Every generation has its own aesthetically pleasing body image shape. Decades ago, what we consider to be “plus-size” was the sought after physique. The waif supermodels of the late 1970s and 1980s shifted what people were told was beautiful, and soon, both men and women strived to drop down to unlivable weights. A few shifts later, body shapes have changed once again and LisaRaye McCoy believes it arrived because of the Kardashian-Jenners.

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“The Kardashians have single-handedly change the woman’s body shape that’s acceptable now,” LisaRaye said in a social distancing episode of Out Loud with Claudia Jordan. Also in the chat were singer Syleena Johnson and actress Vivica A. Fox. It seems like Syleena and Vi agreed with LisaRaye because they immediately “sipped their tea” and gave a few side-eyes. “Now, it’s the small waist, all this ass, look like the ankles can’t even hold up all of that… I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t want my body to look like that. ‘Cause that’s the body that everybody has now.'”

Claudia interjected and added that “everyone looks the same” because they “all are going to the same doctor.” Syleena and Vivica wanted to know what these women will look like decades from now when they’re 70-years-old. “Already looking a fool,” Syleena said. LisaRaye continued, “The generations after that feel like that’s what they have to do to secure the bag, as they say now.”

The Player’s Club actress also said the need to look a certain way is being perpetuated by social media and regular folks feel as if they need to alter themselves to look like this unrealistic aesthetic. Vivica chimed in saying that women are showing off all of their goods and twerking for free because it brings in followers, unlike herself and LisaRaye who played strippers in films because they “got checks for that.” Watch the ladies discuss body image below.

R&B Divas: Atlanta star Syleena Johnson had an interesting talk with REVOLT TV & Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club crew recently, reflecting on events from her extensive singing career dating back to the early 2000s that even includes one insightful story involving Kanye West and Lauryn Hill. She also had a few words to say about another Chicago musician she worked with by the name of R. Kelly. 

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Syleena and Kellz have an extensive history, as you can see in the picture above where she attended his 2005 “Trapped in the Closet, Chapters 1-5” premiere party at the Esquire Theater in his hometown of Chicago. He also wrote & produced a song off her debut album Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness called “I Am Your Woman,” which has since gained a cult following particularly in Africa. Speaking with Charlamagne and Angela Yee, Syleena says that, although the song could be a wedding song or the jam a couple made a baby to, ultimately the lyrics could be offensive to someone who went through any of the sex crimes that R. Kelly is accused of committing. The lyrics in question read as follows: “Now I’ve been dealin’ with you since sweet 16 / Woman enough to let you raise me / You used to call me Daddy’s ghetto queen / And you still mean the world to me / No sooner than I say no more / I run to you like a corner store.” Many women claimed Kelly would demand they call him “Daddy” when he had them locked away in his home, so we can understand how that sounds a bit wild. Still, she says that while she won’t perform it here in the States, the song won’t be retired in Africa since its meaning to them is deeper than what Kellz has done here in America.

Listen to Syleena Johnson’s full interview with The Breakfast Club below, and let us know if you agree: 

Chicago natives Syleena Johnson and Kanye West joined forces on a record that has gone down in music history as a The College Dropout classic, but the collaboration almost didn’t happen. Before Ye was the international superstar that he is today, he was a music producer from the Windy City building on his dreams brick by brick. In the early 2000s, Kanye was working on his debut album and the track “All Falls Down” that sample Lauryn Hill‘s “Mystery of Iniquity” from the live MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 album.

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Kanye and Syleena were at the same recording studio in two different rooms working on differing projects. According to Syleena, it was just about to break dawn when Kanye tapped on her door and asked her to sing on his hook. Syleena revisited the memory during her recent chat with The Breakfast Club. The singer shared that Kanye was working on mixing and mastering The College Dropout and the deadline was fast approaching, but they hadn’t received a clearance to use the Lauryn Hill sample.

Syleena said she had no problem helping out her “family” Kanye, and while recording the hook, she attempted to sing it exactly as Lauryn did. However, Ye wanted her to switch things up because legally, he needed there to be a slight difference from the original. When they got the chorus locked down, Kanye surprised her with the news that the single would be dropping the following week.

At the end of the track, Yeezy made sure to let the singer know how important her additional was for him. “Now, Syleena, you just like a safe belt, you saved my life,” he stated. Watch the clip of Syleena sharing her story below and hear her interpretation of why she believed she was mentioned on the Grammy-nominated song “All Falls Down.”