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Anonymous

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Everything posted by Anonymous

  1. Nah'Sun This is what I wrote about EMINEM: Troy mentioned EMINEM and I can relate to that because I am one of those people who can honestly say that the last rapper that made me stop and listen and say "Oh okay! That's the ish right there!" was EMINEM. And I know there are talented individuals since him, but I just don't pay much attention. I did not "shit" on NWA. And I don't understand why you are addressing me when you state the following: I never said he did.
  2. Now if this aint food for thought, I don't know what is! Great points Cynique.
  3. "...after a certain point things like who the hottest rap artists are fails to matter very much." That's where I am...with rap and pop and a whole host of other things. I would say age has everything to do with that. With age, in many (but not all) cases comes new experiences. I got older and my interests changed as I became exposed to different things. This isn't a bad thing and it doesn't mean I have anything against rap...I'm just saying that rap doesn't get me hyped up. It's just more entertainment - and we are bombarded with entertainment (much like some would say we're bombarded with street lit books...haha). Troy mentioned EMINEM and I can relate to that because I am one of those people who can honestly say that the last rapper that made me stop and listen and say "Oh okay! That's the ish right there!" was EMINEM. And I know there are talented individuals since him, but I just don't pay much attention. By the time 50 cent came along (for example) I was just kind of like, "Oh okay...that's hot," but it was a dull response. I never once thought about getting the cd and playing it in my car. But back in the late 80s, early 90s my friends and I couldn't wait to get our fathers' cars and bump some NWA and even Too Short, with his grimy, degrading lyrics! But, we grow. Our tastes change. Hell, I used to love McDonalds... Do you know that I didn't even know who Lady Gaga was until this year? (And I know that's not rap, but I'm just saying...) Another example: Lil Wayne. Now we all know this kid has mad talent. But had I not caught the episode of Lil Wayne's story on Behind the Music, I wouldn't even realize how much that kid has overcome. I love success stories like that. But again, had I not been watching TV, I would have never known - or cared. That's because I don't seek out rap music now the way I did in my teens and early twenties. So I think Troy's points regarding age are valid. Different strokes for different folks, but sometimes age really does play a factor in how we rate/value things...IMO.
  4. Yes! I can relate and I agree!!! Absolutely! And this is why those of us who miss the Golden Age...do. Man it was fun in the beginning...inspirational even. And now..."yawn"...except for those times when, like Troy says, a rapper will pull a catchy beat --- but oh wait! We just love the beat, and can usually find the source in an old song. It'll be interesting to see what my kids' generation comes up with.
  5. So I had a twitter account. Had. So it turns out my daughter was wrong. I didn't LOVE it. I found it to be the biggest waste of time. I'm following people. They're following me. What? I don't get it. I could have been writing.
  6. I thought about that Troy and you could be right. Maybe he was playing the dozens or something.
  7. Oh! Btw, Nah'Sun, you seem to be feeling some kind of way here. I don't think Cynique was being offensive toward HICKSON. I thought her comments were all in fun. Did you see something I didn't see? HICKSON did you? I didn't read much of your comment. Could you answer this question in regular case?...please?
  8. Dangit! The nosy girl in me wants to read what HICKSON wrote. But the sensible woman who knows her eyesight is precious has to decline. I do see my name mentioned in the last paragraph though and so I did read that. You are most welcome HICKSON. And remember! It's better to have lots of money and spend like you're broke than to be broke and spend like you're ballin' out of control.
  9. I saw this on twitter & came right over here. Congratulations HICKSON! p.s. I read the whole thing! --- well, sorta...enough anyway.
  10. Thanks Cynique. Yeah, I know that there will be a lot of ppl who agree w/you on "What You Don't Know..." It definitely was a depressing tale and the ending was...well -- you know. But I figured I'd go for it anyway. The worst a person can do is hate it and then post an awful review. I've survived one of those already, so I know it won't kill me. And my skin thickens! You'd commented somewhere on the board about authors and egos...I gotta find that comment because it was spot-on!
  11. I don't recall stating that street lit was like the early stages or golden age of hip hop. Then again, I wrote a lot...I'd have to go read the whole thing. But if I said that, that is an error on my part bc I've never believed that. What I said - or at least MEANT to say - was that EARLY street lit is much like EARLY hip hop. Do you not see a connection there? By the way, I do agree that the early hip hop era was indeed the best era for that music. And I also believe that whatever it has evolved into (I believe you referenced copycats) is actually what has happened to street lit. That's why I believe that at some point the readers of these types of books will begin to crave something else. It's only a matter of time, IMO, especially if the person has discovered that he/she loves to read --- and this is a possibility, yes even for fans of street lit. I see that this is where I probably went wrong and got my own message all mixed up: "The feedback to urban/street lit seems to be similar to that of early hip hop/rap as well." Should have said the "early" feedback to urban/street lit... Sorry about the confusion. Next time I'll post BEFORE going for the Moscato. Lawd! smh
  12. Troy, I signed up w/Goodreads back in January. But I only started using it regularly in the past month. From a reader's perspective, there seem to be a lot of authors out there but I don't notice anything newsworthy in terms of self-promoting. Sometimes I get a friend request from an author, but that's about it. As a reader, my favorite part about the site is the feature that allows you to add a book to your "to-read" list, and to update that list from "to-read" to "currently reading" to "I'm finished." This feature is helpful bc without it I'm sure I'd be reading books twice by accident or forgetting "that one book" that I simply had to have but now can't think of its name. From a writer's perspective, the best thing I've found for self-promotion purposes on Goodreads would be the Giveaways. I like them bc you can control how many copies you want to give out as freebies. This is much better than dropping your price down to like zero or 99 cents on Amazon/Barnes&Noble and watching hundreds of them fly off the free shelf, as you wonder how many of them could have been actual sales. I do notice quite a few authors taking advantage of the Giveaways, but I'm pretty sure there are other ways to promote on the site. I'll go out there now & friend you.
  13. Funny list! And I finally clicked one of those little icons on your post Troy. I like! Gonna try to put my little goodreads icon on mine.
  14. You're def right about HICKSON. Regardless of whether or not I read what he posts, I still remember the name HICKSON and GHETTOHEAT.
  15. Ooooh...I see. Starts in the home...in the environment... So what hope would there be for someone like that - who grew up and lives by the life-rules you listed? How do you reach that person and encourage him/her to try something new? I've met people like that - in my own family - and to even get them to do something like EAT a new food is like pulling teeth. They don't seem to think there is any other way than what they know and what they grew up under... BUT...sometimes there comes along a kid who simply decides to do different than what she was taught to value...and she becomes the exception to the rule. It would be nice if there were more like her... Oh, brain pain...brain pain...too much thinking too early in the morning. This whole street lit issue confuses me. On the one hand I'm glad that the kids are reading. But on the other hand, I can't help but wonder "at what cost?"
  16. Thnx guys! I see myself sticking around, especially now that I spend more time on my laptop in general. If I suddenly go MIA it would be bc I have writer's block and am out flitting around in the "real" world to get myself out of it. Troy, looking at the stats you posted from years back, I see that this board is much more quiet than it used to be. Nevertheless, I enjoy the interaction with those who do participate, and this is actually the only social site that I bother to comment on or be more than just a passing visitor. p.s. I like the look of the new layout for the Discussion page. ............................................or maybe it's just my computer?
  17. Troy, do you think the appeal is so broad because of the stereotypes that get reinforced? I often wonder if the artists (in the music industry & publishing industry alike) realize that there are stereotypes being reinforced through the music and the stories. I wonder if they care. Is money that important to turn a blind eye to self-destructive behavior? I guess we all know the answer to that. To some...it really is. Then there are others who probably just don't see it. They think that they are telling their story, their truth, and that's all that matters...to hell with conformity, even if that conformity revolves around a "proper" education. I guess those that think like that would see nothing wrong with a book filled with spelling and grammar errors, and thrown together with no plot or weak characters. These are just examples of what I saw mentioned in some of the one-star reviews of my random sampling of street lit books. What I read in the excerpts typically validated the low review. So, I don't know...I guess as long as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there will always be street lit just like there will always be rap music. Those who think it should change or be tidied up will probably just be wasting their time. For as many can't stand it, there will be more that love it, just the way it is. Here's a link to the book.
  18. My (brand new) understanding of street lit is that it is a platform for writers to express what they know and see, much like hip hop was for pioneer rap artists. Some fans of street lit can directly relate to it, and others enjoy it because it gives them that peek into another world. Ditto for hip hop/rap. The feedback to urban/street lit seems to be similar to that of early hip hop/rap as well. Some love it; others hate it. Back in the 80s my parents swore up and down that rap was a disgrace and set the race back 100 years. And yet, it persisted, and even had its place in bringing awareness to certain plights and sending positive messages to our people. Not all rap, of course...but enough of it was positive to where it stuck around and evolved into whatever it is today. I think the same could be said for street lit. I'm sure (or at least I would hope) that behind at least one of those oddly similar book covers is a story that brings awareness to our struggle AND teaches a valuable life lesson AND has a delivery that is second to none. I think that repression was already there to begin with. That's why young people started reading street lit in the first place. We heard in the video how someone asked a young person to read a book and that individual said that there was nothing he/she wanted to read. And then the kid was introduced to street lit and the kid started reading. I think street lit could be a very good thing IF writers start getting serious about the craft and start weaving learning opportunities throughout their books. Michael Eric Dyson said something along those lines. (see my earlier post in this thread) A learning opportunity could be something as simple as tightening up the editing so that the finished product is one that includes the basic elements of fiction. Writers should present the story in a way that gets the reader used to quality material and causes them to refuse poorly written books. Don’t readers of street lit deserve that? Sure they do. Just like readers of any other genre. In fact I will go as far as to say that IF you, Mr. or Mrs. Street Lit Writer, care about the "hood" the way you say you do, you will put out nothing but the BEST for our kids to read. And if you honestly don't know how to do that, you will go to school and learn...ESPECIALLY if you are now making lots of money from the sales of these books... Now perhaps some of the writers are already doing that. And if they are, and if any of you know of them, please toss me a few names so I can check them out and clear them for my nieces to read. So far, everything I've picked up has had major editing issues right out the gate. I'm not speaking for all street lit books...just that every single one that I happened across was that way, and so I simply moved on to another genre and don't even bother to read the synopsis on these types of books any more. Not to mention, all the synopsis were beginning to sound the same to me. I did like The Coldest Winter Ever, as many of you know, but now I won’t even give that book to my niece because I now can see the book has some definite writing issues that I don't want my niece to get used to seeing. I want her to know what good wrting is…and I want her to learn it earlier than I did. Cynique you mentioned a writer in one of the other threads and I tried to find it but got lost. Do you recall that author’s name? The one you suggested for ppl who enjoyed The Coldest Winter Ever? I’m going to wrap this up but I do want to mention one more thing. For those same books I’m referring to …well those same books had hundreds of five-star reviews. And then there were usually a few one-star reviews from people screaming about the shoddy work and poor editing. I thought about this and then it hit me: What a powerful learning tool this street lit could be! With readers engrossed in the stories as they are right now, imagine what our kids would be exposed to if we really put some quality writing behind these stories! Again, think Michael Eric Dyson's statement. It may be time for some of these writers to give back to the community by going back to school themselves. And it needs to happen quick! Before these young readers of street lit become the next writers of street lit, carrying the exact same poor writing skills into the next onslaught of books for yet the next generation of “hood” children to relate to. Cycles are so exhausting. But this is real talk. I'm speaking from experience and from my own personal sense of duty to my readers. True story: I wrote my first book before I knew anything about writing or even serious reading for that matter. When I first wrote that book, I thought it was the business! Shortly thereafter I enrolled in a couple of literature classes. After I took the classes, I read my book again because somebody had posted a one-star review and I simply couldn’t believe it. I just knew there had to be a mistake. A one star review??? So I started reading the book, with my formal education fresh on the brain. And I discovered two things. #1. The wrong file had been uploaded for the published book. #2. Even with the right file, that damn book was awful!!! My own book. SMH. I cringed at the beginning of every chapter and nearly every section. And yet...man I can't believe I'm about to say this...And yet---I had five-star reviews! I had five-star reviews! People loved that book! Now I could have left it out there just as it was...hell, it was selling. But I couldn't do it. There was no way I was going to leave that book out there in that condition because I knew for a fact that it simply wasn't right. And I didn't want anybody getting comfortable with that type of sloppy writing...a sloppiness I wouldn't have been able to see had I not taken those classes and been introduced to great writers and a fine-toothed-comb look at what goes into superb storytelling. And so I re-wrote it and published the 2nd ed. The storyline didn't change at all. Only the delivery. Thinking about my own situation makes me believe that a lot of what I saw when I perused the street lit book samples is due to lack of education of the writers. Again, I hope that with the money they are making, some of them will invest in an education for themselves so that this can trickle down to their readers. Okay, I said I only had one more point. I lied. Feel free to take a break, eat a snack, and come back to finish. When all is said and done, someone needs to take hold of the children and teach them that there is more to the world than just the hood. To that end, I agree with you Cynique when you say that "adults who don't emphasize the importance of diversity are enablers to those stuck in the gritty rut of street lit." Then again, even if no one explains it, I believe that some readers of street lit will eventually venture out toward other books. I fail to believe that anybody, once they've discovered a love for reading, would settle for only one type of book. As these readers mature, their opinions of what's good or bad reading will change. Growth. Didn't Cornel West say something like that? A kid could start off saying "I hate reading," and from there go to "Oh I found this book by this street lit writer!" and end up with "I used to read nothing but street lit, but one day I just got bored with it and so I picked up this alternative fiction book by so and so" and embark on a totally different journey in different genres. Who knows? Street lit can open up the door to a variety of reading experiences - and even writing experiences if the author dares to explore his own creativity and learn his craft - in the same way that hip hop opened the door for a variety of life experiences for its fans and artists alike. In both industries, there will be those that jump on board and embrace the positive aspects, there will be others that exploit and abuse it, and even there will be some that do nothing more than stew in it and use it as a justification for their unfavorable lifestyles.
  19. No problem here w/the icons. I've never clicked on them because I didn't know they were clickable. I thought it was for decoration. I know...I know...I really need to get better acclimated to the online environment.
  20. Troy this is my first time hearing about the Behind the Book film. Great stuff. I especially agree w/the point made that if the kids are reading something, it's better than them not reading anything at all. All of the writers speaking about street lit sounded very compassionate and concerned for the state of their neighborhoods, especially K'wan and Teri Woods. Cornel West made good points too. I really like Michael Eric Dyson's take on things when he says, "...how does urban literature play a role in facilitating greater learning and deeper engagement with truth? And at that level it becomes serious." Somebody needs to go ahead and make it happen. Because if we don't, then someone else will, and then we'll be complaining that "white folks" stole our street lit.
  21. All caps hurts my eyes & I can only read so much of that type of formatting. For example, in the above post, I skimmed the first sentences of each paragraph and that was about all my eyes could take. I think GHETTOHEAT® stands out because it is catchy and HICKSON posts often enough that the name has become familiar, not necessarily because of the ALL CAPS. So to answer the question: ALL CAPS is not effective if you want as many people as possible to read what's in your post. This is especially true if you're trying to get new readers to pay attention to the details of the post.
  22. missing this Florida coast sunrise!

  23. again...another *blank stare* moment. but you make a very good point. sometimes it takes seeing the ignorant behavior in others in order to be able to see it in ourselves. I hope we get it soon. The self-hatred is so old...can we let it go please?
  24. @ Troy...I'm looking at a few of the 1000's of examples... *blank stare* (I edited what I wrote earlier. Felt it best not to rekindle that old fire. Hopefully the ladies figured it out. I only read a small sampling of the conversations - er um, fights. One of Kola's own phrases kept resounding in my head throughout me reading the thread - "all black people hate each other"...I think I quoted that accurately, just from memory. It's from SPB. It's kind of sad, when I think about it...how the women went at each other, regardless of who was at fault...the name calling was extraordinary IMO. So sad.)
  25. Yes book stores are relevant to readers. I rarely go to book stores, but I would if I had more money. Real talk. I've always enjoyed the few trips I've taken to the book store. And online shopping can be overwhelming, especially if you have no clue what you're looking to read...but you know you want to take your time and find that perfect book for your weekend or your mood. Libraries are cool. But sometimes you get there and the item you need isn't available. Or it's only in audio and you wanted hard copy. A trip to the book store usually can solve that problem. So although visitation may be down, it's certainly not out, IMO.
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