For as long as I can remember, whenever the conversation turns to my career as a musician, there has always been someone ready to say “don’t forget the little people when you make it.” You know the routine, when you make it, you’re expected to put your ‘peoples’ on.

In some ways, I’ve always wondered who exactly should be considered your ‘peoples’ in this sense. It’s a no-brainer that there are some individuals that are irreplaceable when it comes to the roles that they’ve played in your life. Then there are those who have been directly involved in your music career. This is where it gets sticky.

When I started my company, the first business partner that I had was a childhood friend that I had known for over 10 years. In hindsight, we had not been very close during high school (I was 20 when I started Mag-O), but we had never had any fall out. In the beginning, we hit the ground running, trying to reach out to everyone and anyone that would listen. As time passed (maybe like a year), we had some issues that made it impossible to continue to do business. I’ll also admit that in some ways, his involvement in the early years helped me get on my feet, and i kept pushing from there. But, after what happened, if i ‘blew up’ tomorrow, I couldn’t with a clear conscience ‘put him on’ in any way. – [ SOURCE ]

I’m ’bout to get racial here and I don’t care. I don’t see this type of mentality in any other race but our own. And it’s saddening.

Once again, the story is predominantly about the ills of a black man’s life. There are some who made it. There are uncle toms, and those who don’t give back to the community…but there are those who do strive to make things better, those who are fighting against the streets… And Spike Lee nailed it. He spoke of the unbalanced view of blacks in the media. Irony. That’s exactly what CNN was doing right there. And that crime gets ratings on the news…and we all know that cops have a propensity for minority profiling.

There are lots of black people who are doing well. That end of the story was barely told. What urked me most is that when they did speak of those who’ve had success, they were usually celebs. I got the feeling that the only depiction of blacks was that of what the world saw in the hurricane katrina aftermath.

What was definitely missing? I didn’t see anybody who was mad. Everybody seemed like they just accept the way things are. Except Spike of course. But from the deadbeat grandfather who originally fathered-but-never-raised 10 kids to the young marketing exec who had limited interaction with black people…they all seemed like they’ve just cashed in.

A lot of us seem that way. Where’s the passion? The pride? The anger?
Nobody was ready to spaz out. There are no original stories in that documentary. Just cut ‘n paste.

And hip-hop? Oh man, they butchered hip-hop. That arena shouldn’t even be touched unless they were going to go in depth. I saw The Game & 50 Cent and images of the like about 10 times. But there are a lot of artists who don’t depict that image.

Another thing is something that we’ve all struggled with. Those who look like Queen get preferential treatment over the dok buttz. And that’s not a secret. When Michael Eric Dyson brings up that he’s afforded success due to pigmentation, to Soledad, she affirms that there are darker skinned individuals who are successful as well. Which is true, but that was not depicted in that very documentary. Just seemed the lighter you were, the more success you got. And the less the po-po’s were on ya. And we all know, that shade makes the grade. They do it to us, we do it to ourselves…the definition of insanity.

There was one shocking statistic, and that was, that a black man without a criminal record fairs no better at getting a job against a white guy with a criminal record. So damn one of those myspace chat room lurking losers that Chris Hansen nabs on “To Catch A Predator” has a better chance of getting the same job that I post my credentials on.

I don’t know…they tried. Just came up short. Very short. Like I said in the previous drop. Maybe this should’ve been a five day thing. Next time, HBO should do it. I trust them…they made The Wire. Who’s the quality control mofo in charge. Better not be Roland.

CNN’s documentary of being “Black In America” began yesterday. I happened to like what was shown. My biggest and only gripe with the documentary, which is shared by others, is that there was no balanced. I just didn’t feel like the other side of the story was told. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely identify with what they’ve shown, but what about those who watched the show and became even more depressed after seeing just the evils. Even though the issues present were definitely issues that needed to be publicized and discussed in the forefront, there was no balancing act. As a viewer, what I saw that was depicted were a devastation of my race. Like we are for the majority diseased, poor, destroyed, baby making machines. There are lots who have succeeded in this. And I think they focused on that end very little. The only happiness that I saw was when the black family met their white cousins. * shrugs *

“It must be 2 siiiiiiiiiiiiides.” — Shawty Lo

I love Soledad O’Brien and Anderson Cooper (shout out to Channel One) but dammit…

I felt if say Fox News would’ve done anything different, they would say, “AND IT’S ENTIRELY BLACK PEOPLE’S FAULT.”

And I happen to like CNN. Shouts to Roland S. Martin. I used to clash with him on ZS, but he makes a lot of sense lately. I just hope Part 2, “The Black Man” doesn’t get butchered.

Part 2 tonight at 9. Watch if you can. If not, do not worry. Worldstarhiphop will most likely have it up on their site tomorrow just like they got this first part.

They say that there’s a powder keg ready to blow in LA between us blacks and browns. I’m telling you, this is the matrix at work. I hope individuals, communities, and gangs realize this.

So as we come upon MLK Day, we all should remind ourselves what his message was about. Unity, prosperity, and love.

“Pour champagne on a b***h!” — Gemini

Yesterday NBC News, in their continuing series “African American Women: Where They Stand” provided a 10-min video on their website discussing , and dammit they lost when the first head you see speak is Superhead. Good thing she was on for exactly 3 secs. Michael Eric Dyson (author), Kendra G (radio show host), Kevin Powell (writer,activist), Irv Gotti (he’s an irv), Melyssa Ford (halloween catsuit-wearer). Irv wyld-out! He maintains that the glamorizing of hip-hop video gals is really just entertainment. Melyssa says its a job. Kendra maintains that women are consistently poo-poo’d upon. Kevin Powell, maintains that their is a responsibility with the balance of image. Irv was playing defense too much… a la Nelly in BET’s “America Vs. Hip-Hop”. And ONCE again, the media misses out on one of the most IMPORTANT factors in this entire issue: the media’s involvement.

Hahaha @ Irv…

Viacom, Clearchannel & Radio One are the corporations who owns the biggest mainstream media outlets. Why are they NEVER involved in the finger pointing?

I do agree that there is no balance being presented in the mainstream. But who owns these mainstream outlets? Not Murder Inc. Not DefJam. Via-friggin-com son!

Where are the female artists? There’s no mention of Jean Grae at all. No mention of the history of the better women rappers (who will go down as hip-hop hall of famers) like Latifah, Lady Of Rage, MC Lyte, and Salt N Pepa. So what happened to the women rappers? They became complacent, for the most part, with being the sidekick or “First Lady of whatever group”. Excessive focus on the excess. Lyrical accountability is low. Now while I’m doing all of this placing blame elsewhere, I’ma point at the fellas too. For some rappers and their audience, their whole career is fantasy. The bad boy rapper who sells coke and murders yet making millions and never gets caught by the cops. Of course they’re gonna have a state-ful of brizzawds led around on doggie chains. Nevertheless, the women do sign up for it. And it isn’t just women of color. It’s ANY woman who will be in that video damn near naked getting vodka thrown on her chest on my yacht in front of Bun B & Pimp C.

Irv still making me laugh.

Check it.

But yeah, NBC should run up on Debra Lee (President and Chief Operating Officer of BET), those Mays characters (Head guys at Clear Channel) and whoever else when they least expect it and ask ‘em these questions. All “To Catch A Predator” style and ask them why they only choose to promote one side of the fence.

Short answer: Since the beginning of time, hoes make money.