Category Archives: muse

When my parents moved us 3 kids out of a 2 bedroom apartment and into a 3 bedroom apartment, it lessened the load of having 3 kids sharing one tiny room. I still felt bad for my sister who was 7 years older than me and sharing a bed with her bratty little sister. Part of the bonus (for me) was being smitten with how cool I thought my sister was and getting a close up view of her day to day. She, obviously, had seniority with decorating our room. That’s how’s I got familiar with this English Chinese-Jamaican Beauty. Her image (among posters of James Dean, Black Sheep, Cheap Trick and Neneh Cherry) covered me and my sisters shared bedroom, alongside other greats like; Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista. She was the rare chocolate center in sea of vanilla cupcakes, showing my young self that WE existed in somewhere in fashion and beauty. She was not the first, nor the last…but for me at that tender age, she was the only. Here’s looking at you Naomi!

Let’s not forget her hot cameo in one of my favorite films, “GIRL 6″ Directed by Spike Lee

Born in 1975 and hailing from Los Angeles, California – this beauty rose to fame in the 80′s and 90′s. She gave birth to a baby girl at 17, Cairo, and still managed to keep her svelte figure. She starred in music videos, such as: HEAVY D. “Nuttin But Love”, George Michael’s Thierry Mugler-styled “Too Funky” and Jodeci “FreekN’ You”. She later went on to act in television and movies here and there. 

Wow. Young Whitney Houston must have been a sight. Towering and slim with a voice that was unmatched. Damn girl.

This post all came about because when I hear this song playing…

I hear this song. Right? Listen to both and then tell me.

I like it when models are a bit off the unbeaten path and not just pretty…

Even if some ladies aren’t aware of how epic her style was back in the day (and I don’t know how you couldn’t since she’s a Tumblr favorite), they are still subconsciously being inspired by her right now (including me). Her ethnic/hippie kits had us gagging as kids. Every boy I know had the ultimate crush “Denise Huxtable”, from “The Cosby Show” & “A Different World” and every girl wanted to be her…or at least just dig in her closet. Her pop style which transitioned into a bohemian look was perfection – hoop nose ring, Lennon sunglasses, vintage signature pieces and more. And her hair! She experimented with short cuts, curly tresses and ultimately her signature of waist-length locks.

Here’s to a gorgeous beaute who has literally aged like a fine wine. She also spits out beautiful babes.

Check her out (and River Phoenix!!!) on a 1990 episode of Phil Donahue discussing Veganism, Vegetarianism, Breastfeeding, Vaccinations, Ecology, Rain Forests and more!

Cheers to Miss Jackee, the crush of every grown ass man in the 80′s.

Dale Bozzio is best known as the front woman for 1980′s pop/new wave band, MISSING PERSONS. Her self-designed, colorful costumes and high pitched squeak vocal style style garnered huge attention and has continued to inspire other artists 30 years later. She is also known for her work with legendary Frank Zappa.

*I first found out about this band in the 90′s while watching BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD

My recent trip to South Africa had me uncovering so many inspiring elements. The music, the people, the food, the landscape…it had my mind running!

We were all out clubbing one night when I heard the sounds of BRENDA FASSIE. KNOX ROBINSON explained how monumental this woman was, that she was considered the “MADONNA OF SOUTH AFRICA”. As if her sound wasn’t enough to convince me, I was dead bent on finding out more about her…

*WEEKEND SPECIAL by BRENDA FASSIE

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According to WIKIPEDIA

Brenda Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004), was a South African pop singer. She was known for her “outrageousness” and widely considered a voice for disenfranchised blacks during apartheid. She was affectionately known as the Queen of African Pop and her nickname amongst fans was Mabrr.

Brenda was born in Langa, Cape Town as the youngest of nine children. She was named after Brenda Lee, an American country singer. Her father died when she was 2, and with the help of her mother, a pianist, she started earning money by singing for tourists.

In 1981, at the age of 16, she left Cape Town for Soweto, Johannesburg to seek her fortune as a singer. Brenda first joined the group Joy and later became the lead singer for the township pop group Brenda And The Big Dudes. She had a son, Bongani, in 1985 by a fellow Big Dudes musician. Brenda married ex-convict Nhlanhla Mbambo in 1989 but divorced in 1991. Around this time she became addicted to cocaine and her career suffered.

With very outspoken views and frequent visits to the poorer townships of Johannesburg, as well as songs about life in the townships, she enjoyed tremendous popularity. Known best for her songs “Weekend Special” and “Too Late for Mama”, she was dubbed “The Madonna of the Townships” by Time in 2001.

In 1995 she was discovered in a hotel with the body of her lover, Poppie Sihlahla, who had died of an apparent overdose. Fassie underwent rehabilitation and got her career back on track. However, she still had drug problems and returned to drug rehabilitation clinics about 30 times in her life.

From 1996 she released several solo albums such as Now Is The Time, Memeza 1997, the best-selling album in South Africa in 1998 and Nomakanjani. Most of her albums became multi-platinum sellers in South Africa.

On the morning of 26 April 2004, Brenda collapsed at her home in Buccleuch and was admitted into the Sunninghill hospital in Johannesburg. The press were told that she had suffered cardiac arrest but later reported that she had slipped into a coma brought on by an asthma attack. The post-mortem report revealed that she had taken an overdose of cocaine in the night of her collapse, and this was the cause of her coma. She stopped breathing and suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen. Fassie was visited in the hospital by Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, and Thabo Mbeki, and her condition was front-page news in South African papers. Brenda died at age 39 on 9 May 2004 in hospital without returning to consciousness after her life support machines were turned off. According to the South African Sunday Times and the managers of her music company, the post-mortem report also showed that she was HIV-positive. Her manager, Peter Snyman, denied this aspect of the report.
She was voted 17th in the Top 100 Great South Africans.

Her son Bongani ‘Bongz’ Fassie performed on the soundtrack to the 2005 Academy Award-winning movie Tsotsi. He dedicated his song “I’m So Sorry” to his mother.

The beauty that sprung from the love that Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love shared is now 18 years old. Francis Bean Cobain is as beautiful and mysterious as her talented father was.

Hedi Slimane does it again. For more images visit his Diary.

*1984 TAB COMMERCIAL starring JAYNE KENNEDY