOOD lasting impression.
Lesson Learned: Take a personal fan next time I travel over the border to SC .. and maybe next time H-Town comes, you mofos will come out and support and see for yourself how good they still are. I'm a fan and will always be one. *throws up the "H" til my fingers cramp*
Keep up with H-Town on Twitter @HTown4Life @gijackson @shazamconner (and you can check out their website at htown4ever.com --tell em I sent ya!
What is your favorite H-Town song?
Until later...
-Meik
Two words: Lionel. Richie.
*insert squeal* I MET LIONEL RICHIE!
What happened Meik? How did it happen? WHY it happen??
I'm so glad you asked.
First IF LI-NEL comes to your city.. GOOOOOOO see his show.. it's like a freaking mega karaoke session since everybody knows all of his songs. Trust me on this. You won't regret going--er.. well you might if you aren't a fan of shawt armed Cee-lo, but just get there after his set mmk?
Now onto Friday night.. like any person that gets tired of going out, I have become a homebody and best friends with Netflix and my On-Demand channels and I can't forget thousands of my twitter friends. So with my AKA sorority sisters in town for Boule, I decided it's time to be social because it's not like they live here and I can see them any ole time right?
We meet up for drinks and our party dwindles down to two and frankly I have had enough of latin jazz night at Blue, so I suggest that we head over to the Ritz Carlton to see if they have live music and mingling going on.
Mind you, I'm 3 ..or was it 4 martinis in, and feeling nice. I'm also pretty sure I shouldn't be mixing alcohol with the mofo'n medicine I am on for my leg, but that's another story for another day.
So we end up sitting next to the bathrooms and near the lobby, because the place is packed. It's dark, there are black folks everywhere but the music is niiiiiice. So I'm twerking in my seat and I look up and see a light skinned man that resembles nobody other than Lionel Richie.
Nawl.. nawl.. nawl.. that can't be him. My mind's playing tricks on me. Besides, his concert was in Charlotte on Thursday and surely he would have already left town by now. IT CANNOT BE HIM. He is getting closer, and I'm squinting trying to get my dry arse contacts to focus. He gets a little closer and there's a white dude with him that I assume is either in the band, his manager, or well he was too small to be anybody's bodyguard, but hey, you never know I guess.
Ebony and Ivory are right by us and I say ..OMG..THAT IS LIONEL RICHIE!!
Of course, nobody listens to me everrrrrrr... (case in point, I kept telling my friends Chuckii Booker was on stage with Li-Nel..I recognized those deep arse dimples anywhere..and what do you know.. Li-Nel introduced him a short time later.. folks gonna listen to Meik Meik one day. Another example.. I KNEW I saw the lil dark skinned dude from Camp Lo at a bar once..nobody listened but I went right up to him and said I know you.. you from Camp Lo..and lo and behold it was Sonny Cheeba.. I BE KNOWIN.)
Anyhoo back to the story.. my soror and two other ladies sitting there look at me as if I have lost the absolute last bit of sense I was born with. Okay, so maybe I have, but that ain't the point! THAT IS LIONEL RICHIE!
I jump up---well the best I can with my leg, and say THAT WAS LIONEL RICHIE THAT JUST WENT INTO THE BATHROOM!!!
I high tail it over to the entrance to the bathrooms and post up on the wall. My soror signals that if it's him to let her know and she is ready to take a pic. A little indian girl slides over beside me and I'm like "did you see what I saw?" She nods and whispers Lionel. YAAASSS I'm not crazy!! But wait.. not one person in the Ritz bar area paid him a bit of attention. Maybe they thought oh, that's just another light skinnTed Charlotte negroid trying to look like someone important, or they thought who the hell is that cat daddy and why is he wearing them tight arse pants? Either way..nobody else has spotted him.
TMZ ain't got ish on me I tell you. Maybe I can get a job there since nobody else will hire ya girl.
Anyhoo..the door opens..some dude walks out. ugh YOU ain't Lionel.
Door opens again.. another random walks out. YOU ain't Lionel either.
FINALLY..door opens again and Lionel walks out..I nod frantically at my soror who is quick on her feet and manages to get over there within 2 seconds.
"Mr. Richie, Lionel, heyyyy can we get a picture?"
"Sure, really quick tho"
He grabs me and lil indian girl and we are in the same pic and I tell him thru my smile that I work for SoulTrain.com and he turns to me and says "No Kidding?! That's great!" *faints* Li-Nel is ahhhhh-maaazing.
Now for 65 years old, Li-Nel ain't got no wrinkles nowhere..tho I guess if I had his bank account, I would be looking like a Commodore until I was 100 years old. He's also not the 6'2 man I thought he'd be in my head, he's probably more like 5'9 but who cares..
All I can think is..OMG..OMG..THIS IS LI-NEL RICHIE..MICHAEL JACKSON'S FRIEND!!!!!!!! *insert fan girl moment*
When I tell you it did not matter to me one bit that he just came out of that bathroom and I didn't know or care if he washed his hands. Hell as far as I was concerned, I could have Li-Nel pee on my shirt and I would still be in 7th heaven. Judge me if you want to.
I gather my thoughts quickly and say Mr. Richie will you take one more pic for me..and he turns and says sure realllly quick. Snap.. pic taken.. I tell him thank you and that his concert was absolutely the best ever and amazing. He turns to me, and with the grace and humbleness of someone just starting in the biz, rather than a man of his stature and legendary everythang, grabs my hand and says thank you so much, I appreciate it really I do.
OMG OMG OMG HE LOVES MEEEEEE!! no wait..that's Idris Elba that loves me.
Then someone else stepped in his way and he said, "by the way, what's going on in here tonight?" Someone said, "it's just a regular Friday night in Charlotte".. I'm thinking, THE HELL YOU SAY.. LI0NEL RICHIE IS HERE!! THIS AIN'T REGULAR!
All I know is this, Lionel didn't have to entertain us with even one pic or conversation, but he was super nice and friendly. I understood his reason for saying take the pics quickly, because he didn't want other folks to catch on that he was there and then they'd start wanting pics and autographs. Just as fast as he was there.. he was gone. I swear he vanished into thin air like Michael Jackson did in Remember the Time. I'm telling you, I never saw him walk out the door or get on the elevator. WHERE DID LIONEL GO?!!! Thin air. He probably paid for a thin air vanisher with all that money he has. Hell, if I was him, I wouldn't even be on tour, I'd be walking to my mailbox daily to get my checks and chillin by a pool or something.
Lesson Learned: Keep your mofo'n eyes peeled.. you never know who you might see. You gotta move fast to get what you want. Next step.. calling his peeps to hopefully set up an interview *crosses fingers* .. I haven't calmed down from this not one bit..I feel like "Dancing on The Ceiling" "All Night Long!!"
What's your favorite Lionel Richie song? This one is in my head right now so I thought I'd share..come on 2 step with me!
Until Later..
Meik
*insert squeal* I MET LIONEL RICHIE!
What happened Meik? How did it happen? WHY it happen??
I'm so glad you asked.
First IF LI-NEL comes to your city.. GOOOOOOO see his show.. it's like a freaking mega karaoke session since everybody knows all of his songs. Trust me on this. You won't regret going--er.. well you might if you aren't a fan of shawt armed Cee-lo, but just get there after his set mmk?
Now onto Friday night.. like any person that gets tired of going out, I have become a homebody and best friends with Netflix and my On-Demand channels and I can't forget thousands of my twitter friends. So with my AKA sorority sisters in town for Boule, I decided it's time to be social because it's not like they live here and I can see them any ole time right?
We meet up for drinks and our party dwindles down to two and frankly I have had enough of latin jazz night at Blue, so I suggest that we head over to the Ritz Carlton to see if they have live music and mingling going on.
Mind you, I'm 3 ..or was it 4 martinis in, and feeling nice. I'm also pretty sure I shouldn't be mixing alcohol with the mofo'n medicine I am on for my leg, but that's another story for another day.
So we end up sitting next to the bathrooms and near the lobby, because the place is packed. It's dark, there are black folks everywhere but the music is niiiiiice. So I'm twerking in my seat and I look up and see a light skinned man that resembles nobody other than Lionel Richie.
Nawl.. nawl.. nawl.. that can't be him. My mind's playing tricks on me. Besides, his concert was in Charlotte on Thursday and surely he would have already left town by now. IT CANNOT BE HIM. He is getting closer, and I'm squinting trying to get my dry arse contacts to focus. He gets a little closer and there's a white dude with him that I assume is either in the band, his manager, or well he was too small to be anybody's bodyguard, but hey, you never know I guess.
Ebony and Ivory are right by us and I say ..OMG..THAT IS LIONEL RICHIE!!
Of course, nobody listens to me everrrrrrr... (case in point, I kept telling my friends Chuckii Booker was on stage with Li-Nel..I recognized those deep arse dimples anywhere..and what do you know.. Li-Nel introduced him a short time later.. folks gonna listen to Meik Meik one day. Another example.. I KNEW I saw the lil dark skinned dude from Camp Lo at a bar once..nobody listened but I went right up to him and said I know you.. you from Camp Lo..and lo and behold it was Sonny Cheeba.. I BE KNOWIN.)
Anyhoo back to the story.. my soror and two other ladies sitting there look at me as if I have lost the absolute last bit of sense I was born with. Okay, so maybe I have, but that ain't the point! THAT IS LIONEL RICHIE!
I jump up---well the best I can with my leg, and say THAT WAS LIONEL RICHIE THAT JUST WENT INTO THE BATHROOM!!!
I high tail it over to the entrance to the bathrooms and post up on the wall. My soror signals that if it's him to let her know and she is ready to take a pic. A little indian girl slides over beside me and I'm like "did you see what I saw?" She nods and whispers Lionel. YAAASSS I'm not crazy!! But wait.. not one person in the Ritz bar area paid him a bit of attention. Maybe they thought oh, that's just another light skinnTed Charlotte negroid trying to look like someone important, or they thought who the hell is that cat daddy and why is he wearing them tight arse pants? Either way..nobody else has spotted him.
TMZ ain't got ish on me I tell you. Maybe I can get a job there since nobody else will hire ya girl.
Anyhoo..the door opens..some dude walks out. ugh YOU ain't Lionel.
Door opens again.. another random walks out. YOU ain't Lionel either.
FINALLY..door opens again and Lionel walks out..I nod frantically at my soror who is quick on her feet and manages to get over there within 2 seconds.
"Mr. Richie, Lionel, heyyyy can we get a picture?"
"Sure, really quick tho"
He grabs me and lil indian girl and we are in the same pic and I tell him thru my smile that I work for SoulTrain.com and he turns to me and says "No Kidding?! That's great!" *faints* Li-Nel is ahhhhh-maaazing.
Now for 65 years old, Li-Nel ain't got no wrinkles nowhere..tho I guess if I had his bank account, I would be looking like a Commodore until I was 100 years old. He's also not the 6'2 man I thought he'd be in my head, he's probably more like 5'9 but who cares..
All I can think is..OMG..OMG..THIS IS LI-NEL RICHIE..MICHAEL JACKSON'S FRIEND!!!!!!!! *insert fan girl moment*
When I tell you it did not matter to me one bit that he just came out of that bathroom and I didn't know or care if he washed his hands. Hell as far as I was concerned, I could have Li-Nel pee on my shirt and I would still be in 7th heaven. Judge me if you want to.
I gather my thoughts quickly and say Mr. Richie will you take one more pic for me..and he turns and says sure realllly quick. Snap.. pic taken.. I tell him thank you and that his concert was absolutely the best ever and amazing. He turns to me, and with the grace and humbleness of someone just starting in the biz, rather than a man of his stature and legendary everythang, grabs my hand and says thank you so much, I appreciate it really I do.
OMG OMG OMG HE LOVES MEEEEEE!! no wait..that's Idris Elba that loves me.
Then someone else stepped in his way and he said, "by the way, what's going on in here tonight?" Someone said, "it's just a regular Friday night in Charlotte".. I'm thinking, THE HELL YOU SAY.. LI0NEL RICHIE IS HERE!! THIS AIN'T REGULAR!
All I know is this, Lionel didn't have to entertain us with even one pic or conversation, but he was super nice and friendly. I understood his reason for saying take the pics quickly, because he didn't want other folks to catch on that he was there and then they'd start wanting pics and autographs. Just as fast as he was there.. he was gone. I swear he vanished into thin air like Michael Jackson did in Remember the Time. I'm telling you, I never saw him walk out the door or get on the elevator. WHERE DID LIONEL GO?!!! Thin air. He probably paid for a thin air vanisher with all that money he has. Hell, if I was him, I wouldn't even be on tour, I'd be walking to my mailbox daily to get my checks and chillin by a pool or something.
Lesson Learned: Keep your mofo'n eyes peeled.. you never know who you might see. You gotta move fast to get what you want. Next step.. calling his peeps to hopefully set up an interview *crosses fingers* .. I haven't calmed down from this not one bit..I feel like "Dancing on The Ceiling" "All Night Long!!"
What's your favorite Lionel Richie song? This one is in my head right now so I thought I'd share..come on 2 step with me!
Until Later..
Meik
Nothing like some MOFO'N ratchet ish to kick off the start of the summer right?
Granted, I haven't been in a blogging type of mood lately, but I really appreciate everyone's condolences about the loss of my best friend, my ride or die chick, my grandma. Thank you from the bottom of my broken heart. Now, that I've gotten those formalities out of the way, let's continue on this journey of summertime ratchetness shall we?
What happened Meik?
I'm oh so glad you asked.
The 4th Annual Soul Food Festival.
What's that you ask?
A Hot. Arse. Ratchet. Mess.
So over a month ago, I contacted the festival via their website to see about covering the event and grabbing some interviews.. I wanted to chat with Morris Day and even ask Jerome why he's ok with ..well.. nevermind.. but Angela Winbush and her amazing story of bouncing back from a health scare, and Lakeside..ooooh weee, and well obviously you see this was an old school concert.. mmmk.
So the folks over at the festival responded with a phone call, which I thought was pretty nice, and said I could cover the event and they would provide media passes for me +1. So I love to multi-task so I'm thinking I can cover this event for an article that I pitched, and I can shoot some interviews to put on my resume reel. Great idea huh?
Well...in my professional nature, I always follow up the day before and even the day of the "interview" to confirm we are still good to go. So this was no different, I contacted the guy that I spoke to, he said we are good to go, your passes will be at the front gate, but just call me when you get here and I will make sure everything is taken care of.
Saturday rolls around, I get to the event, call dude.. calls go to voice-mail. This has to be a fluke right? Lemme try again.. ring.. straight to voice-mail again...and again... hmm.. so I decide let me just go to the front gate.
Ticket folks say go to the gate, ask them.. the folks at the gate says naw no media passes here.. just go on in and talk to the lady in the hat, I talk to her, she says no talk to the promoter .. so I ask the promoter about the passes..and he says.. "I don't know why that dude told you that there would be media passes, he doesn't work for me. You can go on in tho, but I can't give you a media pass."
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
So WHO is answering emails sent via the website and responding to the ish then?!!!
*crickets*
So at this point.. I am LIVID. But I'm trying not to act a donkey like my deddy would and remain professional so I just figure I'll go ahead and still be able to do a review of the show.
Great idea huh?
Wellllllp.. not so much..considering the layout of this festival.... it's in a big arse PARKING LOT. NOT a PARK.. A PARKING LOT. Concrete.. asphalt... and lawn chairs.
*blink blink blink*
There goes the idea of anyone trying to be romanticaLs and have a blanket to sit in the grass and snuggle n ish.. (then again, this is Charlotte and that idea probably didn't occur to anybody so moving on...)
The stage is all the way at the front of the lot, so if you got there early, then you could possibly see the stage.. (that would prob be the first 100 people) and after that.. well, you pretty much just bought a ticket to stare at the back of someone's lawn chair and people watch while LISTENING to good music, cuz you couldn't see a damn thing. No jumbo screens..no nada.. and since it was a soul food festival.. I'm sure you want to know about the food.. well hell..me too. LOL. They had a handful (less than 10) vendors selling food and drinks and thousands of people that were hungry and thirsty. I know folks waited in line for almost 2 hours to get food, and the ish made them sick.. waste of time and money!
I heard folks saying last year the stage was in the center of the event so it was easier to see, so who moved it and why this year?! People were also grumbling about having to pay $35 for nothing (hell, can you blame them?!)
And you already know these mofos didn't start on time. I got bored watching the back of the chairs and staring at the sky and people watching so I left early..but let me run down the sights that I did see..
Fingerwaves galore. WhomEVER keeps doing this to women's heads in 2013 ..PLEASE STOP. Thank yew.
A man had the audacity to hurt my feelings and everyone there by wearing a red snake skin shirt that KILT my very soul..
Then you had gold teeF, grills, missing teeF.. it was like a dental work be damned convention.
Women walking around in shoes that they clearly didn't practice in after they bought them, and they probably didn't count on having to walk on asphalt, they was probably hoping for patches of grass to chill on.. welllp..
Lots of mandals (that's man-sandals), ashy feet, and linen suits...weed and newports.. ahhhhh just enough to make you wanna divorce black folks.
Let's not forget the parking situation.. pay $5 to park, and ooops.. no more parking spaces.. WTF?!
Needless to say, this is an event that I will NEVER go back to just because it wasn't organized very well.. I hate that these awesome old school acts even were associated with such a poorly planned event. So my recommendation.. skip the Soul Food Festival if it comes to your city unless the promoters there just happen to have some sense and want folks to come back next year. As for Meik Meik.. she wont' be attending not a nar nother one in Charlotte, NC.
Lesson Learned: aww hell.. I ain't got one..except.. arrive early.. and well I don't know if that would have even helped. Charlotte, you failed on this one. The bright side of this entire long weekend was seeing Jon B. and SWV at Speed Street-kudos to the NASCAR folks for giving us a great show and making it accessible and easy for everyone to see the stage no matter where you were, or you could look at the NASCAR HALL OF FAME Building and see a jumbo screen...hmmmph.. a grand idea! Look at God.
Y'all stay classy..
-Meik
Granted, I haven't been in a blogging type of mood lately, but I really appreciate everyone's condolences about the loss of my best friend, my ride or die chick, my grandma. Thank you from the bottom of my broken heart. Now, that I've gotten those formalities out of the way, let's continue on this journey of summertime ratchetness shall we?
What happened Meik?
I'm oh so glad you asked.
The 4th Annual Soul Food Festival.
What's that you ask?
A Hot. Arse. Ratchet. Mess.
So over a month ago, I contacted the festival via their website to see about covering the event and grabbing some interviews.. I wanted to chat with Morris Day and even ask Jerome why he's ok with ..well.. nevermind.. but Angela Winbush and her amazing story of bouncing back from a health scare, and Lakeside..ooooh weee, and well obviously you see this was an old school concert.. mmmk.
So the folks over at the festival responded with a phone call, which I thought was pretty nice, and said I could cover the event and they would provide media passes for me +1. So I love to multi-task so I'm thinking I can cover this event for an article that I pitched, and I can shoot some interviews to put on my resume reel. Great idea huh?
Well...in my professional nature, I always follow up the day before and even the day of the "interview" to confirm we are still good to go. So this was no different, I contacted the guy that I spoke to, he said we are good to go, your passes will be at the front gate, but just call me when you get here and I will make sure everything is taken care of.
Saturday rolls around, I get to the event, call dude.. calls go to voice-mail. This has to be a fluke right? Lemme try again.. ring.. straight to voice-mail again...and again... hmm.. so I decide let me just go to the front gate.
Ticket folks say go to the gate, ask them.. the folks at the gate says naw no media passes here.. just go on in and talk to the lady in the hat, I talk to her, she says no talk to the promoter .. so I ask the promoter about the passes..and he says.. "I don't know why that dude told you that there would be media passes, he doesn't work for me. You can go on in tho, but I can't give you a media pass."
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
So WHO is answering emails sent via the website and responding to the ish then?!!!
*crickets*
So at this point.. I am LIVID. But I'm trying not to act a donkey like my deddy would and remain professional so I just figure I'll go ahead and still be able to do a review of the show.
Great idea huh?
Wellllllp.. not so much..considering the layout of this festival.... it's in a big arse PARKING LOT. NOT a PARK.. A PARKING LOT. Concrete.. asphalt... and lawn chairs.
*blink blink blink*
There goes the idea of anyone trying to be romanticaLs and have a blanket to sit in the grass and snuggle n ish.. (then again, this is Charlotte and that idea probably didn't occur to anybody so moving on...)
The stage is all the way at the front of the lot, so if you got there early, then you could possibly see the stage.. (that would prob be the first 100 people) and after that.. well, you pretty much just bought a ticket to stare at the back of someone's lawn chair and people watch while LISTENING to good music, cuz you couldn't see a damn thing. No jumbo screens..no nada.. and since it was a soul food festival.. I'm sure you want to know about the food.. well hell..me too. LOL. They had a handful (less than 10) vendors selling food and drinks and thousands of people that were hungry and thirsty. I know folks waited in line for almost 2 hours to get food, and the ish made them sick.. waste of time and money!
I heard folks saying last year the stage was in the center of the event so it was easier to see, so who moved it and why this year?! People were also grumbling about having to pay $35 for nothing (hell, can you blame them?!)
And you already know these mofos didn't start on time. I got bored watching the back of the chairs and staring at the sky and people watching so I left early..but let me run down the sights that I did see..
Fingerwaves galore. WhomEVER keeps doing this to women's heads in 2013 ..PLEASE STOP. Thank yew.
A man had the audacity to hurt my feelings and everyone there by wearing a red snake skin shirt that KILT my very soul..
Then you had gold teeF, grills, missing teeF.. it was like a dental work be damned convention.
Women walking around in shoes that they clearly didn't practice in after they bought them, and they probably didn't count on having to walk on asphalt, they was probably hoping for patches of grass to chill on.. welllp..
Lots of mandals (that's man-sandals), ashy feet, and linen suits...weed and newports.. ahhhhh just enough to make you wanna divorce black folks.
Let's not forget the parking situation.. pay $5 to park, and ooops.. no more parking spaces.. WTF?!
Needless to say, this is an event that I will NEVER go back to just because it wasn't organized very well.. I hate that these awesome old school acts even were associated with such a poorly planned event. So my recommendation.. skip the Soul Food Festival if it comes to your city unless the promoters there just happen to have some sense and want folks to come back next year. As for Meik Meik.. she wont' be attending not a nar nother one in Charlotte, NC.
Lesson Learned: aww hell.. I ain't got one..except.. arrive early.. and well I don't know if that would have even helped. Charlotte, you failed on this one. The bright side of this entire long weekend was seeing Jon B. and SWV at Speed Street-kudos to the NASCAR folks for giving us a great show and making it accessible and easy for everyone to see the stage no matter where you were, or you could look at the NASCAR HALL OF FAME Building and see a jumbo screen...hmmmph.. a grand idea! Look at God.
Y'all stay classy..
-Meik
