What's going on people! Been a while since I've dropped my own two cents about the world around me. Quite frankly, the views that I've had have been so controversial and explosive, there's a chance they would've done more harm than good.
Before I get into my first social commentary entry in the past few months, excuse me while I get on a brief soapbox because I have a lot to get off my chest. It seems people like to dissect everything that I say and I get labeled as "hypocritical", "biased", etc. The truth is folks, you don't like what I say, this applies to friend or foe, you don't to follow me. hell, you can "unfriend" me if you want to. I don't really care. This is MY platform, and it will be used however I see fit, on MY platform. Name one person that doesn't have some sort of biased or ounces of hypocritical natures about them? If you think you're not one of them, guess what, you may be the biggest hypocritical biased person of all. We are all complex human beings so let's get that out the way. Some things may be unconscious in terms of how we act, talk, feel, and the like. We strive for fairness and to look at both sides of the coin, or at least we should, but if we don't sometimes, what can you really do about it? We will call each other out for being biased and hypocritical and everything else, except preachers, teachers, and "important" cultural figures. Now THAT'S hypocrisy. However, it's not my place to judge because I have my own views that some can view as biased as well. I don't intentionally try to be that person, as I'm sure none of us do, but again what can you do? I tend to forget that I can't please everybody, nor should I try. I don't mind differing opinions, as long as they're healthy conversations that stay just that, healthy. If I step on toes unintentionally, it's just that, unintentional. However, if I state things that piss you off simply because deep down they apply to you, that's who's problem? Definitely not mine, nor will it ever me. I will continue to say what I want, when I want to, regardless of who you are because for the third time, I can do that, on MY platform. If there's something I disagree with or don't like, I can either unfollow or unfriend, just like you can. I don't mind opinions that differ from me, but those that really know me know I don't intentionally hurt feelings, but I can be opinionated and nowadays one can't do that without pressing the "insensitive" button. I'll close this longer-than-expected rant with this, to those that ride with me, regardless of differences of opinion, I salute you and thank you. However, to those who are so into their feelings and want to dissect every nook and cranny for flaws of my opinions and/or character, I wipe my ass with what you think of me or how I should be seen in YOUR eyes. I will not dumb myself down for you or anyone else. You don't like what I say or wanna be anal about how I come off, please believe me when I tell you I'll rest rather well knowing I don't give a fuck about you or your meaningless living existence. With that close out, let's get started (whew!)
We are all abuzz about the success of the long-awaited N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. Grossing nearly sixty million in its first weekend, it shattered the expectations of most critics financially but quadrupling originally predicted numbers. In fact, it became the highest grossing r-rated movie for the month of August ever. Just think, this movie explored the rise to super-stardom of whom the media referred to as "The world's most dangerous group". Growing up, I was big on N.W.A. in the late eighties, and they were very much right on time in the racially tense, police brutalizing nation that we were living in then, and living in right now. While the majority of the movie centered around the highs and lows of Dre, Cube and Eazy, I wish we would've seen more of the back story on Ren and Yella, as well as the original version of N.W.A. which was N.W.A. & The Posse with original members Arabian Knight and Krazy Dee. However, there was a lot more controversy than this. There have been backlashes about omitted scenes of Dre's violence towards on-air personality Dee Barnes and former girlfriend/baby mama, star of R&B Divas Michel'le. While his history of female violence is documented, many speculate as to why this didn't make the final cut. I'll get into this area later. Overall, this movie captured the intensity of one of the single most impactful and influential groups not just in hip-hop but in music altogether. They are an institution that captured and fascinated the nation at a time where it was inflammatory to put a middle finger up to authority and it was taboo to be anti-establishment, at least if you were Black. Who can ever forget when the F.B.I. sent N.W.A. and then manager Jerry Heller the letter telling them to never perform their landmark hit "Fuck The Police" again? This was a movie showing how a group of young and struggling, yet ambitious, kids emerged as an American institution, in spite of threats of censorship and constant harassment from the LAPD. It's debated, ultimately, as to what or who caused the dissipation of N.W.A., but we can never deny their all-important legacy and how much it has meant to to hip-hop and to Black culture at large.
The topic has been brought up: who had a bigger impact, Public Enemy or N.W.A.? Public Enemy was/is a group that was anti-establishment for Black culture as a whole due to injustice, police brutality, racism, and other subjects that heavily affected the Black community at large, not just for the streets. N.W.A. was primarily for the streets and the kids in the ghettos that wanted a voice about how living in the ghettos was like, which involved parties, violence and daily police harassment and beatings. While very similar, also slightly different. In terms of bodies of work, many argue that there wasn't a bigger, more impactful social awareness album then PE's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, but N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton makes a very strong push for that spot that lies just underneath ITANOMTHUB and of course the greatest ever Illmatic.
Obviously we've seen how the strength of street knowledge has mutated into two immortalized careers in Dre and Cube, with Eazy not surviving long enough to really enjoy his influence on the game at large. With Ren, he became a very modest success but nowhere in the same stratosphere as his N.W.A. brothers. His albums of Kizz My Black Azz, Shock Of The Hour, The Villain In Black, and Ruthless For Life were decent at best but not enough to make waves. Meanwhile Yella suffered the same fate and really only dropped one album, an album dedicated to Eazy called One Mo Nigga Ta Go, which contained the touching cut "4 Tha E", which featured west coast vet Kokane. Brief talks of a reunion album (post Eazy) were mentioned with Snoop filling in for Eazy called Not These Niggas Again, but those flames quickly extinguished. One could only imagine if there was to be a real N.W.A. reunion album with today's Dre-production to capture magic.
On a bigger scale, let's look at the media coverage of this epic movie. In Los Angeles, security was increased outside a movie theater due to fears of violence after or during the showing of the movie. There were even some officers that complained that this came out at a bad time with police brutality and killings being at such high levels right now and that it would create even more hostility in an already powder-keg climate. In what was very absurd news, CNN stated that they were "surprised" that there were no acts of violence this weekend for the release of the movie. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the media is really putting gasoline on top of an already raging inferno with inflammatory statements such as these. It's funny how White people can shoot up movie theaters, with little to no extra security added nationwide, but extra security gets added to the release of a movie that shows, in large parts, police mishandling and harassing and unjustly arresting young Black men. With the senseless murders, yes murders, of the likes of Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, and many other unarmed Black citizens, this movie came out at exactly the right time, unless you're a racist bigot that still feels that #BlackLivesMatter is just a useless example of Blacks letting blind AmeriKKKa know we are sick of injustice and getting treated like animals. Much like Straight Outta Compton, the album, put exclusive audio footage to the suburbs to examine some of the harsh realities of this "great" country of ours, Straight Outta Compton, the movie, put a hardcore mirror up to the consciousness of the country and the results were highly praised by critics, but panned by conservatives, law enforcement, feminists and in some cases even fellow Black people, claiming N.W.A. doesn't represent all of Black culture. Guess what morons, they weren't supposed to. If you lived in middle to upper class and never knew about the pains of the ghetto, they weren't for you. Strange thing is, have you ever been unjustly pulled over? Asked to get out of your vehicle for something as simple as a broken tail light? Then maybe you do resemble them in slight form more than you care to admit. Yes, they had misogynistic views and yes they did promote violence and drugs. That was their environment and their world. We already know how I feel about domestic violence so we won't touch that one, but as time progressed so did these men. Dre became viewed as the Quincy Jones of hip-hop, as even more evidenced by his latest near gold release Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre and the fact that he's worth nearly a billion (billion with a 'B') dollars. Cube became an icon himself and has inced been involved in excellent movies such as the breakthrough Boyz N The Hood, Trespass, all the Fridays, both Barbershops, and others, while still releasing music such as recent albums like Laugh Now, Cry Later, Raw Footage, and I Am The West, as well as his incredible collaboration with Mack 10 and WC as Westside Connection.
In regards to Dre's past history with Dee Barnes and Michel'le, I mentioned being hypocritical earlier in my previous rant. I wonder if these same people, who scream about mysogany and how Dre's abuse to these two women got conveniently left off the movie went to go see the movie Ray, in which the iconic Ray Charles was a drug user, had multiple marriages and was also abusive to women. What about the James Brown biopic Get On Up, which had him doing the same stuff? How many people listen to artists such as Chris Brown, R. Kelly, and many others who have done questionable acts yet stuill get revered and have albums downloaded, bought or streamed? Yeah, if I'm talking to you, miss me with the bullshit. If you're getting down to Lil' Wayne, who has done drugs, called women bitches, and reportedly struck a female or two, please shut up because you're no different. No one is calling these acts heroes, just guys out entertaining people and you are getting what? Entertained. Most of you still listen to preachers like Creflo Dollar and Eddie Long after their front page issues, but throwing stones at those who support Straight outta Compton? Again miss me with the bullshit. If you choose not to support the movie or N.W.A., let it be your personal choice not to and leave it at that. Once you start opening your mouth, you become part of the problem. I've had to check myself recently doing the same thing so if I can do it, you need to do it too. Stop excuse making.
That's it for now kiddies, but thanks again for riding with me, those that still are. I'll try not to take as long with my gaps in between social commentary posts like that again but as we know life happens. Until next time, peace and love.
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