Sunday, August 10, 2008

Step # 1 To Saving Hip Hop




The guy who "plays" Rick Ross, without the beard, at his real job as a correctional officer.



Each form of media glorifies traits that many would call immoral. For example, in movies we see actors portray a vast array of personalities from evil geniuses, cross dressers, murderers, child molesting preachers, the list goes on - actors/actresses are given awards and praised for being able to cross different mediums to reach into these roles. Somehow, hip hop personas never turn off.

I guess part of this is because hip hop is the guinea pig for the drug wars, homophobia, dudes wearing pink (ok, this one I can't argue against), and others issues that originate elsewhere. Seriously though, it seems that black folks from the gutter want to believe that hip hop artists are really those sort of people because they want to make it to that high status themselves. Artists are becoming popular off street cred and so they continue to live the lie.

Rick Ross ain't the only one. Ice T said he was a pimp but now I can't think of a role he played on TV or in a movie where he is not a cop. Ice Cube, formerly of Niggas With Attitude i.e. "NWA", makes family movies now. The only time Lil Wayne has ever been shot was when he shot himself before he signed with Cash Money Records. I could continue this forever sadly.

I say all this to say we got to stop taking entertainment as reality. Phase one of bringing back the essence has yet to commence.






"Ha! You thought I was jumping off this bridge with you!"

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Break bread, then hand them the book


"Philosophically speaking, we are people too!"


Black folks are an odd bunch. The rhetoric of the black culture screams self-pity. Now before black readers get upset, just breathe a quick second... ok, cool. There are a nice amount of issues black people have in the U.S, but few of them are unique to black people.


Even self-hatred exist among white people when they call their poorer counterparts “white trash.” White trash tends to reference poor white folks who do uncivilized things like kissing cousins (although European nobility kept their lineage by keeping it in the family.. shrug, I guess they forgot). It is simply a difference in social class which also results in a difference of culture. Similarly, I have been around “educated” black folks that spew out mess like this: “I love black people but I can't stand niggas!” This coming from the people who are supposed to speak to the ills of their less fortunate brothers and sisters.



I say we blame Sepiroth for everything. Yes, put your head down in shame.

Black Americans who have a voice often talk about stuff like abolishing the word 'nigger', the fact that most black folks don't know their history (the rhetoric of the statements is always directed at the 'uneducated'/ignorant nigger), and other tangents that do not deal with the most important issue: lack of basic necessities: food, shelter, and clothing. But let's explore the two issues above for the hell of it:


Black folks don't know their history: Before you hand a man a book, you have to give him a way to sustain necessities. I see a lot of college professors and students talk all this mess about how it's because those “niggers” don't know their history (it is not always that blunt but the implication is clearly there). However, when I try to engage them in conversations about African history pre-slavery, they draw blanks after talking about anything other than Egypt almost every time. That whole “we were all kings and queens” stuff does not mean much either since most people would have been peasants. That was not “our” (shared for all Africans to have) gold, that was “their” (the royalty of the nation) gold. It's also an incredibly materialistic and ethnocentric way to garner support that mimics “the man's ploy”, but I will digress on that particular point.



Find Kemet on a map? What the hell is Kemet?

A man or woman without a decent wage who is barely making financially obligations week to week don't give a damn about what happened that long ago. They are trying to keep from getting put out on the street. It would be neat to know but knowledge alone feeds no one (hence, Kanye West's skits about college degrees on his first album). No one goes to college simply to get the knowledge. College helps give one a better chance at securing a good job. Once jobs are plentiful and money goes into neighborhoods to bring real long-term necessities to fruition, we will see a change. And then people can learn about Africa, including the educated folks...


The word nigger:

It is absolutely silly and unproductive to have a funeral for the word nigger when the actions continue. We need to have a movement to resurrect brothers and sisters, not a funeral for niggers cause niggers don't die...

Niggers are like roaches. They are never going to go away. Learn from them what we should not become because niggers don't die.

“Project Roach” , Nas' Untitled (2008)


Ignorant people will always exist. There is no way to reach a utopia where all people act in accordance to law/good even with the promise of Hell. People labeled 'niggers' often lack the basic necessities because the ghettos do not have money being spent in smart ways that are productive to the community or even the long-term needs of the individual.




I ain't got no house but the hos gon love this shit!


Let me be very clear about this: black folks do come into money but they often spend it on dumb shit. I know a girl who recently graduated from college with a bachelor's degree and a pretty decent job. The first thing she did was lease a brand new car although she still lives with her mother. Conversely, we got folks “in the hood” talking about how “the man” holding them back but they putting rims and new amps on 20 year old cars. Even once a person has money to take care of necessities, that person must learn how to spend their money which is where a book can come in. The ignorant come in both the poor and the more well off, but the truth of the matter is that those with more money often have a better chance to do well because they have a stable base.


I can not properly cover everything in a thorough manner and keep this at a concise format, but I simply want to give an example to people so that they can apply it to other situations. Before anything, people must have food, shelter, and clothing. A lack of any of these three is guaranteed to spell disaster for any community. After those three things, we may address other issues. Trust me, if you didn't have food to eat, a place to sleep and clothes on your back on a consistent basis, you wouldn't give a fuck either.





As important as anything I mentioned, but I never got to it.