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.

Screw Joe Budden and The Apologists for Abuse

Let me go ahead and premise this by saying that if you want to do war on this post, a war is what you will get.  Whenever I do posts like these, the "zombies" come out as if I were on set for AMC's The Walking Dead.  If you are a zombie, I've got the bullets in the chamber and I'm a crackshot.  Now, let's go'n ahead and dissect the latest fuckery. 

I'm going to do a very quick recap.  Apparently, several weeks ago Joe Budden recorded a song disparaging an ex-girlfriend, one Esther Baxter, who is a video model.  He indicates that she cheated on him, hurt him, etc. She responds that she never did that, and went one step further, speaking about the abuse that she had to deal with while in a relationship with this guy.

Here's what she said (via NecoleBitchie.com)

Last week, Budden blasted Esther Baxter on a song where he detailed their dysfunctional relationship which he claims ended after she cheated on him with a football player. In retaliation, Esther took to her twitter and threatened to expose Joe for abusing her and making her have a miscarriage. Esther stuck to her word and released photos of her battered and bruised to Bossip (as well as a few inappropriate photos of the fetus she says that she lost). She also granted them a sit down, Barbara Walter style interview where she claims Joe:

“kicked the door down, came into the room, grabbed me by my ankles, choked me so that I couldn’t breathe, slammed me against the door…in an attempt to grab the phone from me he wrestled me, grabbed me by my wrist and sat on my stomach while I was pregnant. [..] I went to the hospital and that’s when I found out I lost my daughter.

She went on to say that before hooking up with Budden, she had no knowledge of his past relationship history and that she eventually dropped the charges against him because she was embarrassed and didn’t want their drama to go public.

“I didn’t want this to go public. It was already embarrassing enough that this has happened to me. I never in my life thought that I would be abused, and further more, lose a child because of it. So in order for it to not go public, I dropped all of the charges with the agreement and understanding that neither of us would ever talk about it.I didn’t cheat on him. We weren’t together, we aren’t together now. We broke up that night that he decided to take this argument and make it physical. I don’t know why anyone would ever want to tell someone that they did something like this.

I have not heard the song because I don't assault my eardrums with anything coming from Joe Budden's mouth (I've never liked his music, and I find nothing appealing about him as an artist), but some indicated that he admitted to abusing her on this "diss" track.  However, for whatever reason, he opted to pull a Ronnie from Jersey Shore and "deny, deny, deny!"  He even dragged Chris Brown into it and in the process of apologizing for laughing at Chris Brown's expense, showed his true colors in indicating that he had no issues with what Chris Brown did:

On his Chris Brown tweet

Then I felt bad, aside from me being a big Chris Brown fan, he’s somebody that really went through it. He really got put through the wringer because of domestic abuse. So, it made me take a step back. I’m sitting here laughing at it all because I know it’s not true in this instance. You know, in his instance it happened and they hung him for it. I apologize to him, it was the right thing to do.

He was PUNISHED for it and reviled for it, but he certainly has not been hung for anything.  That's beside the point, and I don't want to get into that.  When I read this over at Necole's blog, I steeled myself for the fuckery in comments.  More people came to her defense than with Rihanna's.  That was a plus.  Matter of fact this comment summed up what I was thinking perfectly:

Same shit everyone (mostly women) did to Rihanna. If there’s one thing I learned over the course of the last few years it’s that the black community has no respect for women. There’s no way that two who have been assaulted by men (there’s proof, physical evidence! It’s undebateable!) and people are joking about it. Or worse, saying, “well she must have done something to deserve it.” F*ck that yo. I’m disgusted. More so with the women who are riding with these men. F*ck a Joe Budden and anyone who tries to rationalize his bullshit. -ChicaGo-Getter

If that person is disgusted, they are obviously new to this, because I ceased being disgusted years ago.  Now I'm between livid and fighting mad.  I've gotten into these dogfights before on this blog and others and it is emotionally draining especially when you KNOW you are right.  Luckily, the comments weren't as vomit inducing as the ones that were present when Rihanna was beat the hell down.  I didn't have the sudden urge to pray for Jesus' second coming over and over again like previous events.  Of course, there was going to be a faction of zombies to come to his defense as witnessed by this video of his interview with The Breakfast Club (click here to see interview).

Vote For Sarah Palin, She Knows The Words To "Rappers Delight", & Loves Black People

You know at first when I heard and wrote about the right-wing media generated beef surrounding my man Common's invitation to read poetry at the White House, I thought it was funny. No seriously, it was almost as funny as the accusation of Barack Obama being in the "Whoomp, There It Is" music video. So yeah, I laughed at the notion of Common being this "thug rapper" from Chicago and well known cop killing advocate. But then I saw the following interview with Sarah Palin via Fox, I got pretty heated:



OK, before I continue, first off, I'd like to give a big shout out to Common and Michelle Obama for getting Fox to bring on more Black folks on air in one week than they have all year (click here, here, and especially here to see a slave catcher at work). Alright, so now that I've got that out of the way, allow me to get back to Sister Sarah by asking: when the hell did Sarah Palin's media whoring ass ever listen to a Hip Hop album, much less listened to anything Common has ever done? And this spectacle of American embarrassment had the nerve to say she's "not anti-rap," because she "knows the words to Rapper's Delight." Yes, that Rapper's Delight; uh-huh, "to the hip hop, the hippy to the hippy," rap song from back in the day. Yes, she said she knows the words.

Well Gee, I'm sure Grandmaster Caz of The Cold Crush Brothers really appreciates that, Sarah. Of course I couldn't help overlooking the slick way you threw in the "there's no way I'm racist because I have Black friends," line. Because well, you obviously can't be white and "down" with Black people unless you can recite the words of that particular song. Which is really messed up, because now I have to call up all my white friends and ask them if they can spit Big Bank Hank's verse just to be sure they're not affiliated with the Klan.

Michelle Obama Invites "Gangster Rapper" To The White House, & Guess Who's Mad

"Now Black music is Black music, and it's allgood, I wasn't salty she was with the boys in the hood." -- Common; "I Used To Love H.E.R."

Oh Lordy or Lordy, look what Michelle Obama dun did now up the the white people's White House. She dun seriously up and dun it inviting one a dem dar Chicago gansta' rappers she used to live next to to the White House. Word has it that she's having a poetry reading session on Wednesday, but I ain't buying it.

 It's bad enuff that them Obama Kenyans dun defiled the sanctity of the one true symbol of whiteness and err'thing right with Amuur'cuh by even living there. And now, they finna have this Negro and his posse bussin' spades, making it rain on hoes, and whatever else them there drug dealing Negroes do.

Of course them dar white folks over at The Daily Caller is madder den a mugg over tghis and had something to say about it. And lemme tell you, at last count, there was 274 comments mostly in disgust after the following post. Let's just say, judging from the comments, Flava Flav better tear up his invitation:

First Lady Michelle Obama has scheduled a poetry evening for Wednesday, and she’s invited several poets, including a successful Chicago poet and rapper, Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., AKA “Common.” However, Lynn is quite controversial, in part because his poetry includes threats to shoot police and at least one passage calling for the “burn[ing]” of then-President George W. Bush.

Back in 2003, First Lady Laura Bush held a poetry evening, and she invited several poets to reprise the work of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Although none of those poets had urged violence against a president, Bush canceled the event after left-of-center poets protested and threatened to disrupt the event. (read more)

Oh well, lemme g'head and enjoy Common while I can; at least the pre-gangsta rapper Common; you know, back when he was less gangsta?

Sarah Palin jumped on the bandwagon, tweeting the Daily Caller story with a comment “Oh, lovely White House” — the virtual equivalent of rolling her eyes.

Pajamas Media, another conservative site, says Common supports Mumia Abu Jamal, convicted in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer, and was a member, along with the Obamas, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Rev. Jeremiah Wright served as pastor. The rapper defended Wright during the 2008 campaign as Obama distanced himself from the controversial minister. The video below shows Wright in the background as Common performs.

A Fox News site called the multiple Grammy-winner a “vile rapper.” Common, who has also acted in several films, including "American Gangster" and "Terminator Salvation," also performed at a 2009 inaugural ball. (source)

Yeah, ain't no tellin' how much more gangsta' he's gonna get once he leaves the White House as he becomes more untouchable and public enemy number one, while Obama's still in office (watch this). Yep, big shouts out to the city of Chicago and all my peoples who live there; been a minute, but we'll kick it soon.

Black History Month Can Learn a Moral Lesson from Talib Kweli

by Eco.Soul.Intellectual

Tonight in Lawrence, Kansas, hip hop artist Talib Kweli Greene is performing sucker free.

Last week the New York lyricist announced that he requested gut-bucket liquor company Colt 45 to pull out as co-sponsors for his concert in the Mid-western region.

If only Black History Month could take a lesson from Kweli and stop selling our history for a couple of cases of Budweiser. And prolly Diddy with his tired Ciroc endorsements, along with Ludacris and Voodoo, or all the free Cristal Champagne advertisements, even Lee and his Absolut Brooklyn stint can recognize.

And someone puhlease tell the negro-thug rapper, Snoop to get off of Colt's payroll. He should've learned that hard living can kill after the death of Nate Dogg who was reportedly living a life of hard drink and bad eating before his strokes and ultimate departure.

Plus, black people already have funded liquor companies for seven generations.

Ask Haitians, they know all too well. It was the sugar plantations of Santo Domingo that started Brandy and Cogniac distilleries in France in the 17th century. And Brandy nor Cogniac is offering reparations any time soon.

Bravo Talib.

Uncle Luke for Mayor

by Eco.Soul.Intellectual

If a gun-slinging action cowboy in Western movies can be president of the US, a steroid-toting killing machine in Sci-Fi flicks can be governor of California, a wrestler can be Governor of Minnesota then I think Uncle Luke, the grand-daddy of pussy-poppin', booty-poppin', free speech music should be the mayor of Miami. White men can't have all the power and fun.

If anyone can wake a sleeping giant in Miami, I do believe Uncle Luke will at the very least stir something up.


Let's hope his candidacy is more than a one might stand and a $1 lap dance.

And since Luke has been immersed in some of the raunchiest environments that has come out of rap music, he doesn't have much to hide.

We've seen so many sex scandals that make Luke appear, well, somewhat normal, at this point, let's allow him to direct his energy to another avenue of productive citizenship.

But what would Miami look like if he'd win:

1. Inauguration night will be an all-white, bass music, booty shaking, Reggaeton carnival in Dade County.
2. Real Housewives of Miami would cast more than Cuban chicks who have too much plastic surgery and look like they've been around the Florida peninsula too many times.
3. Strip clubs would be tax exempt and churches would be taxed as "for-profits".
4. Fidel Castro would be in the front row of the inauguration, waiting for Latina video vixens ready for la revolucion!
5. Every one of Luke's baby-mama's and dancers would go straight to child support.

All I gotta say is, don't stop get it, get it!

I had to go back to my high school days when I was in shape and could pop, lock it drop it.

Mercy, Mercy Me: Hip Hop & Mister Cee Ain't What it Used to Be

By Eco.Soul.Intellectual

Marvin Gaye's songs from his landmark 1971 album, "What's Going On" are spinning in my head. I do know what's going on, Change. And it ain't spare change. And it ain't Obama's change. It is ethereal, spiritual change rising from Haitian platotonic shifting plates to Japanese radioactive clouds.

Though I know what's going, I am still attempting to understand it, as I change. As we all change. Unfortunately, Marvin's transformation was stunted.

Marvin, a man who was prolific, a prophet, and an innocent, died a death that resulted in a crashing end of a world filled with shame, secrets, deceit, frustration, and identity crises. Marvin was caught between worlds of polar opposites. Heterosexual and Homosexual. Industry and Down-Home Roots. Fame and the Fallen. Masculine and Transvestism.

Killed by his father who didn't know how to process his homosexuality. But he had already died several deaths; especially with losing friends in Motown and being exploited by Motown executives, like all of the legends.

DJ Mister Cee

I use Marvin as reference as I am sorting out the current controversy surrounding New York DJ, Mister Cee, who's dick was caught in another man's mouth by the police this Wednesday.

I am saying this with sarcasm because Mister Cee, and is whole crew, that includes master DJ, Funkmaster Flex, represent an uber-masculine, elite hip hop identity and positionality.

No, let me restate this, these men define a chunk of masculinity in hip hop. The DJ is a powerful player in hip hop and music. And these respected icons put stamps of approval on records and behaviors. Through the pit bull growls and slurry NYC borough, gully talk, it can be quite puzzling that Cee is down for that Thug Love that the Boondocks so accurately portrays.

Several months ago, Funk or should I say, Flunkmaster, choked out the mother of his child. Could it be that he needs to just come out of the DJ's booth with some Louboutin heels and hugging up on RuPaul?

Racism in the Media and How Eminem Comes Out Smelling Like a Rose

by Joanna (JuJuBe)

On several occasions over the past week, I have had to sit and reflect on the media brainwashing that reinforces white supremacist ideology. Note the above photos, from the coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The captions that accompany the pictures both reflect AND influence the way people perceive racial differences.

Note that the photo of the young Black man uses the term "looting", while the text printed next to the white couple reads "finding". They are doing the EXACT SAME THING... carrying bags of food that they liberated from the ruins of a drowning city. But, the Black man is criminalized, while the white couple is made to look "enterprising".

The difference in the way these two pictures are described is just one example of the programming that the media reinforces in order to perpetuate a system of white supremacy.

On to my second piece of evidence. Earlier this week, Eminem was interviewed by Anderson Cooper. He made the off the wall claim that he was treated more harshly by the media and the general public as a result of his race. His claim was that Black artists have said worse things than him in their lyrics without being called to the carpet. First of all, this is utter bullshit, because Black rappers are CONSTANTLY scrutinized and excoriated for their lyrical content.

Second of all, Eminem has benefited IMMENSELY from his skin color, much of his popularity is based on the fact that he is a white man in the rap game. Yet he has NEVER acknowleged the BENEFITS and PRIVILEGES his skin color has bestowed upon him. Rather, he chooses to play the victim in the new "white men are oppressed" game.

Pure F*ckery: Young Girls Proudly Selling P*ssy

OK look, we here at TIOMAR have a penchant for presenting to you our dear readers what we deem as fuckery around the internet. We're still trying to figure out just why we do it; but, I guess something positive can be gained by the exposure of said fuckery. Yes, we don't do this shit for fun, people!

I dunno, it's sorta like the fuckery check list. You know, after seeing it here, you the reader can then simply check it off your potential fuckery-to-do-list. I mean hell, we're all prone to commit fuckericious acts, no?

This week we bring to you a female rap group based in that eternal-never-ending home of all things fucked up about the black community: Atlanta, Georgia. Sorry Atlanta readers; send me all the hate mail you want, but you folks need to keep the fuckery at a minimum... no shade.

But anyway, check this video out, and please, for the purpose of an upcoming post - a very deep and significant post meant to save lives - answer the question posed below. Seriously, it would be doing this site a huge service by watching this, and answering the question. Yeah, we do research around this camp too:


QUESTION: If your teenage daughter gets pregnant, can you blame it on Hip Hop? I'm only asking because I'm told that Hip Hop promotes single motherhood which is detrimental to the black community.

Like I said, there's more to come on this, but this is what I'm told. Supposedly 50 Cent's line, "Have a baby by me baby, be a millionaire," encourages females - young black females - to be promiscuous; are you buying that idea?

Ron Artest: 'Stereotypes of a Black male misunderstood, but it's still allgood'

At the beginning of the NBA finals I spoke to my best friend who happens to be the ultimate L.A. Laker fan. No shit, I think this cat still sleeps in Magic Johnson's Converse Weapons and James Worthy's goggles.

But anyway, we talk about sports a lot and he knows that I'm no longer a Laker fan like I was back in the day. I'm sorry, but I love the Knicks, and just like the south we shall rise again (stop fuckin laughing!).

So I mentioned to him that I'm going against all NYC convention by rooting for the Boston Celtics in the series. I also mentioned that a part of me wanted to see the Laker win, solely based on my love for Ron Artest. Don't worry, my love for him is not of the homo-erotic type as captured in the following pic...

Ummm, yeah, what was that about?!!

Instead, I'm of the belief that Artest is the embodiment of the misunderstood urban negro. And of course me being an all around ghetto nerd and defender and representer of all things hood, sans the moments of sheer n*ggerdom and ig'nant behavior. This why I found pleasure in watching the Artest post-game interview, while he basked in the warm glow of redemption, as he showed just how he hasn't forgotten where he came from:

Should the words 'Hoes', 'Dick' & 'Jesus' be used together in the hook of a rap song?

Local Memphis, TN. preacher and pastor of The New Mount Olivet Baptist Church, Kenneth Whalum Jr., recently published a book, "Hip Hop Is Not Our Enemy: From A Preacher Who Keeps It Real". The book encourages the Black church to embrace Hip Hop culture. More specifically, he urges churches and other groups and civic orgs to refrain from blaming Hip Hop for the societal ills that plagues our community.

In speaking to a local news outlet, Whalum said, "if we embrace the hip-hop generation and not reject them, we can co-op the culture and allow them to create something new and better and lift the whole world to a better place." You know what? I couldn't agree with him more. As a product of the "Hip Hop generation", I take offense to the charge that Hip Hop is the bane of our existence. Point blank: it has always been my take that "bitches & hoes" have long existed before the birth of the Hip Hop urban youth cultural explosion.

But speaking to what Whalum suggest as "creating something new." In steps up and coming Hip Hop artist Lil B, from the group The Pack, with what appears to be a new take on Gospel Rap. I don't quite know if this is what Kenneth Whalum Jr. had in mind as far as using Hip Hop, from a spiritual point of view, to make the world a better place. But I'll let you be the judge after listening to the following song, 'Look Like Jesus'. Not exactly the well embraced 'Jesus Walks' by Kanye West, but still creative all the same, and reality based, as Lil B. sees it.

Check it out and tell me what you think:

Guest Blogger: DJ Premier is my Chuck Norris (by The Humanity Critic)

[Editor's Note: In light of the unfortunate passing of my man Guru (pictured on the right next to DJ Premier) from the legendary Hip Hop group Gang Starr. I thought it important to showcase just how much of an impact their music has made in urban youth culture. To do so I've enlisted my man The Humanity Critic (@HumanityCritic on Twitter) free lance writer and contributor to the now defunct Vibe Magazine, of the blog The Nappy Diatribe. For me, DJ Premier & Guru, together as Gang Starr, left an indelible mark on the man that I am today through their music. The question I have now for Hip Hop is 'Who's Gonna Take The Weight'...?]

This is going to sound shallow, but it won't surprise the people out there who know me that I feverishly keep my snob game tighter than convent vagina. But there are some things in life that I simply believe transcend opinion and simply become fact, and anyone in the slightest opposition of that is either acting like a wiseacre contrarian or happened to born with a mild case of retardation due to being the offspring of forbidden sibling 'love'. You don't necessarily have to believe that Michael Jordan was the best basketball player ever to touch a leather ball, but his 'philandering, historical failure to ever take a stand on anything' ass better be in the discussion. Same thing with Walter Payton when it comes to running backs, I actually elbowed a guy in the face once just because he gave me a very indifferent sounding 'Ahh, he's alright' retort when talking about the great Stevie Wonder. That explains why 'High Fidelity' is one my favorite flicks, primarily because I subscribe to the philosophy in the movie that 'Its not what you're like, its what you like' - this is going to sound fucked up I know, but I can tell whether or not I'm going to get along with a person solely based on their tastes in music and movies.

But therein lies the rub, what's a chubby snob like myself to do when a woman I'm seeing, one who I feel is otherwise flawless - takes it upon herself to very cavalierly sully the good name of a man who I hold so near and dear to my heart? Let me explain. About a month ago, while ruining my liver amongst a slew of career alcoholics and women who look like they grew up next to nuclear reactors at my local watering hole - a very beautiful woman waked in, sat down, and sparked off a conversation with me on the strength of my ring-tone being Big Daddy Kane's 'Raw'. Immediately I knew she was a Hip Hop fan, 'check'. I asked what her nationality was and she said she was Portuguese, she was what I imagined the woman in Rakim's 'Mahogany' looked like, so 'check' like a motherfucker. Granted, she was younger than I would have liked, but I quickly counted on my fingers like a retard doing long division and figured out that she's been legally drinking for 6 years, not too bad.(Besides, I haven't been lustfully touched since the first episode of 'My Name is Earl' - I had to relax my usually stringent age requirements this time)

You know the economy is bad when Suge Knight goes around robbing broke rappers

Anybody who reads this blog on the regular can tell you how much I highlight the plight of the urban negro in these economic times. As if we needed more proof and justification for a true jobs bill. In steps Marion "Suge" Knight. A name that in-spite of being knocked the fuck out by virtually unknown patrons at night clubs, still invokes fear. Yep, just ask Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg; I think they both still sit down to pee in their own homes because of the bald bully.

Check out what Suge who at last count only had $11 in his bank account has been up to lately; and yet another reason Obama n'em better make it happen with a jobs bill:

Suge Knight is a wanted man once again. The former Death Row Records head honcho allegedly beat and robbed rapper Yukmouth last night ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Sources say it all went down at around 10 PM at a Ralph's supermarket in the San Fernando Valley.

According to a law enforcement source, Suge and roughly 10 members of his posse allegedly beat up Yukmouth and then took $92,000 worth of jewelry from him.

Sources say Suge and his entourage are suspects and cops want to question them.

We're also told there's a previous misdemeanor warrant out for Suge's arrest -- which makes it unlikely he'll visit the police department. (source)

Fuck is up with that Marion? Outside of a Supermarket? Posted up and knocking folks in the head these days? What, are you trynna get your street cred back after taking those ass-whoopins outside the club?

Forget that question. What's more important is how is Yukmouth able to afford $92, 000 worth of Jewelry? I mean there's no way he still has "I Got Five On It" money, especially after you adjust for inflation. Does Suge really think that cat still has $5 on it?

Well, only if he's doing those things that niggas certain citizens do to get by, I suppose. Which leads to another question: When did "gangsta rappers" start calling the cops and pressing charges? 'Sup with that Yukmouth?

See Barack, the streets ain't safe anymore, son! And until Negroes have jobs it's only gonna get worse. If Suge is gonna do that to broke-ass rappers. What do y'all think he's gonna do to regular folks like me and you, and all the old ladies out there as they cash their checks and go grocery shopping? Watch ya back, folks.

So they're remaking We Are the World, without having a Michael Jackson séance? And Lil' Wayne & T-Pain on the track??

So I heard the other day that they were remaking the USA for Africa 80s classic We Are The World as a charitable effort to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Then I heard that Lil' Wayne was gonna be one of the artists featured in the song and singing Bob Dylan's part, no less. My first inclination was to run up on somebody and do a Rambo, just because. I mean did they invite him to be on the track because, well, he himself looks like a starved child from the Sudan? But then I heard they also invited Fonzworth Bently; you know, Pdiddy's jigging no talent havin' umbrella carrying Negro man-servant?

Surely inviting Lil' Wayne had nothing to do with him being a top selling popular Hip Hop artist, and had more to do with the sympathy factor, right?  Nothing like seeing a malnourished looking black guy with gold in his mouth covered in tattoos to bring white folks to tears. OK, yeah, so I don't particularly care for Lil' Wayne; you got me; guilty as charged. However, I heard what he said at the end of a recent press conference discussing the remake and, well, I'll let you check it out:

I Wanna Gangsta Boogie, wit my Gangsta B*tch (NSFW)

So I log on to the internet last Friday and I'm hit with these "rest in peace" messages all over Twitter and Facebook. So naturally I'm wondering since death comes in threes, who's next to follow Teddy Pendergrass as far as black celebrities go. And then I find out it was Apache. Yeah I see you squinting right now asking yourself "Apache? Who the hell is that?!" Don't worry, I did that for about five seconds my damn self before I remembered the one hit wonder rapper from the early nineties.

Yeah, you know the cat who had that one hit 'Gansta Bitch', right? C'mon, I know I wasn't the only one singing the hook "I wanna gangsta boogie with my gangsta bitch", right? Don't lie to me dammit!


So anywhichaways, I was kinda put off by the cliche fake sympathy thrown around by people in social media. I mean people were acting like Apache was that heat! How many albums did the brother have? When was the last time we heard from him? And do you even know the words to Gansgta Bitch other than the hook? Um, I'm sorry, but if you can't answer any of these questions you have no reason to be throwing around that "R.I.P. Apache, I'mma miss you dog!" Um, get tha' f*ck outta here with that if you ain't family or at least went to school with Apache,son! I swear, n*ggas on the internet are so fake.

My wife said I was mean. I told her the only one hit wonder rappers people were allowed to mourn openly would be Rob Base from Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. If you gotta ask who the hell they are you really should kill yourself. But anyway, the burning question I had wasn't how did he die, it was did he ever find that gangsta bitch he described in his song. Did he ever find that woman with whom he was able to do stickups with on Valentine's Day as he wished for? I mean how far can a relationship with a gangsta bitch actually go; and more importantly, are some of today's lesbians onetime gansgta bitches who were ignored because...?

Oh well, Apache's ode to loser hyper-masculine bitches and the men who loved them wasn't one that was on my radar. But then again maybe that was due in part to Dr. Dre having a ghetto-nerd such as myself all smoked out when The Chronic came out and not so much into sharing my blunt with chicks who weren't gonna have sex with me. At any rate, smoked out or not, I doubt whether many guys would walk around in public with a female like the one pictured above on their arm.

Though I can appreciate women with a little hood in 'em. The whole gangsta bitch thing is just taking it too far, and let's just say I'm more comfortable with a ride or die chick as opposed to fake-ass uppity bougie broads. Let's be real, women will forever be attracted to thugged out men, but men being attracted to gangsta bitches, not so much...

From Pudding Pop to Hip Hop: Bill Cosby releases Hip Hop album, but...

It’s often said that the road to hell is paved with bibles and people with good intentions. Bill Cosby introducing a Hip Hop album to the mainstreams seems to be much like that in my opinion. Dr. William H. Cosby hosted an online town hall meeting last night introducing his project “Bill Cosby presents Cosnorati: State of Emergency”. The album is billed as an outreach of sorts to inner city youth. Good idea, well intentioned as I’ve already mentioned, but listening to him speak last night I saw a 70yr old man who is definitely out of touch.

First off, you’re Bill Cosby; you’ve openly criticized Black youth and urban culture. Not only that, but as Jessie Jackson would say you “talked down to Black people.” But yet now you come with a project to reach the youth? Again, not a bad idea, but you employ the talent of guys we’ve never heard of? Damn Bill, at one point in time I remember you trying to buy NBC. Shit, if you want to reach the youth with a positive message via Hip Hop, stop being cheap; spend some money and put together a project with some well known or more influential rap artists.

An old head like me can appreciate the reverberation of “conscious” Hip Hop today in a landscape where said MCs have a hard time thriving. And no disrespect to the young brothers you’re using for this project, but I doubt they’ll create much of a buzz to even pique the interest of kids who are currently hooked on ring-tone music.

Point blank: I don’t care how nice these guys are on the microphone, kids are not going to listen to three no-name emcees tell them to pull up their pants. Especially when one time womanizer, baby having on the side, “Come On People”, Bill Cosby is behind it, and you can't say “filth, filth, flarn filth, in front of people.”


Don’t get me wrong, I grew up with Cosby’s work. Back in the day I couldn’t wait to wake up on a Saturday morning and hangout with “Fat Albert” and the rest of the crew; it was entertaining. And then I got older and his comedic delivery on Thursday nights in the form of Black family utopia or “The Cosby Show” was well appreciated. Yes, I love Bill Cosby for providing those moments in my youth. But the last thing I want is for, a 70yr old man, touching the art form of Hip Hop, to which I am endeared. Please believe, people never forget the wack albums; and I’d hate to see Cosby’s featured on “VH1’s 100 Wackest Hip Hop Albums of all Time” in the future.

If Bill Cosby truly cared about reaching the kids via Hip Hop he would buy BET instead of putting out a rap album that nobody is going to listen to. Seriously Bill if you're not going to do that, stick to Jazz and those ugly 90s sweaters because Hip Hop isn’t you. How about you put out a comedy album that's designed to target parents instead. If you want to reach kids go back to Jell-O Pudding Pops and “Little Bill” on Nick Jr. my friend.

Not that I’m looking to you to throw on a cape and be “Leonard Pt. 6” again to save urban youth or anything. But since you’re not giving away free CDs - something he really should consider doing - and said kids must purchase to get the message. Cosby would be better served if he were able to put together a serious collaboration to reach a wider audience.

Stop being cheap Bill; freedom ain’t free...

Besides, it's a state of emergency, right?

P.S. Checkout what my sister Goddess Intellect had to say: Click Here

It's Easy to Pull a Breezy, Smoke Trees, and Stay Drunk

If I knew that shit would be as f*cked up in the new millennium as it is, I would have partied harder in 1999 – damn you Prince. Let’s see, Bush gets elected, and then a few months after his inauguration I lost my job due to corporate downsizing – hell, the towers hadn’t even fallen yet. And here we are almost 10yrs later and pretty much everybody is up shit’s creek without a paddle or a friggin life jacket. Damn I miss the 90s, with Puff Daddy and the shiny suits.

So the other day I’m whippin’ the ride around the city, and I turn to one of the two local stations for Hip Hop. Of course I rarely listen to these stations but this day in particular I had an itch. After maybe ten or fifteen minutes of listening I was infuriated. No, I wasn’t mad at myself for being a glutton for punishment by listening for what today passes as Hip Hop music. Instead, I was mad because it seemed as if all these assholes with songs on the air were clueless to the fact that we’re in a deep recession.

When the unemployment rate is at a 26yr high nationally and the rate of employment for Blacks and other minorities are as staggering as they are. The last thing I wanna hear is some fool on my radio talking about how much money he has and how much of it he throws away or wipes his ass with. When there’s a home foreclosure every 13 seconds in this country I seriously don’t think I wanna hear about how you make it rain on hoes or your 75 inch rims on your 1976 Chevy Nova, or how your pitbull drinks Cristal. I mean, that's unless rappers are the only employed Black people right now, that is; then and only then is that type of talk positive, uplifting and motivational.

Yep, why finish high school when you can be a rapper, right?

No seriously, I know rappers are not the only people currently with money in this country. And the fact that they are insulting my intelligence in ways that a big booty stripper could get away with back in the day pisses me off. I mean obviously these chowder-heads aren’t aware of the state of the economy. Shit man, not trying to be the disgruntled old school Hip Hop fan, but whatever happened to music that related to everyday people, or the realities of the everyday struggle? You know, that whole “Don’t, push, me, cuz', I’m, close, to, the, edge,” thing? What, did they hand out reparation checks and forgot to let a brother know?

In the ever popular “keepin’ it real” landscape that is Hip Hop, is this truly what is really happening? I’m 39yrs old and if this is indeed the way rappers are living someone needs to let me know quickly. Yes, because that would mean that at my age it’s not too late to pursue a onetime childhood dream of being a dope MC, meeting Kim Fields and getting married.

Damn straight!

While the rest of you losers are out here complaining about the state of the economy, and the price of milk while waiting on unemployment checks. I’ll be spending my ringtone money and eating food off of the platinum plaques on my wall as I watch the movie Scarface for the 5,500th time; why should Lil' Boosie and company have all the fun gettin' wiped down. Somebody get me Mr. Rourke's phone number so him and the midget Tattoo can make it happen.

Who said dreams never come true, right?

Oh well, don't tell that the guy who wrote this song...

His name is K'naan, he was born in Somalia and is currently a rapper...

You won't hear this on the radio...

Hey Soulja Boy, that's not swag, that's gay!

Ok, so yeah there have been rumors. Rumors that I have yet to give any thought. But seeing how the pic above was posted on Twitter, I can't help but to think Mr. Boytellum is trying to tell us something. First off all, did he actually hop up out the bed, turn his swag on and took a look in the mirror and said wassup when he took this picture? Did he really trun his swag on or was he trying to turn on a guy named Swag. I'm just sayin folks: famous or not, why would I wake up in the morning and take a picture of myself with morning wood? Answer: because I'm gay and I plan to post the pic on Twitter to turn on my gay male fans which would mean...I'm gay!

Nothing wrong with being gay mind you; this post isn't a shot at homosexuals. What's wrong however is being a supposed role model to kids and putting this out there yourself. Even worse than that is giving gay people a bad name by being the walking advertisement for White Supremacist groups (thanks Elon). I'm seriously having a hard time accepting that he sought female attention from this picture. It's too bad that the females drooling over this pic on Twitter and everywhere else have no clue. And what's sad is that some of them are old enough to be his mother; nasty ass heffas.

I'm sorry, but if you're a sex symbol, the ladies will let you know and there would be no need for this type of self-promotion. Yes, and this is why I'm convinced that Soulja Boy is gay, and Swag is the nickname of one of his lovers. I mean, he is from Atlanta, right? No disrespect to the ATL...but you folks need to pass legislation banning this type of swag; or any alleged "swag" coming from Zoboomafoo posing in the picture above. Yes, I need one of you to tell this clown to hop his ass back in the bed and never wake up.

Yep, Soulja Boy is Tellin'em alright.

When Hurricane Chris is the smartest kid in Louisiana there's a problem, and it's a damn shame

Last Saturday night I had the pleasure of meeting Max Reddick of the blog Soulbrother v2 here in Memphis. Over a plate of good food and spiritual libation we had a rather healthy discussion. He being an educator at the college level the one thing that sticks out for all intents and purposes of this post was the state of education and Black youth. If you haven’t visited this blog before now I urge you to do so, and do so daily; if you don’t add it to your blogroll you’re missing out on some good reading.

I also had the opportunity to meet his teenage son who was fresh off of attending an academic summer program at Vanderbilt University. I gotta tell y'all: it was refreshing to speak to a Black man and his son who both put a premium on education in light of the negative things you hear about absentee fathers and delinquent kids. It just goes to show that there are some of us out here who are doing the damn thing but are never heralded. I was amazed to know that of the 900 or so kids that attended there were probably 20 Black kids in attendance; umm, we gotta do something about that parents.

Speaking of education…

Recently I read a story over at the blog Righteous Minds - another blog you should read daily - where in the state of Louisiana legislation was being considered to lower the education standards in an attempt to do something about the dropout rate. They’ve proposed “career diplomas” as an alternative to standardized testing. I don’t know what’s going on down in Louisiana, but their public school system is ranked damn near or at the very bottom of public school rankings in this country. According to a report, out of the 1,263 public schools in the state, only 301 of them scored at the basic level or above in 2008 [Click to read the PDF].

Can any of you tell me why this is so?

Could this be indicative of the problem in Louisiana?

[Insert blank f*ckin stare]

Now I know you guys know all about Hurricane Katrina and the effect it had on the gulf coast. You guys also know about the fallout in the aftermath that was Katrina and the state of Louisiana vs. the Federal Gov’t. I’m sure you all know all of this by now, but you probably haven’t heard of Hurricane Chris. I refuse to call him that name. Instead, when I look at him or hear his annoying music I say to myself, “there goes that damn mosquito again.” No joke, not only does he looks like one but his music is as annoying as a mosquito buzz in my ear. Seriously, I know there’s alotta swampland down in Louisiana, but do all these rap artists from that state have to actually look like insects? Think Lil Wayne, but I digress.

I looked at that video of him being honored in his state senate as the ultimate co-sign to the dumbing down of America. Obviously Louisiana isn’t or hasn’t been made dumb enough so they, or should I say his silly God-mother committed this horrible crime against humanity. When your state’s public schools rank as low as they do in the country the last thing you want to show the world as a glimmer of hope in the form of Hurricane Chris a mosquito who has managed to have a small command of the English language enough so to put out a rap record denigrating women. Hell, the record company had to change the title of the song after being threatened by some expensive lawyers retained by Halle Berry herself. I'm not mad at her; I wouldn't want my name attatched to such f*ckery either.

I can’t help but to think that those White folks in that building – you know the White state legislators who were in attendance? - on that day all had a sigh of relief that their kids would never turn out like this fine young man. Sure their kids will never have a rap record ranked number five on the charts. But I damn sure know that their Godmothers would never embarrass them by referring to men as mens like this woman did. I'm also pretty sure that they as parents would never have to worry about getting their kids into academic summer programs either as do "regular" parents.

It’s sad enough that the state has a serious problem with education and poverty, but if Hurricane Chris is the best you have to offer and honor, then I think they’re in trouble. Instead of worrying about hurricanes and levees being fixed, I think parents should flee the state for their children’s sake. Either that or hold their elected officials accountable. Because from what I hear, they did pass that Bill to lower the bar as far as standardized testing. Just great; now we'll have more kids graduating from high school with diplomas where they too can specialize in horrible music.

Knowumtalmbout?

Ladies First Guest Blogger Week - Excuse Me Miss, Can I Kick It? by Silkee

[Editor's Note: This post comes rom one of the most outspoken women I've ever met online. The last time she was featured on this blog she ripped it! I'm trying to convince her to be a regular contributor to my blog. Hopefully with your support she'll do just that. Until then you can reach her, and follow her on Twitter (@AlwaysSilky). I hope you enjoy this one, and look for her in the near future]

The hip-hop head in me was bouncing all over the map the other day. I was tooling all over Baltimore, getting my vacation off to a stellar start when I heard the song "I Got a Man" by Positive K. For those who may not remember or may not be familiar, the entire premise is that a young man is trying to gain a particular female’s attention – she’s clearly not having it because, after all, as the title states, she’s GOT a man. But of course, he’s got 50-11 reasons why she should disregard that man in favor of the new suitor, and therefore disrespect herself completely-- not to mention that the minute the young lady in question mentioned that her man was the type to gift her with all manner of material possessions, he became immediately disinterested because “[he doesn’t] go that route.” This really got me to thinking about male behavior – primarily because I’ve been on the receiving end of this kind of foolishness more times than I care to remember.

Let’s examine.

It bears stating that the men who would engage in this kind of behavior are not exactly looking for wife material. Even if they were, it would stand to reason that they definitely are NOT husband material. What I find completely hilarious is that they tend to display more than their share of indignation when the object of their affection is completely nonplussed by their invitations to dinner and a movie (do I look like I’ve missed a meal, or that I’m not pop-culturally aware?). Pffft… unoriginal drivel – but of course, a man who would steal another man’s crown jewel only to use her like toilet paper generally isn’t capable of the kind of original thought that could gain him his own Hope Diamond. Sadly, I’m aware that another reason these fools go about their business the way they do is that even if they approach 100 attached women (and trust, they approach as many as they possibly can without getting maced or tazed), they’re likely to get a bite from at least one. In their tiny minds, they are still a success; they’ve got game.

An uninterested lady might stop one of these troglodytes in his path by asking them whether or not it would be acceptable for the woman they thought of as “theirs” to be roaming the Earth collecting random male friends of which he was unaware. Admittedly, most of them aren’t even thinking that far ahead. I take it as a personal affront that so many cats step out on the false pretense of friendship, when the pink elephant in the living room is only that this dude is biding his time until your man does something to set you off, so he can be that “break glass in case of emergency” dick. Frankly, I will say for the record that I don’t even believe in the phenomenon of platonic friendship between members of the opposite sex, unless one of the parties is homosexual. Say what you want, but I’ve seen it happen too many times. Somebody catches feelings, or decides to wait around for the other person to drop the soap – and it’s NEVER a good look. It also makes me wonder whether or not the phenomenon of stuck-up, rude women that so many men describe is rooted in this behavior. Maybe if more males acted like gentlemen, instead of horny, desperate curb-dwellers or pushy salesmen, they’d get more of out a woman to whom they showed some interest than a disgusted sidelong glance, a dismissive snicker, and the PALM!

And I know, I started out with Positive K... but the tone of the blog was more suited to Tribe Called Quest. Sue me.

xox... Happy hunting, lame asses of the world.