Phenomena: A Dose of Pop Culture with Lovely Ti
Are you looking for a raw, unfiltered dose of media commentary? Look no further than LovelyTi TV. The host of LovelyTi TV, Ti (pronounced Tee), sparks discussions on topics covering viral videos, celebrity gossip, Reality TV, and controversial national news. In essence, if it is trending, then Ti has you covered. Ti is a prolific contributor. According to Socialblade.com, which tracks YouTube statistics, Lovely Ti’s Youtube channel boasts upwards of 1,078 video uploads, 370,402 subscribers, and 104,836,296 video views since its inception in 2006, putting her in the company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Not too shabby.
In a simple phrase, Lovely Ti tells it like it is. You can count on her to be transparent with her opinions. For example, after being an ardent fan of Love and Hip Hop Atlanta (#LHHATL) and covering the evolution of the show and characters, she eventually threw in the towel. As she explains to her fans in her final video covering #LHHATL, the show became fake as f**k. Ti offers a surgical point-by-point critique/rant of why the show is no longer worth her time. It is worth a gander if you can get past her—at times—senseless use of profanity.
Ti manages to ride the crest of the wave. In other words, she is always on top of the latest news. For example, when Nicki Minaj released her controversial 2014 Music Video for Anaconda in the middle of the night, Ti was there to watch the video and engage her fans. Ti responded to the Minaj video with a deserved scathing critique. Briefly, Ti points out how Minaj espouses a hypocritical culture of body image—on one hand Minaj tells larger women to love their bodies, while in the other, Minaj ostracizes slender women in her song. It is refreshing that Ti doesn’t shy away from calling out high-profile celebrities. As another example, Lena Dunham spoke out in an interview complaining about an interaction—or lack thereof—between her and Odell Beckham Jr., a Cowboys football player, at the 2016 Met Gala in September. Lena Dunham states, “I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards. He was like, That's a marshmallow. That's a child. That's dog. It wasn't mean — he just seemed confused. The vibe was very much like, Do I want to f**k it? Is it wearing a … yep, it's wearing a tuxedo. I'm going to go back to my cell phone. It was like we were forced to be together, and he literally was scrolling Instagram rather than have to look at a woman in a bow tie. I was like, this should be called the Metropolitan Museum of Getting Rejected by Athletes." Ti rips into Dunham for being hypocritical in the sense that Dunham has made a career as a feminist criticizing men who sexualize women. Her baseless lament about being rejected by Beckham makes it seem that she prefers to be sexualized by men. Either way, Ti provides an entertaining commentary by sharing memes from Twitter, where the critics were far more vicious.
LovelyTi is an entertaining commentary show for those who are looking for in-depth opinion, commentary, and perspective for pop culture news. The format is consistent, which is helpful for viewers who like structure. If you are looking for a scholarly discussion about pop-culture or social issues, however, this is not the place to visit. Now for some nit-picking. At times, I find Ti’s overuse of profanity distracting to some stories she shares, while at the same time enhancing others—she needs to find the right balance. Another distracting issue, is the rough editing. I suspect that Ti prefers an organic format for her recording sessions, where she rants without too much structure, and then goes back to cut the fat. What this causes in the final product is a sprinkling of rough transitions throughout her recording, which can get tiresome in the long videos. Lastly, Ti tends to repeat herself incessantly to make a point—in this instance, repetition isn’t key. Overall, my suggestion for you is to find a category on her YouTube Channel which suits your fancy. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised.