Sleep N. Eat (An Ode to Coonery)

I'm sitting here watching Bamboozled
Seeing how we have been doodled
Drawn by America, cooned into existence
And even though slavery is over, America was persistent
Wocka, Gucci, Soljah, even Jim
All still have us in bondage and yet all of them
Are on my iPod touch, but their words only touch
The surface of the black experience
And I don't know who gave America the cleariance
I mean clearance to show us at our worst
Or even at our best in a stereotypical church
Still, I must ask why whites define black
We are so much more but never mind that
Because we are The Game and everyone wants to watch
Huxtables are gone. Girlfriends filled that spot
Family doesn't matter anymore but you can meet the Browns
Don't you get it? We, as a people are about to meet the ground
So as my black face sits and watched black faces in black face
I must say that, if we keep going at that pace
In that backward direction, we'll never get ahead
Have some pride. Please use your head
I listen to the coonery. Fine. Ok
But at least I don't believe it. There is no way
We are too smart. We are too strong
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" speaks of our strength of so long
Let's end the minstrel show and start making the news
The right kind. We've long past paid our dues
This land is your land. This land is my land
And I'm going to everything I can
To make sure this school of thought doesn't prevail
I'll be damned if my kids think it's cool to fail
No more black face. We have been bamboozled
We are too beautiful to be drawn and doodled
The nation was born and now it must die
You are a strong black person and so am I
No more StepNFetchIt. No more Mammie
No more Wocka up for hip-hop Grammys
Let's do better. Please. I beseech you
The books are there. Open them up. Let them teach you

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Are You Really Sorry?

Black people, know the difference between "I'm sorry" and "I apologize." Slave masters made us say "I'm sorry" for mistakes b/c they wanted us to say that we were sorry people. In all actuality, unless you do something that truly makes you a sorry friend, worker, etc. (i.e. - stealing, cheating, abusing), you should say "I apologize." Food for thought.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

But From Yourself...

Recently, I have come to the conclusion that teaching people who don't care is an effort done in vain. I don't even get disappointed anymore. I find that if you come into a situation without expectations of excellence for others, they can't let you down. But from yourself always expect greatness.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Takers

Everybody takes but not everybody gives.

After a lot of thought, I have come to the conclusion that most human beings are, by nature, selfish. And those who continue to give without being given to often get to a point of bitterness that envelops their giving nature. Honestly, that is all I need to say. Take from it what you may.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

All of the Lights

So, I am going through my Facebook photos, looking at all my tagged pictures and I have a lot of shots w/ me living a celebrity-esq lifestyle out on the town. So then I looked through those albums which I was tagged in and I saw that a lot of my friends were living these exaggerated lifestyles as well. We are really so caught up in this materialism that I think we have started to believe in our own importance. We sit in VIP booths but does the ability to buy a booth make you an important person or just someone who has money? And even when you happen to get the booth for free, it is at a club in Greensboro, North Carolina for heaven's sake. You probably won't be in there rubbing elbows with Diddy, Oprah, or Gates. So, while we're going out, using our refund checks to buy $200 bottles of champagne at the club to show off to a woman who probably won't remember your name tomorrow, know that you are really just a kid transitioning into adulthood until you get that degree.

Food for thought.

Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Philosophical

#ThatIsAll
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Just A Week Ago

It was all good just a week ago -- Every rapper that ever lived

How many times has that applied to my life? I am often looking at a given situation asking myself how it could happen to me. I try to do right. It seems like, the harder I try to do what I am supposed to do, the more obstacles fall in my way. Sometimes I wish I knew how to quit caring but even when I say I quit, I know that I can't. One of these days I'll learn my lesson. Hope today isn't that day.
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