Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst

When the lights shut off and it's my turn
To settle down, my main concern
Promise that you will sing about me
Promise that you will sing about me
I said, when the lights shut off and it's my turn
To settle down, my main concern
Promise that you will sing about me
Promise that you will sing about me

The word " Greatness" carries a heavy song in my heart with many notes, melodies, and harmonies. It is a heavily charged word that rings with many definitions. I want to be greatness for my community. I want to be greatness for my family and friends. I want to be greatness for my future lover and children. When I was pursuing my degree, I wanted to be greatness in education. I, above all with a fiery passion, want to be greatness in my art. This pursuit of greatness in my art has been a journey strewn in many obstacles and tribulations. I'm a successful model, dancer, actress, and writer with an impressive resume that's grows more formidable every year. However, the Hollywood I fell in love with as a young thespian, and the Hollywood that exist now are two totally different worlds. I'm a 90s baby. I was raised in an era full of Halle Berry, Debbie Allen, Tyra Banks, Denzel Washington, Jada Pinkett Smith, Spike Lee, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Sade, and Michael and Janet Jackson.  There was a level of excellence that one had to attain in order to be considered a legend or acquire fame. If you considered yourself to be a dancer you had to be trained in multiple, dance disciplines, including being technically, classically trained. If you considered yourself to be an actress, you had to be aware of different acting techniques and have a comedic and dramatic monologue prepared for show at all times. If you considered yourself to be a musician or singer, then that meant you played multiple instruments and/or could sing with piano. If you considered yourself to be a model then you could transition through editorial and high fashion, commercial, glamour, lingerie, and men's modeling styles. Back in my day being a celebrity meant more than going viral on social media, creating OnlyFans, having millions of followers, or revealing every aspect of your personal life for public consumption for relevance.  Being a celebrity meant you had a responsibility to create timeless art that reflected the truth of the times. It used to be about becoming legendary creatives and making timeless art that would live through the ages. It used to be, quite simply, about the art. Today's Hollywood is focused on the next moment, the next social media sensation. or fair-weather celebrity couple. It's about everything, but the art. With someone like me, that has a resume that includes names like Debbie Allen, Disneyland Resort Paris, Kenny Leon, Tyler Perry, Martin Lawrence, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Beyonce on Oprah and The Billboard Awards, I fear and feel that my message gets lost in translation. When I was growing up and auditioning for talent agencies they were actually interested in if I could really offer talent. Now when I audition for talent agencies, they want to know about my Instagram account. It's totally offensive. You would think with the phenomenal artistic resume I've acquired, my journey in the Arts would be facilitated by my astronomical success. The truth is that it has been more difficult because we live in world that's focused on making everything famous, but actual talent. During the pandemic I read an inspirational book by Professor Angela Duckworth named " GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance".  It's basically a book that tells different stories about people pursuing their dreams through adversity and becoming successful because they never gave up. They had grit! Nipsey Hussle mentioned in a popular interview that the difference between him and everybody else is that he didn't give up. I'm never going to stop my pursuit of what I define as greatness even while living in a world that opposes that definition. This Kendrick Lamar song is so important to me because it's
my very sentiments as well when it comes to my legacy. " When the lights shut off and it's my turn to settle down, my main concern, promise that you will sing about me. Promise that you will sing about me ".  

I want to be a legend. I want to go down in history as someone who was the best at what she did, and inspired and healed people with her creativity. And I don't want to have to spread my ass twerking in a video and go viral to do that. I know that other talented creatives who are primarily concerned with making timeless art will resonate with my message and we will find each other. In the meantime, please sing about me, I'm dying of thirst. When I die, please sing about me because I was dying of thirst.