teisha leshea

T.I, Cardi B, and Chance The Rapper have finally chosen a winner on Netflix's Rhythm + Flow. D Smoke from Inglewood, CA, displayed his artistry and experience on the line to ultimately create a lane of his own. This 10-part series pushes these artists to the test. From rap battles, collaborating with other artists, sampling another artist's music, creating a music video, and becoming a creative directive of your own award performance challenges a rapper's range and ability to adjust to different challenges. Being a Californian, I knew from D Smoke's first performance that he would be an artist to watch. My first reaction is that he would be the next Kendrick Lamar. The way he speaks, the messages in his music, and the visual of his videos all reflect the Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar. I fell into the crowd of wanting to compare D Smoke to another rapper. But what sets D Smoke apart from Kendrick Lamar is by playing the piano, guitar, and speaking fluently in Spanish.

Self-care is one of those words that doesn't have a set definition. It's all based on the perception of the individual. Almost a year ago, my therapist would always ask what I was doing for self-care. Those two words sound self-explanatory, but, I was confused about what that really meant and how it pertained to me. I remember getting frustrated because I couldn't find a concrete answer. Each Google search was something different. Until one day, my therapist simply said: "Self-care is discovering or participating in the fun and relaxing activities you choose to do." At the time, I thought I was being tricked because there was no way that could be the answer. After almost a year of trial and error, I've finally figured out the relaxing and fun things I enjoy to do. I've listed the top ten ways to enjoy self-care.

"In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself. "- Deepak Chopra

The moment that everyone has been waiting for, and that is the return of The Lion King. For some, this will be more of a nostalgic experience, for others; this might be the first time you ever heard what The Lion King is.

African American women have always taken pride in their crown, which is our hair. According to the website Hype Hair, which promotes the latest hair trends for women of color, states that black women "spend nearly nine times more than our non-Black counterparts on ethnic hair and beauty products. Add in $473 million in total hair care, $127 million grooming aids and $465 million in skin care preparations, and we spend a whopping $1.1 billion on beauty annually." Other beauty brands are taking notice and are creating products specifically for women of color. The hot comb created by Annie Malone and later improved my Madame CJ Walker, African America's first self-made millionaire, is a staple in women of color's homes for centuries and decades. The hot comb is equivalent to a man's shave kit. It's one of the many stages that reflect womanhood. It's a comb that lays flat on top of the stove, and it heats up and combs through your hair to straighten. It was the go-to product before the flatiron existed.