It's Not Cool to be "Cool"

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that things such as proper English & books aren't considered "cool". This is a clear indication of the type of backwards society we live in - one where the number of chains you wear is more important than the number of degrees you hold; and "street cred" is far more valuable than college credit. So the real question becomes, who determines what is and isn't "cool" - it must be the ignorant Negroes hard at work.

Being cool means being "socially adept". Yet you have many who have been deluded into believing that being cool means owning every pair of Air Jordans - ever! Or it means wearing layaway designer clothes and knowing every word to the latest Jay-Z track. Or my personal favorite - it means having a Sidekick! Things like a 3.0+ GPA, speaking the "Queen's English", attending cultured & socially aware events, etc. are all seen as the opposite of cool. So this tells me that not only is ignorance bliss, it's "cool".

But i know something about you
You went to Cranbrook that's a private school
What's the matter dawg? You embarrassed?
This guy's a gangsta but his real name's Clarence
And Clarence lives at home with both parents
And Clarence's parents have a real good marriage
This guy don't wanna battle he shook
Koz there aint no such thang as HALF WAY CROOKS!!
He's scared to death
He's scared to look in his fuckin yearbook fuck Cranbrook

-8 Mile: Rabbit v. Papa Doc.

So let me see if I'm understanding this - I can't be "gangster" unless I go to a public school and come from a broken home? To gain the respect of my peers, I have to use phrases like "yo" and "son" and only listen to "Hip-Hop"? Yeah, about that. Not quite sure if I'm down, yo.


I had someone once tell me that my "black" card, as well as my "cool" card, had been revoked. Why? Because I went to the museum, took AP classes in high school, and used "big words" like "concoct". Meanwhile, I was also considered the "cool nerd" because, despite my above average GPA and ability to write a 10 page paper in 60 minutes, I also owned a few pairs of Nike Air Max & had an athlete boyfriend. I was basically being told that as a "nerd" - you know, smart - I shouldn't be afforded certain "cool" luxuries such as a social life and sneakers. REALLY though?!

What have we learned kids? That receiving an education is more taboo than having a felony record. So what are you waiting for? Strap up your Jordans & go rob an old lady! Peace out, son!

Nigger of the Week

SMH! -.- VERY bad idea. People with any kind of common sense will despise the fact that he just got in the game and is mentioning a legend.

Soulja Boy's homeboys are quite some followers. They're just co-signing, not even looking at him, just being yes men. Soulja's being extremely disrespectful to the wrong dude. He's just mad and doesn’t wanna be a one hit wonder.

Soulja Boy is obviously too dense to understand that people have been saying hip hop is devolving for YEARS and Nas is merely pointing out the logic in that movement.

Hip-Hop came from the east coast; these little southern pop songs ARE NOT hip hop. Really, music like his and the Internet is why hip hop is dead. The art form isn’t being passed. HIP HOP evolved from those like Grand Master Flash, KRS, Rakim, Jay-Z. Nas just stated the obvious.

To even call any rappers who made money in the last 10 years “Hip Hop” is a travesty (there are few exceptions but I can count them on one hand). Yes, they rap. They are rappers. But they are not Hip Hop. They do rap music, not Hip Hop music. Hip hop has a message that either exposes corruption in society or in one's self. It uplifts and shines despite the world around it. It does not glorify the violence but it uses it at the backdrop to a larger sickness in ourselves, in society. Rappers like Soulja Boy, etc. glorify, degrade, pander and trade their souls for record sales. He has records dissing education and then laughs through the disclaimer. This boy is a clown and I should not even waste a minute on him but here I am. My only question is that if someone dug up a time capsule 100 years from now, do you really want the records out today to describe Hip Hop? Not I.

"Soulja", let's talk. That tap dancing bullcrap you produce is NOT hip hop, that’s Bojangles. Further, “Hip Hop Is Dead” is a reference to the “Rock Is Dead” movement, which you probably missed too, considering the incoherent jabbering and posturing you call music.

What is your alternative, hmm? Make a catchphrase that’s marketable?! Your catchphrase is “YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!” How could anyone with a brain like music with someone yelling then saying "wah me crank it wah me woll... wah me supa man de hos"? You sound like... a retard in a dumpster. If we think Lil’ Wayne is the best rapper alive and T.I. is the King of the South, what are we supposed to think about you? That you suffer from a bad case of Downs?

Now, I know a lot of people like your "music", and that's fine. Amazing to me, but everyone has their opinion. I just want to know how this is considered music: it's just noise. Such ignorance just SPEWING out of your mouth! Maybe if we learned how to pronounce words... It's not "Wah me", it's watch. Thanks.

Your political analysis is absolutely pathetic. Honestly, it’s YOU who is the “George Bush” of hip hop. Really. Sit and think about that for a second. When I found out your album had 900,000+ in sales, I had the exact thing go through my mind when Dubya was elected - America has epically failed.

And is that REALLY how you spend your time? Strutting your skinny behind around your crib half naked with two grown-ass men, hollering? Sounds like a cheap gay porn. Jesus. I honestly cannot wait for Nas to “Ether” you. His love was wasted on you. Let's not forget he was the only artist defending you when everyone else was attacking your dumb ass!

Evolution is a step forward not a step back. Know your history before you talk. “Rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live”: KRS One

SOULJA BOY, one, needs to spell his name right. Bird Walk... is that a classic? Ha. Where are this boy's parents?

On another note Lil Wayne did not start the saying, “I’m the best rapper alive.” ("Dirt Off Your Shoulder" anyone?)

Oh, and congrats on Soulja Boy's 1,000,000 albums sold in the first week. Wait...

Ebonics: Why?

Da = The
Dem = Them
Hatas = Haters
Nu = New
Das = That's

Ebonics: who's idea was it? For some reason, it makes minorities feel better about themselves, when in fact, it makes them sound stupid. It's purely bad english. I cannot believe that some people are trying to establish it as a real language. What I don't understand is why people want to conform to a stereotype. And it's not just a problem in young black America, but every race. Even OLD black America.

Ebonics (defined as a blend of ebony and phonics) is something many cannot comprehend or interpret; it can affect employment opportunities, and may have a strong negative effect on the financical growth of those who speak it.

It is thought of as bad speech by us speakers of standard English language when Ebonics does not use grammatical forms which are required when speaking; ie the absence of the verb “to be” in forms like “you crazy!” or the use of double-negative constructions like “he don’t know nothing.”

In this statement, “the brotha be lookin good; that’s what got the sista nose open!" brotha is used for an African American male, lookin good refers to his style, his attractive appearance. Sista is used for an African American woman and her passionate love for the brotha is conveyed with open; sista nose is standard used for denoting possession, indicated by adjacency/context. The use of be means that the quality of looking good is not limited to the present moment but reflects also the "brotha"’s past and future essence. This shows some of the characteristics used in Ebonics when people have a conversation. The words used are in the English language. The only thing that alters are the endings, which are cut short a little, and when speaking Ebonics are sometimes replaced, like the “er” with an “a” as you can see in the words “brotha” and “sista.” Other conventions of Ebonics replace “ing” with “in” as in the word “lookin.” Now that we have seen the characteristics of Ebonics, we can see that it is not another language, just wrong. It can however be defined as a dialect, though I find that to be quite a stretch. “If A and B speak different language systems, but can understand each other when each is speaking their characteristic language system, they are speaking dialect of the same language”. (Luomala, “Identifying features of American Black English”).

Even though there is nothing wrong with sparingly speaking in the Ebonics language system, everyone should learn to speak STANDARD ENGLISH because... it's just the right thing to do.

Why Don't We Read??

"If you want to hide something from a black person, put it in a book." The first time I heard this statement years and years ago, I was offended. Reason? As an uppity Negro, I thought, "That's not true. Black people like to read and be educated." Now when I hear that very same statement as an uppity Negro, I just get depressed. Reason? For most ignorant negroes, that statement is unfortunately TRUE.

Case in point: I took a visit to the MySpace and Facebook pages of some Negroes to see what books were being read. Time and time again, I saw nonsense such as "Books suck", "I don't read", "I can read, but why?", "Books aren't cool", "Books are for nerds", and the occasional "Vibe/XXL/King/Insert your tasteless-filth-of-a-magazine-name here". First things first, A MAGAZINE ISN'T A BOOK!!! If it was, they wouldn't call it a MAGAZINE! Note: I don't consider King or XXL (or any of those ignorant pieces of paper bound together at Kinko's for that matter) to even be magazines.

REAL Novel

NONSENSE!

But I digress.....Second, why are we comfortable with announcing to the world that we are uneducated?? Why is NOT being well-read a badge of pride?? What does that say about YOU, you ignorant simpleton?? It's not bad enough that you don't read, you announce it and make it seem as if reading is a BAD idea! No, you fool. Deciding NOT to read is a bad idea. You'll figure that out when you go to apply for a position that's salaried (translation: You don't have to punch the clock and your vacation is paid).

Then we sit back and wonder why Black people are always portayed in films as imbecilic (SAT word, see Dictionary.com), unable to spell or speak the Queen's English, uneducated, and useless. Guess what? Because the ignorant Negroes are. Contrary to popular belief, education comes from BOOKS. (Just in case you're unsure, actually go to that History class one day instead of hanging around the student center waiting for Craig n' em). Culture and sophistication come from books in conjunction (another SAT word, see previous dictionary link) to other sources and the world around you.

However, there are some ignorant Negroes that actually find "books" to read. But the question then becomes "What are they reading?"