Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Keep it 100
"Keep it 100" is a phrase that we use commonly without much of an afterthought. We say it when we want people to be honest, we say that when we want to show our own fortitude, we say it ad-nauseum actually. But little is considered in terms of what is "100?" You see, we define and redefine so many things without giving credit to origins, in most cases. For example, my "keeping it 100" may mean honesty one week, then flexible morality the next week.
So in the spirit of questioning this "100," I started with the sources. I know a cat that swears he keeps everything "100;" he's real with his circle of friends, tells niggas how it is, etc. However, this same cat also does not work, does not care for his children, or care about his future. Is that 100? Or does is this concept relegated to only specific instances? If that's the case, then we need to say "I keep it 100... for now."
Outside of sourcing this colloquialism, I asked myself if I am "100?" Now, defining that can take many tangents, so let's keep it simple. Certain qualities are requirements across the board, despite race, age, preference, etc. Those can be things like having a strong spiritual foundation (that you adhere to,) employment, plans for your life, or a desire to do good. All those qualities with more can make one 100, in my opinion. So taking inventory of my life and the thing in it made me question my "100"-ness. Am I 100 with God? Am I 100 with my woman? Am I 100 with my job? Am I 100 with my health? Am I 100 with my finances? So on and so forth...
That brought me to the realization, that I may not be. I firmly feel from a religious perspective that there is only one religion that can truly be applicable to Black people in America: Islam. Particularly, The Nation of Gods and Earths (Five Percenters.) The reason being is that Christianity (for example) has become perverted and on top of that, it is the youngest religion with the most flexible tenements. It is also not created by Black people or for the interest of such. Now to shed more light on Five Percenters, the belief is that the Black man is the original man and he is an embodiment of God Himself (in not as many words.) We are "God-Body" by that principle and have the ability to operate without limitations, just as God can. You see, if we are made in his image, why would not have any of his "powers," insight, or balance? Of course we have those things! And as a result, to be "100," could simply mean God-Body.
We all require a balance in our lives in many areas: physical, emotional, spiritual, creative, social, etc. But there has to be a foundation, a common denominator that glues it all together. My point with mentioning Five Percenters is in that their common denominator is simple: act as God daily. Act as if you have no limits and feed your mind. Simple. But for those not muslim, the principle can still be applied. Conduct yourself in the realm of a higher authority when constructing your life/lifestyle. There's an old saying "dress like the job you want, not the job you got." Taking that logic in play, I'll quote this different: "live like the salvation you want, not the damnation you are in."
Are you 100?
So in the spirit of questioning this "100," I started with the sources. I know a cat that swears he keeps everything "100;" he's real with his circle of friends, tells niggas how it is, etc. However, this same cat also does not work, does not care for his children, or care about his future. Is that 100? Or does is this concept relegated to only specific instances? If that's the case, then we need to say "I keep it 100... for now."
Outside of sourcing this colloquialism, I asked myself if I am "100?" Now, defining that can take many tangents, so let's keep it simple. Certain qualities are requirements across the board, despite race, age, preference, etc. Those can be things like having a strong spiritual foundation (that you adhere to,) employment, plans for your life, or a desire to do good. All those qualities with more can make one 100, in my opinion. So taking inventory of my life and the thing in it made me question my "100"-ness. Am I 100 with God? Am I 100 with my woman? Am I 100 with my job? Am I 100 with my health? Am I 100 with my finances? So on and so forth...
That brought me to the realization, that I may not be. I firmly feel from a religious perspective that there is only one religion that can truly be applicable to Black people in America: Islam. Particularly, The Nation of Gods and Earths (Five Percenters.) The reason being is that Christianity (for example) has become perverted and on top of that, it is the youngest religion with the most flexible tenements. It is also not created by Black people or for the interest of such. Now to shed more light on Five Percenters, the belief is that the Black man is the original man and he is an embodiment of God Himself (in not as many words.) We are "God-Body" by that principle and have the ability to operate without limitations, just as God can. You see, if we are made in his image, why would not have any of his "powers," insight, or balance? Of course we have those things! And as a result, to be "100," could simply mean God-Body.
We all require a balance in our lives in many areas: physical, emotional, spiritual, creative, social, etc. But there has to be a foundation, a common denominator that glues it all together. My point with mentioning Five Percenters is in that their common denominator is simple: act as God daily. Act as if you have no limits and feed your mind. Simple. But for those not muslim, the principle can still be applied. Conduct yourself in the realm of a higher authority when constructing your life/lifestyle. There's an old saying "dress like the job you want, not the job you got." Taking that logic in play, I'll quote this different: "live like the salvation you want, not the damnation you are in."
Are you 100?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Terror-Artists (written Sept. 2003)
America is getting scared
It's all over the television
9/11 or nine-one-one
So call the police divisions
Anthrax being fed-ex'd with care
Anonymously, over-ominously
We hear the fear and stare
Into the T.V.
Because there's terrorists out there!
Yeah!
The biggest threat to America
Is a country 3000 miles away
Quick! Bin Laden and Saddam
Must go today
They're terrorists!
Terror-Artists
I've experienced a terrorist act before
So I understand the severity
Of punishing these individuals
To the fullest extent of legalities
You see,
Mine started with living in poverty
And having roaches in the house
My mom working twelve hours a day
Just to keep food in our mouths
Then trying to survive
In a family of five
On welfare and disability funds
Plus what food stamps provide
Shit, that was terror.
Growing up sometimes wondering
Where food was coming from
Why mama cry so much
And why my brother needs a gun
Terror.
Going to a school
Where teachers could care less
About my writing skills
Being on free lunch
With a closet of clothes from Goodwill
As a child that worries
On the money problems
But tries to balance it
With selling dope "options"
Terror-ble
If you are confused
Ask a South Dallas child
Who's mother the night before
Told him,
"Don't worry, God is sending help through the door"
What he feels
It may be close to terror
Maybe terror-ble
Terror-Artists
That design carnage
To masterfully unfold
And also pull "kick doors" on countries
For some damn oil
Well hey, I can't be too mad
For the committing a crime
I need to chill, right?
Cause gas is down to $1.89
And shit,
It only cost a lot lives...
Am I capitalist, Marxist, anarchist?
Naw, I'm a Terror-Artist
You see
It's frightening
How many people I inspire with this pen
When I'm writing
It seems that I bend
All traditional methodical movements on paper
So I may transform
This sheet into a gun
This pen as a clip that stays warm
With the alphabetical bullets
That consistently spray in syncopated rhythm
Into the bodies of the victims
That begin twitching
As they collapse on the ground, decease,
And melt
Only to be revived and rejuvenated
As Terror-Artists themselves!
But we need more
God bless America
Shit, I'm trippin'
I'll be on the news one day
"Black male shot by police
Thinking he had a gun"
So why should I play
With the power
Of terror
Though it's real power comes from the weaknesses present
Inside the person you see in the mirror
That's real terror.
It's all over the television
9/11 or nine-one-one
So call the police divisions
Anthrax being fed-ex'd with care
Anonymously, over-ominously
We hear the fear and stare
Into the T.V.
Because there's terrorists out there!
Yeah!
The biggest threat to America
Is a country 3000 miles away
Quick! Bin Laden and Saddam
Must go today
They're terrorists!
Terror-Artists
I've experienced a terrorist act before
So I understand the severity
Of punishing these individuals
To the fullest extent of legalities
You see,
Mine started with living in poverty
And having roaches in the house
My mom working twelve hours a day
Just to keep food in our mouths
Then trying to survive
In a family of five
On welfare and disability funds
Plus what food stamps provide
Shit, that was terror.
Growing up sometimes wondering
Where food was coming from
Why mama cry so much
And why my brother needs a gun
Terror.
Going to a school
Where teachers could care less
About my writing skills
Being on free lunch
With a closet of clothes from Goodwill
As a child that worries
On the money problems
But tries to balance it
With selling dope "options"
Terror-ble
If you are confused
Ask a South Dallas child
Who's mother the night before
Told him,
"Don't worry, God is sending help through the door"
What he feels
It may be close to terror
Maybe terror-ble
Terror-Artists
That design carnage
To masterfully unfold
And also pull "kick doors" on countries
For some damn oil
Well hey, I can't be too mad
For the committing a crime
I need to chill, right?
Cause gas is down to $1.89
And shit,
It only cost a lot lives...
Am I capitalist, Marxist, anarchist?
Naw, I'm a Terror-Artist
You see
It's frightening
How many people I inspire with this pen
When I'm writing
It seems that I bend
All traditional methodical movements on paper
So I may transform
This sheet into a gun
This pen as a clip that stays warm
With the alphabetical bullets
That consistently spray in syncopated rhythm
Into the bodies of the victims
That begin twitching
As they collapse on the ground, decease,
And melt
Only to be revived and rejuvenated
As Terror-Artists themselves!
But we need more
God bless America
Shit, I'm trippin'
I'll be on the news one day
"Black male shot by police
Thinking he had a gun"
So why should I play
With the power
Of terror
Though it's real power comes from the weaknesses present
Inside the person you see in the mirror
That's real terror.
Think about this...
"Truth is that which does not contaminate you, but empowers you. Therefore, there are degrees of truth, but, generically, truth is that which can do no harm. It cannot harm." -Gary Zukav from The Seat of The Soul
I have given truth a lot of thought lately... I have asked questions about what I "know" to be true ranging from the simple, physical nature, to the more ethereal and abstract. What I ascertained from this almost Socratic method of questioning is that there is very little that I know to be true. Even more, there is little I know to be true of this physical world and how it relates to the spirit.
Without sounding like a hippie, I know that energy is ever-present: in people, in our mentalities, in our personalities, in our spirits, in our surroundings, in our choices, etc. To view this abounding energy as a singular current would be foolish; it has too many sources and tangents, none relative to another. But energies can coincide in an environment that dictate our performance or chart our life's course for a time. In essence, we would have to be omnipresent in terms of thinking to have a chance at truly seeing our environment or have a shot at galvanizing that energy around us.
Let's say that we accomplish that task and gain a wider range of "sight." Would we now be able to see truth in more areas? I think so. But why is it important? I believe that truth gives us a foundation upon which we can build. Look at an argument for example: one side BELIEVES they are right and the other side is on the defensive. Who is stronger? Obviously the person with the belief. Belief gives you strength and an authority to fight for what you believe, as it also provides a defense. A truth that is believed is a weapon, fortress, sustenance, and an important building block of a characteristic. The more truths we accumulate, the more defined (and refined) our characteristics become, thus making a stronger person.
So I decided to take one truth at a time. I know that God is real and true. We were made (humans, that is) by a higher power. We have choices is another truth. We individually define good and evil based on our influences, experiences, and perceptions. Those are a few truths that I accept, believe, become empowered by, and most importantly, understand. Without foundational knowledge such as that, I would not have created a regulatory system of ethics, nature, and practice that I abide by. Without those few truths, I would live as a man without a Creator, virtually above the law. Those truths do not bind me, however. They enable me think above my physical self.
When we look at our interactions with one another, are we making a habit of going to the truth? Or do we react superficially to situations and err on the side of "ignorance?" I have been guilty of that myself. But in situations where I took in account what I know to be true of the person or situation, the results were favorable. Kinda like "thinking before you speak," if you will.
One truth I understand is that the slaves were never freed. We are still in bondage and it is more devastating this way. I also know that a people cannot oppress another without harming themselves. We'll talk more on that truth later...
I have given truth a lot of thought lately... I have asked questions about what I "know" to be true ranging from the simple, physical nature, to the more ethereal and abstract. What I ascertained from this almost Socratic method of questioning is that there is very little that I know to be true. Even more, there is little I know to be true of this physical world and how it relates to the spirit.
Without sounding like a hippie, I know that energy is ever-present: in people, in our mentalities, in our personalities, in our spirits, in our surroundings, in our choices, etc. To view this abounding energy as a singular current would be foolish; it has too many sources and tangents, none relative to another. But energies can coincide in an environment that dictate our performance or chart our life's course for a time. In essence, we would have to be omnipresent in terms of thinking to have a chance at truly seeing our environment or have a shot at galvanizing that energy around us.
Let's say that we accomplish that task and gain a wider range of "sight." Would we now be able to see truth in more areas? I think so. But why is it important? I believe that truth gives us a foundation upon which we can build. Look at an argument for example: one side BELIEVES they are right and the other side is on the defensive. Who is stronger? Obviously the person with the belief. Belief gives you strength and an authority to fight for what you believe, as it also provides a defense. A truth that is believed is a weapon, fortress, sustenance, and an important building block of a characteristic. The more truths we accumulate, the more defined (and refined) our characteristics become, thus making a stronger person.
So I decided to take one truth at a time. I know that God is real and true. We were made (humans, that is) by a higher power. We have choices is another truth. We individually define good and evil based on our influences, experiences, and perceptions. Those are a few truths that I accept, believe, become empowered by, and most importantly, understand. Without foundational knowledge such as that, I would not have created a regulatory system of ethics, nature, and practice that I abide by. Without those few truths, I would live as a man without a Creator, virtually above the law. Those truths do not bind me, however. They enable me think above my physical self.
When we look at our interactions with one another, are we making a habit of going to the truth? Or do we react superficially to situations and err on the side of "ignorance?" I have been guilty of that myself. But in situations where I took in account what I know to be true of the person or situation, the results were favorable. Kinda like "thinking before you speak," if you will.
One truth I understand is that the slaves were never freed. We are still in bondage and it is more devastating this way. I also know that a people cannot oppress another without harming themselves. We'll talk more on that truth later...
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Untitled (6-22-11)
Gotta think up better shit
Staying competitive
Never repetitive
Better than I've ever spit
You're hearing a veteran
That's never been
And Heaven sent
And hella sick
Ask his relatives!
Poetic and relevant
Combative intelligence
Nomadic and prevalent
So cold,
"So-so" sociopathic
The Socratic method is
Look at the evidence:
Radical methods
Are used as leverage
For his grammatical preference
Pressing the essence
Supressing the malevolent
Praying for the progression
Of developing a lesson
We staying in
Congression
Through the computers
We commute to regression
Induce depression
Reduced to Facebook groups
To suit convalescence
But we regroup!
Duped, by the salute
Of a flag that would choose
To move police troops
On a search and shoot
Mission
For Black me and you
Attack me, and
You'll relax see
The fact is
You're intact
With the latch-and-key-
Philosophy-
Turned-prophecy
Of methodically
And logically
Killing Blacks
What I'm feeling
In fact
Is the killing
Was half
The thrill and
It's matched
By the feel
Of the wheeling
And dealing
And BEWILDERIN' Blacks
That,
"Lord, forgive 'em, they Black"
Lord, forgive my relapse
Lord, forgive me, I'm back.
Staying competitive
Never repetitive
Better than I've ever spit
You're hearing a veteran
That's never been
And Heaven sent
And hella sick
Ask his relatives!
Poetic and relevant
Combative intelligence
Nomadic and prevalent
So cold,
"So-so" sociopathic
The Socratic method is
Look at the evidence:
Radical methods
Are used as leverage
For his grammatical preference
Pressing the essence
Supressing the malevolent
Praying for the progression
Of developing a lesson
We staying in
Congression
Through the computers
We commute to regression
Induce depression
Reduced to Facebook groups
To suit convalescence
But we regroup!
Duped, by the salute
Of a flag that would choose
To move police troops
On a search and shoot
Mission
For Black me and you
Attack me, and
You'll relax see
The fact is
You're intact
With the latch-and-key-
Philosophy-
Turned-prophecy
Of methodically
And logically
Killing Blacks
What I'm feeling
In fact
Is the killing
Was half
The thrill and
It's matched
By the feel
Of the wheeling
And dealing
And BEWILDERIN' Blacks
That,
"Lord, forgive 'em, they Black"
Lord, forgive my relapse
Lord, forgive me, I'm back.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Too Many Drugs...
I wrote this piece in 1998 at 16
Too many drugs to alter my mental state
With my mind's eye closed and oblivious to the outside
World,
Then I am safe from seeing the hate
What I wouldn't give to be blind;
We were far too young to see this
Beautiful, timid, innocent youth
Lacking pretension, harsh judgement, contradiction,
And for which, we did not care
We conformed to the brutal realities of societal
Aggression
And in time, learned to embrace a household nightmare
Where boys of men fear to tread,
Where no sane individual in their right mind would be
Caught dead...
When nightfall revolved, that is where we laid our heads
In the land where beauty and grace operate
At a mechanical disadvantage
Is where we met our friends
The demons spawned from their special place in our subconscious
Hell;
Counterparts until our bitter ends
Any drug(s) on the market to evaporate this feeling,
The dread of simply going to bed
The quiet storm's tumultuous finale,
Leaving in it's wake, irrevocably tattered tapestries of
humanity in our heads
Still, we rose to the lunacies of another day,
To perform with those on their way to Heaven, Hell,
or simply passing by
We captivated audiences with our wit, cynicism, and passion,
While along every unbiased thought,
We wished they would die
But that can't keep us down, for we are Concrete Children,
Born of a desensitized generation of advancement;
burning up in speed
High on all the drugs of life: marijuana, heroine, cocaine,
ecstacy, politics, business, education, and "success"
Addicted to their performance in us, society's need.
Too many drugs to alter my mental state
With my mind's eye closed and oblivious to the outside
World,
Then I am safe from seeing the hate
What I wouldn't give to be blind;
We were far too young to see this
Beautiful, timid, innocent youth
Lacking pretension, harsh judgement, contradiction,
And for which, we did not care
We conformed to the brutal realities of societal
Aggression
And in time, learned to embrace a household nightmare
Where boys of men fear to tread,
Where no sane individual in their right mind would be
Caught dead...
When nightfall revolved, that is where we laid our heads
In the land where beauty and grace operate
At a mechanical disadvantage
Is where we met our friends
The demons spawned from their special place in our subconscious
Hell;
Counterparts until our bitter ends
Any drug(s) on the market to evaporate this feeling,
The dread of simply going to bed
The quiet storm's tumultuous finale,
Leaving in it's wake, irrevocably tattered tapestries of
humanity in our heads
Still, we rose to the lunacies of another day,
To perform with those on their way to Heaven, Hell,
or simply passing by
We captivated audiences with our wit, cynicism, and passion,
While along every unbiased thought,
We wished they would die
But that can't keep us down, for we are Concrete Children,
Born of a desensitized generation of advancement;
burning up in speed
High on all the drugs of life: marijuana, heroine, cocaine,
ecstacy, politics, business, education, and "success"
Addicted to their performance in us, society's need.
Lately...
Lately, I have been doing a lot of compare-and-contrast with my work. I think every lyricist believes his each and every word is gold, but I have not been that disillusioned. I know that as everything progresses, so does talent, maturity, and perspective. I will be posting a few pieces from then and now. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think about Psyentific at age 16 and Mr Jones at 29.
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