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SubscriptionsSites I Read
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| Prop 1 & Prop2
You're Play-in' Yourself 2005
If you’re rocking pink or purple anything, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you still read the source, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you listen to that ole sloppy station (97.1fm), you’re play-in’ yourself
If you’re name is Jim Jones, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you go by any name other than Puff Daddy, you’re play-in’ yourself
Bought a Dip Set album then, you’re play-in’ yourself
Still flagging in New York City, you’re play-in’ yourself
Still getting high, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you believe Pac is alive, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you still buying Pac albums, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you got Big Pun, Biggie or Pac on your shirt, you’re play-in’ yourself
Watching the Negro channel (BET) then, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you’re in the rap game getting extorted, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you think they are going to rebuild New Orleans, you’re play-in’ yourself
Working at the Strip club, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you give two shits about what Bill Cosby said, you’re play-in’ yourself
Think rap is the CNN of the streets, you’re play-in’ yourself
Didn’t already know “Why,” you’re play-in’ yourself
Still don’t know “Why.” you’re play-in’ yourself
If you’re under 40 and you read Jet or Ebony, you’re play-in’ yourself
Following “Trapped in the closet,” you’re play-in’ yourself
If you don’t know your history, you’re play-in’ yourself
Rocking a hair piece or contacts, you’re play-in’ yourself
Still showing off your ass, you’re play-in yourself
If you’re a ball player and still don’t have a jump shot, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you think Suge Knight is still relevant, you’re play-in’ yourself
If you think Oprah cares about Black people, you’re play-in’ yourself
Black conservative, Black Liberal, you’re play-in’ yourself
“I’m not Black, I’m multi-racial,” You’re Play-in’ yourself
All that "Kevin Garnett best player in the NBA blah-blah-blah" you're play-in' yourself
If you don't think Rap fell off, you're play-in' yourself
Wasting money at the strip club, then you're play-in' yourself
If you don't think God is watching, you're play-in' yourself
If you think Katrina can't happen to you, you're play-in' yourself
Drinking cough syrup like it's soda, you're play-in' yourself
Committing crimes, not going to class, you're play-in' yourself
Don't think Common's “Be,” was Rap album of the year? You're play-in' yourself
Consider Southern Rap Hip-Hop, then you're play-in' yourself
Think Houston MCs don't have flow, you're play-in' yourself
Not tired of Diddy and Jermiane Dupri, you're play-in' yourself
Why is Collin Powell talking? You had your chance bro, you're playing yourself
Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Louis Farrahkhan, you're play-in' yourself
Michael Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Bill Cosby you're play-in' yourself
Kobe Bryant, Maurice Clarett, Terrell Owens, you're play-in' yourself
Not watching the BoonDocks on Adult Swim, you're play-in' yourself
And if you don’t know what song this is from,
You’re Play-in’ Yourself!
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| Prop2
Black Girl Pain
“My mama said life would be so hard
Growin up days as a black girl scarred
In so many ways though we've come so far
They just know the name they don't know the pain
So please hold your heads up high
Don't be ashamed of yourself know I
Will carry it forth til the day I die
They just know the name they don't know the pain Black Girl.”
“Black Girl Pain”- Talib Kweli feat. Jean Grae
The wonderful women of Spelman College along with their brothers from Morehouse College, in Atlanta attempted to reclaim and redefine the image of Black women a little over a year ago. Some students opposed Nelly performing at their homecoming because of a boarder line X-rated Tip drill video. Well, that fell apart. Word circulated the majority of Nelly’s proceeds go to bone marrow research and treatment; all for his older sister, who unfortunately lost her battle with leukemia earlier this year. To kick some more dirt, Ludacris performed regardless of his X-rated video, P**** Poppin. Oops.
Despite his intentions, these students wanted Nelly to take responsibility for his video, I say, how about we go after the women in the video. Black Women, what the hell are you doing?? Ask any rapper today about his videos and the portrayal of Black Women and they brush it off, these women are hired to do this job, they’re in “this” kind of business ramble, ramble, mumble, mumble. The average to extraordinary Black women instead of defending these women, attack and berate them worse than guys. To justify their beliefs, these same women say, “That’s isn’t me.” Really, since when did you annex yourself from the rest of the Black community? No matter how many of you believe this does not concern you, the texture of your hair, the color of your skin doesn’t come off when you walk out the door or go to bed. To be very honest, the only people you (Black women) can turn to today is each other. Black men, some of us love you and will ride with you, however, have decided to explore our options; and we’re doing just fine. You should do the same. Ah, but what happens when a Black women walks hand and hand with whitey or anyone else? You know the whole Jezebel/Sapphire thing. So you are on one side of the track, or you are on the other; that is what a lot of women believe. News flash, the world sees you, sees all of us, as one. Start checking yourselves. Start with what you’re putting into your mind.
First Viacom, you know it as BET and MTV. Viacom never had the interests of Black Women, Black People, at heart. The Negro channel, already going down hill, hit rock bottom when Robert Johnson sold it. BET late and BET Uncut, we know them very well. That is where we discovered the definition of Tip Drill; it’s not the first video and won’t be the last. However, during the era of 2 Live Crew and NWA; Queen Latifah, Salt & Pepa, MC Lyte, Monie Love, and others female MCs countered those other images. There was no divide between the image opposition and the image, one in the same, a rare time to see, although not in abundance, sisterly love and support. Does any one remember U.N.I.T.Y? Nowadays, a Black woman can’t buy a compliment from another Black woman without some disdain. If you’re not upset by the how you see yourself displayed in television, you’re upset because you don’t look like what you see on television. You are witness to a very limited representation of Black women. But how do you know unless you discover on your own, which brings me to reading selections.
Second Zane and all those other books people waste valuable time and brainpower reading, i.e. anything by Teri Woods, E Lynn Harris, and all those other hood authors. I feel like I’m wasting precious text just writing this much. I can hear the rants now, “They are writing about things we know about,” “It’s just entertainment, no one wants to learn all the time.” Well, if you took everything as learning experience, that would negate some of the nonsense that life throws at you, but I digress. My question is, how many times can you read about the same story: 1)woman falls in love, man cheats on her, woman goes through hell, she gets even, she lives happily ever after. Or, 2) woman falls in love, discovers man is gay, woman goes through hell, woman recuperates. 3) Or, woman is addicted to sex, woman experiments with sex, man calls woman slut, woman goes through hell, woman prevails, etc, see any pattern? The third scenario brings me to another point:
Little Kim, Beyonce, Melyssa Ford, Halley Barry, Esther Baxter, and other center pieces of the male fantasy believe they have taken control of their image/sexuality; some women follow the same ideology. Question, are you looking at yourself through your lens or through the lens of some else. Thus is the enigma Black women face today. Is this my image or am I living something arranged before I got here? That may be a little farfetched, however, consider women’s clothing, especially Black women’s clothing. The clothes are not really intended for you and not designed by you; they’re designed for the fantasy that some random male (and sometimes female) will have about you as they watch you walk down the street. I ask, exactly how are these women taking control of their sexuality? Some respond, they doing what guys do, being overtly sexual, accepting the role as sexual object and using it to their advantage; or, they have taken words like bitch and added a positive spin to them. Well, to the first response, you can’t do what a guy does and still be a lady. The second, I won’t touch, it is just as ridiculous as the word nigger having some redeeming quality. It’s so funny. In spite of all that is against you, regardless of you career path you always hold your head High. Possibly, you are aware of what came before you; however, it is time all of you were reminded.
You know the names(and if you don’t look them up!), Hattie McDaniel, Josephine Baker, Sarah Bartmann, Betty Shabazz, Pam Grier, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur etc; do you know their struggle? It is 2006, is the video chick or the wife of (insert name of sports/music celebrity) all your worth? Individually, some of you will scream no, but when did you separate yourself from the rest of the Black community?
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| Prop 1
Black Girl Lost
I heard about it. Saw it on 20/20 or some-show similar. Something about the effects of Evangelical Christendom on West Africa. Perhaps, perhaps not. But at the end of the day, the result was the same: Sisters lightening their skin. I was like "Damn. This is like 199x." And here the devil was up to his old tricks, still catching Black people out there. Serving self-hate in a bottle.
But for real-for real... watching it... there was this sense of... that's over there. You know the whole dual consciousness thing. Seeing Black people. Acknowledging that they're Black. But at the same time holding something back because who besides Michael Jackson wants to be white! So sitting back in 199x, watching that shit, I rationalized, and those Africans became "dem niggas over there" because they were nothing like these niggas right here.
Then again...
In the inbetween time from that day in 199x to December 16, 2005 I have borne witness to Lil' Kim, Destiny's Child, Wendy Williams, varying video "vixens", bleached skinned West Africans and I have to ask the question, "What's up with Black women?"
"Good and bad hair... Good and bad hair" was the chorus sung in Spike Lee's School Daze. And what made it funny and easier to enjoy was that I, hopefully we, could sit back and say "Yeah. it used to be like that."
Growing up, my Mother had an Afro. A big one. It extended from her face like the rays of the sun. You know light travels in waves, right? Saturday mornings or afterschool, Black girls on steps braiding each others hair- now that's really hood! True, perms and other forms of straightnin' have been around and will stay around. But natural was preferred and respected, because even if it was permed it was still yours and that made it ok. We had come a long you and I. Black is beautiful, Black Pride, I'm Black and I'm proud (say it loud!)... I'm talking about the Black women's lack of confidence in her looks.
I think it started when the Black Man became a sex symbol. Denzel was the world's sexiest man. Remember that? White women drooling over Michael Jordan. When D'Angelo's last album came out. The writer called him "sex on a stick". Sex on a stick? 50 years ago he would have been lynched for that! And the hits keep coming... Fresh Prince, Tupac, Kobe, Nelly, Andre3K, 50Cent, Pharell... Niggaz have gone international! Back in the day, Black men were the exclusive property of Black women. However, globalization has brought the original man into the sight lines of white, Asian, and Latino women. In a real way. Its weird. When I was in high school there was this unspoken divide. The racial lines were drawn and highly respected. That girl over there was cute and that's about how far it went. Yeah, you had the occasional Black-Latino cross-pollination, but now? All you can eat baby, believe it. And where has that left Black women? Hanging. Figuring out how to stay in the game. So metaphoricaly speaking we have Little Kim, buying a nose, boobies, lips and God knows what else. Destiny's Black Child Lost Beyonce is so Barbi-fied that in some photos I can barely tell if she's Black. Maybe that's the most nefarious point. To make Black women as "white" as possible in order to reflect white women as well as Black. So Beyonce can sell to Shameeka in Southeast DC as well as Britany in Provo. To TJ in Detroit and Luke in Spokane, because white men don't really like Black women. What they want is Barbie. Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson, you know... Barbie. How can a Sister be Barbie? So, Oprah rocks hair pieces. Eve and Mary J. rock the Rupunzelle (spellcheck). And the Williams sisters are the Williams sisters. Then when I'm on the self check out line at the store, colored lens of green, light brown, and blue stare at me from the cover of so-called "Black hair" mags. Skin powdered white, bright red lips, too much blush... it's a sick sad joke. "Good and bad hair..." Even Lauren Hill rocks a John, Paul, Ringo, George mop-top. Miseducated indeed. There was an optimism with Vanessa Williams and Halle Berry. But there's a caveat. In reality they're no different than Mariah and if they were a little lighter then maybe they'd be Mariah. And how is this manifested in the every day? Look around you tell me. And time will tell us all.
... Maybe that's the most nefarious point. To make Black women as "white" as possible in order to reflect white women as well as Black. So Beyonce can sell to Shameeka in Southeast DC as well as Britany in Provo. To TJ in Detroit and Luke in Spokane...
Salam | | |
| Prop2
I’m Philadelphia’s own, Bad Guy
He’s too cocky. He talks too much. He should learn to keep his mouth shut. If you’re really that good, your talent will speak for itself. He is a distraction. He’s all about himself and not the team. He’s a head case. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!
Of course this entry refers to the 50 Cent of football, the guy everyone loves too hate, Terrell Owns. If you have not heard, due to his shenanigans on the field, off the field, and making his discontent with the Philadelphia Eagles organization very public, Terrell Owens is suspended from all team activities, including games and practice. Too harsh of a punishment, possibly; is it justified, definitely. Terrell Owens and the Philadelphia Eagles was a match made in hell, from the start. On one end there is a brash player with the talent to assist in his swagger with no remorse and an organization known for not giving in to the players. They both knew what they were getting themselves into, so oh well, oh well. Still, break out the magnifying glass and let’s see what we can find here.
Here’s a brief list of Owens’s antic:
2000: After scoring a touch down, Owens then with the San Francisco 49ers, runs to midfield of Texas Stadium and poses on the Star logo of the Dallas Cowboys.
2002: On Monday Night Football, pulls out a marker from his sock and signs the ball, then tosses it into the stands.
-After scoring a touch down, Owens borrows pom-poms from a cheerleader and dancing in the end zone. Also, that year, he criticized then Coach Steve Mariucci (San Francisco 49ers) for opting to let the clock run out, instead of continuing the assault.
2004: Traded to the Eagles and wasted no time, berating Donovan McNabb much to the delight of the cameras; always waiting for another Owens moment.
2005: Calls out team and quarterback yet again, has a fistfight with his coach, asks for more money, and now serves a season long suspension
So what is the big deal, he is one of the top three receivers in the NFL and he comes to play every day, regardless of injury or fatigue. He just tends to brag a little bit. Well, the first problem, this IS football, not basketball or baseball. These players are “warriors” and the game plays like a battlefield. There is no room for boisterous behavior or ego, everyone person on the field has a part to play for the TEAM to win. Football is the working men sport, the blue collar, put your nose to the grindstone, and get the job done type of sport; which fits right at home in Philadelphia and their football franchise; a sport, a franchise and a city that does not take kindly to a prima-donnas. Think about it, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, and Joe Horn. The Eagles hung TO out to dry, yet, none of his fellow players so much as raised an eyebrow. If this were any other sport, the player association would jump up and defend TO from a fate worse than down time. Take note, the age of the tactless player is coming to a close. Personal and/or public antics deemed detrimental, will no longer be tolerated in sports. Perhaps, it did start with the NBA dress code.
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| Prop 1
The story is finally over and it can said with some certainty...
TO is a helluva ballplayer but he's not very bright.
His first agent falls asleep at the switch and he misses the free agency filing deadline. A dummy move unprecedented in the annals of pro sports especially when he was dying to get out of SF. I mean calling his qb gay in the press, cursing out coaches on national TV dying to get out. Remember this back in 2004? Not his fault? Ok. Bad agent? Alright. So he fires his agent, hires a new one and a judge sets him free. Happy he signs with Baltimore. Cool. But then he thinks about it and backs out, dissing the [Baltimore] Ravens in the process. Not cool. So he pulls out another legal maneuver and signs again, but this time with Philly. In interviews he's gushing all over McNabb (kiss-kiss-kiss-kiss). All good right? Not so fast. Union Prez Gene Upshaw told the man, told him, Philly was giving him a bum deal, he said he understood and took it anyway. One legendary
Super Bowl performance later and all was forgiven. The hating, the nut-behavior, the "sharpie"... as if it never happened. Terrell Owens is a Hall-of-famer, now!
You know. I could re-hash the last couple of months. That would be easy. Right up to Arlen Specter's talking about bringing TO's case to the senate floor. But at the end of the day, more can be learned from his mistakes, and they are at least the following:
1. Philly sports fans like their [Black] athletes quiet. None of this rabble rouser new negros showin out stuff. Get in line ni&&@! Dick Allen (Phillies), Charles Barkley, AI, each Black, talented and very, very loud all had problems in the city of Brotherly Love. Bad fit TO.
2. Football is not basketball. Pro Football got it's start in the coal mines, factories and steel mills of Pennsylvania and Ohio. A tough, no nonsense, shut-up and do as your told world. TO's primadonna is out of step.
3. TO signed a contract. Philly had no reason to re-negotiate. They held all the cards and had his name written in blood. The League let him out of his first deal with the Ravens and perhaps he was naive enough to think they'd let him out of this one too. Psyche.
4. The Eagles are cheap. History has shown that Philly does not pay their players and TO was under contract. What did he expect?
5. TO signed a 50 million dollar contract. 50 million?!! He gets no sympathy from the average fan. None.
6. Bombs, end-arounds, the blitz... football has strong military roots. The military is about a group thinking and acting as one. Football works much the same way. It's about the team. TO has earned the reputation of someone who doesn't care about "team". Lookin' bad for the Black man.
At the end of the day, it's like I said in the beginning, he should have signed with B-More. True he wouldn't have had a QB, but it was a better environment for him, which is why I suspect he signed with Philly. He looked at the Eagles and saw a SF clone, a team he could mentally and physically dominate. In Baltimore, on the other hand, there's Ray "Murder", Ed Reed, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Brown, Jamal Lewis (served time), Deion Sanders, a GM who was a hall-of-fame player and a head coach who coached Randy Moss. Plus since the Ravens won the 2002 super bowl they weren't desperate for his services like Philly was who couldn't seem to get over the proverbial hump. Perhaps he saw Philly as an enabler, as easy and this was perhaps his biggest mistake. In the Qu'ran God says that God will never change a people until they themselves change.
Time for TO to change | | |
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