At The River I Stand, Watching The Wire: Black America in 2008 & Beyond
Blacks in America are on the cusp of what appears to be a major change in American society. Barack Obama’s
2007
“I’m stankin rich/Imma die tryin to spend this shit”
50 Cent- I Get Money
Circa 1990’s- Released 2003
“My people be projects or jail/never Harvard or Yale … its hard to be iced up with Gucci/man poverty’s real”
Nas- Book of Rhymes
Black music, political movements, and culture have always been a mixture of old and new; past and present. Whether it is Hip-Hop music’s hybridity that includes Southern Blues, 1970’s Funk, and sampling; or the 1960’s Civil Rights and Black Power movements building its’ theories and tactics from other early 20th century Black thinkers and organizers; or a Black cultural life steeped in historic customs and traditions (if you ever ate a chitlin; if you ever played a hand game or jumped double-dutch; or ever traded “yo’ mama” jokes —MTV didn’t create it, it was called “the dozens,” “snappin,” or many other names long before— you know what I’m talking about ); the African-American community has always had a linkage between what was done yesterday, and what is to be done in the future. We have always drawn on our past to help create our future.
As we begin 2008, the future for Blacks in
However, while places like
This 2008 is symbolic for many reasons. It serves as the ten year anniversary of the infamous Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton scandal (wonder if anyone will bring it up to Hillary on the campaign trial?). It marks ten years in power for
2008’s historic march will begin with two events that will constantly be in mainstream American spotlight and Black daily life: Sen. Barack Obama’s Presidential run, and the last season of the HBO drama The Wire. Obama’s idealistic philosophy and The Wire’s gritty urban politics seem on the surface as complete opposites. But underneath they serve to show the complexity of Blacks in contemporary American society; and the difficulty of understanding where we are at, and where we are going.
Barack’s
Sunday will mark the beginning of the end: the first episode of The Wire’s last season. The show has recently gained a popular success that matches its initial critical acclaim. Over the last six years characters like Jimmy McNulty, Avon Barksdale, Marlo Stanfield, and Omar Little show how ethically-challenged police officers, ruthless drug lords, struggling port workers, disconnected families, self-interested elected officials, and adolescent youths all operate in the majority Black, urban city of Baltimore, Maryland. The show’s ability to blur the line between who’s the “good guys” and the “bad guys” allows us to see the complexity of American life dead on. A police officer cheats on his wife; a drug dealer gives $20,000 to a boxing gym dedicated to keep kids away from selling and using drugs. Everyone cheats, everyone steals, everyone kills, everyone takes money, and everyone is trying to survive. And all the while, every single action affects a mostly poor, majority Black population everyday. This conveys a role-play many Blacks (and for that matter Whites) in urban areas relate too, thus the show’s great popularity amongst that very same population.
So are we living Obama’s “dream” or The Wire’s reality? These are the questions Black America must face as we enter 2008. One important question is could “the Black CNN” give insight on these types of inquiries? The topic doesn’t seem to be on the agenda filled with “swallowing” and “popin’ bottles.” With important issues on the horizon the question must be asked, “Where does our music stand in it?” Is it ignoring it? Are we not getting it? Is it not profitable? Should it not engage in the conversation? Or… are we not asking for anything? As this Nation moves forward, and the well-being of Black and Brown people sitting in the balance, we have to ask ourselves what do we expect from this music that we love; this music that we support; this music that has made a lot of money (for us and off us). Is it just entertainment, or social commentary? Is it thinking music, or party music? Does the music have to be just one thing? Is it the “Good Life?” Is it “Hell on Earth?” And what do we expect Hip-Hop to say about it? 2008 is the time for an answer. Who’s going to ask the first question???
Michael Partis
michaelpartis@gmail.com
42 Comments so far
first
cONGRATS ON being first dipset4life, you have now won……….Sh!t…get a life…..This post is TIght…I dont got HBO hope I could watch that show…Obama in 08!!!
vote mike gravel!
Very nice work sir. But unfortunately, it will probably fall on deaf ears like most of the things out here designed to help our people. As Lupe Fiasco was about to drop his second cd that is probably the most political and conscious of all the mainstream rappers, we had “Fiascogate”. His first album was leaked 3 months in advance. Second was overshadowed with his “beef” with A Tribe Called Quest. Never allowing the fans to really connect with his true message and overall tone of his music. I’ve seen a million examples of this, but it’s the elephant in the room that no one talks about. There are many artists that can entertain and still fight for change, and yes they can sell. The fact of the matter is this new generation is so stuck in their ways and the adults have left them out to dry. The gap between a 25 and 15 year old is greater than ever. These kids would rather skip your post and scroll to the bottom to write “first”, than to read and understand. I could go on forever, but the point I’m making is….hip-hop is on its way out and so is the black culture as we know it. Blacks will still be around, but now we are content with high speed internet, rockstar clothing, and an ipod shuffle. That’s the new American Dream. Once you have that, there’s nothing else to fight for. Now we can spend our days sipping “lean”,listening to Lil Wayne and chasing “myspace jumpoffs” because everything is “alright my nigga”.
so many words. so less tears. if he continues this maybe we’ll see a chg in our communities. we always think about here
why my msg got cut off son. realtalkny needs betta software or somethin. cuz its not the 1st time its happened.
I see the 1st new wire there is nothing rather interesting this 1. here is a quick wrap up. they involved the news paper this season, there is no over time for police offices cause the mayor is putting all the money in the schools, Major crime squad is basicly working for free, then the major crime squad(which was was following chris, Snoop
Rap is complex so it’s all that, it’s hell on earth and it’s the good life. But just as people are saying they don’t want Iowa telling them who to vote for; we shouldn’t need Puffy to Harlem shake with a $40 tee shirt saying vote or die. Cats gotta fight through the apathy.
damn this site is a huge part of the problem. I wrote a nice response to this article supporting it and it got deleted. But people write “first” and they let it rock. Damn Realtalk, not you too man.
This “essay” definitely raises some interesting issues that Black America faces however, I sort of take offense to comparing him with Martin Luther King Jr. Barack Obama, to me, is shying away from those same black issues which you first mention in your post. I have never heard him talk about racism or discrimination, not even once. While I do think he is a viable candidate and hope he is our next president, he is definitely not Black America’s Savior when he could not even stand up and fight for the Jena 6. What makes you think he would look out for us as President.
just woke up too sleepy to read all that, but yall muhfukas better vote Barack!
Vote Barack Obama
this aint a black thing, this aint a brown thing, this aint a white, yellow, arab thing. There were black panthers, and civil rights activists, but there was also the American Indian Movement, the Chicano Movement, and Asian Movement (i think the were called the Red Badge), the Puerto Rican Movement, and so many other things that they don’t teach us in school in the 60’s and 70’s and even before that. Assata Shakur said we need to unify these movements, these different kinds of people, these different ways of thinking but what did they tell her. “you don’t know what you’re talkin about, the problems of other people do not concern the black movement.” Ignorance is bliss people. discrimination has been rampart to all ethnicities and genders excluding white rich and powerful heterosexuals.
HIPHOP is universal and it extends far beyond the realms of the inner city of New York, Phili, Chicago, LA, etc… it extends to the slums of Latin America, the islands in the Carribean, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Hip-Hop is a voice for all who dont have a voice in this forsaken world where the rich do anything to get rich and enslave the ignorant poor.
Obama represents more that the Black community in the most powerful nation on earth. He represents everysingle one as a unifing entity of peace and I pray that we don’t go thru another JFK. Obama is hope for neutral americans, immigrant americans, and baisically for humanity. READ BETWEEN THE LINES.Never. Ignorant. Getting. Goals. Accomplished.
dude is a powerful speaker. no one can deny that….
wow is true this year no rapper is screaming vote or die
if barack is elected, hopefully he takes the ignorance out of all these ‘’street niggaz”…..you kno, black people won’t allow barack to be president,,, mark my words.
”he’s not black enuff” —- wtf kinda ignorant ass statement is that, maybe he should be more like uncle murda huh? GTFOH
Music doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be one dimensional. There are different aspects and elements of hip hop culture. Artists like Nas are able to do both the party “Oochie Wally” type music, as well as the “One Mic”, and that’s why they are successful. I don’t think people should neccessarily fault them for that. People are never happy. Either we complain about them not having enough variety, or about them going back and forth.
Fucking Mockery What Is This World Coming To.
great essay, still a travesty that ‘great debaters’ didnt put ppl in movie theater seats, i just dont understand that. everybody knows rap music suxx now and it was hot 10 years ago, well there is still kanye who actually has something to say but besides him, theres nobody.
as far as obama is concerned, im cheering 4 him but i honestly dont think he’ll be president. i mean if america can screw al gore and john kerry, WHO WON THEIR RESPECTIVE YEARS, u dont think theyd screw obama out of winning the presidency?
i think hilary clinton is the safer vote, i mean atleast bill clinton is there.
VOTE RON PAUL
HE’S FOR WEED
people trust him, he is by far the best speaker and most honest of the lot. Hillary seems kinda evil, but with bill in her corner maybe she will be gr8.
i dont know why but i really thought rudy gulliani was gonna be the president because of that whole 9/11 thing.he got mad coverage.but its looking more like obama huh?
Yall talking about vote Hilary, wht the hell has Hilary done for black people NOTHING, neither has Bill. Yall niccas are so backwards. Obama don’t need the black vote to get into office he already has the white vote which is good enough. I never understood why black people called “bill the 1st blk president” he did not work to fight HIV nor did he work on the huge poverty crises in the black neighborhoods, to my knowledge he did not even have blk people in his cabinet. Bill is the possible reason why the American economy is fucked up now(if you want proof, read an article on the crises of American economy and how it got that way).
Whoever wins, they won’t be coming to your neighborhood anytime soon. Luckily, your mayors
….and local politicians will.
he is definitely not Black America’s Savior
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Black America only has one savior…. ITSELF! Years have gone by, things are getting worse. Black people sitting down talking about we need a black president. A black president will not solve the core issues in Black America. They say how can you be helped if you won’t even be positive and help yourself? Too much negativity in our Black communities, too much hate in our Black people here, too much hate for other black people. We got shootings, hate, and just too much ignorance.
The first thing Black people need to do is learn to unite themselves and at least leave some of this hatred and negativity alone. Negativity will never take anyone anywhere, shit is depressing in the hood.
“There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity…. We cannot think of uniting with others, until after we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.”
Malcom X basically summed it up.
^^^^thats a good malcolm quote fam. but i dont know about this obama nigga. im done wit thinkin that the government is gonna change some shit for the better. every president is gonna fuck us over, no matter what race. if i vote, it’ll be for him, but that shit dont matter. its a lost cause. plus, obama is pussy. yall think he gonna let white people influence all his decisions? yall think he gonna change up his style when he start gettin all the death threats and attempted assassinations? is this nigga in the NAACP? these are all questions that im askin. as long as nobody named bush is president, its a good look tho i guess
if he get elected he better not turn into no fuckin puppet thats my point
WIth “Great Power Comes Great Responsability” wasn’t only a spidey line
Someone better tell Jay, Kobe, Oprah n all those black leadears especially Jay
yall sound so fukin stupid if u gonna be arguin something get ure shit right john kerry got crushed by bush in 04 yo u sound like a fool #19 u thinkin of 00 dont be makin everyone sound stupid cuz ure aufkin jerkoff
Semi co-sign #4(Ihaveadream)
but i believe the age gap is too close rather than too far. 13-40 yr olds all llive the same life style in general minus the exchange of school for a 9-5.
Amen Anon… F the presidential elections its over before it starts… But your local elections are whats really up!!!
And whatever topics are conveyed in hip hop should be by people who are true to it… wheteher negative or positive.
I don’t wanna hear preachers talkin bout pipin chicks or dealers talkin bout revolution if you ain’t bout it. the problem still lies in the point we really have no businesses i.e. no control. Who’s to stop clear channel or their competitors from playin “because I got high”, “blue magic”, or “ayo technology” all day? There’s plenty other music but no one really fights for it…
Power = unity and #’s (not money)
co sign 26….
only we can help ourself ..not no leader doctor etc…only yourself. Get up Git out and get something positivly..make a change dont expect help from nobody..and vote for my brotha Obama. This nation needs a change….
fuck all these people theyre all down with the illuminati.
vote mike gravel
How come you don’t see the black community backing him…very sad
i just love politics!! good read. one thing, im not gonna vote for anyone because of what color they are. its sad that some people are only voting cause he’s black. i mean, its Iowa, whoopty do. Mike Huckabee also won in Iowa, does that mean he has a chance at winning? HELL NAW!!!! Iowa picked the “good guys” but in politics, the good guys finish last. i like Barack, but im just not sure about that one.
oh, and co-sign whoa and Anon
vote ron paul
on tha real vote ron paul
illuminati,lol 3000 your funny, i hope he doesnt get sniped we need him for a president
Dam this was a good read. And i think that obama is a good pick he has a powerful voice and good leadershipr skills.but us black folks need to step up and make a change.
mike gravel is down for weed.
barack is down with illuminati
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