My ring light and tripod just got delivered today, so there is a chance that the quality will become better.

I recorded this video in the car while on lunch, and you already know my nosey coworkers were in my business per usual. I’ve been wearing my hair natural lately, so bear with me… I know it looks a mess; but hey I’m trying this whole self love shit.

Once again I want to thank everyone for watching my video, and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, LIKE & COMMENT.

This episode was full of basura (trash en espanol) per usual; but I covered everything that was semi relevant.

Instagram: sunsetnoir_

Twitter: thesunsetnoir

Blog site: http://www.thesunsetnoir.com

 

Hey Everybody,

I’ve taken another hiatus, but I am back and steering this blog down another lane. A lot of you guys wanted me to make youtube videos, and I’m all about keeping my supporters happy, so here we are.

I always imagined my first youtube video would have a nice gold backdrop with Jackie Aina pouring up shots. Yet here I am with my iphone 8 standing in my parent’s living room. ( life comes at you fast ).

I want to apologize ahead of time for the straight to dvd quality debut video, but I am so excited and tired of making excuses.

I’ve figured out what equipment I need, and I am going to start purchasing it… ( if you want to donate $sunsetnoir is my cash app tag )..

& to give you a brief synopsis of my year… I’ve worked, traveled to DR twice, scammed, dealt with a house fire, and been fit as hell!

Anyways, more content is to come.

I will be reviewing reality tv shows, movies, music, and discussing news topics. I will also be doing some messy investigative journalism into topics that affect me! 🙂

If you have a product or music to promote, email me!

Peace and Cornbread !

 

 

Afropunk was lit.

I’m hoping that this posts spreads awareness on how dope and lit that event is, so that you all can go next year. I’m going to highlight some things that I felt were relevant and important to me.
If you have hate in your heart, then this is not the event for you. If you don’t believe that those in the LGBTQ community deserve love and respect… don’t come to Afropunk. If you are fatphobic or sexist, stay home boo!

This event was created and designed to be as inclusive as possible, and I think they did an amazing job at making everybody feel comfortable.

​​
This was my first trip to Brooklyn and first time in New York since 2000, so arguably speaking, I was nervous as hell. After we landed at JFK and were baited by aggressive cab drivers to pay $100 for an 8-mile ride down the road, me and my home girl Savannah ended up finding a ride to the hotel.

We stayed at a cute scam filled hotel that was in the middle of Williamsburg, which was maybe 1-3 miles away from the Afropunk event itself. Upon checking in to a room that was supposed to have two queen size beds, we ended up staying in a room with 2 twin size beds. (and let me add this bit of information, it was 4 grown ass women in 2 twin ass beds).
​​
I’m not going to speak on the nightlife in Brooklyn simply because I don’t remember it. I remember taking some Hennessy shots with 3 Long Island Ice Teas (that’s a story for another time). However, the clubs up north are cute, even though all the dudes jump around the whole time…. Oh, and me and my friends ran from a toddler sized rat down the road with no shoes on. Let’s move on.

So, it’s finally Saturday, my feet hurt, and now it’s time to go to Afropunk. We go through the VIP line swiftly and professionally, and immediately are welcomed into the event. Initially I was overwhelmed since everybody was fine, and I simply didn’t feel worthy to even be in attendance. The fashion, the makeup, the shoes, the hair, and the aesthetic of the event was so calculated and perfect, and honestly I felt inspired.

The love and support that I felt in the air was so invigorating. There was no ugliness or hate coming from anybody. Everybody came to Afropunk to celebrate their Blackness, and that was it. Being a girl from South Carolina, I was not used to seeing members of the LGBT community able to publicly express themselves in a setting where they were not being harassed. I was not used to seeing trans people being embraced and loved for who they were by complete strangers. I was not used to women and men coming up to me to tell me how fine I was and to just spark up conversation about topics that I felt nobody (besides myself cared about). I realized that I had never lived in a city where complete agape, unconditional love for strangers existed.

We live in a society where masculinity is fragile, people are insecure with themselves, people are jealous, and people are just bored and choose to hate; so, to be in a space where it was nothing but love and tolerance was an amazing feeling.

Also, I want to highlight that there was an organization who were administering HIV tests to festival attendees!!!!

Initially I planned on hearing Princess Nokia perform, however I was in line for Yankee Doodle Dan’s chicken strips and all I could do was hear her from a distance L. Then I got to see my boo Sza who did amazing. She didn’t sing my favorite song, but I refuse to hold it against her….

Most importantly we got to see Solange Piaget Knowles perform, and when I tell you she snatched my braids off my scalp. My obsession with Solange is the fact that sis is a mood. She is one of those performers who focuses on the details of the entire set. She pretty much sang the entire “Seat at the Table” album and then performed some older songs.

I was undeserving.

So to sum the entire weekend up, if you are feeling a tad bit down… Afropunk is the event for you. In this political and racial climate, minorities are literally dying in order fight for our right to live and be free. Personally, I’ve been battling with thoughts of not being smart, pretty, or even good enough as my peers. So I needed to be in an environment that uplifted and inspired me.

So thank you to the organizers, patrons, performers, attendees and whomever else contributed to this event. It was amazing.

It’s gotten to the point where I am going to have to put my two cents into this Rob and Chyna debacle. Bottom line is, under no circumstances is it okay to slut shame and release nudes without consent…So, let’s start from the BEGINNING, and see if we can make sense of this foolery.

Angela Renee White was born in the late 80s to a retired stripper named, Tokyo Toni ( yes, that’s her name and she is a mess… google her) in Washington, DC.. I don’t know the exact date she started twirling around poles, but I know she is a King of Diamonds legend.

I’ve always been somewhat of a fan of hers due to the fact I think she is pretty, and seems to be fun as hell. I’ve watched her brand deviate from the stripper to business woman, and for that I salute her.

However, over the past few years I’ve watched the media shade her and I don’t get why… She dated and had a baby with the “Rack City is the only song that matters” rapper Tyga, and then became besties with Amber Rose and Kim K. The drama started when Kim’s underage sister started creeping with Chyna’s boyfriend, and Kim and the whole family saw no issue with it.

Now, I’m not in the mood to argue with ya’ll about how Kylie was mature for her age, and how it’s no big deal that a 16 year old sleeping with a 25 year old is acceptable because the family saw no issue. NOT TODAY.

The issue lies in the way the world viewed these women. Chyna was seen as a past stripper and guttersnipe, while Kylie was seen as a young girl in love. The media turned Kylie into the victim, when in reality she is the reason all the beef started.

Fast forward to after Chyna and Tyga broke up, Kylie was still seen as a victim and nobody truly gave Tyga the grief he deserved for sleeping with a child. Instead the media continued to slut shame Chyna, and release older, unflattering pictures of her from the strip club. What baffles me about the slut shamming is, it seems the world forgets the Kardashian’s empire started from a sex tape. Yes, Robert Kardashian Sr. got OJ off a murder charge; however their true empire didn’t take off until Kim slept with Brandy’s little brother.

But let’s tie this into the mess that happened yesterday. Chyna started dating Kylie’s brother and ended up having a cute baby named, Dream. Now there are hella conspiracies saying that Chyna secretly got with Rob as revenge for the Kardashian family ruining her relationship with Tyga. But, none of that matter because I’m going to tell ya’ll my conspiracy.

Chyna knew she couldn’t result back to her old DC/ Miami days and beat Kylie up, so she knew she could get her where it hurts….family. Now you have Rob K, the cute brother who is clinically depressed and gained hella weight. He is stop 100% stable, and has been known to be extremely emotional, petty, and disrespectful towards women ( Adrienne Bailon, Rita Ora, his own sister Kim).

Chyna knew that Rob was vulnerable, and not in the best of terms with his family; so bingo get with the brother. I believe that her original plan was to hurt the family, but then she actually started liking Rob. She helped him lose a few pounds, got him out the house, and gave him a cute baby. Do I believe Chyna was in love with Rob… GURL NO. But I do feel she loved him as a person. On the contrary, I believe Rob was in love with Chyna, and actually felt she was his potential soulmate.

So there you have it, the unorthodox love story of two stunt queens.

Now, let’s come back to the present and dissect how loud and wrong Robert Kardashian was with his social media tirade.

Is it legal to cheat on your baby daddy? No. Is it wrong to cheat on your baby daddy? Yes. Is it legal to post your baby mama’s naked pictures on social media and slut shame her? No. Does Rob have the right to be in his feelings? Yes.

I’m sorry but I can’t side with Rob and his tears this week. Chyna cheated on you and now you are doing a smear campaign on her to ease the pain of being lied to. For years we have seen Rob be disrespectful to Adrienne and disrespect her on national television. Then we watched him slut shame and disrespect Rita Ora, and guess what…he got away with it. Then we saw him call his sister Kim every name but the child of Kris… and he got away with it… But it seemed with Chyna, he had to take it a step further and try to embarrass or hurt her publicly.

There’s nothing wrong with being mad and wanting to get your point across. But releasing revenge porn as a way to hurt or sabotage someone is wrong. I don’t care who it is.

So let’s stop with the, “Well Chyna was a stripper and got naked on stage for thousands of people”… She 100% consented to stripping and was able to receive a monetary gain from it. However, she did not consent to her photos being leaked… so Houston, there in fact is a problem.

I don’t have much to say about this… it’s draining. All I really want to emphasize is, just because someone worked as a stripper or whatever, doesn’t mean they deserve to have their privacy invaded.

Bye yall.

 

 

Katy Perry is in her 30s crying because nobody cares about her album’s release. She is crying because Taylor Swift, the snake that she is, is playing chess while Katy is only familiar with checkers. That’s why she is crying. Not because she is empathetic over the fact that she uses Black culture for her personal gain, but because she has run out of reasons to make people feel bad for her and now she is going to try to cry her way through these album sales…. Or lack there of.

I’ve always been a Katy Perry fan, back when she was kissing girls and dating John Mayer. I mean from the beginning I always found it to be kind of weird how she was always old, but her music sounded like teenage pop music, but hey… who am I to judge?

From what I’ve been hearing, her “Whiteness” album hasn’t been selling and now she is going to do what works best for white women… tears. I lied, her album is actually called “Witness”; but I just think “Whiteness” is more funnier and relates )

What bothers me about this entire appropriation situation is not so much the fact that this random middle aged woman is making millions doing the same thing Black women get looked down on. But it’s the fact that people are starting to say she is innovative on hair braiding and baby hair. The other issue I have is the fact that instead of owning up to the fact that she uses People of Color as a stepping stone to sell records and remain relevant, she wants to cry and be educated on how it hurts our community.

Girl goodbye

Katy knew that rocking corn rows, green hair puffs, and eating a watermelon probably would not go well; yet she did it. She knew that dressing up as a geisha would probably offend some people, and she still did it. She knew that the Dark Horse music video concept would offend some people because of the use of dark magic, yet she still did it.

It’s time we start holding these celebrities accountable for their decision making. If you have the guts to be racially insensitive, then you should be prepared to deal with the harsh reality that the universe is going to stop supporting you (aka the reason why she’s never won a Grammy)

Nonetheless, everybody be positive and have a great day. No matter how crazy the world is right now, don’t allow that to distract you from your purpose.

Peace & Cornbread

Life Update:
I hope all is well with everyone. There’s no need for me to apologize for my absence, because I’ve already said sorry like 33219 times. Writers Block is truly a disease, and I’ve been trying to find a cure.
I want to touch on a few random thoughts I’ve had lately, so be prepared for an array of mess to follow.
I’ve been recently working full time for an amazing company, while trying to stick to this healthy lifestyle. I’ve been learning a lot daily and doing my best to remain positive. One lesson I’ve truly been learning is, there’s nothing wrong with being 100% focused on your passion. 
I’ve also been in a head space that hasn’t been able to focus on what truly makes me happy. You can blame that on a heavy workload, trying to figure out who I am, trying to cure my impulsive shopping habit, and honestly just second guessing my dreams. I’ve gotten to that point of my young adulthood where I don’t know if I should focus 100% of my energy into growing in a corporate company, or still spend time shaping and pushing my dreams out.
Then you have to try to differentiate who is here for you and your dreams, and who is just here for the ride. My mom always told me, if your friends aren’t happy for your success, or don’t cuss you out when you start straying away from your dreams; then they are NOT your friends…
I mean I’ve had situations where I told some of my friends my dreams, and they straight up laughed in my face… or you have some people in your life who don’t support your dreams simply out of fear you will outshine them…
So in this world today you have to figure out who’s real and who’s fake and learn to keep your hopes and dreams to yourself. Don’t speak on your goals and plans until they are ready to be executed; because you’ll notice once you move in silence, shit goes as planned.
So anyways, everybody have an amazing Friday. Get money, Twerk, Be Safe.
Also, I’ll be getting a camera soon, so be ready for some vlogging and reality tv reviews….

 
 
 
 

Adulting is so hard ….

I can hear my mother’s voice telling me to enjoy being a child, because being an adult is trash and extremely stressful … yet I didn’t believe her…….

Years later, I’m sitting here in a laundromat listening to this long ass Drake album trying to piece my life together. Have you ever been so overwhelmed with tedious tasks and deadlines that your only response is to do nothing? Like imagine having a term paper, test , presentation, and party all on Friday …. and your only response to all those tasks is to nap the pain away… (that’s where I’m at)

Or receiving an email or txt , and not having the strength or ability to reply back at the moment… so you set reminders to respond… and then end up ignoring the reminders … ( me )

If I would have known being an adult was so hard, I would have tried to enjoy my childhood even more instead of rushing to be grown. As a child I would sneak and watch Bet Uncut, Sex and the City, and Girlfriends … which put me in the notion that being a kid sucked … 

I dreamed of being grown and going to a bar and getting drunk. I dreamed of being rich and having a faithful, attractive husband. I dreamed of going on vacations with my friends once a month. I didn’t even know bills were a thing. I dreamed of having a perfect body like the girls in the Bet videos. I dreamed of being this glamorous creature who could have anything I wanted in the world…..

Yet here I am. 

When I think about all my dreams and goals, it makes me wanna cry. How am I supposed to go to bed early, drink a gallon of water a day, keep up with the Kardashians, get my weekly fix on Love and Hip Hop Atlanta, workout, talk to my family, work a full time job that requires talking to people, have a functional relationship with God, hangout with friends, attempt to find a Bae, drink brown liquor, maintain my membership in the Beyhive, be a “role model” to my sister, travel, and so much more…..?

How Sway…. How?

I look at it like this, if Beyoncé can do everything she does, then I can do it…. but the problem is just finding the strength deep within to carry on with this task of being grown….

So to all my grown ass cousins …. I salute you all for making it look easy… even when being an adult is tough as hell. 

Being an adult is so hard y’all, but we can do it …. our ancestors had far less resources than we do… so we have no excuse … 
❤️ 

Hey Hey.
Firstly, I want to thank everybody for their birthday wishes. Turning 23 has been an unique experience & that’s that.

So yeah , I moved to New Orleans. Random right ??? 

Since I can remember I’ve always wanted to leave South Carolina, but I could never a find a city that felt like “home”.

I knew that wherever I decided to go was going to be my chance to get my Nicodemus on and be born again. I wanted to find a city of rebirth, and what better place … New Orleans. 

After the tragic natural disaster New Orleans went through, this city has worked immensely to rebuild the city and maintain the culture. Granted it’s not where it needs to be, but the progress is definitely noticeable.

I’ll be starting a new blog series, ” Sunset Takes on New Orleans”, where I hope to document my experiences and observations in the Big Easy. This series is strictly my dumb ass opinions, and I hope to draw more visitors to the city. If you’re a New Orleans native and somehow find this ridiculous blog, feel free to show love & buy me a hand grenade. ( we will get to that in a second )

So the drive from South Carolina to New Orleans was trash, and I hope to never do it again. I rode through Georgia , Alabama , Mississippi, and then I finally got to New Orleans . I am impatient as fuck and barely have a license so let me put it like this, next time I’ll fly home.

My wonderful host Keshia has made me feel welcome, and also has this vv classy and comfortable bed. So shout out to her!

So let’s get to the nitty gritty… the roads are a fool. Like I had to double check with Sams to make sure I had warranty on my tires . There are pot holes everywhere , and uneven roads .. this is not the city to speed because your tires will neglect the hell out of you. 

Also New Orleans has hella ramps and bridges and all that & a girl from South Carolina ain’t used to that. There is this bridge I have to ride everyday, and it’s not too bad … but there’s another bridge that’s like 25 miles long & 2 lanes only …i don’t plan on using that bridge.

Also there are no left turns in this city. If you want to turn left, you have to do a u turn . That’s lowkey annoying as hell, and most of the roads have water dividing the directions of traffic… so you have to go through hell just to make a turn.

Other than the roads…. I’ve been on a search to find my long lost sister Solange. Y’all know how I feel about that those Knowles girls. Then I’ve been looking for Freedia and Juvie … but I haven’t been successful. 

Let’s bring up the liquor topic … liquor is everywhere. Walmart , Walgreens , Gas stations, EVERYWHERE. Liquor is cheap and the drinks are stronger .. so this is a perfect city to have a good time on a budget. This weekend I tried a Hand Grenade & it changed my life . It’s only $10 and will have you leaning. 

That’s all I have for today 💕. I’ll do a better job with taking pictures of the city. 
Sunset ❤️
So as I’m writing this, I’ve been hearing a train noise and was ignorant to what the hell it was….. there’s a tornado outside … so please pray for the city.. a lot of people lost their homes today! I’ll figure out what charities are going to be helping these families & I’ll fill y’all in.