Ten years later, my reaction to this video is the same as when I first saw it in my dorm room freshman year (holla 404 E-haus, UNC’s South Campus!) with my roomie and my bestie. We three were jaw jacking about something when the video came on my roomie’s 13in television. All conversation ceased. I was sitting cross-legged on the top bunk, roomie was sitting on her bed, and bestie stood in the middle of the room. All three, mesmerized and silent. All three, breathing in sync with him. We were the ultimate voyeurs, peeking in on an intimate moment with a man we could have built from all of our favorite parts. It wasn’t raunchy. It wasn’t vulgar. It was sexy in the way romance novels try to be with all of that grand, overly-descriptive language.
Not until the video went off were we able to start talking again. There was about a 10 second delay and we all snapped out of our trances and laughed. Real talk, some kind of Lex Luthor, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Boris & Natasha, or Dr. Evil could have put his world domination propaganda into that video and we would have willingly done their bidding. I still really can’t tell you what the lyrics are or what the song’s about because I don’t really *hear* it. SMH.
By now you’ve probably heard about Soulja Boy’s newest indulgence: a black diamond encrusted Lamborghini chain… with a remote control. Yeah. This cat basically has a toy car bedazzled with my undergrad and law school education (times 10).
Folks who hate Soulja Boy are loving this. They can point to this excess and say he’s ignorant, he’s killing hip hop, kids are crazy, etc etc. Blogs are buzzing with the video where he shows just how his shiny piece works. If it’s possible, he’s mad T-Pain’s Big Ass Chain look sort of sensible (no, not really).
Rumor has it that Eminem joined Ice-T and scores of other rappers who felt the need to go at young ‘Turn My Swag On’ and suggested that Mr. D’Andre Way (his gov’t) “do the superman and fucking die already” via a new diss track. Em, however, got on Twitter and denied the track was his. BET blogger Low Key tried to take the “big brother” approach and hold SB to the honorable yet heavy role model standard. Never one to let (perceived) internet beef go unaddressed, SB responded with the following:
1ST OF ALL. I didn’t pay ANYTHING for my black Lamborghini chain I got it FREE as a birthday presentfrom my jeweler when I turned 19 on July 28!
2ND OF ALL. Even if I did pay for it who are you to judge me on what I purchase with MY money?
3RD OF ALL. Why do the media blow up the things that they think will make me look stupid or ignorant. Why not publicize or put me in the spotlight when I do positive things? What about when I was in the hood this past Christmas passing out toys to everybody on the westside of Atlanta where I grew up why not show that on TV? Why not publicize my Little league football team that I sponsor in Batesville, MS or the money I donated to help build the rec center and boyz and girls club!? What about when I donated $25,000 for all those kids to have a good Christmas with the Toyz n da hood foundation? Why not step in when Ice-T was dissing me why not call up and have a sit down to squash that beef. THINK ABOUT IT A 40 YEAR OLD SOMETHING GANGSTA NIGGA VS. A 16 YEAR OLD KID (AT THE TIME). What if he really did have O.G. crip niggaz that had a price on my head to murder me? WHY DIDN’T YOU TRY TO STEP IN AND STOP THAT? HUH?. you worried about a black diamond chain that I received as birthday present??? WTF What about when me and Tigger was in D.C. buying all those can foods for the homeless??? Why not publicize when them niggaz ran in my house and tried to kill me and I had to defend myself and blast they ass. WHY NOT SHOW THAT ON TV???? HUH!???? CUZ U DONT WANT PEOPLE TO SEE THE REAL SHIT THATS GOIN BEHIND THE SCENES U WANT EVERYTHING WATERED DOWNED AND FAKE THATS WHY! FUCK THAT! I’m all the way REAL 100. I know America probably ain’t ready for a young black rich nigga running around doing it how he had it planned since he was little… [Read the rest at SB’s site]
I know folks, especially a lot of my friends, really dislike this kid. They can’t get with his music and/or they can’t get with his shenanigans. Me? I like the guy. I like to dance to his songs. I like to see him on shows like The View, keeping up with Barbara Walters and Whoopi. I like to see him talkin back to Ice-T. I even got a kick out of him sitting in that jacuzzi. I didn’t like his twitpic revealing a bit too much boxerbrief tho. Uh uh. Above all though, I like how in between the youth, immaturity and silliness… somewhere between the lines, you can see that the kid more often than not has a valid point. Just because he can’t articulate it as well or because he’s not you favorite rapper’s favorite rapper doesn’t mean he has nothing to say.
I’m a lil late on posting this but I’ve been busy hating my life. Anywhoo, let’s listen to another Elon James White rant via This Week in Blackness. For this ep, homie goes in on the BET Awards and cops to a Twitter addiction:
Jeh-lie. Juh-lie. Jew-lie. However you say it, it’s July. Usually that just means finding a BBQ to crash and staying cool but right now July means the end of June. June really sucked right? Mad people died in June (Carradine, Fawcett, Jackson, Mays, McMahon…). The weather had NY looking like Seattle for something like 20 days straight! Vibe Magazine shut down. Oh, and of course my situation didn’t change. June came and went and left me still unemployed, still trapped with my crazy family, still trying to figure out what’s next. I like the idea of new beginnings though and with it being July 1st, I feel like this is a good time to be optimistic. Now, if nothing turns out right by the 15th, I’m going to be back on my woe is me shit so don’t be surprised. Until then, however, I’m going to try and keep it above board (unless I’m forced into depression by my family, which is not unlikely).
I’m not a religious person whatsoever, but either in a book or on television, I recently heard someone say somthing to the effect of: If you don’t humble yourself God will do it for you. That resonated with me a bit as I try and figure out what went wrong with my life. If I want to make sense out of this path I’m on, I could say that life is trying to humble me and what better way to do so than to drop me right back in the place where I started, where I least want to be. Or I could just be in a lull like a vast majority of people in the world right now and that’s all the “meaning” there is. *Shrug* I dunno, just thought I’d randomly stick that in there.
Speaking of random, I was on the train back from the city the other day and had the iPizzle on shuffle. This joint came on and I remembered how much I love the beat and the way you can barely understand wtf Rich Boy is saying. I miss the South.
Recently, someone told me that I must never have been in love before. Why? Since I couldn’t definitively say whether I had been or not, along with the fact that I don’t like holding hands, he determined that I had never been in love. Maybe he was right. I feel like when you’re in the moment, you feel like you are in love. You look at that person and what the two of you have seems to dwarf the relationships you’ve had before. Prior loves seem like phonies because you’re in the real thing now, right? But what happens when that relationship falls apart? Were you never in love in the first place or were you in love but just couldn’t make it work? That’s weird. That’s why I can’t say for sure whether I’ve been in love because each love (not that there were that many) felt like the only love until it was over. .. except for one. There’s one person I could say I was in love with above and beyond all others still to this day, but I’m not sure if that lingers as a romantic love or the love of an old friend. As far as that hand-holding shit goes… I dont’ think that has boo to do with love. Sure, I might let you hold my hand if you’re totally into it and I love you, but will I like it? No. I just don’t like having my hand all tethered and occupied while doing something as simple as walking down the street. Chill.
Yeah, that was random too.
I sure hope July is better than June.
At least not like Michael J. Jackson did. Oh, they try (I see you Chris Brown, Usher, Timberlake).
I don’t do RIPs (I’ve said that before) so I won’t start now. I’m just like damn, really Mike? While we all know about the tabloid chatter that’s attached itself to Mike’s legacy, it can’t really tarnish it. I wrote that fool R. Kelly off for his BS but that’s because he’s an asshole and his music wasn’t that great to begin with. Whether Mike “did it” or not, I always felt a combination of awe and pity for him. When they showed him wildin on TV there was a cloud of sadness about it all. Still, no matter what stage of my life (because MJ was there ever since I can remember hearing music), I could always groove to his music. My friends know that I’ve always wanted to be a dancer and I feel the most free and happy when I’m channeling music through my body. Michael Jackson was a bad ass dancer, even making the crotch grab/gyration cool. Musically, he was something like a genius, his voice true and clear when he was a boy… emotive and real as an adult.
So fuck all the BS. There will never be another and I’m glad I got to experience the man. Now I just gotta get my collection together so my children will have a proper education.
At a time when everyone is playing Mike’s music and blogs all over the net are featuring playlists and vids, I’m gonna share a video that most people might not readily choose. This was/is my jam:
Ciara’s been busting her ass trying to stay relevant and I appreciate her grind. Apparently her new album, Fantasy Ride, hasn’t done as well as anticipated. I must admit that I was feeling several joints off of her last effort, Ciara: The Evolution, but I’m sort of uninspired this time around (honorable mention to Love Sex Magic and Never Ever). Still, I love this girl’s style and I want her to win. Check her new vid for Work, featuring Missy Elliot (where she been?).
Bitch, hold my ponytail (c) B.Scott
Some thoughts:
1. I hate to agree with the folks out there but I’m inclined to believe that Ciara has indeed pulled a swagger jacking on Ms. Beyonce. Not to say that one person owns a style or that another cannot be inspired by some hot shit, but the transition was too fast. One minute Ciara was rockin that Aaliyah-type steeze (sexy, innocent, long hair, slim, young, belly-bare, baggy pants, etc). Next she’s all Ciara-Fierce, becoming a superhero with a magic ponytail and rocking bodysuits with no pants! Do you girl, but damn…
2. Oh, the Kids are going to love this one aren’t they? Who loves to “work” more than a gay man on a Friday night? I mean, Ciara even employed a classic kid move at 2:00 in.
3. This bitch makes me wanna stop eating. How many days must I live on Tic-Tacs and H2O to properly work that cyan latex/vinyl number??
4. I want Ciara to do some Spectacular-style shit and challenge some heifers to a dance off. I know she’ll come on top. I can’t think of one R&B/Pop chick who can out-dance her right now. Who wan romp? CHALLENGE!
One annoying thing about staying at my aunt’s crib is having to deal with my uncle commanding the remote control. He’s got me watching all kinds of bullshit. In additio to the crap he makes me watch on television, then there’s the garbage he subjects me to on WebTV. Yes. There is a WebTV in this house. Mainly, it’s because my aunt won’t let him touch her laptop so he’s banned from accessing the internet like any rational human in 2009.
Anyway, the latest YouTube vid I’ve been subjected to is one of a 15 year old girl being “abused” by the police. It’s an old video (been discussed in the national media and even Al Sharpton’s posse got in on it) but I’ve got to put it to you all. Please watch this and tell me if you think that the officer in the clip abused and battered the girl. My uncle is of the opinion that it was a gross miscarriage of justice (although he would never use words that big) and I wasn’t that offended by the whole thing. Peep game:
Okay. See, being arrested is a scary thing so someone is bound to be irrational. Still, I think the cop gave numerous warnings in a calm manner while trying to handcuff this girl. Apparently she was getting hemmed up by 5-O for a curfew violation, but no matter what, it’s policy of many police departments to handcuff anyone they’re going to put into the car. Safety of the officer, ya know. So let’s assume Officer Gilroy had to cuff her. How many times do I have to tell you to put your hands behind your back before you understand that I need you to put your hands behind your back?! He even said he didn’t want to force her. Clearly Shelwanda is small/skinny and could break a bone or whatever, but that’s all the more reason for her to have chilled out. To me, the situation became worse because of all of her flailing around. The resisting itself makes it more likely that she’ll get hurt. So you’d think if a person were trying to bend your arm behind your back and it was hurting, you’d quit all the resisting and just let it go. No. Oh… and she bit him.
My uncle kept reiterating that she was small and of no harm to the officer. Okay, true. still, I think she did as much contributing to whatever injury she sustained as the officer did. Tell me, how else was he supposed to get her cuffed and in the car? The vid’s editor makes a point of slowing down certain parts but I think the slo-mo exaggerates it instead of allowing us to see more clearly.
I concede that the push into the hood of the car and the pepper spray may be a bit extra. Buuuuuut sistergirl needed to calm the fuck down and maybe if he didn’t subdue her that way, she would have continued to resist and ended up getting more hurt in the end.
Or I’m just wrong and I support police abuse.
Discuss.
bourgie, interrupted 
