A Hip Hop Quotable if I ever heard one...
That's what my album Murs For President is. It is a literal shout out to the world. It’s me screaming out that, yes, the Hip Hop generation is intelligent. Yes, we do care. And at the same time we can still have fun while being decent human beings...I am the fresh breath of air in an industry that is bereft of good human beings. Not only are they bad rappers but they are just bad people. What decent human makes songs about murdering other humans or selling poison to other people? The time for that BS is over! I'm taking a stand for our kids, our community and our culture. So if you're looking for someone who represents positive, intelligent and fun rap music. Sept 30th vote Murs For President!
Say WORD!
http://www.mursmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/murs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MURS
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Murs for President
Friday, April 18, 2008
Obama Dusts Dem Haters Off
Oh the Inanity! - so read the headlines at TPM muckraker, as they sat through the torturous debacle of a debate hosted by ABC and moderated by anchors George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson. Editor & Publisher called ABC's presidential debate "perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years.
An annoyed--but rather calm--Obama by Thursday turned the tables on his moderators, by taking a little cue from Jay-Z. And in less than 48hrs, it's become an online favorite.
Peep the video above, and read the rest below. As always, the Imeem box in the lower right column of the blog can be paused.
Oh the Inanity! - so read the headlines at TPM muckraker, as they sat through the torturous debacle of a debate hosted by ABC and moderated by anchors George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson. For 53 minutes, the corporate media pundits touched on no substantative issues in this 21st Democratic Debate held in Philadelphia. Instead topics ranged from fixations on Obama's wearing of flag lapel pins to his nebulous association with a 1960s radical--the latter it seems coming directly from right-wing FOX News host Sean Hannity. The DailyKos called it a "game of trivial pursuit." Katrina Van Heuvel at The Nation named it a "Gotcha Debate," with questions that left her "angry, frustrated, and yes, bitter." Editor & Publisher called ABC's presidential debate "perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years."
The crowd actually began heckling Gibson and Stephanopoulos once the debate had ended, jeering and booing both. Journalists and media critics roundly panned the ABC debate as shameful, shoddy and downright embarrassing. By Friday, ABC had been flooded with phone calls and comments from people registering their disgust at the low brow nature of the debate. Organizations like MoveOn.org have amassed over 200,000 signatures in an online petition, and well known journalists have drafted a letter condemning the deplorable state of journalism the debate represented.
An annoyed--but rather calm--Obama by Thursday turned the tables on both his moderators and Hillary Clinton, by picking up on the popular sentiment throughout much of the Democratic base that the debate was a wasted opportunity that gave example to all that people find wrong with politics.
As The Nation noted:
"Barack Obama is clearly taking that abysmal ABC News debate in stride. He told his supporters not to fret about all the "textbook Washington" drama on Thursday, recounting the superficial moderators and Hillary Clinton's attempts to "twist the knife" on trivial issues. Then Obama made pop cultural history, miming the rapper Jay-Z's iconic hand signal to "brush the dirt" off his shoulders."
When I first saw Obama brush the "dirt of his shoulder" on a clip Keith Olbermann showed Thurday night, the crowd ate it up. Well the black crowd anyway. The older white folks smiled and clapped when prompted, but it may have been lost upon them until one of their kids explained it later. I immediately of course thought of the Jay-Z track and it was in my head all day. I was wonderin if much more would be made of it, and of course in this digital age, didn't take long before someone did the mashup.
So the question remains, is Michelle Obama really the "baddest chick in the game" and is she really wearin' his chain?
More reviews of ABC's Democratic Debate:
Robert Grunwald at TIME:
"At a time of foreign wars, economic collapse and environmental peril, the cringe-worthy first half of the debate focused on such crucial matters as Senator Obama's comments about rural bitterness, his former pastor, an obscure sixties radical with whom he was allegedly "friendly," and the burning constitutional question of why he doesn't wear an American flag pin on his lapel — with a single detour into Senator Hillary Clinton's yarn about sniper fire in Tuzla. Apparently, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos ran out of time before they could ask Obama why he's such a lousy bowler."
Tom Shales Washington Post:
"When Barack Obama met Hillary Clinton for another televised Democratic candidates' debate last night, it was more than a step forward in the 2008 presidential election. It was another step downward for network news -- in particular ABC News, which hosted the debate from Philadelphia and whose usually dependable anchors, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, turned in shoddy, despicable performances."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The State of the Black Male in America- A Conference
“Black and Male in America: A Three Day National Conference” was held last Friday, from June 15 through Sunday, June 17 in downtown Brooklyn. It was put together by writer and activist Kevin Powell, the culminating result of the much acclaimed "State of Black Men Townhall Meetings and Workshops," a 10-city national tour from 2004. While I supported the conference, and certainly encouraged others to attend, I remained inwardly skeptical. Was this going to be another gathering to preach "moral uplift" for black males while listing off one dysfunction after another? Should I be set to get a lot of "preaching to" about how I wasn't living up to the nostalgic days of my 1960s fore bearers? And worst of all, was I was going to be made to take some kind of pledge? With reluctance I tepidly made my way to the event...
When a good friend of mine told me he’d be in town for a 3-day weekend conference called "Black and Male in America," and that I should attend, I admit I was at first reluctant. After a five day work week that can often include grad school, I tend to live for the measly two days I’m afforded as leisure time—mostly used to run errands, indulge in a social life, create, catch up on my ever-packed DVR and allow my mind to rest. Thank you labor unions! So I wasn’t so keen on giving all that up for anything that cut into my personal time.
But my greatest reluctance was that I had attended these things before. Heck, to be clear, I’d put them on before. But my zeal for these ritual gatherings of black males has deeply waned. I knew how it would go—a smattering of black nationalists, the black corporatista, Afrocentric types and others—preaching the usual fare of moral uplift and black self-sufficiency. After telling me what black manhood and masculinity should be defined as, I would be treated to an endless chorus of... “Black men need to take care of their kids! Black men need to pull their pants up! Black men need to appreciate work! Black men need to treat their women better! Black men need to create their own businesses!” Black men need to do this; black men need to do that—complete with a dizzying array of negative statistics so depressing that by the time I left I often just wanted to pass the Henny.
As far back as the Million Man March of 1995 I had begun to develop this uneasy suspicion that these mantras of community moral uplift—"Values Conservatism" painted over for black consumption—were not actually dealing with the full spectrum of the problems faced by black America. By the time of Bill Cosby’s “Atlanta Compromise” redux, the famed “Poundcake Speech,” I began to opt out of these types of town hall meetings altogether. Sure, I’m all for personal responsibility—who isn’t?—but only in a context where the larger societal responsibility is acknowledged. Don’t shout down the shortcomings of black folks and leave the historical and present context that is the 800lb gorilla of white patriarchy, power and privilege—which sets standards of masculine achievement but dangles it out of black men’s reach—unnamed, unacknowledged and un-assailed. To define black manhood in terms of white power patriarchy, rather than deconstructing that system, seems a futile and insane exercise--unless we believe that one day like the Irish and Italians we too will "seize our whiteness." I'd had enough of the "black self-flagellation committee," and long ago decided to give up my whip.
But, with my friend not only in attendance but a presenter, I knew there was no escaping it. I arrived fashionably late, steeling myself to listening to a host of things that would probably make me grate my teeth. As I walked into the conference on its opening night, I found it well attended. Speaking at the podium was none other than the conference’s main organizer Kevin Powell—the Hip Hop culture persona, social critic and author who ran for political office in 2004, but who is probably best known as the “black guy” on the first season of MTV’s Real World.
Didn't really know what to expect, or what I thought I should expect. After all, we've all heard "stories about Kevin Powell," none of which are too flattering. I stood outside the main entrance rather than walk in, holding the professional looking packet that had been handed to me by a greeter at the door--one of many black women who seemed to be the organizing glue behind the scenes. Among me were workers running to and fro, numerous vendors with tables hawking their books or wares, and varied passer-bys who greeted me in a smattering of neo-Africana (Habri Gani. As Salaam alaikum. Whut up?). And as I adjusted myself to the sights and sounds around me, I began to listen to Powell’s speech and found something startling. It was different.
This speaker was giving an address that was a mixture of church preacher, street orator and emcee. His speech was filled with bursts of scholastically gained intellect between “nah means” while his body language had all the carefree attitude and seriousness of someone’s turn to spit in the cipha. Even his suit seemed to mimic Hip Hop’s love of the over-sized. And that wasn’t all. The speech was about something different. I heard references to Sean Bell. I heard talk about sexism. That’s right, Sexism! The "ism" which among black men—especially the self-proclaimed “conscious”—that dare not be named. And it wasn't the “black women need to be treated like virgin Queens” mantra either, but the kind that declared “black women need to be treated as humans.” Whoa! And then, as if attempting to launch a coup d’etat on all that these types of gatherings held holy, Powell even broached the topic of...wait for it... homophobia. If sexism receives little discussion at such conferences, black gay men might as well exist somewhere out in Alpha Centauri for all that they are ever mentioned—outside that of condemnation. It's a little hidden secret that for straight/heterosexual black men, homophobia might well just be our final frontier—what a friend of mine calls our "dealing with our inner Tim Hardaway." To bring it up in such an open forum, to that kind of crowd, is not just revolutionary, but damn brave. Powell even addressed many of those "stories about Kevin Powell," in a frank and honest manner, without excuses or endless apologies, but simply an admission of self-criticism with hopes for growth. And that is mostly what his speech actually promised--hope. In a memorable moment, he pointed out that we often spend so much time lamenting the ills that plague black males, we don’t take time out to see the good. And he implored us look around, and recognize that we were all actually gathered there—not in jail, not out on the streets, not on drugs, but together on a Friday night looking to build relationships with others and find pathways to solutions.
By the time Powell had finished his speech I had done as he had asked, gazing at those in attendance. They were men from 8 yrs old to 80. There were in suits, sagging jeans and colorful dashikis. They spoke in accents from African-American vernacular to Caribbean patois. And they were all excited--sharing opinions, thoughts and ideas, and all reflecting hope. I figured then, if they could, why couldn’t I?
So I went from reluctant attendee to conferene supporter, giving up my entire weekend to workshops ranging from Black male health to Hip Hop and Manhood. I attended panel discussions facilitated by Cheo Tyehimba and Dr. Jelani Cobb, featuring diverse speakers: HIV community worker Michael Hickerson, actor Hill Harper, activist Lumumba Bandele of Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Lasana O. Hotep, Program Coordinator of The African American Men of Arizona State University (AAMASU), David Banks, Founding Principal of The Eagle Academy for Young Men, Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur founder of All HipHop.com and more. They spoke about their lives, fatherhood, issues of gender and most of all our potential to overcome. Poets like Faro Z reminded me of the creative potential of black artistic expression to “do good,” and keynote speaker Dr. Michael Eric Dyson culminated the three day event in a powerful oratory that near literally brought down the rafters.
Of course, the conference had its shortcomings. Most of these have to do with logistics and are to be expected on any first attempt. Some presenters were definitely better than others: well organized, professional, critical thinkers able to engage in nuanced thought and provide examples of real life applications. Others, I wouldn’t bother to invite back. Next time around, perhaps we could get an even larger slice of the black male mosaic: scientists, mature young adults, humanists and more. And while it's a black male conference, doesn't mean that black women presenters couldn't perhaps be illuminating on more than a few issues. Most problematic however were the provocateurs and saboteurs, “super righteous” and eternally cynical, there to prosecute and judge, hurl hate speech in the name of their own sexual insecurities, peddling a host of pseudo-facts and finding ways to cause divisiveness. The sad reality is that at any such gathering, these types will always show up, and they remain one of the key reasons of late that I usually stay away. Thankfully, many voices among the conference speakers not only spoke out against them, but did so quite effectively, exposing these charlatans and their analog ideologies for all to see.
If the purpose of this gathering was to miraculously solve the many problems that plague black males in our society, then it was a failure—and deservedly so, as such is the usual price for hubris. If however it was meant to inspire, then it may have done so. If it was meant to provide the blueprint for a way forward, it was illuminating. If it was just a cry to ourselves, our communities and our world that despite all that we have endured—as Morpheus declared to the masses of Zion— “We are still here!" then it did what it set out to accomplish. What will come of the conference in the end will depend on those who put it together and those who participated. There are already plans for follow-up events, workshops and conferences. The website (BAMIA) will eventually feature video clips from the conference, papers and more. Time will tell what becomes of this burgeoning movement.
But for the moment, for one weekend, the state of the black males in America seemed decidedly, hopeful.
Friday, April 13, 2007
The Martyrdom of Don Imus
Even in his demise talk show host "nappy-headed hos" Don Imus has attained a form of popular martyrdom. Read any of the many comment boards or blogs or gauge the reaction from commentators and regular citizens alike, and Imus is painted as a scapegoat—a sacrificial lamb (albeit a tainted one) that was vilified by a hypocritical black lynch mob that does not speak out equally against the use of derogatory language towards black women in rap music. Black commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson even advocates that Don Imus is rapper Snoop Dogg’s “Frankenstein Monster." But did Don Imus really die for our Black sins? Or is the media elite protecting one of their own in order to restrict and limit our discussion?
Click to see the full blog, and judge for yourself:
The Martyrdom of Don Imus
or
The Devil Wears Hip Hop
A Martyr and the Devil ?
Even in his demise talk show host Don Imus has attained a form of popular martyrdom. Read any of the many comment boards or blogs or gauge the reaction from commentators and regular citizens alike, and Imus is painted as a scapegoat—a sacrificial lamb (albeit a tainted one) that was vilified by a hypocritical black lynch mob that does not speak out equally against the use of derogatory language towards black women in rap music. Imus had as much to say. "That phrase [nappy-headed hos] originated in the black community….I may be a white man, but I know that these young women and young black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected…by their own black men and that they are called that name." This defense has been cited repeatedly by defenders of Imus, and by those who assert it is rap music that is to blame for his slur. Increasingly conservative commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson even advocates that Don Imus is rapper Snoop Dogg's "Frankenstein Monster."
However there is a glaring problem with the impending martyrdom of Don Imus—it rests on a series of omissions.
"Nappy Headed Hos:" Chances are if you heard the news story repeatedly, you mostly got the abridged version. Here's the larger context. Imus began by saying the women on the Rutgers team were some "rough girls" with "tattoos." It is the executive producer of the show Bernard McGuirk who interrupts to say, "Some hard-core hos." Imus responds, "That's some nappy headed-hos" and begins to compare them unfavorably to the women of the Tennessee team. McGuirk then jokes, "The Jigaboos vs the Wannabes," alluding to Spike Lee's School Daze. He and Imus go on to talk about the lack of femininity of the Rutgers players. A fellow regular on the show, sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, adds "It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors." This larger context brings up an entirely different angle. What we have here are several white men indulging in an age old intersection of sexism and racism that degrades black women as either sexually exotic or physically unattractive—at least in comparison to white women. Put together, along with words like "Jigaboo," we have a story more offensive than the "nappy headed hos." But the media inexplicably leaves this context on the cutting room floor. And now our conversations and debates are restricted to, "well don't rappers use ho' too?" and "why is Imus being singled out?" Perhaps it's because "Jigaboo" wouldn't fit into the "it's the rappers fault" theme.
"Bitch is Going to be Wearing Cornrows:" Executive producer Bernard Guirk, who instigated the disastrous remarks about the Rutgers team but goes unmentioned in news stories, just weeks ago made comments that were even more inflammatory. Just one month ago, on the March 6, 2007 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, executive producer Bernard McGuirk stated that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) was "trying to sound black in front of a black audience" when she gave a speech on March 4 in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the infamous 1965 "Bloody Sunday" Civil Rights march. McGuirk added that Clinton "will have cornrows and gold teeth before this fight with [Sen. Barack] Obama [D-IL] is over." Earlier in the program, in reference to Clinton's speech, McGuirk had said, "Bitch is gonna be wearing cornrows." McGuirk also said that Clinton will be "giving Crips signs during speeches," alluding to the infamous Los Angeles-based street gang. The entire time McGuirk is stating this, denigrating an important moment in Civil Rights history, Imus jokes along, never stating the words himself but urging on the comments and certainly never calling McGuirk out for them. Although all of this happened just a month ago, and McGuirk was intricately involved in this current controversy, somehow he escapes mention in most media depictions of the story. So, again, we are presented with no context by which people can make a sound examination of both the initial controversial event and the very recent history of the show.
"Whitey plucked you from the jungle"…and "took away your spears:" Bernard McGuirk made those statements just one month ago, on the same March 6, 2007 edition of Imus in the Morning mentioned above. He was doing a mocking imitation of African-American poet Maya Angelou. Don Imus, playing along, urges McGuirk to do his imitation of "that woman…the poet" who another guest (Rob Bartlett) compares to "Esther Rolles from Good Times." McGuirk eagerly indulges with a poem where he jokes about slavery and the stereotype of blacks being lazy: "Whitey plucked you from the jungle for too many years, Took away your pride, your dignity, and your spears, With freedom came new woes, Into whitey's world you was rudely cast, So wake up now and go to work? You can kiss my big black ass." It's only after a good laugh that Imus playfully warns McGuirk to stop because "I don't need any more columns."
"Bernard McGuirk is there to do 'nigger' jokes:" That was a quote attributed to Don Imus by producer Tom Anderson in 1998. Imus was speaking to CBS journalist Mike Wallace. At first denying that he had said so, when called to the carpet about it by Wallace, Imus laughed and admitted it—but said it was "off the record."
"That Animal [Venus Williams]….She's an Animal:" That was sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, a regular guest on the Imus show in June of 2001, talking about tennis player Venus Williams. Rosenberg was also part of the crew involved in this latest controversy [comparing the Rutgers women to a male basketball team] who disappeared from the headlines. "That animal…" Rosenberg says of Venus Williams in her appearance at the 2001 U.S. Open, "She's an animal." Commenting on the Williams sisters together, Rosenberg says, "I can't, I can't even watch them play anymore. I find it disgusting…They should play with the men." In his normal way, Imus calls this stupid, but allows Rosenberg to continue with his disparaging remarks. "A friend, he says to me, 'You know what,' he goes, 'Listen, one of these days you're going to see, find Venus and Serena Williams in Playboy.' I said, 'You gotta better shot at National Geographic." To this Imus responds, "That'll be fine." After a small furor erupted over this, Imus fired Rosenberg but re-hired him within a week after an apology was made on the air. Rosenberg would insist that his comments about the Williams sisters weren't racist, "just zoological." After a string of later offenses, including referring to Palestinians as "stinking animals" and mocking singer Kylie Minogue's cancer, Rosenberg was let go in 2005. However earlier this year he returned, and picking up on his old habit of demeaning women, especially black women, he referred to the Rutgers team as "a tough watch" and that "they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors."
As the above illustrates, the Imus show's problems with gender and race are not new. It was part of a larger pattern, one that had long been noted by others like Media Matters.org or FAIR, though glaringly overlooked by the mainstream media and tolerated by both CBS and MSNBC. Imus often walked a delicate tightrope, never straying directly into the most inflammatory remarks himself, but encouraging and allowing it from both Sid Rosenberg and Bernard McGuirk (the one hired to do "nigger jokes."). A May 30, 1996, column in The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, protesting the show's treatment of Maya Angelou, summed it up thusly:
In 2000, the show's treatment of blacks became so dismal, that African-American Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page appeared on the show and asked Imus to pledge to "cease all simian references [to] black athletes" and "references to noncriminal blacks as thugs, pimps, muggers, and Colt 45 drinkers." Imus responded, "I promise to do that." Page also asked that Imus put an end to black minstrel-like "Amos 'n Andy cuts," to stop the "comparison of New York City to Mogadishu," and cease with "all parodies of black voices." Imus joked, "I think Bernard should be doing this," but accepted the pledge, only to break it almost immediately.
And so the show has long operated. What was different this time was that Imus broke his own rule. Rather than letting McGuirk and Rosenberg make derogatory comments for him, he jumped into the fray, calling the Rutger's team "nappy headed hos." At first refusing to recant, when the heat was turned up he invited himself onto activist Rev. Al Sharpton's show to apologise. And it wasn't long before the media elite--from The Boston Globe's Tom Oliphant to Newsweek's Howard Fineman--rallied around him. However this time it wasn't enough. Key advertisers began to abandon him. MSNBC and CBS, perhaps fearing of opening a Pandora's Box into the show's sordid history, decided to finally cut ties with Imus and take their losses.
This has happened before. Right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh was invited in the summer of 2003 as a Sunday sports announcer for ESPN, even despite a long history of insensitive racial comments. By October of that year Limbaugh found himself mired in controversy when he made disparaging comments about black quarterback Donavan McNabb. Fearful of bad publicity, ESPN jettisoned Limbaugh quickly. Why was Limbaugh axed for what was normal fare on his radio show? Because what is usually allowed in right-wing radio commentary cannot be tolerated on a big name mainstream television station like ESPN.
For Imus, a great deal was tolerated by CBS and MSNBC for a long time. But unlike Snoopp Dogg and the other purveyors of derogatory and sexist "thug" rap, or the radio landscape of insensitive commentary by Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Laura Ingrams, Don Imus was able to have a program on mainstream television outlets that reached millions of viewers. Unlike the explicit drug-dealer glorifying Young Jeezy or the violent fictional mob boss Tony Soprano, Imus interviewed members of the media elite, presidential candidates, influence peddlers, and more. 50 Cent is derogatory in nearly every aspect of his lyricism, no doubt. But much like soft-core porn stars on Cinemax, he and other pushers of smut and violence, aren't afforded these privileges. Imus was. And when he crossed that line—wanting his cake and eat it too—he fittingly had his "ho" card pulled.
Special thanks to Media Matters.org for the invaluable information.
