My Humble Opinion-Part 2

I just read this article in the New York Observer about Jay Z’s new book “Decoded.” It talks about  his rise from drug dealer to millionaire mogul. 

I responded to the article and some of the things that were said about hip hop and capitalism and I got to thinking (as I usually do about these things...)

Let me preface this piece by saying this: I don't hate hip hop and I certainly don't hate capitalism-I certainly benefit from, and plan to continue benefiting from this great system. I'm an American. Also, I am a product of hip hop culture. It has earned its place in American culture. And I'll admit, I shake my booty with the best of em' when I hear a Li'l Wayne joint;  Hip hop was a movement that brought the plight of poor Black America to the forefront and gave invisible citizens a voice. 

What I do hate is this: 

Hip hop has become a multimillion dollar industry and it has made many people very rich.   Herein lies the paradox: Not enough is done to speak out against a "ghetto culture,"  which certainly sells records, but does nothing to promote the cultural, economic and social upheaval of a stigmatized race.

Please excuse my generalization here: I'm well aware that not every single rapper today speaks of violence, misogyny or  is anti-establishment, but money making hip hop today demeans and denigrates a people who have for hundreds of years have been fighting against being demeaned and denigrated.  

 A good friend of mine from the Tdot just told me there have been a slew of killings in Toronto last month.  Here is what infuriates me: Canadian Blacks  do not share a gangster history or culture with the United States.  All of that gun and gang bullshit is imported from here.

The ghettos of the United States, are a consequence of socio-economic injustice and inequality stemming from slavery. American slavery, which resulted in Jim Crow, defacto and de jure segregation. Canadians do not share this history. ( I will never say that Canada does not suffer from racism but-American racism is a very special breed, which is a consequence of it's economic system. Lack of quality public school education, health care woes are also specific American issues.

Hence the reason for this diatribe. I find it infuriating because regardless of what anyone says, or how politically correct we claim to be, black people-"niggas," are ruining it for  Black people.

 Even with an Harvard educated,  black president in the White House, we still listen to music that celebrates the "n-word," glorifies violence and demeans women, and this led me to a whole host of issues that we complain about but serve to keep us repressed, mentally, slave mentality) economically, (As Manning Marable says in the article, black people are the only people who buy what isn't even marketed to them) socially (to succeed is to ell out) and even physically. (Obesity)

 Yes, slavery happened, and yes,  racial discrimination and segregation are tragic  episodes in American history. No,  African Americans did not receive reparations, but we neglect to acknowledge that many of us pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps -(check out all of your successful Black entrepreneurs from Madame CJ Walker to Jay Z.  (See KKK excerpt at the end of this piece)

 Ultimately we are responsible for our own destinies, and many  of us are our own worst enemies.  Jay Z and the other successful rappers or entertainers who have made it out of the projects know this-( I consistently refer to Jay Z because this spiel is derived from the article about him and his book) and they are millions of dollars away from the ghetto.  In fact some of these moguls won’t allow pant-sagging “niggas” to enter their establishments.  Our rappers-turned-moguls  know they would never go back to a gangsta lifestyle (no matter how “real you keep it,”) where you are one incident away from losing your freedom, your millions or  your life. 

What part of the game is that?

Walking around in public, with pants belted around your fucking knees because their  sagging so low they won't stay up.(it takes everything in me not to take my own belt off and start beating these kids with their exposed behinds). How in the hell can you command respect from anybody looking like you just escaped the penitentiary? It kills me too, because a lot of these "play dumb" kids are extremely intelligent with bright futures ahead of them, but they have to rep the "ghetto."

Or this...

entering a public place such as a subway car, or a restaurant, or even on the damn street where white folks are present, yelling "NIGGA"  blah blah blah.."NIGGA"...blah blah blahhh... he aint' a real NIGGA yo-if he was a real NIGGA he would have blah blah blah !"   I feel like crying when I hear this-you will never hear any other race refer to themselves derogatorily in public-every ethnic and racial group has a slur to refer to one another by-why is it they all choose to use "nigga"? This is because we don't respect ourselves and do not expect others to.

I have never been more offended by the use of that term then when it's used by my own people.

There is no excuse for this behavior.  But then again...

a lot of these kids come from low-income households  and neighborhoods  where this type of attitude is prevalent. It is how their friends talk. It's in their music, it's a way of life for them, and they don't see anything wrong with it.  These kids  attend poorly performing public schools where this behavior is not strictly discouraged. Kids wearing "do rags" on their heads, jeans either too tight or too lose--you get the point.  

 I worked at a public school that is currently being considered for closing because of its poor academic record.  Classes are overcrowded, and they  lack the resources to purchase items like computers, or enough text books for each student to take home. The buildings are old and dilapidated, and some of them truly resemble jail cells-complete with metal detectors and wands.  Schools in low income neighborhoods do not receive the same funding as schools in richer neighborhoods.

While the kids were coming to school and going to classes, as they were supposed to by law-they were still reading below grade level, and most would not graduate with their class.   There was an apathy among  students and teachers that was simultaneously infuriating and heartbreaking.

Even with after-school tutoring and workshops designed to improve literacy, impart life-skills, such as time-management, self-respect and other skills to  improve the quality of education with voracity and could recite every vulgar, homophobic and deragotory lyric effortlessly. So, why should they give a crap about a diploma when their home-grown heros made it without one. 

If I had a nickel for every time I heard a kid tell me his cousin knew so-and so-rapper and so-and so-rapper was going to "put him on", I would not be writing this blog. I'd buy an island right next to the one Jay Z bought for Beyonce-chillin!  I wouldn't have to worry my head with all of these issues which have plagued us since
emancipation. And yet,  the saga continues...

So...who really is to blame? This is after all, America. We choose liberty or we choose death...

And those are my thoughts on the subject.  Here's the interesting KKK piece-I received from my friend Craig in Toronto... Interesting food for thought:

The KKK leader stepped to the podium, his hood lowered
around his shoulders and a look of disgust on his face. He said, "Sorry guys but this will be our last meeting; we're going out of business."

A member stood up in back. "But why sir?"

The leader sighed, "Well, Reverend, the Blacks are doing
a better job getting rid of themselves than we ever did, so we are no
longer needed."

There were rumblings and protest. The leader raised his
hand to silence the Klan members, and said, "Their rap music says more
vile things about Black women than we ever thought of."

The members grudgingly nodded in approval. The Imperial
Dragon continued: "And their women write books and make songs that
demean black men better than my two speech writers ever could, looking
down at two men seated in front who lowered their heads.

"They shoot each other constantly ", he continued;" And
as a group, they spend a huge amounts of money on cars, liquor, that
stuff they call bling bling, and the proliferation of rap music -- as
they talk about all that in their magazines -- and nobody needs us to
talk about how a lot of their sorry butts keep playing the race and
victim cards while complaining that other groups are surpassing them in
economic development and supposedly getting more attention in schools.

Hell, they even support a so-called "Black Hair" DVD that a white man is
making money on, in four sequels at $20.00 a pop, talking about how
Koreans have taken over the "black hair" industry without acknowledging that
Black entrepreneurs had 100 years to get a monopoly or entrenchment in
the industry that Madam C.J Walker founded 100 years ago, but got
out-hustled and out-strategized while spending investment capital
elsewhere. Let's face it, they're being hoisted by their own petards."

Some members went looking for dictionaries, while most
members nodded as it hit them that their job was finished; that Blacks
had become their own worst enemy.

The leader shook his head. "It's time to go back to our
regular lives as policemen, judges and congressmen, and leave the
business of getting rid of Blacks to Blacks. They are just better at it
than us."

He then threw his hood on the ground and walked off the
stage. Thus ended the last KKK meeting.

There is a message here. I truly hope we are able to
take something away from it.

This email is making the rounds.

The Last KKK Meeting-