The Brutal Execution of Hip-Hop

Obviously, everything that follows this sentence could most certainly be taken as mere opinion, however viewed as extreme hyperbole or accurate analysis. I've frequently discussed the topic of Hip-Hop culture and music with my wife, as we've reflected our own smiles at each other while reciting lyrics to the songs that without question helped to shape our respective personas. What Black thirty-something could ever forget "I Got It Made," "Eric B. For President," or "Sucker M.C.s?" (which was the first Hip-Hop song that I ever heard.) And when I say that I was shaped, in part, by Hip-Hop, I consider a song by Main Source, "A Friendly Game of Baseball" which happens to be the reason why I only wear black socks, even to this day. By the way, how many of us are still waiting for the Large Professor album?
From Hip-Hop's birth in the late 1970's over its evolution to what its become today, it would be a terrible understatement to say that it's changed enormously. I know that there are and will always be differences in the genres of music and distinct sounds people prefer but it's my assertion that Hip-Hop has changed for the worse. It's gone from the lofty, pristine heights it has shared with other uniquely beautiful genres of music and descended into the filthy sewer of gutteral forms of expression and communication. This is based first and foremost on Hip-Hop's fervent long-lasting love affair with misogyny, followed by its tearing down of strong, upstanding Black men.
Hip-Hop as a culture has showcased the many complex facets of the Black (& Latino) community. Through Hip-Hop, we've shown a world that has long ignored us how we've overcome poverty and consequnces of centuries of oppression through celebrating the cohesiveness of our neighborhoods, uniqueness, and talents and gifts. Chuck D. once referred to Hip-Hop as the Black CNN. Hip-Hop has, since its inception been the "grapevine" of an impoverished, neglected people in which the truth was told.
I remember a time when Slick Rick urged young people to respect your mother and to go to school. Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions urged the Hip-Hop community to know its history and be the positive threats to a society designed to keep it locked out of the American dream. We showed the world that we knew how to party, dance, talk love, current affairs and politics- and we loved Hip-Hop because through Hip-Hop we were able to transcend the ordinary, the mundane. Hip-Hop was a vibrant, energetic living thing.
"Of course we gotta pay rent, so money connects" and when Hip-Hop became a bonafide cash cow, that's when her blood-sucking enemies lined up against her to drain her of every drop of creative energy her fathers infused in her at her birth. I would trace the beginning of her death to the moment where her positivity met her profitability. Pure and simple, sex and violence sells records. The record companies knew this and capitalized on that and aggressively pushed artists who "dumbed down" the culture and music to the point now wherein Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, and Soulja Boy are the exemplars of real Hip-Hop music.
I could go on for an eternity remarking on the degradation of this once-great artform and as long as Hip-Hop continues its degradation and exploitation of women it will never be great again. I would not want this to become a conspiracy theory for it is the Hip-Hop community that allowed the abduction and murder of its artform.
WE allowed our women to be commonly referred to as "bitches" and "hoes," "jumpoffs" and "bustdowns." We allowed a music and culture that enabled us to triumphantly transcend above the constraints of an ordinarily deplorable and distasteful reality (generally speaking) to enslave us all over again, to bind us all over again. Hip-Hop has showcased, for quite a while now, the drug-dealing, sexually promiscuous, booty-shorts-wearing, sagging-pants worst of us, and buffonish rappers, powerful CEOs, and record company presidents have profited beyond their wildest imaginations.
Hip-Hop was assassinated with cold, heartless precision. She now doesn't resemble in any way her original beauty. I consider the ignorance of a present generation that has no idea of what Hip-Hop can be or what it once was and it having the poor choices of Waka Flocka, 50 Cent, and Young Jeezy for its listening enjoyment. Hip-Hop once was the best of us. No longer, as profanity-ridden lyrics, drug-induced stupors, and men and women without morals, restraint, or regard for the community have overrun a once-great culture. I have no pleasure in laying flowers on her tombstone.

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The Death of Black Power

I'm so sorry to deliver this distressing and disappointing news, but Black Power is dead, and it didn't die gloriously on the field of battle and noble struggle, but within warm homes amid the blue glow of HDTV's and flickering cell phone lights. Yes, Black Power is good and dead, and affluence killed it. Now before the Black community and kind-hearted liberals leap up, with arms raised, flailing about, let me just take a moment to clarify what I mean. Conducting a simple comparison and contrasting of the Black community of today and the one during the Civil Rights era (and before) one must agree that even under the leather boots of oppression and socio-political injustice the Black community was a cohesive, tightly-knit organism that seemed to have one mind, one heart. Of course I speak in generalities. The power of the Black community of yesteryear emanated from the family- the complete, often extended family, with a strong-willed male at its head. That husband and father was driven by the expectation that the ensuing generation would be better off than his own, made possible through his own sacrifice of labor and self-denial, lessons learned from parents who more than likely died under the sweltering, bloodthirsty evil of the South. That husband's wife was like a wolf guarding her home, always giving more than she believed she had available, loving ever more than she thought she could to bring to life her dreams of a better life for her offspring. So many times she had to accept demeaning work, and long hours of it- but the brightness of the future spurred her on, and she never let go of her integrity or her family. By both, education was held in high esteem and was an absolute requirement to be pursued in excellence by the children. Great material wealth was rare. Richness of family, pride, and tradition appeared omnipresent. Jim Crow just had to fall before such a people; the Civil Rights Act had to come, it was inevitable. Color barriers had to fall.
Now, consider the Black community of today. We now live in homes that our grandparents would only have imagined in their dreams, and these massive houses have parked in front sleek, stylish vehicles worth more than the houses of our parents. Within, silence battles the constant stream of information from lavishly priced television sets, and our cupboards overflow with bounty. There is, however a humiliating, shameful contradiction to the aforementioned prosperity evident in the deplorable, sub-standard living conditions exemplified by government subsidized housing, in the slums, and ghettoes ruled by death, drug-addiction, and hopelessness. What is shameful is not that these neighborhoods exist, but what is shameful is that we allow them to exist. And in that, we have the cause for the death of Black Power. Self-absorbed affluence strangled the life from black, clenched fists once held high and an entire movement fell apart, never to rise again. Perhaps.
Yes, as long as we swam upstream in the white-foamed rapids of the Struggle, our resolve was unshakable, undaunted and formidable, but as soon as we made it to the glistening still waters of opportunity, we lost our focus. When we lost our focus, our connection to each other was lost and we found it acceptable to coexist with the ghettoes, as long as we had our non-ghetto piece of the American pie. Weak-minded males did more to destroy Black Power than anything that segregation or Bull Connor could ever have done, as when the fires of conflict waned, these scum found fulfillment beyond the fences of their own homes (incentivized in some cases, by the way).
Perhaps Black Power died because of its failure to adapt to new conflicts to a new Struggle, not with police dogs and water hoses, but against Jerry Springer, misogynistic Hip-Hop music, Jesse Jackson-like demagogues, and horrible education. Maybe Black Power died because we wanted it to, because we were tired of fighting and just wanted to enjoy being Americans and the fruit of our labor, as our forebears desired over the decades, even the centuries.
By the way, Black Power is not best exemplified by tightly fitting ebon gloves, leather jackets, and berets, no, but by families headed by men willing not just to die for those in his care but to live for them; by women dedicated to a higher form of integrity and duty, seriously attending their duty as first teachers to their children. Black Power is not allowing ghettoes to exist or to pollute our children's minds with a lifestyle that is not worthy of a people who have come from a proud, indomitable stock.
So is this a plea to resurrect Black Power? No, at least not as we once knew it. Rather, let us breathe new life into the Black Family for in it is the strength of the Black community and the antidote of the "ghetto state of mind." Fathers are needed who are disciplined enough to be husbands first as are mothers who view themselves too precious to circumvent marriage. The new Struggle is for the minds and souls of our children, and for quality education. The Family must be the weapon of choice or Black Power will forever be dead.

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Christian Pesecution is Coming

As I read the attached article, my mind immediately filled with contemplations about Germany, circa 1933, and invariably, I couldn't avoid dwelling on the brutal handling of the Jewish population of that country. As a sidebar, one should be astonished at such inhumane treatment in a nation considered by some historians as the most advanced on earth at that time. In any event, the Jews were made to be political scapegoats by millions of Germans frustrated and dissatisfied with the arrangements made concerning her neutralization and disarmament as a result of her defeat in World War I by the nations who defeated her. Europe and the rest of the world were wary of a militarized, economically strong Germany and rightly so as an unbiased examination of European history will show Germany at the heart of many conflicts on that continent.
The strong national pride and drive to excel seethed like a hungry beast in the hearts of the German people, and ultimately, all it took was for just one man to emerge with enough charisma and bravado to facilitate one of the most murderous, bloody periods in human history. Of course, despotic figures like Adolph Hitler thrive when the followers are galvanized within a climate based on the premise of the threat of attack by a common enemy. Adolph Hitler, we know now, had a very detailed, strategically arranged plan to first eliminate his foes, among which were Jewish Germans. Citing the Jewish Germans as the main reasons for the country's defeat in WWI united the people behind himself in a "righteous" cause with the ultimate goal of restoring Germany to the top among the nations of Europe. What German wouldn't want to live in a powerful, prosperous nation? According to Hitler, the existence of the Jews prevented this marvelous event from happening. The persecution was in full swing.
Without an entire history lesson, the persecution of the Jews began with registration and monitoring. Of course, as it became more and more "en vogue" to marginalize them, the persecution grew more intense. Jews were eventually prevented from holding certain jobs, living in certain communities, even celebrating their time-honored traditions publicly. Besides, when an entire people has to take the blame for something, it has too often been the Jews.
At the heart of this post rests the assertion that persecutions always, always start "small" and slowly, almost imperceptibly. I liken it to the lobster in the lukewarm water of the pot slowly being boiled. The lobster is totally unaware of his fate because the temperature of the water rises far too slowly for it to detect and he is dead before he can fully grasp what has happened. The same is true in civilized societies.
The article is from a situation in Great Britain where similar time-honored values are under attack and not permitted in the public arena. The couple, who have cared for other children, now are marginalized because of a new law that mandates "fair treatment" of people's sexual preferences. Never mind that the same Judeo-Christian values that helped the couple raise other children now productive members of society are now viewed as intolerant and hateful. My point is that this is how pogroms begin- under-the-radar, unnoticed amid the socio-political noise of our busy, hectic lives.
Today, Christians will not be permitted to adopt homosexual children or will be ordered to violate their beliefs for the "greater good" set by the State. Tomorrow, Christians will be imprisoned for owning the Holy Bible which condemns homosexuality as abominable in the sight of God. The day after that, Christains will be blamed for the collapse of society because of its corruption by Biblical values. Extreme you say? I disagree. Even Jim Jones, despotic demagogue who convinced over 900 of his followers to poison themselves believed that those who fail to learn from history will be doomed to repeat it. Christian persecution is not coming, it's already here.
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Bishop Arthur M. Brazier: Greatest Man Who Ever Lived?

Consider the names Superman, Batman, and Iron Man and take note of the first commonality between these characters. There could obviously be a myriad of conclusions that could be drawn concerning their similarities, but chief among every commonality could possibly be that they are imaginary characters we might call "super heroes." Each one, respectively, are strong, indomitable, and brilliant, but are these things only in comic books and across silver theatric screens. In the hearts and minds of child and adult alike, the deeds of these valiant heroes dazzle and excite and even more inspire some to ascend above what they are, yet, these characters are forever beyond the reach of they that follow their adventures. Even when actors, with captivatingly convincing performances personify the very essence of these heroes, reality, like a mercilessly frigid gust swoops in reminding those fans that the "super heroes" are, alas, not real at all. They are in the end just intangible ideas and are of no consequence.
Julius Caesar. Emperor Charlemagne. Napoleon. These names inspire others to bring great dreams to fruition and in others, these names are but reminders of the damning pride of men and the blind folly of they that followed them without reason. Each of these men once held sway over hundreds of thousands, even millions of people and controlled with unquestioned authority (for a time) innumerable acres upon the face of the earth. These mighty men, with stern words and fiery eyes, commanded some of the most feared armies in all of human history and were heads of empires that absolutely and with brutal efficiency ground their rivals and enemies to powder. While these potentates by some are viewed as perfect examples of the pinnacle of human ambition and brilliance, just as many mark them as timeless examples of the depths of the depravity of the human heart. As companion to all their power and, at times spendor, was death- even the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of human beings. Americans in particular, should be thanking God daily for being spared the rule of despotic statesmen as these. Julius Caesar ruled Rome, Charlemagne over the "Holy" Roman Empire, and Napoleon crowned himself emperor over a French empire he wanted to rule the planet, yet one thing more have they in common; they are all dead men. Their impact on humankind has been harsh and terrible and their brand of greatness should be shunned.
I consider another man now. A man who most certainly can be mentioned in the same breath as Dr. Martin Luther King, George Washington, Malcom X, Abraham Lincoln, Ghandi, a man who also had/has possessed tremendous influence over tens of thousands, possibly more. The man I speak of did not through subtlety, guile, or malice ascend to the height of his power and influence nor upon the works or backs of others. The man I speak of is Arthur Monroe Brazier, commonly and respectfully addressed as the Honorable Bishop Arthur M. Brazier (1921-2010), Pastor Emeritus of the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, Illinois.
It is my assertion that real greatness is measured not in "shaking up the world" or remaking the world in one's image, but in the impact one makes in individuals, how one affects the thinking of men, women, even children. So often, they that are regarded as great stand aloof from the rest of us. Consider celebrities, star atheletes of today. Many of them maintain a "buffer zone" between themselves and they that provide them their plush lifestyles. Not so with Bishop Brazier. His greatness was in his accessibility to those that he served- and he seemed to never, ever forget that he was a servant, a servant to his Savior Jesus Christ and to his congregation who hung on his every word. All of his knowledge, all of his rich, bitter, joyous, painful experiences he deposited into his children and his church. He withheld nothing from them as some do, as to maintain their "buffer zone."
Bishop Brazier was a man of unflinching courage and flawless dignity, unafraid to reveal his flaws but was filled with too much integrity to be undone by them. The Bishop was a military man, serving his country with honor during World War II in a segregated army, marched with Dr. King through the streets of the most racially charged, segregated, and hostile city in the nation at the height of the Civil Rights struggle, stared down the Blackstone Rangers of Woodlawn, and had the courage to part ways with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World- and with dignity and faith in his God looked the beast of cancer squarely in its hideous eye and fought it to his death. He won, however, by his life.
Obviously, I could go on. I could continue and truly not even do his memory justice as I'm sure I have not so far. But his mark has been indelibly made onto the hearts of so many people because he gave himself to people based on their need, based on the command to do so from the Book he cherished. His greatness, no doubt will be remarked by magazines, history books, and journals, but will best be displayed in the lives of men and women who will walk in the example he set. Sounds simple? Well, it is. Gloriously simple. This man split lives wide open, he changed minds, not with armies, empires, fear and terror, or impossible feats of physical strength but with his devotion to his Lord, love for people, and love of Truth. His mark shall continue to be felt well into the future. Greatest man who ever lived? If you asked Bishop Brazier that, I surmise he would simply say, "No, I'm not the greatest, not even close. But I know who is, and his name is Jesus Christ. If you only knew where He brought me from and what He brought me through..."

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The Christian and the Wickedness of Political Silence

Corruption in the United States of America is omnipresent. Karl Marx once said that "there's a spectre hanging over Europe, the spectre of Communism." What Mr. Marx should have said was that the spectre of corruption was hanging over not only Europe, but over every society on earth and has infested nearly every, single human institution in the history of mankind. One might not agree with the above statements, but what facts could one possibly produce that would even come close to refuting that assertion? This writer need say only one thing: watch and read the news.
Corruption is literally the spoiling of a person, place, system, or idea. It is the transformation of something or someone that is useful or beneficial into that which is unprofitable. The late, great Bishop Arthur M. Brazier warned Christians in particular to avoid being what he called "unproductive." In keeping with the aforementioned admonition that one need only take note of daily news reports, what has been this writer's response to regular digestion of the goings-on of today? Rage at times, nauseated disgust even. But as of late and over the years, marked emotional responses have become terribly apathetic. This writer has, like millions of others in the United States, become quite accustomed to the normality of treachery and dishonesty in the affairs of politics and government. How did a nation that once possessed the most informed and politically conscious populace on earth become so disconnected from a solemn duty to hold public servants accountable for their service to their constituents? The citizenry simply accepted that corruption was just "the price of doing business," that's how. Now, Americans are more concerned with finding the candidate with the fewest flaws. In many ways that's only sensible, but more and more of public officials' flaws have, like poisonous, cancerous cells become outright scandals. No one should be accepting of a candidates participation in scandals. We, as heirs of the greatest, most special political entity in history owe ourselves and our posterity much better than mediocrity.
Christians especially are called to be two things in a rapidly disintegrating society: salt and light. Those who would call themselves Saints of the Most High are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to preserve this decadent society; called to hold back its corruption, not go along with it or approve of it through silence. Salt was an apropo metaphor as, obviously, in the days of Christ there were no methods of refrigeration. Salt was used as a preservative to keeps meats fresh for weeks in heat that could be pleasant to downright oppressive. Not only did packing meat with salt inhibit decay, it served as a barrier against pests. Salt was so important a commodity that it was used as currency. Salt also adds flavor to our meals; so much more, Christians should be the "flavor" of society, bringing to life the real pleasures of life to be enjoyed in sanctity and purity. Needless to say, salt also irritates; it stings festering wounds as it simultaneously destroys bacteria. Yes, there's a reason why "pouring salt on a wound" is particularly malicious.
What can I possibly say more about the conspicuous meanings on being light in both the metaphorical and literal darkness of a rapidly eroding society. Light exposes those deeds thought safely done under the cover of darkness and that automatically implies away from eyes of those empowered to administer justice and rebuke. Christians must be that light, exposing those sinister activities, making ashamed those who would dare to perpetrate such evil upon us all.
It's well known and validated by history that those who would do us harm or enslave us, need far more than device or resource to rise as cruel masters over us. It's our silence and failure to simply stand, tall, and strong in opposition to all that we know to be just and true that they need more than all.
How easy it is to equate that silence to a citizen's failure to vote, to just report to the polls and make one's voice heard via ballot. It is the Christian's sacred duty to cast an informed ballot and subsequently hold those elected responsible for the solemn vow they take on behalf of an increasingly frustrated populace.
Those of other religions and athiests as well, do you not also reap benefits, immediate and delayed, when you also are astute, engaged members of a politically informed, astute citizenry? Obviously, the answer is yes.
My fellow citizen, corruption lurks about, seeking whom it may engulf, whose soul- the most noble, the most palatable for its appetite are of course, most lusted after. Corruption must be resisted with the most stout of dispositions and with Marine-like vigilance, fought to the death with every righteous, upright weapon at one's disposal. The battle against political corruption is a hard fight, only because it resides in every one of our hearts. In the heart of the Christian, it lay subdued, chained by Jesus Christ Himself (so long as that one remains submitted to his Lord) yet, in some, corruption seethes with power and anticipation, heaving like some monstrous beast, ready to roar forward at the proper opportunity. Yes, there are noble non-Christians who serve in government who are well-meaning, intent, determined even, to do the people's business and whenever those servants are found properly excercising their power given by the consent of the governed, we do well to commend and reward them. Conversely, those found unworthy, must- they must- be exposed and defeated regardless of the color they brandish or whether there's a D or an R after their name.
Silence for the Christian is a matter of power. Silence transfers power from we, who wish an honestly run government, to the corrupt, who seek to secure power for themselves and they who cling to the shadows of the curtains of the political stage. Jesus Christ is the Lord of a true Christian, and a very worthy example for the non-Christian in that He courageously and without shame spoke "truth to power" in the purest sense of that term. His words were so accurate, his railing so appropriately dead-on, He was ultimately killed because, mainly, of His threatening to completely overturn the very delicate political balance of the region. He was so full of Truth, nobility, knowledge, that His people, by force attempted to install Him as King of Israel and follow Him in battle against the evil, mighty empire of the Romans.
We do well by voting. We do greater by keeping a watchful eye on our elected officials as the affairs of government today are a matter of one keeping one's very soul clean in the filth of voracious striving for power and influence. Let us not be like the "good" Germans witnessing the young political career of Adolph Hitler who, by their silence, approved of the arrest and cruel treatment of Jews and Gypsies. He was not opposed soon enough. The corruption of his heart was not checked by a stalwart citizenry and the evil thereof plunged the entire planet earth into the throes of the bloodiest war in human history. Let us be on our post!

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