CHINCHECK “T
he chickens have come home to roost!”
This statement was made by Malcolm X after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Now it is being uttered again, by me, before the death of a culture that we created but corporate America exploited. Let it be known that this Hip Hop culture wasn’t always the way it is now. At one point, it stood for something. Brothers and sisters used to rap about things with socially redeeming value. Artists like Chuck D, Brand Nubian, and Big Daddy Kane established a sense of black pride and black power within Hip Hop. Queen Latifah refused to let you call her a bitch, but now we (myself included) have embraced all the negatives of the black culture and tried to turn them into positives. Truthfully, it can’t be done. “Nigga” means “nigga,” and you never realize it until you hear another race say it. We must look like total and complete idiots to white people whenever they hear us using it amongst ourselves as a term of empowerment, but when another race uses the same word we are ready to go to war! It’s what I call the “mirror effect.” Far too often, we look in the mirror and see everything that’s right with us, but for some reason it’s hard to admit what is wrong with us. That is one of the greatest problems with our culture. That is the reason Hip Hop is about to be attacked in a fight we can’t win. I’m sure you are all aware of this whole Don Imus situation, and it may seem like a victory. I see you out there pumping your first talking about, “Yeah, he called them girls a bunch of nappy headed hoes, fire him! He needs to be dismissed!” You all got your wish. He was terminated, but do you understand that this situation just exposed our black leaders – Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton – and made them both look like total hypocrites? The Christian Defense Coalition is already criticizing Al and Jesse, asking them why they are not protesting outside of record labels and radio stations who release and broadcast the same, if not worse, words than the ones Don Imus is under fire for. Snoop Dogg tried to justify his lyrics and explain why it’s “okay” for him to call women “bitches and hoes,” but Don Imus can’t, and ended up making himself look like not only a hypocrite but a jackass too. He’s the only rapper who really shouldn’t have anything to say on this matter because he has consistently degraded black women and called them much worse names than “nappy headed hoes.” Ladies and gentlemen, this situation is bigger than Don Imus. In fact, it’s not about him at all. It’s about us. If you think that what Don Imus said about the Rutgers’ ladies basketball team is racist and hateful, every time you call your homeboy “nigga” or a woman you’re dealing with your “bitch” or a “hoe,” you are practicing self-hate! Let’s be clear on this: I’m not supporting Don Imus. I believe in equality. If we’re going to attack Don Imus, to avoid looking like hypocrites, we have to attack ourselves. Hip Hop is about to be held accountable for all the negative images we’ve put out for the past decade. There’s going to be a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to insensitivity towards race and gender. I agree with it totally because I am personally striving to stop using the word “nigga” and referring to my women as “bitches” and “whores.” I encourage all rappers who are profiting off the degradation of our culture to clean up their acts, because the powers that be have already started to flip this around on us. When the shoe is placed on the other foot I would love to see what our people come up with to defend the negative images Hip Hop has put out. The powers that be are going to make an example out of someone. Don’t be surprised when Snoop, 50, and a lot of these other rappers start losing endorsement deals when a little pressure is applied by the good ol’ boys. Don’t 24 // OZONE MAG
by Charlamagne Tha God cthagod@gmail.com
you think they would sacrifice a Don Imus just to have a reason to really go after Hip Hop? They probably said, “Listen, Don, we’re going to have to let you go and let them win this battle so we can win the war.” They have a reason to attack us on all levels now, and there isn’t a thing we can do to defend ourselves. How can I possibly defend a song like “Bitches Ain’t Shit But Hoes And Tricks”? What are you going to say? “Snoop’s a reformed gang member who coaches youth football”? Yeah, but he is also facing four years on gun and drug charges! 50 Cent has his G-Unity Foundation and gives to charity all the time – so what? He also glorifies the gun and is alleged to have ordered the attack on Jimmy Henchmen’s 14-year-old son. This whole Don Imus situation has us looking like one big contradiction. It makes us seem like we’re the racists because ewe never go after our own, only after others who say and do to us just as we do to ourselves. Hip Hop is under fire, and when they start asking record labels and corporations to drop certain artists for the same reasons we asked MSNBC and CBS to fire Don Imus, how are we going to say they’re not justified in their actions? The Bible says, “You reap what you sow.” All I can do is pray for repentance, change my ways, and hope the consequences of my actions aren’t too much for me and Hip Hop to bear. Hip Hop, I want to have your back on this one, but I can’t. //