Blind I | The Boutique Music Blog | Quality Over Quantity.

Lost Generation, Fast Paced Nation…

We are doomed. America, Black folks, everybody.  Done. It’s a wrap. We ain’t go-in nowhere. We ain’t. Goin’ no where. Exhibit 480: your boy Nas. What in the motherfunk is this dude talking about? Nigger? For real?  Now, dude has given us evidence that he’s “out to lunch” in the past (*cough* Nastradamus *cough*), but this is some other, OTHER ish. Rebel with out a mothereffin’ cause, no doubt.

Peep the niggnorance: “I wanna make the word easy on mutha—-as’ ears. You see how white boys ain’t mad at ‘cracker’ ’cause it don’t have the same [sting] as ‘nigger’? I want ‘nigger’ to have less meaning [than] ‘cracker.’ With all the bullsh– that’s going on in the world, racism is at its peak. I wanna do the sh– that’s not being done. I wanna be the artist who ain’t out. (Huh?-ST)  I wanna make the music I wanna hear.”

“We’re taking power from the word,” he added. “No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil-rights movement, but some of my n—as in the streets don’t know who [civil-rights activist] Medgar Evers was. I love Medgar Evers, but some of the n—as in the streets don’t know Medgar Evers, they know who Nas is.(Herein lies the problem-ST). And to my older people who don’t now who Nas is and who don’t know what a street disciple is, stay outta this mutha—-in’ conversation. (No, please please please tell me what a “street disciple” is! I need to know!-ST) We’ll talk to you when we’re ready. Right now, we’re on a whole new movement. We’re taking power from that word.” › Continue reading

Tags: Nas, Sis. Toldja Is Always Angry

BlueMagic, My Ass

Your boy is back, eh?

No, that’s your boy, not mine. You would be hard pressed to hear me say anything kind about Jay-Z, sorry. I know I’ve travelled this road before, but I had to comment about Mr. Carter’s comeback. Shoot, I do live in Bed Stuy….his songs, image and brands are everywhere I go. I seen a crackhead freebasing with a Rocawear spoon on Myrtle and Nostrand just last night.

Ok, HORRIBLE joke! My bad. But it does lead me to the theme of this rant. Crack is wack. We know that, right? We did know that well before Ms. Whitney made it a punchline, no? And we acknowledge the tragic effects of the crack epidemic on our community, right? Who you know who doesn’t have one crackhead relative or neighbor? How many of y’all been robbed by a fiend? Who hasn’t walked down the block and seen real-life ghouls? Grown men and women with their skin sunken and sallow, like they died three weeks ago.

Yeah, crack is wack as Hell. Except for when Jay is rapping about selling it, right? Someone, pray tell, let me know what kinda vodun Shawn Carter has worked on the world. If I could get my hands on some of that, man, eff a blog! I’d have a Times Best Seller on my hands! And I would use my magic for good, not just to sell some damn vodka or sweatsuit. Perhaps Beyonce’s proud Creole mama worked a root for her future son-in law. Whatever it is, this man has the world drinking the Kool-Aid. Except for me of course. I’m a conscientious Jay-Z objector, and I don’t give a damn how many records he sold or millions he amassed. I’m not worshiping at his temple.

First of all, Jay’s whole “American Gangster” thing is BEYOND wack. Y’all wouldn’t let nobody else get away with this! He sees the movie, decides to make a song inspired by it and now he wants to star in a movie based on the song? So, basically he’s gonna make “Streets Is Watching” AGAIN. Where is Spike Lee? Is he okay with this? › Continue reading

Tags: Jay-z, Sis. Toldja Is Always Angry

ACOTM: Modern Woman

What it do? I hope y’all are enjoying this beautiful weather (seventy degrees and the skies look clear/feel so good like Davina in here) and the rest of the Columbus Day Rape and Pillage Day Blind-I Birthday weekend.

I’m not gonna lie, I was apprehensive about writing this. No matter how strong your spirit, no matter how convicted you may be, it’s virtually impossible to not be somewhat phased by the bitterness and hatred spread by those who don’t bask in the light of truth, uplift and progress. But I can’t stop, ’cause I won’t stop. No testimony without a test, punks jump up to get beatdown, so on and so forth.

The door is quickly closing on 2007. We are a long way from Fredrick and Sojourner, Martin and Coretta, Bobby and Erica. Yet, we have yet to place any significant distance between ourselves and oppression, self-hatred and disenfranchisement. We have yet to do anything to heal the rift between Black men and women, created oh-so-deliberately by the oppressor and kept alive by the prison system, the Black church, Viacom, public schools, etc.

You know what else? America, as a whole, has failed to reconcile the impact of feminism, a burgeoning misogyny and allegiance/proclivity to “traditional” gender roles. As you can see, it runs a lot deeper than questions of who pays for dinner and when should a lady “give it up”. As our parents’ generation failed to identify working definitions of “male” and “female”, we are scrambiling to define ourselves in a culture that has pitted us against one another. In a nutshell: it’s all fucked up.

The old models either are outmoded or didn’t work in the first place. While I give all praises due to the spirits of Coretta and Sister Betty, I can’t create my activist-self in their image ’cause it ain’t me. Furthermore, I am representative of the new Black feminism, and we reject the notion that women can only be defined in two ways: saint or whore. My crew can’t go for that, un-unh, no can do.

Real feminism is not negated by a passion for high heels, lip gloss and lace, nor is is it rendered void because a woman may chief, swear, drink or fuck. And yes, you can be vigilant against misogyny and still recognize that all your sisters ain’t worthy of the title. So here’s to the RBG’s: the Real Black and Brown girls who are mighty and motherly, sexy and sisterly, vigilant and but not necessarily virginal. We party, and we have the right to fight. And most importantly, we are HUMAN: no longer “impervious to pain”-Superwomen*,prone to mistakes and always growing and learning. The little boys will cry and clutch at their flaccid manhood, trying to exert some sort of non-existent patriarchal power. The little girls will hate and continue to be the sort of woman that only a little boy could “love”. But real recognizes real, and real men compensated with the love and adoration of fierce, do-right women.

I’m not trying to convince anybody of anything. I’m straight-up telling you. Love it, or leave it alone. But understand that this shit is real.

* Check out Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enough” and Michele Wallace’s “Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman”. That is, if you’re serious.

Tags: Misogyny, Sis. Toldja Is Always Angry

ACOTM: Final Thoughts

I’m not one to beat a dead horse, but I can’t help but to continue on with the same topic we’ve been travelling for the past week. You know, the relationship and respect thing between men and women. I promise this is the last I’ll say about the whole thing for a while, but catching up on the comments from Maiya’s dope-ass post put a few more things on my mind.

Here’s what I read from what everyone has said so far: the sisters who commented/wrote are frustrated, disappointed and a bit hurt, yet still maintain a good amount of reverence and admiration for men. On the other hand, the Black and Brown brothers have an admiration for women that is soured by a predilection towards objectifying them. Furthermore, tolerance for disenchanted and abused Black/Brown women is low-to-non existent and these fellas seem willing to take the path of least resistance and deal with women who pose less of a challenge.

Let me tell you something about that last thing, brothers: life is challenging. Being Black or Latino in AmeriKKKa is challenging. You do what you feel, but you can’t tell me nothing about racism, oppression, “the White Man” or anything else if you aren’t willing to give to your community on the most basic of levels: by showing loyalty, love and respect to the women who look like you. Blows my mind, the same dudes who would put they flyyest jacket over a puddle to let Jay-Z or Kanye walk over it can’t treat the women who look like they momma right!

No one wants to deal with an evil, man-hating woman; yet, a lot of brothers have no problem CREATING those women! While we ultimately have to assume personal responisblitly for ourselves, it’s without a doubt that women’s bitterness is tied to the experiences she’s had with men. From the fathers, to the boyfriends and the brothers on the block, y’all aren’t making it easy for us! I may come off as “Man Hater Number One”, but please believe me when I say this: when I’m dealing with a brother, he doesn’t see that side of me at ALL! I am the affectonate, supportive, nurturing chick! The one who’s cool enough to bring around your boys and who would be more than happy to bring you breakfast in bed. You can have anything in the world except C.R.E.A.M (and pork)! And I bet within most of these Black and Brown and scorned girls lies the same thing. Just something to think about.

Tags: Sis. Toldja Is Always Angry

ACOTM: Female Problems

*Ahem*

Well, it’s Monday. I reckon I should be hating on something right about now. That’s what they pay me to do around here. Any suggestions?

Oh, that? I don’t know if I want to really go there. See, I try not to overstep my boundaries around here. While the fellas of this blog are the REAL Blind-I for the kids, I’m just a chick from the Chi who knew $ and company and wanted to write. And I know my opinion is not always the popular one around these parts and sometimes I get nervous about that. Like, am I gonna get a little e-mailed pink slip? Or a G-Chat message that my services are no longer needed? That would suck, ’cause I really enjoy doing this. Plus, I think that Maiya and I bring something unique to the table. The estrogen, IMO, is needed ’cause sisters read this site too and because it’s valuable to the fellas to hear what the (REAL) women have to say. And we have to let it be known that there is a place for REAL women in Hip-Hop, not just the ones running around like “Ohmygaaw, Dilla’s Donuts was like so awesome! Can I, like, suck your dick?”

Anyway, this is all tied in to me not doing what Maiya suggested and penning the “female version” of the post about which city has the most attractive women. I don’t have it in me, it would totally suck. But I do want to say this again: disrespecting women is not all about calling them out their names and cheating or beating on them; it is just as much those things as it is not seeing them as whole human beings. And when you see someone as a whole human being, it’s a lot harder to misuse them. Sure, you’ll still look at tits and ass and thighs (and you should!), but you’ll see a whole lot more than that. And for the brothers: when you come to recognize the oneness you share with Black women, regarless their skin tone, it will be a lot harder for you to fetishize one particular color of sister.

I think for women, men are men until proven dogs/assholes, whereas brothers seem to see women as bitches/hoes until proven ladies/homegirls. And since MOST of us aren’t worth a damn to them, it’s easy for them to have these attitudes about women. I got too much to fight for being Black, young and female in AmeriKKKa, it’s a damn shame I gotta fight to get men who look like me to realize that sisters are human beings.

Tags: Sis. Toldja Is Always Angry

ACOTM: Respect Overdue

Am I Supposed To Like Hip-Hop, If Hip-Hop Doesn’t Like Me? How do I call myself a womanist if I purchase records that call women bitches and hoes? And, as my comrades will tell you, I’m not the one listening to 50 or UGK or Lil Sambo. But even the artists who have distanced themselves from the mainstream when it comes to talent and content find common ground with their “gangsta” counterparts when it comes to disregard and disrespect for womanhood.

But please believe, I know it’s not the music. It’s the men. I shouldn’t be shocked to hear Kanye and the rest regarding women with less reverence than they show to a piece of jewelry. I can’t be surprised at the rappers, ’cause this is exactly what goes on in the streets. Is it art imitating life or vice versa? My theory is that it’s a bit of both and that the industry is designed to oppress and exploit the Black, Brown and poor. Thus, misogynistic music is always gonna find it’s way to the airwaves.

To hell with the rappers. We need the real men to change the game. Y’all are killing the sisters, for real. Black dudes, Latinos, White guys….everybody needs to come correct with the women and do it NOW. And if you want to be a positive person, you need to surround yourself with positive things. Music has hypnotizing effects; if you put “bitches and hoes” in your brain 24/7, what sort of output do you expect?

Maybe I’m being naive to expect men, especially Black ones (oooohhhhhh) to give enough of a damn about women to make some changes. But I, along with my girls (who are not trifling, gold-digging nor chickenheadish) are just fed up with the way we get treated these days. Cats seem to think we all want their money (even those who got none)or that we are just objects to be played with and set to the side, or that our feelings are irrelevant. From the club, to the bedroom to the streets, it seems that a lot of fellas think that lifestyle you see in this videos is real. Stop letting Viacom and Russell and some ignorant-ass rappers do your thinking for you. Women are the ones that carry your seeds and all the negativity we are shown will be reflected in our future generations.

And before some of y’all start wining, yes, there are some bitches and hoes in the world. But like Jeru said “a queen’s a queen and a stunt’s a stunt; you can tell who she is from the things she wants”. Identify the good women, isolate the hoes and keep it moving.

Tags: Another Case Of The Mondays, Misogyny, Sis. Toldja Is Always Angry