Memphis Bleek - Infatuated Lyrics

Click here: => rabanheaca.fastdownloadcloud.ru/dt?s=YToyOntzOjc6InJlZmVyZXIiO3M6MzA6Imh0dHA6Ly9iYW5kY2FtcC5jb21fZHRfcG9zdGVyLyI7czozOiJrZXkiO3M6MzA6IkluZmF0dWF0ZWQgd2l0aCB0aGUgdGh1ZyBpbiBtZSI7fQ==


We show up to nightclubs in Black SUVs with tinted windows sitting on too large rims. Our parents smoked weed and had anonymous sex; then they grew out of it…maybe this is our Woodstock?

A well dressed thug, but a thug non the less if you know what I mean. In response to Dr.

Memphis Bleek - Infatuated Lyrics

We need your help one more time! Some time ago, I got a phone call and it was my best friend telling me about a party the past weekend in Boston, MA. Apparently, a club owner shut down this party because he thought there were drug dealers in attendance. Turns out the party was a few former Harvard graduates who threw a party at a local lounge in Boston. Shout out to those cats, they actually some cool peoples. What interested me about this scene was that every Black male at this party, also students at Syracuse University, knew each word and recited them with such conviction in their hearts. As I would walk around campus I would see that young Black men who came from the hood and had every opportunity to succeed and leave the hood refused to let the hood go. I witnessed many young Black men who sat on the stoop of their apartments. But this was not the case, it was only to show that the attraction towards fast money, fast living and easy success was more attractive than the journey of a college education. His freshman tour travelled the country mostly at college universities to sold out shows. When we look at Black America in our social settings, we see something troubling. If we are not in a suit, at times, we are dressed in a fresh pair of kicks, jeans that are either too baggy or too tight, and sunglasses that are much too big for our faces. We show up to nightclubs in Black SUVs with tinted windows sitting on too large rims. We blast Rick Ross from our stereos. This is a PSA for Black Male America: When you show up to places in public dressed like this, behaving like this, promoting this, you look like THUGS. Pause for a moment and take a look at the Throwback jersey that is located in the back of your closet. Many people suggest that the fascination with Thug Life is a reflection of the neighborhoods that we came from and the things that we looked up to in our youth. But I had to make a conscious decision to at least acknowledge the behavior as ignorant. Is there some type of insecurity in Black men and their lives? Is it not good enough to be quite normal in the grand scheme of things? As if it is normal to be a great Black father and husband, a successful husband in America. Or do we chase notoriety by emulating the thugs, dope boys or gangsters of our community? Whatever the answers are, we may never know. Thanks to all who had a hand in the creation, development and publishing of this project. I hope you all enjoy. Most of the faithful readers of SBM. I always like to remind you guys that SBM. Was with you until you accused well-dressed people of copying Jay-Z. Guess no one can win, right? Anyway, I went to Cornell, and saw a lot of what you mention. My sense at the time and now is that while it's sad when people squander opportunities in front of them BUT college aged kids are immature, impressionable, and do a lot of dumb stuff for lack of a better word. Our parents smoked weed and had anonymous sex; then they grew out of it…maybe this is our Woodstock? I find the same trend in educated black women, however, the trend is more towards ratchet activity. Ehhh it happens to the best of us lol Yo i'm actually turned off by the women who know all the words of My Neck, My Back… and choose to recite them to the top of their lungs. Like seriously, explain that type of ratchet behavior? At the point that you can kick off your shoes and place your hands on the ground and start grinding on a dude in one fell swoop, I lose absolutely ALL respect. Thats as much as I can say. I love hip hop, recognize the ignorance in it, and will sing every rap lyric because I like it. Cant speak for the fake thugs, but thats what I like. Good post I agree with this statement. Most of the black men that I know think along the same lines, as well. In response to Dr. J's post, I kinda of see where he's coming from, but both my college and post college experiences were very different. They DID listen to rap… but they weren't really portraying that image out in public. It was actually frowned upon to a certain extent. Post college, I really haven't run into a lot of black men who behave that way either. Then again, I probably avoid the places that black men who behave that way frequent. Not my scene… Big Bro, But that's because you know that i'll ride out with you to Plenty Money. And you know I have no problems paying for bottles in straight cash homie. Yo we gotta do it big in 2013… Perfect storm is about to happen… Deltas Centennial and Barack's Re-election…. Look… I've been taught and have observed that the best person a black man CAN be is HIMSELF!!! As if it is normal to be a great Black father and husband, a successful husband in America. I mean, some are. But, I honestly think they're a minority. I could be wrong, but I feel like it's all about entertainment. Jamming to 'thug' or 'hood' music doesn't indicate an obsession with being thugs. It's about entertainment for me. The songs you listen to don't have to define you. I think it has to do more with the Music than the thug culture per se. Then for some reason, thugs and gangsters became almost synonymous with it as the time went by. The only coke rap I can listen to is Rick Ross because his beats are hot and that 99% of his raps are mere fairy tales. Other than that, I mostly listen to Kanye and any new school rapper that's good. Eh — everybody loves good music. But like most folks, I know when to put that shyt away. When the mortgage is due and the kids are cryin. What I think you fail to realize is how much Caucasian people enjoy the same kind of music and emulate the same kind of things. This is an American cultural phenomena. Other than that, you fail to understand the existing media bureaucracy that doesnt offer viable alternatives or balance to people in our ages 16-24 demographic. In an era where we were raised by the television, its not hard to see why even college kids identify with the same entertainment they were pedaled all their lives. I think it's important not to deflect issues in the Black community to others. Accountability doesn't work that way. I may have misunderstood you, but are you saying that it's of no fault of our own? And I didn't fail to realize that. As an avid hip hop fan, I am well aware. How else do you explain Eminem? How else do you explain 50 Cent? Those are two perfect examples of the crossover of Hip Hop into the white side of America. But be careful to note, that those white people masturbate in our culture and they emulate it. And then ask yourself what are they emulating and what does that say about our culture. They are not getting the entire image from the music, they are looking at how we behave… and when that is reflective of something we see on TV or on the radio, it's a problem. In my observations, i'd have to say that it seems like whites get the memo. I said on Twitter last week, despite the fact that CNN reports that teen pregnancy is down in the US, the population continues to increase in Black America. The purpose of that article was to say that MTV Teen Mom reality show wasn't really affecting anyone. However it isn't affecting white folks, and may very well be affecting Black America. I actually think she has a solid point about what other cultures do. Not so much as it relates to hip hop, but as it relates to their own music and culture. I've worked with white chicks who grew up poor in their equivalent of the hood and when they get around their people, they act their equivalent of hood. I've known middle class bred white folks who still go to what can only be described as raves, sniff coke, listen to Metalica and come to work the next day. It just is what it is. My point is this, regardless of where you come from, or what your race is, lots of people are going to be more comfortable going back to what they know. You do that subject a disservice when you make it about race, and it also makes it impossible for you to get a real answer. The truth is, it's not ghetto life or thug life, it just so happens that the ghetto thugs are the ones making the music. I don't see much harm in college educated black men who want to embrace their inner hood occasionally. Will some people view them as thugs? But I learned along time ago that even a black man in a tailor made suite, who gently listens to Berlioz will still be viewed as a thug to some individuals. A well dressed thug, but a thug non the less if you know what I mean. The point is to be true to yourself. We are a unique society of people, and instead of labeling each other we should just embrace our dynamics and realize that we have a place everywhere and anywhere we wish to. Don't be confined by others opinions of you; the one that matters most is your own. Now if you personally look at your actions from last weekend and feel like you were on some Sambo-ish… then correct yourself. But don't change for the sake of conforming. After all, being one dimensional can be a bit boring. Had to de-lurk for my second time… Why are EDUCATED black men obsessed with thug life? As a result many wall mounted degrees are not actually indicative of true education. Many do not develop the fundamentals of character — but approach education as just a means to get money. We know how well hip-hop has glorified thug life, but that influence has spread into sports where even athletes emulate their favorite hip-hop stars. The influence of hip-hop in sports can also be the reason why black men are not the only ones obsessed with thug life. We all know white kids buy yes, i mean actually purchase hip-hop music just as much if not far more than we do. We've all pulled up to the white boys at the light blasting Jeezy like it was nothing! It's just that for some reason they don't actually end up in jail. Perhaps because despite their equal propensity for violence.. As a people we have this amazing ability to not only emerge from whatever condition we may be born into… we make it look damn good while we do it! So good, in fact, white people stay jockin it becomes fashionable. Maybe it really is in our soul to rock that gold. It's why every mutha- in the world dress fly! I think many men are obsessed with the dream of emerging from their fatherless childhood and impoverished neighborhood to drive fast cars, live in fancy homes and have an endless supply of beautiful women. In hip-hop, thug life has previously been the means by which this life is obtained. That could very well be enough reason for men to emulate the image at a party regardless of the reckless repercussions. I mean when you are out having a good time celebrating your wins and living your dreams.. Well for those of us who recognize it's just fun and it's just for the night.. But for those who truly see no other way out of the hood- that life is more real to them than anything. They live by it. Unfortunately… most die by it. So good, in fact, white people stay jockin it becomes fashionable. But was it slightly ironic that Jay-Z performed at the Inaugural Ball? Well I don't know — Jay-Z is closer in age and well is highly more intelligent in his actions than Kanye IMO pre and post MTV ridiculousness. Also I think Reggie Love age 29 had more to do with that then anything. He's trying to bridge the divide and at times you just don't know where Kayne is with his schizophrenic ass…….. I'm mobile so probably going to misspell some crap. Anyway, good post and for the most part I agree. Thug is often synonymous with young intimidating looking minority of any race but especially black males. If it's just entertainment, then it really shouldn't matter who or what listens to it as long as its only used to entertain and not emulate. Thug is often synonymous with young intimidating looking minority of any race but especially black males. Yup… I think this right here is the main problem… I also have a follow up question: Why do predominately black artist feel the need to promote thug life? They are simply studio generated thugs. You can take the man out of the hood but can you take the hood out of the man, even if the man's hood life is manufactured. I think sometimes it's all a marketing ploy manufactured by the record company as well, but some of them artists tend to take it too far and end up behind bars for real. Rappers are shown as Alpha Males no1906 ripe with success. They have money, fame and unliimited confidence. Most are shown as coming from a rough past and acheieved their lifestyle through whatever hustle was required. Regardless what they say or do, it's understood they are their own person, lawless, raw, and unwavering and violent when necessary which is quite often in rap. Jay-Z was blasting in my dorm room back when I was studying for Fluid Mechanics and Rick Ross was my savior while practicing for my Professional license. I am no thug, but I get rap music in a way some Brothers do. J means college or university educated…. One of the biggest problems I have is black men educated or not proudly using the N-word especially in public. Its so embaressing, everytime I hear it I cringe. An educated black man should know how to act, behave and dress accordingly. Are there educated black men out there who still where baggy jeans? There is nothing wrong with listening to rap and knowing all the lyrics to a Jay-Z joint but I also feel that black educated men should know that emulating thug-like behavior is not cool at all. Lastly, I want to point out that I truly feel black men have come a long way…I dont see an obsession with the thug life among black men, as much as I use to. Educated is a complicated term. But it's not complex or a definition. All those plights are educated plights. I will say this much, i'm talking about at the minimum HS educated, if you weren't able to make it there, I pray for you and can't chastise you for much. Hold on let me pause my Wacka Flocka… Now where was I? Oh yeah… To me its all entertainment. I grew up middle class and know that life. Huge fan of hip hop and listen to a huge variety of it. A lot of it is that life I dont know. I dont try yo love thay life though even union I'm usually comfortable in the hood somehow. I may know all the lyrics but trust me bwing bout that life ain't with it As someone who literally called themselves an educated thug on twitter but a few short hours ago, I find this post to be quite timely. I definitely have seen and known my share of thugs and to me none of the college educated people I've come across can even really properly emulate the thuggery of which some think they see and know. Like a twitter friend told me.. It really has no racial lines as I'm sure a few of us have witnessed our white brethren going hard in the muthaflucking paint or raging against the machine. I think the real problem is is that we equate the word thug with black men. Nowhere in the dictionary, not even the urban dictionary, does it say that a thug is unequivocally a black man or specifically a black man who wears tight or baggy jeans who wears sunglassses at night a la Corey Hart don't ask me why I know the artist.. Really though, I'm not even mad at any of the brothers who know how to stay on their toes, never let folks catch them slipping or sleeping, and have a by any means kinda attitude. Because in the hood, in college and in corporate america that type of thugging is universal. I think its your culture and you embody that culture. Why is it that once you finish school some people feel that your wardrobe should consist of Dockers and tight sweaters off the work clock? I think its presenting an image more than being of substance. All of my friends don't hold white collar jobs, some of them have been to prison, hustled, etc. Why would I totally distance myself from them as if I've acheived some higher status? Unless it's all about status? So why would I do the same to them? I think its being dishonest of who you are to act like you are some highly sophisticated educated person because you have this degree or that job. There is a time and a place for everything. Of course in school at work you leave that stuff at home. They are simply studio generated thugs. For example Kanye has been mentioned heavily… he discussed the hardships of college life among other things but for ME he didn't, necessarily, glorify dropping out of school. Eminem sort of dresses the part and comes with the same thug-like aggression — but his lyrics have a different kind of violence that, like you said of non-black individuals, no one really calls thuggish… Therefore he may not be perceived as promoting thug life. There is a fine line between angry poetic expression and reckless thug-life glorification. Hip Hop is a culture complete with language, fashion, etc. The executives at the label know people will buy the music, whether its genuine or generic… just throw it on a hot beat. It's all the same. I guess we will keep it as entertainment. This is a pretty judgemental post…. LOL…sorry got to go there again. We all play the cards we are dealt. I work in adult education…….. College is a time to learn and grow. Some will outgrow these behaviors and some won't. Black people spend way too much time judging each other. And way too much time seeking the white mans approval. If I can only adopt his ways, his behaviors, his style of dress, his speech, learn his history and go to his schools etc. ROFL As far as this gangster stuff……America's loves gangsters and guns. I won't even waist time proving this point. It pinpoints and questions as to why our culture have devolved into this being our main representation in mainstream media. But was it slightly ironic that Jay-Z performed at the Inaugural Ball? Yea… I think Jay-Z performing at the inaugural ball was a political move on Obama's part to maintain the co-sign from young people. Kanye is a liability. I am a Ivy League grad working on a second degree. I grew up in the hood, the projects, Breukelen Projects in Canarsie, Brooklyn to be specific. My pops was a thug before he got his life together. Everyone around me was a thug too, or a drug dealer, or a hustler. My decision to play football and then to go to school wasnt because I had some love of learning. This honestly, just my hustle. I have the same motivations as the ball players and the drug dealers, I'm just trying to put a forest around my mama house and be fly while doing. While I dont mind reading books and having good debate, can I also occasionally like to BMF? I feel like I am corporate thuggin. I think that this is something completely relatable. So while I may not be selling real coke off of my iPhone, trust that i'm moving major weight in the metaphorical coke off of my Blackberry. Literally my first week of college one of the dudes from neighborhood that had dropped out of the college I was at was offerin us spots on his block which was about 10 minutes aways from campus. One of my boys took him up and sold crack the whole time we was in school. The local police and school had files on my crew. ROFL I laugh now everytime I'm at a work event and someone asks me what fraternity I'm in. LOL 10 years after college I'm givin off frat vibes. That ish is hillarious. Just cause you see a dude in a shirt and tie speaking proper English. Don't assume you know his story. And don't assume every young thug you see is some stupid fool influenced by gangsta rap. We all grow and learn. And make choices based on our present reality. I was actually on your old grounds this week watching my cousin walk. One thing I never do is try to justify what I listen to, how I act or dress, or where I or my ninjas come from. That is just childish and b! People, esp on these sites, make these broad strokes statements about what a black man should be. A grown man doesn't have braids. A grown man should listen to more than rap. A grown man should not run trains. A grown man calls the day after he smashes. You want to know what a grown educated man should be doing: making up his mind for himself and exactly what he wants to be. Not listening to people tell him how to act or put him into a box. Me and my goons enojy our life. They really like their hipster fashion and I'm not going to let somone tell me that Slim's love of 40 oz is the reason the black family is struggling. The dude is a good boyfriend and has a amazing J. Focus on what is important, don't Pettifog the situation. Other than that, good comment sir. Ughhh, I think the readers will be able to comprehend Cheekz's sentence.. I live in a predominately white area, but I like randomly going out dressed like a regular hoodlum sometimes without the sagging pants of course, and no boxers showing…. Its amusing to see and I like them not knowing who I really am. End of the day, I agree completely with this post. I see this all the time and it was running rampid in the university I went to that was also majority white. To me it made us look bad. That we came from the hood, in college, but here we are bringing the hood with us. That we are flooding the dorms with music sharing vulgarities and ignorance, concentrating on drugs and getting new attire rather than being seated in the front of the class and studying outside of midterms and finals. Yes, other races do it, and I did it when I was younger and dumber, but when you're black in a white area, I think you have to show that not all black people fit the stereotypes. And then ask yourself what are they emulating and what does that say about our culture. I actually promoted the very Cornell show in question… As a complete side note, I put in months of work into that show, getting funding, missing class, Putting up flyers, its actually really cool that 6 years later some guy that I didn't even know was there actually remembered the event. Just having people still think about your ideas years later, make the hard work worth it. And actually I think you misunderstood rogerclemons that the crowd was trying to say. Back than Kanye marketing scheme also breaking stereotypes. He was a nerd, who didn't dress and jerseys or bust a gun. People told him he couldn't be on the Roc, or even rap. No one but Kast and the Soulaquairns were known at that time. He broke the mold, and that was the energy you felt that day. Back in those 'Many Men' days, the only popular music was thug rap. That was an industry problem.. I don't think we should make it a black male problem. And if you ever been to the Nell, you know we are more Jalen Rose than Grant Hill. Kanye's marketing scheme was not breaking stereotypes, his marketing scheme was the College theme because it sold, and continued to sell; Late Registration, Graduation, and what was supposed to be Good Ass Job. But nonetheless you are somewhat right. Kanye wasn't a nerd, he was just a guy who wore a backpack and was more into fashion than most straight men were at the time. Kanye broke the mold but don't deny that a lot of college students wished they didn't have to work that hard for success. Full disclosure: I was actually dropping courses my freshman year to work in a studio in Cuse. I actually knew about Kanye's rapping well before he came out with an LP. Hip Hop in 2003 when Get Rich or Die Trying Came Out… Joe Budden just dropped, he wasn't talking about gangsta rap. Kanye was dominating the air waves as a producer, the resurgence of Talib Kweli and Mos Def. Common made a strong push. John Legend was killin em. There were several outlets not to have thug rap. Cornell is more Jalen Rose than Grant Hill? First and foremost, I hated Jalen Rose for that entire situation. But if you are going to be real. Except for maybe y'all women, they went hard in tha paint. Esp above our year. After us it is rumored that the Nell stop accepting kids from rough areas. But before that, people really were taking in a ton of Brooklyn kids. Kids from the Bricks, BX. Its the kids they get from the south that are a bit snooty with a stick up their back end. Upenn dudes are cool. Than Kanye held an improtu beauty pageant on stage and this Freshman jawn won. She was humble, but some of these birds that lost were feelings themselves for the nxt four year and shouldn't have been. She had an easy victory. Yeah man, I have been up on Kanye West since we produce on the Harlem World album. Chi Town Classics vol 1 was a very slept on mixtape. So I know what you mean about his schemes. Don't forget he also had the car crash scheme ripping off 50 Cent near death. Than it was a trend for rappers to get shot and release an album right away talking about how they are ordained by Christ to rap. I completely disagree with your summary of the climate back in 03. John Legend wasn't out yet. Joe Budden flopped and his first album wasn't promoted like Mood Music, he was def jam's 50 cent. You had to listen carefully to see he was smarter than pump it up. And Common was years away from BE. He just dropped Electric Circus which was a down point in his career and a completely terrible audible. Also Kanye success as a producer is overblown. Just Blaze during that time had way more radio spins at THAT point. When Kanye got hotter as an artist, he past Blaze with producing singles. But between Philly Free and Cam's Come Home with Me, Just owned radio. You know what I forgot about that publicly funded part of Cornell University. That may explain why you had some hood kids from Brooklyn there, but that's cool. Quality was better than Beautiful Struggle and that came out Dec-02, so really 03. H to the Izzo. With all due respect, you can have a seat. In terms of sheer spins, check Soundscan, Kanye killed Just Blaze in 03. Everybody wanted a Kanye beat. This guy said Kanye's success as a producer is overblown… — Sustain your point about Legend to some extent because he was all over Kanye's first few mixtapes and album, his actual LP didn't come out until 04, but he was out. Also H to the Izzo was in 01. You Don't know my name… only tracks I am going to give him props on in 03. After that Blaze dominated that year. Full Albums of heat. The Memphis Bleek album, the Freeway, the work on the Black Album, two tracks on the Dip Album, two singles from Joe Buddens, a single from Fabolous. He was the Lex Luger of that time. I'm not saying Kanye is wack, just cold during that time period. Probably not his fault, he was working on his own album. I'm not a neo soul negro. I don't hang out with Neo Soul negros. I don't know where to go get a Neo Soul friend. Men need to understand you cant be a thug and go to college. Now you can be tough, be street smart and go to college but an all out thug, na B save that for a BET movie. I go to St. I understand all perspectives to a point. What I don't understand is this whole music is just entertainment thing. Do we not recognize and acknowledge the power that words have over us? Do we not understand the impact and effects of subliminal messages? Keep thinking it's just entertainment. Nonsense adds nothing to my life. Can't take it in… But as Marketing classes also show, is that not every single person is susceptible to being affected by the music. Furthermore, not everyone is affected in the same way. I think many of the posts here also show how some of the music affects that person positively. I know it does for me. But, what's sad about our society today is that we're so hell bent on what's cool for 'us' individually that we sacrifice the greater good for our own non-essential pleasures. Some people can use cocaine recreationally and never get hooked and some can't. It's illegal because the problems of the 'can'ts' outweigh the 'can's' 'good'. I look at some of this messy music the same way. The bad it does FAR outweighs the good. My folks never really censored what my bro and I listened to, and we had our hands on some pretty controversial stuff Uncle Luke, Eazy E, Adina Howard, etc. But even though they made fun music nothing they said or did weighed heavier than my mom and dad. And they would pull us up with the quickness if we tried to emulate anything the artists were doing. They had their own musical taste so we were exposed to a lot of old school like, Otis Redding old music. Music is like food, a couple doughnuts won't make a difference if you serve the kids a balanced dinner every night. But once they start eating nothing but doughnuts and now-a-laters all day you have tooth rot and obesity. I didn't want to stay in the DMV when I graduated high school cause my senior year was wild and I figured I would probably get locked up if I stayed in the DMV. But still I probably got in less trouble away from home than I would have gotten into in dc. I don't know about that all the time though. Born on the KDY, raised in Riggs Park, I came to the conclusion when I got to school that no one knew who I was and I could be who I wanted to be. In college, I was that dude who didn't beef because I knew what real beef was and real recognize real and a lot of people's antics looked unfamiliar. I was quick to tell people on the side, that if it was real beef they wouldn't be handling it like they were handling it. And from seeing my friends get shot or killed growing up, I knew that most people at my college just weren't bout that life. I grew as a person, habits like records can be broken if you work hard. Now if you really don't have the power to change your ways then you are talking about people who are not thugs, but are mentally ill. And they need counseling. There's just some people with anger management issues, there are some people who naturally violent, and then some who are just drawn to breaking the law because they lack that mental capacity to know right from wrong, Counseling can help those people. But a lot of these ppl copying thug lives that are from the hood have never been thugs or lived that life. Now of course your environment plays a part, of course you' will pick up something from that life, but that does mean you have to bring those antics with you to college. Being ghetto and being a thug have become a right of passage for some.. Too many young ppl equate their black identity with the hood or being ghetto like that all you can be. Hell I've seen kids from great economic backgrounds acting like they know what it is to have no food in the fridge, see a family member strung out on crack or just having a hood mentality for no reason. You don't spend 17 years adapting a behavior and then turn it off in one day. If you didn't go hard as a freshman you probably wasn't goin hard as a senior in high school. Speakin for myself……please believe I was holdin heat and stompin bammaz out in Go Gos before I ever stepped foot on a college campus. Real az trade war stories. Das how you know who is real and who is not. Don't matter where you from. And if you think it's never shots fired than you really don't know. Not to glorify that…but it's real. We squashed all beef by junior year. That's part of the maturation process. And maybe that speaks to what school you went to. If you went to a school that was just as hood as where you grew up then maybe that crossed over. For me, I don't know what I would have done with heat at Syracuse. I would have only carried if I was planning on using it. And well, I was going to an all white school in Upstate NY. ROFL Part of going to an HBCU is learning that being called a bamma is not always an insult…. And whose fault is that? I got into a good ivy league school here in Boston because I wanted to, and I stay because I want to. Anyhow, black men and their failures regarding school are 100% their own fault, and choice. No one should be patting you on the back for doing something that immigrants that barely speak proper English do every single day. How sad is that? I should add that there are also 40 year olds with homes, a wife and kids — a good life, that simply go back to school because they want to. Not going to college isn't a reason to be a failure in life. BUT… thanks for adding to the conversation. Regardless of that you think, this affects all races. Because the changes are that your future children may end up trying to emulate the images are well. I see it all that time. Womps… And yes going to college. It IS about choice. Everybody should get a pat on the back for graduating from college, no? Having a job and sustaining a family IS an amazing feat. I don't know any parent of any race that describes it as being a breeze. It's not even about the simple act of going to school in all honesty. It's about the will for self-cultivation and going to school can a side-effect of that. People who work to put themselves where they want to be end up in better situations than people who don't. Let's assume that the large majority of people wish to develop themselves and have goals. And given it's a matter of choice, what yields people to make a choice that's self-destructive? People are not in a vacuum. It's the common family verses the media. Meaning that, the imagery place in front of children have caused them to believe that following the imagery will lead them on a path of self-cultivation. ALL races are being dooped. Diverting their choices from school, entrepreneurship, physical activity, healthy foods to emulating the imagery sculpted by the companies. So choice isn't all that free. And guess who such facts refer to… Whites mostly. So this would post is a side-effect of a greater problem. And yes… you are already a victim, just in a different way. Say you're not… and I'll show you someone in denial. This encouragment is what helps keep alot of 'Lil TY TY' in school and doing better than before. J I dont think he means it should'nt be celebrated, but more look at as its something your suppose to do. It like your parents saying I shouldn't pay you for cleaning your room.. RipperMcRipstein The pat on the back is to keep young brothers motivated to keep educating themselves. I went to a good highschool and one graduating class had only 3 blackmen who had gpa's 3. Education ahs become a lost tool for some of our young men. We pat them on the back to let them know were watching and tolet them know were proud. It's like a father giving him a pat on the back when he does something a man is suppose to do coming of age yea his father raised him to be a good man but when he see's him walking that path on his own he gives him a pat on the back to let him know he's proud. You mean I must have parents that worked their asses off to raise me in a neighborhood they and their children felt safe in? Hm yeah, but for a good portion of my life I spent my childhood and a chunk of my teen years in the inner city on Boston, not very fun sweety. While my younger siblings are blessed enough to have never seen that neighborhood — I am the oldest and was not. You are preaching to the wrong one. College, and being able to read a book is something millions of kids do every single day, don't even get me started on people that think they're doing something amazing by having a job and taking care of their kids. You should really know better. Please do not think for one moment that because you spent a part of your childhood in inner city Boston that you are some expert on the struggle of black people in America. You sat idly by, likely in fear, and rendered a quick and uninformed opinion on an entire people based on a few years during your youth. I am confused as to how your hardworking parents, diverse upbringing and attendance at MIT could possibly yield such an ignorant individual. You should know that poor people in general, regardless of race, are less likely to attend college. You should also know, especially being from Boston, like myself, where we have things like the MCAS test in place… that oftentimes the reason for people from impoverished areas not attending college is more a result of lack of preparation due to limited supplies as simple as textbooks and teachers. Is that the fault of black men? Immigrants and black people are not the same. The distinction is in something you and I agree to be a major factor in this entire debate: Choice. Immigrants, despite the fact that they may or may not be fleeing a foreign country for a better opportunity, choose to come here and stay. Black people in America are only here because we choose to fight. We are born of ancestors who were BROUGHT here, and were then forced to build this great country that you are benefitting from- for free. You know… some of the same type of work your distant Spanish-speaking cousins are doing these days… for pennies… and illegally? Work taken away from all Americans, black men included, who are then unable to care for their children? This is our fault too though, right? Perhaps inner city Boston shook you so hard you are bitter and ripe with hate. I would advise you take this advice from Dr. I think because of her race it is understood that she may not understand or even consider the reasons 'pats on the back' are needed. I have family Jamaican immigrants that might actually feel the same way. But thats because they are looking at opportunities using different lens. It's easy for me to understand how someone who is not black or someone who wasn't infused in ghetto urban culture can't identify with some of those experiences. It's great if they can, but I'm not shocked if they don't. Cool if no one else felt that way…but that's my feel on it. I have yet to run accross this…um…comment from a black person who grew up in the inner city or it's perimeter. However, I think letting one's hair down at the appropriate time is at said person's discretion. By no means should women be dawning pasties and pelvic thrusting all over the place lol but I believe the concept of a woman being able to, for a brief moment, live vicariously through song. I love boisterous rap music. I swear and use the n-word amongst friends. I used to wear doo-rags, icy white tees and chains. I still wear a backwards fitted cap. I have a great job and more opportunity every day to do the things I love. Music and pop culture influenced me, but I evolved. I grew out of those things that would limit my opportunities and embraced other things that would bring me joy…like southern rap. As someone said up-thread, rappers are portrayed as dominant males living lavish and exciting lives. It doesn't hurt to get lost in the fairy tale if you know how to get back to reality. Good thoughtful post Dr. I think a lot of people seem to missing the point here. I don't think the post is condemning the imagery itself or the individuals that are partaking in the music. A lot of you all today are playing word games. C'mon… This is an argument about ignorance. I don't care if you lived down the street from me all my pre-college life, ignorant is ignorant and stupid is stupid. There are no special rules, just very special people. It's street stupid to not carry oneself like you have respect for yourself and to use imagery as an excuse not to adapt. No, you ARE falling into the mold. The mold people choose to uphold is one that is tunnel-visioned. Does it mean you used to live in a certain place or have a certain approach to life in general? We're sitting here battling about the imagery when the imagery isn't real to begin with it's strategic. While the children based their rites of passage on the acquisition and perpetual emulation of the media produced images. Why is that the case? Because we're associate that imagery as substance. Now we have people arguing about the meaning of where certain jeans verses wearing polo shirts. The issue lies with the active choice to overlook betterment of oneself which, in itself, is contradictory to the seemingly embedded mentality of blacks: achieve freedom. But be aware that any imagery absorbed by children will be taken in the form when it readily available to them: media. Thus perform street stupid acts to perpetuate that image. Yes… I STILL ride through my neighborhood and blast my music on a warm day. I'm not claiming the act to be part of my culture, or symbolizes where I came from. I just like my music up loud. Citing where I grew up doesn't make me closer or farther from the ideal some many have latched on to. The fact is that I'm none of that. My decision to play football and then to go to school wasnt because I had some love of learning. This honestly, just my hustle. No shots at Peyso, since I'm sure he's a great guy. But yo son… WHAT!?!? See… Honestly… I don't care with other people look like. They can have whatever image they want and do whatever identifies with them. BUT to allow children to grow up with a tunnel-vision mentality that drives them to self-destruction for the sake of promoting an image is ridic. Let me re-word it: The children and some adults have become walking advertisements. Promoting an image or a brand of a music company. Marketers , rappers hell even some educated blk people sell this image to the youth like its cool. There still alot of young people that link speaing proper with speaking white. No its called common sense. Also our young men listen to what their mothers say so when they hear the women in there lives saying they need a little thug in there man they try to copy those quailities. Promoting an image or a brand of a music company. I co-sign the entire comment. I don't think educated black males have an unhealthy facination with thug life. I don't think listenting to rap, knowing rap lyrics, or appreciating rap is the downfall or kryptonite of the educated black man. I witnessed many young Black men who sat on the stoop of their apartments. What was different about you? What did you have that they didn't? What was lacking in them that they didn't even attempt to succeed? Did they really have every opportunity? If we really grapple with those issues I don't think rap will play a large part in the conversation. Rap isn't the downfall, it's not the villian. I wish it was, because then we would have an easy fix. You were into rap and hip hop and yet, you went to Cornell, have a job, and in your free time host a couple of blogs that spark conversations like these. So what's really going on with our youth? Also I would bet good money that those black grads and alumni involved in that Boston party incident were not dressed like thugs. I don't know how ya'll got down in the Finger Lakes region, but my Boston-area ivy league days were not that long ago. I recall dudes wearing button downs, vests, blazers, ascots AND pocket squares sweating to death at tiny spots like Joseph's. That incident circulated widely because it highlighted that even with appropriate dress and Harvard and Yale degrees in tow some establishments still will view a group of black students and professionals as thugs and refuse them entry. I don't think we black people need to take any responsibility for that incident maybe some others, but not that one. I don't typically comment, but just wanted to put this out there. No one seemed to be acting out of order either — in fact, it was cold as hell, so after being turned away everyone was just trying to catch a cab to get to the next spot. Just want to put that out there so that we keep our facts straight. I'd like to address this. Here's something that we fail to realize sometimes as Black people. Think about what our typical club attire is and also how we arrive to clubs. We drive expensive cars, because we can afford it. We prefer table service over standing in line an paying cover. Then our attire; even if you have on a three piece suit, a white person is wondering why you have on a suit to go to the club? Or let's say you have on a pair of Pradas, some True Religion jeans, and Rugby polo. You have to see things from the eyes of the otherside. To us, we don't see nothing wrong with that, and it is nothing wrong with that. But from an outsider looking in, it may come across as if you are trying to impress someone. And this is from someone who knows two of the promoters. I know their crowd, i've been to their parties in other cities. Be honest, it's dress to impress. White people roll to the club in Old Navy Jeans and Chuck Taylors. As I go out regularly in Boston, I'm going to go with the latter. While I DEFINITELY agree about the typical crowd associated with the promoters, I don't think that the club bouncers shut people out because they were wearing Prada and polos. As an aside — as someone who attended an Ivy for both undergrad and grad school, and played a sport i. Maybe at a bar, but certainly not at a club — my white friends always got pretty decked out in hopes of impressing others. We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Nevertheless, not trying to overlook the main points of your post, just not convinced that you used the best introduction. It happens everywhere, we only got pissed because it was a white dude. I was just making a point about white people going out. But it's only been recent that you started seeing the guido and Jersey Shore cats decked out in expensive clothes. Outside of that you didn't get much past an Ed Hardy tee shirt, and no one takes anyone in an Ed Hardy tee shirt seriously. Agree to disagree, but I loved the introduction. I dressed hood, but im educated as they come, when you have street smarts and book smarts the sky is the limit, I learned things in the hood I could hever learned in a classroom and vice versa some things can't be learned in a book,some things can. I listen to all music hip hop,rock,etc I follow and live by my own damn rules, I am my own man so when some one says a black man is xyz I just laugh. I was taught I can only be responsible for myself, so if you blame music for your actions you are a sheep. Funny that you assume that though, anyhow my father is Korean and my mother is from Spain. So let's get into it… : Why do educated black men think they deserve a pat on the back for being able to read a book in the first place? Youtube, that chick from BGC and see what happens when you start shouting off racist comments in public. And i'm also interested to know why you thought TyTy is an appropriate Black child's name. You want a pat on the back for that?! You actually pulling up the rear for your entire race. You are a disgrace to your parents. You would think that by now, your people would be skipping college with how smart they are. Zebras run in the same direction as a defense mechanism. Most animals that move in flocks do. To be violent even if you are peacful. See what always upsets me is about this argument is that people jump straight to stereotypes and assume young black boys are stupid for actin like thugs. In many hoods stupid would be walkin to school with new jordans on and braggin about how much money your father makes. Stupid would be tellin everybody you got an A on the last test. Best believe they whoopin dat ss and stealin your jordans. I think the ex you gave was someone who is aware of where they live and have street smarts not so much a thug. A thug would be the one beating up the kid and stealing his jordans. Studies show I don't know what studies show but I wanted to start off my reply with this. On a serious note I think that a lot of educated black people like to listen to rap music because it's something that allows them to feel comfortable in an otherwise ill fitting arena. Learing the art of code switching is something that we acquire in college. Listening to whatever wew like while learning that art form is like a right of passage. Dressing like a thug and acting ignorant in the club is a growing process. Just like you said that you realized that you were acting silly, so will they. The closer one gets to graduation and real job interviews, the more the silly behavior will be left behind. A lot of young educated men try to emualte thugs becuase they dont equate eduaction with being tough or respected. When ppl are scared of you you are respected ie thugs. Our children dont know our black history so their lost. Maclom X, and Huey P Newton were tough educated brothers who held their own and they were not thugs. I wonder if that goes on elsewhere. And why make out-of-state students feel unwelcome. Overall my experience was great, but that annoyed me. Pining away for some long lost Cornell. After us it is rumored that the Nell stop accepting kids from rough areas. But before that, people really were taking in a ton of Brooklyn kids. Kids from the Bricks, BX. Its the kids they get from the south that are a bit snooty with a stick up their back end. That was the campus, but that wasn't my crew. We were hated on for hanging out with EVERYBODY. Every one was welcomed at 804. Everyone was welcomed in 211. But lets be honest that only get you thru that initial phase. After that you have to find people who have your values. Little known fact, use to have a white boy in the crew, but he didn't know what it meant to be a team player. After years of shadiness, it all feel apart. What is a war story…. War stories is how real dudes authenticate real dudes. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU ARE FROM. It's az in every hood. A lot of weak dudes try to trade on their hoods name and rep when they have no war stories. You ever met a Vietnam vet with no stories to tell? Cause that is how you find out how real a dude is. If I am a big time dealer and you are a big time dealer we should know the same people. I might drop some slang to see if you know what it means. If I am a known soldier and you are a known soldier we know the same people. We speak similiar slang. Yes before the internet…. You could tell how close to the streets he was and what part of DC he was from Uptown or Soufside just by the way he talked. Or if you knew a hammer was a rim before it was gun. I'm just sayin……not tryin to be your ghetto tour guide but it's some real dudes on college campuses. But stop with the judgement. Cause you really don't know what some dudes went through before they got to school. I don't know why I want to hug you and slap you silly all at the same time. You are just the type of dude that I would have hung out with after school. But you know what…. He lived in some new McMansion development in Mitchelville. But stop with the judgement. True but a lot of dudes who don't live that life know those signs so sometimes the real and the fake know the same sh+t. You won't know the right dudes. Like I said…the internet has made it so fake dudes can learn to talk and walk like a real dude. For instance……15 years ago……. So if you met someone that could crip walk you knew they were real. When I graduated high school….. Now you can just google stuff like that and pretend you really know the streets. If you don't have family in jail…. Stuff like that can't be faked. When I was in school I knew who was real and who was fake. Sounds a lot like Black frats, lol. What is a war story…. War stories is how real dudes authenticate real dudes. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU ARE FROM. A lot of weak dudes try to trade on their hoods name and rep when they have no war stories. You ever met a Vietnam vet with no stories to tell? Cause that is how you find out how real a dude is. If I am a big time dealer and you are a big time dealer we should know the same people. I might drop some slang to see if you know what it means. If I am a known soldier and you are a known soldier we know the same people. We speak similiar slang. Yes before the internet…. You could tell how close to the streets he was and what part of DC he was from Uptown or Soufside just by the way he talked. Or if you knew a hammer was a rim before it was gun. But stop with the judgement. On BlackWeblog Voting… I voted… I am so mad I had to choose between SBM. It is a wonderful thing to see Dr. J evolve and live out his dreams… Keep It Up… : Sup Peyso. I was actually on your old grounds this week watching my cousin walk. One thing I never do is try to justify what I listen to, how I act or dress, or where I or my ninjas come from. That is just childish and b! People, esp on these sites, make these broad strokes statements about what a black man should be. A grown man should listen to more than rap. A grown man should not run trains. A grown man calls the day after he smashes. You want to know what a grown educated man should be doing: making up his mind for himself and exactly what he wants to be. Not listening to people tell him how to act or put him into a box. Me and my goons enojy our life. The dude is a good boyfriend and has a amazing J. John Stewart made Bill OReilly look like the fool he is! I wonder if white people ever sit around and discuss how some other white people dress too nice and too fancy. What is typical club attire? That isn't determined by the race, it's determined by the venue. Maybe you're not saying this, but to me I'm reading you say that Black folks educated or otherwise don't know how to dress appropriately EVER. When they dress down they project a thug image and when they dress up they dress up too much. Do you want them to only wear their nice things at the crib and keep their nice cars in the garage? Also folks who are racist or have racial prejudices whether consciously or unconsciously aren't going to change their opinion based on any kind of attire. No matter what you say about rappers they have women galore and they think these guys are sexy. These guys have their picks of the best looking sistahs around and educated black men want some of that action. If Trayvon Martin was white wearing a hoody would he have been killed? Growing up lot of us did look up to these rapper because they made it out the hood and it inspired us to so. I never saw or heard any black lawyers, doctors, etc telling me I could make it out the hood. Whether the rapper did the right thing or not we saw success in them and we knew it was attainable. I am not of fan of some of the trends now like skin jeans but I respect them. Most black make when they go to an upscale club or lounge they like to show out so there non hood wear there. Our culture is so influential all other races try to imitate us can you really be mad. Lastly, hiphop is not 100% true only about 60-70% most content is exaggerated to make it more appealing. When a painter paints a portrait of a woman it is not the exact image but close and has his or her twist on it to make it interesting. Just my point of view!

It is strongly recommended that the host server should be changed or the hosting provider should be met to give a different separate IP address infatuated with the thug in me this domain. So let's get into it… : Why do educated black men think they deserve a pat on the back for being able to read a book in the first place. Not listening to people tell him how to act or put him into a box. J custodes college or university educated…. Don't assume you know his story. I think the ex you gave was someone who is aware of where they live and have street smarts not so much a thug. I live in a predominately white area, but I like randomly going out dressed for a regular hoodlum sometimes without the sagging pants of course, and no boxers showing…. Hip Hop in 2003 when Get Rich or Die Trying Came Out… Joe Budden just dropped, he wasn't talking about gangsta rap. The songs you listen to don't have to define you. Huge fan of hip hop and between to a huge variety of it. You could tell how close to the streets he was and what part of DC he was from Uptown or Soufside just by the way he talked.