BALLERS AND RAPPERS IN THE WHITE HOUSE

A few things to think about on Fathers Day…..first let me go on record and note, the ballers and rappers that many young Black kids fantasize about, played a key role in getting Barack and Michelle into the White House, not once, but twice!! From Lebron James to Jay-Z to Will.i.am to Common to Beyonce, who the First Lady famously said was a role model for her daughters, were all up in the mix during their campaigns and later on, inaugurations. These rappers and ballers went out and engaged their fans, by doing songs, concerts and special appearances, urging Black folks to go to the polls and vote in what we saw were record numbers.

If we really wanna keep it 100 as the youngins say, I saw Diddy and Jigga Man hanging out at the inaugurations in 08, and 12, and not prominent scholars like my friend Dr. Cornel West who actually went and campaigned in over 60 cities for the President. We’ve seen countless pictures of rappers all up in the White House. Why wouldn’t a Black kid fantasize about being a rapper or baller when it’s them hangin out with the Obama’s and not his mentor, teacher or preacher? Hum?

Second point... for the love of God, lets do away with this crazy ass 25-year-old cliché first screamed by Spike Lee back in the late 80s at the height of the crack epidemic about Black kids not wanting to read because it would make them seem white. People who are trying to do the tough love thing have been running with that quote for far too long and it has no bearing in our reality.

In the age of You-tube, the Internet and other kinds of technology we have all kinds of cross pollination taking place. You have some Black kids in the hood rocking skinny jeans and skateboard gear made popular by white kids, and in the suburbs you now see lil white kids rocking a hat to the side and sagging pants made popular by their Black counterparts in the hood! Slang and patterns of speech are damn near universal at this point in time. In short if we’re going by style of dress and surface mannerisms, you have to ask yourself; what does it mean to be Black or white? Hum, again? If we wanna talk about Black kids reading books and the stereotypical perceptions behind that, we have to dig down in the context of disparities in education and how that plays out on the ground. Another story…another time my friends.

The fact is many of the ballers and rappers who Black kids fantasize about are actually moguls in their own right with a hell of a lot of money and power which folks have to understand is the result of them having a hustle mentality, a willingness to get on the grind, and intelligence to navigate through the bullshit before them. Whether it’s Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Common, Rick Ross, Kobe or Beyonce, you name it; all of em has made it abundantly fuckin clear their success was the result of them grinding!! It’s been made clear their mogulness has been the result of them soaking up game and learning the business aspect of the worlds they enter. As Jay-Z once famously rapped….I’m a businessman, I’m a Business. Man if that ain’t clear enough for your ass; it’s up to people like Michelle Obama to highlight that aspect versus deriding one’s fantasy! I’m Phillip Norton, and I’m out!!!!