Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Whoop That Trick

The audacity of some Negroes and aunt Tomisinas have to criticize folks just because they don’t present the modus operandi of that reflects their own personal penchant. Me I could care less what other think of me but more so what I think of myself.

A long time ago we would never criticize each other in public, but now that has changed with the basic desire many of our upper class citizens. I just read an article by one
Jill Nelson. Mrs. Nelson (if married and able to keep a husband), indubitably has a problem with Young black men who are not equal in her personal experiences. What I do know about Slim Goodie is that she was born in Harlem, raised in Harlem and graduated from the City College of New York and Columbia University’s School of Journalism.

In a recent article she wrote that “Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and Will Smith--all of them previously recognized by the academy either as nominees or as Oscar recipients--convinced Terrence Howard not to sing the song from Hustle & Flow at the Academy Awards,” even writing that.” Poitier is quoted as having told Howard, "Do not get up there and represent the African-American community singing about a pimp."

The types of magazines she write for probably are not read by Three-Six, let alone folks who listen to the band. I do read The Washington Post, The Nation, and The Chicago Tribune though, but I don’t particularly care about what I consider “uppity Negro / House Slave Fiction.”

Her recent book, Finding Martha’s Vineyard: African Americans at Home on an Island, may give us some insight into her expanse of what it may be like to be a young African American man in Memphis, who has made it basically by ingenuity and telling the world about what he lives and experiences daily in his. According to Jill, she described Three 6 Mafia as “barely able to speak English” and described their award acceptance as a “spectacle of the group members onstage, complete with gold fronts and baggy clothing that featured designer names in oversize letters--the modern-day equivalent of branding slaves as property.” Now i dont expect everone to speak memphis, but I do expect folks to be able to comprehend the sheer joy that was honestly displayed by my home boys. When I spoke with Frayser boy the monday after he apeared on stage to get his acadamy award, he was still excited.

Miss, Ms. or Mrs. Nelson, Bravo, for in your honor I would hope that one day someone walks up to you and recants the words of that famous Memphis philosopher Ska Face Al Kapone “whoop that Trick.”

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

THIS I can agree with. I've always wondered who gets to define what's proper, what's acceptable, and what isn't.

Ebonics, for instance. What's the problem? It's an understood dialect. The British, Australian and Americans all use different words and speak with different accents. We respect those differences. I just can't grasp the reason why Ebonics should be excluded.

And rap. It's not music??? Who defines what music is? Online dictionary says, "The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre." Does rap not consist of all those things?

Finally, who decides how it's appropriate to represent an entire race or an entire generation? Aside from most politicians and some celebrities, plenty of African Americans and much of the hip-hop generation would have been very pleased to see Whoop That Trick performed. It expresses life as they know it.

Hali said...

The end of your post was funny. I didn't see the awards, but heard about it, so I won't comment. Just stopping by.

Anonymous said...

You wrote: The audacity of some Negroes and aunt Tomisinas have to criticize folks just because they don’t present the modus operandi of that reflects their own personal penchant

Is the pot calling the kettle black? You criticize her, for a life unlike yours, for criticzing others, whose life is unlike hers. Not a dime's difference.

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

yep mr. anonyomus and i put my name too it unlike some folk as yourself - show your face god

Mocha said...

I think this was a great post, because it actually made me think.

I have to say I'm on the fence. Though I agree with you thoroughly, regarding the way some 'elitist' folk have that crab bucket mentality, and often speak out of turn in their criticism of those with varied experiences, I can't say honestly say that I wasn't a tad uncomfortable with the Three-Six performance. I think that may be because, though I knew that I could 'get it', I had the nagging impression that the majority of the audience was watching in that clownish- 'watch them do what we expect type of way'. However does that mean we shouldn't recognize these artists because "they" won't understand? Shouldn't I just take joy in the win, and not worry about what others think?

I think the conclusion I've come to (momentarily at least) is that this is oddly similar to the controversy surrounding the Cosby Show (they weren't a true representation of a Black American family), and this issue stems from the fact that we have such limited representations of us. However instead of tearing each other down and apart, perhaps we should work more on making sure every facet of our work and talent is celebrated.

What? Too idealistic?? LOL

Thanks for making me think! Great post!

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

MG: we ca never be too idealistic, or else there would have been no Malcom, Frantz Fanon, or me - lol

DramaFree said...

I didn't get to watch the show, but I've heard about it daily (and I do mean daily) ever since.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your comments. Great post.

Rev Island said...

RDB

I saw George on CNN today with his green tie. I wonder what tie he wore on MLK day. It seems like an affinity for the irish as opposed to, well, you know.

E.R. Carpenter said...

The problem is that us black folks need to realize that we are NOT a monolithic race. We are a diverse group of people ranging from Colin Powell, Oprah, Trick Daddy, Mike Tyson, etc. just like white folks are a diverse group of people ranging from George Bush, Jefferey Dahmer, Madonna and Timothy McVeigh. If 3 Six Mafia does their thing on TV, nobody is going to come up to me and ask me to do the same. Nobody is going to say they represent Condoleeza Rice or Oprah either. Just like white people don't care if a rapist on the local TV station is white, we should have that same attitude as long as it doesn't affect our upward mobility. We have to get over worrying about what other people think about us and start worrying about ourselves.

BTW, I'm a fan of 3 Six Mafia, Geto Boys and a lot of other rap groups. I also like Norah Jones and Kelly Clarkson. So what? I don't care what other people think about my tastes. As long as I'm happy with me, that's all that matters.

Emanuel Carpenter
Author of "A Job Ain't Nothing But Work: Confessions of a Corporate Negro"

feels good b n FREE said...

thank u for another perspective!

Anonymous said...

eman u always been true, and lil moma, u welcome - rdb

Anonymous said...

Impressive post. It seems that the bashing amongst black fols is a two way street. The so-called Intelligent black people are now attacking the so-called ignorant black people.

meofbeauty said...

Dr. Stephens! Game recognize game and if you scared say you scared! I have tried to find you to get a reference letter over the years! lol. I was going to say dont read my blog because its quite obscene but Im grown now! I just took my pic off my blog. Ill put it back up shortly. You left a comment on my friends blog and the name rang a bell. Where did all these books come from? Im gonna hafta read up! Anyway just letting you know your efforts at CAU were not wasted. 6 years later I remember you and am doing you proud!

A.u.n.t. Jackie said...

Honestly as an educator in a black community I am shocked that you would bash someone for being an elitist for not seeing your point of view!

We are all different with different points of view. I personally have a strong distaste for the current state of Hip Hop, and it's based on my past experience in both media and life.

As a working professional in Hollywood I think it bears watching that more young people vote for American Idol than for President which means that we as responsible adults should be concerned with images our youth are being fed.

I do my work from the inside, and fight the good fight most everyday in Hollywood. It's not easy and racism is real..

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