story, you get a sense of the man in a way that more polished works often miss. As a blogger, this quality hit home with me and kept my attention. I found it endearing that this man had the guts to tell his own story in his own unvarnished, unpretentious and unapologetic style. That seems to be a recurring theme in Elzie's life. He doesn't let the fact that he is in unfamiliar territory or may not know the rules stop him from completing his mission, to serve as an out and proud gay man in the U.S. Marines. Despite all the setbacks, obstacles and disappointments life has thrown at him, Justin remains at heart the often naive, optimistic farm boy he always was and it comes throughcollaborations with Rick James were musical magic.

Musical tastes were changing at the time, from 70's R&B and Soul to the 80's sound of acts like Prince, Michael Jackson and the Pointer Sisters, but Lady Tee stuck to what she did best. Motown withheld her music from release and she eventually had to sue the company to get out of her contract and in doing so changed the way record companies could legally do business with their talent.

Back when I was living in the DC area, I used to listen to the radio at night to help me unwind. Teena Marie sang me to sleep many nights, courtesy of KISS-FM's Donnie Simpson, who would later go on the host his own show, "Video Soul", on BET. This clip comes