The point is to say that we should stop celebrating black men who simply choose not to be the worst that they can be. Instead, we should encourage our men to be the best that they can be.
I recently took a visit to Power 105.1 in New York City, preparing to do a short interview with a show called “The Breakfast Club.” This show is one of the strongest emerging hip-hop shows in the country and from what I understand, Power 105.1 is arguably the leading hip-hop station in New York City.
While I sat in the lobby, I heard that the new artist Trinidad James had just stopped by the studio to do an interview. Trinidad is an interesting character (and I emphasize the word “character”), something out of a 1920s minstrel show. Just imagine Flavor Flav, mixed with “Romie Rome” from the TV show “Martin,” carrying a machine gun, wearing polyester pajamas. James’ hit single “All Gold Everything” is so pathetically “ignant” that it makes the rapper 2Chainz look like President Barack Obama.
While I sat in the lobby, the well-respected DJ Envy happened to walk by. I don’t know Envy all that well and have only interacted with him when I was on Power in the past. But I asked him a quick question: ”Hey man, what do you think about Trinidad James?”
Envy, being the quick-thinker that he is, instantly said, “I think he’s dope.”
He then elaborated a bit: ”Well, think of it this way. He could be out robbing people or dealing drugs, and instead he’s making music.”
Envy makes a good point and I respect his point of view. Even the worst artists are living lives that are far safer and more productive than they could be living in the streets. It is difficult to deny that making corny, psychologically-destructive music might not be as bad as running up in a stranger’s house and blowing his brains out. Agreed…..kinda. But the other interesting fact is that I’d read that Trinidad James wasn’t robbing people before he started rapping. He actually worked in a shoe store. So, if he wasn’t busy turning our kids’ brains into mashed potatoes for money, he would probably be helping people fit Nikes onto their feet. He’s not a real gangster, rapping about his experience in the street; he’s a studio gangster, promoting imagery and a lifestyle that kills black men like roaches.
But here’s the more subtle point that I hope Envy and others might try to understand: It’s hard to excuse a man’s behavior by simply pointing out worse things that he could be doing. I can’t imagine a man going to court and saying, “Your honor, I know I murdered the woman, yes. But I could have raped and tortured her before the murder and I also decided not to kill her dog. So, that makes what I’m doing ok, right?”
The fact is that Trinidad James and artists like him are dangerous for several reasons, which I won’t go into right now (I spoke on this extensively in my last short book). But we should all be skeptical about industries that have become highly determined to provide millions of dollars to promote messages that are destructive to the thinking of young black men. When I met with Min. Louis Farrakhan last week, he alluded to various forces within the music industry who some believe may be pushing these messages so that their prisons can remain filled with black men. As a Finance Professor who knows capitalism, I can say that economic incentives have been the root of some of the most dastardly agendas in American history, so Farrakhan’s point is not out of the question.
Anyone who watches Trinidad’s video will see the standard imagery of black male self-destruction: Drugs, guns, references to s-xual promiscuity, drug use and excessive alcohol consumption. This doesn’t even mention the obsession with meaningless materialism, which reminds me of how NBA star Allen Iverson is now broke after owing hundreds of thousands of dollars that he spent on jewelry. Wealthy people invest this kind of money into real estate and businesses, but we somehow think it makes sense to spend this much money on jewelry.
We also know about the numbers of black men who get killed each year during some incident involving a night club, like Dallas Cowboys player Jerry Brown and Jevon Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs (who murdered himself and his girlfriend after a night of drinking). There are also the recent murders of the rappers Yung Teddy and Lil Jojo, along with countless other homicides and incarcerations that don’t make the evening news. These deaths are just the tip of the iceberg, they happen every week, and we should be disgusted by the fact that no one is saying anything about it. Much of this thinking is promoted through commercialized hip-hop, which teaches black men that a brother with a diamond and a machine gun is better off than the brother with a textbook and a plan. I reject this notion entirely.
The point is to say that we should stop celebrating black men who simply choose not to be the worst that they can be. Instead, we should encourage our men to be the best that they can be. There is nothing about the existence of Trinidad James that elevates the existence of black people, this fact is undeniable. Also, when you consider how many millions of young boys are being persuaded to engage in actions that will banish them to prison, the morgue or the unemployment line, you understand why psychological control is the greatest way to convince a people to destroy themselves. By glamorizing actions that lead to nothing but death and destruction, we are turning our good apples into bad ones, and connecting our people to the lowest common denominator. This is the recipe for genocide.
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Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, “Commercialized Hip-Hop: The Gospel of Self Destruction.”
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
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