Writer Rock Diggie aka RDF reflects in this blog about his place in human history, the interaction of humankind and humanity as art, as well as the act of creating art. The title is used in homage to the 1995 documentary film by/about French director Jean-Luc Godard, "JLG/JLG -autoportrait de décembre".
Thanks for taking the time to read about who we are.
We are the unionized workers of Verizon. We install and maintain both the traditional copper services and the fiber optic network based Fios; and it's associated services, such as high speed Internet & television programming.
This strike is not due to "greedy union workers", as some would lead you to believe, his strike is the result of a multi-billion dollar corporation thumbing it's nose at the workers, who have been productive and instrumental in allowing Verizon to reap and maintain BILLIONS of dollars in profit. We do not work for a cash-strapped municipality or in an industry in need of a government bailout. We work for a company who, even in this economy, has made BILLIONS of dollars in profit.
As a unionized workforce, we have been able to negotiate and fight for decent pay and benefits in exchange for our hard work. It is important that you know we were not given these things, we earned them. We have worked in adverse, and often, dangerous conditions and we have been on strike numerous times.
As our contract with Verizon expired, the unions involved attempted to negotiate, in good faith, as partners in a bargaining and negotiation of a new & fair contract. Verizon, however, felt that the time was ripe and the economy was bad enough to force our hands and REFUSE TO EVEN COME TO THE TABLE AND BARGAIN AS THE CONTRACT EXPIRED. We didn't walk out the door, we were pushed.
Verizon has forced us to fight, so that we can raise our families and pay our bills and taxes with the help of a decent paying job. We hope that you can show us some support, with a fist pump or a wish of good luck. Perhaps you could delay that Verizon Wireless visit until our strike is over, but if not - we understand. If you need a Verizon service call, perhaps you could tell them that you want a unionized worker from your community to perform it. If you don't wish to show your support, we are sorry for any convenience our struggle causes you. If you could show your support for us, it would be greatly appreciated.
Before I cruise my spaceship back into the blogosphere, I would like to apologize to all my friends, I've been gone for a while, but I'm back. I must have misheard the song, because I've been gone since November. Well, since I've been gone, I've been observing the world around me, now I have some things to write about for a good minute. Here we go!
Just last weekend, I had a rather enthralling conversation with a few people. The parlance begin with a debate on the government's responsibility versus the public responsibility. Whenever it comes to that debate, I find myself a little conflicted. On one hand, I believe that the government has an obligation to oversee the protection and well-being of it's citizens. But, then I start to think, the public is accountable for themselves. One of the participants in the debate stated that the "Liberal Agenda", that a small percent of the population controls everything, is a false belief. Now, anybody that knows me, or has read my blog, knows that I am a conspiracy theorist, and I deeply prescribe to the "Liberal Agenda". He claimed that everybody is essentially a good person, and that if information is beneficial to everyone, then nobody would hide it. Well, coming from where I'm from, I believe that people, on a basic level, are solitary animals. Humans may live in groups, but if a situation arises, Humans tend to regress to a state that is other than altruistic, downright selfish. My friend said that if a person has children of their own, then they can truly be empathic towards others with children. But, as I've been taught by most parents, they generally put their children and themselves before anybody else. So, I argued that if keeping information or money away from others secures your children and yourself, you probably won't think twice about who's suffering, which is apathy, not empathy.
The debate, at that point, basically came down to Human Nature as a science. More specifically, the view on morality. My friend, Heezy, argued on the side of moral relativism, the thought that the concepts of right and wrong are relative to a person's environment and social grouping. While another of my associates stood on the side of moral objectivism, that the concepts of right and wrong are beyond Human opinion. At that point, I rolled my eyes and said "oh no"! From all of my debates, I know what comes directly after somebody says something is beyond Human opinion, understanding, knowledge, etc., that it's divine command, or basically, God. Fortunately, Heezy's father took my usual stand on God (the whole myth thing). Basically, divine command of Human morality means that, according to the general religious consensus, God is good. Also, according to the "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" (BIBLE, for all the 5%ers and GZA fans), man was made in God's image. So as a direct correlation, Humans are, on the lowest level, good, because they were created from God, whom also is good. I, being the asshole that I am, like to use the inverse to substantiate an assholish point. Check this out, Humans rob, steal, kill, rape, pillage, torture, and over a hundred of other evil things. If tempted, the most well behaving member of our society most likely will take that unguarded piece of candy off the shelf. So using the inverse of the chain rule that "they" use to prove that people are good, I prove that God is evil. "If Humans commit evil acts, and they were created in God's image, then God does evil acts, making God evil!"
Had to throw Michael on here!!
I always grit my teeth whenever a conversation takes that turn into a religious debate. To me religion is one of the most destructive beliefs in society. Look at most wars, an underlying reason behind these conflicts are religious ideologies (and the money to fund the spread of these ideologies). Hitler, Nazis, the KKK, Neo-Nazis, etc., all claim to be Christians, doing God's work. Certain extremist within the Islamic sects known as Sunnis, Shias, Sufis, etc., all claim a directive from Allah, that they are the chosen submitters of Allah, and Jihad is their obligation. Jewish extremist in Israel bomb Palestinians to "protect" their Promised Land (which is one of the largest economic areas within the Middle East, I sense another reason). Just listen to any Presidential speech right before America goes into a war, the President always says that the soldiers are doing "God's work". The Crusades, The Muslim Conquests, The Reconquista, The Troubles in Northern Ireland, etc., are all wars created to spread or defend a religious ideology. Muslims call it Jihad, Jews call it Milhemet Mitzvah, Christians call it the Just War Theory. Most religions have a name for a war fought in the name of their God (except maybe Buddhism).
Over the years, I've changed my position on religion (a little). I no longer find religion to be an evil institution, I find the people within the religion to be evil. I'm not saying that everybody within a religious group is evil, just a good amount of them (most of them are the leaders). How many religious leaders have been caught dipping into the church funds, violating the churches tenets, or just doing something that is downright amoral? Religion created Jim Jones (the Kool-Aid one, not the "Ballin'" one), Yahweh ben Yahweh, David Koresh, Dwight York (or whatever he calls himself nowadays), L. Ron Hubbard, etc. So in the end, it's not ideology that created these people, it was the power they attained by claiming to be the voice of ideology. It's more akin to the famous quote "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". What power is more absolute than divine power? Many people wants something to believe in, and they'll throw away knowledge and common sense to believe in something. The power that comes from sucking these people in using their beliefs is the closest thing to absolute power, and many people want power, it's Human nature. And now the conversation comes full circle! On the most basic of levels, Humans are selfish creatures. No matter how hard we, as Humans, try, in the end, we are the least altruistic animal on the planet. That is probably why revengeful behaviour is only seen in Humans.
I guess, I'm just saying that, for us as Humans to get over these humps that we have at this point, we need to forget about Human nature. Human nature makes us want to be individuals, but in this day and time, we need a more symbiotic approach to society. Hopefully, with a new President, we all can come together to build a better world!
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Doodlebug" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
This morning, after walking the dog, I watched one of my favorite movies from the 90's, "Higher Learning". If you don't remember or never saw this wonderful movie, it's basically about racial and sexual tension at college during the 90's. I'm not going to go in on an attack on Tyra Banks' horrible performance, I'm going to just say, that when I walked out of the theatre after viewing this, I wanted to hurt a Caucasian, not because I'm racist, but because the movie just enraged me to that exact point. Lets say, during that time period, it was seen as being "Pro-Black" to if not hate, at least, resent White people. Almost every African-American driven film produced during the late 80's and early 90's had a strong "Black people being held down by the Man" view to it. From "School Daze", "Do The Right Thing", "Cry Freedom", "Driving Miss Daisy", and "Mississippi Burning", films during this period made Black people want to hurt White people. I don't really want to get into those types of racism related films, I want to bring up a different type of racism related films, "forbidden love stories". Movies like "Jungle Fever", "Mississippi Masala", "Zebrahead" and "A Bronx Tale", explored the workings and social stigma of interracial relationships. I'd being lying if I didn't say that when I was a younger man, I entertained that oft heard opinion that people of different ethnic backgrounds shouldn't date. But as I've grown older, I've learned how ignorant and idiotic that particular notion is. And that brings me to the point of this blog post.
The other day, I received my copy of "This Christmas", a story of an African American family coming together for Christmas. A main plot device in the film is the acceptance of one of the children's Caucasian wife. It threw me for a loop, this being 2008, the President-Elect being of mixed ethnicity, and interracial couples everywhere. Maybe it's because I live in New York City, where there are so many people, there's a great chance of you being in an interracial relationship. Seriously, I know that racism is far from dead, but hasn't most of America gotten past interracial couples (I mean, we still have the NFL)? It seems idiotic for films to explore this subject, seeing as it is out of most peoples' head. Even in the new millennium, movies still attempted to tackle this non-starter, with "Monster's Ball", crappy films such as "Save the Last Dance", "Something New", "Lakeview Terrace", and "In the Mix". What is Hollywood going to do next, produce a remake of "Aaron Loves Angela", a story of a Black man and a Puerto Rican woman being in a relationship (make it a Dominican, and then they can just record my life)? Is it really possible that a large number of people still have a distaste for interracial dating? That kind of scares me!
I know that when I was younger, if I would've brought a White woman home, my father would have reacted in the way that families reacted in those films in the 90's. But now, I could care less, I'd date a girl of any persuasion. I've been around America and I've seen beautiful women of every race and ethnic background. I understand that there are still, and there will always be, ignorant people, that look down on people because of their race. But honestly, when whats the problem with me dating a White female? And it can be because she is taking a Black man away from a Black female (especially since most Black women don't like me anyway). Is it because, if I had children, my children wouldn't know which race to identify with? It can't be that, especially since our President is multiracial (and my kids will have that kinky mixed kid hair, word to Cree Summer). When I was young and dumb, I didn't fully understand why I thought the way that I did. Maybe it was too many Louis Farrakhan tapes? But as I've grown, I've learned to take people as they are, no matter what race or ethnic background they are. Why has Hollywood not realized that the idea of interracial dating is not taboo at all in this point of time?
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Doodlebug" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
The readers of my blog know that for the past few years, I have been very worried about the Pussification of the world. I've been trying to impel the masses to revolt against this threat on manhood. The unstable influx of tight jeans, man-scarfs, DayGlo shoes, and other less than masculine objects that men have begun wearing, is blurring the line between flamboyant Gay's and straight men. What ever happened to real manly men like "Ironside", Raymond Burr; what, "Perry Mason" was gay? Okay, whatever happened to manly men like "Stewart McMillan", Rock Hudson; what, Rock Hudson was gay too, come on, it was "McMillan and Wife", not "McMillan and Husband". Okay, whatever, back to what I was really talking about. I was concerned with the Pussifaction of the world, but yesterday, I found a new scourge threatening the world's sensibilities, the Stupidification of the world!
Yesterday, I was on the telephone with my cuzo, Heezy, he was telling me about his school assignment. The assignment was to pick your favorite song and write about how it reflects society, pertaining to business (he's in business school). He told me that the song he decided to use was "Ebonics" by Big L (a song I embedded in a prior blog entry). The conversation led me to start thinking about the subject matter that is taught in schools presently, mostly I thought about "Ebonics" classes, which was pioneered by the Oakland, CA school board. Ebonics, supposedly, "linguistic and paralinguistic features which on a concentric continuum represent the communicative competence of the West African, Caribbean, and United States slave descendant of African origin", or as I refer to it, "stupidity rewarded". I may not be a linguistic expert, an English professor, and I, very frequently, use "African American Vernacular English", but I know that teaching this substandard jargon to children is counterproductive. When Merriam-Webster, the definitive lexicon, interpolates words, such as "conversate" (the correct word is "converse"), "ain't" (the correct word is "isn't"), and "crunk" (there's no correct word, this is just stupidity), it signals the end to education. Come on, they can't be serious, "ginormous", "himbo", "bling-bling", these are words that have been added to Webster's Dictionary. I understand that if the popularity of a word increases in the vernacular of the masses, dictionary publishers must add it to the word stock. But am I the only one that is a little scared that this is just awarding the misuse of well established words (what's next, adding "nahmean" to the dictionary?). Will it one day be acceptable to respond to questions during a business meeting with a loud "bong-bong"? When I was younger, a person from my neighborhood whom used correct grammar was seen as "trying to be White" or a "smarty-art nigga", will that be the norm for everywhere in the near future? Will the world be turned upside-down, and intelligence will be seen as stupidity and stupidity be seen as intelligence, as if we lived in some "Bizarro World" (word to Clark Kent)?
If you ask my sister, she'd probably say that the most degrading things she's ever been called, besides a "nigger", are "articulate", "eloquent", and "intelligible". Like I've said before, when I was younger, an intelligent Black person was referred to as a "sell-out" or an "Uncle Tom" (word to Ralph Nader). It's sort of a veiled insult to call a Black person "articulate", "bright", and "clean" (word to Joe Biden), because it is assuming that Black people, in general, cannot possess those qualities. So, you can call me a "sell-out" or an "Uncle Tom" because I see the teaching of the youth and the addition of ignorant vernacular to the dictionary as a huge disservice to the youth, who are the future!
So, on a parting note, I want to express a great deal of gratitude and appreciation to my family, such as my twin, Sean, my big sister, Si-Lo, my cuzos, Mercury and Starpower (who helped inspire this entry), and the countless others who dedicate their time and energy into the youth of the world. I also want to express the opprobrium I feel for the parents that allow this injustice to take place. When the world allows their children to be cheated out of a proper education and the misappropriation of their mental capacity, we are destroying not only our children, but our future as well (word to Whitney Houston).
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Doodlebug" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
So, I guess it's time to continue with the "Digzionary" and some of the colloquial terms used by some of my folks. Some of these terms are common, some are stupid, some are genius, and most will make you laugh. First, let me begin by saying that I was born in the early 80's, so I am pretty much a cartoon freak. Second, most of my folks were born in the 80's, so they are cartoon freaks. And finally, don't use these terms around those ignorant of 80's cartoons or comic books, the terms will just go over there heads. Now, for the vocabulary lesson.
Let's start with "Chapter 6 : Straight Out of a Comic Book"
Secret Squirrel - A term used to refer to a friend that always has a secret rendezvous to attend. A secret squirrel never wants to divulge information about his/her whereabouts. Usually, a secret squirrel has an ugly significant other they don't want their friends to see. Why are you always sneaking out of the club, you ol' Secret Squirrel?
Quick Draw McGraw - A term used by females that I know (not Biblically) to refer to men who prematurely ejaculate. She told me she was only there for two minutes, called him Quick Draw McGraw.
Hong Kong Phooey - A usually mild manner person who snaps when pushed too far. He was just chilling and then they tested him, he got his Hong Kong Phooey on.
Scrappy Doo - A term used to refer to an acquaintance, not a friend, who always manages to screw plans up (just as Scrappy ruined Scooby Doo). Thanks for bringing the ugly broads, Scrappy Doo. Also can be used as a friend that always claims to be tough, but never follows up on threats (from Scrappy's "Lemme at 'em! I'll splat 'em!"). Scrappy Doo over here was running his mouth and ain't bust his guns.
Dick Dastardly - A person who always has a scheme or plan that sounds pretty stupid to everybody else. Dick Dastardly over here said he got a connect on some scrilla.
Captain Caveman - A friend that is almost always unshaven and disheveled. I need to go and get a Ceasar, I'm over here playing Captain Caveman.
Top Cat / Riff-Raff - The "leader" or the smoothest person in your group of friends (most likely me). That dude Rock Diggie is the Top Cat around here. Far Rockaway Rah-Rah is Riff-Raff in this junkyard.
Snagglepuss - A very flamboyant homosexual or a heterosexual that displays very feminine ways or homosexual tendencies. Cam'ron used to wear all that pink and scream "no homo", 50 made that Snagglepuss "exit, stage left".
Pepé Le Pew - A man who believes he has many females, but in actuality, has no game to speak of. I got like ten birds' numbers and you got none, big talk, no action, Pepe Le Pew.
I also have a couple more words/terms from "Chapter 4 : Love Blackually"
Eblackuate - [i-blak-yoo-eyt]-verb To leave a location because of oncoming police presence. Yo son, Jake coming, time to eblackuate.
Nigotiation - [nig-oh-shee-eyt]-verb To deal or bargain with another, in the hopes of obtaining something for free. Come on kid, you have to give me some type of money, this ain't a nigotiation.
Riniggerlous - [ri-nig-ger-luhs]-adjective An action that is done by a nigger causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable. Dude put rims on a Kia, that's just riniggerlous.
Nigalia - [nig-geyl-yah]-plural noun The decorations, insignia, or ceremonial clothes of niggas. Remember when baggy jeans and Timbs were the nigalia, before the Dayglo kicks and tight jeans?
Niggative - [nig-ger-tiv] -adjective Used in response to statements by niggers lacking in constructiveness, helpfulness, optimism, cooperativeness because of seemingly clandestine racism. See, I can't get a job because "the man" is holding me back. (in response). You're just niggative!
Last Blacktion Hero - An African American who has a tendency to speak of an upcoming revolution or their attempts to stop the struggle of African Americans. Who does that vulture Al Sharpton think he is, the Last Blacktion Hero?
I promised last time to add a few terms from "Chapter 2 : Friendly Fire", but I got a little sidetracked and couldn't really get my head around that chapter. So instead I will be adding a few words from "Chapter 5 : Whatever Words". This chapter contains miscellaneous terms used by myself and those within my circle.
Pizzlate - [piz-uhl-leyt]-verb To have sexual intercourse with. Damn, I want to pizzlate Lauren London.
Trauma - [trou-muh]-noun Potent marijuana that produces temporary psychological injury or pain. Yo, I got a mean headache, my cuzino had that trauma last night.
Boonk - [boonk]-noun 1.Disagreeable marijuana. 2.Marijuana laced with another substance. Dude tried to charge me $50 for some brown leaves, like I couldn't tell it was boonk.
Banky - [bangk-kee]-adjective The response to female that you would really enjoy having sex with, as in "depositing in a bank". Yo, Toni Braxton is on the cover of Jet looking really banky.
Pootz - [poots]-noun A person that can do nothing right or is look at as worthless. From the term "poo-putt". George W. Bush is the best example of a pootz.
Beezee - [bee-zee]-noun A person who is physically weak and ineffectual, a synonym for "bitch ass nigga". First, Yung Berg gets ganked in Detroit, then he gets smacked by Maino. Damn beezee!
Deezy - [dee-zee]-noun 1.Word used for an action that is very easy, a mixture of the words "dumb" and "easy". I whipped your ass on Madden, that was deezy! 2.A drink containing vodka and tonic or vodka and Sprite. I was twisted last night, drinking that deezy.
Bong bong - [bong bong]-adverb 1.Used to express affirmation or assent or to mark the addition of something emphasizing and amplifying a previous statement. Did I get that new T.I. album? Bong bong! -noun 2.Affirmative reply. Are you going to the mall? (in response) Bong bong! -interjection 3.Used as a strong expression of joy, pleasure, or approval. Popularized by the RZA. (while listening to a good song) Bong bong!
Suflan - [soo-fleyn]-noun Acronym for "SUcker For Love Ass Nigga". Popularized by Ghostface Killah. Everybody knows that Nas is a suflan.
Cupcakin - [kuhp-keyk-in]-verb The act of constantly spending money, time, or paying too much attention to a person with which you have an infatuation with. T.I.'s song "Whatever You Like" is a prime example of cupcakin.
Following are some words from the subsection of this chapter, entitled "Business Affairs". The word "business" is one of the most versatile words within my vernacular, there are many alternative definitions and spellings of this word. Don't be a pootz, or a beezee, like Yung Berg, and use the wrong spelling of the word.
Bidnezz - [bid-nez]-noun The act of sexual intercourse. Like I've stated before, I'd give Lauren London the bidnezz.
Bizziness - [biz-ee-nis]-noun Something with which a person is rightfully concerned. Jigga said "tell them busy bitches to stay out of my bizziness."
Bidness - [bid-nis]-noun The purchase and sale of illegal goods in an attempt to make a profit. Yo, son on the corner with that "good-good" conducting bidness.
Bizness - [biz-nis]-noun 1.To make difficulties for someone; treat harshly. 2.To scold severely. 3.To physically harm a person. Son tested my manhood, so I had to give him the bizness.
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Doodlebug" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
I was at one time a member of the United States Air Force, not a good member, but a member none the less. During my tenure as an Airman, I probably did some of the dumbest things I've ever did. I won't go into my nigganigans, let's just say that I was a habitual line stepper, "rabble rabble!!" For my actions, I was sent to a "motivational" program that they called Correctional Custody, twice (yeah, I didn't learn the first, or the last time). While in CC, we were woken up by music blaring, crappy music, mainly "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood and "America" by Neil Diamond. When you marched out of your quarters (room), their were American flags on every wall. Almost every three days (I was in for 30), we would watch videos about patriotism and what it means to be a patriot. This bombardment of American propaganda is supposed to stimulate the forgotten patriotism within us ill behaved members of the military. I on the other hand just saw it as brainwashing, Manchurian Candidate style brainwashing.
My brother, and most of the people that I went to elementary school with, will tell you that I have never been patriotic in the terms that "Real Americans" speak of. When I was in elementary school, I bucked the system and refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance (they called my pops and he told them to go fuck themselves, I'm paraphrasing). So, when I decided to join the military, my father questioned if it was a good choice (I should have question it too). In my house, when I was a child, Louis Farrakhan was a voice that was heard, as well as Malcolm X. I read the scribes of Marcus Garvey, Noble Drew Ali, and Imaam Isa (before the molestation thing). I was well on my way to embracing the notion of being anti establishment. The strangest thing about my anti establishment views is that most of my employed life was spent working directly for the government.
So, after years of working for "the man", I am back to being a civilian, and being even more anti establishment. During my time as a government employee, I learned just how much this government sucks at their job. But, I'm not going to go into a rant about the shitty bureaucracy that we call the American government. I want to address the asinine assumption that there is a "Real America" and the unpatriotic big city America. I happen to be from a big city that some of you may have never heard of, New York City. I may be critical of America, okay, I am very critical of America. I distrust and sometimes downright despise the American government. I distrust and sometimes just hate most Americans. Sometimes I sit and watch the populace of America and I find them totally stupid. When people are screaming these idiotic slogans like "God bless America and nowhere else", "if you don't like America, leave", and other nonsense, I begin to throw up a little bit in my mouth. It's insane, in my opinion, the intolerance of Americans. Take for example, when a misinformed lady told John McCain that Barack Obama was an Arab. He tried to correct her by saying "He's a decent family man...", basically saying that an Arab man can't be a decent family man. Or, how about Sarah Palin saying that big city Americans aren't hard workers, aren't kind, courageous or good. Must I remind her that the hardworking, courageous members of the FDNY ran into the World Trade Center on September 11th, 1999. Must I state that on that same day, I, myself, an "unpatriotic" big city native, was prepping airplanes that were to protect America. Now, I'm not going to spend an entire blog bashing the Republican party, because Democrats suck just as much (Vote Cynthia McKinney), but what makes being an intolerant, misinformed, bumbling idiot at all patriotic. I've got to say, I love being tolerant, I enjoy staying informed, I would love to be an elitist (I am), and if that makes me unpatriotic, then so be it.
By the way, the definition of Elitism is the belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect. I don't know about anybody else, but I would love for our President to possess intellect higher than Joe Sixpack or Joe the plumber (whose not even a licensed plumber). Does anybody actually want an idiot in that position? We've had that for eight years now, are you satisfied? Hey, I'm not going to use this as a platform for Barack Obama, lets just say that I would never vote for John McCain with "Caribou Barbie" as his running mate. Also, I've resided in the "Real America" and the unpatriotic America, and I've got to admit, I love this big city life. I love the coffee shop talks about politics, I enjoy the opportunity to be friends with a diverse group of people, and I mostly love the 24 hour bodega (bet y'all don't have that in Wasilla).
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Ladybug" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
So, anybody that reads my blog or talks to me, knows that I use numerous slang words. I am from the "hood", so when I converse, or I should say "politic/polly" or "conversate", I use street vernacular. I want to let everybody enter my mind, so I will like to introduce you to the "Digzionary". Some of these words may be familiar to you and some of them may be new, whatever the case, enjoy them and use them well.
Let's begin with "Chapter 4 : Love Blackually"
Nigger - [nig-er]-noun 1.A term used between ignorant friends. 2.A person showing a lack of care, knowledge or training. 3.A person who has been tricked or deceived into appearing or acting silly or stupid. 4.A weak-minded or idiotic person. You're my nigger!
Niggerdom - [nig-er-duhm]-noun The state of being or becoming a nigger. Actions that are stereotypically done by niggers. I don't practice that niggerdom!
Niggeropolis - [nig-rop-uh-lis]–noun, plural -lis·es. A neighborhood that is largely populated by niggers. Far Rockaway is such a niggeropolis.
Niggernomics - [nig-er-nom-iks]-noun 1.(used with a singular verb) the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of niggers. You spent your rent money on sneakers, stop practicing niggernomics. 2.(used with a plural verb) financial considerations; economically significant aspects: What are the niggernomics of such a project?
Niggerosity - [nig-er-os-i-tee]–noun, plural -ties. a. The property of a nigger that resists change from said nigger's niggerdom. b. The measure of the extent to which a nigger possesses this property. That nigger DMX got arrested again, he has the highest niggerosity I've ever seen.
Niggerology - [nig-er-ol-uh-jee]-noun 1.The science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of niggers. 2.The study of niggers' similarity to and divergence from other people. 3.The science of niggers and their works. Chris Rock is always talking about the difference between Black people and niggers, he's very verse in Niggerology.
Nigganigans - [nig-an-i-guhns]-noun The mischief, deceit, trickery, or underhanded acts associated with niggers. Maino smacked Yung Berg, he's back to his nigganigans.
Niggerdry - [nig-er-dree]–noun The art, skill, or accomplishments of a nigger. Tracy Morgan is hosting "Hip Hop Honors", he pocesses some amazing niggerdry.
Niggerish - [nig-er-ish]-adjective Of, pertaining to, befitting, or resembling, a nigger. Rock Diggie is so niggerish!
Niggerant - [nig-er-uhnt]-adjective An action by a nigger due to or showing lack of care, knowledge or training. Look at them rims, that's so niggerant!
Exblackly - [igz-blak-lee]-adverb As you say. Used to indicate agreement, sarcastically, with a racial statement pertaining to African Americans. They're going to find a way to keep Obama out of the White House. (in response) Exblackly!
Blackually - [blak-choo-uh-lee]-adverb As a sentence modifier to add slight emphasis, used in response to a stereotypical assuption. Yo, son, you got any Kool Aid? (in response) Blackually, I only drink water!
Blacktastic - [blak-tas-tik]-adjective In form, conception, or appearance that is in stereotypical African American fashion. The lights went out about three times at the club last night, so blacktastic!
Terms for females (sorry ladies)from "Chapter 3 : The Oviary"
Bird - [burd] -noun From British slang. A young woman. I met this fly bird at the club last night.
Duck - [duhk] -noun An unattractive young woman who believes she is attractive. Usually has low intelligence or common sense. Usually kept around as a substitute for when no other female is available. Yo, she's an ugly duck, but she's easy, and I don't have anyone else.
Pigeon - [pij-uhn] -noun A falsely appealing female, uses her friend's car, money, clothes, etc.. Tries to date men to get something out of the relationship, being rides, money, clothes, etc.. She's a pigeon, that's her homegirl's shit she rocking.
Chicken - [chik-uhn] -noun A female that uses sexual acts for monetary gains. Sometimes refered to as a Chickenhead. She wanted me to cop her a #1 from Mickey D's just cause I hit it, damn chicken!
Goose - [goos] -noun Similar to a duck, but more attractive. Usually has low intelligence or common sense. Usually kept around as a substitute for when no other female is available. You couldn't get no bird, I bet you can talk that dumb goose into it.
Swan - [swon] -noun A female that was once unattractive but has became extremely attractive. Yo, she was ugly as fuck back in junior high, but that swan fine as shit now.
Dodo - [doh-doh] -noun A female that is very dim-witted and slow-reacting, Not neccessarily lacking intelligence, but very slow to respond. Sarah Palin is a dodo!
Owl - [oul] -noun An acronym for Over Weight Lady. Jennifer Hudson can get it, even though she's kind of an owl.
Ostrich - [aw-strich, os-trich] -noun A female whose lower anatomy is better than her upper anatomy. Usually long legs and a nice butt. Damn she's an ostrich, look at that ass, but don't look above her waist.
Turkey - [tur-kee] -noun A promiscuous female (turkeys get stuffed). You might catch something, that bird is a turkey.
Quail - [kweyl] -noun A young female that tries to fool men into thinking she is not a minor. R Kelly is a quail hunter.
Roadrunner - [rohd-ruhn-er] -noun A prostitute. (got another definition, a little too dirty, even for this blog) My dude told me he went up to Hunts Point to get a roadrunner for his bornday.
Phoenix - [fee-niks] -noun The perfect female, a person of peerless beauty or excellence. Sometimes refered to as "wife material". Named after the mythical bird (because this bird is pretty much mythical too). I thought Jessica Alba was a Phoenix, then she up and married that lamo.
Rest in Peace, Marlon "Brando" Bryant
Stay tuned for more words out of the "Digzionary". Next time we will go over "Chapter 6 : Straight Out of a Comic Book" and "Chapter 2 : Friendly Fire".
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Ladybug" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
Okay, I guess this is a follow up to my last post. Anybody that knows me, knows that I enjoy three recreational activities above all, television, music and movies. My usual day (night) goes like this, I wake up and check the Hip-Hop blogs for new music to hate, I turn on the television and set the DVR for some shows, then I go through the extensive DVD library in my house. So, basically, my day revolves around these three things. So the other day I was watching "Shooter", and a question came to my mind, "does Hollywood (authors, actually) really think this stuff out before they start filming?
Everybody knows the film, the government/secret agency/corporation builds/brainwashes/trains a soldier/assassin/spy. During an accident/set-up/mission, the soldier/assassin/spy has a notion that the government/secret agency/corporation is doing something evil/trying to kill him, and it is up to him to stop them. I, like most people, enjoy most films with this premise. I love the entire "Bourne" series, I tolerated the "Mission Impossible" films, I enjoy all espionage flicks in general. My question isn't why do they make them, my question is why are the villains so stupid?
Every movie of this type is the same, from "James Bond" to "Art of War", a trained soldier or whatever has to fight throughout the entire film. From the opening credits, we can all see that this unlucky bastard just won't go down, why can't the villains see the same thing. Any film where the hero is constantly being chased by an organization, the idiotic villain never stops to rethink his strategy. Come on, after Jason Statham kicked the asses of about a dozen of your armed soldiers, are you just going to send in a dozen more? I know what you're going to do next, you're going to call for your special martial arts expert, your crazy hot, crazy, killer chick, or your steroid pumped strong man. And you know what happens then, the hero has a problem for about three seconds, and then proceeds to kick ass, just like before. After that mishap, you get the idea to throw everything at this dude, including the kitchen sink. As you should have guessed by now, this unstoppable force, who has been shot several times and broken at least three bones, thwarts your plans. What's left? You can go either two ways, give up and go to your secret hideout or fight the son of a bitch yourself. Let's go with the first scenario, you're in your secret hideout, you receive a phone call/letter/e-mail/text message that says either your dead or that he's coming for you. At that moment either he blows you up/shoots you/chokes you from behind or the credits roll (save something for a sequel). The secret hideout idea may have been a bad one! Okay, what about the latter, fighting the hero yourself. The first question you should ask yourself is, why, if you could have defeated him yourself, why didn't you do that from the jump? The second question should be, if this adrenaline driven madmen killed your henchmen, the body count has to be about a hundred (more deaths, more revenue), what makes you so damn tough to kill? You know how this is going to end, you laying in a pool of blood wondering "why didn't I just let the fact that this dude dropped my brother out of a window slide?" or "why didn't we just leave this guy's girlfriend alone?".
Why are government conspirators/criminal masterminds/corporate geniuses portrayed as total idiots? Does having the highest IQ in the entire film mean that you lack common sense? I know it would make for a very short and sucky movie, but how about, after the hero kills 30 0r so of your henchmen, you forget about kidnapping his wife/girlfriend/child, and cut your lost and move on? The worst would be the hero that was built/brainwashed/trained by the villain. If you already know that you did some amazing work on this crazy dude, why would you even dare go up against him? Oh, I forgot about the everyday Joe Simpleton, who thwarts the plans of the government conspirators/criminal masterminds/corporate geniuses. How did this idiot beat you, better still, how did you get into the prestigious position that you sit in?
Okay, Hollywood, I've got a quandary, there's a villain, yet no known hero in sight. Here's the villain's back story. The villain is a known racist, he was against the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, supported apartheid in South Africa and opposed the release of Nelson Mandela. He led enterprises that specialized in the criminal misuse of oil and weaponry. He infiltrated the government and proceeded to limit funding and downsize the military. He came up with plans to use force against nations that he deemed as enemies to his plots. He organized the genocides of millions, some of other nations and some of "his own people". The villain failed to disclose documents of importance to the people, leaked the identity of a spy, and even shot a man and made the victim apologize for getting shot. He may or may not be immortal, surviving numerous health problems and an assassination attempt. He is an immoral, callous, compassionless man. He even has a secret hideout. Now, I'd really appreciate if Hollywood could create a hero to thwart this criminal mastermind.
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Butterfly" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
Well, it's nearing my Tricennial, my Pearl Anniversary, in four years, on the same day as Britney Spears, Lucy Liu, Nelly Furtado, Teairra Marie, and, my favorite Sagittarius, from HBO's Cathouse, Isabella Soprano (just some gift ideas), I will be turning 30. One of my best friends reminded me of this the other day (thanks, you fucking downer). You know how somebody tells you that a deadline is imminent, and your mind starts processing a whole bunch of shit it wasn't ready to? Yeah, I had that moment. I started thinking about careers, houses, cars, children, and other adult things (you thought I was going to say marriage, right? Do I look like a chick, huh?). I guess that 30 would be too early to have a midlife crisis, so I guess I'll just have an early life crisis. You know the questions that run through your head. Have I wasted 30 years of my life? Have I accomplished any of the goals I set (I never set any, so I'm cool)? Am I ready to grow up? What am I going to do with the rest of my life? And just like you, I have no answers (unlike you, I don't care).
So, I'm sitting here, guzzling a Heineken, thinking about the questions I will ultimately have to answer. You remember when you were a child, you looked at adults and thought that they were having fun being grown ups. They didn't have homework, they did whatever they wanted, they didn't have all the stupid rules that you had, and they didn't have to answer to stupid grown ups. And what did you realize when you became an adult? That was all bullshit! You started working and realized that this is a lot like school, which sucked. Yeah, you get paid, but you have to pay bills now. You can't just do whatever you want, you have responsibilities now. At least you don't have the stupid rules, right? Wrong, you have more rules, and these rules have worst consequences. Remember when you got into a fight and your punishment was a time-out (ass-whipping in my case), well now if you get into a fight, you punishment is jail. Oh, and the not answering to stupid grown ups, what about that? If you're at work, look over at your supervisor, he's definitely a grown up and most likely a stupid one. If you're at home or at Starbucks, open another window and go to http://www.whitehouse.org/, that has got to be the stupidest grown up around. So, is being an adult as cool as it looked like when you were a child?
To answer all those question that went through my mind, I have no answers! I don't know where I'm going, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know where I'll be, I'm just hoping for the best. I was reading my brother's blog, and I got to an entry, and it made me think. Hey, if my brother is Earl Hickey, I must be Randy Hickey. Maybe I do need to reevaluate my life. Pretty soon I'll be in a hotel room with my brother, riding around in my crappy car, getting into wacky shenanigans. Hey, that doesn't sound too bad at all!
My brother and I. Oh, and a hot Latina that I'm married to. Cool
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Butterfly" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
So, a while back I was checking out this website that my brother put me up on (what up, S.), it's entitled Stuff White People Like, very interesting and entertaining. One problem though, as I continued reading the posts, I noticed something. I noticed that I like most of this stuff too. I like coffee, I love sweaters, I rock scarves year round, I enjoy sushi, the Daily Show, wine, New Balance kicks, threatening to move to Canada, etc.. In all honesty, from their list of 109 things, I count about 70 things that I love too. My question is, does this make me less Black, am I subconsciously practicing allopphillia (emulating other groups not your own), or am I just doing me, and being from a culturally diverse city, have I become an amalgamation of the melting pot? I'm wondering, because I remember when I was a child in "the hood", whenever a young Black person liked something other than the regular hood staples, they were seen as trying to be White. I've never had that problem (maybe because I'm very niggerish), but my very eloquent sister and driven brother did. My sister told me of how she was told "you speak so well", like it was an astronomical feat for an African American female from "the hood" to use proper grammar and diction. My brother was a gifted student (what happened?), so he went to a private school, and anyone from "the hood" that strives for a greater intelligence, is trying to be White. I know for a fact, that my sister and brother don't strive to be or consider themselves to be White or White-like. So I decided to check out some other sites.
There's this other site, entitled Stuff Educated Black People Like. I guess this is a site dedicated to the black entrepreneurs that get rich and move to the Buckhead section of Atlanta. I don't know, maybe I'm an uneducated Black person, but out of their list of about 30 things, I only found 6 things I like (2 would be Barack and boat shoes). Maybe I just don't have that much in common with these educated Black people that they are referring to. Maybe I'm just a little too niggerish for these educated Black people. But, wait, I have so much in common with White people, I must not be too niggerish. What if I swayed so far away from my people, that I don't have anything in common with the educated ones of my ethnic group? Fuck that, I have to do some more research.
So, I look on Google for Stuff Black People Love, and I am reassured of my niggerness. The site is still under construction, it's crude and uncreative, very niggerish. So I hit up the link to their former site, and it was just as crude and uncreative as I would expected. I would tell you the relation of my likes to their list, but it's not numbered and I'm kind of tired. Let's just say, I like damn near everything on their list. I mean, who doesn't love "chinkiness" and finding out that a criminal is not Black. It made me feel totally secure with my niggerness. It brought me so much relief, I had flashbacks to my nigganigans (nigga shenanigans) as a youth, in my Niggeropolis, studying Niggernomics and Niggerology, trying to maintain my Niggerosity. I apologize to anybody that I offended with my use of the N-word. Damn, I apologized, something else to add to my list of things I have in common with White people. Somebody pass me a Newport, some Kool-Aid and let's spark the revolution.
Remember the world is Diggie. Even the "Doodlebug" told you this was a Diggie-ble Planet. I'm cool like that!
So, as most people know, Nas and MoveOn.org have issued a fatwā on the Fox News Channel. Nas and his cohorts claim that Fox is spreading racist propaganda, and they must be stopped. The group has gotten a petition signed and even protested in fron of the Fox News studios last week. Now, what did all this hullabaloo accomplish? Well, the answer is, not a Goddamn thing!
Okay, I agree with Nas and MoveOn.org in their assessment of the overtly racist propaganda that Fox News spews, but I disagree with their petition and their protest. Before you call me an Uncle Tom or a Sambo, hear me out. Now Nas is a rapper, a group that is constantly under fire for their speech, and MoveOn.org's slogan is "Democracy in Action" (typing on a computer is more like Democracy Inaction). One of the main tenents of democracy is the freedom of speech. While Nas defends his own right to freedom of speech, he wants to censor Fox News freedom of speech. Furthermore, anybody that watches Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, etc., knows that the majority of their programming is made up of punditry. Punditry is opinions, analysis, or commentary on news subjects, sort of like an editorial in a newspaper (I know that nobody reads these anymore). Unlike a newspaper, where most of it is made up of hard news (except Page 6 in the New York Post or the entire New York Times), these news channels only feature small breaks of hard news. Many "media watchdogs" have said that CNN and MSNBC have been bias, at times liberal and at times conservative. The Fox News Channel just happens to be staggeringly conservative. What are these protesters actually fighting against, Fox News or the people that watch it? I mean, I hate BET, but I won't protest it, I just refuse to watch the crap. In my opinion, Fox News can say whatever they want, if you don't like it, change the channel. The only people I want to see banned are Ann Coulter (annoying cunt), Al Sharpton (advantageous scavenger) and Jesse Jackson (nigger) (oh, yeah and Tiffany "New York" Pollard). I know I havent cursed much in this blog entry, so, man fuck Fox News!
Even when WINNING isn't probable, losing isn't optional!
So, I'm watching Penn & Teller : Bullshit, and the topic of this episode was "Being Green". I've never discussed the whole "Green Movement" before on this blog, so I figure now is a better time than ever. For anybody that hasn't been alive for the past 35 years, the "Green Movement" is a push by environmentalist to get everybody to do their part in "saving the world". Now for my view, environmentalist are the worst perpertrators of "Earth murder". Environmentalist spout off their ideology about "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle", anybody that went to public school in New York City has probably been to an assembly about it. That is one of the biggest pieces of bullshit that I've ever heard! First of all, we cannot reduce our "carbon" output, with our ever growing population, our over production of items, and our expansion of land use. What are we suppose to stop procreating, eating, and living. Ever couple months these "environmentalist" build Whole Foods Markets and other "environmental" centers, using land. They say reuse, how are we going to reuse the current gas-powered automobiles, that they want to replace with hybrids and electric cars. These electric cars and hybrids require new stations to refill their batteries, and that means more land use. Even if we reuse certain items, eventually they will have to be disposed of, and some things, like plastic, are not biodegradable, and will have an impact on the planet anyway. Some products lose their integrity after usage and become hazardous to consumers. And the last word, recycling, is my biggest pet peeve. Almost everyday, I drive by a recycling center, I watch the smog come out the pipes and I think, how is this any better? The "environmentalist" never tell you about the energy cost for recycling centers and the cost of recycling centers. Recycling takes more time than virgin production and that means more money for employees, which means higher prices. The "Green Movement" is a racket (like organized religion), all these organic (expensive) products, these "green" businesses, and environmentalist groups. These things are set up to get money by playing on the guilt of consumers (sort of like how religions get offerings off of their parishioners guilt). I will not say that Global Warming is a myth, I believe it's truely occuring, but these environmentalist are using this to prey on peoples fears (like George W. Bush and Fox News, and religion, again). People are going out of their way to waste money on hybrids, carbon credits and other nonsense that won't neccessarily effect the Global Warming threat. What we need to do is spend that money to fund actual scientific endevours to investigate Global Warming and not do whatever Al Gore says (when he doesn't even do it).
Even when WINNING isn't probable, losing isn't optional!
If the world was really mine, I'd get rid of the snakes!
So, this is the triumphant return of The Incredible Rock Diggie (not as exciting as you expected, huh! Well, fuck it!). Well, it was kind of hard for me to think of some pertinent subject matter to return with. I could return with my usual Hip-Hop blog (but what has Hip-Hop gave us in the past year), or politics (Obama's the man, nothing there), maybe my polemic view of religion (too deep to return with). I can't really decide, so I've got Nas' "Nigger" ("untitled", fuck that bullshit) playing in background, The Colbert Report on the television, a Heineken sitting next to the keyboard, my Palm Centro in front of me with cracked.com queued up, and a cigarette in my mouth, and I've decided I'm going to wing it and see where it goes.
So, the other day I was vibing hard off the new Nas album "Nigger" (again, fuck "untitled"). I am proud to say that I am back to being Nas' biggest fan. Lyrically, Nas is sharp as he's ever been. As I listened to the "Street Disciple", I started drifting back into my adolescence. Let me give you all an outlook on my youth. I was raised by a family of intellectuals, we spent family time answering questions on Jeopardy. My brother was an advanced student in school (I'm too damn lazy), my sister was a purveyor of art, fashion and anything outside of the "hood" mentality, my mother pushed us to work hard, and my father taught us to search for the answer to every question (probably why I'm such a big skeptic). So in my younger years, I had mainly these four people guiding me. My brother taught me everything scholastic, in our free time we use to read encyclopedias (between comic books and television). My sister plugged me into Hip-Hop, fashion, and interculturalism. My mother showed me that hard work is the path to achieving success (something I still haven't got the hang of). And my father gave me the tools to find the history and the origins of anything. I took everything that my mother, father, sister and brother taught me and formed an amalgamation, that is the basis for my current ideology. My mother, being the strongest person I've ever met, gave me the strength to fall down and get back up. My father, the most philosophical person I know, showed me how to find the deeper meaning in everything. My sister, a very sophisticated person, taught me to be an epicurean (but not to the point of avariciousness). My brother, by forcing me to read books, pushed me to further my intelligence. I know this isn't like one of my standard blog entries, but listening to Nas' "Nigger" (again, fuck "untitled"), the things he said just reminded me of my youth. The parallels of him and I growing up in the hood of Queens, the outlook on America. His lyrics about African American leaders reminded me of the discussions with my father. The mentions of beliefs of Nuwaubianism that I was raised around. It just brought me back to the days of my childhood. I just wanted to dedicate a blog entry to the people that crafted The Incredible Rock Diggie.
Even when WINNING isn't probable, losing isn't optional!
I'm going to leave you all with a video, since I feel like I kind of ripped you off on the Grand Re-Opening.
Been watching the BET special, "Hip Hop vs. America"(shouldn't it be the other way around, since Hip Hop is on trial), and I actually enjoyed it. Now, I'm against the entire BET infrastructure most of the time(word to Adrianne Curry), because of it's hypocrisy. One minute, they'll have a special on "Rap City" with Jeff Johnson and in the next minute, buffoonery on "106 & Park". But back to the special, it was pretty decent, especially my favorite comment from the "KING", T.I., "We gonna be out of business, pretty much, if we put a bunch of school teachers in suit jackets and long skirts in our videos. And BET say, what is this, we can't play this. Then what we gonna do?". My second favorite professor(Cornel West is my favorite), Michael Eric Dyson did his thing; that man has a way with words, describing Melyssa Ford as "ebony ecstasy in furled in coffee flesh". Nelly, even though he isn't the most intelligent or well-spoken person, did make some excellent points about a woman's choice to show off her butt in a music video. He said that people make choices and sacrifice to meet success. I have a greater respect for Nelly, because he stood his ground against those that consider themselves intellectuals, such as Stanley Crouch. My man, Jeff Johnson aka Cousin Jeff made an excellent point on societies views on women, such as the Christian church and the Civil Rights Movement. The thing I disliked the most about the special was Toure(I hate that guys whole aura), he is totally unnecessary to Hip Hop culture. Another thing I found strange about this special was it's timing, it talked about the misogyny, violence and vileness of Hip Hop music, yet the top selling Hip Hop albums this year have been Common, Talib Kweli, and Kanye West. Throughout the whole thing, Nelly kept bringing up the word "choice", which I have always said is the answer to any socially charged question. Author, Nelson George said, "Crime is as American as apple pie", which I agree with, since America stole this land(and apple pie too). Crime is a major part of Hip Hop culture, since Hip Hop culture was started in the crime laden South Bronx. So to actually understand the pathology of Gangster Rap, you have to understand the pathology of America, which was supposedly discovered by a criminal, Christopher Columbus. The only part that I didn't like about the whole special, was the segment about White people's view of Hip Hop culture. I could give a fuck about how White people see me(no offense to my cuzo, Jay), I could give a fuck about how anybody sees me. I feel that I, just like Hip Hop, am who I am, deal with me or don't, view me how you will, but I will not change. But during that segment, Rev. Al Sharpton made an excellent statement about Hip Hop and famous black people emulating White America. I don't really want to write about the entire special, so just watch it and enjoy my boy T.I..
On a personal note, I used the words nigga, bitch, hoe, etc. Your actions determine your label, we all judge, no matter how much we protest that we don't, we all judge. It's human nature to be prejudice, we all use terms towards other persons. If a woman is very promiscuous, we call her a slut. If a man is very unintelligent, we call him stupid. I use these terms, but I don't discriminate with my judgements. If a woman or a man has a bitchy attitude, she or he is a bitch. If a man or woman is promiscuous, he or she is a hoe. I think that the world is overly sensitive, call me what you want, at the end of the day, I'm still superior to you!
I was checking my E-mail earlier today, and I had like twenty friend requests on MySpace.com. About eight of them were the fake broads, with the "to see my totally nude pics, click here" banner. The other twelve were aspiring rappers, you know "please listen to my music, nigga". The whole time I've been on MySpace.com, I've only listened to about five rappers that sent me their profile, and I've only liked a total of zero. I have nothing against anyone trying to be a rapper("do you", like Russell Simmons), I'm tired of anyone that can't rap trying to be a rapper. Everybody and their mother is a rapper now(Cam'ron and his mother; see "Confessions of Fire"), when will they realize that the rap game is full. It's like drug dealing, if you have all these people on this one corner, then nobodies moving any of their product. Alright, you have all these dudes that are just copies of other dudes, and when you have one 50 Cent, you don't need two. Anybody that knows rap, knows that everything comes from a few "fore-fathers", Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Biz Markie, and KRS-One(LL Cool J kind of counts too). Rakim is the inspiration for all the backpacker rappers, the Nas's, the "scientific" rappers. Big Daddy Kane is the mold for all the slick talkers, the smooth rappers, the Jay-Z's. Kool G Rap is the blueprint for all that mafioso, drug cartel, gangster rap, the N.O.R.E.'s. Biz Markie is the foundation of the joking, clown rappers, the Redman's and Methodman's. KRS-One is the father of the underground rappers, the "I die for this rap shit", lyrical rappers, the "Hip-Hop is breathing" rappers. And basically LL Cool J is the ladies man, which can be compared to a Nelly. All rappers stem from these rappers, no ideas original. For example, Lil Wayne(a confused dude, if you've been rapping since 13, when were you a drug kingpin?) is an amalgamation of Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, and most recently, KRS-One. He raps about the drugs and hustling, the smooth talk, the ladies, and according to him, most recently, he raps for the "love of Hip-Hop". Let's examine T.I., he's a mixture of Kane, LL and G Rap, and formerly, Rakim. T.I. raps about his hustling career, his way with the ladies, and he used to more lyrical("dumb down for my audience to double my dollars" : Jay-Z). Then there's 50 Cent, whose a mix of G Rap, Kane, and LL, or Kanye West, whose a mixture of Rakim, Kane, and KRS-One. Most of these new rappers don't understand the past, so they don't know that people my age and older have heard it all before, like Sunshine Anderson. So whenever these kids come up to me and start spitting a rhyme, I start thinking about the people he got his technique from. Whenever a kid comes up to me and starts saying "yo, yo, yo" or "I said, I said" or "uh, uh, uh", I automatically stop listening. It's only so many times you can hear the same rhyme, no matter how the words are arranged. There's too many rappers in the world today, pick a new trade. Please, don't come up to me on 42nd Street and try to sell me your homemade CD. Don't send me a friend request on MySpace and don't ask me to listen to your latest rhyme. Most likely, you sound like your favorite rapper, who sounds like his favorite rapper, who sounds like his favorite rapper, and so on, so why listen to you when I can listen to the person that made you. Hey, give up on the rap dream(I did), 106 & Park is a revolving door, ask the Chingy's, the Huey's, the Jibb's, etc.. Unless you have something that is out of this world amazing or sort of different, like Outkast or Kanye, you may only make it to the door, and be pushed right back out. Skip the rap thing and go straight to a liquor brand or a clothing label, they are more lucrative businesses. Why would anybody want to be in an industry that is losing more and more money on a weekly basis(thanks to downloading)? And if you do get a record contract, you'll probably sit on a label waiting for your turn. It may never come, ask Joe Budden, he'll tell you his Jam is Def, but I still can't hear him!
So I was watching "Tyra"(I'm sorry, world), and it was a special entitled "Focus on Race". Tyra had Saphhyri, from Flavor of Love 2, trying to understand the plight of Muslim Americans in this post-9/11 world. She then had women debating the size of butts depending on race. She had an Aryan family, a Black man that hated being Black, and a Black girl that couldn't relate with other Black people. This had me thinking about my feelings about Black people, well, not really just Black people. Let me break this down further for people not familiar with the dynamics of the Black race, the whole "brown bag" ideology, and the divisions in the Black race. See, like most other races, there are different types within that specific race. Like in the Caucasian race, they have "White Trash" separated from other White people, Latinos' have "Spics" and "Wetbacks" as their version of "White Trash", and so on. But Black people are more divisive, within the Black race, there are African Americans, Blacks, Colored Folk, and my favorite Niggas(or Niggers). African Americans are considered Black people that are focused on the American Dream, those trying to assimilate themselves into the common ideas of American life. African Americans are referred to as "sell-outs" by Niggas. An example of an African American would be Oprah Winfrey. Blacks are those Black people that try to assimilate themselves into the common American Way, but at the same time trying hard to maintain that they aren't "selling-out" by searching for the American Dream. Most Black actors, actresses and politicians are considered Blacks. Colored Folks or Coloreds, as the old people call them, are the Black people that think that they are inferior to Caucasians. Usually referred to as an "Uncle Tom", Colored Folk tend to dislike other Black people, especially Niggas. Colored Folks are referred to as "sell-outs" by Niggas and Blacks alike. An example of a Colored is Alan Keyes or Uncle Ruckus from the Boondocks. The last type of Black people are the often seen(and heard from rather loudly) Niggas. Niggas are Black people that are only interested in partying and "chilling", they occasionally search for one part of the American Dream, the money(usually with a half-cocked scheme). Niggas are usually seen embarrassing the entire Black race and setting the Civil Rights Movement back a year or two. Niggas will do anything to be seen and heard, from wearing too much jewelry, to putting over sized rims on their cars, or playing their music way too loud. Niggas are usually seen doing something they shouldn't be doing and using the word "nigga" as a term of endearment (WARNING: Do not call a Nigga a "nigga" unless you are indeed a Nigga.). Niggas are usually referred to as "niggers" by African Americans, Blacks, Coloreds, and just about everybody else. Some examples of Niggas are most rappers, most professional athletes, aspiring rappers/drug dealers, most residents of Housing Projects. The thing that separates Niggas from other types of Black people is the fact that Niggas don't have to be Black. Niggas are usually self destructive and they embody the "crabs in a barrel" notion applied to them. While African Americans and Blacks will aid another Black person in their quest for the American Dream, a Nigga will only help another Black person when it directly benefits them in someway. Within the Black community, even when I was a kid, there have always been arguments about a Black person's "Blackness"(I don't know what scale that's measured on). Like in elementary school, the Black child that over-achieved and excelled, was usually said to be "trying to be White"(most likely by a Nigga). A Black person that enjoys events and commodities that are usually attached to a high social standing, is said to be "saditty" or "bourgie"(which is a shortened version of "bourgeois", which actually means a person whose attitudes and behavior are marked by conformity to the standards and conventions of the middle class). I've been exploring the complexity of the entire Black race, and I've realized that the amount of African Americans are depleting, as well as the Colored Folks(thank God), but the numbers of Niggas are multiplying like cockroaches, thus forcing us into a state of Niggerdom. Niggerdom is defined as "the actions and beliefs pertaining to a Nigger". You have non-Niggas acting very "niggeresque" or "niggerish", depending on your region. The "Niggerosity" has became so overwhelmingly vast, that in 2002, Cambridge University did a study in "Niggerology"(actually a linguistic study in the African American variation on English). While I wrote this I analyzed my friends and their levels of "Niggerosity", I realized that most of my friends are considered Blacks(some of my White friends are considered Niggers). See, most of my friends are searching for that American Dream, but don't want to distance themselves from that Niggerdom that we are so familiar with. I have a few Nigga friends that are Black, for example, I am from a "Niggeropolis"(a town full of Niggas), and all I grew up around was Niggas, all that I knew was "Niggerology", I studied "Niggernomics"(dumb Nigga schemes to make money, that usually fail), but I eventually realized that no Nigga has ever became a successful Nigga by maintaining his high "Niggerosity". Some may say that I am condoning "selling-out" whenever I say that I don't like Niggas and their(or my) "niggerish" actions. Hey, check out these Niggas, or these Niggas, or this Nigga(I could go on forever). I just wanted to get it out there, so you can identify the Nigga and keep African Americans and Blacks from going extinct.
I know a few of my fellow Hip-Hop heads saw ?uestlove and the titles of two albums by The Roots and asssumed this entry would pertain to music, sorry, your mistaken. This entry is more or less about the relationship between men and women(the quest for love, get it!), the courting rituals in modern society("Game Theory"), and the desolution of relationships("Things Fall Apart"). Let me take the time out to say that I couldv'e used Black Thought, "Do You Want More?!!!??!", "Rising Down", "Tipping Point" and even "Phrenology"(I love the idea that the shape of a head can determine characteristics), but I couldn't find anyway to use "Illadelph Halflife", "Organix", or Malik B. Anyway, lets get back to our previously scheduled blog post. First, lets start with "Game Theory", or as my Country Killer Cousin, Ricardo, would say, "that G Force". See, every dude with an ounce of confidence believes that he has this mystical energy known as "game". Throughout history, men have always tried to use some sort of ploy or tactic to impress the fairer sex. In Biblical times, the man with the most sheep or cattle could batter his way into a womans life. In the times of Neanderthals, the man that killed the best and was the strongest, won over the women. Even in the animal kingdom, animals such as lions, show off their mane, peacocks show off thier tails, and so on. But as man became more "civilized", he began to shape his "game". It moved away from the best cattle or the most skilled hunter, and "game" became defined as a mans conversation skills, his understanding of feminine needs, his style, and to some extent, his social status. Even though some may say that I am wrong, I believe that men do most of the things they do to impress women, and upgrade their "game". Men go to gyms and upgrade their physique, buy cars to upgrade their social standing, wear expensive clothing to upgrade their style, and face multiple rejections to upgrade their conversation skills. And its understood that it is the mans job to "pick-up" the woman, and men need "game" to outdo the other men vying for female companionship. So, lets say you go to the club, you notice that hot Puerto Rican female at the bar, you walk over and commence to courting. You make eye contact, you open with anice joke, she laughs, you move into introductions, and then conversation from there. After a while of "Jedi Mindtricks", you leave the bar with a new phone number of a potential significant other or "jump-skeezy". From there, you began to date this Boriqua, investing time(and money, of course, money), and eventually "falling" for her. "Love" has been defined many different ways, from "the rush of endorfins", "the psychological link between two persons", and many other things. But in our scenerio, you have "falling" for this female and succumbed to "love". You two become inseperable, as one, a "couple". But, in time the "love" begans to fade, and just like the title of The Roots' album "Things Fall Apart". I wrote this whole blog, not as an essay, but as a question. What is this love-quest that everybody is on? Why must I extend myself and upgrade myself just to find this undefinable thing called "love"? Why call it "game" and then take the end result of "love" so serious? I don't know, maybe I was just bored tonight and been watching "The Pick Up Artist" on VH1, but I just wanted to write down some things I was thinking.
