Everyone's So Creative These Days
Faking it until you make it, the BET Awards, digital creating and of course, articles.
It's Sunday, and Saturn Retrograde has arrived. I did laundry, and now I'm watching the BET Awards while putting the final touches on the newsletter. In 2019, I attended the BET Awards with my sister, and we met Bobby Brown; see my dress below and this sexy toe color.
Last year, I flew to LA to work in the press room, but life happened, and my outlet was sacked from the room, and I ended up lollygagging in LA with friends
The red carpet was underwhelming this year, with a lot of Y2K-inspired looks and Revolve pulls. However, here are my favorites:
Summer Walker leaned into a classic silhouette, and it worked for her.
Tinashe has a consistent personal style. She’s if Lynn from Girlfriends became a pop star.
I expected nothing less than excellence from Colman Domingo.
Shaboozey, no notes.
Tyla knows the power of a good shoe and an Aaliyah reference.
Flau'jae, Lynae Vanee, and Vic Mensa know their colors.
For years, I’ve been obsessed with Mariah the Scientist’s somewhat 50s-inspired personal style. She's in vintage Cavalli, always doll-like, and leans into colorful prints, never looking gaudy or fussy.
I always feel hesitant critiquing Black creators, so I won’t discuss the looks that flopped. We know designers often won't lend to us, so there’s more politics and nuance than a “bad look” that goes into that commentary. However, compared to the last few years’ awards, there were some standout moments that I won’t forget.
Tyla brought Africa to the world. Despite discourse on her comments on being Colored versus just Black, she deserved to be there and proved it.
“I look at Swizz Beats and his ex-wife… I’m trying, Tameka.” Usher go to BED.
Teyana Taylor and Victoria Monet recreated Usher and Beyoncé’s iconic BET Awards performance of “Bad Girl.” It’s an A-for effort, flawlessly executed, but I’d love to see both Victoria and Teyana halt the imitations of cultural moments and create their own.
Glorilla and Megan Thee Stallion's chemistry is amazing to witness. We need an EP from the duo.
Will Smith debuted his first new song since 2017, a gospel record featuring the Sunday Service choir and Kirk Franklin. I hate the song aggressively; it’s camp, self-obsessed, and poses as inspiring, but I respect Will’s commitment to diversifying his creative efforts.
I love Complex’s Speedy Morman and his ability to poke fun at himself >
One last note on the awards: Kamala Harris dropped a video saying, “The majority of us believe in freedom and equality, but these extremists, as they say, they not like us.” I’m tired of the pandering. It's honestly insulting that the left thinks these Black culture tie-ins even matter. We’re in a tough spot.
Now, let’s take a few sentences to address a few of this week’s lingering thoughts.
I wasn’t in talented and gifted programs growing up, but you can never tell me that I'm not unique or at least good at what I put my mind to. I wanted to get into USC; going to college in California was the only thing that mattered, so I made it happen.
I've committed to lifting three times a week, taking morning walks, and becoming a yoga teacher, watching my love for my body transform in the most beautiful ways. In 2020, I dreamed of working in podcasting, and I made it happen. Now, I'm a senior producer of an award-winning podcast. I put 100% into work and other people’s creative ideas, but I am a bit of a floozy when it comes to the Ellice Ellis content empire.
Transitioning from podcast producer to host has been a challenging journey. I launched the podcast version of this newsletter, focusing on chatting with not-yet-famous tastemakers, media professionals, and influencers, but consistency eludes me. The same goes for my Substack and TikTok efforts. The more I create for myself, the more I post the articles I’m reading and share my outfits and second-hand finds. I become more self-conscious and self-critical, haunted by thoughts of what I might be doing wrong or by the lack of views, listeners, comments, and subscribers.
This week, I realized that my obsession with self-improvement is hurting me. I am constantly self-editing and critiquing myself. There’s always something I feel I can improve in my content, and this relentless self-examination has stopped me from being consistent. Taking breaks to plan and rebrand has often halted my output and hindered my general expression of the things I love.
I want to get paid for being myself. It feels tacky saying that, but why not?
My best friend, Cher Good Eats, is a Los Angeles-based food content creator who has been eating and posting about a new restaurant weekly for as long as I’ve known her. She just released a collection of dining-inspired phone cases.s.
I’m in awe of her commitment and consistency and how she’s folded an online community into her own life and vice versa. There’s even a case inspired by me! They say when God is in your neighborhood, he’s coming to your home. Over the next couple of months, I’m borrowing from the Cher Good Eats playbook: being unapologetically yourself, relentlessly posting, and maybe releasing a physical product by the end of the year.
For now, I don’t quite feel like a digital creator, but I’m faking it until I make it. Starting July 1st, I’ll be posting every day (with a strategy, of course), documenting the podcasts I listen to daily, and dedicating more time to planning, researching, and creating 'A Few Minutes.'’
Now to the recommendations; here are a few creatives, articles, meditations, and more I’ve been thinking about this week.
A Few Creative Things + Articles
Kelsee Thomas
I met Kelsee in 2018 when I interned at Universal Music Group in the catalog department. She’s an avid reader and graphic artist who has cultivated a community of Black girls (and more) interested in horror, thrillers, and sad girl literature. In 2020, my older sister commissioned an illustration of me and my Dad for my college graduation. She’s digitally consumed by things she likes, which is a worthwhile follow.
LESBIAN CHIC WAS FOR EVERYONE – EXCEPT MOST LESBIANS
Remember when the chic lesbians wouldn't hang with Charlotte because she was straight?
Well, those women were a manufactured aesthetic of the 1990s; according to Highsnobeity, SATC’s power lesbians were catering to “consumers more comfortable seeing women adhering to, versus subverting, gender norms—chic or not.”
Robin Givhan: Bridging Fashion Criticism and Cultural Commentary
She’s chic, a legendary fashion writer, and from Detroit. She tells a story of covering menswear, gives her perspective on TikTok content creators, and speaks on the intersection of fashion and politics through the lens of the Obama era. This interview with Washington Post senior critic-at-large Robin Givhan is by far one of my favorite interviews of 2024.
Signaling A New Timeline
If you're not already on Insight Timer or want to start daily meditation, this is the perfect meditation to begin your journey. I began meditating almost daily in 2017 after losing my Dad, and this app has been essential in making it a regular practice. I turn to the ‘Signaling a New Timeline’ meditation by Lalah Delia, a spiritual writer and wellness educator, whenever I need a reset or break free from old habits and thought patterns. There's something about reaching the midpoint of 2024, the start of Saturn Retrograde and starting a new journey of diving into creating content for myself that feels like a shift into a new timeline and path from my current existence
The Unfiltered Charm of Jet’s Beauties of the Week
Here’s a confession: I had aspirations of being a Jet Beauty of the Week growing up. Of course, these aspirations were vanity-based; I wanted to look like them. But seeing women featured not only for their beauty but also with a glimpse into their careers and hobbies was cool and sexy. There weren’t many places where an eight-year-old like myself could see young-ish Black women glamorized who weren't celebrities. The Jet Beauty of the Week editorialized the thirst trap before that term popped into the cultural lexicon. Still, the features were somewhat classier than Women Crush Wednesdays or your typical Instagram post. You had to be chosen, and that’s what was so alluring about it.
Here’s a snippet: “There was an amateurish chaos to the “Beauty of the Week” photos that made them feel charged with erotic possibility. These were “around the way” girls, as the LL Cool J song goes. (The rapper wrote in his 1997 memoir, “I Make My Own Rules,” that he decorated his childhood bedroom with “posters of Bruce Lee and, later, Run-D.M.C. and Jet magazine’s Beauty of the Week.”) They looked like someone whom you might catch a glimpse of at the Jersey Shore one day. “Hey, did I see you in Jet?” was a pickup line someone once tried on my aunt.”
The Failed Promise of Binge TV + Some Quick Thoughts on The Bear
Season 3 of The Bear, I’m looking at you. I’m only four episodes in, but this season struggles with a lack of a focused narrative, and the ability to watch all episodes at once doesn't help. This quote from Alison Herman’s review of Season 3 sums up my feelings.
“Richie is still figuring out how to be a good dad; Sydney is still finding her voice as an artist and leader; Carmy is still a grown man who can't text a girl he likes. As in Season 1, the sense of stasis is true to life — and frustrating to watch”
The House of Arnault
After a while, listening to podcasts and reading the personal stories of successful founders and CEOs can become a bit repetitive. Profiles and pieces that glean insights from the world’s most successful people sometimes feel like a revolving door. Reading insight into Bernard Arnault and the sustained success of LVMH felt different, but it was a lesson in transformation with little insight into Arnault’s morning routine or philosophy on success. Perhaps it's because I wasn’t familiar with LVMH’s lore, but nevertheless, it was a good read
Listen to the related podcast episode below.
This Founder Borrowed $4,500 To Book Wiz Khalifa At His College. Now He’s A Millionaire
It’s safe to say that if the name Cam Kirk doesn’t ring a bell, you’re not tapped into the Atlanta creative scene. Almost all of my creative friends and acquaintances who went to college in Atlanta now live there or have crossed paths with Cam and his photography studio.
It’s inspiring to see people committed to fostering creative spaces for their friends and for those they believe are worthy, regardless of what mainstream media thinks. That’s essentially what Cam Kirk Studio is.
Read and watch about Cam Kirk’s studio, his photography agency Collective Gallery, and his journey from Morehouse student to millionaire here.
The Lost Art of the DVD Extra
This one is for lovers of the Criterion Collection and those who spent hours watching Challengers (2023) press interviews.
Five Things Companies Can Do Now That Chevron Deference Is Dead
I can’t end this newsletter without discussing one of the biggest pieces of news this week: the curtailment of the Chevron deference. What does this mean? It hinders regulatory agencies' ability to effectively protect public interests and advance progressive policy goals, potentially shifting the balance of power towards more conservative interpretations. Racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and economic equity, which all often rely on robust regulatory frameworks, are now threatened. There’s also a great podcast episode from Crooked Media’s Strict Scrutiny on the Supreme Court’s latest ruling. See below.
That’s all for today! Is there anything specific you’d like me to write about? Article recs? Please email me: ellisellice@gmail.com.