inspiRED.

For me, inspiration is everywhere.  Skylines, clouds, music, food, ANYTHING — I thrive off inspiration.  It is everything to me.

Kelis first inspired me at the mere age of 13.  My parents had finally invested in cable television (the basic service) and I was home for the summer.  Turning to BET or MTV was one of my favorite pastimes and I followed the showing schedules like clockwork.  #videos

On this particular day, like every day, I turned to BET in the AM and was stunned to see a woman raging throughout the streets, screaming at the top of her lungs, “I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!”  I was instantly intrigued.  I could not find the will to turn from this raspy voiced songstress.  I sat and stared at her … Her clothes, her voice, her face, her hair.  I was in love.

As inappropriate as the words to the song are, I paid them no mind.  I loved the story.  I loved the beat.  When the song ended, I found myself humming the tune for the next couple of hours.  I caught myself screaming as she did in the video when I went outside and played with the dogs.  I watched that video everyday it came on.  It was something I would never get tired of hearing.

As I age and mature, my love for Kelis only grows stronger.  She is a trendsetter.  Her lyrics raise eyebrows.  Her funky wardrobe evokes controversy.  Her hair changes as frequently as she changes her undies (ok, maybe not that often…) Her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard…

Raw, ratchet, however you look at it, one thing remains true: Kelis will always be Kelis —Nothing more, nothing less.  She has inspired me to embrace the “me” I love.  I am comfortable being the natural, eccentric, carefree, candid, music and art driven Phylicia…  A “free bird” as my cousin likes to say.

People will talk about, criticize, and misunderstand you, but that should not keep you for being you.