Words.worth

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)

posted by Words.worth @ 10:10 AM