When this little cutie-patootie was a youngin,’ she was growing up in a household with a famous daddy, in a well-off neighborhood. Little did she know at the time, she would grow up to become famous with a well-off lifestyle and career of her own, too. Although, given her family background, it was only natural for her to use her talents to impact the world…especially the world of R&B, or as some call her particular style of music, the world of ‘neo-soul’ R&B.

Random side note: I’ve grown to despise the term, ‘neo soul artist.’ In the beginning it was cool, but now it’s putting seasoned artists, like Erykah Badu, Kindred and the Family Soul, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Bilal, and so many more inside of a small box, as if they’re not worthy of being heard by the masses. So, for the duration of this article I’ll refer to the little girl in the above pic, simply as an R&B artist. Moving on…

Who Is She?

ILOSM fam,’ if you guessed that the adorable little girl is the one and only India.Arie, then you were right. Pretty sure now that you’re looking at her baby pic, it’s easy to see, because she looks the same today. Since we love us some India.Arie, before we show you who her famous father is, we must share one of our favorite India.Arie performances/renditions – “Wonderful (Stevie Wonder tribute)” (scroll down to meet her Pops)…

Who’s India Arie’s Famous Daddy?

For those of you who are still wondering who her famous Pops is, here’s the info we reported on him a while back: The beautiful India.Arie is her Dad’s twin, no doubt about it, and she credits both of her parents’ love of soul music for shaping her musical gifts as a child.

Her Pops is a legendary retired NBA and ABA (American Basketball Association) player, by the name of Ralph Simpson. He’s considered a true legend in the game and played against many other old school NBA legends, including Julius “Dr. J” Irving and the late Moses Malone.

Simpson’s basketball career spanned from 1970 to 1980. He was a force to be reckoned with and scored the most points in the entire history of the ABA, when he played for the Denver Rockets (which later became the Denver Nuggets). He also played in five ABA All Star games. After the ABA merged with the NBA, Simpson joined the Detroit Pistons, retiring in 1980.

India Arie’s parents, Joyce and Ralph Simpson, divorced in the mid-80’s. Joyce is now India’s stylist. Her dad is now a minister. This year (2016) India’s Pops was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016 the now 71 year old was inducted into the CSHOF, check out is acceptance speech below…

So as y’all can see, India.Arie comes from a long line of talented people…by the way, her mother can sing just like her.

The post This Little Cutie Became An R&B Legend…Her Dad Is Famous And Rich Too appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

When this little cutie-patootie was a youngin,’ she was growing up in a household with a famous daddy, in a well-off neighborhood. Little did she know at the time, she would grow up to become famous with a well-off lifestyle and career of her own, too. Although, given her family background, it was only natural for her to use her talents to impact the world…especially the world of R&B, or as some call her particular style of music, the world of ‘neo-soul’ R&B.

Random side note: I’ve grown to despise the term, ‘neo soul artist.’ In the beginning it was cool, but now it’s putting seasoned artists, like Erykah Badu, Kindred and the Family Soul, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Bilal, and so many more, inside of a small box, as if they’re not worthy of being heard by the masses. So, for the duration of this article I’ll refer to the little girl in the above pic, simply as an R&B artist. Moving on…

Who Is She?

ILOSM fam,’ if you guessed that the adorable little girl is the one and only India.Arie, then you were right. Pretty sure now that you’re looking at her baby pic, it’s easy to see, because she looks the same today. Since we love us some India.Arie, before we show you who her famous father is, we must share one of our favorite India.Arie performances/renditions – “Wonderful (Stevie Wonder tribute)” (scroll down to meet her Pops)…

Who’s India Arie’s Famous Daddy?

For those of you who are still wondering who her famous Pops is, here’s the info we reported on him a while back: The beautiful India.Arie is her Dad’s twin, no doubt about it, and she credits both of her parents’ love of soul music for shaping her musical gifts as a child.

Her Pops is a legendary retired NBA and ABA (American Basketball Association) player, by the name of Ralph Simpson. He’s considered a true legend in the game and played against many other old school NBA legends, including Julius “Dr. J” Irving and the late Moses Malone.

Simpson’s basketball career spanned from 1970 to 1980. He was a force to be reckoned with and scored the most points in the entire history of the ABA, when he played for the Denver Rockets (which later became the Denver Nuggets). He also played in five ABA All Star games. After the ABA merged with the NBA, Simpson joined the Detroit Pistons, retiring in 1980.

India Arie’s parents, Joyce and Ralph Simpson, divorced in the mid-80’s. Joyce is now India’s stylist. Her dad is now a minister. This year (2016) India’s Pops was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016 the now 71 year old was inducted into the CSHOF, check out is acceptance speech below…

So as y’all can see, India.Arie comes from a long line of talented people…by the way, her mother can sing just like her.

The post This Little Cutie Became An R&B Legend…Her Dad Is Famous And Rich Too appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

When this little cutie-patootie was a youngin,’ she was growing up in a household with a famous daddy, in a well-off neighborhood. Little did she know at the time, she would grow up to become famous with a well-off lifestyle and career of her own, too. Although, given her family background, it was only natural for her to use her talents to impact the world…especially the world of R&B, or as some call her particular style of music, the world of ‘neo-soul’ R&B.

Random side note: I’ve grown to despise the term, ‘neo soul artist.’ In the beginning it was cool, but now it’s putting seasoned artists, like Erykah Badu, Kindred and the Family Soul, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Bilal, and so many more, inside of a small box, as if they’re not worthy of being heard by the masses. So, for the duration of this article I’ll refer to the little girl in the above pic, simply as an R&B artist. Moving on…

Who Is She?

ILOSM fam,’ if you guessed that the adorable little girl is the one and only India.Arie, then you were right. Pretty sure now that you’re looking at her baby pic, it’s easy to see, because she looks the same today. Since we love us some India.Arie, before we show you who her famous father is, we must share one of our favorite India.Arie performances/renditions – “Wonderful (Stevie Wonder tribute)” (scroll down to meet her Pops)…

Who’s India Arie’s Famous Daddy?

For those of you who are still wondering who her famous Pops is, here’s the info we reported on him a while back: The beautiful India.Arie is her Dad’s twin, no doubt about it, and she credits both of her parents’ love of soul music for shaping her musical gifts as a child.

Her Pops is a legendary retired NBA and ABA (American Basketball Association) player, by the name of Ralph Simpson. He’s considered a true legend in the game and played against many other old school NBA legends, including Julius “Dr. J” Irving and the late Moses Malone.

Simpson’s basketball career spanned from 1970 to 1980. He was a force to be reckoned with and scored the most points in the entire history of the ABA, when he played for the Denver Rockets (which later became the Denver Nuggets). He also played in five ABA All Star games. After the ABA merged with the NBA, Simpson joined the Detroit Pistons, retiring in 1980.

India Arie’s parents, Joyce and Ralph Simpson, divorced in the mid-80’s. Joyce is now India’s stylist. Her dad is now a minister. This year (2016) India’s Pops was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016 the now 71 year old was inducted into the CSHOF, check out is acceptance speech below…

So as y’all can see, India.Arie comes from a long line of talented people…by the way, her mother can sing just like her.

The post This Little Cutie Became An R&B Legend…Her Daddy Is Famous And Rich Too appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

As most of us know by now, actress/ comedian, Mo’Nique, has been on a media campaign to get her message heard, regarding the gender and racial bias she says she’s been experiencing in Hollywood and beyond. She’s recently visited The View daytime talk show, The Breakfast Club radio show, and has repeatedly taken to her and husband, Sidney Hick’s, podcasts to blast Netflix and other celebs. She’s continued to crusade for a Netflix boycott, as well as call out Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Precious director, Lee Daniels for reportedly having her “blackballed” in Hollywood.

In her continued fight against inequality in the entertainment biz,’ many celebs and fans have bashed Mo’Nique’s actions. There are also many celebs and fans who are supporting her and on Tuesday (2-27-18), India.Arie made it clear she iss standing with Mo’Nique.

Gabrielle Union’s Tweet Sparked India.Arie’s

In a series of tweets, Arie went off about the backlash Mo’Nique has been receiving. Her Twitter reactions were sparked after she retweeted actress, Gabrielle Union’s, tweet. Union’s tweet apparently referenced one of Mo’Nique’s prior claims of being labeled as “difficult” in Hollywood simply because she was asking for equality, instead of accepting whatever was being tossed her way.

“I’ve noticed I’ve been called difficult when I’ve asked for accountability,” Gabrielle Union tweeted in response to a social media user who posed the question, “Have you noticed when you refuse to be disrespected people call you “difficult?”

Union also tweeted this reply…

https://twitter.com/itsgabrielleu/status/967995644152487938

India.Arie Defends Mo’Nique On Twitter…Makes Good Points

India.Arie then responded with a very lengthy series of tweets, to further add to Union’s discussion. She even created the hashtag, #ImWithYouMo, which she repeated several times throughout her message:

India.Arie: “I’ve been called difficult- when I demand accountability, take time for self care, speak difficult truths or stand up for myself at all lol. Some may not agree with @moworldwide method or approach but she’s NOT wrong. It’s the black tax and the gender pay gap rolled into one. Most people would be surprised to learn of the UTTER NONSENSE black woman artist have to accept just to CREATE. … AND we STILL come thru and light the whole stage up. @moworldwide is RIGHT and BRAVE. And handling it all so well. #respect…

But there IS no right way FOR her to say. So I applaud @moworldwide for speaking up at ALL! KNOWING she’d be subjected to so much hate.

FYI – Black Tax: The experience that Black people have to work and perform twice as well as White people to get half as much. Just to be clear where I stand #ImWithYouMo aaaaannnd Love to all #soulbirdsworldwide.”

Mo’Nique Shows Luv To India.Arie

As soon, as word of India.Arie’s support got back to Mo’Nique, she was quick to tap that ‘retweet’ tab and let her Twitter fingers do the talking. As you can see from the screenshot below, Mo’ re-shared some of Arie’s tweets on her own page, in appreciation of her ‘songbird’ sista…

In addition to retweeting Arie’s support, Mo’Nique also tweeted a straight to the point message to remind folks that she’s not backing down from this fight for equality in entertainment. She let her fans know that she was going to be discussing the inequality and bullying conversations she had with Whoopi Goldberg one her podcast, “Mo’Nique’s & Sidney’s Open Relationship”:

INEQUALITY & BULLYING. Join us today Mo'Nique & Sidney's Open Relationship. Periscope 1pm est. Discussing conversation with sister Whoopi on and off camera. Also responding to @Oprah comments. DONT MISS THIS SHOW. Luv y'all 4 real

— Mo'Nique Worldwide (@moworldwide) March 1, 2018

The Tense View TV Moment Between Whoopi & Mo’Nique

In case you missed the Whoopi Goldberg conversations, Mo’nique is referring to, here’s what recently went down between the two ladies on The View talk show:
When visiting The View on Thursday (2/23/18), things got a lil’ tense when Whoopi and Mo’Nique discussed her claims of being blackballed by Oprah, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels in Hollywood. Why? Because according to Mo’Nique, it was because she’d refused to promote the Precious film free of charge. During the interview, Whoopi revealed that she’d called Mo’Nique to try to help her resolve the situation, but said Mo’Nique didn’t really wanna try her advice. Mo’Nique then repeated her side of the story, that there was nothing she did wrong to deserve the treatment and ultimate blackballing she claims she got as a result of her refusing to work for free. See their intense exchange in the below video…

.@moworldwide tells her side of the story that damaged her reputation: "For 8 years, my family has suffered, and my career has suffered, because … I would not allow those entities to … bully me." https://t.co/f8u2wc159S pic.twitter.com/cb9wUmiMfY

— The View (@TheView) February 22, 2018

Not The First Time India.Arie Blasted Fallon & Timberlake Too

Now back to the lovely neo-soul songstress, Arie. Like we mentioned earlier, India is not one to back down and that lesson, talk show host, Jimmy Fallon and singer, Justin Timberlake, learned first hand. When Timberlake recently appeared on The Tonight Show, he and Fallon decided to do a comical skit, in which they were to ‘sing’ through their conversation:

That seemed innocent enough right? Nope, not according to India.Arie, because the problem is that Jimmy and Justin named their skit “Songversation.” In case y’all didn’t catch that, “Songversation” is the same title of Arie’s Grammy nominated 2017 album, Songversation: Medicine, a title she says she holds “sacred” and one that she also claims ownership of. Therefore, Ms. Arie decided to stand up for her art and thus the slam session against Justin and Jimmy commenced. In a series of tweets, India went OFF on them for jackin’ her album title without permission, just for the sake of a laugh. She kicked off her tweets about the situation with this statement:

“I hear the @jimmyfallon show appropriated my sacred word #songversation Last night for a skit. just be clear ~ Im offended. “

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960484880651038720

Then she continued and even tagged Jimmy Fallon in her tweets, demanding that he and Timberlake ‘respect her life’s work’:

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960485445170814978

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960502846033678336

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960490737593913344

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960494843578540032

When a fan urged India to “drag” Fallon, she replied that wasn’t her style, but she would check him over it instead:

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960492734766338049

And there ya’ have it people! India.Arie, Gabrielle Union, and Mo’Nique- three women who demand that the entertainment world put some ‘respeck’ on their names ASAP. We can’t be mad at that one bit.

The post India.Arie Thoroughly Shuts Down Many For Criticizing Mo’Nique’s Fight Against Inequality appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

You see, when Timberlake recently appeared on The Tonight Show, he and Fallon decided to do a comical skit, in which they were to ‘sing’ through their conversation. That seems innocent enough right? Nope, not according to India Arie, because the problem is that Jimmy and Justin named their skit “Songversation.” In case y’all didn’t catch that, “Songversation” is the same title of Arie’s Grammy nominated 2017 album, Songversation: Medicine, a title she says she holds “sacred” and one that she also claims ownership of.

So of course, Ms. Arie felt the need to stand up for her art and thus the slam session against Justin and Jimmy commenced, right there on Twitter for all of her fans to see. In a series of tweets, India went clean OFF on the singer and host for stealing her album title without permission, just for the sake of a laugh. She kicked off her tweets about the situation with this statement:

“I hear the @jimmyfallon show appropriated my sacred word #songversation Last night for a skit. just be clear ~ Im offended. “

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960484880651038720

Then she continued and even tagged Jimmy Fallon in her tweets, demanding that he and Timberlake ‘respect her life’s work’:

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960485445170814978

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960502846033678336

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960490737593913344

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960494843578540032

When a fan urged India to “drag” Fallon, she replied that wasn’t her style, but she would check him over it instead:

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/960492734766338049

Welp folks, y’all heard India Arie, she said they better put ‘respeck’ on her name. By the way, to get a better understanding of just how passionate Arie is about her work, here’s what she recently posted about her Songversation album and performance at this year’s pre-Grammy event (SWIPE LEFT):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeonVEFlKJo/

The post India.Arie Is Pissed & Goes Off Over What She Says Jimmy Fallon & Timberlake Just Did Her appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Random side note: I’ve grown to despise the term, ‘neo soul artist.’ In beginning it was cool, but now it’s putting artists, like Erykah Badu, Kindred and the Family Soul, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Bilal and so many more, inside of a small box, as if they’re not worthy of being heard by the masses. So for the duration of this article, I’ll refer to the little girl in the above pic, simply as an R&B artist. Moving on…

Who Is She?

ILOSM fam’ if you guessed that the adorable little girl is the one and only India.Arie, then you were right. Pretty sure now that you’re looking at her baby pic, it’s easy to see, because she looks the same today. Since we love us some India Arie, before we get into who her father is, we must share two of our favorite India.Arie joints- “Wonderful (Stevie Wonder tribute)” and “Ready For Love”…

**

Who’s Her Famous Daddy?

Her Pops dad is a legendary retired NBA and ABA (American Basketball Association) player, by the name of Ralph Simpson. He’s considered a true legend in the game and played against many other old school NBA legends, including Julius “Dr. J” Irving and the late Moses Malone.

Simpson’s basketball career spanned from 1970 to 1980. He was a force to be reckoned with and scored the most points in the entire history of the ABA, when he played for the Denver Rockets (which later became the Denver Nuggets). He also played in five ABA All Star games. After the ABA merged with the NBA, Simpson joined the Detroit Pistons, retiring in 1980.

India Arie’s parents, Joyce and Ralph Simpson, divorced in the mid-80’s. Joyce is now India’s stylist. Her dad is now a minister. This year (2016) India’s Pops was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016 the 68 year old was inducted into the CSHOF, check out is acceptance speech below…

So as y’all can see, India.Arie comes from a long line of talented people…by the way, her mother can sing just like her.

The post This Lil’ Cutie Became An R&B Legend Whose Daddy Was Famous & Rich Too appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

India Arie: “To All Who Are ‘Woke'”:

On Jan. 25, India Arie took to Twitter with a link to her open letter about the controversy surrounding Chrisette Michele’s inauguration performance.

By now, we’ve all heard about the heat Chrisette’s been getting for agreeing to perform for Donald Trump. Then, she penned an open letter defending her decision, created even more turmoil. Now, India Arie is sharing her opinion. She insists she stands for love and advised everyone to use their energy on the “highest good”…

All who have been asleep and are now “woke”
THE MOST “WOKE”  THING WE CAN DO?   IS LOVE,

Not fluffy, pink, new age love. LOVE as in,  THE RADICAL VIBRATION THAT IS LOVE!  LOVE IN ACTION.
Stop the petty talk – AND USE OUR ENERGY FOR THE HIGHEST GOOD. WE ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN WE KNOW when we are making “woke”  or what I call, “high consciousness” choices.

India Arie went on to admit she wouldn’t have personally accepted Donald Trump’s invitation to perform, but feels Chrisette Michele shouldn’t be ridiculed for her choice. In a nutshell, India Arie is pushing her message that it is  okay to “agree to disagree.”

Arie wrote “Do I agree with her performing at the inauguration? NO. I would have NEVER done it. For any price, under any circumstance. but thats ME. […] Do I agree with her having the CHOICE? YES. Do I think I understand the nuance that went into her decision? NO!!”

“Life is NUANCED, and before you straight up attack someone who, heretofore had been a gifted, talented, respectful, at LEAST, entertaining part of your world, – give them a chance to be human, complex, sometimes contradictory, … you know.. HUMAN,” she added.

The Backlash For India Arie:

Although Arie may have aspired to take the high road with her open letter, many folks on social media just ain’t trying to hear that. In fact, she is now being dragged for her opinion. Black Twitter is responded with some harsh ‘open letters’ of their own, but there were also others who supported India’s stance. Check out some of the tweets:

https://twitter.com/AReelCarter/status/824664939235344384

i never commented on cm so not sure who yr statement is directed towards. Just saying this backlash is expected

— DIASPORA GOTHIC (@heydizzledizzle) January 26, 2017

https://twitter.com/hsmartiii/status/824419582983237632

Ben Carson
Kanye West
Steve Harvey
Jim Brown
Ray Lewis
Warren Sapp
Chrisette Michelle

…aaaaand India.Arie pic.twitter.com/zBoFiyITQf

— Rusty Redenbacher (@rustymk2) January 26, 2017

We can hold our people accountable. And we've also been holding elected officials accountable on here too.

— Geriatric Emo (@marcia_too) January 26, 2017

Ok so that India Arie letter looked like she wrote 6 paragraphs then copied and pasted it it like four times. Excessively long and redundant

— Mehmet Okurrrt (@Natural_OneDurr) January 26, 2017

India Arie Responds To Backlash

https://twitter.com/indiaarie/status/824424893869682688

Chrisette Michele Responds To Arie

https://twitter.com/ChrisetteM/status/824605345741996032

The Supporters

Like we said, there were some fans who agreed with India Arie’s stance. Despite Chrisette Michele making a decision most of them didn’t agree with, it shouldn’t stop them from loving and respecting her.

https://twitter.com/MeeYaOfuma/status/824435172015828992

@indiaarie i agree with you…that's what i been saying to people..just cause u disagree doesn't mean u have 2 stop loving and respecting!

— Rev_TDenise (@revtdenise81) January 26, 2017

So…@indiaarie writes an open letter to @ChrisetteM and people are mad unforgiving. Why are we so unforgiving with each other?

— Eddy “Precise” Lamarre (@Precise_Chi) January 26, 2017

What do you think about India Arie’s open letter? Share your thoughts.

The post After India Arie Defends Chrisette Michele, Here’s How Fans Dragged Her… appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

[kkgallery kid=”2609″ title=”OMG! U HAVE To See India.Arie Singing w/Her MOM! They Both Got SKILLS!”]

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view. Come join our ILOSM fam’ on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @iloveoldschoolmusic

The post OMG! U HAVE To See India.Arie Singing w/Her MOM! They’ve Both Got SKILLS! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

[kkgallery kid=”2368″ title=”Whaaat?!! U Will NOT Believe Who India Arie CELEBRITY DADDY Is!”]

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view. Come join our ILOSM fam’ on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @iloveoldschoolmusic

The post Whaaat?!! U Will NOT Believe Who India.Arie’s CELEBRITY DADDY Is! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Ladies and gentlemen what you are about to read is an example of what it looks like to be a victim of the severe brainwashing that has plagued America for centuries. 50 Cent has always been controversial, but he hit WAY below the belt this time when he recently disrespected some African American female fans and also attempted to insult India Arie in the process. To put the cherry on top, 50 also implied that having “nappy hair” is actually a bad thing, which is a complete LIE on EVERY level, so I’m not sure how he’s going to explain that to his millions of other beautiful, “nappy headed” female fans who are very happy to be nappy. See what he did below…

50 somehow thought that it would be considered an insult to compare the looks of a female fan on his Instagram page to “I Am Not My Hair” singer, India Arie (although India is an incredibly gorgeous woman, but 50 obviously didn’t get that memo). After a few of his fans suggested that 50 should direct message his son, instead of always posting public messages on social media regarding he and his oldest son’s tumultuous relationship, 50 went OFF! Check out the exchange below:

50 CENT'S PUBLIC MESSAGE TO HIS ESTRANGED SON, MARQUISE

"Happy Easter. Enjoy the day God bless. I know your mom, you don’t have to respond. Enjoy"

Source

The post WTH? 50 Cent Calls Black Women Nappy Headed & Insults India Arie, Details appeared first on I Love Old School Music.