In The End...It's All The Same

Before I start off this post I’m just going to say that this topic is a little more controversial than the topics that I have previously written about. So I will throw out this disclaimer: “The behaviors and habits that are described in this post are not a representation of every woman (or man especially myself). It is not an attempt to indict every woman (or man) for the actions of some, but merely a demonstration to show that men and women aren’t as different as we try to make them seem.” I don’t want to lose any friends so please just try to understand my perspective.

Every since I can remember I have heard the term “Niggas ain’t shit”. I’m sure if you are living you’ve heard it also. But what do women mean by this? I take it to mean that men have done so much to women that they just simply get fed up with the stuff that “we” (yes women lump us into one category) put them through. They get to the point where they don’t want to deal with us anymore, but most can’t leave “us” alone. So they simply say “Niggas ain’t shit”.

I know I’m going to catch hell from my niggas for this but you know what ladies you all are right. “We” have multiple women at a time (like I said in the disclaimer for the women, this also applies to the men), “we” only want sex, and “we” will say anything to get in your panties. But not so fast! Now that I’ve lost all of my male friends, it’s time to lose some of my female friends.
I was listening to a few conversations this week and I must say… I don’t like what I’m hearing. First story I heard was about a girl who decided to date an older guy. The guy liked her cause she was a PYT (pretty young thang), and as you could’ve guessed the older guy had a little change. Just like most sugar daddy’s he took her around and told her “you can have whatever you like” (I know that was corny but can’t blame me for trying). But what he didn’t expect was that the “thing” that she wanted and was having is sex with a younger guy. Now from the sound of the story the older guy was oblivious to the transgressions of his young woman and to hear her speak of the situation you would’ve thought that she had no type of a heart. I know what you’re thinking right now (ladies), “Jarrett, that’s just one situation and it can’t be compared to all that women have endured from men over the years”, okay I’ll give you a story that I hear from lots of women. You see a guy that you really don’t find attractive and he asks you out to dinner. You don’t really want to go but as unattractive as he is; he looks like he has a handsome wallet. So you say what the hell and you take him up on his offer (sound familiar ladies?). You let him take you out to get wined and dined and at the end of the night you go home with no intentions of calling him back. I have heard this story all too often and the consensus from women seems to be “I mean he offered the date, it’s not like I asked him to spend money on me”. This might very well be true but you know what you just did? You gave a man false hope. And as little as it might seem to you, it is huge thing for a guy to take a girl out and break bread with her cause it means that he likes you. On the flip side of this ladies; have you ever seen a guy that you thought looked so good and you really wanted him to like you so you decided to sleep with him before you saw where his head was? And that attempt seemed to fail when you saw that he had no intention of trying to pursue anything other than casual sex? You know what the guy did to you? He gave you false hope. It’s a big deal for most women to share their beds and bodies with a man so it’s not a little thing to you. But you know what he’s probably thinking? “I mean she gave me the *expletive*, it wasn’t like I forced her.”

To put this as simply as I can “People ain’t shit.” Maybe that was a little too much. But think about it. If you know anything about science, what is one of the rules? The law of self preservation; we instinctively have to look out for ourselves. Why would that change just because you’re dealing with the opposite sex? The answer is it doesn’t. Now don’t get me wrong we defy that law of science but not enough to get it thrown from the textbooks. I hope that this post was enough to provoke some discussion so that men and women can better understand each other, but if you don’t agree with anything I’ve said “It’s Just My Thought’s…Just What I was Feeling at the Time” Please leave comments.

Soooo Disrespectful!

Okay so I don't have to let you all know that we're in a recession right now do I? Well if you didn't know...We're in a recession! But it's apparent that some people didn't get the memo.

So I was watching the BET Hip Hop Awards last week and I was left feeling that the Source Awards was making a comeback. All I remember is diamonds and platinum all over the place. Don't let me forget the styrofoam cup. Mainly because Lil Wayne won every award that he was nominated for. I got to thinking about how much all that must have cost (minus the cup). After I settled on a nice round figure of about 300,000 I got angry. No not because of the coonery of wearing platinum and diamonds in your mouth, But because while I am out here struggling to make ends meet rappers whose albums I buy are throwing their riches in my face. It pisses me off to think that I added to the empire of some of the most irresponsible, disrespectful rappers I could find. Who are more concerned with telling me how much more money they have then I, than to thank people like me for the riches that they are able to accrue through album sales. I am sick to my stomach as I write this because I feel like I've been had. I feel the same way a woman feels when she decides to share herself with a man she doesn't know(no homo), and afterwards when she asks will he call, he zips his pants and walks out(no homo). Well that might've been a little extreme but you get the point. Something must be done about this. I'll be damned if I buy another Lil Wayne album, or anyone else like him for that matter, until he/they can respect their fans a little more. Please let me know if you agree or disagree with me cause "It's Just My Thoughts, Just What I Was Feeling At The Time"

When Do We Get Ours?

Before I kick off this latest post I just want to thank all of the people that take time out to read my perspective on current events. I know you could be doing a million and one things with the time you use to hear what I have to say. I really appreciate it. Now let me get on with "My Thoughts"

The topic of reparations has died down in the past decade, ( maybe a little longer) but I must bring this controversial issue back to the forefront. Before I get into whether it should or shouldn't be given to the descendants of one of the most degrading acts in the history of the world, I must first talk a little bit about our countries "history".

Every since the conception of this great country it has been all about getting over. Christopher Columbus went searching for the East Indies and sailed in the wrong direction. To make matters worse, he landed in a country that was already inhabited and claims to have "discovered" it. But by this time Amerigo Vespucci had "discovered" it also and decided to name the country after himself before anyone else did. (Sidenote) So why do we celebrate Columbus day? Anyway, after Columbus went back to the Queen to tell her about the land that he "discovered". They promptly decided to send more people over to build up this land. But they had one stop to make before the journey back to Columbia, I mean America. Africa. They filled up those slave ships and sailed right back over to America. I won't get into the details of slavery because you either already know, or your ass should've payed more attention in class. Basically with all the free labor that went on, this country was built and all of the slave masters were made rich off the blood sweat and tears of black slaves. Then comes the Emancipation Proclimation. Basically saying you niggers can go free but don't expect anything for all that hard work you put in. This inturn caused free blacks to struggle. Often times had them running back to their slave masters in order to survive. Years down the line black families continue to stuggle, while tobacco companies that their forefathers helped to get rich continue to thrive. Now let me give you the ultimate slap in the face. Holocaust survivors (I actually found out that half of the people whom were victims of the Holocaust weren't even Jewish. Go figure) and their families were paid for this tragic event. No disrespect for the struggle of the Holocaust survivors because I've been to the museum and that was just inhumane, but that didn't even happen in this country.

As you have probably guessed, I do think the families of slavery victims should be paid reparations. But unlike that average nigga who wants it in the form of a check, so they can get some rims and a few fly outfits, I want something creative to be done with the money. My suggestion was they should give it out in the form of scholarships for all of these families to either send their kids to college or for them to go back themselves. That way the money isn't wasted (even though right now it would give a boost to the economy) and we can have more black men in college than in jail. And for all of the qualifiers who have already graduated, the money should be used to pay back loans and other fees that accrue as a result of college. I know this doesn't solve everyones needs but it's just a suggestion as to "how we get ours". "It's my thoughts...just what I was feeling at the time" Please give suggestions or tell me how you feel about this.

Ignorance is Bliss?

As you all know by now, we are in the middle of the most important presidential election in the history of our country (just my opinion). Not only because there is a Black man running or a woman running as Vice President, but also because of the catastrophic collapse of our economy. With this in mind it is important for us to go out and find out ALL of the facts about the candidates that we want to represent us. Which leads me into my next topic.

Do you know exactly how many candidates are running for President of the United States? Amazingly enough not many people do. Honestly, until I decided to do my research I didn't either. I asked some kids in my class the other day did they know how many people were running for president and they said 2. This didn't surprise me though because these are the only 2 candidates that are visible. Since the democratic and republican parties are the largest parties their candidates get all of the air time.

To answer the question in the previous paragraph, there are 6 candidates in total. Shocking right. Not many people know that. So who are these 4 candidates that you probably don't know mcuh about? Good question, I'll tell you.

1. Ralph Nader- Independent Party

2. Bob Barr- Libertarian Party

3. Chuck Baldwin- Constitution Party

4. Cynthia McKinney- D.C. Statehood Green Party (which I am currently a member of)

Shocking right. Not many people knew that there were this many candidates. Not to mention that we have a Black woman running for president. Now I could go on and give a little bit of info on these people, but it would defeat the purpose of me writing this blog. Now go do your homework!

Give Him A Chance

If you remember in my first post I talked about my search for Lupe Fiasco's debut album "Lupe's Food and Liquor". Well thankfully I was finally able to locate it at For Your Entertainment (FYE). As you expect I immediately threw it in the cd player to listen to tracks that I either didn't remember or never heard before. As I let the album play on I stumbled on a track that struck a cord. "He Say, She Say" hit a nerve that caused me to repeat the song just so I could grasp the meaning of what Lupe was trying to convey. After a few times listening to the song I realized what had me upset... Steve (My nephews father). Before I talk about that subject, let me TRY to explain the song to you.

Basically the song starts off with a mother who is pleading with her child's father to be more active in his son's life. She tells him how the sons declining grades are a direct result of his inactivity in the child's life. Then after the mother speaks, the son does the same rendition of the verse but puts it in first person. Ok I realize I'm not doing this song justice because it is really creative and I would just advise that you stop reading right now and go to Youtube and type in "Lupe- He Say, She Say" go ahead, I'll wait. (singing the Jeopardy waiting song) Ok now listen to it again so you can understand it. (singing the Jeopardy waiting song......again) Alright you see the song, now let me finish my thoughts.

After getting the gist of the song, I understood why I was touched by it. Anyone who knows me knows that my father played a major role in my development. I can't pretend to know what it's like to not have him around. Whenever I was in need of something, he was right over my shoulder making sure I had it. So it perplexes me to see guys blatantly ignore the responsibility of children. In particular, I can't understand how Johnathan's (my nephew) father can continue to ignore his child. I mean sure enough when he's forced he calls up my sister and begs for her to bring "Lil' Juice" over to see him every once in awhile, but he never makes attempts to come and see his son on his own. This in turn puts my sister in a bad position because she wants Johnathan's father to be in his life, but she has to compromise so much in order for that to happen. Now don't get me wrong, Johnathan has a host of men in his life that look out for him as if he is their own, but in my opinion, no one can match the connection that you have with your biological father. I could not fathom the direction my life would've went in without my father. But all around me people are being asked to do the impossible and make it without a father. Shot out to all the successful people who were able to overcome this great feat. But to those of you who succumb to the severe handicap of not having a father around I sympathize with you. I know there isn't anything I can say to change life for you, but here's a ribbon in the sky.

One of the verses in the song goes as follows, "I want you to be a father, I'm your little boy, and you don't even bother, like brother without the 'R' and he's starting to harbor, cool on food for thought, but for you I'm starver... You know the world is out to get me, why don't you give me a chance?" I always attempt to break down the particular meaning of a verse, and then place it as my status on facebook. What I derived from the 2 bars of this verse, "cool (I changed it to "full" on facebook cause I thought it fit better) on food for thought but for you I'm a starver", was that a kid can gain the whole world, but there will always be this hunger like need for a father in his or her life.

In my opinion, every man that walks around with their head held high while they continually ignore the children that they helped to create should be murdered. I know that was pretty harsh but if you have children you don't take care of you don't exist anyway. "It's Just My Thought's, Just What I Was Feeling At The Time"

To Hell in a Handbasket

Alright so I know I'm a little late, but I finally saw the Sarah Palin interview with Katie Couric on CBS. Needless to say I walked away from the computer feeling a tad bit confused. Can somebody please explain to me why Sarah Palin was chosen to be John McCain's running mate? It is clear that Palin is uninformed on a myriad of political issues that affect us as Americans. I want to disect her interview just to point out just how ignorant she appears to be. Unless she's just putting us on, which I highly doubt. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't think Palin is stupid. I just think she's politically stupid. Her background as a "soccer mom" is not enough to warrant a spot in the White House. Actually neither is being a captured war "hero". But that's an issue that I'll address in another blog. Back to Palin. There are a few questions that she was asked during this interview that really had me scratching my head when I heard her response:


1. Katie Couric asked Palin what media outlets had she been referring to when trying to stay informed about issues that affect Americans and her response was, "all of them". Even when Couric asked Palin to name a specific paper that she reads, she continued to talk off subject in order to deflect the question.


Now I'm no expert, and I sure am no political figure, but I know that there are 3 major newspapers in our country. The Washington Post, The LA Times, and The New York Times. So why is it that Sarah Palin can name none? I'm sure that being all the way in Alaska can be a reason why the news can get to you late because they aren't apart of the continental U.S. But come on. You mean to tell me that afformentioned papers aren't being sold in Alaska? I'm not buying it.


2. Couric asked Palin does she support the morning after pill. Palin's response was, "I believe in all types of contraceptives". In the same breath Palin went on to say that pregnancy begins at the moment of conception which caused Couric to repeat her intial question,"Do you support the morning after pill"? Then Palin changes her answer and says, "No I don't".


Now I've been known to contradict myself a time or two. But guess what...I wasn't running for Vice President and I didn't have a microphone in front of my face. So it makes my contradictions irrelevant. But not so fast Palin. Is her memory that short where she can forget a question that was asked just seconds before she gave answer? Or is she trying so hard to appeal to all types of the public that she doesn't think anyone would notice that she gave two opposing answers to the same question?


3. Couric asked Palin was she appolgetic for the statement that she made to a reporter about the plan to invade Pakistan. But before she could answer McCain stepped in and accused the reporter of "Gotcha Journalism". Basically saying that Palin was the victim of a response taken out of context. What does Palin do? She proves that not only was it a false accusation of "Gotcha Journalism" but it also proves that she isn't aware that it isn't smart to discuss or military plans with anyone.


I could go on all about the errors in this interivew. She clearly showed that in the event that something happened to McCain (if he becomes president) this country would go "To Hell in a Handbasket". Now I'm not gonna tell you who to vote for cause frankly I don't know who i'll be voting for either.But I will ask, are you really willing to have Sarah Palin represent this country as the president? I mean..."It's Just My Thoughts...Just What I Was Feeling at the Time".

Entry Level?

Working on this second post kind of reminded me of my second “time”. Although I had done it once, I still wasn’t as experienced as I thought I was. And I tried to last as long as I could, without ending to quick, before getting my “point” across. The second topic that I decided to write about has taken me to an interesting subject that I have thought about for a long time. No not that. Get your mind out of the gutter. I was thinking more like “entry level” drug dealers.
Growing up I was fortunate enough to have my father around. Well for the most part. When I was very young, my father did a bid down at Lorton Correctional Facility. He was arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute (not really putting his business out there he’d share his testimony with anyone). Luckily he didn’t have to spend much time down there, so he was able to raise me and show me how to become a man. One thing he made sure of is that I would not follow in his footsteps. So as I matured, I never had the desire to be one of the guys on the corner selling drugs. Not only because my father would whoop my *expletive*, but also because it didn’t make much financial sense to me. Now I know we all see the drug dealers riding around in a nice car, with nice clothes, and a fresh pair of tennis shoes (or sneakers for my up north folks). But if you just examined a few details of the way that these dealers are paid, it probably wouldn’t make much sense to you either.

Okay, let’s start out with a guy Tyrone (if me choosing this name was a little prejudice then we can change it to Jamaal). This is a figurative guy so you can stay with me. Tyrone decides one day that he isn’t making enough money with his 9 to 5 at McDonald’s, where he was pulling in a salary of 35K as an assistant manager. So he makes the decision to hook up with a friend who’s dealing a little in crack cocaine sales. Let’s call this friend, Jamaal. Jamaal is a street level dealer who hasn’t advanced in his profession due to various reasons. So he put’s Tyrone on. Tyrone dives in head first. He picks out a corner where there is nobody selling so he won’t have any beef over territory. Only problem, he doesn’t have any clientele. So he has to put in a little extra time on the corner so that he can get some customers. This will require him to allow the users that he is trying to persuade to get free samples of the product. This will probably take about 3 months. And with Tyrone spending around 10 to 12 hours on the corner a day, 7 days a week, he has spent about 990 hours on the corner. Now let’s remember he doesn’t have that much of a clientele in the 3 months that he’s been out there, so he might make a sale every 2 hours. Now with a rock being about 10 dollars, combined with the fact that Tyrone is trying to get his business off the ground, we’ll say that he made about 2,745 dollars in that 3 month span of time. Let’s go back to the McDonald’s job in a 3 month span Tyrone would have made 8,750. Okay stay with me. Now Tyrone has built up a little name for self with the fact that he sells his rocks for about 5 while the competition is selling for about 10 or 12. So naturally he is going to get a few new customers. But wait. Where are those customers coming from? You guessed it, other established dealers. So when those established dealers find out that Tyrone is making his profits by taking money out of their profits, what do you think they’ll do? Bust their guns? Nope. They’ll probably send an anonymous tip to the police. That “Stop Snitching” stuff only sounds good out on the streets, take a look at “First 48” and see how many so called “thugs” hold true to this street law. So now Tyrone has “eyes” on him. But for 3 more months he is able to up his sales to about 1 sale per hour at the same rate of 5 dollars per rock. So this brings him to 5,490 in that 3 month span. Remember he would’ve seen 8,750 in 3 months at McDonald’s. Now let’s refer back to the “eyes” that have been on Tyrone for the last 3 months. You didn’t think they’d just allow him to just keep making tax free money at the expense of people’s health did you? So basically the next 3 months Tyrone is penny less behind bars. I’d think by this time I wouldn’t have to mention the McDonald’s salary again, but since some of you are a little slow, 8,750. Tyrone gets out of jail and his release is anticipated by all of his customers. So he goes back to selling, not realizing that the “eyes” are still on him, or maybe he does realize it and doesn’t care cause he’s a little broke now. Not to mention with that record he can’t go back to McDonald’s. So now he has to up his price to about 8 dollars a rock, which is still cheaper than the competition and should yield him more of a return. So the next 3 months he brings in about 7,920, which is a lot more than he has been making but less than the McDonald’s salary. In a year’s time, Tyrone has made 16,155 selling drugs. But that is only a little more than half of the 35k dollar salary at McDonalds.

I told that long drawn out story just to illustrate to you the ignorance of some people.
Now the story I told was based on the average. When dealing drugs the results may vary. You may have people out there getting more than the figures I reported and maybe you have some getting less. But what I do know is that you don’t make any real money unless you are dealing in wholesale distribution. And the odds of making it to a drug kingpin from a street level dealer are 1 in a million. You have a better chance of graduating from college. I do know that the average drug dealer doesn’t read blogs so I guess I wrote it for the high school graduate who is tired of being broke and think that drug sales are better than a 9 to 5. In any event it was “Just my thoughts, just what I was feeling at the time”.

First Up

I'm kind of new to this blogging thing so readers please be easy on me. There are alot of things going on in the world today.I could start off with politics. Maybe sports. But I wouldn't be the "Hip-Hop head" that I claim to be if I didn't break in my first time with something from the wonderful world of rappers.

As I was being escorted to Circuit City yesterday (thank you Channel Baby) I thought of which CD's I would add to my collection. One of the most obvious choices for me would be "Paper Trail". I had been anticipating T.I.'s release for awhile (no homo) and since the scheduled release date had been pushed back more times than Wayne Brady's hairline, the extra day i had to wait had me on edge. The second CD I had on my radar was "Lupe's Food and Liquor". No this isn't a Latino woman's ode to spanish cuisine and a good time but rather Lupe Fiasco's first album. As I crutched up and down the hip hop aisle, I quickly spotted "Paper Trail" because of course it was just released 3 days ago. But to my horror, and yes I do mean horror, I could not find Lupe's debut album anywhere. I saw alot of artist that graced the so called "Hip Hop" aisle. A bunch of LL Cool J. Alot of Lil' Wayne. Even some Ice Cube. But no Lupe. This got me to thinking. Why would they have this CD at an electronic store? Because even though they have CD's here, it technically isn't a record store (or music store which ever you prefer). So I went to my mental yellow book to figure out where I could purchase the CD. Then it dawned on me, Every record store I grew up buying music from is closed. Driving down Branch Ave. I come up on Iverson Mall and to my surprise the record store that usually sits out from the mall (Sam Goody I believe it was) was replaced with a DTLR (or whatever they're calling themselves now days). I was equally surprised when I was driving down University Blvd. (or Md rt. 193 for you people who know your way) and the pink sparkly building that we use to know as Willie's records was replaced by someone selling Pupusas (somebody please tell me what the hell a pupusa is). So I'm left wondering, if I can go to a electronic store and purchase the albums of two of the most mysognistic, arrogant, self promoting artist out there, (sorry Kanye you'd be on this list too) why can't I find one of the more positive guys that hip hop has to offer?

I have an idea. Simply put, Nas was right. Hip hop, I mean true hip hop, has died and gone to hell. It has been succeeded by this genre of music that has taken it's name but fails to display the principles of that it was built upon. What happened to the social awareness? I mean true enough Ludacris attempted, although he failed miserably, to raise political conciousness with his homage to democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The same single that Obama later chastised him for because of his harsh attacks at republican presidential hopeful John McClain and former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. And Lil' Wayne shared his synopsis, all though he was heavily under the influence at the time, about the plight of the black man on the last track of his latest album "Carter III". But this has nothing on what artist like Afrika Bambata, Public Enemy ( yes i know this is a group), and Common Sense (I had to use someone fairly recent) were able to convey with this special art form of making words ryhme over a carefully orchestrated beat. I mean honestly, how can I relate to artist today? I make what you would call minimum wage for a college grad, how can I go to the club and make it rain? And if I didn't have a girlfriend, how many women would be standing in a line waiting to take a crack at ol'Jethro? Probably none. This is why in my opinion hip hop has to be dead. And if it isn't, it has to be in ICU taking it's last breaths. If it wasn't, why are artist like Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli struggling to sell records? And better yet why are they being left out of the same stores that you can find other artist? The answer. People like me. Even though I went to a store to buy the album I wanted, I still bought albums from artist whom I wouldn't consider to always uphold the principles of hip hop. I guess I can't really complain about the death or near death of hip hop if I'm in the hospital room yanking at the plug.