There isn’t a person alive today that was brought here in the slave trade… but when we hear the word “nigger” something in us clicks. It’s like the ultimate panic button. More like the point of no return button. But most times, when we are battling… we lose sight of the goal and just go in for pain. Try to turn our attacker into the attacked. Try to make them feel as badly as we feel… But why do we feel this way? Personally, I don’t know. I feel more confusion when I hear “another” drop the “N” bomb. Like… am I supposed to be stompin’ this kat into the dirt right now? Why am I not? My conscious mind stops me. Starts makin’ sense out of everything.

You use that word all the time. Why is it an issue now?

They can spend their money on Hip Hop, dress Hip Hop, think Hip Hop… totally submerge themselves in Hip Hop… but they better not say that one word or it’s on.

This isn’t a “Death To The ‘N’ Word” post. I’m just in the frame of mind that unless you are calling ME or another black person a nigger in a derogatory sense… I don’t have a problem. But that’s just me. I can understand the anger. But I was never a slave so I can’t really be fighting for the cause. Because in my mind the only way to fight racism is with education. And if you notice, more times than not, it’s people that haven’t been fully educated on racism that get the most upset. And they do it because that’s what they’ve been taught. That’s what we’re SUPPOSED to do. That’s why it’s called the “N” bomb. Not the “N” pillow. Nothing but pain and devestation are left in its wake.

The main reason I wrote this is just what the title says. My inspiration was the whole Rush Limbaugh trying to buy the Rams situation. The Civil Rights leaders were up in arms before the ink dried on his application. People have been co-signing and I think I even saw the rebirth of the black fist hair pick for a few days. But come on now. I know I’m probably dancing on the edge of the Uncle “T” line right now and risking being stripped of some of my “black-ness” for this but I can’t see a legitimate reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to bid. I mean, you can’t bid on stuff if you’re an asshole now? Since when has being an asshole prevented you from buying something you can afford? I don’t like it… but I don’t like the fact that someone of his mindset and stature is actually paid to promote racism either. But does that mean I can stop him from doing something he wants to do. How would many of you feel if you wanted to buy a ticket to go on your dream vacation… Albeit, you may be going to the Caribbean, over to England, to Egypt to see the pyramids… whatever… Let’s say it’s been a life long dream of yours to go somewhere… you finally save up to make it happen, you call to make your reservations and the customer service rep says, “Oh no sir, I can’t book your flight… It shows right here that you’re an asshole and assholes aren’t allowed to follow their dreams no matter how much money they have.”

Sounds ridiculous…

But that’s how this whole thing sounds to me.

None of us would want to be stopped from doing the things we want simply because someone else doesn’t like us. And yes I have listened to the reasons why they don’t want him in. But all of that has nothing to do with the actual game. I think the funniest one I heard that was this was Limbaugh’s chance to finally “own” a bunch of Black men. I got 4 good chuckles in off that one. But people are saying that it would take attention away from the team… ok.. um… the team sucks… A 3rd grader jumpin’ rope in front of the stadium takes attention away from the Rams. They say that it’s not good to have someone of his “radical thinking” as an owner of the team. This I agree with, BUT it should not stop you from buying something that you have money for. If Elijah Muhammad wanted to buy the Pacers, and Rush Limbaugh said some of the things that our leaders are saying… We would call him a racist and Mr. Muhammad should be able to do whatever he wants. Black folks have to get out of this double standard of thinking. Believe it or not, it cripples us.

I know when I make this comparison my “Black-O-Meter” is gonna drop… but I’m gonna do it anyway… but it’s similar to how we were treated back in the day. We were entertainers, sports stars, inventors, engineers, professors… most of us didn’t have money but some of us did… and yet were still made to enter through the kitchen to get to our dressing rooms… had to go around back to buy our food from a “nice” restaurant… were refused service simply because our skin tone wasn’t the same as the shop owner’s. So why are we fighting to do the same thing to someone else. I don’t like Rush. I think he’s an idiot for using his talent to distort the views of the weak and promote his own agenda… but I don’t think that justifies taking away his rights. It’s a battle that I don’t think we should fight. Let the man buy the team. Those that want to play will play and those that can move out, will…

And just as a side note… all the black players that said “If he gets the team, I just won’t play…” Get the fuck outta here… whatever… as long as they cuttin’ the check you will play… at least until you can leave. If you let this man keep you from feeding your family that makes you a new fool. Do you know how many evil people you support on a daily basis just going to the grocery stores and shopping malls and buying gas and stuff like that? But that’s ok though right? Because they aren’t saying it to your face. I’m sure a LOT of those other owners whose teams we love to death might have a few scandals under lock and key as well. It doesn’t mean we have to like it, but that doesn’t stop you from cheering for your favorite teams. Did you hear it? Cheering for the team! How many of us go to the games or watch them on tv and scream out “Way to go Arthur Blank!!!”, “Gooooooo Dan Roonie!!!!”, “Man, that Jerry Jones sure knows how to own the hell out of a team don’t he??!!”

Now I’m not saying that they don’t have influence… I think Arthur Blank proved that fact with the whole Mike Vick fiasco. But it’s not like Rush will be able to blatantly impose racist rules at the expense of his non-white players. I just don’t see the big deal. It’s similar to the whole flag controversy that happened here in Georgia years ago. Everybody was taking sides… There were those that wanted the flag changed… and those that wanted the flag to stay the same. The “Flag Changers” called the “Flag Sustainers” racist… They rebutted that it was a historical symbol and not something that needed to be changed… No one ever really addressed the real issues. Having a confederate battle flag does not make you a racist… no more than owning slave shackles makes you a slave. It’s ridiculous to think either. Of course there are people that have their flags and chant the ole post-civil war doctrine… “The South Will Rise Again”… but they are gonna believe that whether it be a confederate flag or a pink flag with bunny rabbits on it… Those people have been consumed with and exposed to hate all their lives and changing a flag will not change their thought process… So why even fight the fight?

I guess I just need someone to explain the point to me. Black people will fight and die over every semi-meaningful battle but when it comes to culture enhancing stuff… we seem to fall short. Why aren’t we just as outraged at the low graduation rate of our kids over their counterparts of other races? Why aren’t we up in arms about the teen pregnancy rate like this? We hear “Nigga” and we come runnin’, pistol in hand. But why don’t we have a Jena 6 size crowd in attendance when it’s time to fight for us instead of over us. And yes, there is a difference. We have been taken advantage of for so long that we can’t let the smallest thing go. Sooner or later we are going to have to see that concentrating on those small battles is really what’s causing us to lose the war.

Bless!!

I know, I know…

No… This post isn’t about Drake. But I guess you could say part of the inspiration does come from that song. I was listening to it the other day and started thinking.

What is success?

The thing that everyone wants but only a few seems to achieve…

Is it really all about the money, the cars, the clothes, and the hoes?

I suppose, to some it might be… but that’s the key.

We all want to be successful. But, before one can achieve success, they have to first define what success is. Sounds easy enough, right? Not necessarily. That’s because success is relative. What some deem successful might be meaningless to others. If you are rich, famous, can buy anything you want, go anywhere at any time and hobnob with some of the elite players on the planet no matter where your G4 touches down… you might be considered a success to some. But there are people in the world like that who end their lives, simply because they’re lonely.

Miserable…

Alone…

Stacks of Benjamins soaked with tears.

When you have money, it’s easy to tell that you have a lot of “friends”… The problem is, it’s hard to tell WHY you have a lot of friends. One of my favorite Cee-Lo lyrics is, “It would be nice to have mo’, but I kinda like bein’ po’, at least I know what my friends here fo’.”

My boy Webster defines success as: a favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.

“I want the money (money)… and the cars (cars)… and the clothes (clothes)… the hoes… I suppose. I just wanna be… I just wanna be… successful.”

Sorry, I kinda dig the song. Even though the words don’t really go with the concept, but that’s probably just me…

So what is success? A favorable or desired outcome. That’s about as vaguely specific a sentence as you can get. The attainment of weatlth? Nah… not so much. Monetary gains are not even a variable. If you live in a middle class apartment complex, you can still be successful. Like happiness, success is really just a full serving of mindset with a side of achievable goals. If you have your own business and you are struggling to stay afloat but you are growing a little bit at a time and love what you do… you are successful. You might not have reached the full level of success that YOU want. But when you really think about it, as long as you are happy… success is inevitable.

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Big Up Albert Schweitzer!!

If you have a job that you might not like so much, but when you leave and go home your family loves you, your neighbors are happy to see you and your community supports you… Again, you are successful. You can be the Vice President of Marketing for the largest cell phone company in the world, make tons of money, buy a house in the hills and ride in the newest of the new. But if you are alone, all your real friends have left because you’ve “changed”, you family doesn’t respect you… the new friends you have do… but you can’t trust them because you don’t know why they’re really around… Your boss looks at you with a certain smug, superior –type look that lets you know he’s aware that he can replace you whenever you become a burden…

Is that success? I mean you have the money, the cars, the clothes… maybe even a few h0es, right? Everything that you covet… A laudable individual if ever you did see one, right? But that’s not success. Extra capital letters behind your name don’t make you happy. It only means you can charge more for the same services you used to do for cheap.

Success, in the terms of having a successful life, is more about you than what you have. Are you happy? If not, why? If you don’t know why, why aren’t you thinking about it? Do you like where you are in life? No? Change it! Will it be easy? Probably not. Will it be worth it? More than you know.

Success is not a tangible thing. It’s not something you can reach out and capture… hide in your bathroom and check on it every few minutes to see if it’s still there. It’s a feeling. It would be similar to trying to capture happiness. You can either choose to be it… or choose to let it pass you by and land on someone else. Please believe that success (much like happiness) is not waiting around for you to find it. Much like a mythical unicorn. Everybody wants it, but very few are willing to put forth the effort to attain it. Become an honorable person. Honorable people refuse anything less than success.

“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value”

Big Up Albert Einstein!!

And yes… more than likely you will be talked about. In a lot of cases, you will be talked about badly. And a lot of that will come from people you thought were close to you. People you thought were better than that. People you thought would have your back forever. If you let someone talk you out of being successful… chances are you would have failed at whatever you were going to do anyway so just end it all now. Forget your dreams, your wants and your desires… What’s the point? If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else can either.

“You are the only one that can ‘give up’ on you. Everybody else never believed in you in the first place!”

Big up B.C. Meekins (yeah me, lol)!!!

But if you want it, you will turn their negative words into positive motivation.

“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her”

Big Up David Brinkley!!

Success isn’t about where you are. It’s about where you’re going. And how you’re going to get there. Define for you what you want and figure out when you want it and how you want it. It’s more to it than just saying it. If there are no actions put into play, you will continue to go through this slow spiral of self-loathing for not doing what you know you should. Doing what you’ve always done will only get you what you’ve always gotten. Change it up! Put some thought into what you think would make you successful, then when you’re finished thinking… go out and DO it!

Bless!

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This brings me to the point. Your “talent” versus “what you want”. Now, I’m not a super religious zealot by any means. But I do believe God. No, I didn’t miss a word. A lot of people say they believe “in” God, but that leaves the discussion open for there to be doubt that God exists. If you “believe in” something that means you aren’t completely convinced it is there. You just believe it is. As in a child that believes “in” Santa Claus… or the Easter Bunny. But I believe God. Which means I know He’s there and I know He’s showing me the path my life is supposed to take. Even though the lights on my road are dim, at best. They flicker… giving me only a quick glimpse of greatness to come before darkness envelopes me again. Then I only have my Lord’s voice as my guide. But that’s just me.

I believe there is a plan for all of us. Now, the route we choose… that’s where we tend to snatch cogs out of life’s perpetual machine; most times creating our own demise. If you have been fortunate enough to make it into your mid to late 20’s you have been shown your gift, I truly believe that. Whether you choose to accept that gift or not… that’s up to you. But it HAS been revealed to you. I was listening to Steve Harvey’s Morning Show not too long ago and I think he explained it best and in its simplest form by saying, “Your talent is the thing that you do the best in the world, with the smallest amount of effort”. There’s no easier way to say it. You’re good at it and you don’t even have to try hard. That’s it! Think back over your life. What was that thing? That’s your talent. I was having a discussion about this a few months back with a co-worker. I asked her that same question. She said that it was teaching. I told her, that’s what she’s supposed to be doing… but she said she doesn’t WANT to do that. If ever there was an L.O.L. moment that was it. My uncle used to tell me… “If you wanna hear God laugh. Tell him that what He wants isn’t part of your plan.”

But there’s nothing wrong with that. Free will. There’s nothing wrong with you not wanting to follow your talent. If it is by choice, I don’t have a problem with you doing anything you want (as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else). If your talent is cooking and you want to be a painter, cool. Just know that you will probably never be truly happy. If you want to be a rapper but your true calling is baker… Good Luck. You may make a lot of money, be rich and famous… but in a fantasy game of poker, if I’m holding happiness and you have fame and fortune, my hand trumps yours every time.

But for those of you that want something better. For those that sit in their cubicle every morning and just wonder “Why Lord? Why ME?” For those seeking true happiness and fulfillment in their life and career. For those seeking a career, period. (because a wise man once said that if you aren’t happy in your career, you really just have a job)… If you want true happiness in your life… You have to find your talent. And, when you do, be sure to call your mom and tell her to clear some space on the refrigerator because your life’s progress report is going to be great.

Bless

If you are a nigga and you’re reading this, first of all congratulations for being literate but, rest assured my stomach is turning at the mere thought of YOU!

As soon as I have the feeling that we are actually getting somewhere as a people, a stupid muthafucka pops up like a bad Rocky and Bullwinkle interlude. We gotta get ourselves another hat! I just see headline after headline of certified “nigga shit” and it pisses me off. Don’t get me wrong, I know “others” have their fucked up moments too… but I tend to hold “us” to a higher standard. Maybe I shouldn’t but I do. I expect, just… more!

Alright… let’s get it…

First up, Steven Gilmore…

What can I say. Nigga shit in it’s purest form. This dumb muflucka decided he was going to show his Hip Hop roots and rob some people in order to build his “Street Cred” for his Rap career. You dumb bitch! His naïve view of what Hip Hop is should really be examined. We’ve all seen (and heard) it. Hip Hop glorifies violence to a degree that it can actually cause a group of people that might not pick up a stick to harm another under any other circumstances to actually take action against anyone resembling the artist’s foe. But it’s just a show. That’s it. 90% of the artists out there are not and/or have not done the majority of the stuff they rap about. It sounds good, it’s what the record companies want, it’s what their fans want, it’s what sells… it’s, in consequence… how they are viewed more so than who they really are. So this idiot decided he was gonna “live the life” in hopes of breaking into the business.

Um… Fool Boy…

You don’t have to LIVE it. That much has been proven.

**cough** Rick **cough** Ross…

Whew… ain’t the H1N1 scare over with? And he robbed them with a BB gun at that. What kind of stupid shit is that? That’s not gangsta. That’s not even quasi-gangsta. And, his getaway driver? A 16 year old on a moped… Yeeeaaaahhhh incase you end up in a high speed chase. Topping out at 37 mile per hour.

I’m done. Nigga Bye!

Next on the docket, Camilla Fields

Damn, Damn, Damn… I swear they need to bring back tar and feathering. This is the chick that decided she was going to shoplift from Wal-Mart and when confronted she threw a car seat at the employee that was after her.

Sounds more like a funny YouTube video right?

It would have been if this waste of female anatomy didn’t have her damn 2-month old baby strapped in the seat at the time. Yeah, exactly. What could you possibly have to get out of Wal-Mart right then that you were willing to risk your baby’s life over? You gotta have more of a vision for your life than to do some dumb shit like this. It was probably all over some cheap ass Revlon lipstick or some shit. The police should have thrown her ass against the walls of the holding cell so she could see how it felt. Bitch Bye!

Lawd Jesus, Lashaundra Cooper

While we’re on the subject of Wal-Mart Shoplifters. How about this chick? She gets arrested for shoplifting some stuff for herself. I would have even given her some “single mother on hard times” sympathy if she was in there stealing pampers or some formula. What’s crazy is, in this case, this manic depressant simpleton decided she was going to leave her kids in the car.

Alone…

Door unlocked…

Keys in the ignition.

All my 70’s and 80’s babies will agree that we’ve all been left in the car before. But that was back in my day. And it was usually a bunch of us. It was common in the 80’s to be on your way into a store and see 5 or 6 kids jumpin’ around the back seat of box Chevy. These kids today couldn’t have survived back then, and we probably wouldn’t be able to survive today. It was a little bit safer back then and there are just too many predators walking the streets today. The morality level has dropped to an unprecedented low. If someone had taken her kids, she would have been the first one on the news crying and screaming about bringing them back. Why? You obviously don’t want ‘em. Once again… these idiots are out there and they are actually breeding… AAAaaaahhhh!!!

I don’t know the names of these squandered sperm/egg chemical reactions but…

I’m sure you’ve seen the chicks rip ole girl a new asshole in Oakland at that Salon by now. If not, YouTube it. First of all, I don’t condone it, but ole girl should have fought back. But I have to give her credit. After many kicks and fists to the face, she was still talkin’ shit. It was obvious that this type of thing happens all the time in that area because you see when she went next door and the dude there was barely even fazed by what was going on. But, my question is this… Why is this generation trying so hard to get to jail? I mean you beat the brawd’s ass… maybe she deserved it, maybe she didn’t. But you tape the shit and put it on YouTube? That’s about as dumb as O-Dogg keepin’ the robbery tape. I guess if OPD don’t care… I’ll have to concede as well.

Last but not least… Mr. 21

That’s what I call him. You may know him as Desmond Hatchett. I was ecstatic when I found out that Octo-Mom wasn’t black… then this mufucka pops up. He sittin’ over there talkin’ about “I don’t know… It just happened”… Nah nigga, you trip on an untied shoe string… that just happens. You take a bite out of someone else’s hamburger that was given to you by mistake… that just happens… You don’t fuck 11 chicks and end up with 21 kids and say… It just happened. Somewhere around maybe 6 you should have been like, “You know what? I’m broke and I can’t raise my kids now. Why don’t I stop.” And whichever chicks had multiple kids with him really need their asses kicked. You already know he doesn’t do shit for the one you got now… What makes you think he’s gonna be there for another. But I guess of the others listed here, at least this guy hasn’t broken any laws. He pays his child support so they can’t really do anything to him. They take half of his check which breaks down to about $2.00 per kid per month. What is he gonna buy them with that? A bottle of water and a Snicker bar? All we can do is hope they are all taken care of (by the state of course) and that they get a chance to know each other as siblings. I say if you want to really deter him from having anymore… Let him keep his check… all of it. But, have all the baby mama’s drop their kids off over there after he gets off work… EVERYDAY! I guarantee in 3 days they will need a hostage negotiator to get him the put the butcher knife down while he’s trying to perform his own bootleg vasectomy.

I just don’t get all this stupid shit… And it doesn’t stop. Everyday watching the news is like watchin’ America’s new minstrel show. We are better than this. We are God’s chosen people. We have more to offer than a fly ass episode of Cribs. When will we understand that this isn’t the way?

Ok… there may be a few prejudice black people out there, granted. They may not like a lot of white people or people of other races… But if we are using history as a reference, it would seem like the right decision to make… Let’s keep it real. Racist white people don’t like black people because stereotypically a young black male is more likely to rob you than a young white male. A black kid is stereotypically more likely to be louder and more boisterous than a white kid of the same age. There are more black men in jail than white men… which would lead one to believe that black people are more prone to violence than white people. But since we are going statistically… let’s take it back about 450 years… what race is more likely to steal your home and claim it as their own? What race is most likely to fight for freedom from oppression and then oppress a whole race of people? What race will systematically make it so that a certain race is unable to achieve the goals that they themselves covet simply on the basis of what color their skin is?

Don’t get me wrong. White people are definitely not the enemy.

Matter of fact, if you look at any civil rights footage, Dr. King had a plethora of white people on many different levels, fighting for the same rights we have today. The reason I bring this up is that there seems to be a problem when black folks make a conscious decision to fight for their own independence and choose to make things better for themselves and their people…

What am I talking about?

The Andersons, that’s who. If you don’t know the deal, there is a couple in Chicago that have decided that for 1 year, they will only patronize “Black owned” businesses. Did you hear it? I said they have “decided”… that’s the point… it’s not something forced upon them by government. It’s not a penal code requiring it. There will not be police and a German Sheppard waiting for them outside the business when they step out, waiting to attack and arrest them… They have made a conscious decision to buy from only Black owned companies. Just like someone deciding that they will buy from Target instead of Walmart.

Would that make them a store-ist?

It’s funny how when talking to a “conservative” White person about the Black community and what needs to be done they always say, “Well those people just need to get it together. They need to work together and stop waiting on someone to do it for them. They need to fight for their independence. They need to do like our founding fathers and make a change for the better.” But, let’s be real. Our forefathers were stolen from Africa in order to do the work that their forefathers couldn’t. The Native Americans couldn’t handle the work, the Asians couldn’t handle the heat… Someone came across these people in Africa and was like “They’re PERFECT!!!”… and the Trans-Atlantic slave trady was born. Now, historically, only a small percentage of slaves actually made it to America… but that’s neither here nor there. The point is, you say “clean up your act”… we say, “ok”… then you say “No, no, no. Don’t do what I said, that’s racist.”

Huh?

The power of the “Black Dollar” has been significantly overlooked in the past. People feel they can say what they want to say and do what they want to do and Black folks will continue to support them. Which, in the past, has pretty much been the case. But this movement is a slap in the face to that way of thinking. It is a way of saying we are tired of the trials and tribulations… we are tired of people looking at us as if we are the worst people to have ever been birthed from this ball of dirt and water… then they expect us to give them our money. We are tired of the fact that even science has determined that human life started in Africa, yet we are looked upon as sub-human.

I don’t get it.

Other races have been supporting each other in this great ole’ Land of the U. S. and A. for years. From Asian, to White, to Indian, to the entire Middle East… They move into “our” communities and open up shop (using government aid that black folks can’t even get by the way)… then they make their money, and take it out of our community. They don’t put a single cent back into the area that is keeping them wealthy. They do nothing for the ones that keep them eating every day. But when those same people in that community decide to make a change and take THEIR money to someone that actually CARES about them, they are called racist? HOW? How is finding likeminded people and making a conscious decision to go in a certain direction considered racist? If that’s the case, then any member of any religion should be considered racist. If that’s the case, the forefathers of this great country would be considered racist, right? They didn’t like how things were going in their community so what did they do? They got up, got together and said “It’s time for change”. Those that wanted to jump on, did. Those that didn’t, didn’t. So to call these people, or anyone that makes a decision what they will do with their own money a racist is absurd. These same people that are screaming racism are probably the same people who would look right past a black business on the mere basis that it is owned by black people. But we’re racist? The money that we make on our jobs is being siphoned from us and used to create better communities for others and we’re supposed to be ok with that? That’s how it’s supposed to be?

I think not…

Let’s be real. White people don’t want to be responsible for fixing the problems they themselves have perpetuated. And let me throw the disclaimer in again… I am NOT talking about all White people. I’m addressing the ones that have a problem with what I’m saying. So if that isn’t you, “Shut the FUCK up and go sit down.” They don’t want to have to deal with Black peoples’ problems. Which is fine. I think a lot of Black people complain too much my damn self, sometimes. But, how dare you say that they are acting in a racist way when they decided to take their future into their own hands.

Throughout history, black people have continued to contribute to this country with little to no recognition. Check out www.blackinventors.com. The point is… any race that makes the open and sound minded decision to support their own is in no way racist. It’s a personal choice… and with the right knowledge… those same consumers would have probably patronized those individuals anyway. So don’t get mad at us for doing what you do. Change your thought process and give props where props are due!

Bless!

Is she realer than T.I., Lil Wayne, Jadakiss or Bun B?

Well I don’t know. I will say that the chick is grade A in my book. For those that don’t know the whole run down, there was a big “to do” about the question that Perez Hilton asked her during the Q & A portion of the pageant. He asked her (and I’m paraphrasing), how she felt about Vermont becoming the 4th state to allow gay marriage and if she thought all the other states should follow suit.. why or why not? And she responded by saying (paraphrasing again), It’s cool that people can do that in this country, but I think a marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Mixed cheers and boos were heard in the crowd but Perez said he gave her a zero for the answer. That’s a bitch move from a bitch made mufucka… And I’m not calling him a bitch because he’s gay…. I’m callin’ him a bitch because he’s a bitch…. How you gonna ask a politically charged question such as that (which is an opinion styled question) and then score her low because she didn’t stroke your heterophobic ego? That’s what makes him a bitch… Gay mufuckas like that get on my fuckin’ nerves. Sitting there thinking the whole world needs to accept them and overlook the bullshit they promote just because they’re gay. Fuck You! If you’re an asshole you should be addressed as such.

In his eyes, there was only one REAL answer… and obviously, she didn’t give it. She could have easily fabricated an answer that would have appeased him and the rest of the gay community. She could have said something like “Yes, I love gay marriage… Gay marriage is my favorite” in her best Will Ferrell voice from Elf. But she didn’t. She stood her ground even when it would have been much easier to fold to PC-ness, which folks do way too often. How many of our artists have sold out their high Hip Hop aspirations in order to get ahead?

But she didn’t. She said what she felt. And didn’t deliver it in a manner that was disrespectful or rude.

Did it cost her the crown? From what everyone is saying, yes. I have no idea if that is true. Before all this happened, I never paid attention to pageants… still don’t. I have yet to even see what this chick looks like. But, the whole situation got me thinking. In a world where everyone wants to “Keep it Real”… how many of us really do? 90% of our music is fabricated by folks that have never lived the life or haven’t touched the hood in so long they’re kind of out of touch. Like that whole Jay-Z, “Hip Hop has done more to squash racism than anyone in history” comment.

With your Rick Ross-like folks out there claimin’ hood, when you really weren’t even known in the streets… is that what’s real? If rappers were forced to rap about where they really come from or the stuff they’ve really been through and not just what they watched happen… would they even have enough material for a second album? If they looked at what record companies wanted them to put out and turned their noses up and said, “Hell no… I’m not pushin’ that bullshit to my people. Find somebody else!” Where would we be?

Preaching power instead of pain… would our kids have a little more confidence in their lives? I little more hope in their hearts? A little more pride? A little more power?

Is that real?

So what exactly is “real”… Well, in my opinion… Miss Carrie Prejean’s actions were real. I don’t know much else about her. But, for that one glimmering moment in time… her realness shined. Real is standing up for what you believe, even though folks will probably turn on you. Was she right? Heeeelllll No!… Was she wrong? Heeeellll No! That’s the beauty of your opinion. It can’t be wrong. It is what it is. It’s what you think. The day we start getting “graded” for our opinions, is the day we begin the process of turning ourselves into drones.

Bless!

Let’s Get it!

“I Take Care Of My Kids!!!”

Wow, good for you. Have a cookie and Shut The Fuck Up! Nigga, you supposed to take care of your kids. You don’t get a trophy for that shit. Nobody’s gonna call the mayor and set up a parade. You take care of your kids because you love them. You take care of your kids today so that when you get old, and can’t do it anymore, they will take care of you. You take care of them so that you don’t have to bail their asses out of jail later on. And for the record… paying child support is not “taking care” of your kids. I know everyone has different situations and there are men out there going to war just because some underhanded, poor storage of double “x” chromosomes is keeping their kid(s) away from him just to be mean. I know this. I get this. And, I’m not talking to yall so Shut The Fuck Up! I’m talkin’ to the feeble minded kat that thinks because he drops $20 a month in the mail that he has fulfilled his moral obligation. If this is you… and you are offended… GOOD!

“I Don’t Beat My Woman!”
Again… So The Fuck What! Wow! You, like everyone else, have a level of self-control. You’re so cool! I feel you though. I too know that a chick, especially one you are in a relationship with, can get on your nerves to the point where you just want to implant them into a piece of sheetrock from time to time. And sometimes you might be completely justified in doing it. But just because you don’t, nobody’s gonna get out the party poppers and congratulate you. You’re a man. You’re not supposed to hit women. Even though I’ve known a few chicks in my short time here on earth that could beat the dog shit out of their mates, they never did. And it’s the same for guys… No hitting women (even if they deserve it)! When did you learn that? Pre-K? Come on bruh.

“I ain’t never been to jail!”
Ok… so against all odds you mad it to 19 and haven’t been to jail… yet. Statistically, if you look at the 2 black men on your left and the 2 black men on your right… If you are seeing more than 3 people… gon’ head and get ya’ commissary game up playa. But I do congratulate you. And by all means, keep up the good work! But once again… no brotha, nobody’s gonna hang the piñata for that.

And ladies… Ooooohhh no! You aren’t left out of this either. While you sittin’ over there laughin’ at these niggas… You ain’t much better. But, I’m gonna take it light on you. Not much though. Since majority of you know what you are SUPPOSED to be doing. I’m gonna tell you some shit you shouldn’t be doing that yo’ simple ass just can’t seem to figure out.

Let’s do top ten (In no particular order):
1) Stop getting pregnant by a dude so you can keep him. ~ YOU STUPID BITCH!!! That’s all I have to say
2) Stop breaking your back to help people that have shown you they don’t give a shit about you. ~ Time and time again, I’ve seen it. It’s ridiculous. Girl stop now! “If someone SHOWS you who they are, BELIEVE THEM!” Big up Maya Angelou!
3) Stop jumping from relationship to relationship. Maybe yo’ simple ass is supposed to be alone so you can learn who you really are. ~ Plus you need to re-evaluate why you’ve never celebrated your birthday with the same guy twice.
4) Just because your kid’s father donated sperm does not guarantee him a slot in the kid’s life. ~ All kids need a father figure, but it doesn’t HAVE to be their father. All kids should know who their father is, but if their father ain’t shit, there is no reason for them to HAVE TO be around them.
5) Which touches on #5. If you have a man. And you know he ain’t shit. Stop keeping him around because he is the main male figure-head in your kid’s life. ~ If he ain’t shit… he ain’t shit… Would you really want your kids to model themselves after some ain’t-shit kat anyway?
6) Learn to be comfortable with (and love) your damn self! ~ If you don’t like you. Chances are the rest of us won’t like your ugly ass either!
7) Be honest! ~ If you ain’t feelin’ the dude you with, break that shit off. Stop worrying about everybody else’s feelings before yours.
Stop putting all your business out in the streets then wonder why the whole offices knows what you did in Mexico. ~ Like my granddaddy used to say, “Everybody’s business ain’t everybody’s business.” i.e. Shut The Fuck Up!
9) Stop listening to other mufuckas when they tell you to do shit you know you aren’t ready to and/or can’t do. ~ This includes every fuckin’ body. Pastors, parents, co-workers… You know you better than anyone. Be honest with you and you will know what you can handle.
10) Stop blamin’ everybody new that you meet for the things done by everybody that you hate. ~ And that doesn’t just mean guys that you meet… Chicks always screamin’ “All Niggas ain’t shit!” Shut up Bitch! What you really mean is all the niggas YOU fuck with ain’t shit. Big Up Kat Williams! You haven’t dated a significant number of the male population on earth to say that niggas ain’t shit. But this is bigger than your ex’s. Stop comparing people in your life. As soon as you are able to look at people as individuals… You might find out that they reciprocate.

All in all… People… Stop expecting praise for stuff you are supposed to do. Stop stressing because your child’s school doesn’t acknowledge the fact that you spend 2 – 3 hours a night helping your child with his homework. It’ll be aight. Just keep doing it.

~We will receive not what we idly wish for but what we justly earn. Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our service.~

Big Up Earl Nightingale!!

Bless!

As long as you both shall live??

That’s how a lot of people are about their favorite artists. Who can blame these members of the talented few for thinking they are above anything mortal when they walk out onto their balcony and overlook a sea of Stans chanting their name? Crying, screaming… arms wide open; wishing all you would do is jump down into their arms. Then they could die what the Spartans call… a glorious death.

But why?

Why are you ready to tap dance on your homeboy’s face just because he thinks your artist is lame? Why is it that we can hear a song and emotions come out of nowhere? We can feel the palpitations increase, invoking feelings, thoughts, memories… a glimpse of a time when we may have been better off. Or, maybe worse. Do they touch your inner being with such power that we just can’t stop our arms from going into the air and our legs from heading for the nearest section of laminate wood flooring?

Could be.

It’s more than just music for some of us. I mean… Pac and B.I.G. had the entirety of the country claiming sides… and cautious was the man who didn’t claim a clique.
But neither of these men were saints. Just like most of us. They were human and made human decisions. B.I.G. had multiple arrests from assault & battery to drug charges. Pac was no better. He had been arrested about 8 times by the time he made it to his early 20’s.

So what I want to know is… why we stick by our favorite artist or celebrity when they are flat out wrong. You had folks sending death threats to the chick in Colorado for making whoopee with Kobe and accusing him of rape. You had folks threatening death and dismemberment on the second family that accused Michael Jackson of child molestation. You had folks ready to riot about R. Kelly and his little girl/pissin’ fetish. You had folks cheering on OJ as he ran from police. Folks ready to stand by Jay-Z and his Ginsu incident with Lance Rivera. Mike Vick and his hardiness for pit bull squabbles. Lil Wayne is on drugs (no big secret there). T.I.’s buying guns. Back in the day, they even said Snoop killed somebody.

All of these folks have had people standing behind them even when, in a case or two, they might have been wrong… or at least had a hand in their own undoing. And in most cases, those same supporters would have turned their backs on family for doing the same thing. Would’ve cut them off quicker than it would take a crackhead to pawn a Playstation. It’s a little disheartening to think that just because someone is talented that people will actually look past their human-ness. Refuse to believe that their idol could actually do something like that.

Those that have read a few of my posts know that I’m a Dungeon Family fanatic. But I don’t know if I qualify for Stan status just yet. Example… Andre 3000 was arrested almost 2 weeks ago for doing 109 mph in a 65 mph zone. I didn’t rally the troops. I didn’t set up a protest in front of the court house with a marker-ridden poster board; chanting “Free 3000”. I didn’t try to petition Barack Obama to give him a pardon. I just said, “Damn bruh. Slow it down. But, at least no one got hurt.” But after reading some of the comments on various sites, I saw that folks were really upset like it was the policeman’s fault for taking him to jail.

“Why did they pull him over? Punk ass crackas! Always fuckin’ with a nigga!”
“What was the problem? He was just testing out his ride. Ain’t that what a Porche is for?”
“I can’t believe they took him to jail. I mean, a ticket would have been enough.”

Now, I’m not an advocate for the “Take Every Black Man To Jail Campaign” but wrong is wrong. Dude was doing 109. Anyone that has broke 100 on anything (and I have) knows that at that speed it is VERY easy to fuck up. The slightest shift to the left or right and… queue the slow singin’ and flower bringin’. Now, I don’t believe he was trying to hurt himself or anyone else and he could have very well just been having a good time. But, I do agree with the officer on this one. He was “an accident waiting to happen”. It wouldn’t have taken much, at that speed, for him to fly into the median wall or skid into someone.

Anyone that has driven in Atlanta knows that people jump right in front of you on the interstate, oblivious to the fact that you are even there. If he was out there, and a teenager on a cellphone had jumped on the interstate in front of him, not following proper merge protocol, and he slammed into the back of her, killing her instantly. Would these same comments have been posted? I doubt it. Because then they would have been insensitive. What if it was your significant other with your child in the car? Would “they always fuckin’ with a nigga!” be the first words out your mouth? What if it came out that the officer saw him, did nothing, then 2 miles up the road he smashed into your mother? Would you still say, “Ain’t that what a Porche is for?”

There could have easily been an accident waiting for him around the next bend. Or a street crew working around the next curve… And I believe I would have looked at him as guilty. Would you? Now there’s no way to know if any of this would have happened. But, all of it is a possibility. And that possibility is really the only thing keeping all of us from pushing 100 at any given time.

Point is… we watch celebrities make stupid mistakes every day. And letting it go as if their celebrity status actually makes them immune to our shame-on-you *side-eye* doesn’t do any of us any good. There are people whose lives have been touched so deeply by these celebs’ talent that they are willing to go to war with anyone that opposes their views. Even if it means supporting them when they are wrong. And I’m just not able to do that.

Bless!

You have people mad. Then you have people that are happy to see him go in. People who think he got off light. To people who don’t really give a damn. Me personally… when I decided to write about this, I was thinking he deserved more time. My whole thing was that if it was one of us common folks, begging for clemency would have been like slapping the judge’s daughter. Most of us can’t afford to have a lawyer on retainer. Most of us can’t even afford a lawyer in a time of need. But after thinking about it, doing a little more research and seeing the enormity of the situation I think the sentence is more than fair. For those thinking that he shouldn’t get any time because “he can do so much to help kids if he is free”… Just let it go. The law is the law. We need to stop showing kids that people with money can circumvent the law. Maybe if he was Paris Hilton he could fake a mental illness and get out in three days. Yeah, not likely.

I don’t know if he greased some palms or not. I’m not going to make assumptions. But what I did find in my short bit of research is all of the stuff that he has done since his arrest to try and help the youngins. His potential to help the subjugated youth of today is massivem, but my question is this… for all of you who think he doesn’t deserve to get any time at all. What does him getting completely off of charges actually do to show these kids that they need to pay for their wrongs and strive for right? What deters them from thinking that their fate won’t be similar to his if they are caught with illegal weapons? Even though we all know it won’t. As a species, we are guided by our fears. If you take away that fear, people will do damn near anything. And allowing T.I. to go completely free teaches these kids nothing about abiding by the law. Really, it shows the complete opposite. In a society riddled with frivolous lawsuits, people dodging every chance to take responsibility for their own hand in their undoing… you know… the guy that bites into a pizza fresh out the oven and then sues Pizza Hut for cooking their food too hot… this actually shows kids that they have to accept that they made a mistake and pay for it. Be it through financial means or physical time/labor.

I respect Mr. Harris. I like a lot of his stuff. But, for the sake of argument, let’s say that the judge gave him an option. Let’s say the judge said he could do a year and a day with OR without talking to the kids and all the other stuff he was doing? Do you think he would have? Would you look at him as someone that had all this potential to do so much? Would you respect him if he hadn’t? I would. But that’s me.

But he has the ability to really show these kids something big after this. It will do more if he does this time. These same kids you tryin’ to save today, may benefit even more from his lesson learned tomorrow. And not just teenagers. When he gets out he can show other brothers and sisters that may have just been released themselves that the world is not over after incarceration. That they can still do stuff; the legal way. That they are more than just a prison number. That they CAN do right. Of course, his pre-arrest money will ease the transition of his post-corrections life but if he inspires just a few of them to keep their heads up and not give up the fight to do right… it will be well worth it.

But don’t shed tears for TIP. He’ll be fine. He can do a year at Club Fed. He’s not going to be at Rikers. I guarantee it will not be Gitmo. He will probably still live well above the level of comfort that most of us “common folk” have day to day. So while you are worried about Clifford Harris and fighting so hard for him to be free… how about you check out Ronald Harris. He just got out last week. And, he could benefit a lot more from this energy you need to burn fighting the judicial system. And that’s on the real… “No flash, No bang”.

Bless!

“…it has changed America immensely. Hip Hop has done more than any leader, politician or anyone to improve race relations. Racism is taught in the home… and it’s very hard to teach racism to a teenager who idolizes, say, Snoop Dogg. It’s hard to say, ‘That guy is less than you.’ The kid is like, ‘I like that guy, he’s cool. How is he less than me?’ That’s why this generation is the least racist generation ever. You see it all the time. Go to any club. People are intermingling, hanging out, enjoying the same music…”

While I agree with Mr. Carter on a few of his points, the majority of this whole statement is utter and undeniable bullshit! Especially the part “Hip Hop has done more than any leader, politician or anyone…” I’m sure his publicist went into cardiac arrest after hearing that shit.

Seriously Jigga?
Hip Hop?
Really?
Fuck Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, huh?
Stokely Carmichael?

Sidney Poitier, Marcus Garvey, The Temptations, Bill Cosby, Maya Angelo, Louis Armstrong, and countless other people that have fought and died for you to have the right to say that type of bullshit.

The official beginning of Hip Hop is debatable. Depending on who you ask, benchmarks to mark its birthday vary. But, in my short research, I found a site that said “The Official Birthday of Hip Hop is November 12, 1974”. I would have put it a much later than that but, let’s go with it. That means Hip Hop is, at its oldest, in its mid 30’s. And you want me to believe that something that has impacted an entire race for 500+ years just took an “L” because Wayne told us to “Please say the baby.”? Jigga, please… just stick with writin’ bars and poppin’ bottles. I guess since you’re retired, just pop bottles and enjoy Beyonce’s company. But please, don’t answer any more impromptu questions about serious matters.

I know y’all want me to cut him some slack. And I know y’all are sayin’ “But B.C., he didn’t mean it like that. What he meant was..” Daaaaaaaaa, Shut the fuck up! I know what he meant. He does makes a very valid point. His delivery is just severely off. I’m sure when someone brings it up to him he will recant and do a Soulja Boy “Nah, nah… that ain’t what I meant” move. At least I hope. I’m a fan of the dude and don’t want to think someone I like is a fool.

But, he’s right, racism is taught at home. And it would be hard to teach a teenager that loves Snoop that Snoop is just a nigger and niggers are nothing but parasites… I agree. But… what racist parent waits until their child is a teenager to actually try to “teach” them racism? That shit starts at birth. These kids have lil black figurines hangin’ by their necks on the mobile over the crib. Mobile doesn’t even play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”… More like “Nigger, Nigger there you are.” These kids grow up hating. Their parents aren’t playing Tupac & Biggie. They don’t go to T.I. concerts. B.E.T. is probably blocked on their cable box. By the time these kids reach teenage years, they have been hating people of color for a looong time. So Mr. Carter’s backup info to his statement is not valid.

All of us are influenced by the music we grew up listening to regardless of what color our parents were. I will admit that there are some that fell through the cracks. But no more than the regular amount of free thinking people that always do. These kids that think Snoop is cool don’t necessarily have racist parents. They might have a couple prejudice bones lodged in there but they aren’t card carrying Klan radicals. They are just scared at the fact that their kids might be going over to the “dark side”; metaphorically of course. What parent wouldn’t be scared about their kid walking around the house yellin’ about how the police ain’t shit and they gonna get more hoes than Lowes? Who could blame them when just about every role that a black person plays in a movie or on tv is a killer or drug dealer. They aren’t racist. Ignorant maybe. But not racist. And that brings me to the point that I feel Hip Hop probably does just as much damage as good. There are so many stereotypical elements in Hip Hop that some of it should be considered a hate crime if you play it above level 3. Majority of what’s out right now is garbage and it gets kids to covet stupid shit and indirectly makes them do stupid shit to get it. So making an “Oh lawdy lawdy… what would we’s eva do wit’ out Hip Hop” statement like that pisses me off.

But he has a point. This generation is showing much more promise than those in the past. You can definitely go to a “mixed company” club and see a lot of folks co-mingling and having a good time. But Jay must have his money blinders. You know… those things that folks get when they get to a certain plateau that changes their perception of reality. A lot of people that don’t give two shits about you will be real friendly to you when they think they might get something in return. So maybe Jay is looking at this through the Jigga-man Dolce glasses instead of the Sean Carter bootleg blue blockers. These clubs he speaks of are full of people that really don’t care who’s there. They are there to have a good time. You won’t see a black guy that hates white people in there any more than you will see a white person that hates blacks. While you may get a double shot of prejudice here and there, just keep in mind that tolerance is the chaser. So again, Jay… your supporting evidence does not hold water.

Hip Hop can’t kill racism. Education is the only thing that can kill racism and THAT is why this generation is so much more tolerant than the thousands before it. Information is so readily available that these kids are able to learn and make decisions for themselves whether they don’t want to like someone or not. Our parents (or us; for the grown folks) couldn’t get on the internet and learn about stuff for ourselves. Kids today have the ability to question everything, with the immediate ability to refute anything. But, that has nothing to do with Hip Hop. It has everything to do with intelligence!

Bless

Comin’ off the heels of my first HoodGrown interview with Lead Designer, Prince, from Gino Green Global, I wanted to address an issue I have. One of the questions I asked Prince was about the new “look” concerning men’s clothing. How he felt about the whole, skinny jeans fiasco and men wearing capris and what not. His response gave me a little more hope for the future of male fashion. The gist of his response was that these were fads and that was that. I was very happy to hear that they had no intention of following suit. That fact alone is probably what has kept them in for the long haul…

But that got me to thinking. This whole metro-sexual movement has taken a horrifying downward spiral and I am really not feeling it. The whole skinny jeans thing is atrocious. Then to make it even worse, these kats are sagging. Are you serious? Come on now, I’m 30… I mean I know I’m not ancient but kats were saggin’ in my day. Y’all ain’t came up with some new shit yet? Really? I came up in the late 80’s early 90’s… That was 15 + years ago. If you take a time stamp from then.. and compare it to now, you don’t really see a huge difference in attire; besides the leg constricting attire for dudes. Now let’s assume for a second we are back in ‘88… If you take a time stamp from ’88 and one from ’73… major difference in attire. Kats in ’73 were still wearing collars that were 82% of their shirt (and they wore skinny pants too, lol. But at least theirs were slacks)… But come on youngins’!! Get original. Yall haven’t evolved at all?

Capri Pants?

Skinny Jeans?

Man bags?

Oversized Scarves that look like you are trying to cover several giant hickies on your neck?

Low Rider Jeans?

Bolero Jackets? (which up until a few days ago I didn’t even know the name of… I always called them, “those short ass jackets that chicks wear”.)

They even have male panty hose… Are you serious?

Come on dude… for real… Bolero Jackets and Capris? Unless you are on your way to fight a bull… take that shit off!!! Seriously, we’re like two fashion shows away from kats wearing bejeweled butterflies on their baby t’s and some timberlands with their tennis skirts. Would yall niggas stop buyin’ this shit already?

Maybe it’s the Florida Country boy comin’ out in me. I’m a shorts/jeans and t-shirt kat to my heart. I’m just not up on high (priced) fashion. But comin’ from my perspective. Dudes are really starting to wear some crazy shit. I just feel that dudes really need to find their own identity and stop letting the world dictate to them what they should be draped in.

Let’s get it!!

Ok… I’m from the south. Not that it matters, but we tend to cling to the musical genre of our respective geographic locations. West Coast has their “Gangsta and Hyphy movement goin’, New Orleans has their Second Line and Bounce Music, Chicago has their Steppers, D.C. has their GoGo, Mid West has their “Swing”… and so on and so on. The south used to be known for “Crunk” music. But recently (and I abhor this fact) we have shifted focus toward a snap revolution that seems to be going on. I don’t like it, but the kids do and that’s all you need to be a successful artist. Can’t hate on that. So I will quietly stay under my rock until Soulja Boy is metaphorically assassinated and southern Hip Hop is returned to its previous state. He can’t keep this up for long can he? Wait, hold on… ain’t he just like 18… Oh Lawd!!! This may take a while.

But anyway, the south is running shit right now and anybody that doesn’t recognize that has Perry Como in constant rotation. It’s our turn. I like T.I., Jeezy, Ludacris… Luda especially, because he seems to be trying to bring the fun back into Hip Hop. Everything can’t be about dope dealing, robbin’ and killin’ all the time. So thank you Luda for bringin’ back the humor to hip hop with songs like, Slap, One Mo’ Drink, Hoes in my Room, etc… But, I miss that old southern funk. Especially from them there Dungeon Boys… You know em! My boys Outkast & Goodie Mob. I could write a term paper just on how their music has influenced my life. But… this isn’t about them.

It’s about 1 man.

Arguably one of the greatest Hip Hop Lyricists that has ever graced a microphone with his breath. He’s a dude who can make you literally see his thoughts as they emanate from the subwoofers around you. He can drop something on you so hard and so quick that you don’t even know you got hit with it until you are reciting the lyrics one day, acapella.

“Damn, that’s some real shit!” you say to yourself as you can’t wait to get back and listen to it again.

Who am I talkin’ about? No, not 3 stacks… not this time. Even though in my book Dre is the greatest living artist in the game right now. No my good people, I’m talkin’ about Mr. Thomas DeCarlo Callaway… to most, Cee-Lo.

Dude is a beast.

Always has been.

Always will be.

Now, I’m not trying to down play the rest of the MOB… Neva That! The whole crew is fierce on the mic. “When y’all comin’ out with another album, for real!?”

But I’m just talkin’ about my boy Lo right now. I put him #2 in Hip Hop Southern Artists. Andre 3000 being #1 and Bun B being #3. Have you ever really listened to him? No, no, no…. I mean REALLY listened to the dude. He’s like an ambassador to the hood. Just his words alone have the power of an atomic blast. Pick up a copy of Soul Food or Still Standing CD and really pay attention to his words. It’s more than just music. He’s speakin’ truth. His words speak directly to your soul. He acknowledges GOD which many rappers don’t do until they win an award for their song, “Bust that nigga in the back”. Trust playa… God had nothing to do with that. But Cee-Lo brought real life into the game. Tryin’ to make y’all see that all this fightin’ and killin’ and bangin’ and dope sellin’ is bullshit.

“But you don’t wanna hear the truth so I’mma lie to ya’ make it sound fly to ya’.”

I wish I had room on here to just copy and paste all his lyrics and go through them a line at a time so you can see the real power behind his words, but I’d probably shut the servers down. All in all, I just wanted to say that dude is a lyrical giant and doesn’t get the respect someone as talented as him deserves. I’m just waiting on that Goodie Mob reunion CD. Yall need to get on that ASAP!

Ok… Part 2 (Not really about Cee-Lo so feel free to click on if need be)

In the first installment of this blog I had a section about Cee-Lo in which I just made a little paragraph using songs that were either his or that he was on. Wait… I can show you better than I can tell you. This was it:

So Get up, Get Out and hear the Call Of Da Wild. Pick up some of his music and take a course in his Ghetto-ology. Ain’t nothin’ Microhard about it. Let that Closet Freak out and get Under the Influence. Put on some of his Bass Head Jazz and let him Spend The Night In Your Mind. You can even make it an All Day Love Affair if you want to. Just be aware that he will Refuse Limitation and a healthy dose of his Soul Food might make you feel like you can Fly Away. He told you that They Don’t Dance No Mo’ but his Thought Process is amazing so you don’t have to be afraid… I mean he is a Bad Mutha but he will grace you with some of his Country Love while the two of you ride off into the Distant Wilderness or maybe the El Dorado Sunrise. You might think he’s Crazy but he’s just Selling Soul, I mean he is the Soul Machine and he makes it all look like Childz Play. All things said… I don’t know about you, but I’ll Be Around.

Now, after finishing this section and reviewing it I had a good friend of mine check it out to see what they thought about it. If it was creative, cool, whatever… She told me it was good BUT that I needed to add “No Homo” here, here, here, here… and here. She was telling me that kats might look at it and think I’m dick ridin’ or a Stan or that I’m gay… all because I’m on a Hip Hop site. And after consideration I decided I wasn’t going to put it in. Then later that day I got mad at myself for actually givin’ a fuck what y’all niggas think about me. I’m still new to this shit so I’m tryin’ my hardest not to just come on here and blast muthafuckas left and right. But, I gives an 8th of a fuck what yall think… Please believe that. What y’all gonna do? Get ya friends together and all of you send me an email at the same time with fists in them. *Caption at the bottom* “You’ve just been virtually jumped. Yeah, bitch nigga, yeah!!” Get the fuck outta here!

If you don’t like gay people, cool. That’s on you. I don’t have a problem with ‘em. You do you, has become my life’s philosophy. But, I just got mad at the fact that people actually feel the need to authenticate their statements or actions with a phrase like “No Homo”. Now I don’t care if it hurts somebody’s feelings. That’s not my concern. But, that’s just some lame shit to me. And all because Cam’ron lost weight and decided he wanted to wear pink? I ain’t even mad at HIM. Well maybe a little, lol. But, he made it up for himself and you lame, no friends havin’, no pussy getting’ fuckboy bitch-made ass niggas chose to make it more than what it was??? And I’m the one dick ridin’? I’m the Stan? Really? Whatever nigga. So I will end this by saying, FUCK NO HOMO! If you feel what I wrote was dick ridin’ or gay, FUCK YOU! If you are mad at me right now, FUCK YOU! If you feel the need to validate yourself, your actions or words with “No Homo”, YOU’S A LAME & FUCK YOU!

Y’all have a nice day, ya hear!

No.
I didn’t say he was right.
I said he had “a” right.

I’ll admit. I covertly hit the pause button on my iPod while the scene unfolded in front of me. Tried to keep bobbing my head to the imaginary beat hoping they would think I just had the same song on repeat for the last 13 minutes. But, they weren’t concerned with me. They weren’t concerned with the other 7 or so people on the train either. They were in their own little angry world. But those words came out and it was Hiroshima & Nagasaki, part deux.

Now, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again… I’m not an advocate of domestic abuse, but I can damn sure understand it!! Before ole boy hit her with the Big Joker, chick was rippin’ this kat a new asshole with a rusty pitch fork. He was all kinds of muthafuckas, and bitch ass niggas and lame ass this, punk ass that… She may have been high, she may have been drunk… but this was definitely not a time to Blame it on the Aaa aaa aa aaa aaa alcohol. Big Up Jamie Foxx. But dude was takin’ a barrage of shots for something he had done. Or maybe he hadn’t done a damn thing. I don’t know. I missed everything that happened prior to my entrance at Five Points but I was sure this pop off recently. As soon as the 5 piece came out though, she needed a moment to reboot. Now, I am a firm believer in the fact that there is no good comeback for a perfectly placed “Shut the fuck up!“ And she didn’t have one. Her eyes started blinkin’ and shit… She actually wanted to fight this dude.

Once again, I’m not an advocate… but I understand. The plight of a man being disrespected in public is bad enough. But toss in the fact that these two obviously had a connection of some sort (mainly because he was actually still standing there taking it; she must have had the house keys in her purse) makes it even worse for the young man in question. How is he supposed to react when he’s being called out, ignorantly I might add. I’m not saying she wasn’t justified in doing so. I’m just saying that you can’t get mad when somebody fights back after being verbally assaulted for at least 9 minutes strong.

So what’s a man to do?

Sit there and take it. Honestly I don’t think I could do it. And it’s not even about the disrespect of all the folks around us seeing it. It’s more so the fact that if I let that shit go down you will feel like you can pop wild at any given moment. And trust… this chick was no novice at cussin’ this nigga out… She obviously had a time share on the island of Cussanigga.

Ain’t that near Honduras?

This chick had cussin’ skills that had been passed on from generation to generations. From a from a long line of cussers…

But ladies…

One thing, I’ve learned recently from a relationship book I was reading (I’m lyin’ like a mufucka you know I got that shit on CD) is that respect is something highly coveted by a man. And when you take that away from him, it’s the equivalent of him snatching your heart out of your chest. Here I was feelin’ bad all these years like I was wrong for craving respect when it’s in the bible that the orders of a wife is to respect her husband. Don’t believe me? I can show you! Now these two may not been married… Let me rephrase that. I hope to GOD these two weren’t married, but that doesn’t take away the fact that men were made to want respect. To NEED respect.

For those of you that have men in your lives, how would you feel if during an argument your man said, “You stupid bitch. I never loved you. You ain’t shit to me. I wish you would die so I can collect on this policy I started for you.”

Little fucked up huh?

But, that’s the equivalent of not respecting a man. A man needs to feel respected just as badly as you need to feel loved. Big Up Dr. Eggerich! So next time you feelin’ a little wordy when you are around his boys, perfect strangers, or even if it’s just the two of you… If you want to keep this dude, take some advice from Lil Kim and Shut The Fuck Up, Bitch!!!