“It’s not about a salary, it’s all about reality. Gangsta, Gangsta! That’s what they’re yellin. Hopin you sophisticated mf’s hear what I have to say.” N.W.A., “Gangsta, Gangsta,” Straight Outta Compton, 1990.

TRUTH. Good morning Daily Dosers! I’d like to begin this week by asking you to think about what you stand for – both personally and professionally.  What do you value?  Why do you do what you do? For the money, the passion, or both?  Think about that for a minute because it was standing room only this weekend at the Hagedorn Gallery’s opening of “True Hip-Hop”, the hip-hop photojournalism exhibit by Mike Schreiber.  Moderated by visual artist Fahamu Pecou, Schreiber, Creative Loafing’s Rodney Carmichael, and I engaged in a conversation about hip-hop culture and its global impact. This idea of what constitutes “real” and “true” came up. This notion of a personal commitment to standing for something.  This stance that “true” and “real” and “conscious” is attached to maintaining a certain swagger about oneself that is authentic.  An authentic “gangsta” so to speak.

This morning, I think about the group NWA. The Compton-bred rap group consisting of Eazy E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ  Yella, and the storytelling of Ice Cube. They popularized the gangsta mentality, and in songs like “Gangsta Gangsta”, Cube attaches the gangsta stance to a political and social commentary with a good cussing out that can’t be ignored. They didn’t care about tact or regard. They spoke directly to the “sophisticated mf’s” because these guys felt like profane consequences brought on by the evils of racism, excessive materialism, and war called for profane descriptions and narrations. I agree with this to a certain degree.

Through the direct action of their words, albeit profane and misogynistic at times, these guys went there. They stood for something before internal strife entered the situation. They wanted the world to know that police brutality, street wars, gang violence, drugs, and prostitution littered their communities and neighborhoods. To do this was a risk AND it was gangsta.  The problem is we allowed ourselves to get caught-up in the semantics of the profanity.  But think about this.  According to ABCNews.com, during the month of June the national unemployment rate was at 9.2%, the highest it has been all year and the economy only generated 18,000 jobs. Is this not profane? Congress – rather than taxing the rich to pay our debts – want to damn near eliminate entitlement programs like social security, funds for cancer research, and art programs in our public schools. Is this not profane? Hundreds maybe even thousands of new graduates are unable to land jobs to jumpstart their career. Is this not profane?  Everyday a family has to bury their young child because of gun violence that plagues our communities. Is this not profane?  The Atlanta Public Schools is on probation for cheating on the CRCT, a racially-biased test. Is. This. Not. PROFANE? We are failing the next generation of leaders, and we sit around and get caught up in the language and our high-paying jobs.

The DDR: So this morning I ask are you gangsta? Do you consider yourself a G? Nah, it doesn’t require you to cuss out anyone, but it does require you to understand the situations at hand. What are you standing for? Why are you grinding so hard? Is it for money? The power? The respect? Or is it because you have a true passion and commitment for making the world a better place? I have no tolerance for uppity wanna-be leaders when it comes to the health and welfare of the next generation who will have to deal with the mess that has been made. Where are our G’s? Our gangsta leaders? Those ready to fight the good fight of reassuring our communities that this is most definitely a wonderful world? Profane situations require profane action. Not violent action. And the reality is our youth have to see us fight the good fight so they know what to do when faced with a similar issue.  “It’s not about a salary, it’s all about reality.” There’s a big difference between a self-centered gangsta and a community-centered gangsta. Which one do you have? Enjoy your Monday.