Monday, February 13, 2012

CONDOLENCES FOR WHITNEY HOUSTON

Whitney Houston, who died on February 11, 2012 at the tender age of 48, has sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She also won 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards add to this list BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Essence Awards and People Choice Awards and you have one of the most recognized artist in America. Guinness World Records  lists Whitney Houston as "the most awarded female artist of all time," with a "total of 425 career awards as of 2010." An impressive music career, one which people would sell their soul to have a small portion of that kind of recognition. A talent recognized all over the world. A mother, a daughter, a sister, a commercial icon. She was all things commercial, perfection in her image but in the end Whitney Houston was mortal, fallible, flawed and known to be a bit of an uber- Diva. Truth of the matter is, she was a Newark, New Jersey Hood-Rat ..... and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. This part of her life is the REAL story we need to see and talk about because the fabricated Clive Davis version, in the end, creates and makes Whitney Houston a tragic character, the Diva who fell from "commercial grace", the artist who couldn't keep it together, the woman who was bright in the light and dark in the privacy of her home the thing of tabloid falter. Disconnected from her roots in image but straight up hardcore in urban attitude and spirit, Whitney Houston carried the burden to be most unlike herself  to the World than being what I call real. They sold a fabricated STANDARD when she existed at a "standard" from the beginning. Although her voice was never a debate, this short haired, nappy-headed, under-weight, runway model wannabe with an occasional PK (Preacher Kid) vs Street Kid complex was always just under the surface of the woman who would be one of the most copied female icons globally. But that don't sell units or at least not back in the days of the 80's. Bottom line, Whitney Houston's death only perpetuate the reality of the modern artist. Extension through dollars and a manipulated sense to connect with an image created by an industry that respects the individual's right to self-implode. Whitney Houston represented, like many other artist, the typical trajectory of modern fame; See, Want, Take, Have and then Loose. Move on.

I am waiting for the millions of condolences to roll through and they will be well deserved but the Realist wants to know one single thing. How? How did Whitney Houston die? That fact will punctuate the true legacy of the icon. We know she struggled with addiction, and emotional issues, stress and weight issues which plays havoc on heart health, fowl play (which is unlikely but the Illuminati conspirators will have a field day with the idea), this is what we wait for and hope for the best that her passing is a natural death. Our recent experience of Michael Jackson's murder under the influence of drug addiction, Amy Winehouse with her drug and alcohol addiction, Don Cornelius' suicide, who wants to hear that their idol died because they were weak in spirit? I know what my expectations are. I pray that I am wrong.



Freely we throw spiritual blessings and good journey to Whitney Houston's raised soul. We want to hope that it ascends to Heaven in the loving arms and blissful hands of her Lord and Savior. Personally, I am a bit ambivalent since from personal experience, the Diva, at her height, had spread far and wide her personal brand of praise upon the "Little People" (her words not mine). Although within her tight circles she may have been nice and gentle, there are quite a few disgruntle fans that are existing in a current state of, "Oh well-itis." Those in the know, from the streets of Newark to the boulevards of Beverly Hills know that life with Whitney always came with a touch of ugly and depending on what side of the touch, you either stayed and took it or you had to go and leave her be. The time spent with Bobby Brown only added to the circus that was called the "Whitney and Bobby Show" and we still watched hoping that something would give and the authenticity of her character would surface for the public to connect with. The part that was Hood Real, the personality that the common person, the Little People could relate to, the physical presence where her own person would connect to People, speaking freely without being edited or chased by paparazzi. We got a little bit with Wendy Williams jabbing at her "truth" but it wasn't enough. We never were exposed to the real Whitney, never revealed the packaged wholesome bread and butter of Good, Bad and Ugly. Basically, we never knew Whitney Houston's story, only that which was meticulously controlled, pre-written or re-written.

We were all blessed to have witnessed the natural talent that was Whitney Houston. She loved sharing her gift with the World. The interesting thing about talent shared, is that it is often no different than a simple conversation. There is that "investment" of the listener, that story, the message you begin to tell to enter the psyche of others, the something that can be connected to, the emotion, the emoting, the resolve that we share the same experience. That is the challenge and essence of "talent". If people can't connect with it, the response will be clear; often immediate. Even so much as to faking acceptance until you can move it along for the next story more interesting. We call this "choice". You choose to connect and ultimately share back either in gratitude, applaud, inspiration or equal talent and or conversation in return.The sharing can come from many perspectives, many levels but in the end, the "outcome" is positive because you are invested in the relationship; which is the core of our humanity and the return on our investment. I say all of this to say, or even ask, one thing, "Did we really have that conversation with Whitney Houston?"

Whitney Houston's talent was her connection but it was never her complete or true story? There was always a question about how much of her music was the story of Whitney Houston's life, the "real" Whitney and how much of it was tailored "imagery". For years I watched her development from the girl from the Hood to Diva. Barbie Doll. The hair, the makeup, the dresses and jewelery, it all fit, it was all appropriate for the image but knowing the story NOW and the music THEN, can we really extrapolate from the many songs, some small essence of the woman? Artist like Michael Jackson, Minnie Riperton, Etta James, Phyllis Hyman, Amy Winehouse, James Brown, Rick James, Billie Holiday, Teena Marie all infused their lives into their music. There was no separation. More so for recently passed Michael Jackson, his life an open book for the extreme range of emotions a human being can experience or endure spiritually and social consciously. We knew his pain and his joy from innocence to adulthood because he detailed it like a blind man expressing sound with soul; the essence of R&B. So in his passing, the loss was deep, soulfully lost. The World knew the totality of the loss because we lived Michael and he the people in return. When you listen to any one of the aforementioned artists, at any point of your life, at any point of their life, you related, you emoted, you knew them from pure and shared experience. With Whitney Houston, the connection is external in relationship. The connection between "her" story and "her" music is only surface. Yes her music pulled from the emotion, even inspired to lift oneself up and have courage to live your life with purpose, but was that the Whitney's story or a fraction of the whole? The World around her was everything but internal sharing, unless you knew her personally and or intimately. 


In conversation regarding uber-hyped entertainers and musicians like Whitney Houston, I often ask, how can you say you "love" someone if you didn't know them? It's meant as a , "snap out of it" moment. Her music was great but the constant reminder that her music and person weren't one and the same was hard for people to accept. Still can't. Her music wasn't self created, or self-inspired or self produced. There were others, many "others" in the planning and the Mega machine that is part of the music industry that created the icon known as The Diva; Whitney Houston for 30 years made sure that that image was unshakeable. So unshakeable that in her death, they stand to profit more from the death of the icon than she would have alive. How's that for legacy? This, for me, is where the deviation from artist and person came into play. The simplicity of her character was made complex only because much of what we knew about Whitney, her connection to her church (New Hope Baptist), the fact that she loved HipHop and Rap, the party girl, wearing a good pair of jeans, gossiping and being Church folk-like, etc., we never really saw, The True Whitney Houston. She was a product of Newark, New Jersey and not the  Land of Make Believe. So much of THIS artistry never surfaced and again I ask, how much was this by choice? How much was perpetually her internal/external struggle? There is nothing wrong with being regal, grand or royal but there isn't anything wrong with being common, plain and or "real". People would like to comment, postmortem, how her addiction was a major factor of Whitney Houston's demise or the circles and choices she made, but I believe the catalyst of being un-Whitney had more to do with her conflict of character/image. Take away the existence of "self" and you have no choice but to exist as "other". Thus my lack of shock when she married Bobby Brown. Who else can you be with except someone who is most like "you", to fill the void removed or re-build the "diminished you". I mean just how do you live a double identity on a global stage and keep your sanity being the music industry's Black Barbie doll or the musical voice of the "Post-Civil Rights Movement? Standing on a train platform during rush hour daily is a struggle enough for most so imagine being just that for 30 plus years without pause. How do you live a life of royalty when you know deep down you want to throw back a rum and coke with a side order of sticky-finger ribs, mac and cheese, fried chicken and potato salad. 

I caught an episode on the reality show, Being Bobby Brown where Whitney Houston had gone through one of her "self fulfilling" tirades where she yelled at a group of common people, "Do you know who I am?" Truth of the matter was, they knew who Whitney Houston was but not THAT woman. She wasn't the Whitney Houston created by the World to know but the Hood Rat that was "real" and it wasn't as bad as Reality TV made it out to be. I actually like it. Not so much the ignorance factor but the "real" factor of a woman who could get angry, who could yell, scream, throw things and needing a cigarette and a drink to calm down afterwards. There was no shock and awe at all. Whitney Houston was a human being with personality with a unique perspective, character and opinions. All this, we never heard from the Diva by design. Newark locals knew but the World was absent from the introduction on day one. As those who "thought" they knew Houston's stage media persona with their fantasy connections to the singer, they say that she always knew where she came from but did the World REALLY want to see that? Did they really want to see, hear or even know The Hood Girl from Newark, New Jersey with the voice of an angle and an attitude of Mike Tyson? I doubt that image could sell, "Saving All My Love for You".

Although times have changed in the industry where artist of a particular vain, can and will break out and just "be" themselves (i.e. Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey) and others that took control of their images from the beginning (Madonna, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj). With that change was also a change in music, style, message and in some cases their audience. Early in Whitney's career the fans and critics questioned if she could make that transition. They questioned why Whitney wasn't crossing over into what they all knew were her roots. There seemed to be an absence of Gospel, R&B even a scant degree of HipHop, Jazz and Soul. Her music was inspirationally "safe". As commercially neat and clean as you can get without being "corny" we all knew Whitney was far from CORNY, she was cool people as a regular Hood girl. She was fun as well as deep. This we never got. So when the dark side (which really wasn't dark, just edited) became public, one would hope that a transition of image and clarity, artistic truth and conviction would dominate her comeback. Unfortunately as she began to re-build her career, the machine that is Clive Davis gave us more of the same. I was sadden and even more so, disappointed. 

As the media industry try to find blame and fault to a life that left the World "too soon" highlighting talking points like Bobby Brown, Robin Crawford, her hometown; Newark, New Jersey, the music industry and Clive Davis, her Faith in Christ or the lack thereof when the truth of the matter is, it was all of those things and none of them at the same time. No matter what the catalyst was, be it fate, cosmic design, karma or the act of God, this was who, what, how and why Whitney Houston was to "be", a reality not "too short" or "too long". Thus ends this lesson of life.

Did we love Whitney Houston as an artist? Yes. Do we feel sad for the loss of another icon? Most definitely. Did we know Whitney Houston? Not really. We knew her commercially, we even knew some of her demons but in the end, we never connected to the real artist through her story, no more and no less than we connect with a random person sharing the train seat next to you. The experience is only as personal as the ride to the last stop.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

PERCEPTION REALITY AND PENANCE

Roland Martin was suspended by CNN for an assumed Homophobic 'Tweet' comment. The GLAAD association filed a formal complaint over a Superbowl tweet that Roland Martin made to his "followers" which, according to Roland was taken out of context and fueled by the same uncontrolled and chaotic resources of limited human common sense we call social media. The argument used to justify the suspension were past comments defined as racist, homophobic, liberal, socialist and every and any other definition used to describe a CNN host. What gets me most about this is the exploitative nature of the issue. The Boogyman in the closet factor. Normally I wouldn't care about something like this but I did take the time to bone up (I hope saying that don't get GLAAD on my ass for saying) on the facts and my jaw dropped. I mean dropped like a Looneytoon moment for shock and awe. I did not read anything remotely homophobic in Roland Martin's comment. If anything, it was a greater diss on H&M than anything sports, sex or gay related. But then again, I was using common sense and basic comprehension skills.

"Ain't no real bruhs going to H&M to buy some damn David Beckham underwear! If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! I bet soccer fan Piers Morgan will be in line at H&M in the morning to get his hands on David Bechman's (sic) underwear line."

I mean REALLY .. for this tweet comment?

Believe it our not, I not only thought the same thing at my Superbowl event, I actually said something similar, OUT LOUD which got a roomful of collective laughs. By the way, I am quite sure the Gay people in the room weren't psychologically scared due to the fact that they were more interested in "WHO" David Beckham was and where they could get the granny-panties he was wearing. All-in-All, the ad was successful for attracting both Women and Gay men to buy a pair of over priced H&M booty-chokers. And for those who are not in the know, H&M is Metrosexual central for fashion. Hoping GLAAD isn't hot on my ass for poking at the truth for saying this but H&M has been the primary source of the uppity-urban fashion trend for knock-off Couture and Cat-Walkmania since day one and if it is Gay, Metro-trendy and inexpensive, its at H&M. Its reality living in New York City. I'm not saying that H&M is an exclusively Gay business or that it is a hyper-Gay-friendly corporation but real is real, a large amount of their profits come from Women and the Gay Community. Look at their profits and then get back to me if you want to call me anything outside of speaking truth or being honest. Even David Beckham stated he felt uncomfortable doing the Ad. And this is coming from a guy who kicks balls for a living. Again, GLAAD, no pun intended so keep back your lawyers.

I once posted on a social media network, "It's so humid, even crackers have lost their snap." WOW, was this a lesson in White vs Black humor when the truth of the matter was, I had an opened box of crackers that had absorbed the humidity in the room and literally, each cracker was moist and soft. I say this to say, some realities are just that, REALITY. The ad is homoerotic. The style and look is very Gay in its tone and intent.

What amazes me is that tweets and one's personal life seems to COEXIST as one entity. It seems that there are whole societies that sit, study and police the every word and moments of tweeters. A Big Tweeter Consortium dedicated to "Getchu". So much is this becoming past-time that Twitter has become, at least by my perception, no different than TMZ or some other tabloid rag. Having an account by a recognizable person and hoping to avoid Big Brother, one would need to have a DL account, an Anonymous presence so that they can speak free and clear protected by the the virtual Constitution and the laws governed by free speech and expression. 

I didn't find Roland's comments offensive. Maybe because I don't care about Beckham, the sport of soccer, a tattooed man in granny panties, about the overall Superbowl-mania or the fact that this issue was born out of a mix of some of the worst Superbowl commercials to date, but I am beginning to side with a lot of other Americans, many whom are Racist, Sexist and Homophobic .... "&#$%@ GET OVER YOURSELF".  The Ad was Gay. If you take a Poll of Gay men (which no one has done thus far) you'd find that even they would say .... "That Ad was Gay-esque" or at least Gay-Sexy. Women who were Polled voted over 60% that the Ad was sexy and "Facebookable enough to "Like".

Yes, Martin Roland can be an ASS. I have experienced this first hand but one thing I can say, he is an honest Ass. He doesn't mix words with the truth which is why he, I and many within the industry gives him deference and respect. So if he said he was making fun of David Beckham as a soccer player and the sport .... it is safe to say the man doesn't respect the sport or Beckham. Reading his "tweet" and exercising basic comprehension skills, it was very clear as to his intent. The H&M ad was very different and unexpected for the typical Superbowl barrage of drink more, eat more, buy more, treat women like sex objects more. To throw in a naked man in booty-chokers as if he was auditioning for Victoria Secrets .... I mean REALLY? Who were you really trying to impress with brief (no pun intended) peeks and glimpses of crack and crotch? I guess my comment of, "OMG, another Hooker commercial!" after the tenth scantily dressed woman in a bikini was shown, I would be primed for being insensitive, misogynous and needing firing destined to intense sensitivity training. In America under the Constitution, Free Speech, Expression, blah blah ... its my perception, my reality and I spit in the face of anyone who tries to campaign any degree of penance upon me to make me apologize. And for the record, I DON'T LIKE SOCCER EITHER.

Monday, February 6, 2012

STEPS TO BECOMING A GENIUS

 At a fundamental level, this is how we begin to fix what is broken in our community, specifically with young talented Men who fall between the cracks of our broken educational system. Too often, Black boys are ostracized and profiled as not interested in learning when the obvious is that the standards and methods for learning are outdated for the advanced minds of contemporary youth. Children embracing the "other" America, the one that is easily attainable by shortcuts, guile and imitation, a lifestyle where it requires those of weak resolution and determination to be rewarded, kills all chance for innovation, true creativity, collective work and responsibility to self-determination as a society. To be better than all Peoples as well has creating a legacy much like royalty to pass down like wealth and pride, we need our talented to be elevated, matured and ready to be better than the generation before them. We need to consolidate our geniuses.

 How to become a genius:
  1. Consider yourself being a genius and act like one in every moment of your life and you will very soon feel that you are one.
  2. Work out your time in such a way that every hour is properly utilized and put aside as much time as possible on becoming better.
  3. Established a good skill on recognizing data that is valuable and vital.
  4. Learn something new and valuable each day.
  5. In anything you read or observe, make sure you understand it. Clear up the words you don’t understand and ask or look up anything at the moment to understand observations which were not understood. Never pass by something you don’t understand.
  6. Carefully choose a profession in which you earn your money for living and at the same time enables you to enhance your skill and abilities.
  7. Read a lot and carefully select which literature to read in which to gain the most valuable and vital data.
  8. Evaluate, look and make conclusions on anything you read and observe.
  9. Expect much more of yourself than what is expected from others.
  10. Help people around you to the best of your ability and establish friends who can support you if needed.
  11. Be very self-confident and certain but on the same time be open to listen, look and reevaluate to make new conclusions.
  12. Know that no matter how good or skilled you are you can always become better and never cease to become more skillful in anything you have selected to do.
  13. The true genius knows that it is not enough for himself/herself having reached sky high levels – he has to take the rest of mankind with him up and has dedicated his life in making it happen.
  14. Never refer to yourself or others as being "smart". Intelligence and Smart are polar opposites in meaning, intent and potential and should be considered an insult.
  15. Leave a record of your evolution for others to follow and or continue. This is your gift to humanity.

As defined:

Genius - an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.

Intelligence - capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc. The faculty for understanding. Evolution in aptitude and potential.

Talent - a capacity for achievement or success; ability

Smart - having or showing quick intelligence or ready mental capability, socially elegant; sophisticated or fashionable. Witty.

PRIVILEGED AND THE BLIND MAN

 There is no difference between the Privileged and a Blind man eating steak, for no matter how savory, succulent and tasty the meal is, the blind man will never see how the meat is a product of slaughter and butchery. Neither will see this reality upon the first bite nor will either one care. The only interest would be to thank the chef for the time and dedication for its proper preparation. 

 There are many examples of repealed and non-government regulation and its effect on people, communities, society, Nations. The examples exits but are not in the public eye because if it were, Americans would question its principles and morality. The very fact that our private sector is dancing around the World looking for nations to exploit to the level of “pennies per slave” just so that they don’t have to pay Americans a decent wage, benefits for top executives and maintaining a system of trading imaginary capital and empty financial trades is and should be reason enough to stand up and support more Government (People) intervention.  But to do that, you might have to slightly consider the fact that people might have common sense to pay attention to the details.

We can name random countries different in structure and ideology as confusing  and  possessing  corrupt aspects of government, socialist, terrorist or just evil in comparison  with our nation’s Republic  structure; Republicanism at its core, and we can embrace a “free market” with its self-appointed superiority above the principles of equal barter and trade when in truth, it exploits people just as cruelly and effectively as any corrupt system of apartheid, skewed theocracy or terrorist society. An inherited mark placed back upon the World inked deep by Cain's legacy for deviating from his humanity.

Cuba, pre-Castro, and its economics is a prime example as well as many Pacific and Malaysian  Islands, South American, African and Asian nations where America and the Western World exploited people for cheap labor with zero regulations. Once done, they all left those countries devastated, war torn, resource drained and desolate. The economic practices on the surface flourished and looked good on the reflective side of the mirror but in every society that had been done, the division of wealthy to poor increased tenfold. Why? Because you cannot have a growing free market where everyone is a winner and in a capitalist society to maintain this, you will need to have a significant number of have-nots to control, to bottom feed just enough to be used as hors d'Å“uvre and simple appetizers. What keeps all the people from becoming completely indentured are government regulations. Historically it is because of this that American slaves were freed, children emancipated from sweatshops as well as women, immigrants and migrant workers given protection and an established legal retirement age for the elderly from being exploited into their graves was instituted.

We live in a world of “assumed” privilege where the illusion of “working hard” is greatly rewarded.  Only now are Americans seeing that what they thought was the American Dream is just that … a REM induced dream as deep in mythology as Dante's decent into the Inferno.  It is only when we agreed to fall asleep did we dream of a reality where waking up to a world that is either living to be the exploiter or being the exploited was real. Unfortunately, the rest of the World is wide awake and beginning to catch up to exploit us right back with vengeance, retaliation and purpose (i.e. China, the Middle-east, the European Union, Brazil, Russia). You can thank the Bush years for this accelerated evolution and Obama for setting the alarm clock to get up.