Aug/090
Lil’ Wayne, “Whip It Like A Slave,” and the Crisis of Coonery
By Tolu Olorunda From ALLHIPHOP.COM
“Music is said to soothe the savage beast, but it may also powerfully excite it. … At an emotional level, there is something ‘deeper’ about hearing than seeing; and sometimes about hearing other people which fosters human relationships even more than seeing them.”
—Storr, Anthony. Music and the Mind. New York: Free Press, 1992, p. 26.
That Lil’ Wayne is an embarrassment to the rich legacies of musical excellence which paved the road for his rise to prominence is not a breakthrough. It’s a given. An irrefutable fact. But that he would stoop so low to the level of making a song titled, “Whip It Like A Slave,” boggles the mind of even this writer.
Jul/090
Play Your Passion – Lil Black Boy to a Man
In high school I proved I could accomplish anything I wanted to. I was a student leader (I served as the student rep to the mayor), I was an accomplished academic (AP Courses & the Gifted Program) and I was an athlete. I want to talk about the the athlete portion of it.
As a little black boy they put a football and basketball in your hands and say go become a millionaire. To tell a little about me my first sport was baseball. I went the entire first season without a single hit. I honestly was scared of the ball. Something must have happened the next school year. I came back in the spring with a vengeance. I think it had a little to do with my kid brother coming to my league. I became a beast. I was #2 in the league in stolen bases and even hit for the cycle. I loved sports. Then I moved on to the more traditional negro sports. I spent an entire summer in basketball camp. The fact that I was now 5′7 1/2 going into the 7th grade didn’t hurt. I played with passion. My role model was Dennis Rodman as a young player. I wanted to play defense & get rebounds. I was a scrapper.
Jul/090
Damn
Let me….
Sing a song of sweet serenades sublimely soothing the soul of you sisters in search of something so small as to satisfy your secrets and smelt the sun’s shine seven times over and strictly swell your secretions to the magnitude to make cities safely come together and say…….
DAMN
Let me………
Wash away the wishes of want wavering wildly within you woman’s wombs waiting for one’s will with what one would wait for in its wickedness and with wolf like wails of……
DAMN
Jun/091
4 Letter Words
Mother always looked out for my best interest. She said stay away from those 4 letter words. As clear as she was I couldn’t stay away. I said SHIT & DAMN instead of SHOOT & DOG. They had 5 & 3 respectfully. If they didn’t have 4, they didn’t entice me. As my life continued I learned to use these words. In time of great degree would these quad literary glories. Today I face the truth. I wish I had I listened to what she had said. I’m a 24 year old man who just met one hell of a group of 4 letter words. Those 2 are PAIN & LOVE. They come in a pair because that is the way of emotions. It’s forever one or another. If PAIN is here then LOVE just departed. And PAIN gets to moving when LOVE shows up on the doorstep. I wish I had just heeded my mother’s words. Now I see all that it is, is another 4 letter word…
LIFE
Jun/090
BET (Barely Even Tangible)
Such a commotion was made over the 2009 BET Awards due to the fact it was filmed in the wake of the death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. MJ left us just 3 days before the awards. As an event planner myself I could only imagine the stress one would be under to make the show give MJ his due honor. I will start that saying Jamie Foxx was an excellent host. He is musical, comedic & extemporaneous. His ability to adapt to the situation really shined. I enjoyed him as the host years ago for the ESPY awards.
The award show seemed pretty run of the mill for BET. One interesting thing they decided to do was eliminate the listing of nominees with the announcement of each winner. This was done to make the show go faster however there seemed to be many missed cues. They also did this to fit in more performances. Let’s talk about performances.
Kheri Baby did her thing. She impresses me with her ability to actually perform. She is a good singer/dancer. The little freestyle dance portion was “interesting” for lack of better words.
I would like to declare that Ne-Yo should never go san-sombrero. His head is entirely too big. He might want to look at putting a little powder on his head to cut back on the glare from the lights.
You have to love old school & there was a plenty. New Edition did their thing. I honestly went to get a Cuba Libre at this point so I didn’t pay much attention.
J Foxx got it going with his “Blame It” performance. T Pain was flossing a chain that said BIG ASS CHAIN on it. Seriously. This would be good if it was a symbol of the idiocracy of the bling culture but he was doing it to be an ass. He thought it would be cool. This song really threw me for a loop when Snoop Dogg came out. The stage was covered in smoke which is where I think he came from but I think it was actually a tie in to “Gin & Juice”. But on June 28th this man was wearing a 1992 leather trench coat. He had to be hot as hell on stage. He did 8 bars because he almost suffered from heat stroke & couldn’t get the other 8 bars out. The highlight of this performance was Travis Barker. I’m a big fan on Hip Hop & Rock like it was in the beginning.
Check Back Later for Part 2
Jun/090
Fashion Faux Paux
Mar/080
Old Angry Black Men
I find the entire Rev Wright situation very puzzling. One of the most important things I was taught coming up is to respect my elders. I truly do that. I listen to what my mother & father say though I feel they are wrong quite often. That is just my parents. Let’s take into account some of the things people the age of my grandparents say and think. There is a point in black lineage where people are mad. It’s going to take a whole lot to stop them from being mad. Like the saying goes I forgive you but I can’t forget. These people may have stated that they have forgiven America as a whole but they will not forget. Let’s look directly at the Obama situation. If he is guilty of anything, it is trying to politically handle this situation. Simply be open. Powerfuly say Rev Wright is family as many people consider theit pastors family. I cannot and will not disown my mother over comments that she makes which I don’t agree with. I can and will answer for comments I make, but have no control over others. I consider myself a leader. One of the most important things for a leader is to know how to follow but the way to distiguish a following person is knowing when to stand out and display differences from the person leading.
Feb/080
Black State of the Union vs. Obama
I was so proud to be in attendance last year at the State of the Black Union (SOBU). It is a very powerful event. Last year many of the attendees were very critical of Sen. Obama for not attending the conference. I was with them. Then I though a little bit more about it. It was the same day Obama declared his candidacy for the Presidential nomination. It was also around Abraham Lincoln’s birthday celebration in Illinois. This was the perfect opportunity for him to announce he’s running for President of the US. Now if he simply wanted to be the premier leader within the Afro-American community he should’ve been there. Obama needed to show he is a leader amongst all Americans; Black, White, Puerto Rican and Asian.
Well this year Tavis is back at it. He is upset that Obama will not put a hold on his campaigning to go the Nawlins (New Orleans) to participate in this year’s SOBU. I personally agree with Obama. It could prove detrimental if he doesn’t present himself to those still to vote. The people of Louisiana already showed their overwhelming support to Obama. He needs to focus on TX, OH & WI.
Hillary has confirmed that she will be in attendance. She has something to prove to Afro-Americans. Once her family was adored within our community and that is no longer the case. Obama needs to gain the support of all Americans because he is already fighting out of a hole.
Obama offered his wife to attend in his place. That would be a welcomed site. We have already seen plenty of Bill Clinton this season. Why not compare the entire team. The Clintons showed that the role of the 1st mate might be more than throwing dinner parties, so we should at least know what we’re getting from both Obamas. The black mother is the foundation so let’s spotlight Michelle.
Feb/080
Super Fat Tuesday
