Pre-Exam Prep creative Purge

   Sometimes you just have to get it out…

As I take an escape from real life, writing and studying and reading and studying and reading, I don’t want to do too many word related activities.  So, here’s a lil something I’m working on…early stages.  needs something… What’s missing??  I’ll get a hook together when I figure out what  it makes me wanna sing/say.

Hope you like it.

November Jas(in progress)

-Brookes

Key Changes, Sharps, Flats and Minor Chords…

Time for a music review. Why? Because I just heard a song on my iPod that forgot I had and it made me feel happy inside and well, I impulsively grabbed my computer to tell all of you about it. Good music.

For today we will be discussing RJD2’s “Games You Can Win”. go ahead and enjoy and I’ll meet you right back here after the jump to discuss.

Now, if you know me personally, then you completely understand the relevance of today’s title and what appeals to me aesthetically in music. This song, with its easy listening and simple melody has just enough infusion of minor chords and sharps to make it one that I will play on repeat repeatedly for more rounds than my husband or daughter really care for…especially given that I will play it through all speakers in the house at very high levels. Music is an atmosphere and I enjoy feeling the vibrations. I’m not sure if I’ve told you all how much I LOVE music and I would be truly remiss if I failed to inform you that I do so LOVE music. Now that we’ve established that I have a relentless affinity for music and the quirks that make certain songs instant winners in my book, The lyrics to this song are cool as well. I cannot say that this song is reflective of his overall style and body of work, but he did quite well with this one. I have another clip or two below that kind of demonstrate the diversity in his body of work. RJD2 is an all American boy from Oregon, raised in Ohio according to the innernets who has made a career of producing, singing and as a musician. BTW, this is not new music, but it might be new to you! I hope you like and if not…well you’re welcome to your opinion, even if it sucks. Carry on.

-Brookes

More than a Game Changer, A NAME Changer

Two weeks ago was a random Thursday that became a very significant Thursday when the man of my life suggested we call our minister to see if he would have time to marry us that afternoon. And at three p.m. I became a Mrs.! Good stuff! Taking a break from law school apps to have my name legally changed, I now sit in the SSA office waiting for A35 to become A53 and I allow myself a moment to give the due consideration to the magnitude of what I’ve just committed myself to. I am changing my name. I am changing MY name!!! In moments I will have a new identity, I will invent a new person and my former identity ceases to be. Heavy. I know I will still be myself and it won’t improve my credit score either nonetheless…I give up my name for someone else’s.  While I’m sure a lot of women are as selective as I have been when it comes to identifying a potential husband, I wonder if they all really consider the magnitude of what we are giving up, the principal behind it all.  The following is likely a collection of disjointed ramblings, competing mildly related thoughts…ride wit me

Despite my charm, an IQ that qualifies me for MENSA and my LSAT score, good looks, quick wit and I could go on but I don’t like to brag, my life to this point has been one of many lessons learned, unexpected changes and well-earned bumps and bruises.  Simply put, while my achievements to this point may not get me in the Journal, it has been  a pretty epic ride.  But last Thursday, I jumped out the window, no parachute.  Him? Still a Mr., last name unchanged and he gained a live-in chef, a maid with mild cleaning related OC tendencies on top of all the other phenomenal woman/mother/wife stuff.  I definitely did not get the short end of the stick as he is pretty darn magnificent as well, but I have relinquished a great deal of independence in addition to the selfishness we all must give up.  I am now identified as a wife because of three letters and a period: Mrs.   I suppose for me the idea of packing up my place and changing my name is symbolic of packing up all of the history that contributed to me becoming Brookes, placing it into a box and moving into the next phase of my development, embarking on the next leg of the journey of life and it demands that I take a pause to reflect.  

My pastor recently mentioned the significance of taking the time to appreciate the season you’re leaving as you enter a new one.  So, as I move into the next season with an excitement that can’t be contained, anticipation of an even greater run than the last, fearlessness and a great deal of faith, I respectfully process all that has happened in the previous season, good and bad.  I courageously release all the habits and associations that don’t have a place in the new season, but I neatly pack all the heart-warming memories, the recollections that make me thank God for growth and for grace, the moments that built my strength and my character and prepared me for today and my future, the love and the laughs, and I tuck them away in the corners of my mind.  Feels like that moment at the end of Set It Off when Jada is sitting on the bed laughing and crying.  I’m not gonna shave my head and move to Mexico, but as I add the hyphen to my name it feels similarly.  Life.  What an amazing trip…LET’S GOOOOOOO!!!

Mrs. Brookes

Good Girl Gone Bad

We’ve all heard it before, and Rihanna is a walking billboard confirming the notion that once a good girl goes bad she’s gone forever.  I can identify with this statement myself.  I won’t bore you all with the events and circumstances that may have contributed to and led me to become a “bad girl”, but I can admit that for a period I squeezed into the proverbial clown suit* and performed my best bad girl impersonation…and rather successfully.  Depending upon when  a person met me they could easily have met two very different individuals. When the bad girl rap got old and I recognized that it just wasn’t all that fulfilling for me, I worked diligently to get back to my old self, fruitlessly.  Turns out the adage is pretty true.  

However, I have learned that while the good girl may be gone forever, you can be a great woman!  All of life is continuing education, ongoing training of sorts.  If you don’t like who’ve you become, don’t try to be who you were before, just work towards being the best person you can be now.  Search out the positive lesson or development that you can take from the parts of the journey you feel don’t represent you well, and hold on to that.  Life will continue to give you opportunities to evolve and develop into a greater person.  Just keep going!  The woman you become could be even greater than what the “good girl” in you aspired to become.  You weren’t meant to be the same person today as you were back then.  If you are still alive, which you appear to be, you were meant to live, grow, evolve, CHANGE!  Keep growing.  Hold onto the lessons and look forward.  Your future can be brighter than your past!!

-Brookes

*this refers to what one figuratively wears when operating in utter foolishness.  One might don the clown suit while on Spring break in college, or during an early 20s party girl phase, or on any given night that involves excessive drinking.

I Don’t Wanna Be Loved….I DON’T Wanna Be Loved??? Huh?

...oh the days when it was cool to love and value women.

I was listening to the radio the other day, which I rarely do, because no matter how much you like a song, you hate it when it is played every seven minutes and twenty-three seconds, and I heard this song that was jammin!  I turned the radio up, and started to groove, not so much listening to the lyrics, and then I heard the hook…I don’t wanna be loved, I don’t wanna be love, I just want a quickie….I found myself reminding myself to close my mouth.  I’m so disturbed because I can only imagine that this song is considered a contemporary “slow jam”….Someone’s lil girl is being seduced by some boy passionately suggesting that she be his quickie buddy, and that being able to separate feelings from sex is a sign of maturity. I would venture to say that in previous generations there were definitely girls who went for this, or felt empowered by being able to have meaningless sex, but it seems that this girl is quickly becoming the rule, not the exception?  Is that acceptable?  Perhaps this evolution isn’t an issue at all.  Where should young people learn about romance, and what they should expect from a mature romantic relationship?  Where did we learn this?

Is there anything on the airwaves for popular urban music that is giving this generation even the semblance of heterosexual romance or love?  Anything on these types of stations that might tell a young girl that when she grows up a young man will come along that she will fall in love with, who will show her that he loves her and wants to be with her and spend the rest of his life loving her?  Ok, well how about a song that will tell her that she has value beyond her sex appeal, sexual skills?  As I continued listening I found that the station was dominated with explicit sexual messages about the male prowess, ability to make a young lady wet the bed, make her legs shake, describing women as accessories, bros before hoes (super homo)mentality or “empowered” women spewing aggression and claims of finding pleasure in the use of whips and chains in sex.  There were very few exceptions.  Of course, the line up has to be no more than about 15 songs repeated throughout the day.  Recognizing that the listening demographic is likely 13-25 I have to ask what kind of character development this supports.  While I’m sure we can all agree that there is definitely a sector of parents that cannot be relied on to shape their child’s development along these lines, so is there a responsibility of artists to consider the messages they are sending?  Could part of the responsibility fall on the stations that air the music?  Or, am I just showing my age by even seeing an issue?  idk. let’s go!

oh yeah, guess who’s bizzack. I shouldn’t a left you, without a dope beat to step to!  

-Brookes

Coppin’ the “Right” Watch

You should get used to my quoting Jay-Z and song lyrics in general.  Can’t stop, won’t stop.  Take that, take that!  Anyhow, today we’re gonna talk about when we can stop doing what people say is what we should do to be who we want to be….

The title of this post uses a quote from “30 Something” by Jigga, where he attests to his own maturity by pointing out that he now buys the right watch instead of the bright watch.  What I’m wondering is if with maturity you just start to prefer the right watch, or do you learn what the right watch is and decided to buy it to demonstrate knowledge of what’s right?  It seems that people who are successful to the point of not being concerned or affected by the opinions of others are more inclined to do what they feel, like, cop the bright watch if that’s the one they like more.    When still dependent upon gaining the respect and approval of others to reach our goals we seem to alter our likings to the “right” stuff.  The. right place to work, the right car, the right watch, suit, shoes, hairstyle, jewelry, the right person to date/marry, the right fork to use and on and on and on  and on and…

I never much bought into this, except when it comes to tattoos.  Not sure why, but I always envision myself at some fancy shmancy formal dinner gala looking amazing, I mean absolutely stunning, until I turn around to reveal a huge tat of some gnarley vine over fish scales like a mermaid wrapped in ivy covering a huge portion of my back.  Now, social pressure isn’t the only factor keeping me from the needle.  tattoos are a commitment.  If I could get a semi-permanent tat, like hair color, I would totally do it!  I’d be totally tatted up!  

Anyhow, how do you guys feel like you sell out?  What do you do/not do, who do you date/not date, what stuff do you buy/not buy for the sake of social acceptance/pressures?

 

It was all good just a week ago…

Now, you wearing the same close two weeks in a row are wondering what happened?  You thought you guys would surely marry, have 2.5 kids, a dog and live happily ever after…as promised this post is about the tendency of men NOT to marry the chick who’s in their corner when all they have is potential.  We see this phenomena demonstrated in the stories of 85 percent of famous black men and it is strengthened by Kan-yeezy with the line “…and when he get on, he leave you @ss for a white girl”.  While it isn’t necessarily a white girl, we do recognize that more likely than not, if a chick is filling the role of wifey, without the rang, to the guy she may just be a “close bus” as so delicately titled by my homies over at verysmartbrothas.com

I don’t know any women, and I do know a lot of different types of women, who have been in relationships, who have managed to completely dodge being the close bus chick.  Everybody plays the fool.  Right? In every instance of womanly fool for love foolishness I’ve heard recounted the guy worked diligently to persuade her he was genuinely interested in her, through the expenditure of time, thoughtfulness, romantic gestures, etc.  She concedes, feeling secure that his feelings are substantive.  Having signed on, she begins to invest in the relationship as well, but over time, her investment increases as his decreases.  The woman does everything she can to show that she believes in the guy, loves him, breaks all her rules for him, gives into nearly every whim to make him happy, forsaking all good sense pride, in the name of love, only for the guy to recognize that she never really cut the mustard for him, but was sufficient until he could invest the time and resources to get the chick of his dreams they are unequally yoked and he can’t accept ______ (fill in the blank).  Devestated, the woman turns to the old adage suggesting she marry a guy who loves her more than she loves him, accepting that equality is a fantasy.  Being the dreamer that I am, I just can’t swallow that one yet, but I’ve seen it too many times.

After discussing said phenomena with a member of the male species a couple of months ago, I recognized a possible flaw in the female reasoning when it comes to love.  He explained that from his perspective, it should be evident to the woman who the guy isn’t looking at her in that manner.  Perhaps all the things that he is not doing in the relationship should indicate such, unfortunately, the minor things he IS doing help her to reason away sound reasoning.  It’s sad.

By and by, everyone CAN move on and find a love of their own.  These two will cross paths someday, share photos of the kids, reminisce for a moment and keep it moving.   Recognizing that it all comes out in the wash, everyone has the opportunity to be relatively happy, my only questions are for the fellas.  What causes the change and why keep her around after realizing you no longer see a future with her?  Is it possible that she loved you too much as suggested in “Run Away” when Kanye states a reason for not liking his woman as “you been puttin’ up wit my ish just way too long…”  ? 

Let’s find some understaaaanding.  Think back to your last close bus fellas, when did you find the expiration date on the relationship?  Was it her or you?  How much longer did it last after that revelation? Ladies, was this post complete and utter rubish?  Is this not the rule?  Let’s discuss!

-Brookes

We are just dumb..lol…all of us

  I think this should just be charged to the game…it’s a lot less personal than it seems, and at some point we all just sit down and stop searching for greener grass (hopefully).  It’s also just the way of the world…what good are you to anyone if you’ve never had a humbling experience or never had to recover from extreme heartache.  We’re just all essentially iron sharpening iron, right?…or that’s just what I tell myself.  I say treat um all like crap until you have a reason not to…there!!  Thats the issue right there…as women we are so eager for love…we are always trying to believe the best in men…many times we want more for them than they want for themselves.  If he isn’t shit in real life…why are we trying to make some fairytale life with him?  There were no not shit men in any of the Disney movies I saw growing up…none.  And he might not be an all around not shit man, but if he is exhibiting that behavior towards you…just know he isnt trying to be your man. 

-Z

Why Are We So Damn Sensitive??

Why would anyone be offended by what this guy says?

I skimmed read a story a while ago discussing Lebron’s apology for calling a question retarded during a post game interview…STFW! was my first response, but after much discussion I recognized that this was socially unacceptable, politically incorrect and at least potentially offensive to retarded mentally challenged people.

I reluctantly accept that calling stupid ish retarded offends mentally challenged folks because it’s like you’re calling them stupid…riiiight.  Let’s take a closer look at this.  The definition for mental retardation is a general disorder ” characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors.  The source goes on to declare that MR is a subtype of intellectual disability which covers a much broader range of intellectual deficiencies.  Ok, now let’s look at stupid.  Stupid is concisely defined as lacking intelligence.  Lacking intelligence…intellectually deficient…intellectual disability…hmmm.  I’ve been classified as “mildly retarded” by a psychologist in one functional measure so perhaps that explains why I fail to see the measurable difference in those definitions.  Am I an asshole?  Perhaps, but the only difference I recognize is that retardation is a disorder in cognitive functions and stupidity may occur without cause.  All of that to say, why is calling something displaying a lack of relative intelligence, intellectually deficient or retarded offensive to someone who has a disorder that renders them  intellectually deficient, lacking the average level of intelligence?

Okay okay okay, I’m not oblivious to the drive to be more politically correct and that it is socially unacceptable to say things that might offend those who are different from us, but shitgotdamn, when did it become offensive to call retarded people retarded?  Did a retarded person decide they wanted to be called something else because “retarded” was derogatory?  Perhaps the individual who reasoned that was diagnosed improperly, cause that’s an exhibition of too much cognitive functionality.

I had a boss who passionately explained to me how appalled she was by a kid at her son’s school calling him “white boy”…..her son is White.  After wiping the retarded dumbfounded look from my face, I pointed out that her son was White and that he will proudly assert that on any demographic survey.  Apparently the inflection in the Black lad’s voice made a mark of privilege and entitlement suddenly derrogatory…I guess.   Boo Hoo!! The same way they pronounce blaaaaack gets under my skin too!! As if!  As I saw posted on my homie’s FB page yesterday in a discussion of this same article, when did it become offensive to call a spade a spade? no pun.

Just in case you don’t hate me enough already, here is some other hypersensitive ish I just don’t get.  Gay.   I love the gays and I’m liked by the gays and not like The Donald and Blacks.  Really.  I’ve been called a “fag hag”, meaning I’m a straight woman who has close gay friends that I spend a lot of time with.  I’ve had this discussion with them and they were unable to explain to me why someone referring to people, activities or attire that would suggest a preference for same-sex as gay, offensive. Men in skinny jeans, gay as hell to me.  Men in make-up, gay ish.  If anyone at all could take offense, though they shouldn’t, it would be the self-declared straight person being called gay.  Not because being called gay is an insult as much as it just isn’t true.

I know some retarded smart ass is gonna liken all of this to Nigger to make a point of how this is offensive.  First off, that is completely different because while I recognize historically that nigger was a derogatory name directed at my race, I’m not offended if someone calls another person outside of my race a nigger.  Not at all.  But I recognize that nigger has ALWAYS been derogatory. SN:  I know a little history, and am aware of the evolution of negre, niger and nigger.  nonetheless, nigger is and has always been derogatory.  Back to the regularly scheduled program…

Secondly,I am not offended by anyone pointing out something in someone else that is associated with what/who I actually am.  I’m a woman.  My hormones fluctuate.  I’m hormonal.  If a guy shows signs of what is commonly associated with a woman’s hormonalness, I am not offended if another guy friend asks him when he got ovaries, or if he is on his period, or if his panties are too tight.  I’m not offended if someone ask a Kim K doppelgänger if she has Black in her(or if she wants any, which would be super lame).  I’m not offended when someone ask my Jewish friend with the fro if he has Black in him. <– Really B?

UNDERSTAND!!!  I am not condoning any form of discrimination upon any of the groups identified, but we are fooling ourselves if we think teaching people to play nice in public and not call names is making people more sensitive to differences.  We’re just more sensitive/aware of what can be considered offensive.

So peoples, honestly, am I really an asshole?  Do I need more sensitivity training or is this shit just getting ridiculous?  What say you?  I really wanna know!!!!!!!

No, I think you really are an asshole.  I do think that as a society we have become hypersensitive, and I would agree that he shouldn’t have to issue a response to ROPA (Retarded Other People of America).

where PASSION meets PURPOSE

The newest producer to enter the game, and arguably one of the most sincere that we’ve had in quite some time, Stephen Starks, who goes by the moniker of S-Choir Music, is the creative mind behind the productions available online at www.s-choirmusic.com.   So far, the full-time attorney has established a musical portfolio that offers a dynamic collection of tracks to roll out to, roll up to, help you unwind, club bangers as well as a lil’ something for lovers .  His style can not be linked to any one genre as he offers  joints like the funky and racy  jam “Ridin”, think Britney Spears (pre-K-fed), to joints like “Me and My Girl” which is a light, fun summer day kinda joint.  In my opinion, his musical mastery is demonstrated with tracks such as the emotionally charged “Off Balance” which offers a legato melody accompanied with  a contrasting and ever so slightly off-tempo drum kick.  Lucky for us, he was able to squeeze us in for a brief interview to speak with me about what inspires him to make the clean, refreshing musical compositions available on his site.

B: So would you say that you believe making music to be your purpose?

S-Choir: I would.  I believe that we are put here for many purposes.  One of mine is to be the best man, son, husband, and father (when the days for the latter two come) that I can be.  Professionally, I believe that I am currently attempting to master the art of being the best lawyer I can be.  But, music has always been my passion, and with that comes the challenge of trying to produce quality music every time, without exceptions.  And, I think that is a huge challenge because if it wasn’t every musician would be able to do it with ease and that’s not what I’m hearing.  So, yes, I believe making music–good music–is my purpose.  Now, whether I’ll be able to reach my goal of never letting the people down is a completely different question.

B: What is the inspiration behind great songs like “Off Balance”(one of my personal favorites), “Love Makin”, “Lay On Me” and “Ridin'”?

S-Choir: For me, unlike what I hear about other producers, I don’t walk around with beats in my head.  But, when I sit down in front of the keyboard, I do think that things come to me.  When you hear my music, that’s where I am at the current time.  The music is me for the time being.  There is no grand equation, but what comes out when I sit down at the keyboard with a gin and tonic is what I am and where I am at that time.  I only hope that the listeners appreciate me in that space. 

B: Can you tell us about your process?

S-Choir: I think I just did.  I absolutely love chords.  I do.  With all my heart, I do.  And, the next best thing is strings.  But, perhaps my strength is drums.  Combine those with a dim light, some incense, the right groove, and a cocktail, and the magic happens.  I could do this all day and night every day and night.  I love music!

B: Who out there would you compare your sound/style to?

S-Choir: I wouldn’t.

B: Who are your inspirations?

S-Choir: Although I absolutely love Kanye and Dre, I would say that Pharrell Williams is my main inspiration as far as producers go.  His appreciation for keys and chords is second to none.  I love what he does.  On a personal music acquaintance level, Jeremias Tamarez (producer) and John Redmon (gospel and R&B singer) have been two of the most supportive musicians out there when it comes to what I do.  Those guys are selfless and have given me the support and confidence to make me realize that I have genuine ability.  And, I continue to learn from them.  I thank them.  Musically, that’s where I’m at.

B: How would you define yourself/sound?

S-Choir: Unique and consistent.  I don’t think that I have a particular sound outside of my love for chords, strings, and drums.  But, I will say that I think I take it seriously every time.  I’m a huge fan of the mid-tempo song.  You know, the song that can be either an R&B or Hip-Hop track.  I have always thought that when you hear a beat and you can’t tell which way you’re leaning, you may be on to something.  I think that if you listen to my stuff, you’ll find that they could be either R&B or Hip-Hop tracks.  I’m not sure a lot of producers can say that.

B: Who do you make music for?

S-Choir: Honestly, I make it for those who truly love it.  Not those who just listen to the radio, but for those who listen to the radio and are unhappy. I make it for those who appreciate simple complexity as I like to call it.  I’m not trendy when it comes to music.  I think that a good song is like a good movie.  Even if you walk away pissed at a movie’s ending, as long as you walk away affected, then the movie was successful.  Like good movies, my goal is to make you feel differently than you did before you heard my song.  If I did that, then I was successful.  I make music for music lovers.  At least I hope I do.  I want to.

B: Is there anything you want to tell the people?

S-Choir: Sure.  I’d like to say that if I ever get to the point where I’m doing this to make a living, which is a goal, please know that I take your $13.99 very seriously.  I’m not into producing average music.  I hope that an S-Choir Music track is your favorite track on the CD.  And, if I were ever lucky enough to produce a premier artist’s entire CD, know that every track will be all that I have to give.  If every artist approached music like that today I think we’d be in much better shape.

Wrap-

I suppose this is my opportunity to get my Syd Shaw on, underground review style.  While most of the song snippets available to preview at www.s-choirmusic.com boast the talent of this music producer, moonlighting as an attorney, I fell in love with the tracks that felt the most honest.  If you’re like me at all, music is not entertainment but one of the most profound manners of communication.  I send tracks, not love letters, to express my deepest feelings.  Even without words music can present an individual in a vulnerable, completely naked state.  S-Choir’s ability to give me that as well as the joints to make me bob my head, lay back or get hype  is what is putting him on the radar.  In any field passion for what you do goes farther than just about anything that can be posted on a resume.  S-Choir’s passion for music is apparent in his productions as they each are musical compositions and not just beats. He correctly assessed his style as unique as I can’t think of a top producer who manages to use chords as he does and balance it with varying drums without it coming out as a ballad.  Should his self-definition of consistent prove true, I expect it won’t be long before he’s regarded as one of the best in the game.  S-Choir Music is where passion meets talent, technique and production.  We at Mimosas and Grits wish you much success.

-Brookes

Marketable Hood Traits

Swag On

 When I think of the POTUS and what he has undoubtedly accomplished in his relatively short lifetime, it’s apparent to me that at some point he probably had to lego of n-word “hood” shit.  Ok, I’m actually not sure the president was ever really “hood”, per se, but I’d like to argue that even if you weren’t raised in the inner city projects etc etc…dang near every Black American has been exposed to some hood-esqueness(<–that’s a word…some of y’all might name your future kid that…don’t front) in their life.  You’ll see small glimpses of this exposed for the president from time to time.   I just feel we need a full-blown holiday where we can be 100% Negroes all day long..without being fired…Anyhoooo…that’ll never happen…but real talk, there are definitely some traits attributed to our unique experience that I feel should be embraced and revered.

 

Imperious (Swag)-I’m not sure any other race of people have quite the confidence and boldness that we do.  Brothas, this is the one thing that I think keeps us sistahs rooting for y’all.  Black folks..we set the tone…we make trends trends! Even though swag is sometimes considered over-confidence and a bit cocky…you need that.  The world releases a new statistic every week attacking who we are and what we represent…and still we rise! (Maya Angelou)  This is obviously something that can’t be beaten, hosed, or dragged out of us…it’s in our DNA.  Use it to your benefit daily…it demands respect, attention, and hell…admiration.  With your swag on…you can sell anything to anybody, you can keep a level head in the midst of chaos, and of course you can bag a bad chick.

 

Intuitive- We see through bull-ish…because we’ve seen it all…done it all..we don’t get bamboozled like white folks (s/o to white people).  We just don’t do it.  We’re never on the episodes of Paranormal State having moved into a haunted home thinking we can outsmart a ghost.  Intuitiveness will help you steer clear of  unprofitable decisions, unworthy business partners, and armed robberies.

****This only kicks in full throttle once you’ve fully graduated from “hood”  mentality though…this explains exceptions like First 48, armed robberies, and dope boy baby daddies.

 

Ingenuity- My people, whew…we can make up some ish, can’t we?  I’m sure we’ve invented or “discovered” more things than any other race of people…ever…well, next to E.T.s.  If you don’t believe me…check out ghetto prom…my point exactly.  Whether we’ve obtained the most patents or not, we are geniuses.  The problem, however, is that we seldom use this characteristic to our advantage.  I mean if we can discover the perfect medley of catfish and spaghetti, I’m sure we can win Top Chef, right?  Did you see the many uses we came up with in college for Ramen Noodles?  The challenge is redirecting this energy into something profitable.  We should never be unemployed, hungry, or poor…no excuses…making something out of nothing is our specialty!

 

-Zorah

 

 

 Interesting list Z.  The “hood” is definitely where trends are born.  Generally, this is because in the hood you are forced to be resourceful.  You are forced to know how to make hotness out of a collection of things that otherwise may not be.  I will say, as far as this goes I sense a change however.  Where the hood used to create the look, now it seems that the look is created by folks from the hood, who now have real money.  For example, white tees and jeans definitely stem from the hood where money to buy all the designer label wasn’t present, they created a look that was crispy for them.  The same style parlayed it’s way into mainstream, but now the jeans are $300/pair designer label, instead of levis, and the look must be complimented by sparkling chains and watches and earrings.  I will agree that the hood still makes it trendy.  

 

On a deeper level, as a people so determined to create their own distinct culture while also attempting to assimilate, our greatest success usually comes in finding the delicate balance/blend of these two forces.  Denying all things connected to blackness will increase your chance of getting a job, but maintaining some of the character that seems innate to Blacks, regardless of the address of where you were born, family structure or familial economic standing, will serve to promote you in nearly any career.  I may be mistakenly translating the hood essence you’re discussing to be the qualities and characteristics that have grown to be a part of us out of the overall Black American experience but there are some distinct differences, cultural, that I do believe serve Blacks well, as well as any type of organization, just as the qualities that can be found in other cultures.  The sooner the corporate structure learns to truly appreciate these differences instead of encouraging individuals to hide them, or suggesting that they serve a one-dimensional purpose e.g. hiring black marketing majors to work accounts targeted to blacks, the sooner they will increase effectiveness and profits.  

-Brookes

 

So folks, what other characteristics do you feel that are part of “hood essence” or Black-ness do you feel have cross-over appeal??

 P.S.  Feel free to comment below instead, or in addition to discussing on twitter/FB ow where ever else y’all discuss.

 P.S.S. Hop on over to www.s-choirmusic.com and check out the homie!