On The Bubble: Suai

Swaying to the Rhythm of her single “I Love You” from her freshmen album Come Out Come Out, Suenzel Washington, better known musically as Suai (pronounced Sway) rocked the teen masses at the Ultimate Prom 2008. Dressed in a trendy-strapless royal blue party dress complimented with gold accessories, her unique sound and easy-going air made it easy to see that the stage was her home. Suai, meaning beautiful in Thai, is the perfect word to describe the experience she and the prom goers were having as she worked the stage. She had an image that any onlooker wouldn’t dare to change. In an interview conducted via email, Suai gives an inside peak into who she is as an Up-and Coming artist and her experiences.

“I’ve definitely felt the pressure to change my image. And I even succumbed to the pressure at the bequest of my label and those working my previous project.” Suai said in regards to her experiences when she was still green in the music industry. She felt that some of the people she worked with tried to change her into the artist that they felt she should be. Being a Black woman in the industry had its difficulties and to continue doing what she loves, Suai constantly reminds herself “I’m here for a reason and that my artistic contributions are just as valid and important as the next person’s.”

Suai is no gimmick, and refers to her self as a “bare-boned” artist. “I’m a self-contained artist. Meaning, I can write a song, produce it and perform it, on my own. I don’t need fire ball explosions and twelve dancers to get my point across to an audience” she said when asked about what set her apart from other female R&B artists. She believes her honest music is what draws in her frans. This term, she affectionately coined by combining friend and fan , because she considers fans,friends as well.

“As I adjusted to the industry and became more sure of the artist I wanted to be, I started to ignore those pressures and ‘do me’ ” She said. After almost 5 years at Universal Motown Records Group, Suai decided to leave Motown. There were no bitter feelings only fond memories. “My time there was an amazing learning experience. I worked with the most talented and well known writers and producers.” Suai said recalling her time at Motown. “I spent one on one time with the president of the label and got a chance to see and experience things that I’m grateful for and will never forget. Lots of wonderful memories were made during my time there.”

Her deal at Motown allowed her to the opportunity to be a part of what she likes to call “epic” projects. One of those projects was President Barack Obama’s Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement album.“I received a signed letter and vinyl album from him and I just stared at the two pieces thinking, ‘OMG, Barack touched this’.” Suai said recalling how much it meant to her.

In early 2009, Suai had the opportunity to tour with two of her favorite artists Solange Knowles, the songstress of the album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams and Estelle who has recently released the single “Freak” from her third album All of Me. “Warming up the stage ,for them every night, was an honor” Suai said about touring with them. It was her first bus tour and first time doing radio promotions at every stop. Suai even mentioned that her dream collaboration would be with Solange Knowles, saying “I’m sure we’d come up with something amazing.”

Hailing from Michigan, Suai recalled a humbling childhood, growing up on the east-side of Detroit. “Detroit made me,who I am and I’m so grateful to my city for that.” she said. Her mother kept her submerged in copious lessons and activities which included cello, piano ,ballet, to keep her mind off of her immediate surroundings. Her many instrument lessons enabled her to gain a diverse background in music which is represented on her album.

Along with her background in music, Suai also finds inspiration in a plethora of artists like Le Roux, Billie Holiday and even Rhianna. With her current project entitled Almost Wrote You a Love Song,which is set to be released this summer, Suai hopes to capture the cohesiveness of Lauryn Hill’s album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. With this album Suai hopes to portray the progression of a relationship, with “Safe” and “Almost Wrote You a Love Song” being her favorites to perform. Suai is more than ready to get her new stuff to the world.

“Black music is evolving. The lines between genres typically dominated by African American’s are blurring and I think that’s a good thing. It promotes creativity!” she replied when asked how she felt about the current state of “black music”. Suai is aware of the exploitation of black women in popular black music, and her views on change are very optimistic, saying “Hopefully, as music continues to evolve, artists will become more socially responsible and begin to celebrate black women.”

Suai’s music can be found at www.Myspace.com/Suai and http://www.almostwroteyoualovesong.com . You can also follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/Suai

I wish Dave Chappelle would come to Baltimore

I found this while googling. . . .idk how I got her but oh well I laughed and I decided to share it with you all : ) I hope you all enjoy.

Snow makes me sad!

I've never been a fan of snow,so the snowpocalypse on Friday was completely devastating. 20-something inches of snow really did crush my spirit. Being snowed in with my caramel-coated sexy wasn't bad at all : )but after awhile I did get cabin fever and I felt like my restlessness was definitely starting to show. I hate hate hate being trapped in the house for longer then 24 hours unless I'm sick(I rarely get sick). Now we are expecting 5 to 10 more inches Tuesday and Wednesday!?! I'm so over winter!!

Happy Creative writing Wednesday : )

Today I decided that I was going to break you off with some hint fiction pieces. You're probably wondering "What's hint fiction" well it is a fictional piece that tells a story in 25 words or less,or at least eludes to one. So here we go:

She stood shaking,with the dripping knife pressed against her mouth.
It was wrong,yet she was satisfied.



Hours later,all was done and we slept well.


I know what I'm hinting at I wonder if anyone else can. . .title my hint fiction. Maybe we're on the same page : ) Happy Wednesday!!!

My First Day at Yoga Class

Today I went to the first of my 5 class yoga workshop at Charm City Yoga (Towson location)It was a little more that I expected. I had a wonderful time and I can't wait to go again next week. The class was packed,almost spewing out of the door. The decor was very contemporary and homely. I didn't speak to any of my classmates but My teacher,Melissa,was such a sweetheart.The class seemed to range form 20somethings on up and I felt like I was the youngest one there,although it didn't really bother me. She began the class with a brief overview of the the Yamas.The Yamas are the first principles of the Eight limbs of yoga. She wanted us to dedicate ourselves to one principle during this session. I chose Satya which is truthfulness. . .I often cloud,my own judgment with what I want to see. So this session I wanted to explore truthfulness in the execution of the poses that she taught us.I committed my self truly to the poses. I pushed myself,not exerting or "half-assing" the practice,like i usually do with my work outs. Satya can also be applied to my everyday happening now that I think about it. I'm often over rationalizing situations causing them to be something different then they appear,or simply not thinking about them at all.I guess me even coming to terms with that is applying Satya(lol). All in all,it was a wonderful experience,like I said I can't wait to go back next week. Hopefully I get a good spot because I don't want to be one of those out-the-door spewing people.
~Happy Tuesday : )

Revisiting: Kim Kardashian hold the Cheese.

In a post that I made on March 30 2009, I wrote about Kim Kardashian and her airbrushed picture that was featured in Complex magazine. Although Ms.Kardashian claimed to love her body,the untouched pictures that were posted on the Magazine's website were replaced with a photograph that featured a lighter,"smoother" Kim. I also address the issue ,of unattainable beauty that America perpetuates through the media. One Of my fellow bloggers commented that if they were a celebrity with income based solely on looks they would push for retouched photos. Being Unhumanly beautiful pays the bills but at whose expense. There are thousands of women that strive to have the body that Ms.Kardashian herself doesn't even own with out the help of photoshop. It makes NO sense! Why circulate an image that is impossible to attain in real life? According to ANI news, a survey conducted by Dove beauty brand 2009 about models used in advertising. The findings show 96 percent of the women surveyed, believed that the models used in beauty advertising "were not a realistic representation of women today".The study also showed that 40 percent of the women surveyed felt that the ads made them self conscious about their own appearances. The study also showed an increase in the percent of women who wanted to see real people in beauty ads from 74 in percent 2004 to 95 percent in 2009. Europe has already begun to realize how detrimental the airbrushed images of models are to self-esteems,especial those of the youth. According to an article on FabSugar,a website that focuses on fashion,beauty,and entertainment,Europeans are pushing for a ban on digitally altered ads targeted to teens. A report quoted in the article says it found "a correlation between unhealthy behavior in adolescents who are exposed to images of skinny, airbrushed models." To further this "natural beauty campaign", I heard on a daytime talkshow that in Europe,magazines and ads are beginning featuring more "everyday" women.Although high-fashion is still a realm for the thin,this step is monumental quest to the rebuild of the self-esteem of women internationationally. . .We,the US, are claiming to be on the forefront of many issues the we face internationally yet in this case we are already behind. When we will follow suit? (Soon I hope)

Creative Wednesday.

I'm going to change the title of wednesday blogs when I think of something catchy to call it.

But yup thats what today is!! yaaaa!!(lol) so today I decided to share a poem that I had written for the creative writing class I took last fall with Prof  MK Asante (jr) Its written in Kwansaba form. I hope you enjoy,it actually does mean alot to me.

Naps

Years of modification, chemicals and foreign objects.

I was ignorant to blessings, I suffered.

A crusade that left baldness, pain, disappointment.

For years I fought against my beauty.

God didn’t make mistakes in my creation.

I chopped away societal influences, my disobedience.

My wild natural swell stood proud today.

Warm feelings for you(a specific you) via Sonja Sanchez

"Our Bodies made rain this morning as you pumped this stampeding well."

My New years resolutions

Other people are probably well underway with theirs but I was still cultivating mine. I've come up with quite a few things that I need to fix in order to grow and be a better me and they are as follows:

BLOG MORE: I often find myself at loss for words verbally,but when it comes to typing or writing I can't be stopped. A lot of things often go unexpressed because my mind moves faster then my mouth and with typing I am able to erase and constantly revise things to more appropriately express what I am trying to express. I see things around me,that I feel an urgency to address and with blogging,I am able to reach so many people and perhaps spark a dialogue.
My field is Journalism and writing has always been a passion. I have a blog,and shall Utilize it.


Get/Stay in shape: I know I'm not really out of shape visually but my body creeks and cracks a lot and I'm only 21. I've decided that I will work out more to limber up and perhaps sculpt a slimmer waist and some shapely calves. I've been looking in to a yoga class at Charm City Yoga in towson.It starts on the Jan 26th, I'll keep u posted on how that goes. I am also gonna make it a point to hit the treadmill twice a week/4 miles a week.This will help with my calf situation(hopefully).



Find something that works for my skin and hair: Since I was 12 I've been plagued with acne( BLAH)I feel like I've tried everything under the sun, proactive,oral prescriptions, neutrogena. .ect and nothing has ever worked all the way. Some would stop the break outs but do nothing for scarring,others would just make my face dry and peely.Nothing worked for everything. I'm so tired of strangers suggesting home remedies like I don't know what my face look like. It hurts sometimes. But yeah I'm gonna find out what works for me! I think I might have found it. After extensive searching and asking around I've discovered African Black Soap. The first week(which was last week) was pretty brutal but I'm pleased with the results. I'm gonna keep on using it . Although I have been natural for a year,maintaining my hair is still very new to me. This year, I am going to take more time in figuring out what my hair needs. I may even make my own hair goodies. My hair is healthy but I am a hair style fiend.I love getting my hair done and maybe that's not a good thing. I need to learn to do it myself and leave it alone.*I'll touch more on this in another blog*



Read More:Simply put.

Be more sympathetic and patient with my mother: My mother is a recovering alcholic and at times I find myself become very short and fustrated with her actions and behavior. Much of her behaviors can be contributed to years of abuse,that are going to take alittle time to spring back from. My getting angry and "coping an attitude" with her does not help the situation. As of today she has been sober for over a month and I am soo proud of her but the way we interact at times could say otherwise. I need to show my support more,take more time explaining things,and acknowledge the strides that she made to get to this point.

Be less Cynical: Although the world has some bad people,everyone should not be treated as such. .

Those are my major resolutions I'm working on.There are some minor ones as well but I'll tell you about those when we come up on those later one. l'll also keep you posted on how I am coming along on my major resolutions. How you growing in 2010?

It's been awhile. . .I missed u :)

So its been a really long time since I've posted and I'm giving myself major slaps on the wrists for it. During my absence I've contemplated which direction I wanted to take this blog in. I need a direction. A "brand" so to speak. So I've decided that this blog will be for my everyday life and thoughts. I am going to make it a point to blog atleast 4 times a week,Wednesday being my day for creative writing. Writing is my ME and its crazy that I don't write as much as I should. With that being said expect to see alot more from me whether it be a couple words and a picture or a rant about something I saw on tv. I think I'm also gonna give my blog a new look. ..this brown stuff just doesn't cut it anymore and I think I'm gonna give my music player alittle renovation too.
Toodles
~Bunnie