Like many others, I have both deceased, & incarcerated loved ones. As sad as that sounds (which it really isn’t), what may be sadder is that some of those behind bars do not need to be free, just as some that are dead do not deserve to rest in peace.
While I pray for all my zaggins, I’m realistic with who’s worthy of my sympathy & who’s not. It’s like the diet version of not giving a fuck. I’m all about the love – but – love doesn’t pay bills or protect you from the bullshit. That’s why you have relatives whose calls you ignore & people you don’t speak to, unless it’s irrefutably unavoidable. Those people are more liability than asset, be it legally, physically, spiritually, etc., & those are qualities best admired from afar. Don’t get me wrong; I employ forgiveness, but I never forget. Not even when I try, unfortunately. That said, support isn’t something I give away all willy nilly.
In Hip Hop, though, I notice we support just about anyone, if they’re “entertaining” enough. In what I can only call “unconditional love,” cats will scream/type/say/wear t-shirts that read “Free _______” no matter what a dude’s done, or currently doing. It’s important to remember, also, that said cats aren’t political prisoners or even Robin Hood-types with an agenda for reparations. In a lot of instances, record deals & “music-making” is merely coincidental to the fact that they claim to really do what they rap about.
Sans the cornball hyperbole, is it that we, collectively, accept criminal behavior as a part of everyday (musical/cultural) life? Is the desensitization of urban legend politics so deeply infused in “us” that the concept of prison (& some times death) as a form of punishment has been all but forgotten? Even in the things that we allow to influence us, “we” cheer for self-proclaimed murderers, body snatchers, rapists, poison-pushers like they were community leaders, & then have the audacity to wonder why the proverbial world is in the shape that it’s in. In personal relationships, blind & undying support is understandable, perhaps even commendable. However, I’m not wishing or petitioning to get random people that I don’t know out of prison just because they say cool stuff. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
Hip Hop (specifically rap music) is full of mind-numbingly ignorant sayings like “I respect the shooter,” “keep it gangsta,” & “fuck bitches, get money,” so I don’t expect much to change on the surface, even as President Obama calls for more engineers in America’s future. (With no mention of color.) In 2009, said that there are enough Wayne’s & LeBron’s & that kids should aim for higher goals, which may go ignored, but at least the brother tried.
Ja Rule just checked in for his 2 year sentence, & I don’t see anyone supporting him but his wife & kids. (& if they were to wear “Free Jeff” t-shirts, it’ll be because they really mean it.)
I think we should start a “Keep (insert rapper name here)” movement.
COSIGN! I can think of two worthless, shiftless, muthafuggas from my region who are currently incarcerated…and rightly so. I hope they NEVERAH see daylight again. And yes…if that makes me a hater, so be it.
Man, that whole 2nd paragraph was nothing but a Hip Hop quotable. I was listening to Scarface when I got to that part and shit, it hit me HARD !! Evrerything said was real and it’s funny how fans say the dumbest shit trying to support ignorance. That’s just the world we live in and basically what the earlier generation brought to the table without even realizing it. It’s more about the image and the reason why only family is seeing Ja-Rule is because he’s been “Wack” for too long for anyone to care.
You done did it again homie. Great post (and the “What is a sociopath?” link had me both rollin & nodding my head in agreement at the same time).
So there was this old (40ish), south Florida (#blesshisignantassheart) at my job… you know the type… can always talk about, “back in his younger dayz” …. and how he can “still pull’em now”, albeit with his freshly done (mini)dreads and 4 gold teefis… aspires to get yet another
“Magnum with a magnum in it,
Playstation and a plasma in it,
sittin on 22′s and it’s tented ”
-(The Greatest, T.I., Urban Legend), but i digress…
whose favorite rapper is Lil Boosie (THE NERVE!!!!!) simply because, and I quote verbatim:
“I only fux wit Boosie cuh he a real n!gg@. He got his money, but he stay in da hood. Plus you see all dem bodies (murders) he got on ‘im???. Das a real n!gg@ rite dere!!! Das why I fux wit him.!!!”
Now maybe my logic is flawed, but once “we” get REAL money, don’t we try our best to make it up outta that m.f.? And dude, you’re older than 40! Aint it bout time, you start focusing on something more, I don’t know….mature????
But then again, ignance is bliss.
But then again, ignance is bliss.
^
There are some days I really do admire fools.
If only he knew the real Boosie. SMDH. One day I’ll tell y’all just how “gangsta” Boosie is…..not.
I work witha bunch of ese’s, and one of the reasons I respect these dudes is that they’ve (well, with the exception of a couple) grown out of and left that life behind. Of course, they all love to tell their war stories, and I love hearing them, but the great thing is that they’re almost always followed by somebody not-so-jokingly saying “Ya, deja esa madre!”- roughly translates to “Ain’t you too grown for that shit?” Gangsters with perspective are my favorite kind.
I dig…………..Big Truck Jewel that would piss Baby off