Black Girl Lost

Prop 1:

I heard about it. Saw it on 20/20 or some-show similar. Something about the effects of Evangelical Christendom on West Africa. Perhaps, perhaps not. But at the end of the day, the result was the same: Sisters lightening their skin. I was like "Damn. This is like 199x." And here the devil was up to his old tricks, still catching Black people out there. Serving self-hate in a bottle.

But for real-for real... watching it... there was this sense of... that's over there. You know the whole dual consciousness thing. Seeing Black people. Acknowledging that they're Black. But at the same time holding something back because who besides Michael Jackson wants to be white! So sitting back in 199x, watching that shit, I rationalized, and those Africans became "dem niggas over there" because they were nothing like these niggas right here.

Then again...

In the inbetween time from that day in 199x to December 16, 2005 I have borne witness to Lil' Kim, Destiny's Child, Wendy Williams, varying video "vixens", bleached skinned West Africans and I have to ask the question, "What's up with Black women?"

"Good and bad hair... Good and bad hair" was the chorus sung in Spike Lee's School Daze. And what made it funny and easier to enjoy was that I, hopefully we, could sit back and say "Yeah. it used to be like that."

Growing up, my Mother had an Afro. A big one. It extended from her face like the rays of the sun. You know light travels in waves, right? Saturday mornings or afterschool, Black girls on steps braiding each others hair- now that's really hood! True, perms and other forms of straightnin' have been around and will stay around. But natural was preferred and respected, because even if it was permed it was still yours and that made it ok. We had come a long you and I. Black is beautiful, Black Pride, I'm Black and I'm proud (say it loud!)... I'm talking about the Black women's lack of confidence in her looks.

I think it started when the Black Man became a sex symbol. Denzel was the world's sexiest man. Remember that? White women drooling over Michael Jordan. When D'Angelo's last album came out. The writer called him "sex on a stick". Sex on a stick? 50 years ago he would have been lynched for that! And the hits keep coming... Fresh Prince, Tupac, Kobe, Nelly, Andre3K, 50Cent, Pharell... Niggaz have gone international! Back in the day, Black men were the exclusive property of Black women. However, globalization has brought the original man into the sight lines of white, Asian, and Latino women. In a real way. Its weird. When I was in high school there was this unspoken divide. The racial lines were drawn and highly respected. That girl over there was cute and that's about how far it went. Yeah, you had the occasional Black-Latino cross-pollination, but now? All you can eat baby, believe it. And where has that left Black women? Hanging. Figuring out how to stay in the game. So metaphoricaly speaking we have Little Kim, buying a nose, boobies, lips and God knows what else. Destiny's Black Child Lost Beyonce is so Barbi-fied that in some photos I can barely tell if she's Black. Maybe that's the most nefarious point. To make Black women as "white" as possible in order to reflect white women as well as Black. So Beyonce can sell to Shameeka in Southeast DC as well as Britany in Provo. To TJ in Detroit and Luke in Spokane, because white men don't really like Black women. What they want is Barbie. Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson, you know... Barbie. How can a Sister be Barbie? So, Oprah rocks hair pieces. Eve and Mary J. rock the Rupunzelle (spellcheck). And the Williams sisters are the Williams sisters. Then when I'm on the self check out line at the store, colored lens of green, light brown, and blue stare at me from the cover of so-called "Black hair" mags. Skin powdered white, bright red lips, too much blush... it's a sick sad joke. "Good and bad hair..." Even Lauren Hill rocks a John, Paul, Ringo, George mop-top. Miseducated indeed. There was an optimism with Vanessa Williams and Halle Berry. But there's a caveat. In reality they're no different than Mariah and if they were a little lighter then maybe they'd be Mariah. And how is this manifested in the every day? Look around you tell me. And time will tell us all.

... Maybe that's the most nefarious point. To make Black women as "white" as possible in order to reflect white women as well as Black. So Beyonce can sell to Shameeka in Southeast DC as well as Britany in Provo. To TJ in Detroit and Luke in Spokane...

Salam

Philadelphia's own... Bad Guy

Prop2 (originally posted December 6)

He’s too cocky. He talks too much. He should learn to keep his mouth shut. If you’re really that good, your talent will speak for itself. He is a distraction. He’s all about himself and not the team. He’s a head case. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

Of course this entry refers to the 50 Cent of football, the guy everyone loves too hate, Terrell Owens. If you have not heard, due to his shenanigans on the field, off the field, and making his discontent with the Philadelphia Eagles organization very public, Terrell Owens is suspended from all team activities, including games and practice. Too harsh of a punishment, possibly; is it justified, definitely. Terrell Owens and the Philadelphia Eagles was a match made in hell, from the start. On one end there is a brash player with the talent to assist in his swagger with no remorse and an organization known for not giving in to the players. They both knew what they were getting themselves into, so oh well, oh well. Still, break out the magnifying glass and let’s see what we can find here.

Here’s a brief list of Owens’s antic:

2000: After scoring a touch down, Owens then with the San Francisco 49ers, runs to midfield of Texas Stadium and poses on the Star logo of the Dallas Cowboys.

2002: On Monday Night Football, pulls out a marker from his sock and signs the ball, then tosses it into the stands.
-After scoring a touch down, Owens borrows pom-poms from a cheerleader and dancing in the end zone. Also, that year, he criticized then Coach Steve Mariucci (San Francisco 49ers) for opting to let the clock run out, instead of continuing the assault.

2004: Traded to the Eagles and wasted no time, berating Donovan McNabb much to the delight of the cameras; always waiting for another Owens moment.

2005: Calls out team and quarterback yet again, has a fistfight with his coach, asks for more money, and now serves a season long suspension

So what is the big deal, he is one of the top three receivers in the NFL and he comes to play every day, regardless of injury or fatigue. He just tends to brag a little bit. Well, the first problem, this IS football, not basketball or baseball. These players are “warriors” and the game plays like a battlefield. There is no room for boisterous behavior or ego, everyone person on the field has a part to play for the TEAM to win. Football is the working men sport, the blue collar, put your nose to the grindstone, and get the job done type of sport; which fits right at home in Philadelphia and their football franchise; a sport, a franchise and a city that does not take kindly to a prima-donnas. Think about it, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, and Joe Horn. The Eagles hung TO out to dry, yet, none of his fellow players so much as raised an eyebrow. If this were any other sport, the player association would jump up and defend TO from a fate worse than down time. Take note, the age of the tactless player is coming to a close. Personal and/or public antics deemed detrimental, will no longer be tolerated in sports. Perhaps, it did start with the NBA dress code.

T.O

Prop 1 (originally posted December 6)

The story is finally over and it can said with some certainty...
TO is a helluva ballplayer but he's not very bright.

His first agent falls asleep at the switch and he misses the free agency filing deadline. A dummy move unprecedented in the annals of pro sports especially when he was dying to get out of SF. I mean calling his qb gay in the press, cursing out coaches on national TV dying to get out. Remember this back in 2004? Not his fault? Ok. Bad agent? Alright. So he fires his agent, hires a new one and a judge sets him free. Happy he signs with Baltimore. Cool. But then he thinks about it and backs out, dissing the [Baltimore] Ravens in the process. Not cool. So he pulls out another legal maneuver and signs again, but this time with Philly. In interviews he's gushing all over McNabb (kiss-kiss-kiss-kiss). All good right? Not so fast. Union Prez Gene Upshaw told the man, told him, Philly was giving him a bum deal, he said he understood and took it anyway. One legendary
Super Bowl performance later and all was forgiven. The hating, the nut-behavior, the "sharpie"... as if it never happened. Terrell Owens is a Hall-of-famer, now!

You know. I could re-hash the last couple of months. That would be easy. Right up to Arlen Specter's talking about bringing TO's case to the senate floor. But at the end of the day, more can be learned from his mistakes, and they are at least the following:

1. Philly sports fans like their [Black] athletes quiet. None of this rabble rouser new negros showin out stuff. Get in line ni&&@! Dick Allen (Phillies), Charles Barkley, AI, each Black, talented and very, very loud all had problems in the city of Brotherly Love. Bad fit TO.

2. Football is not basketball. Pro Football got it's start in the coal mines, factories and steel mills of Pennsylvania and Ohio. A tough, no nonsense, shut-up and do as your told world. TO's primadonna is out of step.

3. TO signed a contract. Philly had no reason to re-negotiate. They held all the cards and had his name written in blood. The League let him out of his first deal with the Ravens and perhaps he was naive enough to think they'd let him out of this one too. Psyche.

4. The Eagles are cheap. History has shown that Philly does not pay their players and TO was under contract. What did he expect?

5. TO signed a 50 million dollar contract. 50 million?!! He gets no sympathy from the average fan. None.

6. Bombs, end-arounds, the blitz... football has strong military roots. The military is about a group thinking and acting as one. Football works much the same way. It's about the team. TO has earned the reputation of someone who doesn't care about "team". Lookin' bad for the Black man.

At the end of the day, it's like I said in the beginning, he should have signed with B-More. True he wouldn't have had a QB, but it was a better environment for him, which is why I suspect he signed with Philly. He looked at the Eagles and saw a SF clone, a team he could mentally and physically dominate. In Baltimore, on the other hand, there's Ray "Murder", Ed Reed, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Brown, Jamal Lewis (served time), Deion Sanders, a GM who was a hall-of-fame player and a head coach who coached Randy Moss. Plus since the Ravens won the 2002 super bowl they weren't desperate for his services like Philly was who couldn't seem to get over the proverbial hump. Perhaps he saw Philly as an enabler, as easy and this was perhaps his biggest mistake. In the Qu'ran God says that God will never change a people until they themselves change.

Time for TO to change

The League Dress Code: Racist or just Good Business

Prop2 (originally posted November 11)

The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this. ~Mark Twain


The first time I heard about the possible dress code of the NBA during the summer, the first thing I said was, “About time.” Great for business, enough of these knuckle heads running around, missing practice and jumping into the stands attacking the fans. I don’t see any harm in a league that has a majority of Black men ditching the off-court jerseys, baggy jeans/sweat pants, and the all and all ‘hood outfit and following the lead of Mr. Shawn Carter, a crisp pair of slacks and button ups. Some people believe D Stern attempts to “clean-up,” is really an attempt to bleach a league becoming too “ethnic”. Others say the majority of these players barely finish high school and neglect further socialization that usually occurs in college; thus the dress code will assist in that process of learning how to conduct oneself as a professional. Let’s look a little deeper.

With players having kids to feed (like Mr. Sprewell), having issues with going to practice (after all, it’s just practice), attacking fans, coaches, and each other, I’m surprised Stern took so long. According to him, fans long for the good ole days of Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Isaiah. While games did turn physical, players always conducted themselves in a professional manner, attire and all. In addition, the league all ways had their bad guys, Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Charles Barkley, and Greg Anthony to name a few. Even they found themselves in professional dress during and after their careers; it was time to grow up. Today, players behave as though they are going to play in the park. The National Basketball Association is a business, an institution. People and businesses are paying the salary of these players and, Surprise, the customers happen to resemble the power structure. So not only are the Allen Iversons affected but that goes for the Steve Nashs as well. If D Stern says the job description has changed, then you (the players) must follow suit (ha ha). If you refuse, then feel free to find another job that will pay a salary of over a million dollars and will not require a dress code.

Now for the power structure and their rules and regulations:

I seriously doubt people have a problem with players changing their attire from the hip-hop thug and dirty white boy look to official business attire. However, when you sit down and examine some of the proposed changes toward dress, it forces people to stop and think. Is it by coincidence some of the proposed changes effect the majority of the Black-American players? A couple of years ago, during All-Star weekend, D Stern welcomed the evening’s entertainment and told TNT how the NBA embraces the hip-hop culture. Mr. Stern soon discovered he embraced the good, the bad, and the ugly of hip-hop culture. In addition, there is an assumption, all Black players identify with hip-hop culture. Exactly what is being regulated and why? After last year’s brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, the world got a good glimpse of what the League wants to regulate, a big angry Black man from attacking a helpless white fan. In addition, to sex scandals and other questionable activity, D Stern hopes to, at least on the surface, polish the image of the NBA and its’ players. Does this change how the fans, the media views these players? Not At All!

When the clock hits triple zero, wearing a suit or anything else will not change anything. The presumption, “The clothes make the man,” and the rooted presumptions about Black people are at odds here, and who do you think is going to give?

The NBA Dress Code

Prop 1 (originally posted November 2)

Yes. The NBA dress code is racist. I said THE NBA DRESS CODE IS RACIST. But wait. Who's the racist? The league? The owners? The commissioner? No it's the white fans. Not all fans of course or even any. It's just the league playing to their perceived, almost inherent racist potential. Let's think out loud for a second.

What about a dress code for baseball, NASCAR, or golf? No. Not needed you say. But the NBA needs it. I guess it's the same way that a white guy, country or not, rocking a confederate flag is a racist. Hmmmm. "No. He's just repping his southern pride and you're a PC (politically correct) Nazi." Diamonds are forever except when they adorn the neck of a BlackMan. Then it becomes thug-wear. And when did gaudy jewelry, corn-rows, and expensive cars become "thug"? The thugs were a group in India who terrorized the Indian country-side many, many years ago. Thugs are criminals. Now it's a Rap thing. How did that happen? Oh that's right. Tupac made it so. Thanks Pac. Back to the "flag", but notice how the rednecking of America is cool. NASCAR, Larry the cable guy, Wal-Mart, Fox News, country music, the Bible-belt and that whole "fly over state's revenge" mentality. And yet the Klan hasn't made it on the terror watch list. How come I'm not surprised.

So to address societies ills and inequities DeeStern implements a dress code. Ain't that some sugarhoneyicedtea! Maybe it's because he's jewish. And being jewish he's senistive to perception. Dress the part, act the part and if that doesn't work be the part. But that will never work for us, though some have and continue to try, nor will it work for them, if they only knew. It's a strange relationship Blacks and jews. They see us, and our racial struggles, in them. So they become our advocates and in some sense help themselves. And similarly we see us in them. However, the two have never been further apart. Afterall, they have bigger fish to fry in the middle east and we have come to resent their abandonment and see them as fair weather friends, who have eaten and gotten fat on our shine. Either way. There's DeeStern left to the unenviable task of playing middle man between Black and white. DeeStern with that patrician air, reigning supreme over an almost all-Black league, and hasn't he earned it. Remember the Niggerbockers? Now, the NBA has gone international and two years in the league gets a player the league minimum for life. What's that, a mill? And for those of us who work that's crazy! Don't you just seeeee the hate coming? Can't you feel it? And who funds this league prosperity by paying ridiculously high ticket prices? Fans. And they're mostly white. Over 80 percent. The inverse of the league population break down. Funny, I never noticed that before. And the consumer has rights. Especially this consumer, who can have NetFlix delivered to his home, watch porn on the internet, play PS-3 and XBox360, and wait to Hi-Def is a reality, then it's a wrap! And this consumer is empowered like none before. So this consumer demands the right to perception. And haven't they earned that right? The right to white-flight, the right to FoxNews, to Bush and the boys, and the right to white return (see Harlem, Brooklyn, DC). Afterall, haven't we as Black people, with a little help from media, given them those rights, along with monthly bills to LoJack and Brinks. They listen while their kids sing the lyrics to Lil Kim and 50Cent, and they think twice just like we do. And they see urban schools and crime just like we do. And while they saw Katrina, and perhaps were sickened by what they saw. They're also like. "Look. I'm just a fan."

NFL players wear helmets and only the blind, deaf and dumb deny the Blackness of the NBA. And with this Blackness comes the good and the bad, but all of it is beautiful. So in the end, DeeStern threw them a bone and everyone can make believe it's not 2005. Just like those elections in Iraq. Fantasy is Reality. But beware this conservative path and consider deeply the words of Thomas Jefferson when he said "If there is a God... one day we're going to pay for this." And on that day, there are no more fans, because everybody plays.

But of course there's a silver lining.
I was checking Mr. Tony (Kornheiser) the other day on 980, and he made an excellent point. He was like this dress code could be a boon for the league. NBA-players are fashion plates and define cool, so Armani, Ralph and the boys would pay top-dollar to have players rock their wares. I could see it now.

Reporter: Shaq, great game. By the way what are you wearing?
The Big Fashionista: Suit by Armani. Watch by Gucci.
Reporter: And those shoes?
TBF: Freshly copped at Harrods.

Gettin' Money!

And it don't stop...

Prop2

This is not about popularity or the people we believe meant something to the art. This does not have the most talented nor does it have anything to do with the age-old debate hip-hop versus commercialized rap. The names on this list are the people that have affected hip-hop culture as it stands today. The credit/blame hangs on the heads of these people:

Grandmaster Flash
Flash turned the turntables into an instrument. He understood the party and his records ready made for the “Park Jam,” His sole purpose, to get you to move your feet. Thus the sometimes overwhelming need and desire to party in hip-hop. Doesn't matter who did it better, doesn't matter who did it worse; He did it First!

Rakim: “I can take a phrase that’s rarely heard; flip it, now it’s a daily word.” The R is the type of MC everyone before him wanted to be, and what everyone after him trys to live up to. Too bad he set the standard to high and you know how niggas feel about high standards.

BDP: “The Bridge is Over, The Bridge is Over. Biddy Bye Bye!”
They are the only crew that can make song calling out a whole borough and have that same borough bouncing to it. On their first album they recorded two songs going at the hottest group in the game at the time, the Juice Crew. All the "gangsters" in the game got their moniker from KRS-One and Scott La Rock New York City's first Bad Guys.

Salt-n-Pepa “Sexy, Smart, Independent and your moms would love’em”
I really had to think about this one. If you ask around some may put MC Lyte as being the first female lyricist or Queen L-A-T-I-F-A-H because of her, I am woman hear me roar style. However, Cheryl James and Sandy Denton did not need to justify themselves as MCs by adopting a tomboyish look; they did not need to scream to the crowed they are women so respect them, nor did they need to validate their womanhood, it was already understood. Lauryn Hill tried to revive that image; however, her efforts were over come by the Queen Bitches, Ill Na Na, Baddest Bitches and Pit bulls in skirts.

Brand Nubian
1 of the distinguishing parts hip-hop, New York hip-hop in particular, was the dress code. Flash and Bambataa adopted the rock attire, leather and metal. After that Run DMC, LL Cool J, and BDP introduced everyday clothes scene only in the Five Boroughs. The early nineties ushered a group of young men from New Rochelle who understood New York style, original. In addition, their sound laced with Five-Percent ideology was easy on the ears. The nature cats/backpack crew had to re-think their strategy, style of music and their style of dress. Hey, just because you scream fight the power doesn’t mean you have to look like a refugee.

OutKast "We movin up like elevators.."
To any person or group that has dreams of making it in the rap game, follow Andre 3000 and Big Boi. They originally spoke exclusively to a southern audience, then to the nature cats/backpackers, and finally to the world. They did this all by sticking to there own style of music; no one else can do what they do. They adopted their own style in a hip-hop world of fitted baseball caps, oversized jerseys,and scarface worship. (Say Thank you Mr. West)

Redman
The class clown of hip-hop. Any track he has rhymed on, more than once, he forced the listener to rewind the track and ask, “What the hell did he just say?” One of the few MCs whose sound resembles the lost art of true freestyle, hard lyrics with humor, spawned MCs like Ludacris and Eminem.

LL Cool J: The first male sex symbol in hip-hop. For all of you rappers out there that has ever made a love song, or a ghetto love song, taken of a shirt for the ladies while performing, while holding on to his “street credibility" i.e. Ja Rule, 50, Nelly, say “Thank you Mr. Smith.” Indirectly, he made it okay to were pink. How? Cool J took off his shirt and made love songs the same reason most of you dudes wear pink, because the chicks like it. Still don’t think LL has credibility? Over 20 years in the game has yet to lose a battle and and still gets respect.

The Mixtape
Before the days of the Freestyle Friday, Smack DVDs, and The Morning show “Roll-call”, there were mixtape shows that aired late, late, late night on 98.7 (I think). In a world where hip-hop was nothing more than a fad, the mixtape (show) was the platform for MCs to stay sharp. If you didn’t, there was always someone ready to take the top spot. The mixtape show forced MCs to revamp, remix, re-think their rhymes before anyone heard them. So you had to WRITE your rhymes and READ them. However, very few of you do that now thanks to…

Jay-Z
Yep! Young Hova, Shawn Cater. Had the potential to be one of the best to touch a mic. However, his abuse of his skill to memorize his rhymes and public declaration of dumbing down his lyrics so the people could understand him inspired a generation of MCs not to write; this marked the death of the MC

The GodFather's of HipHop

Prop 1:

When the final page is turned on this thing we call Hip-Hop the credit or blame (Ha-ha) will be ultimately clear. However, lacking future 20-20 all we have is the now. Therefore, henceforth (a nod to my late calculus prof Mrs. Exum) the rhetorical question is put forth: Who is responsible for this mess?
Herc? Rush? Dre? Flash? Non-cipher! That's too easy. But for real party people what aspect of today's Rap reflects the original Hip-Hop essence of a "Park Jam"? And what is Dre's contribution, not to the history of Rap because that's obvious, but from a scholarly approach, to the culture as a whole? Or more specifically on how we, it's fans and creators, process and produce Rap as of October 7 2005. So to answer the question... I put on my thinking cap, affixed my digital cable to MTV2 and MTVJams because BET sucks and came up with the following. Enjoy.

-ONYX -Queens foursome and infamous pseudo gangsters. Did the DefJam thing and mixed rock NYHC punk with HipHop. The result? Club rowdy-ness, angry faces and stage diving- the precursor to Crunk. For reference, check the video for the 1993 hit Slam!

-Afrika Bambata/Jazzy J -Synth big beats, see Mannie Fresh, Bass Music, and Crunk.

-BDP- Just-Ice was the first HipHop gangsta, but it didn't stick. Schoolly D did PSK. But BDP's first album Criminal Minded changed the game! Take notes class. They had grenades and guns on the album cover and talked about the "Girlies are free cause the crack cost money" and blasting cats with a 9mm. The "gangsta" rap persona starts here. And this is from the same vegan, Nellie-hating, Mister positive hip-hop himself-KRSOne.

The Source-There was the RapSheet, RapPages but the Source stuck. Nothing like a white/Ivy League pedigree. Influence: Gave "Hip-Hop" a shape and defined it for many, on a global scale. Too bad it sucks now. Good Lookin' Benzino.

-EazyE-When he heard the song "South Bronx" by BDP, Easy was inspired to rep his hood, "Compton". And he kept reppin' it "Compton", "C-P-T", "South Central" ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Contribution: Inspired other cities to take pride in where they "...come from" and all of a sudden NYC took a back seat to LA as Rap's cultural leader. And although the displacement was temporary NYC has never quite regained it's once preeminent role.

-BigDaddyKane- Dark skinned men were not, I repeat not sexy until Kane! The brother single-handedly changed the way we as Black people look at ourselves.

-Lil' Shake- Who? Little Shake! During the height of the NYCBreakdancing era (circa '82-84) the top poppers or boogiers were Shake Master, Active and Lil Shake. Lil Shake battled Shake Master for the name and after beating "Big" Shake took the name Shake. Shake was HipHop's first name "dancer" and chereographer and can be seen doing his thing in Taylor Dayne (Tell it to my heart), BFats, Guy (Groove Me), Johnny Kemp (Just got paid) and RunDMC (Pause). His contribution? He was the first to incorporate or re-incorporate poppin' into hip hop. In the late 80's Shake, DeeRoc, and Shake's brother Lose (TC5 for the graff heads) would be in clubs and on world tours (Guy) mixing poppin' and hip-hop and doing it extra large! Now it's everywhere from Little X videos to IPod commercials. Thanks Shake.

-Ultramagnetics-The song "EgoTrippin" inspired DeLaSol. Who begat TribeCalledQuest. Who begat OutKast. Dubbed the "Future Kids" by ChuckD they achieved a level of lyrical and musical sophistication approached by DeLaSol and unmatched since. CedG did the beats for BDP's Criminal Minded and one can hear their production influence on songs by Dre (California Luv) and PE (Rebel without a pause). They were also the games most disrespectful calling out Slick Rick, LL and RunDMC while they were in their primes. Shouts out to Kool Keith (aka Dr.Octogon), CedG, TR Luv, and DJ MoeLuv.

-GrandMasterVic-The creator of the "blend tape". Vic was the inspiration for the mixtape generation from Capri to Clue to Green Lantern. Back in like 84 a Vic tape was a status symbol. At $40 a pop, the "Rising to the top" beat was the soundtrack to the infamous FatCat, SupremeTeam and Corely crack crews of South Jamaica Queens. Vic defined, orignated, and perfected the R&B vocals over hip-hop beats- hence the name "blend"- which came to light on Mary J's first album courtesy of then Queens resident Prince Markie Dee and was then jacked by Puffy and his clones.

-ATribeCalledQuest "We got the jazz video"- First "two videos in one" video (e.g. Lloyd Banks "On Fire/Warrior video)

-Luke and the 2LiveCrew- Rappin about sex over chest crushing bass in a Strip Club while scantilly clad women shake that ass and tits! aka- Southern Hip-Hop

MCHammer- Made rap safe for Madison Ave.

Damn that's like 12! Three more...

Fab5Freddy-Rick Rubin gets the obvious credit but it was Fred who first brought together two musical genres and worlds separated at the time by a very real racial schism.
Puffy-Brought Hollywood hedonism to hip-hop
Suge-Inspired legions of NYC gangsters to seek hip-hop (extortion) gold from NY to LA and all points in between.

Down in the Bayou

Prop2 (originally posted September 26)

When the water evaporates, when the fires are extinguished, and real estate is rebuilt; after American citizens return home to Louisiana and Mississippi, what does the future hold? Trust is very fragile. In the eye of the storm, citizens of New Orleans were confident their local, state, and federal government would help them. Why would they believe anything different? When the towers fell in New York City… wait maybe that’s not a good example. NYPD and FDNY as hard as they did try, were unprepared, ill-equipped, (malfunctioning equipment) and misinformed (some information that a huge plane is heading toward your city) in their attempts to save lives, (still no one knows what really happened). Well at least, the mayor of New York, no… all he did was walk around with a construction hat on and called it helping the people, (looked more like a contractor looking over what to do with newly cleared property). Well at least they can expect some type of substantial relief, although that has yet to be seen. 9/11 families have yet to see any significant compensation after losing loved ones. I’m using the towers falling in New York as an example, when this country had to defend itself, more so its citizens, we become expendable, with no explanation. What makes the events in La so deep; there was no bomb threat, a plane flying into a structure, nor did two 80-story buildings collapse. Mother Nature kicked the hell out of America. The only thing our government had to do was perform. When it our government can not, does not perform, simple questions like, who, what, when, where, why, and how, must be answered

Well the “what, when, and where” are simple, at the end of the month of August, a huge hurricane nearly wiped an entire US city, New Orleans, LA, off the map. In an effort to save lives, the local and state governments attempted to evacuate its citizens. However, some decided to stay behind. During the six days before “help” arrived, the city of New Orleans had to fend for itself, looting and all. When it all was said and very little done, Why didn’t they leave when they were told? Flat out, most people could not, Black and white alike. Most of these people had not left the neighborhood let alone the city. Generations occupied some of those houses; the house itself is an heirloom.

History lesson:
What is the significance of these actions, or lack there of happening in Louisiana? Well, Louisiana is the home of segregation. 1890, Louisiana passes a law that requires Black Americans to ride in train cars separate from white passengers. Six years later, Plessy v Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court legalized segregation.

In the birth place of segregation, the world saw the lasting legacy of a problem that has NEVER been solved; only pacified. Integration laws, “Black faces” managing companies, holding positions in government in addition to amassing wealth through other means (mainly entertainment), affirmative action, and other forms of “hand outs,” dampen the desire and the need for change. Instead everyone(NAACP, The “new” Black Panther party, Urban League, the Nation of Islam, all Christian groups, all fraternities and sororities, Robert Johnson, Deborah Wright (Carver), Russell Simmons, and any Black business owners) sits back and expects our Government to save the day. How can the government help you when don’t care to help yourself? Individually, many gave generously and continue to help out, but why continue on your own? Has it ever dawned on anyone that these individuals can create for New Orleans collectively? Provide for these displaced families collectively? Wait, I forgot, those days are long gone. So to all companies and individuals donating to Katrina relief… Donate, by all and any means donate. But when all resources are collected, who is going to have the finally say over your money and what it is used for? How much juice do you really have?

New Orleans: Oprah, Kanye, and Black People

Prop 1(orignially posted September 18)

To say it's all about race is to miss the point.

Perspective.
After the anger. After the fire. Data. Information. Knowledge.Wisdom. Perspective.
It has to be more than race. Race is too easy. "It's because they were Black!" However, the official American line screams denial "It's class!" With an arrogance that suggests to believe otherwise would be far to the left of the mainstream. The great compassionate conservative finger waving super power- America, afterall is better than that. "Race" is a program on PBS aired during Black, excuse me, African-American History Month. "That was in the past" they say. "Look how far we, as a country, have come", they say. In school, the lesson on MLKing ended in 1964 with the signing of the Civil Rights Act. But he died in 1968. As if he spent the last four years of his life... chillin'. To the contrary he sought power. Talking about 'Nam. Talking about economics. Poor People's March... then they killed him. X also sought power. And they killed him. So perhaps it's in our DNA that we want the money and the fame. Big car. Big house. Big jewels. The trappings of power without the real thing. Too scared to seek the real thing. Now how does this relate to what went down during Hurricane Katrina?

What I-you-we saw was what happens when a person or people lacks power. No juice. Israel has a problem? Line up the media and the money from Hollywood to Neo-con DC. Israel gets what it needs. Why is Hamas a global threat, part of the war on terror, but groups like the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka isn't? Is it fathomable that if a natural disaster hit VP Cheyney's home-state of Wyoming there would have been a Katrina-like response? Don't drink the Kool-Aid! When Bush finally touched down he went to the reddest of the red states Mississippi and Alabama, while he passed over New Orleans, Louisiana. Three states equally broke, but Haley Barbour, former RNC chair, is the governor of Miss.. Power. To have power is not a bad thing. Black people, urban Blacks especially, are feared, (e.g. "Don't rob me" "Don't shoot me" "Don't break into my home and rape me") (Question: Who do the people in trailer parks and in Appalachia fear?), but not respected. Beggars are not respected. They are pittied. You beg when you negotiate from a position of weakness, albeit a logically sound position. Race-based Affirmative Action. Welfare. Begging. Same shit. And that's what the, Democratic for the most part, political negroes, have yet to figure out. While it remains to be seen what happens in a post-Katrina world and after Bush's act of Reparations (Ha-ha!), the US, for the most part, had lost it's conscious. With the conservatives at the purse strings, no more free lunches for you, get a job! Similarly, no one out of the goodness of their heart is going to put a Black man or woman on the Board of a Fortune 500, just because it's the right thing to do. And, at a time when many (Black, white, other) are feeling a financial pinch it becomes every man for himself. It's a non-trivial task to articulate special aid to certain segments of a race when other segments of that same race have achieved so much. Oprah. Tiger Woods. Michael Jordan.Collin Powell. How can affirmative action policies be intelligently articulated to a white man who works for or pays money to Merrill-Lynch, Time-Warner or American Express. Compaines whose CEOs are Black. Power is just not given away.

What really pissed me off for real about Katrina is the like of voice and activism on the parts of the so-called Black elite. When shit really got hot down in NO and every night I would home from work to see babies starving and dead bodies wrapped in sheets, I would ask, "Where the f&*% is Oprah?!!!" This chick gives away cars to white women but while her people are dying she's silence. Where's Condi? And this chick supposedly had Bush's ear! Where's Cosby? Young Black men ain't this! Young Black men ain't that! Show me what's good nigga! Where was Collin Powell? Where was Chenault (AMEX), O'Neil(Merrill-Lynch) and Parsons (TimeWarner)? Where was JZ, 50, Luda and Puff? Will and Jada? Mike, Shaq, LeBron, AI, Tim and Kobe? Tiger? Spike and Denzel? Jim Brown? My guy Muhammad Ali? Now I'm sure each gave and gave generously but words were also necessary. A united front to say "This shit is fucked up!" and that we care. If right of intelligence FoxNews could have gotten down to the Convention center, then certainly Oprah could have done the same. Did Jesse go down there? These negroes reacted later than George. The Lesson? If we don't care about our own Black people then how can we expect anybody else to. And, don't trust the latest poll numbers or wave of Bush hand-outs. What collective-America asked was if a Tsunami hit California or week-long blizzard crushed the northeast, how would the Feds respond? How they vote in '06 is another matter completely.

God bless Kanye West! Inarticulate as can be, sweating under the pressure, he hit the high note. "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." Fox news asked, the world asked and the US was forced to respond. He did what Collin, Condi, Oprah and the Cos, lacked the heart to do, be controversial against the strong and in your people's best interest. That's what we don't do. When a new white CEO comes to power and brings in his or her team, if they're all white, no one bats an eyelash. Why do Black CEOs, owners and the like not do the same? Why do they not actively seek out young Blacks to mentor? And be open about it! Is it because we feel we owe loyalty to the system of fairness and justice that finally cracked the door? F-That! We as Black people in this United States of America will never achieve true equality until we are able to act, with confidence, in our own self interest. To connect with the African diaspora within and without. To set a collective agenda and move it forward but from a position of strength. Committ the money, from the Oprahs, the janitors, the Jamaicans in Brooklyn, the Hatians in Florida, Nigerians in Houston, Dominicans in Harlem, Eritereans in Maryland, suburban Atlanta, Compton hoods, Black churches, Muslims and the like to political, educational and social activism on all levels. Maybe then Georgia will have a Black governor or senator. Atlanta as "Black Meca", yeah right. Notice I didn't mention Farrakhan.