Movie Review: Jumping the Broom

Ok, I finally went to see Jumping the Broom today and I have to say that it was a very pleasant "me time" outing.

This movie was produced by T.D. Jakes and starred Paula Patton, Laz Alonzo, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Mike Epps and a host of others, in a story about two star-crossed lovers who, despite their vastly different backgrounds, just want to get married.

While the premise of this film is nothing we haven't seen before, the way in which the story was played out brought a bit of freshness to the whole scenario. A beautiful privileged young woman meets the handsome young man of her dreams that she has been praying to God for, and he not only has the debonaire looks and brains to match, but he is also the sensitive caring type who has pulled himself up by the bootstraps and has a lil something, something of his own to make a girl feel financially secure.

Enter the families and cue the drama.

The wedding is set, the families meet and fur begins that fly. Through it all, the audience sees how fragile relationships can be and why it's important for couples to learn how to cleave to one another and not allow outside influences to come in between them; be it the question of being good enough, a mother's inability to let go of her son or earth-shattering family secrets. 

Paula Patton and Laz Alonzo had great chemistry as the leading couple Sabrina and Jason; Angela Bassett was her typical amazing self as Sabrina's mother; Loretta Devine was the perfect overbearing mother; Mike Epps was Mike Epps playing somebody else; Tasha Smith was cool (P.S. it was really nice to see her in a movie where she was playing the typical A.B.W.); and Lil Romeo was...lets just say he's allllll grown up now and looking GOOD. 

So all in all I gave Jumping the Broom a solid B+. It's a great date movie and I'm always a big fan of movies that are positive and uplifting. This is a good film to support at the theater so that we can see more like it in the future.

Sidebar:

Saw a trailer for a movie called Courageous that is about men being better fathers to their children and I was very touched by that 60 second presentation. So much so that I was moved to tears. I think every man in the world should go see this movie just to support the message that fatherhood is more than a title. So please be on the look out for the new movie Courageous that comes out in September.

Visit me at www.black-smithenterprises.com or follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/janayablack. 

Till Death...Do Us Part now available for rental or purchase on Amazon!

Reality Check: Grown-up Kids

While I consider myself to be a person who advocates for your people, today I got a staggering reality check when I visited with some students at a local high school in my area.

As I sat down to engage these young men and women in conversation about their lives, how certain outside factors affect them, and how they view things, I quickly came to realization that while these kids are much smarter than we give them credit for, they are pretty much grown and it's not because they want to be; it's because they don't have a choice! They are basically raising themselves.

I mean some of the stories I heard really touched my heart. Many of them spoke of situations taking place in their lives that people in their 30's have never had to deal with and then they have to turn around and deal with trying to finish school and all the drama that comes with that: peer pressure, jealously, trying fitting in, questioning their sexuality and the list goes on. And the saddest part about it all was that 90% of them voiced the fact that all they really wanted in the midst of it all was someone to they could talk to about the things they were experiencing and guidance about how to deal with it all.

It's a given that parents have to work in order to provide for their families, and we all know that every household is not a two parent household. But the reality of the situation is that your kids did not ask to be here. You brought them into this world so it is up to you to take care of them, and it takes more than just feeding and clothing to raise a child. Just like you when you were young, your child wants to know that you love and care about them.

As a parent, I recognize the fact that my teenage child is not going to tell me everything even though I feel that we have a very good relationship, but that still doesn't stop me from asking questions. I ask my kids how their day at school was, I watch their body language when they come in from school to see if anything seems to be bothering them, and my husband and I regularly check the school's online system to make sure that all homework is being turned in and the work is getting done in class.

Is that inconvenient? Yes! But guess what? That's called being a parent! It's a shame that some parents don't feel compelled to take a more active role in their childrens' lives and then they wonder why they are out in the streets acting crazy. They are trying to get your attention!

How does your child get suspended for five days and you don't know anything about it? Why is your child flunking every class and yet you've never been to a parent-teacher conference? How does that happen?

People, we need to re-evaluate our priorities. What do we have to look forward to with a generation of kids raised by television? We all know that's not anything that we should willingly look forward to. Now is the time to labor and invest in the future of your kids, because if you don't...rest assured you will pay for it in heartache later.

Book Review: Beautiful Rage: The Break of Dawn

Check out the book review author Monique Mensah wrote for my book Beautiful Rage: The Break of Dawn:

Beautiful Rage: The Break of Dawn is a twisted tale of maniacal revenge. The third installment in the Prison Chronicles series explores the tragic, but triumphant tale of Dawn Langston. Reporter, Vanessa Jackson, gives Dawn the rare opportunity to tell her side of the story, granting her the gift of redemption and giving her a voice she otherwise may have never been afforded.

When Dawn’s sister is kidnapped and brutally murdered by a heartless and narcissistic drug dealer, Dawn becomes obsessed with redemption. Following the adage, “Revenge is a dish better served cold,” she sets out to execute a convoluted, diabolical plan to make her sister’s killer pay with more than just his life. Keeping her plan a secret is a hefty duty that becomes even more complicated when the detective who worked her sister’s case becomes a love interest and a dangerous distraction. Dawn is continuously faced with the task of setting her morals and personal life aside in order to wreak havoc on the one man that took the most important person from her life and tore her family to pieces.

With Beautiful Rage: The Break of Dawn, author Janaya Black plunges readers into the dark and sinister mind of a woman gone mad with rage. There is no time to catch your breath as each scene is depicted with a straight forward and no nonsense illustration that keeps you turning the pages until the inevitable is finally revealed. In engaging myself in this quick and entertaining read, I found that I was questioning my own morals and feeling a tinge of guilt for rooting Dawn on during her sadistic conquest. We would all like to believe that we wouldn’t do something as heinous as taking the law into our own hands, but there is a thin line between raging anger and insanity.

This book will leave you with the question, “What would you do avenge the death of the person you love the most?” This book is not for the faint of heart as I found some parts a little difficult to swallow. But I was just too enthralled to turn away. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, hard-hitting adrenaline rush, you’ve found it with Beautiful Rage: The Break of Dawn. Check it out, but only if you think you can handle it.


This review was provided by:
Monique D. Mensah
Author of INSIDE RAIN and WHO IS HE TO YOU

Wake Up Call

When I saw this video a lot of different things went through my mind all at the same time.

First I was angry and then I was livid because once again the people who are supposed to represent us in office have failed miserably.  Then after I reminded myself that I didn't actually vote for governor this time around, so I in essence in directly contributed to Synder being in office, I felt silly.  After that passed, I was sad because I realized that at the end of the day all of these things must come to pass whether we like it or not. Why? Because God said it would and He can do anything but lie.

Over the course of the past few months I have been studying the book of Revelation and Isaiah and everything that we could ever want to know about what's going on right now and why it's happening is right there in black and white. And the tripped out part is that the worst is still yet to come.

Nevertheless, we should not be discouraged because if we know Christ as our personal savior we don't have to fear what is coming.  Yet we are still told that if we resist the devil he will flee and in the midst of what seems to be hopeless situations, it is our responsibility to still do what we're supposed to do. Despite Synder's proven disregard for the wants and needs of the constituents, in favor of his rich friends, this is still a democracy, and history has shown that when people unite together for a mighty cause then the powers-that-be have no choice but to listen.

So, I for one will be writing some letters and making a conscious effort to be more astute when it comes to political matters instead of turning an apathetic eye. Even though I honestly don't believe that the system works for the "common man", the fact still remains that if I don't at least make an attempt to do something about it then far be it for me to sit back and complain. What will you do?

Book Review: Str8 Laced

First off, let me start this off by saying that I have finally encountered an author who made me squirm; and I have read, and written, some disturbing and gruesome books, but Str8 Laced by Pheare Alexander was a book that I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

In this story, Dr. Jocelyn Reynolds was abducted by a woman named McClaine Henry, who is a twisted sociopath with a criminally insane agenda that is out of this world. After being held hostage, tortured and sexually abused for 8 weeks at the  hands of a monster with no conscious whatsoever, Jocelyn finds herself back at home with her loving husband and family.

Fast forward to nine years later and Jocelyn has managed to move past her abduction and settle back into some sense of normalcy; that is until her best friend Karen is abducted and the killer begins sending gruesome clues about the motive behind the madness as a sick and twisted cry for help.

In this book, Alexander paints a very vivid and horrifying picture of what goes on in the mind of a sociopath in painstaking detail. Once I picked this book up, I found myself being torn between wanting to throw it in a corner and never pick it up again for fear of finding out what would happen next and being unable to tear my eyes away from the pages because I had to know what was going to happen next.

Aside from a few inconsistencies with some of the details leading to the jaw-dropping revelation, Str8 Laced was definitely a page turner that will have you staying up till all hours of the night to finish it and you will most certainly walk away from the experience viewing people in a whole new light.

Keep an eye out for Pheare Alexander, she's definitely an author to watch.

Visit me at www.black-smithenterprises.com or follow me at twitter.com/janayablack.

Check out the Prison Chronicles Series on Kindle! 

What's Wrong With This Picture:

Aside from the fact that she was wearing latex from head-to-toe, the more disturbing issue was that she showed up on Good Morning America wearing facial horns. 0_o

Now, we all know that Lady Gaga is known for her shock antics but at the end of the day you have to ask yourself why she goes to the great lengths to get people's attention. She calls herself an artist and activist, but an activist for what?

It seems like every time we see Lady Gaga reinvent herself, the occult symbolism becomes more and more apparent in her persona. So parents, as your kids continue to become more and more infatuated with this woman and her music you have to ask yourself:  What are they opening themselves up to?

Pay attention! This artistic show of "individuality" is not as innocent as they try to make it seem. The music and images that are put out in media are getting darker and darker and it will only get worse. And it's not just her, the industry is filled with it. So it is up to you, Christian parents, to be the champions in your household for what you allow your children to pollute their minds with. Censorship is not wrong, especially when it comes to protecting the minds and innocence of your kids. Contrary to popular belief they don't need to see everything that's on TV.

The Bible says, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15. In other words, study the truth so that you can recognize a lie when it's presented to you.

That is all for now. Be blessed and lets keep each other lifted up in prayer. It's the strongest weapon we have.

Ginuwine: Introducing Elgin

Check out my interview with Ginuwine that will be featured in this month's issue of Shop Talk Magazine!

Ginuwine: Introducing Elgin
By Janaya Black

Heartthrob crooner Ginuwine is back with his seventh studio album simply titled Elgin. From pony riding on his first album The Bachelor to A Man's Thoughts and everything else in between, Ginuwine has proven that he is much more than a pretty face and this time he's got his serious "grown man" on.

With two new singles climbing the charts, he is still grinding hard, putting in work to show the wannabes how it's supposed to be done.

Shop Talk got a chance to catch up with him in the midst of his busy promo tour schedule to talk about the new album and how he balances life, love, family and music.

Shop Talk: First I want to talk about your new album "Elgin". What are your thoughts about that and how excited are you about it?


Ginuwine: The new CD, it's my number seven CD and it's called Elgin, and it's Bryan-Michael Cox on it, we have another producer who's a newcomer out of St. Louis, [and] we have Diane Warren who I actually had the opportunity of working with on my second CD. She did a song called Superhuman. Bryan-Michael Cox is the executive producer, like I said, he pushed it out and St. Nick who actually did the first single, What Could Have Been. So yeah, it's out Feb 15.

ST: So you didn't get to team up with Missy or Timbaland for any of this album?

Ginuwine: No, I didn't get to team up with them this time. We actually... our schedules didn't really allow us to do that, and they was doing a lot of other things and then, you know, it just didn't work out. So hopefully next time I'll be able to work with them, but I talk to Missy a lot. 

ST: From Ginuwine the "Bachelor" to now with your album "Elgin", the husband, the father, describe how your music has made that transition?


Ginuwine: Music has made the transition by just me growing, you know, being the way that I was. I still get urged from some dudes to do songs like the old sounds and everything, but for the most part I stick with my strengths which has been love ballads. And that's pretty much what I stick with and [on] this CD there's no shortage of that.

ST: How do you balance being a family man with being perceived as a sort of sex symbol?


Ginuwine: You know what, I always just do my job. I don't really think about all the sex symbol stuff. I mean, I'll take it if that's what it is. You know what I'm saying? But I don't really focus on that. You know, when I'm home, I'm home. When I'm on the road, I do my job and that strengthens my balance, really. It's just me taking care of my home first because that's what's most important to me is my house, and that's my wife and my kids.


ST: You were just here in Detroit for the Church Girl play, what other projects do you have in the works?


Ginuwine: Actually, we're doing another show of Church Girl...and then we have the CD coming, and I'm working on a book called My Ride, basically my life in the business, and that's pretty much it. I'm trying to start writing movies and stuff like that because the music business is, you know...I'm getting a little older and everybody can't stick around. So I'm trying to make it to ten CDs and then I'm going to go ahead and move on and manage people or try to get into something else.

ST: You mentioned that you're about to do a book about your life in the business, knowing what you know now what would you tell your daughters if they told you they wanted to be in the business and how would that differ from what you would tell your sons?

Ginuwine: I would tell them both, the girls and the boys, the same thing. Just to have integrity when you go out here and make sure of that because the things that you do will follow you for the rest of your life. We live in an information age now, and I mean that any and everything that you do anybody can find out. So you have to know that the things you do now they're going to follow you, so make the right decisions, and have the right people around you to help you make the right decisions. And what is your vision? I wouldn't want them to go into this just saying I want some money and I want to party, or whatever, you've got to say what's your vision because it's not promised to everybody.

ST: I know that you're a philanthropist and that you and your wife have a foundation. Can you tell us a little bit about that?


Ginuwine: Yes, S.P.R.U.C.E is an acronym for Special People Requiring Unique Care Equally and we help to house mentally disabled people and help them to live the life that they deserve to live. A lot of things that we help them do they wouldn't normally do, like go out bowling, go to shows, go to baseball games, and stuff like that. So we're just trying to make their lives a little more easier because a lot of people think that they don't know and they do know, and they do realize things. So it's up to us as individuals to at least try to help and do our part, and I chose to work with the mentally disabled and try to help them make their lives a little better.

Elgin will be in stores everywhere on February 15. For more on Ginuwine and his upcoming concerts and appearances you can find him at Facebook: Elgin Ginuwine or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ginuwine09.

Janaya Black is a Detroit-based freelance writer. For more information or to contact visit www.black-smithenterprises.com or follow on Twitter at twitter.com/janayablack.