I woke up in a new Bugatti, no wait, All my n**gas look rich as f$%k, no wait, I like my kisses down low, no ...wait for it, I put that p**sy in face I ain't got no problems!. This is the best you are going to get on the number 1 station of hip-hop in Chicago. This is what we hear all day in rotation. Now picture this; four young black men get in a car, inside that car they lock and load a various amount of hand guns and drive off. They drive a few blocks turn up the radio and it's a Shania Twain song. They lean out the window and start shooting at rival gang members.
Does this sound right? No it doesn't. You talk to any person that is gang affiliated and I'm sure Christian gospel rap is not on their playlist. More than likely they have some form of rap music that includes the glorification of living in poverty, the perspective of a street dealer or king pin, the bragging of ones jewelry and cars, and of course the mack daddy pimp rhymes. I recently went to a Too Short concert, I am sure I told a couple people about this, but I had to shake my head at the reaction of the women in the crowd. Let me back track a little, Too Short is a west coast rapper how has had a long and luxurious career based off his use of one word, B*tch. He says it with such enthusiasm that women actually say it along with him while shaking their tail feathers. How many of you fellas have a tattoo across your stomach? Now ask yourself honestly did Tupac have influence on that decision? Our behaviors our influenced, in a sense, by what type of music we listen to.
Let take a moment for a little common sense analyses, being from Chicago I was raised on WGCI 107.5 fm. If you go to their website, wgci.com, and look at their first 100 songs on their playlist see how far you get before you find anything that doesn't involve sex, guns, or money. I would challenge you to find the first song that doesn't mention one of the three in the very first one or two lines. Violent crimes and crimes against women have consistently increased or remained the same here in Chicago, and every black that lives in the Chicago area has at one point in time listened to WGCI for an extended period of time at some point in their lives. For a lot of us this is the only radio station we listen to. So is it safe to say there is a correlation? Make no mistake, these radio stations play this type of music because of us. We must like it because these songs are played about 10 times a day, most of the time at high volume. If wanted something different they would play it.
The fact of the matter is the music we listen to influences us heavily. If you listen to gospel all day you will be more inclined to react in a gospel way. If, you listen to someone speaking French all day, you will learn French. If you listen to someone saying they pack pistols, tag bust downs, push weight, is not afraid of prison, has diamonds, and wakes up in Bugatti's guess what you are going to do?
The lie is this, how many people you know actually lives like that? I'll answer that for you, none, and if you do know someone with all the things that are described on any of the first 40 songs on WGCI's playlist, remember that's them not you. You need a job, you need an education, you need to be a productive citizen for your community, you need to a strong supportive example for the rest of your family so I suggest you turn up the radio on something that is going to get that, instead of Jesus piece, sex, and a tear drop tattoo.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Is it us?
We kill each other, no doubt about it. Probably more than any race on this planets. Blacks, Africans, African American, or whatever the description, if you are of a dark skin race you know about death against your own people by your own people. Now I don't live in Africa, I am an American black so I can't speak for why these things go on over seas, but I can speak about what goes on over here, even though I'm sure that the reason's for the violence are similar.
Why is it that so many of our brothers and sisters find them selves in a position where they kill their own kind? Is it just our nature? I mean let's talk honestly, slavery might not have been such a problem if early African's hadn't mastered the process and taught the rest of the world the good old tricks of the trade. If you have doubts, I do believe Moses lead the Hebrews out Egypt, which is in Africa. We have a long history of slaving, selling, and killing our own kind. So, do we have the genetic make-up of a highly intelligent genocidal people? I say highly intelligent because our history also includes every major change and advancement in civilization since beginning of man, therefore I have know doubts we know what we are doing, we see what's going on, and we can intelligently process the information given. But for some reason we have the piece of us that excepts this on going crisis.
You can sit back and look at every other culture and race on this planet and see that they don't kill each other off at such a high rate.
My personal opinion is that we have become so desensitized to suffering and death that we no longer have the normal appalled reaction when own of us is slain by one of our own, and that is the scariest part of the problem for me. Why aren't we up in arms searching, not only for the person who committed the crime, but also for change, for solutions, for safety, and piece of mind. The ability to rest without worry when my 15 year old sons hangs out on his neighborhood corner on a summer night.
My last opinion about this might make a few of you angry but I'm going to say it anyways. We are weak, spineless, and cowardly. Now I really don't believe this but our behaviors have me leaning in that direction. In other culture crimes against your own people is dealt with swiftly and harshly, and the smart cultures make the family responsible for the punishment. This means if someone in your household commits a crime against your people you better handle it or the people will handle you and who ever did the crime. In some parts of the world if a family kills someone they charge the family for funeral cost, hospital bills, and the cost of ammunition if the police have to use deadly force. You know we do, march, have a picnic, tattoo RIP Huggy Bear on our stomach. The thing we hardly ever do is address the problem directly. Confront the pink elephant in the room that might be someone you love. How many times have we been in the same room with the problem and done nothing. That goes for all of us, Grandmas, Grandpas, Fathers, Mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. Now, for those of you who do and have done something we need you to do it again and again, for those of us who have done nothing it time for us to get off the bench and get in the game your people need you.
Why is it that so many of our brothers and sisters find them selves in a position where they kill their own kind? Is it just our nature? I mean let's talk honestly, slavery might not have been such a problem if early African's hadn't mastered the process and taught the rest of the world the good old tricks of the trade. If you have doubts, I do believe Moses lead the Hebrews out Egypt, which is in Africa. We have a long history of slaving, selling, and killing our own kind. So, do we have the genetic make-up of a highly intelligent genocidal people? I say highly intelligent because our history also includes every major change and advancement in civilization since beginning of man, therefore I have know doubts we know what we are doing, we see what's going on, and we can intelligently process the information given. But for some reason we have the piece of us that excepts this on going crisis.
You can sit back and look at every other culture and race on this planet and see that they don't kill each other off at such a high rate.
My personal opinion is that we have become so desensitized to suffering and death that we no longer have the normal appalled reaction when own of us is slain by one of our own, and that is the scariest part of the problem for me. Why aren't we up in arms searching, not only for the person who committed the crime, but also for change, for solutions, for safety, and piece of mind. The ability to rest without worry when my 15 year old sons hangs out on his neighborhood corner on a summer night.
My last opinion about this might make a few of you angry but I'm going to say it anyways. We are weak, spineless, and cowardly. Now I really don't believe this but our behaviors have me leaning in that direction. In other culture crimes against your own people is dealt with swiftly and harshly, and the smart cultures make the family responsible for the punishment. This means if someone in your household commits a crime against your people you better handle it or the people will handle you and who ever did the crime. In some parts of the world if a family kills someone they charge the family for funeral cost, hospital bills, and the cost of ammunition if the police have to use deadly force. You know we do, march, have a picnic, tattoo RIP Huggy Bear on our stomach. The thing we hardly ever do is address the problem directly. Confront the pink elephant in the room that might be someone you love. How many times have we been in the same room with the problem and done nothing. That goes for all of us, Grandmas, Grandpas, Fathers, Mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. Now, for those of you who do and have done something we need you to do it again and again, for those of us who have done nothing it time for us to get off the bench and get in the game your people need you.
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