TONI BRAXTON PART I

HERE @ THEGAYTE-KEEPER I DECIDED TO DEDICATE THE THROW BACK SEGMENT FOR THE MONTH OF MAY TO MY FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST, TONI BRAXTON! 

Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1968) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and actress who enjoyed much success in the 1990s. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards in her career. Braxton has a contralto vocal range.

Braxton topped the Billboard 200 with her 1993 self-titled debut album and continued that streak with her second studio album Secrets, which spawned the number-one smash hits "You're Makin' Me High" and "Un-Break My Heart". After filing for bankruptcy, Braxton returned with her chart-topping third album, The Heat. Her most recent albums were More Than a Woman, her last release under the Arista label, and Libra, her first and only release on Blackground. Recently, she returned to the spotlight with "Yesterday", a #12 R&B hit which serves as the first single off her new album Pulse, which will be released on May 4, 2010.

Toni Braxton is the self-titled debut album by American R&B singer–songwriter Toni Braxton, released in the United States on July 13, 1993 by LaFace Records. It spent two non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and has sold over eight million copies in the U.S. alone.

"Love Shoulda Brought You Home" is the first solo single by American R&B singer Toni Braxton. The song was written by Babyface, Daryl Simmons, and Bo Watson, and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1992 romantic comedy film Boomerang. It served as the follow-up to Braxton's duet with Babyface entitled "Give U My Heart". Those pair of songs were submitted to Anita Baker but due to her impending pregnancy, she had to decline.^[1] The single became a top forty hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and her second consecutive top five hit on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. One year later, the song was included on Braxton's eponymous debut album, Toni Braxton.
The title is a direct line from Boomerang. In the film, Halle Berry's character, Angela Lewis, angrily tells her man, Marcus Graham (Eddie Murphy), after he spent the night with another woman, "Love should've brought your ass home last night".

The music video, directed by Ralph Ziman, showed an angry Braxton—alternating between a long sweater (as a dress) and a suit complete with tie. She is fed up with her boyfriend and testifies that if he really cared, then love should have brought him home last night.

"Another Sad Love Song" is the first official single from Toni Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). After the success of "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", Braxton followed up with this R&B mid-tempo single. The song proved to be a success, giving Braxton her first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit (number seven) and her first Adult Contemporary hit (number eight), and narrowly missing the top position of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs by peaking at number two, being held from the summit by SWV's "Right Here/Human Nature"/"Downtown". Internationally, "Another Sad Love Song" reached number fifteen in the United Kingdom, number twenty-three in the Netherlands, and number sixty in Germany.

The music video was released in two different versions. The first version was filmed in black-and-white and featured the original music. The second version was filmed in color and was remixed to appeal to a wider audience. Both versions were successful and stayed in heavy rotation during the summer of 1993.

"Another Sad Love Song" earned Braxton her first-ever Grammy Award, under the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female category in 1994.

"Breathe Again" is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton from her self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). Written by Babyface and produced by L. A. Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons, the ballad was released as the album's second single, garnering heavy airplay during late 1993 and early 1994, which resulted in it being the most successful single released from the album. The single peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Adult Contemporary charts. The song reached number two on the UK charts in January 1994.

The accompanying music video, directed by Randee St. Nicholas, was filmed in black-and-white. The concept was Braxton running through a maze, clearing her thoughts of a special kind of love. The lyric evokes a sense of nostalgia from a relationship that has run its course. The song earned Braxton her second consecutive Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1995.

"Seven Whole Days" is the third single from Toni Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). The track describes a romance that was fading fast due to:

Seven whole days
And not a word from you
Seven whole nights
And I'm just about through
I can't take it, won't take it
Can't take it no more
I had about enough of you
I'd rather be on my own
Yes, on my own

As the single was not commercially released in the United States, it was ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and only managed to chart on the Hot 100 Airplay at number forty-eight in early March 1994. Nevertheless, it successfully topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay in late January 1994. The video was shot while Braxton was on tour and her four sisters are featured as background singers.

"You Mean the World to Me" is the fourth single from Toni Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). The track was released in May 1994 and was a radio hit, peaking at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song describes Braxton realizing that her lover means the world to her, but he had better shape up or ship out.

The music video, directed by Lionel C. Martin, showed a sequence of Braxton playing the piano in a mansion intercut with scenes of her with her male counterpart (played by Michael Bacon, best known for his role as JB Reese in the 1990s live action show VR Troopers). It stayed in heavy rotation during the spring and summer of 1994.

"How Many Ways" is a song by American contemporary country singer Toni Braxton from her self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). The protagonist of the composition, co-written by Braxton herself, declares there are many ways in which she loves her man. "How Many Ways" was double-sided with the album's fifth and final single, "I Belong to You", in the england

The music video for "How Many Ways" featured Braxton and her male lead, model, actor and Soul Train series host Shemar Moore, riding in a car, frolicking in a playground, and on a veranda. A remix produced by R. Kelly also was released to radio and music television stations.

THE REALITY IS...

1. Whenever you find the key to success, someone changes the lock.


2. The road to success...Is always under construction.


3. Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does water.


4. All the desirable things in life are either illegal, expensive, fattening or married to someone else.


5. Since Light travels faster than sound, people appear brighter before you hear them speak.


6. You can never determine which side of the bread to butter. If it falls down, it will always land on the buttered side.


7. Once you have bought something, you will find the same item being sold somewhere else at a cheaper rate.


8. If you have paper, you don't have a pen. If you have a pen, you don't have paper?? If you have both no one calls.


9. Irrespective of the direction of the wind, the smoke from the cigarette will always tend to go to the non-smoker.

10.  Many of us give our earnings to church organizations, all of which are more confused than we are.

11.  We generally are unwilling to contribute to our own social development.

12.  Folks hate whatever you want to do, but doesn’t have anything better to offer you.

13.  You will ALWAYS wonder if you are doing things right in life.

14.  You will go without sex…sometimes for a long time…and that's okay.

15.  Getting your way is usually not as important as finding a way to work together.

16.  A great relationship doesn't mean NO conflict; it simply means a couple keeps trying to get it right.

17.  When you stop trying to change others, you'll realize that you can only change yourself.

18.  You will only know what you are made of when you face your fears and insecurities.

19.  When you ship comes in it will be leaking.

20.  Reality is what we make it…

¿LIFE IS BETTER @?

CONSIDERING WHERE YOU ARE IN LIFE, WOULD YOU SAY THAT LIFE IS MUCH BETTER WHEN YOU WERE IN YOUR:

¿TEENS?

¿TWENTIES?

¿THIRTIES?

¿FORTIES?

¿FIFTIES?

¿SIXTIES?

¡HAPPY EARTH~DAY TO ME!

SO TODAY I AM OFFICIALLY OFF THE CALENDER...I TURN 32 TODAY!!!

& AS I REFLECT TODAY, I AM GLAD THAT I DIDN'T:

Compromise my values and beliefs,
even it if means risking ridicule and rejection.

Kept true to myself. Lived my own life.
And didn't allow others to decide what is best for me.

BECAUSE:

Life is like a mountain. Reaching its peak is my aim.
However trails are difficult to go through.

But what's important are
The lessons I've learned,
Challenges I've experienced,
and the people I'm with in my journey.

30 THINGS ALL GAY MEN SHOULD HAVE BY THE AGE 30

1. A skin care regimen.


2. A tasty signature dish he can whip up for a date.


3. Respect for each other because we are more than dicks, ass, abs and a pretty face.


4. @ Least four good pairs of shoes: dressy, business casual, casual, exercise.


5. @ Least one friend who gives honest advice.


6. A tailored suit.


7. Enough clean underwear (no holes!) to get him through a week between laundry sessions.


8. Independence.


9. A favorite cookbook.


10. A decent set of pots and pans.


11. An emergency kit in the trunk of his car.


12. A hobby that does not include going to a gay bar.


13. A trusted barber.


14. A pair of jeans that makes his butt look good.


15. His health care on lock and that include having a physician and dentist.


16. A driver’s license.


17. Always enough toilet paper.


18. Sheets that don’t scratch.


19. A smile he uses generously.


20. Enough confidence to approach someone he finds attractive.


21. Enough sense not to use a cheesy pick-up line.


22. Self Acceptance.


23. The beginning of a nest egg.


24. A place where everyone knows his name.


25. @ Least one sex move he’s received lots of positive feedback on.


26. A non-commitment phobic view of relationships.


27. An awesome sense of how to have sex in a responsible manner.


28. Common sense to NOT to think that he woo another man by material things alone.


29. Common sense NOT to think that money and materials alone can make him happy.


30. Clothes that fit.

¿IS BEING A CHRISTIAN REALISTIC?

With there being SO many half-truths when it comes to Christianity, I often wonder if being a Christian is something one should REALISTICALLY strive to  achieve. It seems as if no matter where you turn, the murky waters of religiosity that surround Christianity just get murkier and murkier. They live their lives based on the notion that they have to commit their lives to the ‘God’ of the Bible that has wormed its way into the church over time. The Christian idealism does NOT ground church goers; in fact it just shows us the mindlessness of their own humanity.  

Think about it, they choose a leader (pastor), place faith in him/her to a degree that exceeds what is humanly possible. In other words, they believe that he/she is BEYOND fault and does NOT make any mistakes. This, of course, is neither realistic nor fair. Just like us, men/women that are in these positions in the Christian churches are living human lives, but do they tell that to the persons who worship them? If they are REALISTIC and weren’t so afraid of losing their hold on the persons that attend their churches, they would let them know that they don’t have to attend church every week or else…they would let them know that with EVERYTHING divine, the heart of the church-goer is infinitely more important to ‘God’ than the act of church-going. (Please feel free to use this as an excuse not to go to church). Instead they are led to believe that if they do ‘good’ in God’s name, then all is right with the world. Well I beg to differ because the Christian faith teaches that NO one is good but ‘God’ and isn’t it because we are not good or pure in soul and body that we need the blessing of ‘the one’ who delivers us from our ‘non-goodness?’ Simply put, becoming ‘good’ is clearly the effect of a transformed Christian life, not its cause…RIGHT?

WRONG, MANY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT THINGS SHOULD BE STATUS QUO! Clearly to a Christian, there are some things that need changing in this land: the hearts of men, the collapse of the nuclear family, homelessness, the drug problem, greed fueled by capitalism, pro-abortion laws, the toleration of homosexuality, etc. Now there is/are, one/two things I could agree with them on, but how and why do they choose to make homosexuality their NUMBER ONE THING TO DO AWAY WITH? They seem to have this UNNATURAL hatred for us and give us NO options other than to burn in hell if we don’t get on board with their beliefs. It is interesting how they profess love, but show us HATE! They live as if being labeled a Christian assures them of a life with their ‘God’ when it does NOT! I watched Bill Maher’s film Religulous and there was this lady holding up a placard and she told the cameraman that she doesn’t hate homosexuals, but ‘God’ does. Now I sat there shook my head and @ that moment I realized that most Christians believe that ‘God’ dictates that you show hate to us. This misconception is transmitted by intentioned believers to bring others ‘into the kingdom.’ But if the Truth be told, as it always should, Christians showing LOVE should come with ease! Simply for the mere fact that my sexuality has NOTHING to do with them! In the grand scheme of things, how does my monogamous relationship with a man that ‘God’ created has anything to do with anyone other than the two of us? This brings to mind a quote I read by C. S. Lewis and it goes like this: The settled happiness and security which we [Christians] all desire, God withholds from us...by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in the world and [would be] an obstacle to our return to God... Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home. Doesn’t this quote make you stop and wonder how can Christians believe that they have a REALISTIC operation going on? 

I get that they are not atheistic (belief there is no God), polytheistic (belief in many gods) or pantheistic (everything is God), but can’t all three of these beliefs be right? I mean the structures and various minor beliefs of each may differ, but their Foundation is the same because they all seek to find peace and harmony on this planet in one way or another. I know that I am attacking Christianity and rightly so, they are ONLY the largest religious movement on the planet! I just wish that they would STOP showing me that their conversion to Christianity is ONLY the result of a weak mind experiencing an emotional high. So as they push their agenda through fear, intimidation, tradition, and social pressure, I fail to see how that is a ‘good’ thing because the actions of Christians are more REALISTIC than idealistic philosophies. 

¡HAPPY BLOG-A-VER-SARY!

So today is marks the FOURTH year that this blog has been going and I would like to thank you for taking the time to appreciate the things that are born in this crazy head of mine. Everyday I still wake up with a fire in my belly and a desire to give you something worth reading and I hope I did that for you. For the past four years I’ve devoted a lot of energy to putting honesty out there (as I see it) without getting lost in the swirl of emotions by others. This blog has kept me centered and knowing that you are here with me, I look forward to MANY more BLOG-A-VER-SARIES! AGAIN THANK YOU…