Lboogie's Pop World

By Laurean Robinson, MA April 28, 2018 8:45 AM EST In the same week that brought the viral tsunami of that was Beychella, the renamed phenomenon assigned by Black Twitter/Instagram for the Beyonce's performance of raw power and Black excellence which erupted through every laptop screen and Smart TV at the California music festival Coachella, the First Lady of Wondaland Records Miss Janelle Monae releases her latest album Dirty Computer with equally tech-friendly stimuli. If you are like me, you are regularly scrolling through your Instagram feed for interesting quotes, news or just hilarious gif-worthy material.  This week, there was an internal ad from The Electric Lady herself to sign up for access to her new website. There you become fully immersed inside the world of Dirty Computer , a hybrid cross-section of science fiction innovation and spiritual awakening with a full feature film entitled “Emotion Picture” which featured all of the...

Laurean D. Robinson, MA August 15, 2018 6:58 AM EST If you are a parent who lives in Miami-Dade and Broward counties of South Florida, you are deep into the Back To School season for the start of elementary, middle, high schools and college.  Today, Broward County Schools have started their first day of school for the Fall 2018-2019 School Year. As an educator of both Secondary and Higher Education for 15 years , I can only empathize with the expansive To Do List of the season - School supply lists, Summer Reading Books your kid needs to read before the first day of school, Tax-Free Weekend promotions, school and Physical Education uniforms. And now your favorite summer shows and TV movies are getting interrupted by these seductive commercials and radio advertisements, reminding you once again how much shopping needs to be done.    After all, my kid DOES need a new school wardrobe and ALL those binder...

Laurean D. Robinson, MA May 2, 2017 4:03 AM EST I am a foodie. This fact has been very present in my life since maybe twenty years ago, when I tasted my first hot fudge sundae at a nostalgic Americana diner with my friends one weekend (or on a Sunday). The ingredients weren’t anything special – 50’s era glass ice cream container, two scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with a warm drizzling of chocolate fudge, whipped cream and a glossy red cherry. But there was something about its presentation that made the eating experience so romantic – if I had social media back then (and not its boring and uncool uncle, AOL), I would have taken a picture of it and framed it so I could gaze at it for all time. That’s when I learned to see food as more than just sustenance. It could be a time capsule, preserving the culture of a long-forgotten time. It could also art. And art is what was on display and on the menu on the inaugural installment of Spice It Up Miami (...

Laurean D. Robinson MA Sunday, June 4, 2017 3:20 AM EST In the age of Trump and an unsure sense of purpose in the minds of young people of color in the United States, it has been the added responsibility of media and public figures like MSNBC’s Host of AM Joy Ms. Joy Reid, Anchor and Editor of TVOne’s NewsOneNow Mr. Roland S. Martin, and political strategist Ms. Angela Rye to fill in the gaps of current news with insightful analysis that speaks to the black and brown demographics. A new voice in this movement is Mr. Charlamagne Tha God, Co-Host of the popular Breakfast Club radio show in New York City and Host of MTV2’s weekly cultural commentary show “ Uncommon Sense .” His new book, Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It , continues the tradition of Hill Harper’s Letters to a Young Brother and Letters to a Young Sister that offers pragmatic advice to millennials and Generation Z who admire his unapologetic critique of hip hop culture and...

By Laurean D. Robinson, MA April 23, 2018 During this spring season, elementary and secondary school students across the country are in the throes of state testing after prepping for these standardized exams during the fall.   These children, along with their teachers and administration, put in so much time and effort into sculpting the most efficient test-prep program so students can retain the lessons and strategies needed to be confidently successful. But oftentimes, that confidence does not come easily. Our students may crumble under the pressure to attain school success in their districts and regions. But what if these children had some special mediation and yoga classes built into the after school program where breathing exercises were taught and stretching was encouraged? This is the basis of a Miami Lakes based non-profit organization called EMBRACE Girl Power where CEO Ms. Velma Lawrence trains a small staff of high school students to teach mediation, yo...

By Laurean D. Robinson, MA July 28, 2018 “I am a born entertainer. Even as a little girl, I dreamed of being a star.   I would be an entertainer had I been born a hundred years earlier or later.   Had I been born a unicorn or even been born on Neptune, I would be somewhere singing in somebody’s universe, filled with music and fire.”  - Jenifer Lewis in Memoir The Mother of Black Hollywood This is hardly a revelation to the industry legend and performing dynamo Miss Jenifer Lewis who has the most impressive resume of acting and singing roles in all of Hollywood. Another character she has taken on this last few years is that of an author of her memoir The Mother of Black Hollywood . Her South Florida leg of her book tour has brought her to South Florida's Lauderhill and ended at Miami’s historic Overtown Performing Arts Center .  When the ABC’s Blackish star arrived, she sashayed towards the venue’s stage like the born performer she has...

Ms. Laurean D. Robinson, MA Pop Culture Contributor, Sugarcane Magazine 11:59 PM Thursday, June 23, 2017 The longest minute in my life. Why? Because like the “Hova” masses with their Golden Ticket aka Tidal Music Premium subscription , I was waiting for the most anticipated album of the year to drop for streaming and offline listening. And then it was midnight and after I refreshed my smartphone application, there it appeared. 4:44 Jay-Z A compact ten-track album with accompanying music videos including “The Story for O.J." The album opens with the jolting “Kill Jay Z,” a confessional about his suicidal dislike for his hip hop persona that led him to drug dealing in his own community, being targeted as Biggie’s murderer and neglecting his wife with infidelity and machismo sexism. It is probably one of the most jarring yet unapologetically honest tracks on the album. Here Shawn Carter addresses the jumbo elephant in the elevator th...

Laurean D. Robinson, MA May 17, 2018 5:54 AM EST In a strange way, I can imagine what it would have been like to grow up as a female Jackson of Gary, Indiana. I see myself feeling either really claustrophobic or embraced wholly by my extensive family of siblings, a homemaker mother and a hardworking steel worker father. While we would be seen as poor or lower middle class in our neighbors, I wouldn’t have the discourse to even recognize that reality – all I knew was I was always fed, clothed and slept head-to-foot with one (or two) of my brothers and sisters. My parents had distinct personalities and disciplinary styles that either built me up with a shaky confidence or sheltered me from the entertainment industry altogether as I grew up on 2300 Jackson Street. Nights were spent hearing my older brothers practicing their musical act with used or borrowed instruments or watching our only black and white television to marvel at chocolate entertainers like James Br...