How do we fix generations of oppression and lack of self worth? I wish I knew, if I did I would take Jesse Jackson's and Al Sharpton's place. Not to say that they have any idea but unlike them I only tend to speak when I have something important to say and not just to draw attention to myself.
As I have been discussing the problems within Black America this week I wanted to touch on this because it goes back to the whole thing about the rappers and working blacks in general. Outside of the underground and entertainment. What avenues are available to young black children today? I mean honestly how do we tell children they can be anything they want they just have to try hard and want it for themselves. They have to believe in themselves. Then we turn them around and send them back into their miserable homes, put them back in their impoverished communities. In this case what is a more powerful learning tool. The things that we tell them or the things that they see? How many of you parents have ever set down and told your young black son or daughter, that if you are a sub-par student with a C average and you experiment with drugs you can go on to be President of the United States of America? I tend to think that not many of you, because we all know too well that whatever we do we have to do it better than any of our counterparts. We have no room for error and even then we are not guaranteed to succeed. Lets be honest the only way any of us have been able to make it was through the charity of white people.
This country is the same today as it was 100 years ago. The only difference is that today people are a little more smoother with their racists beliefs and ideologies. Anyone who has sat down and spoken with me in any great detail knows that I have severe racial issues. I do not hide nor am I ashamed of this character flaw. I feel that the only way anything is going to change for blacks in any part of the near future is for all of use to take on this mind set. To start looking at color first and then look at all of the other things that make us different. To stop speaking out against other blacks just because Whites want us to. To start empowering each other and to seek change by any means necessary.
Until we start to change how we view ourselves and treat each other things are always going to remain the same. Blacks in America are still worth less than any other race in this country. We have allowed the whites to replace us in the workforce with illegal aliens. We have allowed whites to get rid of our college programs and funding. We have allowed them to dismantle our education system and our family structure, and while they do these things we grin and bear it. It is time to start taking back the things that this Government has taken from us starting with our self respect and pride.
I urge everyone to go out and join a Black group that is set on bringing about change. but wait a minute be selective. joining a militant terrorist group may not be the way to go right now. RIGHT NOW. So please do some research before joining an organization and be sure that you fully understand what they stand for. Because there are some groups out there that are all about the betterment of White America in black face. I won't call any names (N.A.A.C.P)
Thursday, December 27, 2007
it takes A Nation of Millions...
I am still in my nostalgic state of mind as you can tell by todays title. Public Enemy is and will always be one of my favorite rap groups. This title is fitting because today I want to point out an issue that, well... you'll see.
Currently there is a movement in the US among the black community to clean up Hip Hop ( or more importantly Gangster Rap) This movement gained momentum and favoritism after the Imus incident. During which time Blacks where in an outrage because of the statements made by this old white man. But during the midst of this it got turned around and became the fault of rappers in America. So this is what I want to touch on today.
Before I start there are somethings that I think need to be cleared up. First, Hip Hop, for those who have no idea, is a subculture within America. Hip Hop is not Rap music although Rap Music is a part of Hip Hop. Just as the Harlem Renaissance was not James Baldwin, but James Baldwin was a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Too many people Blame the culture of Hip Hop for being Violent, sexist, and anti-establishment. None of this is true, well all except the anti-establishment part. Hip Hop is art, it is spoken word, Graffiti art, Dancing, Dee-Jaying, and of course Music. I say music because although rap is a part of it, so is Neo Soul and instrumental music. The culture is truly an art form of our generation.
Now that I have tried to clear up that small piece of misunderstood information let's get to the point of this. Cleaning up rap music is not going to fix the problems in the black community contrary to some public belief. Rap music is only a small part of the problem here, and when I say small I mean infinitesimal. The problem that we face is much larger than some rappers out making music using derogatory terms. To make the rappers change their lyrics would be like getting the drug dealers off of the street. The problem with this is no matter how many you get rid of there will be others to take their place. The music (Rap) industry is not controlled by blacks or those who make the music. It is owned by the same people that own everything else in this country. Don't get me wrong back when it first started we owned it. But once it started to make money the powers that be came in and took over. They made it Global. So now rap (Gangster rap) music is a multi Billion dollar a year industry. So to get Snoop Dogg, and others like him to change is not going to fix the problem. The Rappers have no say over what gets played on the Radio Stations in rotation and what doesn't. They have no say in what MTV, BET, and VH1 will deem the hottest Video. All they are, are pawns in a much bigger game. So if we get rid of Snoop Dogg, TI and others like them; the machine will simply replace them with someone else. Building panels with rappers and Russel Simmons and others is not going to change anything because all of these people are figure heads and as sad as it is wield no real power.
So I say all of this in order to make the point that if you want to clean up what young children are listening too then attack the radio stations and Viacom. If you can not make them change then nothing is going to change no matter how many rappers you boycott.
Currently there is a movement in the US among the black community to clean up Hip Hop ( or more importantly Gangster Rap) This movement gained momentum and favoritism after the Imus incident. During which time Blacks where in an outrage because of the statements made by this old white man. But during the midst of this it got turned around and became the fault of rappers in America. So this is what I want to touch on today.
Before I start there are somethings that I think need to be cleared up. First, Hip Hop, for those who have no idea, is a subculture within America. Hip Hop is not Rap music although Rap Music is a part of Hip Hop. Just as the Harlem Renaissance was not James Baldwin, but James Baldwin was a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Too many people Blame the culture of Hip Hop for being Violent, sexist, and anti-establishment. None of this is true, well all except the anti-establishment part. Hip Hop is art, it is spoken word, Graffiti art, Dancing, Dee-Jaying, and of course Music. I say music because although rap is a part of it, so is Neo Soul and instrumental music. The culture is truly an art form of our generation.
Now that I have tried to clear up that small piece of misunderstood information let's get to the point of this. Cleaning up rap music is not going to fix the problems in the black community contrary to some public belief. Rap music is only a small part of the problem here, and when I say small I mean infinitesimal. The problem that we face is much larger than some rappers out making music using derogatory terms. To make the rappers change their lyrics would be like getting the drug dealers off of the street. The problem with this is no matter how many you get rid of there will be others to take their place. The music (Rap) industry is not controlled by blacks or those who make the music. It is owned by the same people that own everything else in this country. Don't get me wrong back when it first started we owned it. But once it started to make money the powers that be came in and took over. They made it Global. So now rap (Gangster rap) music is a multi Billion dollar a year industry. So to get Snoop Dogg, and others like him to change is not going to fix the problem. The Rappers have no say over what gets played on the Radio Stations in rotation and what doesn't. They have no say in what MTV, BET, and VH1 will deem the hottest Video. All they are, are pawns in a much bigger game. So if we get rid of Snoop Dogg, TI and others like them; the machine will simply replace them with someone else. Building panels with rappers and Russel Simmons and others is not going to change anything because all of these people are figure heads and as sad as it is wield no real power.
So I say all of this in order to make the point that if you want to clean up what young children are listening too then attack the radio stations and Viacom. If you can not make them change then nothing is going to change no matter how many rappers you boycott.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Can't Stop The Bum Rush
Well it has been far too long but as it has happened several times this year I am back, and revving to go. On this 26th day of December the day after Christmas, I would like to say I hope you have had a wonderful holiday and a successful year.
The title of this post is a way of me reflecting on the past. In case you don't know a bum rush is a straight out free for all assault on whatever you may be doing. This is carried out by shear number. the greater the number the higher the chance of success. What brings me back here is yesterday I had a chance to reflect off of and absorb the wisdoms of others around me. We had some very interesting conversations. One of which was why is it that more African Americans do not try to control the industry that they are so affluent in. For example the entertainment industry.
Well it is my opinion (and if you have read anything that I have written in the past then you know that I have an opinion about almost everything under the sun) that those few people who own and run the industry refuse to allow anyone else to take control. It is no secret that the Jews own and run Hollywood. If someone does try to move in on their market they remove them from the picture. Case in point. Spike Lee's "40 acres and a mule" productions took off in the 80's and seem to be doing very well. These where movies about black people with solid messages attached to them. These movies employed the majority of the black actors in Hollywood at the time. But all of a sudden it seemed to spiral out of control and burn in a heap of nothingness. The first attack by Hollywood, was to basically build up fear around these movies, saying that they incited violence. This caused a lot of people to be afraid to go see the movies in the theaters. I recall an article about Spike where he said that his movies make the majority of their money in Video sales because the public is afraid to come out and see it in the theater. What this translates to is that white America wanted to see his movies they just didn't want others to know about it.
But because his movies where still quite successful because of the video sales and rentals other tactics had to be put into place. At this time Hollywood started taking all of the actors that Spike used and started paying them more than what spike could guarantee them and stole them out from under him. Although this was a shrewed move and spike helped a lot of black actors break in after all was said and done 40 Acres and a Mule was finished. This is a direct result of what happens when Blacks try to control their place in that industry. You may be able to run around under the radar for a while but as soon as you start to make a name for yourself you will be dismantled and tossed aside.
The music industry is not as smooth and appealing in the way that they deal with people. Just look at what they have done to every positive or conscious rapper that graced the airwaves. As NAS has said "where are they now?"
The title of this post is a way of me reflecting on the past. In case you don't know a bum rush is a straight out free for all assault on whatever you may be doing. This is carried out by shear number. the greater the number the higher the chance of success. What brings me back here is yesterday I had a chance to reflect off of and absorb the wisdoms of others around me. We had some very interesting conversations. One of which was why is it that more African Americans do not try to control the industry that they are so affluent in. For example the entertainment industry.
Well it is my opinion (and if you have read anything that I have written in the past then you know that I have an opinion about almost everything under the sun) that those few people who own and run the industry refuse to allow anyone else to take control. It is no secret that the Jews own and run Hollywood. If someone does try to move in on their market they remove them from the picture. Case in point. Spike Lee's "40 acres and a mule" productions took off in the 80's and seem to be doing very well. These where movies about black people with solid messages attached to them. These movies employed the majority of the black actors in Hollywood at the time. But all of a sudden it seemed to spiral out of control and burn in a heap of nothingness. The first attack by Hollywood, was to basically build up fear around these movies, saying that they incited violence. This caused a lot of people to be afraid to go see the movies in the theaters. I recall an article about Spike where he said that his movies make the majority of their money in Video sales because the public is afraid to come out and see it in the theater. What this translates to is that white America wanted to see his movies they just didn't want others to know about it.
But because his movies where still quite successful because of the video sales and rentals other tactics had to be put into place. At this time Hollywood started taking all of the actors that Spike used and started paying them more than what spike could guarantee them and stole them out from under him. Although this was a shrewed move and spike helped a lot of black actors break in after all was said and done 40 Acres and a Mule was finished. This is a direct result of what happens when Blacks try to control their place in that industry. You may be able to run around under the radar for a while but as soon as you start to make a name for yourself you will be dismantled and tossed aside.
The music industry is not as smooth and appealing in the way that they deal with people. Just look at what they have done to every positive or conscious rapper that graced the airwaves. As NAS has said "where are they now?"
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