CDBurns

I agree with you completely. There is a certain Machiavellian trait to the events occuring here. We are on the precipice of a new Movement and how we are perceived will be a matter of how the situations play out. Riots are going to be as effective as silent protests and silent protests may be as effective as respectability politics. We can either hope to make Whites afraid of our actions or generate respect by the way we treat ourselves/our people. We definitely are going to have to gain a mutual respect for each other first though.

Congrats on the novel! Lulu is a great little platform for getting the book into print. Now if you discover the secret to actually selling the book I will pay you handsomely for that information. Good luck with the project!

I think what is being overlooked is the idea of respecting yourself and carrying yourself in a dignified manner is how you create change in your own circle. I run a sneaker store. I deal with a ton of people in this business. If I walked in looking like an idiot, then those store owners and managers I deal with wouldn't look at me the same way as they do. As a matter of fact I couldn't operate in Mississippi if I didn't carry myself a certain way. That's just a fact. I stress on a daily basis to my son that his appearance will always be what gets him farther into the door after his credentials have opened it. I also stress that he should never leave the house looking like someone who doesn't care that he is a reflection of his parents. Respectability is an issue for Black people. it doesn't have anything to do with making White people comfortable in my world. It doesn't have anything to do with conforming to white society. Respectability is a matter of uplifting and teaching the next generation how to live in a world that is built on perceptions and first meetings. My idea about what people are saying about respectability politics is a matter of clarity and how we all perceive what is being said. I see teaching respectability as telling kids not to videotape each other fighting in the streets and sharing it on worldstar. I see it as men treating women like women, not like bitches, thots and dirt. I honestly think when Black people begin to value and respect Black life and culture then the world will begin to respect us. I do think it is the foundation of a movement. basically, if Troy is in his profile picture with a star tattooed under his eye, gold fronts, and flipping the bird at the camera, it becomes a little bit harder to trust that he is actually the guy running this website. Is that fair? No, but it is reality. Perception is the majority of what creates situations between all people.

I copied the revised copy and will share it with a pingback to this forum on CBP. This is how we begin to create that complex styled connection. I've added you as an author on CBP Troy so you can share whatever you like on the site. I'm still waiting on you to hit me with that revised Power List button for the sidebar also. Great op ed Cynique, it definitely pushed the right buttons and could be the starting point I've been looking for in connecting CBP and AALBC more.

Instead of taking the post away from here I used the Share button beneath it tweeted it out. The share button is the best way to keep the content and people who would possibly read it on my site coming back to where the original post was created and helps to build the brand. You both are right. There are so many points made that we have to analyze each one to get to the core of the problem. I even wrote a curse filled blog post yesterday because of my frustration. Cynique, at least I now have a name to cite on my site when I use any of your content. Troy, your work is of the utmost importance and clearly the primary thing I would use in discussing how our choice of words in discussing what happens to Black people is not really a systemic issue as much as it is personal choice. My wife and I were talking yesterday and she made the most poignant statement in regard to "SYSTEMIC" problems for Blacks in America. Her statement was, "If racism and slavery created the systemic issues that opress Blacks in this country why weren't Blacks wiped out during slavery, sharecropping and Jim Crow? Blacks should be like the Native Americans, broken and in small pockets. Instead we came together and broke through all of the racism and struggle to form our own communities and economies and we eventually created the Civil Rights movement. If the systemic forces in place didn't break us then, how can we blame it now?" I added to that statement something I've always stated. Blacks don't have the privilege of anonymity. We are the group, the group is us. We are not distinguished one from the other. Which lends itself to everything Cynique said above. Bill Cosby's problems are a reflection on us all. One kid gangbanging is every college kid banging. Because of this our perception will always be negative or associated with negativity. Giving that much power to the systemic issues is a waste of time and fixes nothing. The perception of who we are should be dictated by us and our acceptance of it. The problem is we don't control any media and we (this is a general we) don't care. It's not racism that creates our problems, it's the lack of support and interest in us that creates our problems. Tavis and his Covenant was the closest thing that came to the idea of empowering Black America. The Minister's current Blueprint is another attempt but will fail because no one will give the minister 25 cents. Our kids get gunned down not because of racism, but because we lack the financial ability to make things happen in the political and judicial system. We have no financial reputation and there are hardly any black faces owning the businesses where most of these incidents happen. It becomes a lot harder to kill black boys when there are black faces watching from those windows and Black people supporting and serving the neighborhood. I compare Black people to those people who allowed Kitty Genovese to be stabbed to death. We can see everything happening and instead of coming together to go out and stop ourselves from being murdered, we expect someone else to do something and we close the blinds. We come back to the windows and see that we are being attacked again and we wait for someone else to stop it so we again close our blinds. When we end up dead on the street nothing ever happens and nothing is resolved. It's disheartening. Our need to continuously blame it on the system is our downfall. I'm with my wife, if the system didn't destroy us during slavery, sharecropping and Jim Crow, how is it doing such an effective job now?

Cynique please let me add you as a writer on my blog, or give me a name to cite so I can share this on CBP. This is right on time!

Here are a couple of links to my peer Prof. Ajani Brown at San Diego State University. He is doing a lot of work in promoting Afrofuturism. You should definitely rap with him as he is building a great network and connections in Ethno Sci Fi and Horror. http://www.sdcomicfest.org/ajani-brown/ http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news.aspx?s=74940

My plan in redeveloping CBP was to create content that I hoped would lead to more interest in me as a writer. I'm only a month and a half into the redesign, but it is actually working and the increase in traffic has been consistent with and without creating new content. I installed a plugin that is actually reposting blogs from over 2 years ago, which makes it look like new content is being provided every two days whether I post or not. In regard to the Google Ad skyscraper, I don't have Adsense anymore and was given the boot over 4 years ago, although I wasn't really using the program, so if you'd like that space on the sidebar, it's yours indefinitely. All I would do at this time is use it for another Amazon Associates ad. When I made the call for writers I did it under the premise that every writer had to have their own site to link back to and they all had to have both an Amazon Associates account and Google Adsense. This limited the amount of writers I could actually agree to work with severely. My goal was for every time the writer created content they would connect the article to something that could be further analyzed by picking up something from Amazon. So at the bottom of their article they would have more research and a link that was all theirs in their content. They could also insert an adsense code in their articles. My goal was to allow them to promote their content and they could analyze whether they were getting traffic to the page. Needless to say only one person made the cut and I had to teach him how to sign up for his own blogger and for Amazon Associates. Once again this is the problem we face is that the people who want to work the most simply don't know how to do it, which means there is definitely a space for workshops, but that's another issue. I still have the Power List link on another theme and I switch back and forth between themes. I have to integrate it into the current theme which doesn't take time, but I'm trying to streamline the look of the site so if you had a skyscraper code (not a tall vertical one though) for the Powerlist with a white background then I would add it to the current theme. I'm trying to make the site not be so intrusive and unfortunately this theme I'm using makes my Disqus words too light to be read. Which is why I changed themes. While I don't get a ton of traffic, it doesn't make sense to now allow you to utilize the space for your adsense account on the sidebar since I don't have adsense and I'm not at the point that I'm selling ads. I won't attempt to do that until I'm consistently above 5000 unique visits per month and I'm a long way from that. I think we also need to create a hashtag for when we share articles to twitter. The only way to create a Complex styled chain is to build connections where people know that AALBC the brand that is 18 years strong is about to become a bigger content generator through it's hashtags and writers. I still think that a website that is kind of a new foundation with a series of writers, enough writers, can keep people engaged. I had hoped to get 10 writers. Each person created content on a schedule. With 10 writers people would only have to generate content every 2 weeks. All articles would include a link to their own Amazon Associates or Google Adsense. The toughest part is making people understand that until adspace is being sold based on overall visits to the site being consistently high, that there wouldn't be any ad revenue distribution. People automatically think because they have a blog they will make money. They don't realize that no one is getting paid. Eventually they give up or try to start their own thing because they think they are getting the shaft. I know the reality and if you can find likeminded people, you can create a network that provides content and has the writers. I'm still trying this with CBP, but like you've said it's hard. You already have an account on CBP so I am going to activate it as a writer's account so you can post stories if you want. If you forward me the html by e-mail I will add the skyscraper as well. This is what I like, solution building.

As much as I try to keep up it's ashamed how much I miss. BUT I've been writing for a long time about how many Black media items fail to really support the people. Do you know I'm one of the only black owned shoe companies in the country? Until this year I couldn't get a word written about ARCH. That is until a young white journalist wrote an article after kickstarter. I still haven't to this day had an article in the black newspaper here...although I'm absolutely positive it was my commentary and suggestions that generated their redeveloped brand and site. I wrote them at least 20 times and eventually let it go. The larger entities could care more but never will. They have distribution so they are where they need to be to make it. We don't have an infrastructure. So the question becomes how does aalbc become an examiner styled platform? More than just music, film and literature? I've taken on these blog qualities on cbpublish so my blog could be a part of the network. How do we combine under aalbc like complex? Is this even something you want do? Let's go solutioned based now. How would and could we combine a number of sites to form a media conglomerate? I made a call for writers but I don't have an adsense account. I would be willing to add your adsense skyscraper codes to my site and remove one of my amazon ads. I am also open to adding you as a writer for you to share content on cbpublish. I think maybe though this might be a time for a new website that isn't connected to social media and has a ready made crew ready to deliver content. Maybe we build a new site that covers food, movies, books, business, art, entertainment, interviews, etc. Trust someone who can generate ad revenue and see if we can deliver content that grows without selling out. We also tie small local seminars on empowerment with a literary arm that recreates the old format of publishing. I don't know, something has to be done because we are running out of time.

If you want to see how legitimate a Kickstarter or Indiegogo is go to the comments on the campaign and read them. You will be blown away at what happens. I think what happens with us is we don't actually run our own sites. We have someone else running them and we don't even know how to link or add things to the sites. I honestly think this is a real issue. I wouldn't hesitate to think that the Hurston folks probably don't run their own site either. So our problem in creating a network is twofold: 1. Get people to understand the benefit of link building and adding links 2. Getting people to the point where they can run their own sites. There is a lot of work to do, but I guess we just have to keep pushing and possibly look at how we can really begin to change things. I know for me it would start with devoting more time to CBP and promotion. You are already working on it.

The more troubling issue is the misappropriation of the funds collected by the people using these platforms. There is no check and balance for those who donate their money and often what was to be given as a reward is not given or not as promised. You also have a new group of people who are passing off their success in running a campaign as proof that they should be paid to help individuals with their campaigns. I think the fundraising and donation sites are fine. The problem is that as you said, our earning power hasn't improved so there just aren't enough dollars to go around to some really worthy causes. However, a lot of causes are of there own creation. I know that once the holidays slow down I am going to work with AALBC. If other authors did something similar we would see the growth of sites that would benefit all parties. If Hurston Wright partnered with AALBC (more than they already have) to deliver content on a daily basis, used affiliate programs and ads to earn an additional stream of revenue then you would both benefit. A lot of places have failed to modernize their approach to fundraising and creating interest.

I am finding a ton of success in sharing my tweets with the people I'm writing them about. I wrote an analysis of the Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete and tweeted it to the writer Mike Starrbury and he followed back and retweeted it getting traffic to the article. I guess we all have to find our way and it will be a combination of things. In regard to that article on WSJ it is in alignment with what I wrote here: http://www.cbpublish.com/thats-not-what-its-for-another-facebook-article/ I have so many of these articles that if people would just visit my shoe site and CBP they could find a wealth of stats and info explaining how small biz does not really benefit from Facebook anymore. But like I said, for a small biz that requires capital, the banks and lenders are actually taking into consideration your online presence. Which is something you should definitely take a look at. I have had a link to AALBC on my site for years and it will always be there. I redesigned the site and took down the Power List but that is because of a call to action I have at the top of the sidebar that I'm testing during the redesign. The more we link to each other and establish pingbacks we can't be ignored in the search algorithm for bing/google. I do agree that posting on the larger networks and sharing tweets with hashtags and @s is the way to go.

I love Hip-Hop and I despise what is being done with it. That song above by De La Soul and Chuck D is what inspires me and let's me know that if we can get emcees on the same page ( a big if, but definitely worth fighting for) then we can finally get progress and with it we can begin to change things. I have to keep pushing and writing about it and teaching because it's what I can do. I can only control my immediate circle and with my words I can possibly reach more people. Q-Tip admitted Lil Wayne into the Zulu Nation this weekend. If Lil Wayne can begin to shape the minds according to the philosophy of the Zulu Nation his popularity alone could move Hip-Hop forward more than all of the artists I talk about. These things have to happen, if they don't we will definitely stay on the treadmill. Troy if your daughter was listening to Jean Grae or Tink (Cynique she's a chicago emcee) then this would be where we could go with the discussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9VpgGuU38w There is a new shape to Hip-Hop starting, but it is not being promoted. It needs work and once again it's still a young artform, but it has to be more proactive and responsible. It's the only movement Blacks now have. We don't have any other voices right now and I fear that we won't have anymore voices. Cynique is right, we've come full circle and it's time to close this down. I'm very happy that I engaged in this and would do it again.

Unfortunately we can't get away with it since the perception of legitimacy in business is being tied into social media. Do you know there are lines of credit for business tied into your social media presence and that your Klout score can dictate your relevance? It sucks for me because my shoe company is found primarily through social media. The only recourse I had was to align with Amazon and they get 15%. I guess I could remove my pages because of Amazon, but either way I'm at the mercy of a corporation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00u0-gu-x20 https://soundcloud.com/wearedelasoul/de-la-soul-feat-chuck-d-the-people This is what Hip-Hop sounds like and this is what is needed. More of this and we can start fixing it. This song came out yesterday: http://www.wearedelasoul.com/products/51944-the-people-feat-chuck-d-digital-download?utm_source=Soundcloud&utm_medium=Soundcloud&utm_campaign=The+People This will never come on the radio and that is what is meant by corporate influences controlling the music. I get the DeLa Soul e-mail so when something drops I get notified. I then share it with my facebook and twitter crowds. I also interact with a lot of young rappers and I make sure they hear it so that they can step their games up. But it takes the Puffy and Jay Zs and Lil Waynes who have the ear of the adults and kids because of mainstream to begin sharing and producing this type of music. It takes these guys to use that money and open grocery stores and business and to start building the infrastructure for Black America. If my generation doesn't start we will be two generations removed from the Civil Rights movement and what is happening to us at the hands of each other and cops will compound the lack of reading and disinterest in education.

If you read what I wrote to Troy you would have seen where I said that I was attempting to argue the positive aspects because only the negative aspects are always presented. Troy thought I was naive about how powerful the negative aspects are. Message boards are a trap and that's why people avoid engaging because no matter what is said it gets lost in the back and forth. There are positives and negatives in everything being a student of the culture means I can talk about both and that's what is needed an open dialogue about hip-hop. If we both spouted off the personal losses due to guns and drugs it would be a book. The underworld in crime has always existed. More media allows us to see it. But I know for a fact kids in every neighborhood didn't know what GDs 4chs, Vls and b stones were like they do now. Just as they didn't know what crips or bloods were until rappers killed off the voice of positivity in hip hop. The underworld is now the mainstream and the branding of cities is a part of this: Memphis 10 a key, Lefrak is Iraq, Chiraq all branding reinforced by hip hop and things like world star hip hop. Hell one of the biggest hits made by a former correctional officer combines the worst of two cities, everyday I'm hustling...by rick Ross. The guy is from Clarksdale Mississippi, passes himself as from fade county Florida, calls Miami - m -I ya yo, has the name of one of the biggest drug dealers in LA and shouts out Chicago's Larry Hoover in the first line. Kids and adults were singing this song and copying the attitude. My point is this in the last 20 years hip hop has become the only music not to uplift and build the black community. I see solutions in fixing my culture and so do many others. Will it end gangs and drugs? No not as long as there is poverty...but the moment a people start coming together and working towards a common cause things happen. My hope is that hip hop wakes up and realizes its power.

I think you know better than to think that either Troy or I are speaking about a network of white men. What we are discussing is the failure of our generation to build a movement that has empowered Blacks. Every generation up until ours has done their part in creating a stronger Black culture (or at least what they thought would be better) Hip-hop culture, our music, and our movies have contributed to the destruction of much of the progress that was attained through the 70s. I tend to base my discussions on my life and what I find to be true. I do research a lot as well, but I always think my experience is often the best source (albeit isolated). I know for a fact when I was a child the door didn't have to be locked when I went to sleep. I was raised in the most impoverished neighborhood in Memphis. The child of a single parent household where 6 people lived in a two bedroom apartment. In the 70s I could walk down the street or 3 miles away without any fear for my life or threat. In the mid 80s to the late 80s all of this shifted, but I still was not afraid of where I lived. I did however start seeing Crips and Bloods in Memphis. How is it this happened? We were introduced to it by rap music. We were still poor. I moved to California and in the early 90s even in the worst part of San Diego and LA, there was honor among thieves. What I think is interesting is that I have seen the influence of rap music over the last 20 years as it shifted from party and empowerment to party, misogyny and violence (this shift changed as the music became more popular... also just because white kids are buying doesn't mean Black kids aren't listening). So I'm not aiming in the dark. I've seen kids from Memphis to Los Angeles mimic their heroes. When I was in the classroom from 95 to 2011, I saw the acting out of the lyrics and music videos. As a basketball coach, I saw kids living what they thought was cool based on what they listened to. I lost three kids to it. These were kids that didn't even live in the neighborhoods, the worst neighborhoods in San Diego, who found themselves dressing and acting like their heroes. You can be done all you want, I'm not. I talk to kids every day or whenever I get a chance about how powerful words are. I know for a fact these kids and parents build their entire personas on what they see on television. You asked what about the kids who say they know it's just music... You know what internalization is so answer your own question. What people think is often subconscious and not on the surface and very often they don't even know what they believe. I've seen words, repetitious words destroy lives because those words became actions that couldn't be reversed or stopped. This is not a problem I'm sure you can see or understand because it's not the problem you grew up in. Your problem that you've seen and grown up in was Civil Rights. This new problem is a Hip-hop problem and the biggest problem with most people who are in a prominent position is they just don't see how this music has been so destructive. While you state a sarcastic statement in repetitious lyrics that teach kids not to be killed by cops. I actually think you are right. If rappers sat down and all organized and began to create empowering images of Blacks and created songs that could both party and uplift, maybe just maybe we could fix ourselves. Because at the end of the day, I'm not afraid of a cop. I'm more afraid of my own brothers... it wasn't like this before rap music and the attitudes it created in my generation. I won't pretend to overlook the systemic problems: Reagan's cut to colleges, Clinton's removal of jail programs that reduced recidivism, the influx of guns and the horrible poverty that has generated gangs and drug dealers. But what I find interesting is that you seem to overlook that your generation damn sure had things a lot harder than my generation did and you didn't kill each other. Maybe having a common enemy in the White man was the saving grace of previous Blacks? If our(black folks) situations were far more dire all the way through the 70s, what the hell happened that made my generation so violent? It couldn't be that the images and words we hear daily, that have changed us created our problems could it? No way, it's stupid to think music and words can affect the mental status of people. That's impossible right? In regard to the the cabal of white men controlling Black men, it amazes me that none of these Black men (wealthy) black men have taken the time to create distribution networks, television stations or anything of substantial value to the culture outside of increasing the wealth of white men and themselves. We have more black millionaires than in any moment in history, but we have more death and decreasing college enrollment and broken families now than any other time. Keep thinking that it's not in the music, I will keep talking and writing about how it is. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110427101606.htm http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/neuroscientist-music-can-change-your-mood-improve-your-health/

How do we learn? Through repetition and by visually and auditory methods. The most prominent method of learning and teachingis through rhythm and cadence. This is why meter is so important in poetry. Repetition allows the mind to organize details in an efficient way. Whether we admit it or not music is a tool. That doesn't mean it isn't or doesn't offer simple pleasure and hedonistic satisfaction. Unfortunately music by default teaches through cadence and of course repetition. So if a kid 50 years ago heard "my girl " over and over by the temptations when he approaches a woman he will do so based on what he has seen and heard. This means his approach will be full of sunshine on a cloudy day. If a kid today watches music videos and listens to the same trappers over and over, he will approach a woman to "beat the pussy up like Emmit Till, " a line from one of cyniques favorite rapper: lil wayne. Music evokes and provokes feelings. That is always what it does and always will. Now what does corporatizing hip hop do? Once businessmen realized the power and influence of the music the diversified approach to playlists on the radio changed. Before you had songs like: The Message Crack killed applejack White lines My philosophy Self destruction Heed the words by x clan Ladies First by Queen Latifah UNITY by Queen Latifah Colors by Ice T All in the same gang And the list goes on and on with fight the power by public enemy played in the same rotation. As soon as corporate America gave trappers the ability to own labels they only allowed puffy, jay z, lil wayne and baby to sign artist who represented the street. These moguls, all of the people Troy mentioned, didn't sign the artists like krs one. And only Arrested Development snick through the door along with Digable planets as popular rap. Everything else became street and the kids and adults copied the style of what was presented. At the same time the prison industrial complex grew. This is not a coincidence. Kids began acting out what they saw as successful: drug dealers turned rappers. Who became the big stars? Snoop, 50 cent, jay z, while the more socially aware rappers like black star were pushed to the fringes and out of radio rotation. How do we learn? Repetition ... if a kid hears "bitches aint shit but hoes and tricks " and "fuck that nigga whoop that bitch" on the radio all day and watches videos with half naked women what do they mimic? In the late 80s rappers wore Africa patches and hbcu sweaters so did the kids. Today... If that doesn't lay out the problem for anyone reading this I don't know what will. I'm on my kindle so I apologize for not using videos and links but I think these words are okay.

That is what is going on but I would suggest researching music and its ability to change things. At the core of communication for many cultures is the drum. Many would argue that the removal of the drum from the African in America is partially to blame for the way slaves were broken. I definitely feel that the shift in music from loving and empowerment, to disrespect and ignorance is the thing that has broken black America. There has always been racism and various isms in society. There have always been roadblocks. The one constant in our communities was music. But I'm not alone in this. If you think about the regression in the black community it coincides with the rise of Hip-Hop and Reaganomics. Black music lost its voice and control...the griots were silenced. James Brown went from black and proud to living in America. Jazz moved from Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra to Kenny g. The beauty and power of Motown was lost in the moonwalk and hip-hop was silenced by corporate America. Oddly enough if you research the origins of We Shall Overcome you will find that it is tied into the labor movement and foundation of unions so this point had more to do with how music actually shaped a movement prior to Rosa. You should also look at the Freedom Singers and Berenice Reagon who wrote about this. I remember teaching a course and the essay music in our hands was my one of the sources I used in argumentative essays. I'm on my kindle so I'm not going to dig that deep but I definitely plan on revisiting this in a book. I think people are failing to understand just how influential music is. Also James weldon johnson was more than that one song and his life and music shaped more than most blacks know. To minimize the importance of music and say that Lincoln didn't free slaves because of music, or slave uprisings weren't successful is to overlook that often slave uprisings were planned during camp meetings were faux worship was taking place. Music undercut what the masters thought was taking place and music humanized blacks and assisted in abolition. And that meagerly number was at least a number attempted by Tubman and countless songs were involved. But we are looking at music differently. I see solutions there.

By default music played a role in the escape of slaves "O Canaan" and songs of that like which gave directions to passage as well as songs at camp meetings allowed the passage of information. Music was a tool. As the abolitionists began building the case for ending slavery their a number of songs that were made to assist in delivering information and building a better understanding of the movement. While gospel was not influential in initiating the great migration, it did inspire the blues and those songs weren't just about good times. You should know that "times is getting harder" and songs like detroit and depression... Those songs actually sent the message that moving north wasn't exactly what it seemed. The gospel songs were key in establishing the community that led to the foundation of what would become the civil rights movement. I honestly don't know how you just spouted all of that about the Harlem Renaissance and completely overlooked James Weldon Johnson or even the series of blues written by Langston Hughes! Music didn't propel the Harlem Renaissance? When I say rock and roll I'm talking Chuck Berry. The music itself was a movement that generated RnB and Motown which was a political act just by its creation. I could find support if I took the time to look up how the Black Arts Movement was intricately woven into Black Power and how artists like James Brown and Ray Charles forced integration before the political acts of blacks accomplished this. If you think music wasn't and hasn't been a motivating factor in all of the movements of black life, then we definitely have a completely different idea about how important music is to Black people. In my mind hip hop's inability to create a sustaining movement that empowers is at the core of many issues in our community. Our music has always been fun, entertaining and engaging. It has also held us up and provided a positive face for those who never interact with blacks. Hip hop with all of the positive things I've tried to fight for, has made it okay to call us niggas and bitches. How powerful would it be if rap music changed how we addressed each other? How powerful would it be if we created songs like Nina Simone and Gil Scott?

Now we can't exactly get away with the same type of actions, but Prince is always ahead of the curve on what should be done to empower artists. Here is a short article. Nothing is really clear on the goal, but I think Prince realizes the power in getting people to the domains he owns. http://news.yahoo.com/prince-vanishes-social-media-152411325.html

I think you misunderstood, what I was doing there. The Professor was a Dr. of Music who was a peer at an HBCU I taught for a few years back. I was not lumping you into the same category, I was looking at how people don't consider rap music and how they used an educational approach to qualify why people shouldn't respect rap as an artform. I can't claim to understand your feelings on rap, but for the sake of discussion I am placing values onto you. I don't think you hate the culture, you are the culture and your frustration is the same as mine. I am simply arguing the positive aspects. If this were a debate I would have offered a refutation and attacked Hip-Hop as a failed experiment that has not carried the banner of music in Black society. I would take it a step further in this refutation and also say that since the late 80s and early 90s Hip-Hop has systematically contributed to the Prison Industrial Complex and destroying the movement generated by the Civil Rights movement. That would have been the accurate way to approach this debate. However, if I did that I would not have been able to really pull the discussion in favor of the positive aspects of Hip-Hop. What is tragic is that all of the positives are far outweighed by the negative aspects of the music and that for all of my support of Hip-Hop, I am the first person to state that if Hip-Hop changed, it could be as influential as James Brown was to the Black Power/Pride movement, or as vital as Sam Cooke was to the Civil Rights movement. Hip Hop is the only artform created by Blacks that has failed to move the people forward. Something Cynique said somewhere in all of that writing is that music was a respite. When we analyze Black Literature music is integrated into the literature and it has never been just a respite. It has always been a tool in the Black community for empowering. Black music has always been a case of the chicken or the egg in every major movement. Field songs either enabled escape from slavery or was a tool in the escape of slaves Gospel and Blues either created the movement of slave during the Great Migration or was a tool in helping Blacks move forward. Blues and Jazz either started the Harlem Renaissance or was a tool during the Harlem Renaissance Rock and Roll either started the Civil Rights movement or was a very strong contributing factor to integration. Black Power was either inspired by Nina Simone and James Brown or was a tool in the creation of Black Power Hip-Hop was doing a fantastic job with songs like White Lines and The Message and then with the H.E.A.L project and Stop the Violence, but in the last 25 years the corporatization of the culture has contributed to the destruction of a new generation. I know this, but to state it overshadows any good that I discussed above...

Not quite. I can easily say it is selling out, but in regard to Busta and the horrible contracts he had at Violator and then with Cash Money, I'm okay with him making his money. I think selling out is the ignorant garbage that is being passed off as hip-hop and rap. The misogynistic, misguided, hyper sexualized disrespectful crap is selling out. We agree. The art that Common and The Roots are creating along with Kendrick Lamar is no where near selling out, it's helping to transition rap into it's next phase. The commercialized aspects are killing almost everything that makes money. I once wrote an answer in a book named 100 Black and White questions about Eminem being the second coming of Elvis. I later regretted saying this because I realized that Eminem is more hip-hop than 99% of the Black emcees in the mainstream. I think the co-opting in Hip-hop is clearly with Iggy Azalea and these influx of wack White women rappers. There are some other White rappers who are co-opting, but because of the amount of good rap out there I'm able to see it as permeation, but because you may not be aware of as much as I am it seems that we have different views when I think we are very closely aligned in our thoughts. I think what happened is I was arguing the positive aspects, which made it appear that I only see the positive aspects, when that is the farthest thing from the truth. Read this excerpt and I think you will see very quickly that we are on the same page. My discussion here has been primarily to counter the discussion of the negative aspects: http://www.cbpublish.com/winter-in-hip-hop-track-3-and-it-goes-a-little-something-like-this/

How freaking awesome is the selfie!!!! Colbert is silly, but very effective. He realizes the best way to approach serious topics are through comedy. When was the last time Tavis, BET, BE or any other outlet featured Toni Morrison? This was fantastic.