“The concert of a lifetime.” “An incomparable duo.” “A match made in heaven.” “The greatest have united.” The hype surrounding the Jay-Z and Kanye West Watch the Throne album and concert has been insurmountable. The excitement I have for this concert is comparable to the excitement I have for my college graduation, which is shocking seeing that I’ve been waiting for this moment for four years!

As I stare at my Ticketmaster confirmation email, I can’t help to think, “Damn, is this something that I can see happening between female rappers?”

Think about it, who are the top female rappers in the game right now? The most talked about are definitely Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim, but could you ever see them working together? Probably not.

If women of the hip-hop game took the time to mentor one another instead of knock each other down, the rap game might not be so male dominated today. Even outside of rap, if all the top women of R & B unite for a blow out concert, could you imagine how successful that would be? Why has it not happened yet?

There is no question that female collaborations have proven successful. Remember the top-charting Lady Marmalade and Ladies’ Night?

It is amazing to see that Jay-Z and Kanye West have learned from the missed opportunities of a Biggie and Tupac album collaboration, or even the album that could have taken place between Jay-Z and Nas about 10 years ago.

While women are beefing, Jay-Z and Kanye, two men with clearly the biggest egos in the rap game are laughing all the way to the bank right now.

Based on the success of the Watch the Throne before the album was released, they have shown that the real money comes from working together.

It is apparent that hip-hop of 2011 lacks a diverse female point of view and I am sure this is not due to a lack of talent out there. As hard as it is to say, we need to take a page from the men and realize success lies within collaboration, not just competition.

Mayday! Mayday! A highly contagious form of self-degradation has been infecting our community of black women! A vaccine to the virus known as “The Bad Bitch Epidemic” must be distributed immediately!

Since when has the highest form of compliment turned into a phrase built from the combination of two words that are grossly connotative? The phrase I most often hear is, “You’s a BADD bitch!” Am I the only one that doesn’t find this to be a compliment?

Although, we succumb ourselves to the intoxicating tunes of artists such as Nicki Minaj with repetitive lines such as, “I’m a bad bitch. I’m a, I’m a bad bitch”, or one of Chris Brown’s opening lines in “My Last”, “I just want the baddest bitch in the world, right here on my lap,” is this really a term we want to define our beauty as?

We are women of color: Powerful, uniquely beautiful, stylish, confidant, and our hips have a persuasion like no other. We wont let a random dude in the street call us a bitch and get away with it, so why does putting the word “bad” in front of it make it any different?

Unlike a lot of other negative terms aimed at us women, this is not what we are being called solely by our sometimes ignoramus opposite sex. This is something we call ourselves. The hypocrisy lies in our court, because historically we have been the ones to criticize hip-hop for demeaning us as women, dating back to the early 90’s when civil rights activist Delores Tucker protested against Tupac’s nomination for the NAACP Image Award due to his misogynistic lyrics. When did we stop fighting this battle and accept defeat as if we never had a cause at all?

Yes, I am too a young Black woman that wants to celebrate my beauty while simultaneously rebelling against what society wants me to be, but there is much power in the terms we define ourselves by and as a community we should take responsibility for that.

To some, I am making a big deal out of another slang term, developed out of hip-hop culture,  that is destined to fade in a couple years. But, just do me a favor ladies, before you get dolled up and as Swiss would say, “Hair done, nails done, everything did,” and want to call yourself, “A Bad Bitch” when you are most proud of your physical appearance, think about what some of your role models would refer to themselves as in that same situation. Would Michelle Obama in her inauguration gown say, “I’m a Bad Bitch!”? Would Oprah ever refer to herself as a “Bad Bitch” while saying her last words on her series finale? What about your mother? Your grandmother? Is that something you want your daughter to say about herself?

Yes, it just two words, but believe me, the message behind those two words is pushing our progression back by decades.

A lot of our favorite movies have shown the women of our community chop off their luscious locks in only the most stressful of situations. How can we forget the epic scene in Waiting to Exhale when Angela Basset cut off her hair after finding out her husband cheated on her? Or one of the last scenes in the all-time favorite movie Set It Off when Jada escaped her life of crime and disguised herself by completely shaving off her box braids? We could even reference Demi Moore in G.I. Jane. having to keep up with the boisterous men of the army, she gave herself a ceasar cut in hopes to physically blend in.

Cutting your hair has gone from a sporadic action in traumatic situations, to a girly trend that even I have embraced. Being one of the first ones to rock a short do in my friend group, my friends often come to me for tips on how to maintain their new hair. I stick to a few tips that a good friend of mine taught me, and now I’m passing it on to you all.

Nia Long "Short Hair Vixen"

Rocking short hair that looks horrible is a tragedy, but dawning a short, chic, polished look is sexy and sophisticated. Here are my never fail tips from start to finish.

1. Once a week, wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner. Make sure to allow your conditioner to sit in your for at least 10 minutes or deep condition under a dryer. I tend to use Mizani shampoo and conditioner. For my fine hair, it keeps it soft and voluminous.
2. Once you have rinsed out the shampoo and conditioner, spray a considerable amount of leave in conditioner. The one that works best for me is Bed Head by Tigi.
3. Next, apply a generous amount of foaming pommade or wrap and roll. You can never go wrong with Paul Mitchell’s Foaming Pommade.
4. Having short hair, you tend to have heat on your hair quite often, even if it is to just touch it up, so give your hair a break from the blow dryer and simply comb your hair down straight, preferably in the same direction you would style it in. Then gently brush it down to control any loose hairs.
5. Grab a head scarf you don’t mind getting wet and tie your hair down tightly making sure every edge of your hair is covered.
6. During this time, let it air dry. Do this before you go to sleep or do anything you wouldn’t have to leave the house for.
7. By the time you wake up or about 4-5 hours later, your hair will be completely dry and perfectly matted into place.
8. Depending on the length of your short-do, grab a one inch, or as I like to use, a ½ inch flat iron and style as you wish.
9. For extra moisture, apply just a finger of hair grease to your scalp. The Nourish & Shine by Jane Carter Solution is great.
10. Also ladies, don’t be afraid to try new things with your hair: flip it up, spike it, Shirley temple your bang, or gel it down. Your hair is a blank canvas just waiting for you to express yourself!