Surprise! Beyonce shows up at P.S. 161 in Harlem and gets it poppin' as part of the "Let's Move" campaign. Image courtesy of Getty Images.
As First Lady Michelle Obama implied yesterday, who doesn’t like Beyonce? Even if you don’t, you gotta respect her work ethic. After remixing “Get Me Bodied” to fit the theme for Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move” Campaign, B showed up to P.S. 161 in Harlem to do the “Let’s Move Flash Workout” with students. Gotta love it. Shout out to everyone getting (and staying) in shape.
You may have heard her called the “Young Feminist Phenomenon,” (from her rap label) or “The Young Harlem Phenomenon” (from her movie poster). If not, you should get to know her. She’s young (16), she raps (since she was 9!), she sings, she acts (currently starring as Jessica on “The Electric Company”), she dances, and she definitely reps for the young ladies. Her life seems really sweet, but it hasn’t always been this way.
P.Star (real name Priscilla) grew up poor, in a single-parent household after her HIV-positive mom left when she was only three. Her dad raised P. Star and her older sister as best he could, but when he couldn’t find work, they struggled —food stamps, homeless shelters, all that. When P. Star was nine, she decided she wanted to rap and has been grinding ever since to make it happen. I went to see a movie about her life, called “P. Star Rising,” where she really lets everyone see how she lives- the good (recording, touring, performing) and the bad (fights with her father, trying to find her mother, really struggling to make it). I wanted to get to know more about her, so I reached out and met up with her at one of her recording sessions last year.
In the studio with P. Star.
Here’s what I know- she’s very friendly in person, tiny, and matter-of-fact. She’s not ashamed or embarrassed about her struggles (in fact, she hopes that other teens going through similar things will know that she can relate) and she’s not in any rush to grow up. She’s happy just being a teenager and living out her life.
How do you balance work and school?
I am home-schooled and have been since about the sixth grade. When I started doing the hip-hop thing I was in fourth or fifth grade and it got very difficult for me at school because I was going out to clubs at night and I was tired during the day. I didn’t want to fail because my dad would kill me. And a lot of people were getting to know me because of MTV’s Made, and people bothered me at school. So I was just like maybe we should do this home schooling thing, this tutoring thing, so I can have time of my own as well.
What’s your personal life like?
My career is like my personal life because honestly, I have a great time with what I do. But of course I have a personal life — going out to the movies, hanging out with friends, talking, chatting, all those kinds of things. My dad lets me have my personal time but there’s always time for work.
You’re already on a TV show. What’s the “Electric Company” about?
“The Electric Company” is a TV show on PBS. I’m one of the main characters and I got into that when I was 13. We did a pilot, they picked up the show, they liked who I was, and they wanted to keep me a part of the cast. The whole show is just absolutely amazing. The Electric Company was an old show back in the 1970s. [When] we brought it back, [it became this] whole new modern, urban world, and it brings these kids out to music, dance, and learning, which is
what’s so great about it.
What’s next for you?
Because of this movie, we’re still traveling and doing a lot of promotion and premieres. We also have the soundtrack for the movie, P. Star Rising, which is pretty exciting. We also have this new type of sound that P. Star has that not a lot of [established] fans are familiar with. I’m excited to get [both] the album and that sound out and have kids come along with me and just to make a bigger fan base.
Track Master.
What’s it like being to young and being able to do something you love already?
It’s a blessing. God has blessed me with a talent and a great gift, and with opportunities. A lot of doors have opened and I actually got to take that opportunity and do what I wanted to do. So I really have to say that I’m blessed, it’s amazing and I don’t take anything for granted.
Any advice for other teens?
Honestly, I have to say that dreams are kind of like wishes. Dreams are whatever you want them to be. and as long as you’re dedicated to it, as long as you know what you want, don’t give up. Don’t give up. Whatever anybody says to you, that you’re wack or corny or whatever, don’t believe that. Everyone has their own creativity and thats what’s so important nowadays. Do what you have to do. Don’t stop.
So…you all have heard about the upcoming movie Precious, right? It’s based on the book Push by Sapphire. Have any of you read it? If not…wow. I read it back in the day when I was probably far too young (I snuck and read a lot of books with very mature content back in day, though- tee hee) but I remember it and recently went home and found my original hardcover copy (ok. it was on my bookshelf, so ‘found’ is an exaggeration, but still). I’m thinking of re-reading it before the movie premieres on November 6, but it’s one of those books that troubles you to your soul- like Beloved by Toni Morrison…sometimes, you can only stand to read it once, anything else is kind of traumatic. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about, check out the trailer:
Riiight. Want a little more? Here’s a summary of the film from a recent New York Times Magazine cover story– “Graphic as the film is, it is less so than “Push,” the 1996 novel on which it is based. Written by an African-American poet and writer known as Sapphire, “Push” relied on intentionally misspelled, broken and slangy English to convey Precious’s sense of despair and rage. The novel mixes poems by Precious with sexually extreme scenes, like those in which she is forced to perform oral sex on her mother. It is almost relentlessly bleak: when Precious discovers she is H.I.V.-positive, she is certain of her imminent death. Daniels’s movie, by contrast, offers a greater sense of possibility. He doesn’t ignore her disease, hardships or struggles, but he also liberates her from them. Precious is a stand-in for anyone — black, white, male, female — who has ever been devalued or underestimated.”
Now, the movie is a definite must see…but I want to focus, for a moment on the title character, newcomer Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe, a Brooklyn-born, Harlem raised homegirl who is getting.it.IN. And not just in the film. Looking at Gabby, I’m sure you assume something about her, if you’re honest. She’s dark-skinned and overweight, either of which is not generally considered desirable in our community (and you can define “our” any way you choose); the combination of both, definitely not. But don’t get your girl wrong, she’s not the shy, quiet, keep my head down and try to hide inside myself, invisible to boys chick that some may mistake her for. On the contrary, she, unlike many young girls clearly knows her worth and has self-confidence like no other. Don’t believe me? Check her out in the New York Magazine story.
“They try to paint the picture that I was this downtrodden, ugly girl who was unpopular in school and in life, and then I got this role and now I’m awesome,” says the actress. “But the truth is that I’ve been awesome, and then I got this role.”
‘Daniels, who saw hundreds of audition tapes from across the country (350-pound actresses don’t grow on trees), was blown away by Sidibe. “She is unequivocally comfortable in her body, in a very bizarre way. Either she’s in a state of denial or she’s so elevated that she’s on another level,” he says. “I had no doubt in my mind that she had four or five boyfriends, easily.”
“I learned to love myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don’t like myself, there’s no reason to even live the life. I love the way I look. I’m fine with it. And if my body changes, I’ll be fine with that.”
“And, of course, Gabourey Sidibe is more likely to bitch-slap a boy than the reverse. Is she still juggling four or five boyfriends? “Yes, but I don’t want to get serious enough to call them boyfriends,” she says. “This one guy, I’ve deleted his number. I would text him at 7 p.m., and he’d be like, ‘I’m at BBQ’s.’ But the thing is, you don’t go to BBQ’s with your boys, you go with a girl. Then he’d call me at eleven. I’m like, ‘Why don’t you call me at six when you’re ready to go to BBQ’s?’ ” Her voice quickens with a touch of rage. “Don’t, don’t, don’t! I’m not a regular girl. I just got off a plane from France. You need to check yourself.”
WHAT?! How can you not LOVE this chick?! Want some more? Well, you can check girlie out on the COVER (say word!) of The New York Times Magazine.
Now THAT’S really a bIg deal. The story’s kind of long, but here’s a (relevant) little taste.
“Unlike Precious, Sidibe is well spoken and cheerful. “I’m not her,” Sidibe said emphatically. “But, when I was 14 or 15, I saw myself in a different way. Back then, I envied a life that I’d made up in my mind. I broke free of that unhappiness and I decided to change — I was going to be happy with myself. No matter what I look like, no matter what people think.”
May we all be so lucky…so support her on November 6th, y’all! I know I will be.
Homegirl NYC 