House Party Party Connie & Kesha's WAKE UP! LISTEN UP! House Party & BBQ

If you're not able to physically attend the listening party you can always catch all the fun via www.ustream.com! Hope to see you all there! Sacramento hit me up at 916-251-9327 if you are interested in attending the party!


ChicaWest


connie321:

You’re invited to my House Party!

Come join the pre-party action on my personal party web site. See who else has been invited, who’s coming, and what other invited guests are saying on my party message board.
This party is going virtual too! So even if you don’t live near, you can still be a part of the party.  I’ll be ustreaming from 3 -5 pm pacific standard time.
 http://www.ustream.tv/channel/connie-s-wake-up-house-party

Please RSVP as soon as you can so I can keep track of who’s coming. Check below for details about the party.

See you at the party—and on my party site!

Sac Valley AIDS Run/Walk 2010

This past Sunday, September 12th was Sacramento Valley's AIDS 10th annual charity walk! As an active participant for the past four years it gave me great pleasure to be apart of this event again this year! The last two years I have had to walk to journey alone due to my best friend Maharisha succumbing to the effects of a stroke, but I don't mind doing so because it is a life-worthy cause... besides my participation in the walk honors the memory of my uncle Charles Wilkins who passed away from AIDS almost 20 years ago.

Anyway, while waiting to walk the beautiful 5k around the quaint mid-town section of the city I decided to take a second look around my surroundings and to my surprise I discovered a very beautiful side of the city that captured my heart.















Please feel free to donate towards the annual collection for research for a cure. Visit my personal site here to donate. The name is Kesha York-Jenkins for reference purpose when donating.

Thank you all and I look forward to walking for the cause again next year!
Peace & Blessings,

CWest

Wake Up Everybody....

Wake Up Everybody
John Legend & The Roots

I AM NOT A STATISTIC!!!!

I tell myself this every morning when I wake up... so why is it that others shroud themselves in ignorance aren't shouting this life saving mantra?! Not accepting the social norm, not settling for the powers that be truths and demanding your life be worth every last breath means you are utilizing every fiber of your being to NOT become a statistic.

Men, reclaim your pride and dignity be realizing your real potential and place in this world.

Women, realize your worth and reclaim your place in this world and the matriarch of civilization.

Stop settling, recognize your love for one another as God's equal pittance for the genders and find compassion and consideration for each other.

Lets change our broken human system by rebuilding the system!

ChicaWest

LP Review - Soul Evolution by Chaz Mason

Take the funky guitar rifts of Prince, combine it with the crooning styles of Raphael Saadiq, Vant Hunt and Lenny Kravitz and toss in the essence of Martin Luther McCoy and Craig David and you get Chaz Mason's debut album Soul Evolution.

Complete from beginning to end, Soul Evolution is well deserve celebration of the rebirth of feel good soul music.

Mason, a Georgia native admits that he spent three years working on this album and the sincere delivery of each song on the showcases superb melodies that are authentic and real.

Plagued by love's bittersweet temptation and haunted by constant need of affection from the one he loves, Chaz is able to share his soul's evolution through tracks like 'The Groove', 'You Thrill Me', and 'Infatuation'.

Soul Evolution also offers feel good jams like 'Think and Feel' Stay, 'The Dedication' and a beautiful acoustic song that shares a story about a girl who lacks self love entitled 'Love Yourself"... The most powerful song on the LP, Mason sweeter than honey vocals resonates the songs powerful messages "I am a woman, I am beauty; for I love myself" as if to connect with its listener on a personal level.

Soul Evolution is fantastic; the best soul album I have heard in a very long time. I became a fan of Chaz Mason after hearing 'The Way You Make Me Feel' off of his 'Two-Week Notice' EP but 'Soul Evolution' gave me hope in the rebirth of the genre.

RECOMMENDATION: It's a classic album worthing owning!

Soul Evolution Track Listing:
1. The Groove
2. Think And Feel
3. Stay
4. What About Me
5. You Thrill Me
6. The Dedication
7. Love Yourself
8. Infatuation
9. Midnight Star
10. Again
11. Come As U R
12. Modern Girl

Chaz Mason Online:
Chaz on Myspace
Chaz on Facebook
Chaz on Twitter
Chaz on Reverbnation

Purchase Soul Evolution on iTunes here

Special thanks to Chaz for being a wonderful person and an exceptional artist. Thank you for making me a believer AGAIN!

Enjoy!
ChicaWest

The ChicaWest Show is Coming!

In four days I'll be globally broadcasting an array of music from multi-genre artists that represent the core essence of what I perceive to be some of the best music not being played for music lovers en mass. To say that I am nervous would be an understatement but I am excited and thrilled to be playing for music for an audience that recognizes and appreciates the independent music hustle. 

Along with the music, some of the things you can look forward to the weeks and months to come are:

• Artist Interviews
• Telephone Interviews
• In Studio Performances
• Tribute Shows
• Social Spotlight 
• In Studio Webcasts
• Topic Of The Day Commentary
• Plus so much more...

I am hoping to build a long lasting relationship with the listeners of my show! Feel free to offer suggestions, send me some of your favorite music but just remember to tune in! 

Starting this Wednesday, June 2nd the Chica of the West Coast is live and representing from the penthouse to the basement! Let's go!

Peace & Blessings,

ChicaWest

ChicaWest Online: Twitter - @ChicaWest | Myspace - ChicaWest | Facebook - ChicaWest

Tune in: www.kumsfm.com

Sheila Johnson Slams BET

Sheila Johnson is using her riches from launching BET to raise awareness of the capital’s AIDS crisis with a new documentary. The billionaire talks to Lloyd Grove about the pandemic, why she’s “ashamed” of BET now, and how politics disillusioned her.

Posted using ShareThis

A WTF Moment - Sandra Bullock Adopts Baby and Announces Divorce

I’m all for empowerment of women but at what cost must women continue to do things that suit their needs without factoring how the choices they make in life impacts others.

Case in point, Sandra Bullock reveals during her interview with People Magazine that she is filing for divorce from cheating husband Jesse James and have finally adopted a beautiful baby boy name Louis who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

When I sent out a tweet stating my disdain this morning I was told by various friend and followers that before all hell broke loose within the marriage she (Sandra) and Jesse had been working on adopting a baby for 4 years. Since I have not followed her personal life or career I can not debate the validity of their argument.

However, here is the problem I have with this entire story. Parenting is not something you’re born into, it’s not something you can wake up one day and decide you want to do nor is it something you should be able to just “purchase” to do. Children are a long life commitment not accessories and I personally feel like some of these Celebes have nothing better to do with their time and money but acquire things to make themselves feel important and/or loved.

As a black woman I find Sandra’s joy of adoption in the midst of a divorce an oxymoron. For years Black women have been on the receiving end of society’s debate about birthing children outside of wedlock and raising children in single family homes and yet here we have an Oscar winning actress about to embark down that same path and everyone (black chicks included) seem to be okay with it.

WTF?! Did I miss the part where yet another black child is going to be raise without a father?! Little Louis may experience all the finer things in life but he’ll be without a father to raise him and teach him how to be a man… He’ll grow to love his mother but yearn for a father to bond and spend time with… what about the child?!

I’m not bitter about Sandra’s adoption at all, although I am very perplexed about the timing of her announcement. Bringing a child into a broken marriage and family is not news and it further shows the shaky state of familiar status within society.

Peace & Blessings,

ChicaWest

Where Have All The Ladies Gone?

Every day I find myself shaking my head at the nonsense I see on the bus.

One of the things that bothers me most is the girls I see on public transportation acting like they have no common sense, decency or tact about themselves.

Too often they are the ones assaulting my ears with ignorance. The majority of the time it's them I hear talking loud on their phones about their baby's daddy or fighting another chick. It's usually them and their girl friends working my nerves.

The sad thing is that this is an everyday occurrence. I rarely meet " a lady" on the bus or light rail and find it really hard not want to shake some manners into these girls I see on the buses and what not every single day.

Now granted that these girls and women may come from a challenged background and might not have been taught what it's meant to be a lady but damn... How long can we keep blaming their home "environment" for their ignorance?

The fact is there is one cardinal rule that women should know and apply when in public: Preservation, Protection and Positive. Always preserve your dignity, protect thy honor and demand respect and always put forth a positive reflection of yourself.

We are the majority and we have to constantly set the example of what it means to be and act like a lady in public. Despite popular belief, guys aren't attracted the "gangsta b!tch" mentality and it isn"t cute to be manISH so stop it already!

Peace & Blessings,

ChicaWest

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Don't be so quick to upgrade in life!

Last week while getting lunch at Panera's Bread a cashier complimented me on my ring. She thought it to be beautiful, classic and eloquent. The woman was particularly fond of the unique personal details to the mounting and band.

I was flattered by her compliments and felt a bit guilty because for the last year and half I have been talking in my husband's ear about upgrading my ring for a bigger and better one. I spent so much time trying to upgrade the beautiful token on my finger that I didn't realize that I was already wearing perfect ring designed specifically for me.

Just like with everything else in life, usually what is best for us or designed specifically for us is something we already have in our lives; yet we seek the next BIG thing or UPGRADES from what we already have because we're duped into believing what we have is not good enough.

This revolution was so mind blowing that I had to share the experience with my husband and you know what he said? "Wow, all it took was someone to compliment you on your ring to save me money?! Women, I don't understand them sometimes." Although he doesn't understand the "women" logic he was happy that we no longer had to look for a replacement ring for when we renewed our vows.

If this entry serves as anything I want you all to take this pearl of wisdom with you: The things you acquire in life from the ones you love does not require upgrades unless the value of it's meaning has been reduced to a meaningless relic. Like my ring, the personal designed embedded with the love and time that went into making it made it special in it's own right and it's something that I will forever cherished now that I've been reminded of how special it is.

Peace & Blessings,

ChicaWest