Q&A with Ms. Abiola Abrams

Q: Abiola, who are you?

A: I hear you Scorpia-- who is this Abiola chick anyway? (smiles) I am a wayward goddess, and artsy, hip hop feminist superhero! (giggles) Ok, ok…. Real talk now. I am an opinionated cheerleader, hip hop feminist, fashion-loving, cultural critic, and TV big mouth.

Q: OKayyy.

A: I guess that the answer you’re looking for is that I am the host of THE BEST SHORTS on BET-J, an indie film show. I am an art filmmaker, and chick lit author who gives motivational talks. Dare, published by Simon & Schuster, is my first novel. Check it out! My book tour is called The Dare To Be B.A.D. Revolution, and I’m loving chilling at All Things Scorpia!

Q: What inspired your first novel Dare?

A: DARE is a smart, romantic, comedic story about finding true love and self-esteem. I was inspired by the crazy things that I see going on within the industry and the character Maya also goes through a painful breakup as I did just before writing this story.

Q: Why do you to call your virtual book tour the "Dare To Be Bad" Revolution?

A: My book release soiree is called Party Like a Book Star, and I’m really excited about my virtual tour called, as you said, the Dare to Be B.A.D. Revolution. B.A.D. means Beautiful and Daring. I want people to read this book and feel invincible. Maya’s best friend Athena in the novel Dare forces her to ask herself, What would you DARE to do if you knew you could not fail? That’s what the Dare to Be B.A.D. Tour, and Dare is all about.

Q: What's the plot?

A: Dare is the story of Maya, a sociologist with self esteem issues who goes undercover in the hip hop industry as a sexed up rapper named Jezebel and almost loses herself. It is a comedic portrayal of temptation and the entertainment industry. Dare also quotes almost every influential woman in hip hop from Roxanne Shante and Queen Latifah, to Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown to Wendy Williams and Kimora Lee Simmons. It is about learning to own and manage your personal power. I want us all to be strong, kick-ass goddess women! There are lots of goodies on my site to help us in that direction.

Q: What writers influence you?

A: Hmmm. I enjoy a wide variety of work from the literary works of Toni Morrison and Gloria Naylor to the tell it like it is work of Terry McMillan. I am also a magazine junkie! I also enjoy hip hop author Heru Ptah and many of my peers like Jennifer Weiner, Black Artemis and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. There are exciting things happening in black and Latin women's writing right now! I am also classically inspired as you'll even find hints of The Wizard of Oz in Dare. In fact, the entire novel Dare is a chick lit retelling of Faust set in the hip hop world. Ohh—and there are secret shout outs to the writings of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker in the book. Email me if you find them!

Q: Any other influences, Abiola?

A; Surprisingly, I was influenced by the music of Nas and Jay-Z. I was inspired by the videos of Beyonce, Tupac’s poetry, and films like Moulin Rouge, Frida and Romeo + Juliet. I was inspired by everything from sex to spirituality. I am an artist, so I draw from my environment. It’s crazy when I am in creativity mode. I might wake up in the middle of the night and draw a mural on the wall.

Q: Tell us about your show, BETJ's The Best Shorts.

A: The Best Shorts is a short film show and competition created by my producers Sean Joell Johnson and Ralph Scott. Another executive producer on the show is Paxton Baker of BET. We have a really strong team over at BET J who believe that it is important to tell alternative stories and give emerging artists a voice. Each season we give away a combined $30,000 to a winner and a runner up. Although we are on Black Entertainment Television, people of all races come up to me daily and tell me how much they love the show. Oh—just an FYI, there is no more BET Jazz. It’s BET J. (smiles)

Q: What other projects do you have in the works, Abiola?

A: I want to get women of color more comfortable speaking about sex and sexuality. We have a history of being sexually exploited and now we can’t tell the difference between that and true pleasure, which we do have a right to, like anyone else. Look for some erotic themed film work coming up: www.thegoddessfactory.com. It’s like sex education for my generation, the hip hop generation. Until we can be sexually honest, women of color will keep dying of AIDS.

Q: Wow. Anything else?

A: I am building a very exciting partnership with blackplanet.com. Tracey Cooper over there is amazing. In addition to my BET show, I will be hosting a daily online show called Planet Abiola that you can find on blackplanet.com soon. Check my site www.abiolaabrams.com or myspace.com/goddessfactory for updates. The blackplanet page is www.blackplanet.com/abiola_abrams . This was fun. Continued success DJ Scorpia!

Here’s where to find more from Abiola Abrams & DARE:
Abiola Central: www.abiolaabrams.com
DARE: www.daretogetalife.com
Abiola on Myspace: www.myspace.com/goddessfactory
Abiola on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dare-Abiola-Abrams/dp/1416541667

1Abiola Abrams interview © 2007 Abiola Abrams, All Rights Reserved.

" Singin' in the Rain" on Movies Rock

I watched all of the performances from Movies Rock 2007, but none moved me like Usher's performance. I think he was just on point with even the most smallest detail. Beyonce didn't even sing the whole song, so that was real boo for her! Everyone else was pretty good, but new father and husband was the best!

Suspended Doorman Returns to Work

I saw this story on Headline News tonight and it was so funny! A Manhattan doorman was suspended for bad breath! He's been working at the complex for 40 years. He was told by management not to return on Friday, because of Halitosis. Jonah Seeman was suspended twice for bad breath. Seeman says he stopped eating garlic and takes mouthwash and breath mints to work. It's a disease people, so if you haven't figured that out of the last 40 years then something is definitely wrong with you. The management over the building weren't taking calls, but sent the doorman a letter dated Nov. 21, stating: "We can no longer tolerate the fact that you have severe breath odor while on duty." Well, it helps to have a big mouth! Jonah went public and a day after he was suspended and calls weren't being returned, management now says he won't lose any money nor is his job at risk.

Alvin and the Chipmunks, Not So Much!

I went to the Alvin and the Chimpunks premier today. I anticipated updated dialogue, but still the same cuteness that the show possessed so many years ago, boy was I wrong! I understand that times have changed and technology has definitely upgraded, but this movie is just to mature for kids. I mean seriously, there wasn't one kid in the whole entire movie! It looked more like a music video with girls in bikinis, people drinking martinis, and big booty background singers, and then three little chipmunks dancing and singing. A dad brought his two kids and held his head in shame as he walked out before the movie ended. I wont give to many details of the movie, but just know it's not a good look! We were leaving the theatre and this lady was handing out posters and maybe 5 people took one. I hope your experience is better than mine, just had to put my opinion out there.

"Nothing Pre-Dated Christians"

The world is flat and nothing pre-dated Christians! Sherri Sheperd once again states false information yesterday on the View. Sherri you can't get out of this one sweetie. You can go on every talk show and try to cover it up with, brain farts, nervousness, but no one believes you now as if they did before. I hate when people speak before they think. She's always putting her Christianity front and center and that's fine if I'm watching TBN, but damn it's a talk-show. So my conclusion is that she just has bad comprehension skills, that's all! lol

Vanessa was Nude and Now She's Being Sued!

I hope the title wasn't to corny! First nude pics, then rumors of Disney dumping the young adult idol and now a $150,000 suit! Who's not having the best year ever, Vanessa Hudgens! She's being sued by her former attorney, Brian Schall for unpaid commissions that the child star earned while under contract. Hudgens earned at least $5 million while under contract with Schall. She and her attorney tried to argue that Vanessa was only sixteen when the contract with Schall was signed and cited California's Family Code, which says "the contract of a minor is voidable before [age 18] or within a reasonable time afterward." The judge presiding over the case is allowing the suit to move forward, because she waited to late to deal with the situation. She was 18 yrs and 9 months when she tried to bamboozle some intelligent people and as you can see it didn't work. It kills me when stars try to act innocent when the isht hits the fan, she didn't have a problem when she posed nude! Anyway, we shall see what happens.

Willis and Cabrera Headed to Motown

AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

The winter is looking pretty good for the MLB! The first blockbuster deal has been made and my favs Dontrell Willis and Miguel Cabrera are heading to the Detroit Tigers. In 2003, when Miguel was a youngster in the league, he won a World Series and now with the addition of the left-handed pitcher and slugger the Tigers are seeking the same success. The A-Rod deal, which I find preposterous is setting expectations very high for the MVP. The Yankees seem to think that with the new Yankee stadium revenues will make up for the big contract and that might be true, but will Alex fail in the post-season like he's done for the last two years. Until he can prove he's worthy of such a lucrative deal, I can't support the Yankees decision. Detroit Tigers will definitely be in the post-season next season and look for the Red Sox to be right with them. I can only hope that AT&T Uverse will offer the League pass. I put a call in to the company yesterday to demand the League passes be added and the rep was like, " ma'am we're working to make that happen, you aren't the only way that is frustrated with the lack of sports services!" I'm already excited about the '08 season! I'm just waiting on the Astros to make some kind of smart move, I can't be flying off to another city just to watch baseball.

R.I.P. Pimp C

Chad Butler a.k.a." Pimp C" was found dead at the Mondrian Hotel located on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA. He performed with Too Short on Saturday at the House of Blues. Pimp C was half of the dynamic down South duo, UGK. Their first mainstream hit was the summer anthem in 2000, " Big Pimpin" with Mr. Blueprint.

The hotel has finally released a statement:

"Mondrian received calls this morning from the family of Chad Butler inquiring about his whereabouts. Mr. Butler had checked into the hotel on 28 November and, according to the callers, was to have checked out yesterday. Security personnel went to Mr. Butler's room and found him in bed, apparently expired. A 911 call was placed at about 9:20 a.m. and paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department responded and pronounced Mr. Butler dead."It's unclear how Butler, 33, died. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department is investigating.

On the radio here in Houston, the calls have been sad and uplifting. His partner " Bun B" is saddened by the news, but also thankful for the time he got to spend with Chad. My deepest sympathies goes out to the family. Wow, it's been such a crazy year!

R.I.P. Dr. Donda C. West

I'm not sure if I can post this, but someone who attended the funeral has forwarded me the obituary of Dr. Donda C. West. Again, my condolences go out to the family and I can't imagine what that void feels like, but someday I will. Please love people like you'll never see them again!

Jennifer Love Hewitt Loves Her Body

Jennifer Love Hewitt, the cute, sweet and sometimes naughty actress is firing back at media and bloggers for saying that she is fat. TMZ reported the story on their website on the 28th of November. Why is my response to the pics so delayed? I felt guilty for all the food I ate over the holidays, that's why! I don't understand the weight issue in Hollywood. I know that skinny is in, but who wants to look like Amy Winehouse and Mary-Kate Olsen. I think she looks healthy and absolutely gorgeous. Hewitt posted on her personal site that, " she's upset for all the girls out there that are struggling with their body image. You go girl! At least you're not some pill-popping, crack smoking, eat nothing but lettuce type of chick. If she gains another 10 pounds, then she's pregnant!