Hip Hop and Snake Oil

Once upon a time there was an expressive and grass roots form of music that emerged from the streets of urban areas across America. This music was called hip-hop and its culture was centered on the lyrical mastery of emcees. Now, hip-hop has become a body of phony individuals — mostly male — that prefer to indulge in make believe rhetoric that is fostered by ignorance and a poor understanding of history. One example is the incessant reference to the "Illuminati," a secret and historical organization that many artists have no understanding of or ever read about.

Historically, the word is of Greek origin and was a reference to all who submitted to Christian baptism. Those who were baptized were called "illuminati" or "enlightened ones.” The Alumbrados, a mystical 16th-century Spanish sect, were among the societies that subsequently adopted the name illuminati. Finally, it was employed to represent a secret society founded by Adam Weishaupt who desired to replace religion with rational thought.

In concert with groups like the Council of Rome, the Bilderburgers, and the Trilateral Commission, the illuminati’s single aim was to acquire wealth, power and influence, while developing a "New World” order free of religion. The easiest way to accomplish this goal was via the United States, its Constitution, world wars and world governmental organizations, in order to have total control of global monetary systems.

The query remains how does this concept relate to modern hip-hop music and the artists that proclaim their affiliation with this society? For starters, artists from Waka Flocka to Jay-Z do not understand what illuminati was about. Their knowledge appears to be in the form of metaphorical symbolism. Are these artists atheists socialists, or fascists as the organizations founder, Dr. Weishaupt? Are they working behind the scenes to take over the world secretly, or connected to the Knights Templar?

I suggest they are not. For these artists the term is just a tool to make money. Artists such as Jay-z, Lil Wayne and Nas are merely puppets used by the illuminati. Moreover, the rappers use the Illuminati as a form of snake oil, just to sell more records. The fact is that if you ask any one of them about the history behind the illuminati, they would not be able to tell you jack — maybe with the exception of Tupac Shakur.

no snitiching - the new crack

Drug abuse and addiction have historically been a major problem in minority communities, in particular the African American community. Now, we are confronted with a new addictive behavior that is reminiscent of the impact that crack once held in our neighborhoods. This new addiction is not a substance but a problem behavior that can be coined "no snitching."

On Wednesday, July 28, a 13-year-old boy was gunned down while riding his bike in Chicago. According to witnesses, the gunman stood over the youngster's body and continued to fire into his bleeding body. The victim was an eighth grader named Robert Freeman. The doctor found 22 bullets in the boy's body.

Although detectives have spent days interviewing witnesses, no one has yet provided them with information regarding the murder. Even the appeal of the family, especially from the mother, has yet to produce any leads or suspects — despite the fact that according to reports, there were dozens of youths outside on the street when the murder took place. This is similar to the tragic death of Derrion Albert, the honors student who was beaten to death while walking home from school. No one spoke to police or "snitched" in that case either, and if it were not for cell phone videos, the individuals who were caught would not have been, and to this date, other suspects still have not been apprehended.

Historically, African Americans have a sordid history with law enforcement and aren’t too enthusiastic about working with police. This history was rooted in law enforcement allowing lynch mobs to have their way with black men, mainly in the South during the days of Jim Crow, Reconstruction and segregation. But today what is the excuse?

The truth is that what we see in Chicago and Memphis, Tenn., and many other urban areas around the country is that black youth are murdering each other at a rate that far outpaces anything a bad seed cop could ever do. The idiots who promote this violent ethos — although it is often stated that music doesn't influence kids — are often from the music industry. Rappers who call themselves by names such as Noriega, Al Capone, Rick Ross, and Killa Cam along with a host of others with the name Killa or gangster in their names, do hold some of the blame. Not to mention the many who wear their gang affiliation as a badge of honor, as if it is a college diploma. Some artist have made songs promoting silence in criminal matters, including “Snitches” by Master P and Snoop Dogg and “Snitch” by Lil Wayne. Even NBA star Carmelo Anthony played a role in a video supporting the "don't snitch" movement. And we all remember Busta Rhymes' silence in the death of Israel Ramirez.

Yes, it is true, not snitching is the new crack in our communities and may be leading to the unsolved deaths of our most valuable assets — our youth. It is not snitching if you are simply telling the truth. What is the logic of not telling who murdered a child if you witnessed the killing? Nothing, for only punks and cowards are afraid to tell the truth.

bet they wanna be rappers

It is apparent for me that we have some serious problems in our community. I mean serious, for any time a young man walking home from school can be beaten to death, in day light, while folks watch and think nothing of it, and even video it without considering that said person may need help, or what they are watching is not right, is a true indication that something is amiss in our beliefs and world view.

I have noticed that there is a difference in general behavior when I look and my parents, myself and the present generation. As a father with a 17 year old son, I am proud to have been a part in raising a fine and responsible young man. An honor student, an athlete and a gentlemen is what best describes my son, yet although he has made it to the 12th grade, I still worry and pray that he continues on his path of success with the next pointy of entry being graduation.

Often we fail to see the difference between blame and problem solving in such matters. Fo9r we get defensive and tend to see ourselves in the problems that we are confronted with. Whether it is that we are single parents, or our environments, we forget that the issue is not blame or deflecting blame but solving the problem. It is not difficult for me to discern what the differences are. I can reduce them to one simple area – media influences. My folks didn’t have to deal with television at all and the music, well let us say it was not as graphic and vivid as it was in my day. In contrast, I grew up with 4 channels on television and they went off before midnight, and the music, albeit it was the beginning of hip hop – the lyrical content was mild compared to today.

It is no wonder that we have folks feeling and displaying penchants that evince appropriate behavior as beating someone to death or watching someone getting beat to death without the consideration of helping. I won’t blame this all on parents, for objectively; I know they can’t control the media influences that bombard their children each day of their formative years. And I know folk will say media, or movies or music cannot make a person do something – I agree, but they can impact the way folks think and define personal standards of behavior. For example, I would assert that most African American males currently would have desires to be professional athletes, producers, Dj’s and rappers because of what they see. Not the jobs per say, but rather the fame and avarice and wealth associated with the aforementioned. Especially the music. I bet if I went down the playlist of any top urban radio station – I will see the likes of idiots inclusive of Gucci Mane, Jeezy, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Plies. Songs that contain lyrics espousing staying strapped, shooting folk, fucking ever girl in the world, and having pockets full of money and following ones owns rules.

So understand where I am coming from, and feel my pain as a parent for although Derrion Albert was not my blood, he was my son and I have no problem pointing fingers at the folks above for five to one, the folks who did the beating probably know all the lyrics to your songs more than the formula for slope/intercept and even worse, want to be rappers. The new KKK strikes again so let us bow our head in silence for we still dont know that we are both the hunted and the prey.

wayne's world

I have been writing and wishing that the election of our new president would at least be a form of vicarious stimulation for many a folk to see and appreciate the value of intellect, of knowledge and more importantly of being informed and of the value of reading. Especially as it relate to young African American men and out youth of all races and creed. This is my greatest wish, superseded only by jones getting the economy right and back to par.

Especially since I am reminded that since forever, even the historic Brown versus the Topeka Board of Education, that the education gap between blacks and whites in this country has remained the same and in many cases increased. The case itself was based on understanding the premise of the Segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race, based on state laws requiring such segregation. Marshall argued on my mom’s birthday of December 9, 1952 that such denies to Negro children the equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, in particular as based on "separate but equal" doctrine adopted in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 .

To summarize the case, Black children were denied admission to public schools attended by white children according to their race albeit white and black schools were almost the same with respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications, and teacher salaries. In conclusion the court decided that racial segregation in public education had a “detrimental effect on minority children because it is interpreted as a sign of inferiority.”

Although this case ended segregation based on race, the achievement gap remains. It doesn’t matter if we speak of reading levels or standardized test, very little has changed. With respect to the LSAT for example, using cut-off score of 145, over 60 percent of black applicants will likely be denied admittance to law schools compared to 20 percent of white applicants. Even with respect to the SAT, the average SAT scores of black students in the early 2000s was 857 compared to 1060 for their white confederates.

I know that historically standardized test scores are not an indication of intellect and that they have been historically biased toward non majority students, but they are a barometer or the academic divide irrespective of economic status. When it comes to reading, math and science the gap is consistent across all grade levels. This may be one reason why drop out rates for African Americans are higher and why since the aforementioned Supreme Court Case in 1954, high school dropout rates of blacks has only decreased by about 3% while there has been no significant change noted for whites.

Now the reason I am saying this is because I just read an interview in GQ given by Lil Wayne. Now I know Wayne aint no role model, but the truth is that parents can’t pick and decide who their kids look up too. Although I accept him as a skillful lyricist, I was troubled when I read in his interview “no one can believe what’s written down.” He continued to say “if there was a book that said, there was this bum with a mansion with twenty bitches in it, you’ll try to use it and put it toward real life. That’s why I don’t write nothing down. That’s why I don’t believe the Bible, nothing that’s written, because nothing that’s written is to be believed.” When specifically asked "so you don’t believe in books? His retort was “there is one I read and get information from. The damn dictionary.”

Now I won’t pass judgment on Lil Wayne, but I must say, that I believe and was taught that education was the great equalizer, that if you wanted to hide something from someone of my color to put it in a book. True, I know kids aint reading GQ, but not to call Wayne and idiot, I think to assert that you can’t believe anything that is written is not productive, a representation of not assuming the collective responsibility that all of us, even rappers have to the general community from which they come. We all cannot be as fortunate to have our bodies tattooed like a national geographic map, or the gold from mines in South Africa in our mouths, or diamonds from Sierra Leone on our necks. But that’s Wayne’s World, not mine.

Denouement

I first came across the word denouement in a 7^th grade honors English class. It was really part of a program in the Memphis Public Schools called CLUE (Creative Learning in a Unique Environment). Don’t know why they asked me to be in it, by the 8^th grade I got kicked out for playing paper football and reading comic books, but I think what got them was when I did a Book Report on Valley of the Dolls – any who.

The word is a French word meaning "unwinding," and supposedly refers to the outcome or result of a complex situation or sequence of events, an aftermath or resolution that usually occurs near the final stages of the plot of a novel and normally occurs or starts after the climax is over. For me, it occurs only after all the conflicts have been resolved.

I wanted to use this word to describe my present sentiments about me and mine, my community that is for it is almost reflective of a tragic story, like The Princess De Cleves by Madame de Lafayette or Rameau's Nephew by Denis Diderot or even my own A Matter of Attention, which is about a writer who tries to figure about what it is about writing that he loves so much when he makes no money from it. Such to the extent that he feels he has to select the Love of his life (Margarita) or his writing, which to him is more loving than any woman could be.

The way I see, many of us have lost our ways, whether it is the person who is too lazy to work hard for a small few and select to sell drugs for quick profits or the woman that wants to take off her clothes for men for a green piece of paper. Whether it is a teacher in our school system that spend more time on what she or he will wear and in Lennox Mall than the Library. Or even those that cannot abide by the adage of doing unto others as they would like other to do unto themselves. Regardless, we have a problem for in reality many of us fail to realize that a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.

We have lost our way, and I aint no preacher nor am I a prognosticator, but just a regular man who cannot compass when we started to loose our way. It is as if the fortitude for lying is more acceptable than being honest and telling the truth. Or that fake images mean more than evincing a sever depiction for other to know or learn about us. I mean in music and movies, this is so vivid. We admire the oleaginous flow of a TI or as Lil Wayne but yet do not take them to task for glorifying infidelity, personal responsibility and having the common sense and decency to evaluate the impact of their messages under the guise of the beat being funky or they just making money. We don’t tolerate the same irresponsibility of George Bush, but we can from folks who in action are just as foul and dangerous to our understanding of communal value. No wonder the family and lack of respect for such is rampant. We expect our mates to love our children as we do after a failed relationship yet will not do the same, for if they are not our children we hold disdain. We expect for people to love us unconditionally yet we cant or don’t love ourselves enough to know or understand love. I see why the Native Americans could not come to agreements or treaties with the white men of the era for they did not practice what the preached and were dishonest. We say family is important but the truth is it is not. especially for us men who place running the streets over calling or being with or kids, or those women who would prefer to place their feelings over their children and use them as pawns.

So, I guess I will close and say. We need to look at how we contribute to dissonance in chaos in our own minds and hearts and stop blaming other for what we do and don’t practice ourselves. In this novel, the one we all are involved in, is at its Denouement, and one of a very crappy E Lynn Jerome Dickey Tyree Novel if you asked me – my 2 cents

PS: Bags are in. you Like?

side bar: KG deserves a ring.

microphone, excuse me studio gangstas

Cooked Jambalaya last night with ground Italian sausage. Can you say yum yum eattum up? My son can ,three bowls worth, and me likewise, same number too. But lil momma, she didn’t want any and instead wanted Pistachio’s and Cereal. So I gave it to her.

But before we got home, had to pick little daddy up from baseball practice. He gets in the car and changes the radio station. I had it on NPR. The first song that cam up was Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop.” And two seconds had not passed before little momma started to sing the hook. Before I could tell him, he changed the station to Radio Disney, and she got plain right upset.

I always listen to NPR or RADIO Disney When she was in the car. I mean if I get in and NPR is on she straight, but if Visa Versa, I am at a loss until the next time we get in vehicle. What cut was she knew lollipop (even though she knew hat word well already) and juicy.

Now I know everybody got DIRT BEHIND THEIR EARS, thus the name of my latest book. I also believe in artistic freedom and expression. But I also acknowledge must be acted upon in an accordance with reason and personal responsibility. I got no problem with little Wayne making what he creates, but I do think I have the right to call folk a dumb ass fuck boy if he does not consider the state of urban radio, our schools and violence in the general community or that criminal behavior is not a positive identity to promote. Yea, it is fiction, but considering the aforementioned, a man that doesn’t even attempt to control what he submits or releases to a radio station that kids mainly listen to, and who places money over all else as a rationale for doing such, one has to call it like they see it.

Personally, I have never been, claimed or known thugs or gangsters. A few felons maybe, but none of the previous. See we valued education and such a self-proclamation tells folk that you foul, selfish, and really aint about making money as you say. Personally I have never been to prison and am proud of such. I give the credit, maybe to my brain cells and thought. Nobody I knew wore a lot of jewelry, drove a fancy car, or tossed around and flashes loot (in particular in an attempt to impress some broad or dame, since only broads or dames are impressed with such – women have their own). Folks just realized you can’t make money in jail or prison and that telling you a thug or gangster will get you there. But I guess talent alone aint enough, and that bravado is required. Just ask Akon, who felt that his talent wasn’t enough and needed to say that he was convicted, sent to prison from term 1999 and 2002 and facing 75 years. Truth was he stole a Bimer, got hemmed up, and the prosecutor dropped all charges without serving a day of time.

What makes it so bad is I heard a taped interview with T.I. (should be TOO Ignorant) and he never accepted responsibility for the image he depicts. Instead he blamed TV’s without indicating that he made media for TV’s, which content he can control’s if he KNOWS such. He blamed high school in the ATL for not letting him speak to students (I don’t know why, unless they do not think he is sincere). He didn’t even admit that he may have been part of the problem, I mean aint we all. I like the music of all TI, Wayne and Akon. See I consider my self a scholar and a father first not an idiot, rapper, banker or none of that. I am what I am and proud. However, I cannot tolerate folks not accepting their responsibility to the community as a man. And I shole don’t tolerate microphone, excuse me, studio gangsters to avoid their responsibility. I say leave the gangster to Al Capone and Meyer Lansky, its unbecoming, but at least thee latter dressed well and wore belts. And no, im not hatting even though they kust as bad as the KKK.



My book release party will be held at the M-Bar - April 24, 2008 from 7 to 10pm
257 Peters Street, Atlanta, Ga 30311- phone: 404 523 1555

bling 4 a king

I am not ashamed to say it but to me, most folk who seek fame over character have little or no integrity and low self-esteem. This is particularly true by my speculation for entertainers and athletes.

Many of us know that we are in a very different era in America. For the first time, a man that looked like me is being honored via a memorial in Washington, DC and his name is Martin King Jr. I look very highly at Dr. King, not only for his astuteness as a scholar, or the fact that he is like myself, an alumnus of Morehouse College, or even his letter from a Birmingham jail, but because with all of is faults, he was a man of character and integrity.

People say that we need to support the memorial to Dr. King and I agree. They are holding concerts and asking for loot left and right. I just don’t know why it is so hard for us to get the loot we need with all of this so-called new money in our community. So I just say this as a challenge. I Mean, I would like for folks to show me they aint fuck boys and want to be gangsters. So this is to you, TI, Lil Wayne, 50 cents, Nelly, Young Joc and Young Jeezy – represent like men do for what is great and what is right. Give up your chains and bracelets or at least one for the King. What’s the matter, are you to selfish to give up some bling for the king? So represent, or continue to risk nobody’s like me calling yawl fuck boys. And that’s what yawl are, if you don’t stand for the betterment of our historical legacy as opposed to being greedy and selfish.