Wahidah Fowler

Link: http://thewellversed.com/2011/02/11/wahidah-fowler-brooklyns-own-visual-vandal/

The home of Biggie and Jay may have been the nurturing ground for this superstar-in-the-making, but Wahidah Fowler is not just representing the county of Kings. The beautiful Guyanese-and-Bahamas hybrid expresses her passion through visually stimulating the senses of her fans. The former host of JumpOff TV’s Friday Hip-Hop Report, Wahidah has utilized her creativity to push grace and hard work to the limit as a true quadruple threat. This Queen from Kings County wears many hats and as she takes them off to cool out with The Well Versed, the self-proclaimed “vandal” speaks on reality TV killing the Creativist Movement, who would be in her Black Don’t Crack Hall O’ Fame, and shares some Valentine’s Day advice to all the lover’s out there in the World Wide Web.

The Well Versed: It’s no secret that you’re extremely proud of your African heritage. Now that we’re in Black History month — what do you hope the younger generation learns from the elder generation?

Wahidah Fowler: This Black History month, I hope that the younger generation learns the richness of their ancestry. Being black is beyond a skin color and young adults should learn how to love and wear their color with pride — just as other races do. Past generations have tried, but failed when it comes to teaching black youth to love and respect their heritage. We, as African-Americans, have never truly been taught our true history, and were forced to deny our culture and native language through slavery — that helped to create hate amongst our own. The Western media and history book’s ideology have taught those of African descent to resent their “blackness” due to the negative images associated with being black.

Hopefully more young kids and adults will be enlightened this Black History month by taking out to learn more about Africans prior to slavery and all about the richness and teachings that came out of Africa that helped civilization thrive. I also hope that black people learn about the greatness of African-Americans that have helped and continue to pave the way for them to go to universities and to have equal rights so they could have a chance to make the future better than their past. This Black History Month, I hope that the younger and older generations gain more self-worth and self-knowledge so they could have a better understanding of why it means so much for them to achieve greatness and not limit themselves.

I personally think that until we as a people fully understand our past, our future will remain a blur. I say this because when a race of people is deprived of their history — they will ultimately be deprived of their self-worth.

TWV: To change subjects — how did you and the equally bodacious beauty, Gwen Ro, hook up to become such good friends? What are the pros and cons to keeping such sexy company as her?

WF: I saw Gwen at a few industry events years ago, but I officially met her at a model search for The Fresh Face Project. It was a talent management/development company that she was putting together to help models thrive in the industry. After going to the casting, she called me back because she was interested in having me model for the project. At the same time, she was doing a model boot camp that I was a part of, and I soon begun to work out/train with Gwen outside of the project. From then on, we began to expand on other business ideas, and supported one another in all of our endeavors even outside of the modeling industry.

I realized that we both had much in common — young, hard working, independent, beautiful personalities, and not afraid to go after what we wanted in life. She is great to be around because she’s smart, wonderful, and a caring individual. I feel very blessed to have her as my best friend! I believe that your company is highly reflective of the individual you are. The pros of having Gwen as a “comrade” is that she is very honest and helpful. If I have an issue, I can ask her advice, and she would give honest feedback with a help solution to go along with it. Another pro is that since she’s also in college — she understands all of the pressure I put myself in and through when I take on more than the maximum number of classes in a semester. We both don’t drink, too, so I never have to worry about having to explain to people why my friend is behaving in an outrageous manner [laughs]. She is also into fitness, just like me.

The cons are when we go shopping she can always buy the nice shoes. I am a vegan, I try my best not to wear leather, and due to this, I have a limited selection of nice shoes to choose from — while she has an abundance of options. It’s not fair [laughs]! Another con is that when we’re at the gym, since she’s a personal trainer, she would always work me out as if we’re ready to go to war! Not cool, Gwen [laughs]…

TWV: The Digital Age is really exciting and scary at times to see. How active are you on Twitter?

WF: Honestly, I’m going to step up my Twitter game in 2011. I’ve had mine for a minute, yet I have neglected it, though I really appreciate all of my followers. I love you all! I didn’t see the natural hair trending topic that you were talking about, but I assume that it was pretty big. I can kick myself in the butt right now. If my hair had magical powers though, I would say that I and my naturally coifed ilk, would be able to be protected from any natural disaster that hits. When you have natural hair you tend to not have to worry about the stress that those that do not have natural hair have to worry about. The ladies, and some men, with perms have to constantly spend money and precious time to get their roots retouched with a relaxer at least once a month.

I believe that it is more cost efficient to keep your hair natural and it is extremely beautiful. I believe that wearing your hair natural, as opposed to having straight hair extensions, showcases pride in one’s ethnicity, heritage, and natural beauty. Even when it comes to intimacy with one’s significant other, it’s a shame that some ladies are afraid for their man (or woman) to play in their hair because they feel like they’ll lose a track or two. Not cool. Naturally coiled ladies don’t have to worry about these issues. Overall, I try not to cast judgment on how one wants to wear his or her hair, but I do know that if they did wear their hair natural, they would be just as beautiful and appealing.

TWV: As an artist through and through — what are your thoughts on the Digital Age an reality TV? Does this spell an end to the Creativist Movement?

WF: The Digital Age is pretty unique to us all. Since I am an artist, I use different free outlets online to promote myself, so if no one is giving you an opportunity to showcase your talents to the world — you can do so online. Through hard work and dedication I have been pretty rewarded in my efforts. The bad thing about the Digital Age is that everything is so immediate and because of this, we aren’t able to retain information and ideas for a long period of time without letting them go for something else that catches our attention.

When it comes to reality TV, the majority of it all is not creative. Yes, it does help some people get established in the entertainment industry, but it also typecast them, and limits how far they can go at the same time. The majority of these shows are not geared in any way towards creative individuals. The majority of these reality shows are not real and they are scripted. Some shows such as Project Runway — I believe can inspired designers — but that’s about it when it comes to reality TV having creativity.

TWV: Can a woman like yourself find love in today’s dating scene? What are some things that men and women should both watch out for when becoming acquainted?

WF: Yes, I do believe that a woman like myself can find love in today’s scene, because I have found love. I believe that both men and women should look out for people that are faking it. I’ve grown to realize that many people put so much effort and time into pretending that they are someone else that they start to believe their own lies. The first thing that I’d recommend to anyone in love or involved in finding love is to put honesty first. If you see that someone is obviously lying about what they have and what they do for a living, just to be impressive,that is a warning sign telling you to go.

Another sign to watch out for is an individual that has way too much mental baggage. That person isn’t able to give their all to someone new. Why must the person that you’re out on the date with have to constantly hear about your previous relationship hardships? I believe that there are certain things that you should not talk about on the first date. If a person is dwelling on their past that show that they are not ready for their future. There are three no-no’s that most men make, but shouldn’t, when on a first date with a woman. They are:

Not Wanting To Spend Money — A man should always behave like a gentleman. A lady wants to feel like she is special. A man who obviously does not want to take a lady to dinner and a movie because he doesn’t want to spend money on her is a no-no.
No Swag In His Attire — Not putting any thought into your attire is a no-no. I don’t care if your outfit isn’t the most expensive; you wash it, iron it, and try to make it look like a million bucks. It is so sad when a guy wants a girl to look good but can only look a hot mess.
Moving At The Speed Of Light — If a girl does not want to kiss on the first date — why pressure her? If you do that, you will never get a call back. Oh, and a man with bad breath and hygiene issues can wreck any date.

TWV: There’s no doubt that you’ll definitely be foxy and fine when you reach your forties — but who would make your The Black Don’t Crack Hall O’ Fame list — and why?

WF: Aside from my mother who looks amazing for 58 — I would place Stacey Dash in The Black Don’t Crack Hall O’ Fame. To me, Stacey Dash still looks extremely youthful, and she has kept her body in shape. She does not look a day over thirty. I put her in my over-Forty, Fit, and Fabulous category! My mother would top the list because she has timeless beauty, her skin has remained tight, she eats right and no matter what tries to live a healthy lifestyle. She can compete with any twenty-year-old.

I would place Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon in the category because she looks great for her age and she posed for Playboy Magazine when she was almost forty-years-old. She is a gorgeous lady! Iman would be on there because she has still remained glamorous over the age of fifty. I think she truly reflects how beautiful us women of color can be at any age. The last woman would be Toni Braxton, she is not only beautiful, but still extremely confident for her age. Honestly, my list of Black Don’t Crack Hall O’ Fame is endless because there are so many women over forty who are fit and fabulous women of color. I think that all of these ladies reflect how beautiful women over the age of forty can be.