The following is a piece that I wrote a while ago and has been featured on  nicoleaprilcarter.com Check it.





 Dear Hip Hop,

 Me and you, we got a relationship. I remember when we first met. I was in third grade when my older and much cooler cousin introduced me to you. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like you (my parents surely thought I shouldn’t), but I knew I did. From the moment my cousin hit play on my neon pink cassette player and the first notes of Salt ‘N’ Pepa’s “Push It” came bursting through its tiny speakers, I was in love.

Throughout the years I’ve met others and they were all good, but they never made me feel the way you do. Now, sure, you’ve made some mistakes. Okay, a lot of mistakes. There was that whole 2 Live Crew thing. And don’t even get me started on the horror that is “Tip Drill.” At times you made me feel like I was nothing more than an ass and tits, simply there for your demeaning pleasure. But then you brought me women like Jean and Lauryn and Erykah, and I was back.

 You’ve always been there for me. When my parents just didn’t understand. When I felt left out, alone and wanted someone to listen. When I was sick of reachin’ in my purse to pay his way and his homeboy’s way . When I was pissed off and needed nothing more than to hear some ridiculous bass pounding to the beat of my frustration. When all I wanted was a little U.N.I.T.Y. When I wanted to fight the power. You were there. You’re not perfect, but then, who is? We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve always come back to each other. People say we shouldn’t be together, that it’ll never work. Hip hop and a feminist? Together? You know what I say? Fuck ‘em. ‘Cause you and me, we got a relationship.

 Love, Heather

on the ones that aren't there anymore...

I think there are very few people meant to be in our lives forever. There are people that are meant only to guide us through certain moments and once that path is crossed, these people slowly begin to fade away. And I think that's okay. This is not to say that perhaps we won't miss the friendship or companionship that each of these people provided. It's more like a friendly "adios." We must be grateful for the ways in which they have made our lives fuller, bid them adieu and keep walking down the path. And in doing this we must never forget to appreciate the gift of those few people that will be with you when the trail ends, the ones whose constant friendship has been one of the only things about life that is constant.