J.U.D.G.E.
My frustrations get the best of me
When I'm walking alone
My mental in a zone of corner stores near my home
Pumping 3 dollars a gallon gas and waiting at red lights
In 95 degree weather
While fighting not to turn my AC on
But then I spot him in my peripherals like multiple images of blurred vision
He moves towards me with a third eye a social vagabond but,
Before he even opens his lips I already have my words formed like
Premeditated murder
I am thinking how to tell him that
I simply have no money to contribute to him today
After all I do have bills to pay
And I get up everyday and work like a corporate forced slave
So why can’t he do the same
But he looks me in the eyes tells me brotha
Allow me a minute to simply tell you why I am this way
He proceeded to give me the synopsis of society’s sin.is.him
He told me young blood
You are what my kind calls a judge
A J-U-D-G-E
Because you Judge Under a Discriminatory Gained Economy
Then you use these same judgments to formulate false notions about me
And I know what you’re thinking
How can a person be homeless if they are physically able to do manual labor?
Well young blood I never did manual because I couldn’t learn to drive a stick
Rather as a youth I pushed an automatic whip
Whose lashings kept me from changing gears until I lost my transmission
That means no one could hear me and I was stuck in place
I tried to find an occupation but, when you’re homeless with no water
How can you wash your face?
That’s a metaphor for my dirty skin
Meaning if I try to clean myself up society’s views will still view me the same
And in their eyes now I am dirty again
Government programs pass false information to the masses
Giving the appearance that they are here to assist me
When truthfully I have a whole heart yet they try to stick me in a half way home
Leaving me half way alone
Speaking to me in a half way tone
With a half way crooked cop patrolling my block making half way stops telling me to move halfway along
Yet you still subconsciously judge me
Like media entities who
Show interest in me
Peddling false sympathy
Two days annually
Christmas and Thanksgiving occasionally
Feeding me stuffing and turkey
Then showing it on the evening news
Like look we fed the homeless that means we really care for humanity
Yet you still subconsciously judge me
Like I can’t give him money because he has goals of spending it on an alcoholic beverage
Using that as an excuse of mental leverage
To hide the true fact that as people we are naturally selfish
And that is okay but,
Let me put it in perspective
You don’t give to the homeless with the idea of
Where your contribution is going to be sent
Rather you give to extend helping hand to a fellow man and
Hope that the gift is well spent
Like heaven sent cents
Since dollars and cents
Make most sense to most people these days
But young blood…
Look at it this way…
While most of you judge me and roll up your windows at intersections
Check your pocketbook and you see
There is not much difference in our frame of reference because
You too are almost homeless
You are just two paychecks and or one natural disaster away
The Proof is in the Jello Pudding Pops!
The Essence Festival has landed in Hues.ton (See my forthcoming dictionary) by default due to the recent weather destruction in New Orleans. Unfortunately, I will be missing the first day because of an unplanned but expected business trip (Yeah I said unplanned but, unexpected). In fact I am actually preparing to head out right now so I have to get this blog out in minute man proportions.
Essence Festival means my city welcomes some of my favorite people like Chuck D, MC Lyte, Tavis Smiley, Maxine Waters (my second mother) and KRS-One, just to name a few amongst many.
However, it also means that I am to welcome some of my not so favorite people like Harpo Winfrey (Whom I still support because of that brown-skinned thing. Supporting people blindly because they are black. Hmm that is another blog in itself), Wendy Williams, Jesse Jackson and the great Bill Cosby. Bill Cosby, a man married to perhaps one of the most flawless women around. Camille Cosby a woman who is worthy of Lena Horne proportions in respect.
Young Bill somewhere along the way lost touch with reality and began dreaming delusions of Utopian du jour. I am almost done everyone I promise. I would like to have a conversation with Bill Cosby. In fact I had one in my mind last night as I drove home from my new office (Yep ya boy is moving up like elevators and escalators...tm Outkast circa 1994). Our conversation went like this:
Me: "How are you doing Mr. Cosby?"
bill: "I am fine and yourself."
Me: "Not to well Mr. Cosby. I am frustrated."
bill: "Why are you frustrated son."
Me: "Sir I only have three people that call me son. Well actually hundreds if you count the hundreds of rappers that have said it repeatedly during my evolution of tapes to mp3's. However, I am sure that in your world they are rappers and they don't count. The name Ga****k will suffice. So what is your issue with rap music? Just so I can have some clarity."
bill: "You kids today and this rap music. You do not know how damaging it has been to this race and to our culture."
Me: Nods head sardonically yet whimsically and gives a condescending reply of "really now."
bill: "How can something that uses the N word and degrades women be helpful to our race?"
Me: "It isn't. Mr. Cosby I would like to know something."
bill: "What is it?"
Me: "How much rap have you listened too? I mean who are some rappers that you typically play in CD player?"
bill: "Well umm. I have listened to some of that 50 cent on the radio and that other song. What is it called. You know the one where Jay-Z says he got ninety some problems but, b's aint one."
Me: "Oh 99 problems. The song where he eschews the mainstream mentality and hypocrisy in music and compares it to life in general?"
bill: Sitting with puzzled look on his face
Me: "So what albums do you actually own?"
bill: "Well I do not support that type of garbage so I have not purchased any of that music."
Me: "Oh so I get it. You have not actually purchased any album and examined the music. So how did you come to so many strong opinions about the music then?"
bill: "Well...umm...It is everywhere from these guys on television to athletes to white kids using the N word. It comes from rap music."
Me: "Gotcha. So all rap music is negative then right?"
bill: "Well I am certainly sure there are some exceptions. I remember seeing on television how MC Hammer helped people but, then he went bankrupt. I guess that industry does that too you."
Me: "What are some artist that you listen to?"
bill: Sly grin. "Let's see there is Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane."
Me: Interjecting "Thelonius Monk, Chet Baker, Roy Eldridge, Charles Mingus."
bill: Laughing. "So you know a little something about jazz too."
Me: Smiling. "Yes sir I sure do. Particularly bee-bop."
bill: "Really now and what do you know about Bee-bop."
Me: "I know that Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Hip-Hop culture evolved from it. Mr. Cosby I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes because I love how you brought positivity during the 1980's and helped to squash negative stereotypes about the black family. With that said I am very disappointed that you would speak so ill of something that you know so little of. Honestly, I am not surprised about your stance on rap music given that it is based off of such limited exposure and commercialized ventures. To be fair how about I give you a list of artist and albums that I would like for you to listen too. Then I would like for to examine your stance on rap music again. If your mind has not changed about the genre and about black men then I can respect that. However, it sets a bad precedent when we judge things based off the surface."
I then graciously slide bill cosby a list with 12 albums listed in no particular order on it. The list reads as follows:
All Hail to the Queen- Queen Latifah (1989)
Fear of A Black Planet- Public Enemy (1990)
A Tribe Called Quest- Low End Theory (1991)
Mecca and The Soul Brother- Pete Rock CL Smooth (1992)
Jazzamatazz Volume I- Guru (1993)
The 18th Letter- Rakim (1997)
Jurrasic 5- Jurrasic 5 (1998)
Things Fall Apart- The Roots(1999)
Black on Both Sides- Mos Def (1999)
Stankonia- Outkast (2000)
The College Dropout- Kanye West (2004)
Be- Common (2005)
