The leak of Beyonce’s new album 4 hit the Internet a couple weeks ago, and it was just officially released this past Tuesday, and it was all anyone could talk about. I got my copy, but to be honest I wasn’t too enthused about it.

The first single from the album, “Run the World (Girls)” didn’t blow me away. It was an unsuccessful mish mosh of incoherent noise, and her lyrics were less than sub-par.

Of course, since her album is about to drop she’s already on a slew of magazine covers. Essence is no exception. Bey actually wrote the article herself. I bought the mag, hoping it wouldn’t be another typical Beyonce article. I wanted her to really show who she is. I wanted to shake from my mind that she’s boring with a flat personality outside of her Sasha Fierceness.

Well, the article didn’t change my mind. And I might have dozed off for a minute too. It wasn’t that the article was a snoozefest, but if you are a true Beyonce stan, everything that was in there you would have already known, such as:

1. Beyonce is from Houston.
2. She grew up eating fried food.
3. Her mom worked in a salon.
4. She loves to vacation where there’s water. (I mean, we always see her pictured on a yacht or on the beach!)

You get the picture. She went on to explain what she did during her well deserved time off. But still, the read wasn’t anything amazing.

One thing she did say jumped out at me, though. “I was going to give myself a year to do the things I never get to do. Simple things like… cook a meal and spend time with my husband.” I thought it was really sweet.

Which brings me back to her album. Her ballads on 4 are the absolute best. “1+1″ and “I Miss You” I could listen to over and over again. “I thought things like this would get better with time / But I still need you, why is that? / You’re the only image in my mind / So I still see you… around.” I can completely relate to the lyrics. Whether or not Bey wrote them is besides the point. I feel that when you go through something that might have taken you on an emotional roller coaster, the easier it is to relate to the artist.

Her fast-paced songs sound like they should have been on the Destiny’s Child Survivor album. There hasn’t been any real growth. She was never really one for substance, but the uptempo songs on 4 are truly lacking. “Love on Top” sounds like it could be an American Idol finale song if they did them uptempo. All fluff, no substance.

She should have taken a tip from her husband. He continues to evolve while remaining relevant after 11 albums, which is rare to do nowadays. Some artists can’t stay afloat after their fourth single let alone fourth album.

Which leads me to this question, can Beyonce evolve? Can the Queen put aside the dance routines, ladies’ anthems, predictable lyrics and produce a record that shows growth and still hold the number one spot?

Every so often in music there is an artist who speaks to the masses. Sometimes it is profound; oftentimes it is not. Rapper Lil’ B happens to be the latter.

I watched a video of him “performing” on stage with Diddy, and it was one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen. He had no real skill or stage presence. In fact, for a good part of the video you didn’t even realize he was there, thanks to Diddy stealing the spotlight as usual.

If you can, watch the video. (For those who have ears or eyes, this may be a difficult process.)

Lack of skill and inabilities aside, what truly disturbed me were the comments from the video.

– “Thank you Basedgod for saving my life. You can f*** my b**** tonight after I’m done.”

– “Damn, BASEDGOD… You done came up. Now you got Diddy cookin it up and shoutin you out. You made it. Thank you basedgod.”

– “F*** my wife base god!!!”

What? F*** my girl? Basedgod?? What does this even mean?

According to Urban Dictionary, it means “living the way of life swaggin too the fullest, not caring what people say or think,wear, act or do what you want inspired by the BASEDGOD Lil’ B.”

My title “Of Cults and Basedgods” may be extreme, but look at it this way: a cult means devotion to a particular figure or object and a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. This is everything that the “Basedgod” stands for. Granted, the commenters might not have been giving up their girls to Lil’ B (or maybe some were, who knows?), but just the fact they were offering blew my mind. Who thought of this anyway? Is this the norm for the new generation?

I really wish I knew what type of brainwashing methods he uses on his fans because this is ridiculous.

Thoughts?

So ladies, you may realize that you only have a few minutes to get ready for work or class. You want to put on make up but it seems like you don’t have time. But there’s always time to add a like something to your look. Here are the steps to apply a five minute make up face that can have you from the shower and to the door in no time.

Step 1

Apply concealer.

Take your concealer and place it on any dark under eye circle and unwanted blemishes that you may have. This can be done by using your ring finger and patting it in (not rubbing) or a small concealer brush. Be sure to blend.

This step will help brighten and make you look fresh and awake.

Step 2

Apply powder.

Take a fluffy powder brush or use a cosmetic sponge and quickly apply the powder over the places you applied concealer to prevent shine and smearing. Also apply the powder to the t-zone; which is your forehead, down your nose, and the cheeks. These areas are prone to get oily through out the day.

Step 3

Apply eyeshadow.

You may not have time to get fancy with the eyeshadow so just stick to one color. A soft brown color is recommended because it looks natural and compliments any skin tone.

First apply a eyeshadow base, if you don’t have one get your concealer and place a little on your eye lids. This will allow your eyeshadow to stick and not fade through out the day.  Take a brush or those little sponge tip applicators and place color on the lids and crease of your eyes.

Step 4

Apply mascara.

You may not have time to try to get you eyeliner on perfectly, so just apply one or two coats of mascara.

Step 5

Finish with the lips.

Just put on your favorite lip gloss or lip color. Don’t put on something to bright in color because you’re going to work, not out to a club.

Skip foundation if you don’t need, and blush is also optional but good to add a little life and color to the cheeks. And there you go, the steps to a natural five minute face that will get you out the door on time.

Remember, make up is not used to create beauty, only to enhance it. Have fun ladies, stay beautiful and of course, chic.

Sooner or later every celebrity will have an issue with another. It was Tupac and Biggie, Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim, and now it seems to be between Chris Brown and former member of B2K, RazB. Wednesday, December 29, 2010, Brown and RazB were going back and forth on Twitter insulting each other.

RazB appeared to have started the argument by sending  comments to singer Rihanna, mentioning Chris Brown. This was clearly done for attention,in my opinion, seeing that RazB is working on a new solo album. Chris Brown was continuously called a woman beater and RazB was accused of being a homosexual due to his alleged molestation by Chris Stokes, ex- manager of  the groups B2K and IMX, formally known as Immature.

Some very disrespectful things were said to each other and both singers should take the blame. But now some people think Brown is homophobic. Yes, his comments were hurtful but I don’t think it was meant towards his fans, just to shut RazB up.

Now according to Necolebitchie.com, Chris Brown has now apologies for his behavior! I don’t believe it’s fair that he’s taking the entire blame once again.

Tell me what you think about this twitter beef.

Click on the link above to read Chris Brown’s apology.

When was the last time you went out with your friends just to enjoy the night? You took your time to put on your make up, do your hair, and slid on the baddest pair of heels you own, just  because you can. Has it been a while? Why?

There has been plenty of times when ladies I know have been in a rut, a single rut for that matter. Then when a suggestion is made to just “change something up” or “put on something special” their replies are “Who am I getting dressed up for?”

YOURSELF!

It’s time to pull your confidence out the little box you stored in the back of you closet, next to your little black dress and pictures of you and ex-boyfriend. There’s no need for a boyfriend in to make you feel good. In fact, no one is going to appreciate you more than you appreciate yourself.  Drake said it best, “you don’t do it for the man, men never notice, you just do it for yourself you’re the f*cking coldest.”

So ladies, let’s pull it together and do it for yourself.