We Have to Take Responsibility for What is Taken From Our Culture

For anyone in the black community to deny that what is commonly known today as "twerking" has no ties to African culture is ludicrous. The fact that this form of "dance" has evolved into something undignified does not take away from where elements of it originated.

If you believe that this is untrue I urge you to do some research and view a variety of traditional African dances. Hell ... I remember the little girls I grew up with "twerking" (before there was a name for it) while doing their little drill team dances in between playing double dutch and being chased around by me and my boys. So ... Let's not act "new."

Speaking of "tradition" it is an unwritten rule that once the so-called mainstream (white) community takes something of ours it becomes uncool for us to continue to do. For example, the term "bling" which was coined by New Orleans rappers from the Cash Money Records label, became trite once white people began describing jewelry as "bling-bling."

The reality is that many white artists - past, present & future - have, do & will continue to build their careers on the blood, sweat, tears and "souls" of black folk. From the Beetles, to the Rolling Stones, to Rod Stewart, Elton John, Phil Collins, Darryl Hall, Madonna, Annie Lenox, Boy George, George Michael, Jon B., Color Me Bad, N'Sync (& Justin Timberlake as a solo artist), the Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, Brittany Spears, Christina Aguillera (who only began claiming her Latino roots when Ricky Martin, J-Lo & Marc Anthony began blowing up), to Robin Thicke and now Miley Cyrus ... These "artists" all know from where their "expression" originated.

In the end, we can't deny what's "ours" because it was taken, misused and or abused. What we as a people must do is set a better example by how we carry ourselves because what is obvious is that what WE do, white folk will do and do it so as to say, "we just want to share in what you do and bridge the gaps between us."

HRJR's Life Lesson ...

As the whole Kendrick Lamar thing begins to wind down, I have just ONE question ... Why or rather, how is it that dudes who don't have any F'n chance of being the "King of New York" are the ones who have a problem with him saying that's how he wants to see himself?

You see (here's where I sneak the lesson in on ya), when you see yourself bigger than other people see themselves, they will not rise to meet you where you see yourself. Instead, they will unite against you to pull you down to their level with them, where THEY FEEL you belong. Ironically, when these people happen to be those closest to you; i.e., family & friends - they will bring you down, call it keeping you "grounded" and expect you to be grateful and see it as them doing YOU a FAVOR.

Just by SAYING he was the "King of New York," a kid from Compton became the most talked about rapper in the game for a minute. All the little jabs and opinions cannot compare or compete with how Kendrick Lamar's brand has gone up a notch or two.

SEE you where you want to BE you, then get yourself there. People can either ride with you or be left behind.

HRJR's Businessman Moment

 

People often ask me ... "Why do you always break everything down to how much it costs?"

Well, I learned to appreciate calculating the financial aspects of a project or deal when I learned how TLC sold 10 million records and went BROKE:

1. Every record is broken down into 100 points. In TLC's deal each point was worth 8 cents.

2. TLC (as a group) received 7 points, or $0.56 per record.

3. 10 million records at $0.56 = $5.6 million.

4. The record company recouped $3 million for recording, marketing & promotion expenses leaving $2.6 million.

5. From that, the IRS took 50% ($1.3M) in taxes.

6. $1.3M split three ways = $433,333.

7. Money left after buying a home, paying bills & "living the life" .... $0.00.

You see ... when you know how much something costs you in the beginning and how much it will cost you along the way, you can better project how much you'll have at the end.

In ANY deal, it's not about how much money you make ... It's all about how much money you KEEP!

Priorities ... And the Importance Thereof

It never ceases to amaze me how people like to impute their priorities on someone else's life. I just don't get it. Personally, what's important to me is important to me. I have come to learn not too very long ago that many of the things I deem important are not equally or even fractionally as important to many others, and I've learned to be cool with it. I don't go about forcing what I deem important upon someone else, nor do I particularly care if they do their own thing. 

It's one thing to be considerate of what's important to others. We all should strive to be that way, but the reality is there are few people who are that considerate. If you've got one or more people in your life who are considerate of what's important to you, cherish them because they are rare. For everyone else ... Those people who tolerate what's important to you rather than respect it; be respectful to them, but above all else stay true to what's important to you.

Most, if not many people want everyone else to see things their way. They want what's important to them to be just as - if not more important to you. In all honesty, I'm no different to the extent that I welcome agreement. But I'm not chasing down and fighting to convince anyone who disagrees with me, and I think that's something that perturbs people because I'll make a statement and someone will say "I disagree," as if at that point I was supposed to totally go 180 degrees from my position. And the wild thing is, it's not that the person can or does prove me wrong, they just want to disagree.

But hey ... To each his (or her) own. Go on and disagree. But what's important to me is important to me. What's important to you, is important to you. If the paths converge, beautiful. If they don't ... Hey ... Life still goes on.

And I'm gonna do me.

Forgive me ... Just had to vent.

To Thine Own Self ...

We are living in a time in which people are walking around making fools out of themselves because society has convinced most of you that it is in poor taste to be honest with people at the expense of their feelings. In other words, it's easier to lie to people and allow them to feel good about lying to themselves than it is to tell them the truth and deal with them being mad at you because you placed the burden upon them of having to be honest with themselves.

Well, in order for me to reach my goals I need to have people that are real with me, and they can't be real with me if they're not real with themselves first. So if my bluntness turns people off, guess what? IT'S SUPPOSED TO. It is my natural weeding out process. Where you find yourself in my life is ultimately determined by how you carry yourself.

#AnyoneCanBeCut #NothingPersonal

HRJR Speaks @ FEI Eclipse 2013

Part One

Part Two



Part Three



Part Four



Part Five