With the recent rash of rappers going to jail (seemingly at the peak of their careers) most recent with Gucci mane going back to jail for not doing community service (among other things) it really struck a nerve with me and got me thinking about the state we’re in and how we are doing NOTHING about it. I am very concerned. Entertainers with ‘supposedly’ so much money and in positions of power (in a sense), are still falling back to the richen ways of old. It points to a deeper issue. The people in our community are sick and throwing money/materials at them will not solve it. It ‘accelerates the anxieties that wish to be alleviated’ (GURU) we need stronger, positive influences in the community. People say, there are organizations, people doing things that are unheard of, yes because it’s being overshadowed by this mess. We need to be more aggressive against these negative influences and force more positive things. From a musical perspective, conscious music needs to be at the forefront to influence our communities. We are in control of that. The artists, the radio stations, the independent record labels. It’s what WE put out. People are followers by nature, what we see ‘most’ do and/or accept, we will usually follow. If 500,000 people start wearing a mop bucket on top of their heads as a fashion statement, others will follow until it becomes ‘a thing to do’ whether long term or short, lol…
Why does so many things have to be centered on what you have, what status you got, what u can do for me, competition and ballin? They are mentalities to disconnection. Why does a person feel the need to be so better than the next to the point where you would do something tangible like withhold information in attempt to keep them behind? That’s separation and disconnect. So many times I have raced to someone in excitement to enlighten them on something I discovered, only to find out they already knew about it but for whatever reason never decided to tell me knowing it would have helped. That’s the reversed crabs in the barrel mentality ‘elites’ have poisoned our minds with. Scared to enlighten others thinking it will cause them to fall behind. Player Haters as Talib and Mos Def would call it. We have always seemed to separate each other over the most ridiculous reasons: where you live in conjunction to me, hood or sub-division, what kind of job u got, skin tone, how you talk, what kind of things you can afford, Competition… Instead of us all bringing our different but useful resources together.
Mainstream music is so saturated with filth and has brainwashed our communities. Nobody wants to finish school. The drop-out rate is OVER 50%, the percentage of us in prison CONTINUES to go up, and don’t let me start quoting numbers with A.I.D.S. and other seemingly ‘ethicnial’ diseases. Not saying music is the main source of influence, but it is a HUGE CONTRIBUTOR. What are the main subjects talked about in rap today that’s congruent with those statistics? Making money fast, crime, and sex. Our children are exposed to it daily. People can be a product of their environment. I said all of that to say, it starts with US!! Taking control and creating a NEW ENVIORNMENT! IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITY!!! The adults, blue collars, white collars, 'role models', hard workers, working poor, ALL OF US. Generation X, baby boomers… Our parents, grandparents and alike are passing on (in this day and age at an early age) the world is left for us to tend. Some will say it’s not my problem because my child doesn’t act that way. Well your child, niece, nephew etc. will still have to deal with the ones who are not at that level to some degree. It is all our responsibility.
Isn’t it crazy how many some of our people go along like everything is gravy train when you have people working hard on jobs and still have to ask for help? But you got a 17 year olds making 10 times more money (with no education) talking about trash.. Don’t you see the scheme in that? They get someone out of our community to influence people to buy the trash, go to the concerts, emulate the trash they talk about (while getting caught up trying to which goes into a whole different realm of schemes), make money off of US [because we are the ones (parents and sad to say, adults with no children) spending alot of money for cds, fashion, tickets, and whatever else ‘the hype’ introduces. While we’re making the artists rich, what they turn right around and do? Go buy luxury cars (one of the worst investments to ever make), a Lamborghini charm for a necklace and other ridiculous jewelry, clothes for thousands of dollars, giving the money RIGHT back to them, instead of REALLY fueling their community. It’s up to US to take back our community. In every aspect! In an entertainment perspective, the question to ask when are you going to stop being enslaved in spreading filth to people in order to make money? I mean of course, there is a time to have fun and yes the negative stuff is part of life, but don’t glorify the negativity, CREATE A BALANCE! We need to stop this mentality of the getting rich quick ‘DRUGS SELLIN MUSIC! HHHEEEEEEYYY!!!!!!!!!!!’(DESTROYING YOUR PEOPLE WITH BOTH) and FAILING eventually anyway!!!! It’s all a trap…
Someone keep asking me, what am I going to do to change things? The question should be what can WE do to change things. “When Spiders unite, they can tie up a Lion” African Proverb
Here’s a mix to stress positivity and point out some issues in our community. We need stuff like this blasting in our communities more….Peace and Blessings…..
1. Louis Farrakhan Intro
2. Blackstar- Theives in the Night
3. Hemisphere- Performing Artz
4. Jeru the Damaja- Praise the Lord
5. Alice Smith- Fake is the New real
6. Mos Def-What's Beef?
7. Gangstarr- Robin Hood Theory
8. Dead Prez- Be Healthy
9. Oddisse- Gentrification
10. Declaime- Travlin
11. Jazz Addixx- Don't Judge
12. Louis Farrakhan Outro
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