Hollywood come through my neighborhood with cameras on

Your grill's glistenin'
Spent a hundred thousand on mine to feel different
What's the real sense of it?
Bling bling, I know
And did you know I'm the creator of the term
I just straightened the perm
Aint let it sit too long, they just makin it burn
-OutKast f/ Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, "Hollywood Divorce"

Just some random thoughts and observations. Lil Wayne done made a come up. Might be his best verse ever. I'm really feeling this song. The beat is ridiculously relaxed, yet hectic at the same time.

We Can't Give What We Don't Have: Peace
An interesting, albeit brief article that will make you go hmmm like Arsenio was your uncle at the Labor Day cookout talking about he can't wear his white linen outfit no more until next summer. But on the reals, it is a succint and on-point essay about the contradictions of government. I remember back in 2004 after somebody got shot in the head on the even of the Democratic national Convention, a young women lamented something to the tune of, "why y'all got all that security down there when real terrorsm is right here in these streets." And it doesn't take much effort to reach out and touch somebody to realize that street violence is raging all across the country.

Where the hell do people think of furniture like this? [beware]

This article, in addition to some 30-minute preview thingie they had on HBO is what has got me all riled up about The Wire. But the real ill shT is this online spoken word battle. I think I might have to put something on it. I'm already a little shook though. I was just telling someone last night about my favorite local artists, emcees, and poets. And I'll be damned if one of the poets I mentioned wasn't up on there with a video and low reviews. Yes, shook. Your simple words just don't move me. You're minor, we're major. You all up in the game and don't deserve to be a player. But fuq it. Lemme start writing. Man up.

Bangin' on the lunchroom table, I used to spectate

Sat in the back of the class with my hand up
Two wild security guards, grabbed my man up
Threw him in detention for 5 days suspension
Cuz he said, the teacher was lyin about the Indians
Tryin to dumb us with the story of Columbus
-Masta Killa & RZA, "School"

A week from now, what has to be my favorite TV show will make its welcome return to the airwaves. The Wire is back and will be a case study for those unaware of the realities of urban public education. back in May, I invoked the spirit of dead Prez to highlight the parallels between one of their tracks and some of the sentiments within the minds of some "unacclimated" youth. But shT is about to get real ugly...and beautiful. Never have I felt such a connection with a show so much. Ok, aside from House Party and Class Act (since I was such a huge Kid N Play fan back in the day). But I digress. The stage has been set. The Baltimore school system is the backdrop. The opening episode of the season was premiered at the Martha's Vineyard African American Festival and the heat is on. It'll be interesting to see how the story develops having gotten the overall picture painted for me about the different youth and their background stories (more to come about the stoop kids versus corner kids concept). Naturally, all of this will be revealed as the storyline progresses, but I am so axious to see this sht it just doesn't make sense. It'll be my Sunday night release from the world into a parallel universe where I can relive old experiences, reassess moments in time when I faced a challenge, empathize with the young people that I come across on a weekly basis, and enjoy a well written and acted drama that panders to my sensibilities. Might sound real suspect to you, but it makes sense to me and so what. Back in May, I quoted my man HMC's thought about the ironies of urban youth workers and his sentiments still hold the same weight months later. I'm seriously thinking about getting more folks in the district that I come interact with to watch this show as well. Some of thing might learn a thing or two. And I'm not saying I am any kind of expert, but there are noticeable gaps in the education process. Hell, I've been learning so much this summer interacting with the PHH youth as well as young people from a couple of other programs that I now have a whole bunch of new ideas and approaches to how I'll manage my own youth this coming school year. From being more aware of my words and actions around the young ladies to the restraint I self-impose interacting with the guys, it's helped me to be more disciplined. There's definitely some room for growth, as evidenced by my delayed reaction this past week to a couple of a$$holes in particular. I am much more confident and comfortable in my dealings with them. And the entrepreneurship program really helped me bring it all together and solidified some techniques I hope to refine in September and October. It's bigger than technology, B. So much more to it than that. Case in point, after the latest Social Night, everyone rolled out and the flock all strolled towards their hood only to the piercing tune of sudden pops in the night. There's nothing worse than placing a call for shots fired when you are unsure of the danger that lurks beyond the shadows. Yet, that very concept is a consistent theme in hoods and urban school districts across the country. That danger could swallow you whole or it could free you. It is the game of russian roulette we call life.

You won't survive get live catchin wreck is our thing

You wanna front, what?
Jump up and get bucked
If you're feeling lucky duck
Then press your luck
-Jeru, "Come Clean"

So like an a$$hole, I took issue with something in the Banner and let it ride. (Disclaimer, I'm not as critical of the big boys because I don't care about them as much.) Then, the next issue came out and I said fuq it. So I sent this in. And then come to find out, homeboy replied. The publisher, that is. He gave his rebuttal and it was all good. About how the choices were slim, yet being critical yet ignoring the pros and cons of the situation wouldn't be a good thing. But I do know he and Celester also go back a long way. They boys and all, nahmean.

My attack is purely mental and its nature's not hate
It's meant to wake ya up out of ya brainwashed state

So anyways, much to my surpise I check their website and lo and behold, he actually printed what I wrote. Coulda fooled me. Damn sure didn't think that was gonna happen. But then again...maybe I'm blind, because this shT damn sure didn't make it into the print edition. You know, the one people actually read. Oh well. I'mma keep speaking my mind. Fuq the dumb shT. Enjoy.

Maybe I read too much into it, but I was surprised to read the Banner editorial (August 10, 2006) which stated that "Billy Celester is the better choice," based on analysis that seemed to indicate that experience mattered more than integrity.

I know very little of either of the candidates in the Sixth Suffolk District race beyond the past few months of campaigning, but what I do know is this: Boston can no longer be the breeding ground where its residents settle for the status quo, either among the "good ol' boy" network nor in the ’hood. While it is great that Celester's tenure as former deputy superintendent of the Boston Police Department puts a great public face to current public safety concerns, it is the issue of credibility in public office that matters most to me.

In essence, if a voter's choice is between two candidates, one of whom was convicted and imprisoned for two years in a federal penitentiary for police corruption, and another whose "skills are not quite as valuable at this time," then it begs a larger question. Where are the future leaders of tomorrow? If the only viable candidates that the Black community can produce were born prior to the civil rights era, then who is being groomed to assume the mantle of leadership? Time dictates that the baby boomers currently in power will eventually begin to resign from the limelight of influence and authority. Yet, it is imperative that the passing of the torch begin now or else we risk the threat of rendering our collective voice mute.

I admire the Banner for staying true to its mission which, in part, is to keep people in check when it comes down to news and issues that matter most to communities of color. But I also admonish it for not being keen enough to recognize that a new day is fast approaching, and if we don't do a better job of being that "village" as the cliché goes, then someone else will indeed be raising our children.

I'd Do It All By Myself

Buju Banton has this one joint where its jumps off with...

if i could stop the wars in the world
stop the killings of boys and girls
if i could eradcate starvation
senseless slaughter of nations

i'd do it all by myself

i'd do it all by myself

i see destruction, plague, and disease
so much poverty, violence in the streets
if i had the power and strength every week
bring the oppressors to their knees

Or at least that what it sounded like to me. But to hear that shT live and see the trance with which it was voiced is really something magical. For someone to be so controversial, yet so inspiring. It is a peculiarly honorable paradox indeed.