Tell’em Keke! A Review of I Don’t Belong to You and Master of Me by Keke Palmer

Before the BIBC began Master of Me by Keke Palmer, I’d recently had a change of heart about Ms. Palmer. For a while I felt like she was all over the place. I felt like every time I looked at social media, she was jumping around or involved in something. I remember one night coming across the film Pimp, and saying to myself “WHAT is this??” When she was younger, I was a fan. My daughter swore up and down she was Akeelah from Akeelah and the Bee. She would come up to me while I was cooking, tapping her leg and spelling words, saying “Mommy I’m just like Akeelah!” I thought Keke was an amazing role model in that film. From that point on, I kept an eye on her. Fast forward to Pimp—in my confusion, I still watched, and I was low-key, impressed. I felt she was true to the character, but naturally, as a Bronx girl, I was disappointed in the rest of the acting that didn’t feel true to The Bronx. It wasn’t a horrible film though. When she revealed her pregnancy on SNL, I said to myself “Okay now! She’s about to GROW up!” I watched her journey and clapped for her all the way through. The next thing I knew, I no longer felt like she was “all over the place.” I was proud of her. I compared her to Snoop Dog. I said, “Oh she hustlin’, getting a check everywhere she can and I can’t knock that.”

I’ve become really proud of Keke again, her books were on my TBR, and thankfully, the BIBC voted to read/listen to Master of Me.

Although I’d read the blurbs several times, I still couldn’t grasp the concepts of her books until I actually listened to them. I listened to Master of Me with the BIBC and then I Don’t Belong to You on my own. I found that they are both a combination of memoir and self-help. In Master of Me, I’ll be honest, I looked forward to the tea! I wanted to know about the baby-daddy’s crash out and how she let his behind go, and thrived. By the time I got to I Don’t Belong to You, I figured out her flow, and I was ready.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, in a cave, or both, you know Keke has a distinctive voice. The funny thing about distinctive celebrity voices is that just because we’re so familiar with them, we feel like we know these people. In Keke’s case, hearing her speech patterns and colloquialisms throughout her books make you feel like you’re just listening to one of your girls have an epiphany. I listen to audio books in the morning on the way to work, so it surely felt like a conversation I was having with one of my closest friends. I was initially worried that her with her voice being somewhat high pitched and nasal, that I might get agitated. But no… and maybe because, again, I listen to audiobooks on the way to work, so that’s only about 30-75 minutes of listening time per day. It was just the right dose Kee-keeing before work. (See what I did there?)

I appreciated how her anecdotes aligned well with her overall themes of how to find yourself, be yourself, and not lose yourself, but the stories also provided context for her public image. This is the real reason many of us read memoirs. We want to know the how and why behind the scenes. Without it being all tea, Keke taught, entertained, and inspired through her experiences.

I enjoyed Master of Me more than I Don’t Belong to you, honestly. Perhaps because Master of Me was a more seasoned Keke, with more life experience to share. I’m older than Keke, so a lot of what she had to say, I had already learned. Still it was refreshing to hear how someone in the industry amassed so much wisdom in such a busy life. Keke does what Keke wants, unapologetically, but also purposefully. I thought she was just jumping around on the internet and it turns out, it was a careful strategy to not only stay relevant, but to stay paid. Now look at her, she’s doing all the things and not bombing! I love it and I’m here for it.

The only things that got under my skin as I was listening, were some of the overused phrases. But that’s how it really is talking to friends, right? I have friends that repeatedly say “whole-heartedly” so much I wanna stop them and say, “is there anything you can speak on ‘half-heartedly?’ Do you really feel everything with your whole heart? No? Then for the love of my ears and brain, please find a new phrase.” The other thing is the Tyler Perry praise. *Sigh* Don’t get your bloomers and tight-whites in a bunch, TP fans—but we all know the man’s writing is tired. I absolutely applaud him for revolutionizing Black production with his company and studio, and he should definitely be receiving flowers for that. Truth be told, that’s what Keke gives him flowers for. She is inspired by his innovation and we all should be. We all talking about building our own tables, well TP provided one of the blueprints. It’s just that now, his writing is toxic and equally bland, so just hearing his name brings a sigh and an eye-roll. That’s just me… that ain’t Keke’s fault.

I rate I Don’t Belong to You 4/5 stars and Master of me 5/5 stars. They’re solid inspirational reads that feel more like chats before work with you closest homegirl(s). I especially think these reads are right for young creators. It’s easy to get caught up in what the world wants from you, especially when you’re young, but there is a way to stay relevant, loyal to fans, and still be you. Just listen to Keke.