bringin' back the GMG moments...

Wow, it's been a minute. Hope this meets you all well, I've been away for a minute, but in the meantime I've had plenty of inspiration to write about. The more pressing subjects will come later, but right now I'm watching Yung Cheesy's new video, or hip hop blasphemy as I like to call the things they show for 4 min at a time on Black embarrassment Television or More Triflin' Videos. Even as I speak that video is over and what's on? That's right Lil Crappy "Money in the Bank". I realize two things after watching these tragedies, 1) that I was blessed to be able to experience the good days of hip hop before the Man got his hands on it to make money off it and 2) if all that's being pushed in your face is dirt, all you'll appreciate is dirt.

Last night, the BET Hip-Hop (and I use the term very loosely) awards were on last night. I managed to catch one award: h.h. MVP of the year award. Who was up for this prestigious honor? Hmm, let's see, Yung Cheesy, Yung (couldn't hold a true artist's) Joc, Chammillionaire (what does that mean anyway), Lil Wayne (is it me or does he look like he'll always be 15 even when he's 48) and T.I. Of course TI won, but as they saying goes, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. And the song of the year, It's Goin' Down. That little literary gem probably took a glorious 2 minutes to write, that's what I like in my hip hop, the strong effort in writing. Also, please tell me again why they act like they have more money than they do, we all saw TLC's story and Hammer. We know how us black folk do with money....like the visionary Chris Rock said, we need wealth in the community, not a bunch of ni**as that are rich. Rich is something you can lose in a summer with a drug habit.

All is not lost, however. I had the privelege this week to be surrounded and exposed to some of NC's finest hip hop getting a preview of my boy J-Blaze's album, hearing my boy E.S.T. drop some serious knowledge to beats that are so rich they must be fattening, and coppin' the Minstrel Show, Little Brother's masterpiece. I will say this, I used to talk a whole lot about the South's hip hop scene, but now I realize it's not where you from, it's the sense in your head. If you have none, you'll make garbage, and if you have some and don't use it, it's a sin to sell out so the people who can't pronounce words larger than 2 syllables can listen. Screw 'em I say, let them get hooked on Phonics and learn to read something that might uplift them. I've said my peace. Stay tuned for my recap of the Joan Morgan talk at Duke I attended a couple weeks ago. The author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost : My Life as A Hip Hop Feminist, had some good insight and my my my, the finest 41 year old I've ever seen. Mmmm, my sistas know how to age well. Peace and blessings......