Chi Raq The Movie: Spike Did Us No Favors

Should I start by saying I am a Spike Lee fan? Do I need to put the disclaimers out there to try and not seem biased or critical because I disagree with the individual? Perhaps. However, my city means more to me than someone who may discount my perspective because I’m ‘hating’ on Spike. So if that’s how you feel, in the words of Colonel Jessup from A Few Good Men, “I don’t give a shit”. Chi-Raq is bullshit. While Spike may have went into this production with the best of intentions, and that remains to be seen, the final product falls far short of any call to revolution or change for a city in turmoil and chaos. Please allow me to count the ways. Let’s deal with the whole, “No Peace No Pussy” approach. I do understand what satire is and have seen Spike Lee pull it off beautifully in a few movies, my favorite being Bamboozled. I also understand that this ‘call to chastity’ has been employed by women before in other countries. However, I strongly disagree with the premise as it relates to each gender. For the men, it suggests that we are driven by our dicks. That lack of sex will somehow awaken us to the error of our ways. I am not a slave to my sex drive nor a prisoner of my carnal appetites. So withholding sex from me will only succeed in both of us being frustrated while still not resolving whatever the real issue is. Speaking from the perspective of a man who was raised in a society that objectifies women while simultaneously championing the cause for them to not be viewed as mere sex objects can be a bit confusing. But I get it. Therefore, to suggest that the strongest power a woman has is her sex is an utter and direct contradiction. Is she more than her pussy or nah?? I do understand that it is a tactic and not the defining factor however, it sends a very questionable message. Also, I challenge the validity of such a tactic in our society and, to his credit, Spike didn’t sound confident that it would work here either. So I am unsure why this was the approach chosen as a fictional fix. If the goal was to simply bring light to the issue while still proving the remedy eludes us all, ok. But the issue got lost in the man versus woman power struggle where pussy is the ultimate prize. But I thought this was supposed to be about the senseless violence taking place on the southside of Chicago. Seems to me, Chicago became the backdrop of the story Spike truly wanted to tell. My next point is not so much of an issue with the movie, but rather the culture that exists in such neighborhoods as the one depicted in the movie. On one hand there is an understanding that situation and circumstance facilitate the neverending line of sacrificial youth in America’s inner city. It is a known fact that these neighborhoods exist and the mentality is kill or be killed. Much of the time you are not allowed to not be affiliated with some organization and for your safety and the safety of your loved ones the smart move is to join or create your own. These are known facts. Another known fact is the prison industrial complex and its role in enslaving the lower half of the nation’s economy but doing so disproportionately in favor of minorities. It is a known fact that prisons are now privatized and the inmates perform labor for the slightest of wages. Prison is big business and rehabilitation is counterproductive and therefore no longer practiced, encouraged, and is barely tolerated. Where it used to cost money to take care of prisoners, now prisoners generate revenue for corporations and contracts are signed between the government and prison owners to ensure their capacity doesn’t drop below a certain percentage. These are known facts. So, according to Chi-Raq, knowing all the aforementioned facts, it is my duty as a citizen to ruin another young black life in the event that a young black life is taken? With the state of our justice system, cops who have a license to kill us with extreme prejudice, and prisons no longer valuing human existence over profit thus not rehabilitating those who make mistakes to be productive members of society, am I supposed to turn over a young black life to such an end? How have I helped? How have I sought justice? On one hand we are told to value young black lives and in the same breath say turn these young misguided offenders over to authorities that would much rather shoot them than arrest them, that would much rather enslave them than rehabilitate them. I am not saying give the murderer a pass, but what I am saying is how about we deal with the root causes that led to the shooting in the first place than to be only reactionary and be cogs in the wheel of our own subjugation and demise. Our justice system is at best inherently and catastrophically flowed, and at worst, broken. No, I do not feel comfortable turning over a young black man or woman who lacks guidance and opportunity to such a system. I have no problem turning over a truly evil person, a person who has no regard for human life but in our society we employ these people as our spokesman and call them politicians. We shop at their stores and purchase their products, meanwhile they seek to destroy us, and if not purposely destroy us, cash in on our ignorance and self-hate. Liquor stores, pawn shops, check cashing, title loan lenders all come to the hood to cash in. But they could care less about our condition, our quality of life. As a matter of fact, black genocide is big business. The movie did have a scene that spoke to this very idea where a life insurance salesman sought out a new mother to get her to purchase life insurance for her son because his death is virtually inevitable. Funeral homes, liquor stores, the drug trade, and it goes on and on and on, all benefit from black and brown death at the hands of each other. Its big business and in a country where the number one religion is CAPITALISM why should there be an expectation of change or aid? And it looks to me like Spike Lee came to town to get his slice of the pie, whether unintended or intended.

On Our Own

Lebron James Shade of Great

Compensation. Perhaps a better word is overcompensate. This is a word that we are all too familiar with. It is oftentimes used to describe various individuals in terms of their personality and/or reactions to various situations. It is referred to in terms of something the individual lacks and therefore attempts to make up for in another area, specifically one where they either excel or have some control. Short guys overcompensate for the height with weightraining or an aggressive attitude. People who grew up lacking financially tend to purchase more frivolous things once they are financially able. A woman who may not have the phattest ass may wear shirts that accentuate her bountiful bosom (provided she has one, of course).

We understand this concept of compensation/overcompensation and yet a massive group of people, including and perhaps led by Skip Bayless, still view LeBron James in comparison to great players such as Jordan, Bird, and Kobe. The consensus is the only thing Bron is missing that killer instinct, that will to crush your opponent at all costs. I must agree. LeBron is the most dominant player I have ever watched that did not possess a desire to utterly dominate the opposition. There are many theories on why this is and of all that I have heard, none focus on the obvious. Compensation.

Bron is 6’8” and 260lbs (though less now due to this diet. I am not convinced it will improve anything, but rather hurt him. That is a discussion for another blog post though.), all muscle, all coiled muscle fibers ready to spring on every lazy pass, ready to take every hard foul and finish anyway, ready to do what the “Akron Hammer” does. Herein is where the lack of mental toughness (to the level of a Jordan or Bryant) is explained. Let’s first give Bron that he has the mental toughness that exceeds your everyday human being. Let us also concede that he does possess mental toughness that most likely exceeds 90 – 95 percent of all professional athletes and it is probably higher in terms of the NBA players. So it is not that he does not possess such will, such desire to decimate but that he lacks it on an elite/superior level whereas, seemingly other greats had it in spades.

Consider his size, speed, and strength coupled with his basketball I.Q. This makes for a very formidable athlete. As we have seen throughout his already hall of fame worthy career, there are not too many situations that cannot be overcome by his ability. It has been said that if he possessed Jordan’s killer instinct he would be the greatest basketball player of all time, the perfect player. But there is no such thing as perfect when it comes to an individual. God gives as He sees fit but never completes the image in a singular individual. The goal is to create the perfect whole based on the sum of its parts. Imagine Jordan, Bird, or Bryant with LeBron’s physical gifts and ability. This is reason he doesn’t possess that killer will, he simply doesn’t need to. Jordan, Bird, Bryant, and many other players with an indomitable mindset required such a mindstate in order to realize their greatness because the physical abilities they possessed were not enough. In Jordan’s own words he has failed more than he has succeeded. So the goal of the exercise is not to win everytime, that is simply impossible. But the goal is to maximize your potential and there are many ways to do so. And these ways differ from person to person.

LeBron has the physical gifts and abilities that maximize his potential, therefore there is no need for his killer will. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying he shouldn’t have it. I am simply stating that forces beyond his control preclude him from having it. This is about natural selection, to an extent. So when thinking of LeBron in this context he is as great a talent as whoever is on your Mt. Rushmore of the NBA,though he may not match all the hardware. His greatness cannot be denied and therefore should not be overlooked simply because he does not possess a certain mindstate when he has other tools that compensate for that area of lack. Remember, Shaq, one of the most dominant athletes period never could shoot a free throw and we all know how important free throws are at the end of a game. There will always be something missing…unless you’re Jordan of course…lol.

Stephen A. Smith Suspended!! Lets be serious here!!

This Ray Rice issue has reopened the wounds caused by the domestic violence that takes place all too often in this country. However, the subsequent reactions to Stephen A. Smith’s comments is largely out of bounds and the backlash he has received is wholely inappropriate and misplaced. I will address both here. This may take a while…lol.

Note: We really should take gender out of this. It is no more ok for a woman to hit a man than it is for a man to hit a woman. Period….yet the discussion continues.

Alright. Let us begin with Ray Rice. This may actually be the easiest part of this discussion. Because the simple and obvious truth is that he was wrong. Now, we as the public, are not aware of what took place inside the elevator. All we know is that she got on the elevator conscious and when the elevator doors opened up he was dragging he unconscious body out of the elevator. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a psychic to come to the conclusion that whatever happened culminated in her being knocked unconscious. Is it possible he pushed her and she hit her head and fell unconscious? Its possible. Is it possible she tried to attack him and tripped, hit her head and fell unconscious? Again, it is possible. Hell, could she have passed out from too much alcohol consumption? Very possible! Did he strike her and knock her unconscious? Sure seems so as he has pretty much stated he did. So we are going to go with this one. Forgive me, I’m just dotting my Ts and crossing my Is (I hope the sarcasm is sickeningly obvious). Supposedly, there was alcohol involved on some level and they were having an argument where she became violent and he responded in kind and resulted in the shameful video we are now familiar with.

Of course Ray Rice was wrong. The fact that alcohol was involved or that she initiated the violence is no more a reason than it is an excuse. Additionally, him being a successful pro football running back for one of the most physical franchises in the NFL further diminishes any stance he may have in this case. He did not have to respond with violence, his life was not being threatened, and he was in a position to diffuse the situation, not escalate it. That being said we all make mistakes, some behind closed doors and some the world becomes privy to, especially when there is some celebrity attached to you. So we should be careful in our condemnation of Ray Rice who never had anything even remotely close to this come up previously. No one is perfect and we are all one bad decision away from being in the very same position he is in. However, Ray should expect this backlash and be more than willing to accept any and all repercussions that come with his decision to engage in such an action. Simply because he made the choice.

Now to the Stephen A. situation. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, was wrong with what he stated, pointed out, etc. You may not agree with the word provoke. But what if I told you my mother has been the victim of domestic abuse on multiple occasions during the course of multiple relationships and she has stated that in some instances she did provoke the man? Mind you she explicitly used the word “provoke” which seems to be the hot-button word that everyone is focused on. Now let’s really get into it. Stephen A., in understanding his audience, reiterated multiple times that regardless of the provocation it is in no way acceptable for a man to hit a woman. He has, in other episodes where this topic came up, went so far as to refer to men who hit women as, and I quote, punks. I agree. However, when he shifted the focus to understanding the elements of provocation, this perspective comes from a background in the urban community (I am in no way stating this is the only environment where this takes place or that it always happens in this environment) where there are women who go out of their way to get a rise or a reaction out of a man by berating him, demeaning him, threatening him, etc. Again, and this is so ridiculous that I have to keep reiterating the fact that I am not saying this make violence against women acceptable but I know so many of you will grab hold and run with it, with your simple selves, THIS DOES NOT MAKE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACCEPTABLE. However, the object of the exercise is to do everything in your power, that is within your realm of control, to avoid such a situation. This is all he was pointing out. This is a very real fact. Anyone who cannot see that either doesn’t want to or lacks the common sense, or real life experiences and therefore is unfit to debate the merits of his point.

There is something to be said for intelligence. There is something to be said for vigilance, street smarts, etc. No it is not ok for a man to hit a woman, nor is it ok for a woman to provoke a man. Both are independently true. And one does not ok the other. Period.

I am going to tell you a story. Just stay with me. While attending a nightclub I witnessed one of the most disturbing sights of my life. There was this beautiful young lady on the dancefloor and the floor was packed. She was just making her rounds, not really dancing just constantly rotating around the dancefloor. During her strolls, guys would reach out to her to ask for a dance or some conversation and her response was “stank”. She would yell and curse at the men, threaten them, in some cases she even took a swing. This happened a few times during her dancefloor strolls. Eventually, this group of about four guys got fed up and the next time she walked by them one of the men pushed her down and the four of them began stomping her.

Now, should men have been reaching out and grabbing her to get her attention? Probably not but do remember, we are in a crowded club with loud music and low lights. Not excusing, just painting a clear picture.

Should she have been volatile in her reaction? That’s debatable, and I’ll leave it at that.

Should the four guys have stomped her out in anger because of her volatile reactions. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

However, could she have avoided this outcome? Now remember, yes the men should not have done it but was there anything she could have done to ensure her personal safety? She could have taken stock of the situation after her first stroll and realized, hey these guys out here are a bit aggressive. Maybe I should move to a different area of the club. Or maybe I should wait for a less energetic song. Or maybe she could have declined in a less hostile fashion. The point is in a perfect world, regardless of her actions she would not have had to endure such a beating. But we don’t live in a perfect world and there is a responsibility on each of us for our personal safety. That outcome could have been avoided by her and by the men. They could have just ignored her or moved to another area of the club if her strolls were annoying them so much. But in the end, decisions were made by both parties that resulted in the perfect storm.

I tell my wife and my daughter please be smart. Be vigilant. Because you never know who you are encountering and there are women who have not survived a single act of domestic abuse. There have been women who have been disabled for life because of a violent encounter with a man. So though we want things to be better I prefer to equip the women in my life with the skills and perspective that gives them the best chance of surviving to see that improvement realized. And I don’t work for ESPN/Disney so I really don’t give a damn if you don’t like my perspective and there will be no apology coming from this guy, mainly because it is not needed. Get your head out of your ass and realize we are striving for an improved society, we are not there yet. We may be moving in the right direction but the journey is not done.

Goodell Fumbles...

Ray Rice knocks his wife unconscious and he gets a 2-game suspension from a commissioner who has given out such suspensions as five games to Terrell Pryor for breaking memorabilia violations IN COLLEGE and four games to Big Ben for being accused of sexual assault in a bathroom, whole season suspension to Sean Payton for being the coach of a team that promoted bounties against other players and an indefinite suspension of the defensive coordinator. Now I am not saying these suspensions were unjustified. Rather, that the nature of the offense seems to pale in comparison to what Ray Rice did. I was raised in a home where my father beat my mother. I know of plenty of men who chose to violently “discipline” the women they have relationships with. I was taught that you don’t know what she may have said or done to him that led to her being beaten, etc. I subscribe to none of the above. I have had my share of encounters with girlfriends and my wife that could have resulted in my resorting to the last bastion of my manhood, the fact that I am bigger and stronger. However, I view such a reaction as childish, small-minded, and proof of a lack of manhood.

I am not stating that Ray Rice deserved a harsher punishment, necessarily. Only that Roger Goodell should have maintained the precedent he has set for offenses that are not quite on the level as what Ray Rice did. If it is all about protecting the shield and integrity of the NFL then a much harsher punishment should have been levied. I don’t believe in getting involved in relationships between a man and a woman except when their relationship becomes public, as was the case with Ray and his then fiancé. Once that happens all bets are off and you have chosen to include public opinion and views into your relationship.

I am one of those men who feel that you shouldn’t put your hands on a woman under any circumstances other than protecting your life or the lives of those you love. I say this even though I did hit a woman before in my life. She was not a girlfriend or family member. It was a random woman I happened to meet on a night where I was not at my best, things got out of hand, guns were drawn, etc. And yet I know I completely overreacted and not only threatened the life of the young woman but the lives of the people I was with, as well as my own.

I am sure the fact that Rice and his fiancé got married and that she made an impassioned plea that the league not ruin his career, and the fact that Rice has an otherwise exemplary record, played a huge role in Goodell’s decision to go about the punishment in such a light-handed fashion. And were it not for his precedence as such a hardass and intolerant commissioner makes this “slap on the wrist” seem all the more inadequate. He backed himself into this corner and now he will suffer because of it and I believe his tenure as commissioner will have the famed “asterisk” associated with it. And I imagine there is going to be ongoing backlash with each subsequent case that arises where a player crossed the line and Goodell has to yet again “protect the shield”. At what point is human well-being more important than the shield??

Total Slaughter Reaction

Let me start by saying, the battle is a test of skills, will, preparation, and ultimately delivery. However, you gotta be a true head to really be checkin for what an emcee is doin lyrically and that is the crux of what battling is. So I don’t think the battle will ever be mainstream because the average music fan is not checking for what the artist is doing lyrically so much as the overall feel of the song as a whole, with most interest hinging on the actual music. Therefore, there was only so much light this event could bring and I tend to believe that there were very few, if any, fans that watched this event that had never seen a battle event prior. However, it is possible that the hype machine promoting this event caused some fans to do research on the culture and perhaps become interested in the culture beyond this event. But I doubt it. Battling is a niche culture and there is really nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. I like being able to go find battles when the mood hits me as opposed to being blasted with artists and events even when I’m on something else; as the pop culture machine tends to do. So I do want them dudes to be able to make a living off the culture but I cant say I wanna see em where millions is on the line. That kinda money attracts parties interested in the bottom line and not the culture itself. History has proven this is a recipe for disaster and ultimately the demise of the initial catalyst. But I digress, so lets get into it… While Total Slaughter did bring some light to da culture, and I do mean some light, it proved URL has truly figured out the formula for putting on battle events and getting the best out of em. Just like an emcee who’s strength and focus is songwriting tryin to jump into the top level of battling, Total Slaughter experienced the growing pains that the top level has already surpassed. Unfortunately, the performances added to the mediocre appearance of the overall event. Arsenal had a strong showing and Mook had the strongest showing of the entire event by far. But the rest didn’t really come off. Big T seemed out of his element the entire series and it culminated in a subpar performance at the final event. Now perhaps the expectation was too high and they did what they normally do but the event was too big, too mainstream. But I can’t go with that. I have seen strong performances from T-Rex, who was definitely the star of the Total Slaughter show, but he too was a bit lacking in his bars at the final event. T-Rex had a fairly easy time combatting a Daylyt that seemed to be seeking an opportunity for a Saturday Night Live appearance than for building his brand as a battle emcee. If he was gone do that I would rather he tanked his battle with Dizaster and let Diz go for it against T-Rex. What Daylyt did in that third round was probably the worse thing that could have happened for the event outside of a riot. He did not spit a bar…not a single line. I know he thinks that what he did will cause him to be the most talked about persona from the event but Mook aired that idea out and the main event battle surpassed it as well. Daylyt is too dope of an emcee to be reduced to the mascot/court jester of battle rap…but how can you tell a nigga not to be what he wants to be. I just hope he attains whatever level of success he is seeking…I would hate for all those striptease moments to not amount to anything. To the co-main event… Loaded Lux apparently did not do his homework and watch the Mook and Iron Solomon battle. Mook is even better than Lux at breakin an emcee down because he goes from the perspective of the majority whereas Lux attempts to educate and enlighten. And that’s cool, once. But niggas don’t be tryna hear all that, it is evident in the music and the television depiction of blacks. Niggas love ignorance, an unfortunate but realistic truth. And Mook is a genius at presenting his intellectual case under the disguise of “understood ignorance”. Lux showed up thinking he was the people’s champ and believed the battle was won on arrival. Maybe it was the “you on get this work” tweet from Jay Z, which I still don’t understand why a tweet from him is such a big deal. It’s a tweet homey, till he reach out for a feature and give you light in a song I prefer you say thanks and go about your way, but that’s me. In any event, Lux didn’t give Mook the preparation he deserved and he paid dearly. Lux is now going to have to change his whole get down should he continue battling and that is all thanks to Mook. And I’m not even a Mook fan but I give props to all dope emcees and Mook massacred Lux. To the main event… Joe Buddens started incredibly strong but the taper was more of a freefall for real. And me personally, I don’t wanna hear about how joe on and hollow not. I wanna hear bars. Besides, Joe stepped into Hollow’s world. I don’t care what city you run, you can’t show up on a nigga block where he king and expect to get his royal treatment. That ain’t how this work. Also, Joe looked so outta place on that battle stage. He seemed unsure on how to deliver his bars. Should he rap to a rhythm or just try to go with varying paces like most battle rappers do? He seemed conflicted from line to line. And though it is about the bars, it is also just as much about how you deliver them. From the BET cyphers I knew Joe was going to have a problem in this area. And boy did he ever!!! The lack of strong delivery really took away from the moments that Joe did have with powerful shots. But again, he was outta place. Hard to win when you practice on a hundred yard field when the touchdown is a hundred and ten yards away. Hollow really did what I expected him to do however, he seemed to suffer from what the other battle emcees (except for Mook/Arsenal) suffered from. On one of the biggest stages he has been on thus far, this performance, while not bad, was not his best at all. He had some moments but he had more filler, more setups and not enough punches. I feel Hollow possesses the skill and showmanship to completely body Joe and Joe in my opinion did nothing to impede this. But Hollow just made it closer than it needed to be. Joe got off that first round because he had the bars in the right place. Everyone in attendance and/or watching on tv/internet was waiting to hear Joe first round. To hear what this “mainstream” artist might say. And he brought a couple lines that landed solid. But once that was out of the way, the fact that he was an amateur on this type of battle stage was glaringly obvious. And this is where Hollow should have bodied him. Joe putting the mic down, not knowing how to handle the boos further proved he was all the way out of his element. And let me add I do not like the fact that they didn’t let Hollow get off when he picked the mic up. Damn that structure, that moment could have been historical for the culture as a whole in the same vein of Jay putting that Summer Jam screen to use first. This is proof of how wack the mainstream element is and how limiting and stifling it can be. In any event, I gave Joe round 1, hollow round 2, and hollow got round 3 because joe quit (his round 3 wasn’t really goin anywhere anyway). Hollow had a moment that struck me hard… “you don’t think you gon get beat bet a band joe (banjo), you talk about all dis practice and you aint got no dough joe (dojo), well dat aint enough to buy swag you gon need some mo joe (mojo)…..one of the dopest moments in the whole battle. Overall, I think Shady should have let the professionals handle this event. I am not a fan of Smack as an individual at all but I do dig what he has done for battling and the light he has brought to it. Had he and his team been tapped to handle the event I think it would have went much better because they have a clear understanding of the culture. Really, Shady shoulda teamed with URL to get this off. Not doing so, looks like a money grab/promotional opportunity for Shady more than for the culture. But time will tell if they are truly invested. Let me know what ya’ll think. Peace.

Slave Girls

I was once told massa be diddling his slave girls…umm hmmm I was once told mistress be knowin and takes her anger out on the same…umm hmmm They say he appear in the quiet of night lantern alight Where the only sound is the shuffling gait of his drunken steps and the heavy breath of anticipation He reaches out to her roughly the shame of his desire drowned in bourbon/wine Nearly dragging her to the bed of his design…outside some tree stump or clump of fresh spring leaves There is no ease to his approach…no warmth to his touch Just a desire as animalistic as the beast beneath him And yet her beauty beckons him…her dark skin calls to him as some unholy siren Whose song of pain is drowned out by the erotic exotic for which he lusts And my oh my doth he lust…by day awake beneath a weight that almost crushes So that at nightfall straight from the bosom of his wife This coward seeks to devour to appease his monstrous appetites For it is not sin…a man does as he will with his property Her flesh and blood body…his property Her tear strewn face and muffled groans…property Her thick lips and dark eyes…property Her breasts where once her young child suckled…property The blessed womb of creation…property He is taken with her and therefore takes There is no dignity or glory to be had in this field For what he feels he is…his barbarism illustrates he as the beast He without civility taken by his primal instincts Tell me slave girl what do you hear beyond his throaty groans of something less than pleasure What do you see beyond the glazed eyes of a man turned something far worse And what do you feel besides the thrust of his perverted affections Tell me young slave girl… And she told me it is her body to do with as she please… No longer does massa own her as property…oh no Now he must pay to play…a better life is within reach Her ticket to the finer things is between her knees And they pay…as if it held salvation…what must I do to be saved Life of luxury nice cars 5 star restaurants top shelf only at bars Exotic locales for weekend getaways where her body is the star The greatest and most private refuge auctioned off to the highest bidder I was once told massa be diddling his slave girls No whips no chains no more…new whips diamonds and other shiny thangs so He came again and again…. I ask a friend of mine what do you hear beyond the beeps and swipes of his credit card What do you see beyond the high end fashion and 6 figure vehicle And what do you feel beyond the substances you use to get through this ordeal And with assurance and almost dignified a voice She said those slave girls ain’t die for me to do better they died for me to have the choice