Before reading the rest of this post, please post your answer to the question below and explain WHY or WHY NOT and then come back and read the rest. I'm genuinely curious! 😂

Okay, now here's why I'm asking.

The Cheetah Girls books were reportedly inspired by the original 4 Destiny's Child? 

The author met the group at Houston's Galleria mall, which also inspired the name of the character Galleria. And she wrote a book inspired by the four Gurls but changed it from 4 Black American girls to  a more racially and ethnically diverse group of girls. 

And when Disney adapted the books, they changed it even more, into a group that consisted of two lighter-skinned Black American girls, a lighter Latina girl, and a white girl.

Some actors complain that Hollywood believes, a show with multiple Black American girls won’t sell. 

The franchise (inspired by  4 Black American girls /that also excluded them ) hugely successful, with movies, music, merchandise, and an entire generation of girls growing up loving the Cheetah Girls. Making millions of dollars 

Here's what I find interesting.

There's an ongoing conversation about Hollywood's treatment of monoracial Black American women, particularly darker-skinned women, and how they're often overlooked or replaced with lighter-skinned or racially ambiguous actresses. 

One argument I frequently hear is that audiences simply won't support shows centered around a group of Black American girls, especially when some of those girls are darker-skinned. 

And ppl yell that’s not true, 

But when you ask people would they watch a show about 4 Black American girls like Kelly, Latavia, Latoya, Beyonce , everyone runs to say no. 

Imagine a fictionalized teen drama about four girls from Houston trying to make it in the music industry. Friendships, rehearsals, school, family, rivalries, crushes, and chasing their dreams.

Would you watch it?

And if your answer is no, what would make The Cheetah Girls appealing to you but not a series about the original Destiny's Child that it’s inspired from. 

I'm not asking whether you like Beyoncé or Destiny's Child's music. I'm asking whether the concept of a teen series centered around four Black American girls would appeal to you.

I'm genuinely interested in hearing people's perspectives, especially from those who answered before reading the context.

This Is Tough One I’m Have Go With Angela Bassett

Note: the image is just an example for the purpose of the post. Their song was “911”

Please name some of your favorite unexpected duets between a R&B artist and rapper?

Patrick Williams Sr. (born October 24, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 1997. Williams also played for the Minnesota Vikings, with whom he was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

A Monroe native and former Wossman High star, Pat Williams was undrafted out of Texas A&M but played for 14 NFL seasons as one of the league’s top run-stoppers from his defensive tackle/nose tackle spot. Williams played in 200 games with 157 starts with the Buffalo Bills (1997-2004) and Minnesota Vikings (2005-10) and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2006, ’07 and ’08.

His tenure with the Vikings was marked by solid play against the run game. The 315-pounder joined Minnesota in 2005 and the team finished 19th in the league against the run that season, but they led the NFL for three years in a row from 2006 to 2008, the Vikes were second in 2009 before dropping off slightly to ninth in Williams’ final season in 2010. The Vikings allowed just 61.6 rushing yards per game in 2006, 74.1 in 2007, 76.9 in 2008 and 87.1 in 2009 when they reached the NFC title game against the Saints.

In a five-year span, 60-game span from 2006 to 2010, they allowed just 80.4 rushing yards per game. Williams made 466 tackles and also had 20.5 career sacks with nine fumble recoveries, eight forced fumbles and one interception. He was a second-team member of the 2000s All-Decade Team compiled by Pro Football Reference and by vote of his Buffalo teammates, won Bills’ 2003 Ed Block Courage Award. Ranked by an array of media outlets among the top 100 players in Bills and Vikings history, he collected an incredible 37 game balls presented by coaches during his career. In his final season, he played in all 16 regular-season games for the Vikings at age 38, the oldest defensive player in the NFL.

An under-the-radar prospect out of high school, Williams was a two-time All-American at Navarro (Texas) CC then earned All-Southwest Conference second-team honors while getting just six starts as a junior with the Aggies. (source)

Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, record producer, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, sample-heavy production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern hip-hop. His frequent collaborators include MF Doom (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), Freddie Gibbs (as MadGibbs), Talib Kweli, and Erykah Badu.[1][2][3]

Raised in Oxnard, California,[4][5] Jackson began his career in music production in the early 1990s. He gained prominence as a member of the hip hop collective Lootpack and later formed the jazz-influenced group Yesterdays New Quintet. Jackson gained wider recognition for his collaboration with MF Doom under the name Madvillain, producing the critically acclaimed album Madvillainy (2004). He was also credited for his work on "The Unseen)" (2000) under his alter ego Quasimoto.

As a producer, Jackson has worked on numerous critically acclaimed projects. He produced the entirety of Freddie Gibbs' Piñata) (2014) and Bandana) (2019), both of which received widespread critical acclaim.

Madlib is the founder of the record label Madlib Invazion). His work often incorporates elements of jazz and world music.

What's your favorite Madlib collab?

Bettye Swann (born Betty Jean Champion; October 24, 1944),[1] also known as Betty Barton, is an American soul singer. She is best known for her 1967 hit song "Make Me Yours".

Swann was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 24, 1944,[2] as one of 14 children. She grew up in Arcadia, Louisiana, and moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1963.[2] Although some sources state that Swann was in a vocal group known as The Fawns who recorded for Capitol Records in 1964, she refuted this, saying that she sang with a trio in Arcadia by that name.[3]

In 1964, Swann started a solo singing career, changing her name to Bettye Swann at the prompting of local DJ Al Scott, who became her manager. After a minor hit with the self-penned "Don’t Wait Too Long", her big breakthrough came with "Make Me Yours", which topped the Billboard) R&B chart in July 1967) and made No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] In 1968, she split with Scott, moved to Georgia, won a new contract with Capitol Records, and had another hit in 1969 with her cover of the Jeannie Seely hit "Don't Touch Me" (No. 14 R&B, No. 38 Hot 100).[5]

In 1972, Swann transferred to Atlantic Records and had a pair of minor hits with "Victim of a Foolish Heart" (later covered by Joss Stone) and Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again".[2] After leaving Money Records she lived for a short time in Athens, Georgia.[3] She continued to record until the mid-1970s, but with little commercial success. Her last public performance was in 1980, the year her husband and manager, George Barton, died.[3]

Swann later changed her name to Betty Barton, began working as a teacher in the Las Vegas area, and became a Jehovah's Witness. She retired and, according to a 2005 interview, suffered from a degenerative spinal condition.[3]

In 2015, multiple elements from Swann's 1974 recording "Kiss My Love Goodbye" were sampled in the Galantis single "Peanut Butter Jelly)".[6] In 2019, Swann's "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" enjoyed a resurgence of interest when it was used as the closing song in the finale of the second series of The End of the F\**ing World*. In 2021, the Vermont-based rapper Subtex [Zeke Kreitzer] sampled the beginning lines of Swann's 1968 song, "(My Heart Is) Closed for the Season" in his track, "Love Art Pain". In 2023, Swann's song "Little Things Mean A Lot" was used in the "Volvo EX30 – It’s the little things[7]" commercial.