Day 24: Food & Liquor (2006) by Lupe Fiasco

For having such a huge music collection, I've only done one hip hop album, which was Mos Def's "The Ecstatic." I figured I'd add one more to the collection since I'm a pretty big hip hop head. But I guess a little background on my experience with music is needed to better understand how I feel about this album. 


My first real introduction to music was when I was in 6th grade. Coming from a religious family, my parents wouldn't allow me to listen to any music that wasn't Christian. Up to that point, I had little knowledge of any secular music. I didn't even know who Tupac was when I heard he died! Crazy, huh?


But when I got to 6th grade, I got my first taste of hip hop (and r&b, to an extent) riding the bus every morning and evening. The bus driver would tune to Power 106, and I would listen to the songs until my stop came by, which was always the last stop. But I fell in love with it. I began to listen to music behind my parents' back, reciting songs and at points trying to come up with songs of my own. I sometimes stayed up til 2 or 3 in the morning listening to music on my clock radio. It was a whole new world for me.


That went on until high school. By that point, I began to learn how to play guitar. For those few years, I kind of dismissed hip hop as being crude, materialistic, and completely watered down. I had very few hip hop acts in my collection. In my opinion, rock music was the best music, and hip hop was just a sad excuse for taking advantage of people's ignorance. You also didn't have to be talented to listen to or to make hip hop. I was, at best, an elitist, hating on brothers and sisters who made some cash on their fame. 


It took my boy Illyz AKA John Cabiles to really reintroduce me back to hip hop. Hahaha...I remember how he got me thinking, although I may not remember the exact words. It was my first time living with Illyz. We were 19 and I was discussing the few hip hop artists that I supported at the time, including Kanye West, claiming that he was the exception to the rule of violence and misogyny within hip hop. Illyz began to discuss the artists that got no support, including one of the hip hop groups that I fell in love with known as Binary Star. He discussed the different types of rhymes that you can find by searching for music. 


Well, if I was an elitist before, then I Super-Saiyaned to an ultra elitist. Now, it was all about the "underground." Fuck the "mainstream." I was different and I was cool for it. Which is ironic, because people feel superior to others for not listening to their obscure music. But in reality, it's like being at a party where you're the only guest. No one else is gonna care.



Elitist super-saiyan: taking about 4 episodes to finish transformation. 


Anyways, it wasn't 'til I lived with my boy Rex that I actually began to listen to music from a different point of view. Living with Rex was like having a DJ in your house. Every day it was some new form of music (mostly hip hop, but he still had a diverse taste in music). Maybe it was because he was musician that he was able to understand the beauty of music in all it's different forms. Either way, I was inspired. It was actually because of him that I began this little mission.


There is one last dude that I have to bring up. And this will bring it full circle. My boy Ryan, one of the guys I met while working Camp Paintrock, was a living archive of black music. At that point, I still hated on mainstream hip hop. But then Ryan called me over one day and put his headphones on my head. On it was playing Lupe Fiasco's "American Terrorist." Holy shit, it blew my mind! It was honest. It was raw. And it spoke to me. I promised I would get that album one way or another. 


And this is where I'm at with my relation to music. It took me a while in my journey, but I got to a point where I realized: why hate? Music is subjective. That which I think is dope may not be dope to someone else. And why not look at music from a someone else's perspective? You may find that you like it. 


Now I love music. I love to listen to it, I love to create it, I love to talk about it. I want to dance to it, I want to sing at the top of my lungs, I want to smash guitars and just feel the energy rush through my soul. I just want music.

If Snoop says so...

I'm still a bit of a hater, no lie. But I'm more aware of it. I try to give all music a chance. There's still music I don't like, but hey, not everything is my cup of tea. But sometimes you can find gems like this album. This album is personal, enlightening, funky, and just straight good. And I just needed to be more open with myself to truly appreciate it.


It took a lot of growing up to begin to think of music in different terms, but a few of my boys definitely had to nudge me towards the edge. So thanks to my boy Illyz for reintroducing to a genre of music that I love dearly, Rex for helping me think differently about music in general, and Ryan for showing me that mainstream music can be good music. You guys were definitely catalyst in my musical journey.


Anyhow, love all music, and love each other. I'll see you on the other side.


Peace, bruthas and sistas.

Day 19: The Ecstatic (2009) by Mos Def

Okay, this post had to be done a little earlier for two reasons. One, I just finished listening to The Ecstatic while studying for my Hip Hop Culture Class. Two, because I just finished reading a paper about a topic that has always made me reflect on myself and the state of the world, that is, misogyny and homophobia in hip hop.

I have to start by saying that I love Mos Def. He is and will forever be one of my favorite emcees. I think this album is his best since Black on Both Sides, maybe even better than that one. But for all the good that Mos talks of in his songs, there are some things that, as I've explained to many of my friends, truly depress me. His stance on homosexuality is one of them. Lyrics such as:

"Cats who claimin' they hard be mad fag/ so I run through 'em like flood water through sandbags"

-Re-Definition, off of "Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star"

He aint the only one. Eminem (another emcee that I completely admire for his skill) has made a career as one of the most gifted lyricists through his excessive use of the word "fag." 50 Cent had this to say in an interview with Playboy:

"I ain't into faggots. I don't like gay people around me, because I'm not comfortable with what their thoughts are. It's OK to write that I'm prejudiced. This is as honest as I could possibly be with you…But women who like women, that's cool."

Sigh...it saddens me. I'll give it to Kanye, who openly brings the question of homosexuality and hip hop to the forefront. Other rappers blatantly ignore it. When emcees Busta Rhymes, Mos Def, an Talib Kweli were confronted with the question of homosexuality in the documentary "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes," Busta Rhymes said

"I can't partake in that conversation. That homo shit? I can't talk to you about that. I ain't trying to offend nobody, but what I represent culturally doesn't condone it."

I get it. Your religion doesn't approve of homosexuality. It's part of who you are. I get that. But Christianity (I'm sure Busta is Muslim, but for the sake of argument) disapproved of mixing different fabrics together. So all those Christians out there who are wearing 60% polyester and 40% cotton, you are blatantly sinning. Women who were menstruating had to leave their homes for a week straight. Race mixing was also thought of as sinful as late as this past century. And don't say I don't know the Bible. I've read it 3 times, front to back.

In this sense, at least Talib confronted the question. Mos and Busta left the studio almost immediately. So mad love to Talib. His name is truly in the middle of equality.

Let's not forget our women. I don't think I really have to say it, but hip hop has become an arena where we openly degrade our women. Bitches and hos are the norm. We praise a woman for being light-skinned and dog them for having "nappy" hair. Women lose any sense of identity in our culture, being referred to by asses and tits. Now, some emcees do this more often than others. In this sense, Mos is progressive with such songs as "Brown Skinned Lady." But it's come to a point where I can't ignore it. I've heard too many beautiful women openly say they didn't feel beautiful. Well, that's bullshit. All women are beautiful. Doesn't matter what shape, size, or color, I'm here to tell you that you are beautiful. It is in your so called imperfections that you stand out. Fuck it. We can be perfectly imperfect together.

I want to make it clear that hip hop is NOT the only perpetrator, nor does it create the conditions for these biases to reproduce. No, hip hop is only merely a reflection of this American hyper-masculinity. We idolize the strong, unyielding man who shows no emotion. Vulnerability is despised and we refuse to seek assistance. As a result, homosexuals, lesbians and women are thought of as weak if they don't conform to this white, heterosexual male standard. As a result, even men suffer.

Look, I'm not saying that men should cry at every sunset, we are all homosexuals, and we should bow to everything that women want. I'm not even saying that I'm exempt of this criticism, cause I'm not. I'm also guilty of homophobia, misogyny, and even racism. What I'm saying is that by portraying men and women in these limiting terms, in an "us vs. them" dichotomy, we are neglecting that which makes the world and our species so diverse. I am a man, but I am more than a man as well. We are humans, and that encompasses all aspects of being human.

Vulnerability is not this guy although it can be.

I don't mean to be preachy. It's just something that I've always thought was important to discuss. Anytime I try to have this discussion with many of my male friends, I almost immediately get called a pussy, fag, bitch, homo, etc. I get accused of homosexuality as if it were something negative. Fuck it. Call me gay. I rather be gay than ignorant. I rather be compared to a female than to be insensitive. I know who I am. Maybe it's time we all took a look in the mirror. Like Dr. King said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Anyhow, nothing but love to all the children of the world. I hope you can feel me on this.

Peace, bruthas and sistas.