A few years back, I don’t recall the talk show, the host had asked
Queen Latifah, (aka Dana Owens ) what was her take on the state of female
Rappers today. This being in the
mid-1990’s when the question was asked, Queen Latifah responded in her deeply wise yet cautious way, “
Any person that has to get to where they want to be using the couch or using their body to get there probably doesn’t need to be there at that time. If you are talented, you are talented. If you do things the right way, you will get there when you are meant to be. But it’s all about the work, not short cuts.”
It was obvious the question and the response to the question was in reaction to the two artist who were the “
IT” girls of the
Rap and
Hip Hop scene;
Foxy Brown and
'lil Kim but regardless of what side of the argument you were on about the role of Women in Rap, we all know that like any true dichotomy, you will have extremes, especially in entertainment and marketing.
Queen Latifah’s response has stayed on my conscious mind for years because it is such a simple rule that speaks volumes to not only about
Fame but to all things in life. We can list the many sensational downfalls of people in entertainment, business, politics, family, education, the rule that "
cheaters never win and winner never cheat" can be found in every religious text on the planet, and yet we still struggle with the vices of wealth and prosperity achieved in quick doses with little to no work involved. Even
Capitalism has within it subtle components of "
short cutting" within its basic premise of
Maximum Work with
Minimum Pay for laborers thus having nothing being equal about its practice at all. One would even argue that
Humanity is inherently lazy which makes lying, cheating and stealing expected and acceptable. I would argue this to be true when you observe
Corporations spending
Billions of dollars annually in training and upgrading employee supervision, management and monitoring efficiency in order to improve profits. We even have within our annual reporting of America the amount of labor dollars lost just on people stuck in traffic daily on our Nation’s highways. The
SPIN: "
If we could only have the American labor force balled and chained to the Corporate Plantation, businesses can make more profits, so fix those damn highways since I can't."
With this said, what have I to vent about if "
a Prostitute named Kristen or Ashley or whatever transformation she has chosen for herself" wanted to use her
Body for commercial gain and success? To be honest, it sparks serious consideration and understanding to supporting the reasons why those in the
Middle East do not want
America in their country. "Yes I did say this, that there could possibly be a place in the world that would and has a legitimate right to
REJECT what America has to offer and or represents. America's over saturation of
decadence and
perversion to
Fame,
Success,
Money and
Power is seen as a cultural virus to those living outside of the United States thus
KNOWING that if introduced into their cultures/countries, it would fundamentally destroy the wholeness of their
Nation's Spirituality; the respect for family values, and the balance of gender roles for Men and Women. This is deep and maybe a little too Black and White for those
Pro-America Patriots but the reality is true, many countries do not have this in their countries and don't
WANT it.
Of course there are those
Third World countries that exist involved in the trafficking of prostitution; women, men and children and many of these counties also cater to a large number of Weste
rn patrons exclusively. Those
Westernized Middle Eastern nations have noted (once
exposed and accepting to cultural compromises for Western influences) dabble in the western practice of buying the company of prostitutes (
although the women would respectfully like to be called Call-Girls; the World respectfully calls them Whores), I find it hard to believe that Men of wealth in places like
Saudi Arabia and
Dubai will pay over
$3 million dollars to have you sit next to them watching camels race each other. Then again, I never had 3 million of anything close to it to make that judgment either but I think I’m right on this matter; the prostitute is taking something off for a minimum of $1 million. The way my finances are these days during this American recession, you can get me to show
NECK for
$20,000.
So imagine me walking outside to handle my daily business and wha
t do I see, on the cover of the daily
RAG,
New York Post, I see naked, "
a Prostitute Kristen-Ashley or whatever transformation she has chosen for herself" big and bright in front of me. Just as I predicted, this
Hooker had been elevated to
Rock-Star statues. Sadly, she is, or should I now say
WAS a struggling Rock-Star. The sales of her online music is crashing severs.
Radio Stations are pumping the lead single like it’s the latest release of a new artist. Some have compared her to a
Christina Aguilera with a “
deeper” voice (
how the Hell that makes any sense with that description I don’t know).
Playboy and
Hustler as begging for nude spreads offering Millions (
like she now needs a reason to take her clothes off again), the talk show exclusives, clothing line offers and you want to know something, the
Ho is actually a talented singer. Talented as well as Attractive.
THAT IS WHAT PISSES ME OFF THE MOST! This "
short cut" in life is rewarded as those that struggle to have Faith, Dedication, Pride and an once of Respect goes to the back of the line to be forgotten. The Drama that comes with the struggle for success is now replaced with the Drama that comes with a stopwatch counting down a
BAD GIRL'S minutes in the spotlight. "
The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long." And how
BRIGHTLY "a Prostitute Kristen-Ashley or whatever transformation she has chosen for herself" is burning. We just have to live and endure the clock and count down how long we experience
THE SHOW.
This "
a Prostitute Kristen-Ashley or whatever transformation she has chosen for herself", had all the right things going except
PATIENCE and a
FAITH that she would be taken care of. I have yet to experience an individual that has made her journey this way come out with any form of longevity. Even
Monica Lewinsky tried to capitalize on here
15 minutes of SEX into a fashion line of designer bags. Bottom line, "
if the Asians ain’t bootleggin’ yo shyt and Black Folk and buyin’ it and havin’ it in a video or two, not even Entertainment Tonight can save yo ass".
When you are World traveled, it is an American’s responsibility to experience how other people view the U
nited States. True, many want to come to the United States but their reasons are not as self-serving as we’d like to assume. Many desire to come to the United States for work. To make a living that can sustain their families. To have the simple things, which we call The
American Dream; a job, a home, and family, and the freedom to maintain their culture without being bothered. That last point is the most
PROMISING. Those people outside of the United States see living in another country and not being prosecuted for their cultural practices as being paramount to living in the United States, which is why those that immigrate into the country tend to stay within their collective groups for years before venturing out to sample the diversity that makes up America. I like speaking with
Koreans,
Chinese,
Africans and
Middle Easterners about their views on living in the United States and in every case they all say living in America is hard not because of the language or the work or even religion, it is hard due to the over-exposure of the decadence that they are bombarded with everyday and in every fiber of the society. “
You can’t escape it, even if you try. It is even in our homes if we don’t protect our families from it”, and with this said, we have to look at ourselves and agree.
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. 
