The kids live tomorrow cause today the party just Died” – Kendrick Lamar in his song “watch the party die.” (ANYTHING IN BOLD IS A QUOTE FROM THE SONG) This song holds a dear and special place in my heart because of its meaning and message. As we look around today, in the Black community and culture there seems to be a huge party. Now I’m not saying that Black people can’t have fun, be happy and enjoy one’s life. But spiritually, mentally, and politically as a whole we are deaf, dumb and blind. Which results in us having terribly consequential behavior patterns, being miseducated and misinformed and continuing to have an overall unseriousness to our approach economically and politically. There has become a phenomenon where both Democrat and Republican leadership try to get the Black vote by the use of entertainment and celebrities. We have become a group of unserious people who don’t demand anything politically, so we aren’t given anything. There is a plethora of reasons for this phenomenon. Media fragmentation from the advancement of internet technology has allowed more Black voices to be heard than ever before. But their voices become diluted because of so many platforms and this has been detrimental. Mix that in with political and social fatigue of Black Americans having to face so many issues that many have just given up and don’t care anymore. They have lost their will. Economic inequality, mass incarceration and institutionalized racism have all been at the forefront of problems that many Black Americans have struggled with for decades and will continue to. With that being said, I believe Racism is Black Americans biggest problem but in a VERY CLOSE SECOND, I believe that the adoption of “Ghetto” culture has been very destructive and placed us in a situation that we can almost not recover from unless we have a reprogramming of our community. And this is exactly what Kendrick Lamar talks about in the song. Black Americans must re-think the way we interact and build with each other. But it won’t be easy. “Burn a whole village, we start over, it’s really that time. Why reason with these niggas if they can’t see the future first? Why argue with these clowns if the circus is well at work?”
In this piece we will accept the fact that Black Americans have accepted “Ghetto” culture. Ghetto culture has tormented Black culture by allowing racists and prejudices to justify their actions towards the Black Community. “Ghetto culture” refers to the social and cultural practices associated within the impoverished and urban neighborhoods, typically found in the inner city. It can be found in music and art, language and slang, streetwear fashion or informal economies (hustling, drug dealing, scamming, etc.). I know and believe that Black culture is bigger than the negative stereotypes we have adopted. But one must wonder where we adopted these ideals and this thought process of being “ghetto fabulous.” The book “Black Rednecks and White Liberals” by accomplished long term political scientist Thomas Sowell (one I normally don’t tend to agree with because of his ultra conservative viewpoints) clearly breaks down how Black Americans have adopted Hillbilly and Redneck culture from the “cracker culture” of Scottish and Irish immigrants who settled in the American south. Whether it is African American Vernacular (AAVE), Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Soul food, many Black Americans tend to have deep roots in Africa whether they want to accept it or not. I personally have never and will never refer to myself as African American because I prefer the term Black, but the facts are the facts. Over time, Blacks proximity to the “Cracker culture” in the south created the chance for them to adopt cracker culture. In southern places especially like the Appalachia or Delta in Mississippi, these two groups were damn near intertwined and cultural exchange was unavoidable. This is where Sowell makes the argument that Ghetto culture did not originate in Africa but it Originated in Redneck/Hillbilly culture. Enslaved or newly freed Black Americans were forced to adopt cultural patterns from the Poor, southern low-class society. Many of the ideologies of this community included honor-based violence, distrust of education and lazy attitudes toward work. This dysfunctional, anti-intellectual way of life and thinking was kept by Many Blacks who migrated North during the great migration of the early 20th century. Resulting in them bringing the Hillbilly/Redneck culture all around the country. 80-100 years later, many of us have continued and even worsened this way of thinking and living. This focus on culture that Sowell has magnified, has caused many liberals to be upset. Sowell has criticized liberals by saying that their policies focus too much on systematic racism instead of focusing on personal responsibility. I do somewhat agree with Sowell that the policymakers have enabled Black Americans to have self-destructive tendencies, but I also disagree with Sowell on the claim if there should be government intervention or not. Sowell is of the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps mindset” but what Sowell doesn’t understand is Black Americans don’t even have any boots. Anyways, what me and Sowell do agree upon is that Hillbilly culture has directly negatively impacted Black Americans and we need to take a serious look in the mirror if we want to change. “I see a new Earth filled with beautiful people making humanity work. Let’s kill the followers that follow up on poppin’ mollies from. The obvious, degenerates, that’s failing to acknowledge the hope that we tryna spread, if I’m not as woke. Then you need to bring his fucking head or film that shit in Hi-res.”
The worst or most detrimental part about accepting ghetto culture has been the destruction of leadership. If we look back just 60ish years ago in 1965 you could name at least 50 high profile Black civil rights or community leaders. From athletes like Jackie Robinson and Wilt Chamberlain to entertainers and writers like James Baldwin and Sammy Davis Jr. That goes without mentioning the actual political groups like the Black Panthers, the Young Lords or SNICK (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). Layer that with the likes of Angela Davis, Martin Luther King and Malcolm x, the list of who to subscribe to was long. Way more credible options than we have today. The problem that has arised today is that Black Americans don’t have much credible leadership. Much respect to the Ras Baraka’s , Jamal Bowman’s, Ayanna Presley’s, Roland Martins, Jasmine Crockett’s and Marc Lamont Hills of the world, but as a community we need more. Those brothers and sisters can only handle so much of the load. It is not fair to them. With that being said, most of our Black religious leaders, political leaders and entertainers have sold us out. Because I have only been alive since 1997, I can only take my elders word for it that Black consciousness is the lowest it’s ever been. But I feel it. As a historian and political scientist, we don’t have the same unity and congregation that we once had. Black politicians, entertainers and religious leaders are marked safe by the White power structure if they do not speak out about problems that face the community they come from. They become labeled “safe” by the power structure and this power structure allows them to be token success negros in the country because they won’t speak out. OR many of them don’t care as I said before, many Black Americans have lost their will. They are used as symbols of Black advancement, but their success means nothing because it is unchallenged and manufactured. One must add that the delegating of many Black entertainers as “leaders” has been ridiculous. Platforming morons like Candace Owens (who admitted that she was paid by the Daily wire to say distasteful things about Black Americans that weren’t true even though she is a Black American), or Jesse lee Peterson along with entertainers like Meek Mill or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who have no credible history of being involved in civil rights and allowing them to be labeled as such has been a detriment. “I think it’s time to watch the party die, Street niggas and the corporate guys, the rappers that report the lies. I need they families mortified. We can do life without ’em, get they bodies organized. Tell me if you obliged.” The fact that we have allowed these losers like Candace and Jesse to be at the forefront of our culture is ridiculous. The same can also be said for Sexy Redd, DJ Akademiks and other entertainers who are ridiculous examples of being ghetto fabulous but are credited and celebrated by the white power structure and even pushed on Black Americans more than a Rapsody (conscious Black woman rapper) or even Charlamagne Tha God who is an established journalist and political news reporter who hosts the Breakfast club bringing on local and national politicians for face to face discussions every week. At some point Black Americans must stop accepting this bullshit and stop accepting the platforming of morons, idiots and the uneducated to be representatives for us. This is what Kendrick is saying in the song. We must put these people to sleep by not paying attention to them or deplatforming them. For the greater good. The reason why Kendricks’s message is so powerful is because he himself as an entertainer is trying to take the right step to move in the right direction for the community. But he can only do so much, he cannot fight this battle alone.
The argument becomes morality in Activism vs expectations. Last year I can remember a debate that me and my dad got in. Somehow the topic of Lamelo Ball and his Instagram follower count came up. Lamelo Ball has 10.5 million followers on Instagram. Dr. Claud Anderson (my favorite black scholar) has 102 thousand followers on Instagram. Why is it that even though someone like Lamelo Ball has influence over tens of millions of people, we still do not expect anything out of him politically. At the time I was of the belief that the problem is bigger than him and because of his status he has no power. True he is rich, Lamelo has a large income, but that all can be taken away because of his entertainer status. He doesn’t own and control any wealth that would make a difference in the Black Community. Fast forward a year later I have changed my mindset… slightly. I don’t expect Lamelo Ball to come out and be Malcolm X, but I do wish him and many other entertainers who have that much influence and that big of a following would come the realization of their influence. Like i said earlier, previous athletes in generations before were not scared to speak out and lose it all (Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali.) Only in our damaged community today do we expect the people with the biggest following not to be responsible. When do we start holding these types of people accountable for doing nothing? Is it even possible? “If you parade in gluttony without giving truth to the youth, the graveyard is company. Just tell us what casket to choose. They party more than bitches, tell me what are you working for? They glorify scamming, you get chipped over this credit card
Influencers talked down ’cause I’m not with the basic shit. But they don’t hate me, they hate the man that I represent. The type of man that never dick ride ’cause I want a favor
The man that resides in patience. So where the soldiers at?
The one’s that lost it all and learnt to learn from that. A thirst for life. Head inside a book ’cause he concerned with that
Information that’ll change his life because he yearns for that
Dedication, finding out what’s right, ’cause he can earn from that
I feel for the women that deal with the clown and nerd shit
Can’t blame them, today they ain’t really got much to work with.”
As you can see in this excerpt Kendrick is noticeably frustrated with the current class of entertainers and people with large followings… as he should be. What Kendrick is saying is that people need to wake up and understand the dangers that are being thrown at us with these spiritual vampires who are labeled as credible leaders. I do acknowledge that Racism, Jim Crow, Slavery and poverty has played a huge role in getting us here. But I would be remiss to not mention the Reprogramming that Black America needs in order to power the people. We must change ourselves and our way of thinking before having a chance at self-sufficiency.
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