Funhouse

Funhouse, funhouse, funhouse....runs 'round rampant like a broken recording. A constant reminder of all the world’s ills outside this windowsill.  Vivid in my mind like flashing neon lights, running mascara, and warped faces in the frothy swirls of my morning coffee creamer…but I’m a dreamer steady hoping against hope, against ticking of the tock as people beating the clock, crawling up and down these inner city blocks…it’s a minstrel show. Aye, turn that conscious shit down and turn up! Lo behold there goes Sambo on yo' radio but like LL I can’t live without it. The beat hits them chakras...surrounded by show stoppers and pill poppers –  I call ‘em Lohans. Meanwhile, Sam I am in these trenches steady Willy Lynchin' next to booby traps promising the biggest booty so niggaz be like I got mines…clowns don't realize the jokes on them.  Signs of a time when children kill, grown men squeal and women endure madmen for rent money and cheap thrills. Blind leading the blind so the love is lost but fuck it I’mma BOSS! It cost to be. Funhouse, funhouse, funhouse…her nose is red like October with lashes longer than her lies, meanwhile his heart is in the trap steady laughing hysterically at their own demise. Huffin' and puffin' running through this maze just to huff an puff after a long day in a purplish haze. Yet, the shit got me wound up….so I pops up outta this box and startle everyone passing through. They told me keep calm, relax, and pass the time away...ignore the view. Snatch the needle off the wax. 

The Tanning of America

So, yesterday I first got wind of some new book out via a Necole Bitchie retweet on my Twitter timeline. Today, I saw another courtesy of Mary J. Blige along with a few other notable tweets mentioning some book about tanning.  Black women could care less about a tanning, so what's all the rave? Obviously, this required my attention (lol). OK. All jokes aside. The anticipated book The Tanning of America, is expected to shed light on the history of hip hop and its socioeconomic influence; offering invaluable insight into the nuances of the new-age consumer and how corporations, marketers and trendsetters alike can properly engage a multicultural marketplace. 

Author Steve Stoute (Founder & CEO of brand marketing firm Translation) is well-known for his marketing genius and hence, ability to translate diverse multicultural trends to corporate America.  "Today's consumer is a mindset, not a race - and when businesses get it right, an have a proper understanding of tanning, success is imminent (Source: Press Release via tanningofamerica.com)."  

Sound boring? Somewhat, but to be fair the public hasn't flipped nay page yet so the jury's still out.  I venture to say the book seems likely to become the next marketing "bible" of sorts.  And if you're not business savvy or simply not interested in marketing trends... no worries. The author assures most can appreciate his book for its cogent portrayal of the hip hop movement.