There have been many family acts, and many musicians who have watched their offspring go on to become performers as well. Today's post is dedicated to Eddie, Sean, and Gerald Levert - as well as The O'jays, LeVert, and LSG (Levert, Sweat, and Gill) by extension.

This legacy all started when Eddie LeVert and a few of his acquaintances formed a singing group, which would eventually be known as the R&B/Classic Soul group The O'jays. Eddie Levert(the lead singer) had a massive amount of success with The O'Jays throughout the 1960's and 1970's, with hit songs such as "Backstabbers", "For The Love Of Money", "Brandy", "You've Got Your Hooks In Me" (my absolute favorite song of theirs), "Love Train", "Stairway to Heaven", a very beautiful live rendition remake of "Wildflower" (Eddie Levert really outdoes himself on the vocals on this one!), and several others.

Years later, in the mid-1980's, Eddie Levert's sons, Sean and Gerald (he has another son - Eddie Jr. - who runs an Entertainment company), would go on to form a singing group of their own with a friend (Marc Gordon), with Gerald usually singing the lead.

This group, known simply as LeVert (the V was capitalized in the group's name, but their last name does not have a capital V), also spawned several R&B hits throughout the late 1980's - early 1990's, such as "Casanova", "ABC-123" (not a remake of the Jackson 5 song, btw), "Baby I'm Ready", "(Pop Pop Pop Pop) Goes My Mind", and "Just Coolin'". I'm showing my age here, but I remember when all of those songs came out and were played regularly on black radio. They wore OUT Casanova.

Eventually, however, Gerald Levert branched off on his own in a solo career, with hits such as "I'd Give Anything", "Taking Everything" and its remix with the loltastical video, and "Made To Love Ya". He also released a collaboration album with his father, Eddie (he had previously collaborated with him on the #1 single "Baby Hold On To Me") - appropriately named "Father & Son", which spawned two hits ("I'm Already Missing You" and a soulful remake of "The Wind Beneath My Wings").

Also, he managed to form the group LSG (Levert, Sweat and Gill) with fellow R&B singers Keith Sweat (another hit singer) and Johnny Gill (a former member of New Edition who also had quite a few hit songs). LSG had hits such as "My Body" and "Door #1". Gerald Levert also founded several groups (Men at Large, Rude Boys) and penning hit songs for them and others (the late Barry White among them).

His brother, Sean Levert, also released solo works. However, although he had a singing talent equivalent to his brother and father - as evidenced in this tribute to legendary group The Dells (Sean is the shortest one) - he did not gain their level of success, sadly (even sadder is that I couldn't find working audio files of his solo work).

Sadly, both Gerald Levert and Sean Levert passed away within two years of each other (Gerald from accidental prescription drug overdose in 2006; Sean from sarcoidosis/withdrawal from prescription drugs while in prison in 2008), leaving behind their father and other families. Sean's death is under investigation by the FBI. As I posted once before, Gerald's death was the celebrity death that has - to this date - affected me the most. I still can't listen to his music without feeling such an absolute loss. In fact, going and finding all the Youtube videos and audio files of their songs brought me to tears.

My intentions on posting all of these posts this month is to recognize black men and women who have left a legacy in American History. Where does the Levert family fit into this - a group of men who have had tons of hits, but have been undersung in comparison to other singers and groups from the same time periods?

These men have left a legacy on R&B/Soul music that mainstream America will never fully fathom. The O'Jays - who have been inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - are not nearly as wide-known as the Temptations, but they left an impact on the soul singers that followed them. The group LeVert is an afterthought in comparison to - say - Boys II Men - but their music helped shape contemporary R&B groups and singers that came after them. Gerald Levert did not have nearly the radioplay as Usher, but he is a singer that several Neo-Soul and modern R&B/Hip Hop artists point to when discussing the artists that influenced their works. That, combined with many of the songs they put out and all the fans they touched, is their legacy.

1) I've decide to do my Black History posts every other day, with 2 in one most days. Logically, though I had the idea to do this back in November, I should have planned ahead on which person/event etc. I wanted to tackle daily. LOL I suck at organization.

2) I'm going over and putting the last touches on Chapter 7 of Suitors

3) Rufus ♥-> Shinou ♥->Diakenja ♥->Rufus and its effects on Murata & Wolfram would make a good idea for a fic Y/N?

4) If someone can find a pic (or more) of Wolfram and Saralegui alone together (doesn't matter what they are doing) I will love them forever.

Black History is not just limited to real-life people and real-life events of blacks in America. There's still fiction characters that were groundbreaking because - sadly - even in fiction we were often stereotyped or stigmatized.

The predecessors of current American comic books came about in the early 20th century, with Superman being the character that really set things off in 1938, followed a year later in 1939 by Batman. In the year 1940, Fawcett Comic's Captain Marvel appeared on the scene, and - at the height of his popularity before Fawcett was forced to shut down due to DC Comic's being upset over his perceived similarities to Superman - had the highest selling book of any comic character.

It would take a few decades before black characters that were not caricatures to show up.

Falcon (Sam "Snap" Wilson) was the first mainstream superhero of African-American descent to be introduced into mainstream comics (Captain America in 1969). While he was not the first black superhero, nor is he the most widely-known, he was one of the first ones that was not a caricature of black people (exaggerated African features, portrayed as dull-witted and like a child, etc.) that took off in comics.

It is the same for Storm - who was not the first black superheroine, but was one of the first mainstream one. Storm was also one of the first superheroes of African descent (Storm is African, whereas Falcon was African-American) to lead a group (the X-men), among many other groundbreaking things her character did.

Also, there was a reason I went out of my way to mention Captain Marvel.

Upon reading some old Captain Marvel comic books, I had the misfortune to come across a black character called "Steamboat Willie". I read a few stories featuring him, and was horrified. Not only was he a caricature, but every single stereotype of blacks seemed to have been hit upon. It's why - although Captain Marvel and his mythos are one of my favorites - that I cannot read a good bulk of his old comics. Even in what should have been escapism, blacks had to deal with that sort of thing.

I watched my friend's kids today, and me and the brat got home rather late. Yesterday's BHP will be combined with today's, and I'll post it later.

Today's featured woman - Otelia Cromwell - has the honor of going down in History for two different accomplishments.

She was the first black woman to receive a degree from from both Smith College and Yale University.

What's even more interesting, aside from her achievements (which not only include being the first black woman to receive degrees from those institutions - but also writing an often-cited biography on Lucretia Mott as well as having had a school founded in her name) is that Smith College has been holding Otelia Cromwell Day since 1989. On this day, they will cancel classes and hold workshops on race and diversity, in her honor.

More on Otelia Cromwell, and the day that honors her can be found at the Smith College page, as well as here.

Today's person is a rather interesting story, and one that highlights how the major media tends to ignore it when black youth do positive things.

It is unclear at this point as to whether Tony Hansberry II will be an important figure in History, but I'm putting him here anyway because his achievement is outstanding for someone his age.

Fourteen year-old Tony Hansberry II invented a new surgical stitching technique that can be used to reduce surgical complications, as well as errors from less-experienced surgeons.

He did this, and he is not even in medical school! Tony Hansberry II attends (yes, attends - this was first reported a mere few months ago in 2009) a magnet school that allows kids to take advanced medical classes.

Article: Black Teen Invents New Surgical Technique

Octavia E. Butler was the first prominent black female sci-fi author, and one of the most well-known black women in the genre. Not only that, she was also the first sci-fi author ever to receive the MacArthur Fellowship (and also won several other awards such as the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus).

Her works often tackled regular sci-fi issues such as corruption due to power, breeding a "master" race/biological engineering, bodysnatching, historical elements, telepathic mind control, and time-travel - but often introduced racial elements within it.

The first book of hers I read called "Wild Seed" (which is the fourth book - but a prequel to the previous books - in her "Patternist" series of books), I was wowed. It was THE book that got me interested in sci-fi outside of comic books, and while I usually don't care what race or gender the protagonist is, it was nice to have one that was black, female, and most importantly well-written and strong.

I recommend the Patternist series, with "Wild Seed" as the starting book if you are interested in reading something new. "Wild Seed" starts off during the time of African slave trading, with later books going up to beyond the space age.

For more on Octavia E. Butler, visit Wikipedia and check out her book reviews on Amazon.

Today's person is not only an actress, but also a rapper as well as a singer. Queen Latifah. I, personally, find her inspiring not only due to her uplifting lyrics (she often addresses misogyny), but the fact that she's so multitalented. Also, she's has been out there representing women who's body types are not "Hollywood Normal" as well.



Queen Latifah (who's real name is Dana Owens and got the name Latifah from a cousin) started out as a rapper, who was one of the first visible female MC's (as well as the first female solo rappper to win a Grammy), and a powerhouse to boot. With rap songs such as "Ladies First" (featuring Monie Love), "U.N.I.T.Y", "Latifah's Had It Up 2 Here", and "Just Another Day", she carved recognization for herself in the male-dominated genre of Hip Hop/Rap and is cited as one of the best female rappers that have ever existed (alongside other talented female rappers such as MC Lyte).

Her talents are not only limited to rap. Queen Latifah has also released two jazz singing albums that showcases a lovely voice, and I remember being wowed by her performance of "My Funny Valentine" on an awards show some years back. Also, her rendition of "I'm Not In Love" is a most-played track on my mp3 player, lol.

And that's not even touching the surface! She has also been in many movies, like "House Party 2", "The Last Holiday" (with fellow rap pioneer LL Cool J), "Set it Off", "Bringing Down the House", and was even a star on the acclaimed TV series from the 90's "Living Single". She has also become a spokesperson for Cover Girl cosmetics - one of the few plus-size who have done so. She even has her own line through them (The Queen Collection - which is geared towards black women of all skin tones).

More about Queen Latifah can be found at Wikipedia and IMDB

It's Black History month in the United States, and in celebration of it every day I will be posting about black musicians, artists, actors, movies, and authors save for the same 5 black people American History prefers to focus on.

Today's featured musicians, the Motown group The Temptations, were one of the most popular and successful black music groups of the 60's and 70's - with songs like "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", "Cloud 9", "I'm Losing You", "My Girl", "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", "Get Ready" and "Just My Imagination" dominating the R&B/Soul charts. The group was not without its member's personal drama, as well as alcoholism, drug use, and debilitating conditions (Sickle Cell Anemia and Rheumatoid Arthritis). If you want to watch a good movie about them, I recommend the made-for-tv movie "The Temptations" - but be warned that a lot of artistic creativity (read: lying) was taken with the backgrounds and histories of what happened to each member. It's still a good music movie, however. To learn more, you can read more on Wikipedia.

Here's a video of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". I chose this one not only because it's one of my absolute favorite song from them, but because this live version of the song shows how energetic these men were during their live performances, how their choreography was almost flawless (and an influence to later groups), and it showcases the four-way microphone they used in their performances. Sadly, this song does not feature David Ruffin, who was the lead singer on earlier songs like "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg". Instead, the lead is Dennis Edwards.

Not only have I finished Season 5 of House, I've also managed to catch myself up to the current episode! Schway, as Terry McGinnis would say. I will say that season 5 was kinda disappointing in comparison to the previous seasons, mainly because it focused a lot on Thirteen and I couldn't really connect with her (or Taub, though I didn't mind Kutner at all. Just my luck... sigh). However, the last few episodes of that season were awesome, and the first episode of season 6 was as well.

So far, this season is alright. I wish that the old team was together, but it's alright though. I still don't ship much of anything. I think I'm tired of shipping, especially when the pairings I do like never seem to become canon.( Spoilers and I can now address everything I've seen in the wanks about this series )

I finished watching House Season 4 two days ago (I'm actually halfway through Season 5). It was alright. I've discovered that I'm not a huge fan of change, at least not after something I like has been established. This season shook everything up, and while it was exciting at first, I quickly tired of it.

I didn't really like any of the new characters with the exception of Amber. I would have loved it if she had stayed and one of the others had went. Still, the last two episodes of the season were awesome - and I don't think I would have found it so if I didn't care for the character who bit the big one. I still don't ship much of anything in this show, sadly.

Also, I am feeling much better now!

Finished watching season 3 of House. I think the only opinion I have of the characters that changed was that I now like Chase much more than I did before. I've been slightly spoiled for later seasons, but not so much that I can't enjoy watching them. I still do not have an OTP (or, rather, a pairing that I'm giddy over), nor do I believe that I will participate in any fanworks for the series (that might change, but honestly, I don't know).

Also, I've been a bit down for the past few weeks. Okay, I've been a whole lot of down (and crying. I HATE to cry.). Picspams of my various OTPs would cheer me up *hint hint wink*.

Finished watching House MD Season 2 last night, and WOAH! The season finale came in and went out with a bang! (hyuk hyuk hyuk). My opinions on the characters have only shifted just a bit, and I still haven't found an OTP.
( Here's my quick thoughts on the characters. )

Also, I ganked this quiz from galuxkitty:

Your result for The Fan Fiction Personality Test...

The Weirdo

Crackfic, Mpreg, and all the other oddities.

Take The Fan Fiction Personality Test at OkCupid

Is that me or what?

Happy New Years, everyone! I'm drunk right now, soooooooooooooooo you know how that goes. The inability to taste (and smell) has made it so that I could not taste the nastiness of alcohol (I don't care, wine is nasty and anyone who tells you otherwise is the biggest lying liar who ever lied). Thus, I drank far more than intended to of the bottle of wine I received for my birthday (okay, I drank the whole damn thing, by myself). Thank Shinou for Firefox spellcheck, cause half of this post was illegible.

Today, the last lolz of December was posted in capslock_kkm in the final December FML post. We hardly knew ye, FML Wednesday.

Come participate!

Also, I made chili in the slow cooker today, and two hours before it got done I lost my sense of smell and taste due to this cold. FML. :(

Two posts from me in one day woo hoo!

Finished watching the last episode of season 1 of House today. I love this show, House is such an ass. I still don't ship anyone in the show, though.

Chase and Foreman can be asses as well. I like Foreman but I'm kind of undecided on Chase right now (as I am on Cuddy). Wilson is cool, though, and Cameron is as well. I like the dynamics of each character's relationship with House. All in all, I'm keeping an open mind and not letting all the wank about the series color my opinions on the characters.

Now, for the Princess and the Frog.

I went to see this on my birthday, but I was so sick that I couldn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked. I was happy to find that there were no highly offensive stereotypes of black folk in the movie. The plot itself was so very rushed that I found myself wanting more, though.

The music was alright - I think the best song was the villain's song. I found Prince Naveen to be my favorite character out of all of them, but I tend to like characters who redeem themselves anyway. It is funny that the character I had the most mixed emotions on on would end up my favorite. All in all, I give it a B-. Better than Hunchback, not as good as Hercules. Kiddo loved it a lot, though.

I haven't done one of these in awhile, so let's roll. (Quickie fandom list: Kyou Kara Maou; Batman; Detective Conan/Case Closed; Hana Yori Dango; Justice League; Captain Marvel/Shazam; DC Comics)

Give me a character and I will tell you:

+ OTP for them.
+ Runner-up pairing.
+ Honorable mention(s).
+ Crack pairing(s).
+ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't.

FML Wednesday #4 is up at capslock_kkm. Come join us! ♥

Also, after the latest House MD wank (some idiot drew a racist drawing of Foreman, got called on it, decided to apologize and then retract apology, and another idiot drew an even more racist one in retaliation to the people upset over the drawing), and threatening to watch the show just to infiltrate the fandom with Foreman fics, I finally broke down and watched a few episodes of the show.

I. Am. In. Love.

I've only watched the first five episodes (including the Pilot), and I'm already hooked. House? Is a magnificent bastard. I just love asshole characters like this.

I'm hoping this show will inspire me to write a fic or two. So far, I don't ship anything - but I'm highly interested in exploring Foreman and not necessarily in a romantic fic (and, to be honest, I would probably end up writing a Mary Sue insert because I've been attracted to Omar Epps since the movie "Higher Learning").

For those of you who would like to participate, I've posted this week's Wednesday capslock_kkm FML, and this week it's all about the Yozak, baby!

Imma let y'all finish, but chicki_marshies put up the latest capslock_kkm FML Wednesdays post here. Last week's post was a hoot!