Confessions

I (finally!) managed to make time to read Karrine Steffans Confessions of a Video Vixen (2005). I know... I'm way behind on the times, since she already put out the sequel—The Vixen Diaries (2007).

Do I recommend it? Well... yes, if you're interested in a first-person narrative (carefully crafted for pop appeal) of gender power dynamics in the music industry or if you're interested in how pain and self-hatred inform the decisions of this particular "video vixen." It's no literary jewel. But I'm glad I read it. It has given me a lot of food for thought.

And it also made me wish that a man in the hip-hop industry would have the guts to tell a similar tale (but from a male perspective)—a story that focuses on how much of the swaggering, partying, womanizing and posturing is, deep down, informed by a pain and self-hatred so similar to Karrine Steffans... so similar to the pain and self-hatred most of us battle.

Reggaeton in Utah

Click here for a 5/5/08 article (where I'm quoted) about reggaeton in Salt Lake City, Utah, prompted by Ivy Queen's upcoming show this Friday at the E Center.


The article is neither extensive nor groundbreaking (actually, it's a bit confusing/misleading on the terminological/historical tip... then again, it is a tricky history to convey). But it's still fascinating and indicative of where the media and market are at with respect to reggaeton, starting with the title of the piece, which doesn't actually mention the name of the genre but instead reads "Hip-hop-influenced genre is on the rise and DJ hopes Utah takes notice."