Wale, a rapper from DC who was recently named one of Hip-Hop’s Freshmen by XXL, has a song called “The Kramer” from his Mixtape About Nothing. It’s a great song to analyze because in one song it features a lot of the different views that people have on the n-word. It has hypocrisy. Wale says usage of the word is bad but then uses it more than 30 times in this song alone. He talks about the idea of Black people taking the word and making it ours, taking the power from it. He talks about why is it okay for Black people to use the word but not White people. In the end I think Wale condones using the n-word and he is on the side that we have taken the word and made it into something positive. While I don’t agree with everything Wale says, it’s still an interesting listen.

Warning. There are explicit lyrics. This is a fan-made video the song by Wale. There is no official video right now.

Wale – The Kramer (Unofficial Fan Video) from McFaddenisDead on Vimeo.

“Nigga ain’t bad, see, niggas just had/ A clever idea to take something they said/ Into something we have/ Something we flipped into something with swag/… A nigga write nigga in a lyric/ Expect the white boy to omit it/ The white boy spit it like he spit it/ Recite it to his friends who, by the way ain’t niggas/ And say, ‘Nigga, nigga, nigga, my favorite rapper did it’/ … Until a black friend kinda hear it just a tidbit/ He thinks, “Aw forget it./ It’s so insignificant and little.”/ The white boy sees this as a clearance/ Now it’s “Nigga, nigga, nigga” every single day/ And that little nigga nigga thinks it’s okay/ And he’s the only nigga in his particular grade/ And it begins to phase him more each day/ The things they say went a little too far/ He couldn’t tell the difference between an a or e-r/ So they keep going saying nigga in his face/ There’s nothing he can do, he let it get away”

Like I broke down the Jay-Z “Lost+” song, I’m going to do the same here. I’ll go line by line with the lyrics and talk about the argument of using the n-word.

“Nigga ain’t bad, see, niggas just had/ A clever idea to take something they said/ Into something we have/ Something we flipped into something with swag.”

This is the main argument you have probably heard when hearing someone explain why they use the n-word. “We took it and made it ours.” Jay-Z recently argued this point when he appeared on Oprah. Wale reiterates that point here. Black people tried to take a horrible word and flip it into something positive – a term of endearment. I think this argument is slightly hypocritical because to use this argument you’re acknowledging that there is a history behind the word and there is a deep-seated hatred. Yet once you ask them about the history, they say oh it’s just the past and it doesn’t mean anything today. This tells me that they must not truly know the past because we are still living in the effects of slavery, and that time period today.

” A nigga write nigga in a lyric/ Expect the white boy to omit it/ The white boy spit it like he spit it/ Recite it to his friends who, by the way ain’t niggas/ And say, ‘Nigga, nigga, nigga, my favorite rapper did it’.”

Here’s where the problem lies. Whatever your stance on the n-word, if you think black people should say it or not, here is usually where most people agree – non-blacks should not use the word. So if Sean says the n-word all the time around his white friends. Are we supposed to believe that his white friends aren’t going to pick up on the word and use it? Some might say that common sense should tell them not to use it. But humans like trial and error. So a white person will try it once and as soon as you ignore it that one time, they will take it as approval; as if you condoned their usage of the word.

“Until a black friend kinda hear it just a tidbit/ He thinks, “Aw forget it./ It’s so insignificant and little.”/ The white boy sees this as a clearance/ Now it’s “Nigga, nigga, nigga” every single day/ And that little nigga nigga thinks it’s okay/ And he’s the only nigga in his particular grade/ And it begins to phase him more each day/ The things they say went a little too far/ He couldn’t tell the difference between an a or e-r/ So they keep going saying nigga in his face/ There’s nothing he can do, he let it get away”

This is my favorite part of the song. Like I said earlier a black person will hear someone say it and not like it but won’t blow up and make a big deal out of it for whatever reason. Maybe they think it’s okay for them to say it or maybe they just think it was a slip and they won’t say it again. But then the white (or any non-black) person sees that as “a clearance” or an okay to use the word. Then they start using it all the time and that passes it on to their non-black friends and now everyone is using it. The issue comes in when Wale says, “The things they say went a little too far/ He couldn’t tell the difference between an a or -er.” Those who think it’s okay for a white person to say nigga instead of nigger have a problem with this. Personally I’m not okay with a white person using any form of the word so I don’t have to deal with this. However, I have seen this happen. One day they don’t like the tone a non-black person used the n-word in. They couldn’t tell the difference between if they said nigga or nigger and it offends them. This discrepancy in their ideology and their emotions confuses them and “there’s nothing he can do, he let it get away”.

This post wasn’t to convert anybody. If you use the n-word, you use it. If you don’t, you don’t. I have an opinion on whether or not I think the n-word should be used but this wasn’t the venue to express that. I just liked Wale’s song and thought it was an interesting angle to look at the debate over the n-word.

Who can use the n-word? What’s your stance on this subject?

-Michelle Huxtable

November 10, 2009 was a huge day for the District. It was a huge day for the entire DMV.[1] Two vastly different events happened that evoked two extremely different responses. The first, which if you were on twitter you most definitely were bludgeoned over the head with, is Wale releasing his debut album, Attention Deficit.

When talking about Hip Hop, one huge aspect is where you’re from. “ATL born and raised./ Too many claimin it and ain’t really from the A./ Just saying what I feel/ Rep where you from, not where you live baby keep it real.” (c) -Keri Hilson

Now for those not from the DC metropolitan area, I have to break this down for you. You know Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys? You know how that Yankee pride is felt through that song? You know how when you throw on that song people randomly claim different boroughs? Brooklyn this, Queens that. That’s all good and well but believe it or not the DMV has just as much, if not more, (shots fired) pride in our area.

The problem is, we have yet to establish ourselves in the Hip Hop arena. New York has Jay, Nas, BIG, 50, Fab, Diddy, etc… They have a lot.  Atlanta has Ludacris, Outkast, Jermaine Dupri, and Young Jeezy to name a few. Pretty much any major city/area has someone to rep them. DC has nobody that has made it on a national scale. Until now. Wale represents our city finally making it. When one person makes it, the whole city blindly follows them.

That’s not just with the DMV. Everywhere. When you find out someone is from your area you represent them proudly. This is good and bad. It’s good because we take pride when one of us makes it. It’s bad because honestly blind faith isn’t the best thing ever. For instance, with Wale’s album you’re going to find two kinds of people.

First, there will be people who will give Wale no credit and say that there are plenty of other rappers from the DMV who are as talented if not better. He’s cocky and arrogant and won’t go gold.  Second, there are the people who are going to say Attention Deficit is a certified classic. It’s better than Reasonable Doubt, All Eyez On Me, and Thriller combined. I’m not okay with either of these people but whoever supports Wale is cool in my book.

He's kidding. Mostly. He's just illustrating my point.

The point is, we support Wale. I don’t think Attention Deficit is a classic. I don’t think it will propel Wale to Tupac status. But it’s about time our city got some positive attention.

And then John Allen Muhammed happened. For those of you who don’t know, John Allen Muhammed aka the DC Sniper was executed that same day. He terrorized literally the entire DMV [He shot people in DC, Maryland (Rockville, Wheaton, Aspen Hill, Silver Spring, Bowie, and Kensington), and Virginia (Fredericksburg, Manassas, Falls Church, and Ashland)].

I’m from the DMV and so I know the effect he had on our area. People were afraid to pump gas. Kids were scared to walk home from school. Outdoor activities were cancelled. It was rough.

In the same day the city experienced two extreme emotions. We felt extreme pride (most of us anyway) in Wale for releasing his album. Sure nobody knows his numbers yet but that’s not the point. Seeing us come together to back a common man is huge for us. And in that same day nobody wanted to claim the DC Sniper.

Not only were we ashamed of a black man for committing a horrible crime but some were ashamed at how the justice system so expeditiously moved to execute him.  Most inmates on death row spend a decade if not more waiting to be executed and filing appeals. Not the DC Sniper. He’s spent less than 7 years waiting.

This isn’t in remembrance of him or to chastise the justice system.  It’s just interesting how in one day there are completely opposing emotions from the people of DC and opinions towards the people of DC. There’s the pride. Then there’s the shame. Two tales. One city.

How do you feel about Wale’s album? Crap or Classic? Is Wale’s release as monumental as we claim it to be? What about the DC Sniper? Did you feel any pause that day that a man was executed? Speak your mind.

[1] For the second to last time, DMV stands for DC, Maryland and Virginia.

This is a reup. I like this article and I didn’t write one for today because I have the flu so you get a double dose of awesomeness. Read and enjoy!

“I Just Want To Be Successful” is a series here at Michelle-Huxtable.com. It’s not only on how to be successful but how to be a reliable and decent human being in general. To read the rest of the series just click here.

Chris Martin of Coldplay and Jay-Z

Part 3 of the I Just Want To Be Successful is Don’t Feed Into The Hype. This song is called “Lost+” Jam it while you read this. Jay-Z says some pretty deep things in it that will help you be successful.

[wpaudio url="http://edakrong.com/dev/michellehux/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Lost+.mp3" text="Lost+ By Coldplay ft. Jay-Z"]

“With the same sword they knight you, they gon’ good night you/ That’s only half if they like you./ That even the half what they might do./ Don’t believe me? Ask Michael./ See Martin, see Malcolm./ See Biggie, see Pac, see success and its outcome./ See Jesus, see Judas./ See Caesar, see Brutus./ See success is like suicide/…. If you succeed prepare to be crucified/ Media meddles, – sue you you settle/ Every step you take, they remind you you’re ghetto.”

This isn’t really a Hip-Hop site and I don’t claim it to be. However, I’d really like to breakdown this line by line and explain why in order to be successful, you shouldn’t feed into the hype.

1. Because the Audience is fickle.

“With the same sword they knight you, they gon’ good night you.”

Positive feedback is great. We crave it and it affirms what you believe – that you’re doing good. Without it, some of us lose steam and can’t go on. One reason you shouldn’t get caught up in the hype is because of what Jay-Z said, in the same breath that they praise you, they can easily turn against you and hang you. This is for any profession. If you blog, they might love one post and hate the next. As a musical artist, they might love one track and hate the next. Same for writers, artists, athletes, and many other professions. Appreciate the praise when you get it, but don’t use that as the steam that keeps you going.

2. Because the Audience is fickle. And angry. And powerful.

“That’s only half if they like you./ That even the half what they might do.”

If the audience doesn’t like your latest work, it can be much worse than just dislike. They can protest buying your stuff, convince others not to do so, and many other things. Often it can turn into personal attacks. Instead of criticizing the project, they criticize the creator of the project. This can really bother people and it should if you’re normal. But if you didn’t get caught up in the hype in the first place, it wouldn’t bother you as much. If you think about it, this is why child stars often have issues. They’re overwhelmed with positive feedback as a child and when they grow up and aren’t so cute, they have to get that positive affirmation from elsewhere (like drugs).

3. Because no matter how great you are, they’ve done it to greater people.

“Don’t believe me? Ask Michael./ See Martin, see Malcolm./ See Biggie, see Pac, see success and its outcome./ See Jesus, see Judas./ See Caesar, see Brutus.”

Sometimes when people die they are aggrandized like Pac and Biggie. It’s often been said that had they not died so early they would not have been thought of as the best rappers ever. On the flip side, often when people fall from greatness, stop putting out the product that the audience loved, or die, people lose their previous views of them and only look at the bad.

The examples of when audiences have turned on the people they once loved is pretty endless. Michael Jackson – King of Pop by day, pedophile by night? Martin Luther King, Jr. – leader of the Civil Rights Movement when alive, but after he died he’s a womanizer. Jesus faced adversity when he was alive but after he died people doubt his very existence. If that’s not the worst way to turn on someone I don’t know what its. To doubt your existence? Don’t feed into the hype because the audience can easily turn. You see how quickly they turned on Kanye?

4. Because people want to be you.

“If you succeed prepare to be crucified/ Media meddles, [people] sue you you settle/ Every step you take, they remind you you’re ghetto.”

This goes back to Martin, Malcolm, Jesus, and Caesar. When you do attain success, there’s always going to be someone who wants to supplant you. They’ll sue you in some cases, and remind you that you weren’t always that great. People don’t want to take you down just for no reason. They want to take your spot. Just do your best and put out the best product in your field and you have nothing to worry about.

So to recap, if you want to be successful, Don’t Feed Into The Hype. Once you live for positive affirmation and the love and praise of people, you’re not doing it for you anymore. You lose some zeal, some passion. The audience (regardless of your field) can be fickle. If you lose that praise, what are you left with? Exactly. Don’t fall for it!

Preface: This isn’t an attack on hip-hop. I love Hip Hop. Too often people want to blame every black issue on hip hop or rap. Then there is the other extreme where people perpetrate as though rap music is blameless. I’m just being honest and analyzing one part of hip hop that is not squeaky clean.

It’s official. There’s a euphemism for everything now. Our once abhorred video hoes are now beloved honeys. If you google “video hoes” (because I do my research) the third website is “Hip Hop Honeys at Hip Hop Video Models”. Interesting. But wait. It’s wrong of me to generalize and say they are all hoes. (Even though many video girls have said that when you are on the set of a video you are a piece of property and you pretty much do what you’re told to do.)

When people critique Hip Hop or Rap music (the two are not interchangeable) there are several things debated. It’s too violent, it’s homophobic, it treats women as objects, and several other major issues. Either people blame the rappers for putting these women in horrible positions, shaking their bodies in front of a camera wearing practically nothing or they claim the women in these videos are hoes contributing to the negative image of Black women in America. There are two things wrong with that.

1. Women are objectified everywhere.

We, and the media, so often focus on how Hip Hop turns women into objects and disrespects black women especially.  Yet, we ignore that it happens almost everywhere. Commercials, Video Games, Movies, etc. A guy in the documentary Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes says it best. “Hip Hop culture is not separate from the rest of American culture. Objectified female bodies, those images are everywhere as well.”
[video is only 20 seconds long]

Video Games and Advertisements

This isn’t the exception. Women are often sexualized unnecessarily even in video games. Even in fighting games like Tekken the girls have to have huge boobs and full make up.  In advertisements for jeans, cologne, and other products women are often projected as purely sexual objects.  I’m not condoning this happening in hip hop but I’m just pointing out that it happens elsewhere and we don’t comment on that. The man in the video also makes the comment that in rap videos the issue is that the way black women are shown is solely as video honeys and not in any other way.

2.Women have to eat

Now, I know in the first paragraph I said they were video hoes, so I’m being a bit hypocritical but there are several reasons that women agree to be a video “model”.

Karrine Steffans (in this video) claims that it was her choice to get passed around. “It was the attention I was looking for and that’s what I got… It’s what I wanted. I wanted everyone to like me.” In the same video, Asia says she was in it for the money. “I can’t be at the set for 3 or 4 days and only get paid a little bit amount of money… I already know what you want, but it’s a give and take… Ain’t nothin’ for free nowadays.”

So one person did it because she wanted attention and the other because she wanted the money. You’ve probably heard some form of the question, “How can a black woman agree to gyrate in front of a camera, further perpetuating the stereotypes that we are sex objects?” Is it because she couldn’t find another job to feed her kids? Or is it because she thinks it’s the first step toward a career as a model or an actress? You tell me.

If Hip-Hop’s misogynistic treatment of women is so bad why do people still support the artists? And the proverbial question: Who is to blame for the perpetuation of negative stereotypes about black women? The rapper for continuing to put video honeys in their videos, the record label execs for encouraging it, the video honeys for taking the jobs, or the consumer for supporting the music? Also, why do you think women take these jobs?

Yes that’s like twenty questions but leave your opinion in the comment section!

Rihanna had a song on her CD Good Girl Gone Bad called “Question Existing”. I’m not a fan of the melody but I love the words. I feel like a lot of people can relate to it. You can hit play and listen while you read the rest of this.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0jOONpuP3c

“I put in work./ Did more than called upon, more than deserved./ When it was over, did I wind up hurt?/ Yes, but it taught me, before a decision, ask this question first:/ Who am I living for?/ Is this my limit? Can I endure some more?/ Chances are given, question existing. Who am I living for?”-Rihanna, “Question Existing”

With her position in the entertainment business it’s easy to understand what she’s trying to say. She works hard and maybe didn’t get what she expected. But this can be related to everyone. You work hard on your job. You work overtime, miss your kid’s soccer game and don’t get home in time for dinner and in the end you don’t get that raise.

You study all day and night in school, miss some huge parties and fun chances to hang out and you don’t get the A that you anticipated. You run 5 miles a day, do 120 push ups every night and 200 sit ups every morning and still can’t lose that 5 pounds? It’s important to ask yourself, “Who am I living for?”

Yes, it’s important to work hard toward your goal. If you don’t work hard, it’s just a dream, not a goal. But when you’re working 24/7 and missing out on life’s pleasures like seeing your kid score the winning goal, having some fun in college, or enjoying a nice slice of cake, maybe you should rethink your priorities. I can’t in good conscience recommend passing out at 3, waking up at ten, going out to eat and then doing it again[1], but you should enjoy your life. I’m sure you’ve heard the quote, “It’s the journey not the destination” or some variation of it.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

That sentiment is quite true. While you’re working hard to make money and provide for little Timmy to play soccer and to be able to afford that new Benzo, don’t you want to enjoy pulling up to Timmy’s game in that new Benzo? You gotta enjoy the journey to your destination.

Later in the song she says, “Entertaining is something I do for a living. It’s not who I am, I’d like to think that I’m pretty normal. I laugh. I get mad. I hurt. I think I suck sometimes. But when you’re in the spotlight, everything seems good. Sometimes I feel like I have it worse cause I have to always keep my guard up. I don’t know who to trust, I don’t know who wants to date me for who I am or who wants to be my friend for who I really am.”

So obviously she is talking about entertaining but you know what? Every single one of us entertains every single day. At work you’re entertaining your boss and coworkers, you entertain your friends, and you entertain everyone around you. I know plenty of people who can relate to this who aren’t even remotely in the entertainment field.

Especially the last part of her statement, “I don’t know who to trust, I don’t know who wants to date me for who I am or who wants to be my friend for who I really am.” There will definitely be people who’s motives aren’t pure but there are also people who truly just like you for you. You have to find a medium. Be careful with letting just anyone and everyone into your life. Use some judgment.

Quick summation: It’s the journey, not the destination. Enjoy the ride to your goal. It’s gonna be hard work but enjoy what you’re working towards. Be careful who you trust. You don’t have to be paranoid but not everyone has altruistic intentions.

[1] Who said this line? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

“I Just Want To Be Successful” is a series here at Michelle-Huxtable.com. It’s not only on how to be successful but how to be a reliable and decent human being in general. To read the rest of the series just click here.

There are lots of blogs out there. Lots of people expressing their opinion, thoughts, or relaying facts across the medium of the internet. Fantastic. But as we all know, some blogs and websites are more successful than others. How is this possible? Well some have hilarious commentary, some consistently offer great information, and others just have that *it* factor. So what if you have all three of these but still don’t see the success that you want?

Well, part 5 of I Just Want To Be Successful is The Beauty of the Four Part Harmony. Groups with four people just work better, in my opinion.
“Bills, Bills, Bills” Destiny’s child is far superior to  “Survivor” Destiny’s Child. Actually that’s a wild and reckless assumption because I’m sure all of you could name 3-person or 5-person groups that are beasts. TLC. SWV. New Edition. Any others? But I do stand by the fact that 4 person Destiny’s Child was so much more amazing than 3-person Destiny’s Child.

Seriously, which one looks like they bring the realness?

Paul Grice ,a philosopher, proposed that there are four crucial elements you must possess to be successful called Gricean Maxims. In short, those key ingredients are: be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear.

Informative aka LaTavia Roberson

Give up? Fine. She's the second from the left.

Why this is LaTavia: Do you remember LaTavia? Can you remember your favorite verse with her on it? Probably not. But she did her job. She evened out the melody of the group. And that’s what we need to do to be successful. It’s not always about making a name for yourself. Sometimes it’s about adding to the group and simply being helpful.

Bottom Line: Be informative yet brief; helpful but not long-winded.

Truthful aka Kelly Rowland

This is a huge one. Essentially, only say things that you believe to be true. There are a few ways you can interpret this but the angle I’m going to approach it from is just say what you know. This isn’t necessarily about “don’t spread false information” but more so don’t try to say things that you aren’t informed about. For instance, I once wanted to write an article about health care in America. But I had to be honest with myself and realize that I don’t know enough about it yet to write a whole article. If i had written the article I would simply have been reiterating facts that I heard somebody else say. It would have shown, too. I wouldn’t have been able to add that Michelle Huxtable flavor to it because it wasn’t my ideas or thoughts. Branching out is cool and a great thing to do but we just have to know when and how to do that. (I don’t want to cause anybody to think that you have to stay in your box because that’s simply not true. But when you are trying to write an article or give a speech or convince somebody of something, you should be informed on your topic.)

Why this is Kelly Rowland: Let’s be honest. Kelly knew she wasn’t Beyonce. For a few songs she may have taken the lead but she stuck to being the number two girl. And you know what? She made money. She did her part. She stuck to what she knew. She went out of her box and tried the solo thing and is still doing her thing out there but in the context of Destiny’s Child, she stayed #2.
Bottom line: Stick to what you know.

Relevant aka LeToya Luckett

Being focused pays off.

This is somewhat like the first point about being informative. You also have to be relevant. To go back to the Kanye example, if you wanted to write that article about Kanye’s meltdown, talking about the company he keeps could be helpful. Is Amber Rose a cause of bringing him down? Did Jay-Z put too much pressure on him to succeed? Did the fame go to his head? All relevant questions. Discussing Jay-Z and Beyonce’s wedding, whether or not Kanye actually ever went to any College to Dropout of, if he ever was truly Late for Registration, and the fact that he couldn’t have attended Graduation is probably not relevant.

Why this is LeToya Luckett: Letoya, much like Kelly, wasn’t in the spotlight in Destiny’s Child. But she stayed focused. She knew her time would come. When she got kicked out the group she didn’t go spreading gossip saying “Beyonce this, Beyonce that…” She stayed focused knowing that her time would come and now she’s doing her solo career. The songs I’ve heard from her new CD is hot by the way.

Bottom Line: Relevance doesn’t only mean be up-to-date on topics. It also means stay focused on the topic at hand. I haven’t mastered this yet either.

Clear aka Michelle Williams

Being clear is kind of a summation and a symptom of the rest of the 3 keys to success. It means be vague or ambiguous. Be clear and obvious; brief and to the point. At the end of that Kanye article you shouldn’t beat around the bush and say well I don’t know if he’s crazy or not and maybe he’s just going through a rough time. People are reading your blog, article, book, essay, paper, or listening to your speech because they want to hear your opinion.

Why this is Michelle Williams: Any time Michelle’s verse came up, she was quick and to the point. She knew people wanted to hear Destiny’s Child, not Michelle Williams.

Bottom Line: Don’t beat around the bush.

These are more “guidelines” than actual rules. Because for every guideline up here, I’ve broken all of them probably in this post alone. Just ideas and advice for anyone who’s ever said, “I Just Want To Be Successful.” Be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear. If you do all this, you can accomplish greatness like the four person Destiny’s Child

Side Note: Yes I realized I left out Beyonce. First time for everything.

“I Just Want To Be Successful” is a series here at Michelle-Huxtable.com. It’s not only on how to be successful but how to be a reliable and decent human being in general. To read the rest of the series just click here.

Part 4 of I Just Want To Be Successful issues this piece of advice: Admit Your Ignorance. Just to be clear, the definition of ignorance that this post is using is “lack of knowledge or information.” I clarify because the common definition is “acting a fool”.

It may not be the Huxtables, but the Banks can teach us a great lesson in this. In this episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith joins a poetry club in order to impress this girl Christina Johnson. Christina asks Will to share a poem from his favorite poet and he doesn’t know one so he makes one up. Let’s see what happens.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnbEPG9Ea9M

Now I could go from the obvious angle and talk about how Will should have been honest with Christina because at the end of this episode she finds out he was lying anyway. But Michelle Huxtable doesn’t take the easy way out. Let’s talk about that Professor of his, Mr. Fellows.

He’s known for always trying to be cool, hip, and relevant with the youngsters. I actually like him because I think he’s genuine. But I’m still going to use him as an example. Mr. Fellows did not know Raphael De La Ghetto. Because Raphael De La Ghetto doesn’t exist. He acted like he knew so that he could seem cool and up on his stuff.

I’ve seen this happen a lot but mostly in the Hip Hop arena. Hip Hop heads take pride in knowing their history. There is a certain hierarchy in the hip-hop community. People who know MF Doom, A Tribe Called Quest, and Mos Def are higher up or more “real” than those who listen to Soulja Boy, Gucci, or 50 Cent. Whether or not I agree, this is what causes the faking to start.

Hip Hop Mathematics: Mos Def is greater than Soulja Boy

The most prime and recent example is of course the Charles Hamilton/J. Dilla debacle. If you don’t know about it check out Jay Smooth’s article over at illDoctrine for the details. In short, Charles tried to get street cred by saying he knew J. Dilla and his family and they worked together. He gave him Executive Producer credits on his album to further solidify their relationship. Problem is, he was faking. None of that was true. Dilla’s mom even said she didn’t know him. Charles Hamilton was being Mr. Fellows.

The problem with being Mr. Fellows is all about perspective. From Will’s perspective, Mr. Fellows’ faking helped his story so he wasn’t going to call him on it. But from the Poetry Club’s perspective after they find out at the end of the episode that Raphael De La Ghetto doesn’t even exist, don’t you think they’re going to lose respect for Mr. Fellows?

This was magnified times a thousand with Charles Hamilton because Hip Hop heads tend to be a little more passionate than members of a high school poetry club. The city of Detroit (where Dilla was from) not only lost respect for Charles Hamilton but they gained a deep hatred for the man.

That’s the main problem with being a Mr. Fellows. You’re not real and people will lose respect for you. You have to always, 100% come correct. If you don’t, you might get away with it once or twice, but nine times out of ten you will be called on it. And it won’t be pretty. Also, Mr. Fellows-type people aren’t exclusive to Hip Hop. Self-proclaimed “intellectuals” will do the same.

They’ll use unnecessarily obscure words when a normal one will do, just to show they are smarter than you. If you don’t be a Mr. Fellows and you ask them to explain the word, sometimes you can make them end up looking like a fool when they don’t even know what it means. Being real just benefits everyone.

Happy Friday! So it’s the weekend. What are you gonna do? If you don’t have plans yet I got you covered. Here’s a few of my favorite things that maybe you can enjoy over this weekend. This is a list of things to make sure you have a surefire unproductive fun weekend. If you’re staying in, it includes some books to read. If you’re staying in with a friend, I offer you some movies to watch. If you’re headed out to that party I supply you with some tunes to jam to on your way over. If you’re staying in or headed out I got some games to entertain yourself with. I tell you. Michelle Huxtable is all kinds of helpful. Michelle Obama + Claire Huxtable indeed. Just remember that no matter how much fun you have this weekend, Monday will come. What happens over the weekend, doesn’t stay over the weekend. Be safe!

Have you ever been forced to represent your entire race by being asked a question like “Why do black people like…”? Congratulations! You’ve been rented. The book is funny but it’s true. You’ll love it. Buy this book because I promise you’ll read it 50 times and you’ll end up giving it to friends. If I wasn’t so adamant about people returning my stuff I’d be on my fifth copy. If you’re going to be in for the weekend anyway, or even for future readings, click that link to the left and buy this book! Support your black authors! (Just kidding. Sort of.) But really if you’re going to buy it anyway, don’t go to the local store. Buy it through amazon and click that link! Hillman[1] is expensive.

There’s no way you can watch this movie and not be happy. It’s classic Eddie Murphy. I don’t even know what to say about it that you don’t already know. You know it’s a classic. You probably already have it on VHS. You know you need to upgrade that to DVD. Let’s be honest. Don’t get ahead of yourselves and move to Blu Ray just yet. My dad started transitioning to Blu Ray and bought a PS3 to play them on. You know what gets played on that PS3? NBA Live. That’s what. But back on target, this movie has quotes for days. “When you think of garbage, think of Akeem.” “Bark like a dog. A big dog. Hop on one leg. Make a noise like an orangutan.” And of course… “Just let your soullll gloooooooow”

Training Day
featuring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke

“You wanna go to jail or you wanna go home?” When you think of classic movies that are essential to the African-American experience you might think of classics such as Roots, The Color Purple, and Malcolm X. But according to my brother, this is the only necessary film. “To protect the sheep, we have to kill the wolf.” “I will have you playing basketball in Pelican Bay!” These are things he says to me in every day conversation. I interpret them to mean he loves me but he’s a little crazy. Beyonce has Sasha Fierce, my brother has Detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel’s character). Maybe it’s a family tradition and that’s why it’s near and dear to my heart but this movie is just too good.

Music

[wpaudio url="http://edakrong.com/dev/michellehux/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Paul-Revere.mp3" text="Paul Revere By Beastie Boys"]
“Paul Revere” By the Beastie Boys. This song immediately gets you crunk. Are we still saying crunk? No? It gets you hype. I like it.

[wpaudio url="http://edakrong.com/dev/michellehux/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Backpack-feat.-Dude-Royal.mp3" text="Backpack by Christian TV x Dude Royal"]

Shout out to Modi over at DCtoBC for this track. It leaks awesomeness. Watch out for Christian TV.

Video Games

I know you heard of the cops playing Wii for 9 hours during a drug raid by now. If you haven’t here’s the video. So basically the Wii can keep you entertained. for nine freaking hours. Get Rockband or Guitar Hero and party with some friends. Trust me you’ll have a great time.

You can’t go wrong with this game.

All in all, you’re set for a pretty awesome weekend. Jammin to some Beastie Boys, watching Denzel in his Academy Award winning performance, reading How to Rent a Negro, and playing Rock Band? Check you out! Don’t party too hard. Come back Monday for some Huxtable goodness.

[1] Okay, I don’t really go to Hillman but it went with the whole Huxtable theme!

“That Dude” is a series here on Michelle-Huxtable.com. In case you aren’t familiar with what exactly “That Dude” means, Urban Dictionary defines it as, “The person that everyone is trying to be like or looking up to. He influences the crowd and girls love him.”

Marvin Gaye

Self explanatory title. Marvin Gaye is that dude. I’m a little ashamed to say but I came to this conclusion after watching Four Brothers. Yep. Mark Wahlberg turned me on to Marvin Gaye. Just shameful. But anyway. That CD cranks you should probably go get it.

Four Brothers CD Track Listing

Jackson 5? Marvin Gaye? The Temptations? The Miracles? The Four Tops?! Steve Hightower and the Hi-Tops? OK I don’t really know The Miracles or The Four Tops. But don’t that just sound like straight Motown Success to you?

But back to the point. Why is Marvin Gaye that dude? Play this song and find out.

We all know the classics – “Sexual Healing”, “Let’s Get It On”, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”… etc. I know you probably expected “What’s Going On” and some deep post about how he spoke out against the war or how he was a successful recording artist but…

Did you just hear that?! Go back!! Listen again!! That is the smoothest song known to man. Who can rival this dude? Nobody. Which by default makes him that dude.

I don’t want to sound old and crotchety here but nobody makes music like Marvin Gaye anymore. We try to by remaking his stuff – “What’s Going On”.  I didn’t realize he made “You’re All I Need To Get By” because it’s been redone so many times. DC rapper Wale sampled this on The Remake of a Remake on the Mixtape About Nothing. Michael McDonald, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin. All people who have covered his music.

And then in 2005, Four Brothers – a movie that was set in the present, not a period piece like Dreamgirls or Cadillac Records – uses mostly Marvin Gaye and other artists from his time to compliment the movie. That just shows how timeless he is.

“Trouble Man” is very underrated in my opinion. I hope this turned you on to some classic music. You don’t always gotta get that new. Refer back to the good stuff! Also, you’re probably thinking this post is irrelevant when this isn’t a music blog. Well, Marvin Gaye did something that pretty much all bloggers strive to do – stay relevant. So, cheers to him for that.

Get it? They’re a joke. Anyway, My brother thinks I have beef with P. Diddy. I don’t. I just don’t think he takes care of his artists. Some might say they don’t have the talent it takes to make it in the biz but I don’t think that’s true.

Shyne had flow. 112 can sang (yes, sang). Danity Kane was extremely marketable, Da Band was unique, etc and etc. Sean Combs is doing his thing, though. I’m told he has 2 shows on MTV and VH1 and his company produces Run’s House. He’s acting, producing, rapping, modeling, and doing a lot of other things. I mean the man makes Vodka!

I have a lot of respect for the man. But his lack of artist management is a bit sketchy. But on a lighter side ItsTheReal has once again made a hilarious video. This one is about Puff and once I got to about 1:20 I about died. Too funny.
Vlogga Like Puff from jeff on Vimeo.