My Mount Rushmore is...

Rihanna has amassed an empire unlike any other in our lifetime. All while maintaining a severe longing for her music, lingerie, & makeup. Unlike many of her peers she has kept the press out of her personal life until she's ready to share something. Her relationships are with similarly powerful, secure men who treat her like the royalty of Barbados such as she is. She has found & reshaped her identity based on who she is in the present & what she wants to be in the future.

I have loved Wendy Williams since her Philly radio days through the New York radio & talk show. Her beliefs on love, relationships, career, & the music industry have always resonated very closely to me. A lot of her influence on me took place in my early years; her entire career is the span of my life on earth. Her words have always shaped my thinking about others, especially how to unlearn judging others. She can keep a well-placed secret & reveal the truth in the most powerful & alluring ways.

Beyoncé has released her Renaissance album, one made with the LGBTQ+ communities at the forefront of her mind. I haven't been an avid fan for the past decade until now. I feel deeply connected to the queer references in the music; the production includes different styles actively present in iconic queer songs. As a straight woman in a heterosexual relationship, I personally felt there was a lack of intersectionality of queerness within her music. But she took a deep dive into queer culture & represented all types of people in her tour.

Aaliyah was ripped from her childhood & pushed into adulthood by the music industry. She needed to be protected & given freedom to be the child that she was. She represents the innocence we all lose at some point in all our lives. Sometimes way too soon, other times in small does chipping away at your social & psychological freedom. Aaliyah was an innocent young girl who became a powerful woman that threatened the old way of thinking. She didn't deserve her parents failing her, or her abusers mistreating her. She was an angel & she put out love through music that can never be silenced.