FINAL WORD: BWAAAHAHAHAHAHHA

You must read 7 things i've thought about erykah badu and her "window seat" video from Very Smart Brothas {dot} com. 

This post is pure, 100% comedy central. And I think it aptly sums up my own internal Scooby-Doo arrr-errr...?'s in the aftermath of addressed hallabaloo. 

There are several money shots in this post, but here's one to consider if you're quick to erect dichotomies of Kulcha versus Culture:

"The overwhelmingly positive response (and condescension towards those who disagree) to this vid is more proof that, in the “cultured” corner of the black community, the headwrap gets you a pass.

mind you, i’m not passing judgment on the artistic merit of the video, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the general sentiment would be much less supportive if keri hilson or nicky minaj or ciara or anyone else not named erykah badu or india.arie or jill scott pulled a similar stunt."

▌VOCAB ▌Somewhere in Advance of Upfronts

I'm in a teachable mood...

both in the giving and receiving sense. (Rare when they align...)

Today, I want to explain a term you may see on the blog a bit in the coming weeks.

I've used it once in referring to BET's effort to resurrect 'The Game,' and now I feel like I want to talk about it more in depth. 

Time permitting, I'll keep my word when I say I'll do this more often. But if I don't, here's a handy reference to keep in mind when you see entertainment jargon spewed wildly about without interpretation: Variety's Slanguage Glossary.

I will use the Glossary now to give you a nutshell definition of the term under discussion in this post: upfront.

The upfront is commercial time sold in advance of the TV season. The Variety Slanguage Glossary offers these words in context, and if you follow the pretty green link, you'll see how you can expect to hear the term "upfront" when used by folks who know what they're talking about.

The purpose of an upfront presentation is all about securing advertising moolah for a network "up front," or in advance of a programming season.

If you're looking for a sign of just how old television's way of doing business is, the upfronts are a good one. All the original broadcast networks, (CBS, NBC, ABC), plus the newbies (FOX, then SUPA nube CW) present rather lavish previews of their fall programming in May. This year, the week of May 17th.

This is when they 'sice' [DMV vocab] they're programming--and demographic appeal--in order to sell off those ad spots. In any article about an upfront presentation, you're very likely to see at least these pieces of information: network viewers in a particular salary range,  age bracket, show genre and length, stars who are on board with a specific show.

You can take a gander at just how frou-frou-chic-chic past upfronts have gotten over at the New York Times Media Decoder blog, devoted to such a time as this.

(I hear Bravo's NJ Housewives are helping the net' do it up real big...)

Cable doesn't necessarily have a designated time period to shake a leg for ad dinero, but  you BESTA BUH-LEEEEE they get it in, too. (Check B&C.) Whether they have to hack their time or straight up take it.... TBS is best known for mischief started during upfronts, but I've said enough. 

Check back often with NYT and Variety, as well as Broadcasting & Cable (who are veerrrrry comprehensive in their cable upfront reporting) for new news where upfronts are concerned. It may get your gears turning, so that when your time comes to pitch your extremely amazing idea, you know where your listeners' heads are at.

▌BIOPICS ▌Will Smith says "naaahhh" to Crowe's Marvin Gaye

The round-the-way crooner, who would've been 71 last week, is the biopic subject of director Cameron Crowe.

Electronic Urban Report gabs (via Daily Variety) that Will Smith ended months of negotiations over the lead role yesterday. He will NOT mouth Sexual Healing or any other form of lyrical n' lusty-froth a la Marvin Gaye! Sorry! (Unfortunately, I keep thinking about the opening sequence to "I, Robot"...oh dear...mercy.)

While reasons for the deal's failure are unclear, USA Today says, Crowe has been trying to get this project off the ground for four years. Hm...ain't that every major Black biopic in the streets...? (*cough*Nina*sputter*cough*Simone*hackingcough*)

An interesting thing, ain't it? Big Willie, TP, Oprah, and maybe Halle-Denzel are the consummate Blacks in film to defer to if you can't get a pic off the ground. Not saying that  entirely because I think Crowe employed that tendency, because I really think he'd pull it off, but where financiers are concerned, they need a face they know will do well at the B.O. 

And in the meantime, these stories keep collecting dust, falling deeper and deeper into the recesses of collective memory...

dramatic sighs.

MIDDAY RANDOMNESS: Keys & Minaj

Meet Keys from Baltimore.

Now that Nicki Minaj has released a "statement" not addressing, but addressing her Hatership, everyone will remember Keys henceforth and forever more as the chick who dissed Minaj.

I'm sure many a true-pink Barbz is mad, but ladies, please...it is NOT like the game is brimming with females! Cease and desist!

Keys is tight. Somebody should make that happen. I still heart Minaj. (She said her haters are her sons...?? BWAAAAAHAHAHA...) And now that we've had this conversation, can the next lady NOT have to make a diss track before folks put her on??

MIDDAY RANDOMNESS: Frangela's Cause

Pray tell, is your skin

a) ashy and faded

b) rougher than sandpaper

c) dry like a camel who can't even spit

d) puckered like a raisin on the blacktop 

OR

e) scaly like a horned toad?

Oil of Olay wants to know. Really. This is why they've created this stimulus package featuring comedienne duo (that you probably know from VH1) Frangela (Francis + Angela). Learn more at Quench for clunkers {dot} com: 

▌UPFRONTS ▌BET to revive 'The Game'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mara Brock Akil's husband, Salim Akil (who directed most of the series, and co-wrote one episode with his wife) will take over development of the fourth season at BET, and Mara will serve as Executive Producer. (Mind you, Mara is probably the single most important name in Black television over the last decade...#icalledit)

Money quote:

"The cable network is expected to announce at its upfront presentation this month that it is resurrecting the CW sitcom with original episodes."

The article says most of the cast will be returning. No specifics on who'll come up absent, but this is definitely news for BET, who as a network, has very few original scripted series under its belt. The article is sure to point out the 2008 effort, 'Somebodies' which had been set to appear for a second season, but...

Yeah. About that.

My big question, though, is will Kelsey Grammer cross over to BET, too??

LEAKED: Season 3 of the Boondocks!!

YES! It IS so...

Check it out, and become a profile-holding member of, yeah I said it, Boondocks Bootleg Ning Community. Til then, enjoy!