**An excerpt from my recent Huffington Post article, “Black Girl Crush Series, Part 1: ESTELLE”–the first in an awesome new series of interviews with Black female iconoclasts.**

When I initially wrote ”Sisterly Love: The Rise of the Black Girl Crush” I simply wanted to offer a modern reading on the powerful and delightful connection women of color have always shared with one another. Though the term “crush” insinuates an inane, temporal connection with certain subjects, I was able to argue instead that the “Black girl crush” reflects a deep admiration for women of color in the limelight whose careers affirm that our ambitions are hardly anomalous and certainly attainable.

I knew I wanted to expand on the idea somehow after the article published, and thought, “Why not simply interview the very subjects of these Black girl crushes?!” Why not discover what makes these women tick, which Black girls in turn inspire them, and where do they get their strength, inspiration, and style?

With this said, I began by talking to British singer/rapper, Estelle, who has enlivened audiences the world over with her soulful sound, fresh approach to style, and joyful spirit. With the recent release of her praiseworthy sophomore offering, All Of Me, Estelle draws from a long tradition of Black female songstresses, singing earnestly of the raw emotions that come with love and relationships, while injecting her signature groove into the infectious album.

Here she confesses her own Black Girl Crushes and pathos on style, life, and sisterhood….

Click here to learn what and who inspires singer/rapper, Estelle….