Ladies and gentlemen, I thought I had a favorite author. I was 100% sure that “he” was the best. I had read all of his books and I was hooked! That is until his latest novels seemed as if they were trying too hard. They no longer sparked a curiosity in me. They no longer kept me excited, intrigued, and wanting more. So I set off on a mission. I was determined to rekindle that flame and desire to read. I was determined to find that addicting brain food we call literature. I stepped out of the box and read pieces that friends suggested. They were okay, however they didn’t come to life for me. I had heard the author Eric Jerome Dickey thrown around a few times so I decided to see what he was about. This became my most pivotal moment in reading.
When I read one of his novels for the first time, I no longer wanted to call it “reading.” I wanted to call it living! His novels came to life right in front of my eyes. It was as if I were apart of the situations and I knew the characters personally. This man is truly gifted you guys! I struggle to put these feelings in words as I type this. His novels paint pictures, tell stories, and pull you in strong and hard! The day I stared reading his art is the day that I truly found my favorite author. Ever since then I have read each and every single book that he has written, each one topping its predecessor.
Here recently I have read his latest called “Pleasure.” This is clearly the best book he has written thus far. (I’m sure his next will top this as well) This steamy, fantasy filled romance will have you up, late night reading, when you have to be up at 5:30 a.m. in the morning for work! It will have you sneaking a peak at the next page while you’re at work or home preparing dinner!
The novel is about a woman named Nia Simone Bijoux, a ghost writer of erotic novels, living single in Atlanta. She is constantly on the verge of seeking sexual satisfaction however often comes up short. This problem continues in her life until she meets these two gorgeous identical twins jogging in a park one day. Later, caught in a hot love triangle, she discovers their deep dark dirty secrets at all cost. She receives the pleasure of a lifetime but finds herself wondering is it all worth her life?
Indulge yourself in this breathtaking, page turning, eye popping drama. I read this book in a few days while juggling my home life and my full time career as a high school teacher. This is truly a treat worth making time for. Eric Jerome Dickey is a phenomenal writer and will take you on that long awaited vacation that you’ve been yearning for. Allow him to do so! If you are looking for an author to stick by who will satisfy your brain food craving each and every time, “he” is you man ladies and gentlemen. Start with “Pleasure” and I promise you won’t regret it!I’m heavily anticipating his next!
At the beginning of last week, I made the following comments regarding Obama's education reform proposals:
"I read yesterday the Free Press' brief account of Obama's response to the education crisis, and found myself a bit concerned. A couple of his direct quotes stood out to me when reading the article. Obama explained, 'The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens.' He then further explains,
'We have everything we need to be that nation ... and yet, despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short and other nations outpace us.'
I think, first of all, that this identification of a problem - several problems - that has catalyzed the education crisis is myopic in nature. He in no way addresses systemic inequities that have perpetuated the failure of teachers and students to perform at specific levels of success and enabled to structural compromise of many of the schools that deteriorated. Moreover, he has overlooked financial mismanagement - and for what purpose this mismanagement has occurred - that also enabled this deterioration. I also believe that, as I will address in a minute, he has placed an unfair onus of responsibility on the shoulders of individuals who are now being told to be responsible for the crises they face rather than exploring creative, alternative methods for everyone to be responsible for one another. At the end of this quote, Obama explains that 'other nations outpace us' in terms of education production. I suppose my assessment could be off-base, but it seems that the same stimuli that have led to the crisis we are now experiencing are the driving factors successful educational production internationally. Seemingly, students are continuing to be trainined in vocational and technological skill-sets so that they can take over production responsibilities for consuming nations. It appears that transnational outsourcing of resource production has, in part, led to the need and desire for 'successful' academic performance. The incentives that once existed in this country to satisfy literacy and math requirements in order to pursue industrial labor is now, seemingly, paralleling incentives elsewhere to academically succeed. If our standards are to be examined comparatively with the endeavors of others nations, the ultimate result will seemingly be an extension of the problems that catalyzed the current predicament."
I realized that I neglected to assess the other half of this puzzle. Obama's assessment of other nations' academic output is not comparatively one-dimensional, but an expression of how this achievement will save our economy. Once again, Obama explains that "the future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens." The simple fact behind this statement is that the President is equating economic recovery with educational performance; or, quantifying our youth in terms of economic utility as opposed to socially conscious citizens. These proposals are in no way a reform, but rather a perpetuation of the current state of systemic commodification and how to most effectively maximize its utility. In order to address the paradigmatic shift this country needs to make - educationally, politically, economically, environmentally, etc...... - we cannot continue to remedy a system that has been failing for years upon years. We need to address to core concerns by shifting away from an automatous redress of those problems to a more humane one.
Mike Davis wrote an article about two years ago entitled “Home-Front Ecology” (which can be found here) in which he presents conservancy efforts in the World War II climate and its correlation with patriotic fervor. I had a few thoughts about this article and his identification of such efforts during the 1940s climate. Furthermore, I was initially enamored with the patriotic ideal associated with conservation and how this correlation could be drawn and applied in a contemporary political and economic climate. Unfortunately, I came to a hypothesis that indicated a much more dramatic shift in paradigm than the one that stimulated the desire to cut salaries, build and live in modest homes rather than glamorous ones, grow carrots and cabbage on the white house lawn, and make social concessions in order to promote economic sensibility.
One of the most explicit – ostensibly – contradictions of these initiatives was: 1) the idea of creating, at the very least, a socialist economy (definitely moving courageously towards communism) during World War II; 2) the correlation between patriotic fervor and the perpetuation of this socialist-communist state; and 3) the combination of the first two principles in order to more effectively combat communism. However, I believe that in order to reduce the impact of this contradiction, an ultimate goal antithetical to this type of economy needed to be in sight. That ultimate goal was the maintenance not only of "democracy," but, more importantly, of capitalism.
Generally, I was amazed at the level of capital sacrifice this country was willing to make in order to preserve "democracy" at home. This level of sacrifice largely surpassed textile and food conservation, but even led to Roosevelt's signing of XO 8802 (desegregating defense industrial plants) and eventually the desegregation of the armed services - both unprecedented in nature. Again, however, I believe that this sacrifice was only mandated insofar as it was economically sensible. I was curious in understanding why this same level of sacrifice is not being espoused contemporarily as it was during the "crisis" of the 1940s. I have come to the hypothesis that this is simply a matter of “sacrificial endurance” – that is, promulgating a political and economic policy through the temporary sacrifice of capital and resources. Responding to today’s crisis (crises), there would be no goal of a return to capitalist values and their application to democratic principles. Such principles would need to be redefined and capitalism abandoned, and many are unwilling to accept this inevitability. I am in no way concluding that the situation is hopeless, but certainly a reversion back to those ideals espoused during the World War II era would only extend the simple fact that our political and economic system is dying and cannot be resuscitated. I see this reversion in the AmeriCorps program and benefits extension, comparing revisionist initiatives to those similar to the G.I. Bill. The domestic incentives, though, after civil-service "troops" return from fighting on the home-front will not exist as they did in the mid to late-1940s. Industrial and vocational jobs will not be available, educational institutions will not be accessible, traditional domestic work will nowhere near be what it was and certainly not typified. The dramatic changes that seemingly need to occur are not being addressed, and it is rather troublesome.
Not too long ago, I lamented the turn that Hiphop had taken towards pop music. While I have begun to reconcile my frustrations with the filth it produced--largely by avoiding the radio altogether--I was perusing my ought-to-be-expired subscription to Rolling Stone and found out that "Flo' Rida Smashes Sales Record" with his new single "Right Round" sampled from the 80's band Dead or Alive's single "You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record)"--selling "636,000 downloads [in] its first week." I've been planning to write this blog post for awhile, but it has suddenly taken a turn in approach, so bear with me and don't judge without seriously considering what I've said:
Hiphop has finally publicly sold-out to white kids. And you can quote me on that, but only if you give some kind of detail on my explanation.
Honestly, I wouldn't care if that didn't include some kind of bizarre disdain for the white people themselves. I've met a wealth of white kids who have a encyclopedic knowledge of Hiphop...the kind of depth of knowledge that inclines me to think that, if a rapper were pandering to them, Hiphop would be much better off than it is. But rappers aren't appealing to these proud examples of sonic integration--they're appealing to the kids they don't really like, the ones they want little to do with: the B*tches and the W*ggaz. Hiphop is appealing to the white kids whose only contact with black people involves sneaking off and watching Oz in the wee hours of the night or slumming on BET. They're appealing to the white kids who genuinely believe that there is a way to "act black" and that the two or three black kids at their school aren't really "black" enough to serve as examples of the "black experience" in America.
In short, rappers are stereotyping their audience as white-flight produced, suburban white kids--and forsaken me!
Thus far, I sound like I'm the only one doing the stereotyping, right? Not the rappers, they're doing what they do best: entertaining. Right?
Wrong! Consider one of my favorite rappers, Jay-Z, and his best album, "The Black Album." I'm not enough of a conspiracist to believe that the title was a conscious statement that this is an album made for his black audience--but it was the last album he ever made which consciously included the scrutinizing black audience which had once been the core of Hiphop.
"If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is whack, maybe you'll love mewhen I fade to black?"~ December 4th
Jay-Z more than frequently uses double and triple meaning in his lyrics and that line, after he returned to rap with "Kingdom Come," stood out to me. I wasn't sure how to take it. I realize that in context he's merely saying "don't judge me for my past" and that you have to respect his rise from the dirt. But the question is who is he speaking to? Who is the audience? And regardless of the audience, does that line gain some meaning upon his return?
My answer is yes. He did "fade to black" and many people do "love him" now that he has. He receives all of the same praise, but he's clearly downgraded his lyricism--the quality which the core audience cares the most about. But, I contend, the core audience is a transracial (as in transcendent of race--alternately post-racial) group. The core audience isn't just black, and it hasn't been since Run DMC "Rock[ed] This Way." But if we grant meaning to that particular line, and the title, and consider the quality of Jay-Z's work since then, it would seem that he's "fad[ed]" to his core "[honorary] black" audience.
Yeah, he has a right to expand his audience. Please do. I want to see Hiphop grow and evolve as much as any 'head, but not this way, Hov. Not this way.
I'm not done though. I'll give you another example of one of my favorites. Cee-lo.
How many people listened to Cee-lo before he became the bizarre lead singer of Gnarls Barkley? I did. How many Gnarls Barkley fans realize that Cee-lo is a member of the "Dungeon Family" which happens to be led by Outkast? How many Gnarls Barkley fans know that Cee-lo's career began with a group called Goodie Mob, in which he was the bizarre character--similar to Andre 3000 of Outkast? Probably quite a few know all that now, but it has probably become a bizarre bit of Gnarls Barkley trivia which is quickly becoming unfashionable to acknowledge.
Cee-lo's been weird. And I actually LOVE Gnarls Barkley. So my beef isn't with the lyrics as much as what Cee-lo has had to sacrifice to be on top--and who he sacrificed to get there.
"Their god's only a graphic, the sky's computer blue/ There is a moral malfunction, what will the machine do to you/ They maliciously monopolize the mass/ Niggas sleep rap and fuck they surprise you last/ when you sell them your soul they supply you cash/ But you can die for all they care, with your expendable ass/ Because they know a new nigga, a brand new nigga/ Will jump right in them tap shoes even if his feet bigger/ Ain't shit sweet nigga, it's deeper than the street nigga/ You and I just a virus they gonna delete nigga/ Some people say go on and join what you can't beat nigga/ I won't take the mark so I can't eat nigga/ Holla if I'm talking to ya, (AH!)"~ Microhard from "Pefrect Imperfections"
"Let's get started shall we, cause you know it's time gone/ Every time these niggaz rhyme wrong/ So uhh, lights, camera, action I'm on/ I'll have them standing in line to get their mind blown/ I'm selling soul/ Rapping and singing and screaming and yelling soul/ Manufacturing, marketing, pricing, packaging, and e-mailing soul/ With no rehearsal, this one verse'll whole hearse you/ Now a commercial, but what I must first do/ is make my presentation a bit more personal/ Everything must go - for a small price you can have the heart of me/ There is no part of me that can't be calculated into a commodity/ My musings amount to a milestone a million miles above monotony...But isn't it amazing, how the antenna ain't nothing but a sinner...And I give it to you at God-speed, but yet it's gentle/ And when I rhyme I make reading fundamentals/ or even black and white/ My lyric is live in living color/ my flow is fluorescent/ Like scripture highlighted in bright yellow/And all this for $9.99, shit that's wonderful/ And the great thing about it is, if you disagree you're money's refundable/ But there's always something rewarding, about every Cee-Lo Green recording/ Cuz even after all your expenses people still aspire affording/ It's incredible how convincing I can be with a camera pointed at me/ But really sometimes rapping feel like tapping to make a cracker happy/ But when the ??? play and the beat get bumping like adolescent acne/ It's kinda sad but it's SHOWTIME/ my sentiment exactly/ So don't get mad, everybody's doing it/ You know you wouldn't mind a commercial with your own tennis shoe in it/ Whether you're selling a dream, selling a scheme, or playing a role/ Like it or not we're selling soul"~ I am Selling Soul from "Cee-lo Green's the Soul Machine"
This is coming from the album that begins with Cee-lo saying he's literally the "soul machine" and that you should push his button to "start him up." Cee-lo makes it more than abundantly clear where he is being pushed for economic success. The following album wasn't a solo album, it was Gnarls Barkley. This is not to say that he has completely downgraded his talents, but merely shifted gears. His songs have become more obtuse and radio friendly. If you haven't noticed, when Gnarls Barkley dresses up for photo shoots, Cee-lo, more often than not, dresses up as some white guy from pop culture. He's actively chosen to minstrel for the hoards of white kids who don't want to hear the true depth of his music.
Or as Andre 3000 said: "You don't want to hear me/ You just wanna dance!"
What it amounts to, to my white readers, is that rappers know you're out there. They are making music "for you." Or at least they think they are. I would like to think that you are all smarter than that. In fact, I know that a lot of you are--because a lot of the Hiphop audience left for Indie Rock; it's gotta mean something, right? It implies that they don't think very highly of you. They hate you--in a way. But they'll take your money. Just like black entertainers always have when they have no other choice to survive in their field. If they want to continue making music, they have to pander to you. And really, it's not entirely the artists--though in the case of Jay-Z and Cee-lo, I think it is--but also the labels and their "market research." They've turned you into a mindless-horde demographic. They assume that you'll buy anything that makes you move, without ever questioning where it comes from or what it means. And far too many of us have. We all share the blame somehow. But anymore, the power rests in the hands of that cinematic stereotypical crowd: 3-4 white kids and the token. When you all turn your backs on the insults lodged at you from the music industry, Hiphop will be resurrected.
Or you'll bury it for all eternity...like ragtime or something.
And so it was.
As exemplified by these two titans of Hiphop, rappers had to downgrade their talents in order to succeed. They had to appeal no longer to their core perceived-black audience, but to the bubblegum popping, colorblind-by-ignorance, "speak so well" suburban white young adult audience. (If you'll pardon my malice and vitriol.)
I've watched in anger as Jay-Z, Cee-lo, Common, and many of my favorite rappers gave way to 50 Cent (who measures the greatest rapper by profits), Kanye West ("pop is a good thing. you're popular!), Soulja Boy (OMG!), and now Flo Rida (have you seen that video! does that sh*t make ANY sense?).
And so, what I think has happened, is that Hiphop--my beloved genre--has transitioned into its creative dark age (linguisitic irony! pun not intended). It has become Glam-hop. It will someday be remembered as an embarrassment to the genre, much like hairbands are to rock fans today. I hope that real Hiphop heads will partition this phenomenon out of our minds.
(I realize I'm a little all over the place here. I'm placing the blame in a lot of places. I'm really not blaming "white people"--it's just that "white kids" are the demographic I feel certain the labels are speaking to anymore. What else could explain the creation of Flo Rida's "Right Round"? Which means the problem/solution lies in the source of that perception. I imagine there's a grain of truth in there somewhere, so how can we as fans answer that?)
Looking for essays about President Barack Obama in Popular Culture for a book anthology
Title of manuscript: Obama-Mania: Critical Essays on Representations of President Barak Obama in Popular Culture
Contact:
ObamaInPopularCulture@gmail.com
Editors: Derrais Carter & Nicholas Yanes
Publisher: McFarland
Deadline for Abstracts: May 25th, 2009
Description of the Book:
The 2008 Presidential Elections was one of the most intensely debated and commented on race in modern history. The passionate standpoints expressed in this election not only stems from ideological conflicts, but from Barack Obama’s uniqueness as a Presidential candidate. This book collects specific examinations of President Obama in popular culture with the hope of creating a scholarly record of Obama’s presence in popular media free of historical revisionism. With this in mind, Obama-Mania will bring together essays that examine how Barack Obama’s image has been used in comic books, music, television shows, movies, and how talk shows and radio programs have commented on Obama’s campaign and election. In short, the focus of this book is not specifically on Obama and the politics surrounding the 2008 Presidential election, but on the conversation between popular culture and President Obama.
Expectations for Proposals and Essays:
Ideal proposals will contain a clear thesis, an abstract which is two to three paragraphs long and a list of potential sources. Additionally, we want a clear thesis, not an overview of a medium. For instance, if one is to talk about Obama in comic books, we will not accept a paper discussing every Obama comic book appearance. Additionally, if a person wants to write about the President’s influence on music, we will not accept an essay simply documenting every song which was used in the campaign or that makes reference to Obama. We are looking for papers of academic quality.
The collection will include 10 to 12 essays between 6250 and 7500 words - this includes each work’s bibliography. Essays need to be in MLA format – parenthetical citations, not footnotes. And it is up to the author(s) to get permission to reprint copyrighted material.
Proposed Topics:
1) Comic Books & Science Fiction: Depictions of Obama as Superhuman
2) Music: How have musicians addressed Obama and the 2008 Election
3) Television and Film
a. Movies: The Cinematography of Change
b. Scripted Fictional Television: How Escapist Television Predicted and Has Been Influenced by Political Reality
4) Non-Fiction Political Programs: News Shows and Radio Programs
The blog is dedicated to reviewing the black experience through book, film, and music reviews. We also engage in cultural criticism and celebration. Happy reading and feel free to comment. Peace
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