I paint because I love to paint. If someone buys the prints or whatever, so be it, but it's not my main form of business. As a performer, that is my main form of business.
— Amanda Seales
'Smart, Funny and Black' is about celebrating, critiquing and learning about black culture, black history, and the black experience.
When I came into stand-up, I found a certain safe space of intellectualism, of camaraderie, of excellence that really has always been natural to me but always felt foreign in the other spaces I've been in.
In hip hop, 'real' has always meant one who represents in actuality what they present in imagery. For instance, once upon a time, if a rapper spoke about being gangsta, they needed to truly be that, or they were 'frontin.'
I am all at once in awe and in confusion at some of the folks I encounter during fashion week, consistently causing me to mutter to myself or whoever's in earshot, 'Is that really necessary?'
Cornrows came back with a vengeance in the early '00s with every dude trying to grow his hair out to get 'braided up.' It was crazy. Girls were getting carpal tunnel in hoods across America trying to make plaits out of 1.5 inches of ungreased hair.
My hair changes with my emotions... and my purpose for the day.
My first encounter with Wu-Tang Clan came when I ordered six CDs from those throwback catalog orders, from Columbia House or something, and '36 Chambers' was one of them. It was on from then.
As a lover of both hip-hop and jazz, I feel like much of the latter community still doesn't truly embrace hip-hop as a musical extension.
I love cars.
Exactly what I'm doing is what success looks like. I get to create on my own terms, on my own timeline, and I'm able to support myself and my mom and my cat comfortably.
My thing about creating things is that it has to do two purposes: It has to serve me creatively but also has to serve the people.
'Smart Funny and Black' is basically a live black pop culture game show that I created. We have a live band. We have two contestants that we call 'blacksperts.' They come on stage and compete in games that I've created that test their knowledge of black culture, black history, and the black experience.
I look to icons like George Carlin, Chris Rock, and Richard Pryor on how to present these concepts of social change and subversiveness to an audience in a way that's palatable.
From the beginning with 'So Far Gone,' Drake's work has been to find a way to deftly balance his singing and his rapping.
Whether you like him or not, hip hop needs Drake.
Contrary to far too popular a belief, style, fashion, and fabulousness are not synonymous with stank, haughty, and self-aggrandizing.
I am black, and I loved 'Django.'
When my hair is picked out, my whole aura is picked out, like, 'See this, see me.'
I've played with jazz and toyed with it when I used to live near the St. Nicholas Pub in Harlem.
I think it's always been especially hard for black people to let go of musicians who do heinous things because music is such an integral part of our existence.
I'm a nerd.
I have a theory that when you're lost on the path, go back to the beginning and try the maze again.
For my web series 'Get Your Life,' I wrote that and produced it and starred in it so that I could have a body of work that represents my voice as a writer and as a performer.
I come from an academic background, and I have a genuine interest in social change.
Drake ain't fake.
Fashion week is not an episode of 'Girls' or 'Friends,' where I'm OK that there is not a black person in sight because I honestly believe these characters don't come into contact with - therefore don't have - any black friends. No, in the case of Fashion week, it feels wrong.
Ladies and dentists will agree: Iverson has one of the best smiles to ever grin. This is uncontested. No argument! And he was very generous with it as well. Whether during a game, press conference, or photoshoot, Iverson was free with his cheesing.
Every New Year comes with a list of predictions. Self-predictions, world predictions, how many times Lindsay Lohan will get arrested predictions, etc. I reserve the annual trend for people with genuine psychic ability and/or bloggers.
I am from Florida, so I didn't 'grow up' on Wu-Tang.
Jazz does what it wants to, and so does The Wu.
Anytime I don't have to wear a bra is a good day.
I don't have the proportions for 'hood hot.'
I'm an artist through and through.
