Oh, Didn't Get Any Inauguration Tickets Either, Did You Lupe Fiasco?

Look, I don't know Lupe Fiasco personally, and for all I know he might be the type of person to steal his co-workers lunch out of the refrigerator at work. But as an Hip Hop artist and entertainer? I have madd respect for the brother especially given his content is not-so-mainstream and full of substance. But that's just me, and apparently he said some shit recently that has folks around the Internet kinda ticked off just a tad bit.

Now of course you know you cannot be Black and say anything deemed negative about president Barack Obama unless you're a Republican which pretty much makes you De facto racist. So of course a few of my brothers and sisters are pitching a bitch about this specific part of the entire interview:

"In my fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama in the United States of America. For me, I’m trying to fight the terrorism that’s actually causing the other forms of terrorism. The root cause of the terrorism is the stuff that you as a government allow to happen and the foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists. And it’s easy for us because it’s really just some oil, which we can really get on our own. I don’t vote. I don’t get involved in the political process because it’s meaningless, to be honest. I’m a real big believer if I’m gonna vouch for someone, then I’m gonna stand behind everything that they do. So politicians aren’t gonna do that because I don’t want you to bomb some village in the middle of nowhere." - Lupe Fiasco

Personally I understand and empathize with the somewhat tribal response to this. That being, the perennial need to defend America's first Black president from critique by Black folks. But be that as it may, let's stop pretending that this country has become less of a purveyor of imperialism which is rooted in economic benefit and not the need to spread democracy as it says. Let's stop pretending and keep it real as the young folks say. Let's not pretend that there isn't some truth to what Lupe says. Surely this didn't all stop in January, 2009.

Now as far as his views on voting? They are his own; and please believe, there are many who share his view. In the 2008 presidential elections, according to reports by the Census Bureau, Of the total population of eligible voters (225, 499 million 18 & older), only 58% of them voted, and 94, 355 million people did not. Now, the question that begs to be asked to Lupe's point is: did it really make a difference? If more people voted in 2008 would there be less corporate welfare at the expense of the working class?

No seriously, I'd really appreciate an answer.

Slave Catcher of the Week: Spike Lee? Really, Clifton Powell?? No, not you, Spike!!!

I didn't really get all into the supposed beef between Spike Lee and Tyler Perry. Of course you can look at the banner on this site and you can figure it out pretty quickly, that I'm down with Spike; yes Tyler Perry, say something and imma start a boycott like we did Sal's Famous Pizzaria, son! But anyway, my man "Pinky" appeared on the Russ Parr Morning Show recently, and when asked to share his thoughts on the beef, he went smooth the eff off, son. I mean he put some stuff out there on my man Spike that makes me know if it's true.

Check it out:


"To be honest, I don't like Spike Lee. Spike is worse than any one of the mans [sp]. Because back in the day...and I hope Spike is listening cause I'll beat your punk ass. I don't like Spike. I have never said it publicly out, but Spike is a hater...I shouldn't have said it like this, but I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm from the streets and you got to take care of your people...Spike needs to go sit his punk ass down and stop talking about Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry was homeless about 10, 12 years ago and Spike wasn't writing him no checks. I don't like Spike Lee because I don't like his politics as it pertains to how he deals with African-Americans. I auditioned for Spike several times, he kept all of us waiting for hours. It was insulting, he made people fly across country, pay for themselves and come to auditions. Spike is the worst and he needs to go sit his punk ass down!" 

-- Actor Clifton Powell voices his opinion on the ongoing feud between Tyler Perry and Spike Lee. (The Russ Parr Morning Show)

I'ono what Spike has to say about this. But I'ma need a response from Spike. This Negro had brothas and sistas runnin' around in 1989 wearing African medallions, Malcolm X baseball caps screaming "fight the power!!" Yes I'm not really a fan of Tyler Perry's work; and no, this doesn't mean I refuse to watch his productions. But somehow someway, I never pictured Spike Lee as the slave catcher type. Tyler Perry? Well... Gimme a call, Spike; yep, do it for Radio Raheem, son. Uh-huh, clear the air on this one, my brother.

Crazy Bitch: "Diddy Owes Me $100 Zillions"

Not to be outdone by Hubert or Dennis in the loony lawsuit contest, some deranged woman in Los Angeles has filed a domestic violence petition against American superstar musician, Sean Puff Daddy Puffy P Diddy Combs, claiming he owes her some $900,000,000,000 in child support, $10,000,000,000 in "lost of income," and a Mississippi casino chip valued at "over $100 zillions of dollars" ... give or take a straitjacket.

In her petition, the delusional damsel detailed the abuse allegedly dealt by Diddy:

He went through Kim Porter and Rodney King and knocked down the WTC and then they all came and knocked me and my children down. 

Wait, he who wha..? He went "through" people? And Rodney King, no less? Yo, it took almost the entire LAPD to take that mofo down. But Diddy went right "through" him? And Kim Porter. And then Diddy knocked down the WTC. WTF? Is Diddy some kind of comic book villain now??

Separate But Comparable?: A Response to VH1's New Show Being Questioned as the Black "Sex and the City"

In 1896, Homer Plessey--a "Negro" who could pass as white--refused to leave the "whites only" designated cart, resulting in the infamous Plessey v. Ferguson decision. Plessey v. Ferguson mandated what would eventually become an American celebrated tradition--"separate but equal". It would not be until the 1954 Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, that Americans would come to find out that "separate" will never be equal in a society that favors whiteness and all the privileges associated with it. Some hundred years after Plessey and fifty years after little Linda Brown fought with others to overturn Plessey, we are still engaged in a fight for integration. Or are we?

Last week, Jezebel posted an article response to a new VH1 series set to air this May--"Single Ladies." A series with a seemingly strong presence for Black women, the show seems to have been inspired by last year's Beyonce -induced phenomenon. America fell in love when a married woman told other women to embrace single-hood. Confused? Yeah, me too. Don't ask questions.

Jezebel's article asserts "Single Ladies" might have led people to see themes from another popular cultural phenomena, "Sex and the City." Claiming the show is not the Black SATC, I began to wonder why it was every time a "Black show" comes out it is instantly compared to whatever popular [read: white] show or icon out there? Is it because Blackness and whiteness have been constructed through a dialectical of opposition? Is it because we live in a white supremacist nation that believes, reinforces, and promotes this myth of white superiority?

Whatever it is, it seems to rely on a historical amnesia to the realities that face marginalized communities and media in general. "Single Ladies", a show strongly and clearly marketed to Black women, follows a legacy of affluent "Black" shows. Why is "Single Ladies" already being compared to shows like "Sex and the City" instead of in the likes of "Living Single", "Girlfriends", hell "227"? Why must a show about Black women constantly battle a lack of visibility, but then when visibility is gained, battle being held against a white standard?

Tribal Wives: Is this Entertainment or Ethnocentrism?

By Joanna (JuJuBe)

In my travels across the internet, I recently came across some youtube videos from the BBC, from a 2008 show called "Tribal Wives". The basic premise of the show is that a British (white) woman would leave her life behind for a month and join a "tribal" culture to document and experience every day life in a different cultural setting. I had not seen this show before, and until today, had not even heard of it. But, from the clips I have seen, I am pretty appalled. It is just another in a long line of culturally exploitative programs designated to degrade and demean non "Western" people.

Each of the clips I watched seem to be dedicated to exploiting exploring the "otherness" of "tribal" cultures. Supposedly, the show is about learning the customs of other groups of people, but from what I can see, it is more about showing how "primitive" and "misguided" the featured cultures are. One video emphasized wife beating. Another addressed forced child marriage. Yet another addressed female circumcision.

Beneath each of the commentaries offered on each of the clips runs an undercurrent of disrespect for the cultural traditions of the people involved. The show is filmed from a 100% Eurocentric perspective, and every custom highlighted is compared to the supposedly more "enlightened" British practices. Some of the British participants tried to question the love that the parents had for their children simply because they participated in cultural traditions that are not approved by "Westerners".

Perhaps there should be a show where individuals from other cultures come to observe and comment on "Western" ideals and behavior. I wonder how they would feel about the sexualization of little girls in beauty pageants? Or the fact that many "Western" children are raised by nannies OR by the boob tube instead of by their parents?

Reality television is one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. And a lot of reality television is based on "cultural tourism". A Western (usually white) individual invades the space of a "traditional" (usually non white) culture, pretends to be "appreciating" the vastly different way of life, and instead is actually reinforcing the notion of the inferiority of others.

Take for example Bizarre Foods with Anthony Zimmern. The title alone is enough to discern the impetus behind this sort of program. Take a white man, inject him into a new (usually non white) culture, and have him emphasize the "strangeness", the "otherness" of the traditions practiced (in this case food). Add some grimaces and dry heaves for effect, and you have an accurate portrayal of how white folks look upon other cultures with disdain.

These sorts of programs are less about learning and appreciating cultural diversity among the people of the world and more about elevating "Western" (white) traditions above all others. They are produced in a way that makes them seem more akin to documentaries about wildlife than about human beings. The emphasis is on what "Westerners" see as "strange" or "primitive" rather than on the lives, loves, feelings and thoughts of real, living, breathing human beings who happen to participate in their own cultural traditions!

Look, there are just some things fat people weren't meant to do

Well, in keeping with the "We hate fat people" meme that has assaulted us in the blogosphere thanks to Howard Stern, and Jaime Foxx calling Gabourey Sidibe Notorious P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S. a la Biggie Smalls. Allow me to go ahead and agree that being obese poses serious health risks.

Many people have offered up this fact in commentary on posts about Gabourey Sidibe and criticisms of her weight problem and her future in Hollywood. There's no secret that being overweight limits ones ability to do certain things, but um, acting isn't one of 'em. That said, miss me with that "she needs to lose weight because she's unhealthy," crap.

When did being overweight stop any of the many overweight Caucasian actors and actresses out there? I mean if she drops dead tomorrow from a heart attack, what impact will it have personally on your life, other than to motivate you to get off your ass and hit the gym. It's her life, and her choice to be an actress, and I'm pretty sure she knew first hand what she would be up against by being outside of  societal norms.

Now, here's a story for you to checkout about a gentleman who was fired for being morbidly obese. Yeah, check this out and tell me if upon seeing it, that your concern was for his health as opposed to him being able to physically perform as required with his choice of employment:


And to think all this time I thought Chris Farley was dead. Oh well, don't you feel safer now? I would say that there's always work at the post office but in this economy that's a thing of the past; but hey, there's always acting, right?.At least by doing that he can pretend to be a cop without having his weight becoming an issue.

Hey, Gabourey Sidibe: Tell them to kiss your entire fat black ass!

The last thing I need right now is to get my blood pressure all worked up. So for this one I'll be nice and just say that if I was Gabourey Sidibe I'd tell muthaf*ckas to kiss my entire fat black ass. Of course I understand that  she won't actually get all Della Reese on folks. But this is why I have a blog; and this is why I'm about to get medieval on that ass as a voice of reason with much righteous indignation. The nerve of these people coming out of the woodwork offering her advice on what she has to do as if they really give a damn about her and any potential success acting or otherwise.... ole cracka-ass-crackas!

Offering her "help" in the form of a one year supply pf diet pills as the CEO of AcaiSupply.com did recently, "in return for her glowing testimonial after she sheds her unwanted pounds," is an insult [click to read his open letter to her here]. Yeah, and supposedly he's worried about her health and not the bottom line which is profits, right? OK, so she didn't win the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Precious. But let them tell it, it was because she's a talentless fat bastard who will never work again in Hollywood. Any day now it wouldn't be a surprise if a privileged melanin deficient asshole other than Howard Stern publicly suggests that she bleaches her skin.

Shit, one would think that Sidibe showed up on the red carpet with a bucket of KFC, hooked up to an I.V. that pumped BBQ sauce into her arm in need of an intervention the way "certain people" are talking. But hey, white folks are into saving Negroes these days thanks to Sandra Bullock and the movie The Blindside, so I guess this is all to be expected.

Well RiPPa they are kinda telling the truth. Black women have a hard time as is getting jobs in Hollywood and being the new fat kid in town sure as hell don't help much. Hollywood ain't too welcoming of black women or black folks much less the fat ones. Shit, the only fat black bitch they love is Oprah and you damn well know that!

Of course I know that, but why does it have to be this fat black chick that catches hell? I mean I hate to think that people are of the idea that Gabourey is in fact a fried chicken stealing, low self esteem having, uneducated fat black chick in real life. I know life sometimes imitates art, but damn; I mean what the fuck! Is it too much to celebrate her success thus far without throwing that other shit into the mix? What, Hollywood ain't in love with the Hattie McDaniel types unless they're playing 'Mammy', and serving white folks in movies?

My 16yr old and I had a conversation this past weekend. A conversation where she revealed to me that for a long time she has seen herself in the mirror as an "ugly black beast." Mind you, this is the very same 16yr old who has serious aspirations of becoming an actress and standing on stage holding an Oscar one day. Her mother, Mrs. RiPPa, seems to think that it is just a phase that all girls go through, but I think differently. I happen to think that her feelings have developed over time as she has been inundated by images of a "certain standard" of beauty. And obviously that's a lot for an impressionable teenager to internalize without feeling any pressure to look and feel adequate.

Ultimately, I think that what we're seeing right now with Gabourey Sidibe, speaks volumes of a larger problem or issue in our society. A problem I might add, that no amount of diet pills or exercise can change.

I'll let you figure out just what that is.

This is the Money You Could Be Saving by Not Watching BET - Death to the Big Ass Chain

"I know we facing a recession, but the music y'all making gon' make it a depression" - Jay Z (Death of Autotune)

OK look, I'm a loyalist kinda guy and writing this is hard for me. I grew up watching BET just like pretty much anybody in my age group and slightly older. To be honest, BET was a mainstay in the homes of Black America much like those Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr. pictures on your grandmother's wall. But oh how times have changed. Gone are the days when Donnie Simpson graced our eyes and gave us a greater appreciation for music by giving us an insight into the lives of artists both young and old. And what do we have today?

Yeah, in the pic above is that pain in the ass Negro who calls himself T-Pain. To me, it's images such as this one which is indicative of where we are culturally as far as BET is concerned. Yes, BET has become the network that is all about the big ass chain and nothing else. I hate to jump on the bandwagon and bash probably the only outlet for Black folks on television. But f*ck it, it's not actually Black owned anymore now is it? Yup, and to me that says a lot considering that it once was.

I was watching the BET Awards last night with much anticipation as was everybody else in America. Before last night I had no idea that the BET Awards were even coming on. Shit, it was probably 50-11 months since I even watched BET to be honest. But with the recent passing of Michael Jackson this award show was hyped to be the best ever as well as a tribute to one of the greats in our culture. So with great anticipation I tuned in to the show.

Lemme tell you: the show was a huge disappointment. I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I thought maybe I was being too hard on them but then I logged onto Twitter when the show was over. It was then that I discovered that I was not alone. Oh yeah, every Black person was on Twitter last night as well; hell they even scared the white folks. As a matter of fact as I watched the show I couldn't help but to think of that Rick James line in that now famous Chappelle Show skit: "The never shoulda gave you n*ggas money!"

Listen here BET, I realized that you guys had little time to switch gears and make the show about Michael Jackson hence the lame tribute attempt. But I have to wonder: what if Michael Jackson didn't die? Had he not, would as many people be tuned in last night to your show? Probably not. Which is why your show was a disappointment for people like me. We tuned in as fans of music and Michael Jackson just knowing you guys were gonna represent to the fullest.

I'm sorry, you guys tried but came up short. There were a few good moments and testimonials. Yup, and as much as I cannot stand Jamie Foxx, I must admit he did a good job as the host. My only complaint about Jamie was them throwing those tight ass high-water jeans. I swear if he farted we would have seen a wardrobe malfunction nothing like Janet Jackson at the Superbowl.

I don't know about you, but I can't help but to think that Don Cornelius is still standing at the podium talking about the O'Jays or lord knows what else. If he is, I ain't mad at the brother; we haven't heard from old Don in a long ass time. Who we should never hear from again is Aaron Hall and Guy. What, did they get the call to appear 30 minutes before the show? They sucked and they looked old. Which is too bad because the O'Jays have been performing for 50yrs and they haven't missed a beat.

But between T-Pain's big ass chain, Soulja Boy, and that Canadian kid Drake with his fake ass retarded down south accent sitting on a stool surrounded by little girls performing a song which is titled " I Wanna F*ck Every Girl In the World" you folks at BET failed horribly. Sure we're gonna remember Ne-yo's MJ renditions, and Janet Jackson's surprise appearance at the end. But once again, I think they did Michael Jackson's family a disservice by labeling this a tribute because it damn sure wasn't. To me, it was all about the big ass chain and coonery we have come to expect from BET in recent years.

Supposedly they're launching a new network for us older folks; lets see how that turns out. At the end of the day BET is not the source of all of the problems or social ills currently plaguing the Black community. As a matter of fact, they have done their share as far as community activism and raising awareness to correct some of these problems which is a good thing. I think we should all remember that in being critical of them as we have. But dammit I'd be lying if I said that the network has done it's fair share to reinforce the big ass chain stereotype, and bullshit music. Hell, I wish BET died and Michael Jackson did a tribute to them.

Maybe BET will Pay attention to Jay-Z...