Most times we look to family for insight. Even though they might not be the example you want to follow. The trick is to surround yourself with like-minded people.
Not people of the same color, religion, or political affiliation. People of the same character, moral values, and same desire to educate themselves and grow, financially and as a person.
People have been using music to keep historical records forever. They write songs about the things going on around them, and those songs are taught to their children. They pass them on to their children, who inturn create new music about how things have changed.
So KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OUR MUSIC.
As much as it pains me to say it, most of our current history is caught on CDS, Mixed Tapes, and battle raps on corners. It’s amazing to watch a young MC put his pain and achievement in a rap.
I don’t care what he is rapping about. I don’t care if it’s gun play, selling drugs, or women. Keep it on wax. Imagine a world where young black men used their words to solve issues instead of guns.
I don’t think the government could justify arresting young black men for throwing ideas and word play around. It’s alot easier to get the ones that shoot people, rob people, or sell drugs in real life.
The books that are published by us these days don’t get alot of attention. It’s not because white people are holding us down, it’s because we don’t spend money on books. Instead we buy the Cd, or download songs onto our Ipod.
Now I do the same, the difference? I utilize the public library. The problem with the library is you don’t find the opinions of those around you. I’m not talking about the college graduate, or the made it rich athlete.
I’m talking about the young men that turn into these…….
They may not know they are using similes, metaphors, iambic pentameter, and such, but they use it all. They display intellegence, quick thinking and response, and more than anything, hope, a future, a way out.
Not just in music. In thought. In sharing experinces, lessons, and humility. You know it’s nothing worse than losing a battle rap, but to have the courage to stand there and do it anyway. Take that swag into a job interview, mix it with correct english, and you got employeed men than can take care of their families.
Don’t try to restrict the message. We can pick out those that have no substance. They might get a one hit wonder, but we’re not going to spend money on those who aren’t real with us.
Now having said all that. I would like to offer a challenge to all hip hop’ers. Let’s see a message. Not what you have, or about those who tried to stop you. Tell us about how hard you worked to acheive your success.
What did you have to give up? What sacrifices did you make? What lessons did you have to learn more than once? Why can’t I do it, if you can?
And for the Hip Hop’ers that are up and coming, I ask, What is the first thing you’re going to buy? Will you spend all your money, before you have guaranteed long term success? Will you reinvest, and it doesn’t have to be alot, back into the communities that supported you, or will you spend it on women or men that wouldn’t have paid you a bit of attention when you were broke?
What about health insurance, retirement, and high yield savings accounts? Now I know you think those issues wouldn’t make a good song. That’s the thing. Our young ones are so smart, they can flip it into a song. How many different ways have you heard someone describe shooting in a song? Too many, but they always find new ways to do it.
Tupac said he wouldn’t be the one that changed the world, but he would spark the brain of the one who would. Listen to Tupac. He rapped about guns, drugs, sexual irresponsibility, but he is one of my favorite rappers. He talks about loving black woman and treating them right, he talks about how he won his murder trial because he was right, and he talks about how we hold each other down.
I’m waiting for that brain to come alive and to have his or her voice heard. That person is out there. And I’m waiting to hear it.
With his successful campaign, without the support of “black Leaders”, Barack Obama has already started signing the pink slips of Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the rest.
Now, Al Sharpton can come out a publically make an ass out of himself accusing the Duke Lacrosse Team of Rape, but can’t give his support for the first black candidate to actually have a real chance of becoming president. Maybe a little jealousy you weren’t taken seriously?
Rev. Jesse Jackson was also silent in the big build up to history. Though Jackson’s image was damaged in the black community with his mistress and love child, the Media still hold him as a ‘black leader’. Where was he shouting Barack Obama’s praises?
I thought about it hard, and I figured it out.
Barack Obama is about to cause some major layoffs. He will ship the “there is some magic white man out to get you” jobs overseas never to return. How can they continue to attack a government about not caring, when the president is a black man?
Now we should have been the ones to run these so called ‘black leaders’ off the scene. Take Al Sharton. He was taped by the government trying to negotiate a drug deal. His defense, they were out to get me. Okay. He is constantly in trouble for not paying taxes, most recently before starting his 2004 campaign when investors paid his owed taxes to clean his resume. I have to pay taxes, what makes you better than me? More recent than that, he was promoting Loan Max. You know the company that charges ridiculous rates for car title loans. Yeah they prey on poor minorities, not just blacks, and Sharpton was their spokesperson.
Now Jackson did the damage to himself, and we judged him accordingly.
Now they see their careers going down the drain. If they don’t have the race card, their hand is weak. They can’t win. People will start to realize the boundaries they set are imaginary. There is nothing that can stop them. How are they going to survive when black people are succeeding and they can’t intimidate people into taking them seriously.
I don’t plan on voting for Barack Obama, but I am so proud that he won the nomination. I can’t back his platform, but I respect the amount of work he put into accomplishing his goal. He ran a campaign free of facts and still one, that takes some charisma.
Having said that. Barack Obama sign those pink slips and will personally walk around and hand them out. I mean it. I will personally hunt down all those who tell us we can’t because a white person will stop us. On my own dime, I will tell them, your services are no longer needed.
Then we could place ads for real black leaders to step up. You know the people of color that made millions of dollars last year. Our ads would read:
We love to complain about the things that affect us. But rarely do we look around to see how worse things could be.
We complain about being poor. When there are people who haven’t eaten a good meal in months. We complain about limited rights. When there are people who don’t have any. We complain about gas prices. When there are people who walk 20 miles to go to school.
Take a look at those around you and know you are blessed.
“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” Douglas Adams 1952-2001
I miss you. I wanted to think of something poetic, that would truly touch the heart of those who read this, but those who deal with loss know that’s enough. I miss you.
Our family affairs, I spend waiting for the moment you would walk through the door. You never come, I know better than to think that one day you will.
I dream about you, when my mind is cluttered and my soul isn’t as ease. These are the moments I need you most and you never let me down. You don’t come with words of sorrow, validating the feelings I have inside. You come with rage.
You tell me to move on, and to move forward. Even though you’re gone I still fear what will happen if I don’t obey. You did such a great job raising me. I was lucky enough to realize it before God called you home.
I know God loved his children. He even sends angels to watch over us. You were my angel. It was alot asking you to take in an infant when you had one son and a daughter on the way. You did it though.
I never once felt like I was anything other than your child. I got my share of snacks, two of the Klondike bars, I got my share of extra homework, believe if your teacher didn’t send any home you had some anyway, and I got my fair share of ass whoopins, I feel okay saying that cause I give them out now.
It wasn’t always easy, but we never saw you struggle. I know it had to be nights you wondered how you were going to go on, but there was only mornings of getting up and living. Nothing in life was worth sulking. It only required you keep moving forward.
You didn’t teach me politics, you taught me principles. You didn’t teach me economics, you taught me home to stretch a dollar til it popped. You didn’t teach me I could do anything, you dared me to say there was something I couldn’t do.
How do I thank you for that? If you were here you would give me that look that said how dare I ask such a question. Then I would’ve backed down. Now I would tell you, you were an angel, my Angel. I thank God everyday for you.
I miss you, but I’m not sad your gone. You told me, when all your children were gone you were going to disappear. We weren’t going to be able to find you. I laughed but I kinda knew it was true. You filled your blessing meter so high, so fast God had no choice but to allow you to rest.
I have to show the unselfishness you’ve always shown me. I want you to be at peace, watching over our family. Keeping us together when we don’t like each other that much. I
I could sit here all day telling you all the things you did for me, but that wouldn’t honor your memory. Instead, I’ll take care of me and mine. I’ll make sure I stand up and make my voice heard and my words count. I will raise my daughter to be better than me.
I’ll continue to move on. That’s how I’ll honor you.
Did you know that once, the United States had a war within itself? Yeah, the United States of America had a Civil War. We even called it The Civil War. It is apart of our history, the very fabric of our society.
The South broke away because the very fabric of their economy was being threatened. Slaves. Human Capitol. The funny thing, they lost. Slavery was abolished and we’ve spent the last hundred plus years trying to heal from that.
How do you heal if you try to erase the memory, instead of excepting and moving on?
In Hillsborough County Florida, The Sons of Confederate Veterans have plans to erect a 30×50 foot Confederate Flag on a 139 foot pole, the highest allowed, on private property on a busy highway intersection.
The group says the flag is not a racist statement but a piece of history. Most local businesses don’t find it offensive, but are worried about their customers.
Imagine so one telling a black organization, that they couldn’t erect a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. It wouldn’t happen. Robert E. Lee has memorials in my home town, Richmond Va. I took until my adulthood to realize I was standing on history.
I lived in a city where battle plans were made, soliders gathered and watched over each other, and decisive clashes took place. That’s history. It can not be changed or altered, nor should it be ignored.
I don’t care if you fly the Confederate Flag. I will assume you have racist beliefs. I will hold you accountable for my assumptions. I might be wrong, but it’s what you choose to show me. So if I was one of those shop owners, I would be worried.
I wouldn’t shop in the area because you were NOT offended. Because you did not stand up and say, we can find another way to honor the Confederate Soldiers, just because of the implication.
Local NAACP President Curtis Stokes was outraged the commissoner would allow the project to be completed. It’s your community. Instead of fighting the flag, use it for encouragement.
Ask them why they feel the group needs to make the flag so big? Tell them it’s because they are irrelvant in today’s society. It’s because they lost and because of it there is nothing that can stop you from one day having a statue raised of yourself for curing cancer or eliminating the national debt.
Choose the message carefully. Don’t tell our black people this is a sign of racism. Tell them that this is a sign that the racist are losing. Teach them about overcompensation, then maybe they won’t be so pressed to hustle for a hummer.
So I say raise the flag, watch the ecomony in the area decline, and realize that America isn’t as racist as we are thoughtful. We don’t mind you honoring our history, because it’s not just yours, but you should be sensitive in your praise.
Upon spotting a situation where your assistance could be helpful, don’t first question what’s in it for you. The benefits or problems of a particular outcome may not reveal themselves until ready.
Meaning. Six years down the road your blessing may come. Don’t worry. God always closes his tab. So in the mean time, rack up the blessing helping all you see just because you know he’s real.
“Be alert to give service. What counts a good deal in life is what we do for others.”
I meet you in the club last week, and you had it going on. Your kicks were shining, your ear was blinging and you was buying drinks for everybody. I’m a cautious girl, so I sit back and watch.
As you pulled out your dough, I never saw or heard the jingle of car keys. That was the first sign. You had game and you spit it tight. Not tight enough for me but you got up in my girls ear.
I watched as a group of girls formed staring her down. They weren’t coming after her to fight for you, they were laughing knowing what she was getting into.
Your boy made it over to me. He wasn’t as flashy as you, and he didn’t run game. He liked to watch just like me. The waitress came over and asked if we wanted a drink. He offered me one but declined one for himself.
I knew the look on his face. I knew it was the beginning of the month and rent was due. I bought him a drink and let him pay for mine. You laugh, out loud, as if there is some shame in paying your bills on time.
Dear Broke Ass Dude
If you weren’t flashin that little bit of dough in your pocket my girl wouldn’t be on you. She run game like that. If you got pussy on the regular you wouldn’t be so pressed to show out. If you had an dignity you wouldn’t be leaving cause yo boy drove you here.
So one week later. I visit your boy. His house isn’t decorated like a PIMP, but he got a house in his name. He don’t drive an Escalade, but his car gets him were he needs to go. He doesn’t have a closet full of name brand clothes, but he looks damn good when he’s getting ready for work in the morning. Believe me I know.
My girl told me about you though. She had to come and pick you up from yo mama house. She said walking through the backyard to get to the basement was cute. She ghetto like that.
She told me you had every pair of Jordans’ that ever came out. She also found the envelope of money yo mama left you. Yeah, she left it, my girl got sticky fingers though.
She told me how your mama came home and broke up yall bump and grind. Church let out early and you forgot to cut the grass before everybody came over for dinner. She also told me how everyone in your family was asking for the money you owe.
Dear Broke Ass Dude
Realize nobody wants you. You cry that all women are foul, the truth is no real woman would fuck with you. She would rather struggle with a man, than have momentary spending splurges followed by the McDonald Dollar Menu.
So the next time that fly ass girl turns you down without even hearing you out, don’t call her a bitch. Realize it’s because your a Broke Ass Dude.
Say it ain’t so. Don’t tell me the 2008 Democratic Primaries are over. I loved watching the black man and the white woman fight it out.
I’m just being funny.
I have such mixed feelings about this. I never thought the white people would actually back Barack Obama enough for him to defeat Hillary Clinton. You think I’m going to say because he is black right? Wrong.
I thought it would take more substance. I’ve watched Barack Obama speak numerous times. I just don’t now what change he’s going to bring.
What I do know? He plans on raising taxes for those who make over $75,000, because they are considered rich. I live in Northern Virginia and that’s just enough to get you by. That doesn’t allow for savings, investment, hell even a vacation. That’s not change I can believe in.
I know, he wants to pull the troops out of Iraq. We haven’t been attacked since 9/11 and I think that’s been accomplished because we created a new battle field. We now also have the means to collect more intellegence. He speaks of the soldiers that lose their lives defending us. It took 2 hours to cause more American deaths than five years in Iraq, and how long has it been since he went to Iraq to see those troops. He speaks of the cost of the war. How many attacks here before our economy is non-existant? That’s not change I can believe in.
What I don’t hear. How do you plan on helping the black community? What we need most is a Black Man with a message that we can do anything. Instead we get a Black Man that sat in a church that wants us to be victims. You are the first Black American to represent any party as a serious candidate for President. How can you not denounce Rev. Wright?
According to his logic, you shouldn’t be where you are. There is a little black boy sitting in that church developing a train of thought that the world owes him something. The world didn’t owe you anything. You worked and sacrified for it. Where is that message?
I love words, as you know. Sometimes though, you have to realize that words are just words if they aren’t backed by ideas, personal conviction, a history of action, and a true belief in their meaning.
I’m proud of the country that Rev. Wright damned. It gave Barack Obama a chance against all odds, (the Clintons).
I wonder how will you change the American family enough to begin fixing our communities and schools. I don’t think it will happen with more welfare benefits. How can you teach your children to work hard if you sit at home and collect a check.
My main point, Barack Obama. Don’t try to give us so much, that you don’t give us what you know. You know the importance of hard work. You know it isn’t easy. I want to hear that. I don’t want to hear slavery existed once and that’s the root of our problems. It’s not. We do more to hurt ourselves than any racist could ever do.
Come out and tell young black men to put down the guns. Don’t be afraid to point them out. You know they exist. You know how they’re hurting us. Not just blacks, but us all. If we cleaned our communities and opened businesses it would affect the entire country. It would lower the number of families without health care. It would raise the High School graduation rate and college admissions of minorities with no need for Affirmative Action. It would give people the resources to save for their own futures and Social Security wouldn’t be a ticking time bomb.
Politics will always be politics. Barack Obama is a politician. Let me repeat, BARACK OBAMA is a POLITICIAN.
There is no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. He wanted political associations so he joined Trinity. He left Trinity when it’s negatives outweighed his positives. That’s a politician.
So I’m happy for you. You ran a good race even though Hillary Clinton dominated in soooooo many states. I can’t be serious here. If it were any other candidate the things that went on in Trinity, the affliations with William Aires, not to mention a real lack of real experience, would’ve left a campaign deflated.
For some reason the have exhalted Barack Obama as the Great Black Hope. I just hope he doesn’t make it to the White House.
