Paul's Gall

Now this is some deeeeeelicious racism.

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The last time I had some tasty racism like that, I was still in school.

God bless America.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Nas (Post-Hurricane Wrap-Up)

Allow me to briefly finish what I started.

As a fan of his work, I'll be the first to say Nas hasn't always secured the best production for his albums. He certainly has substantial highlights ("N.Y. State of Mind", "The Message", "Nas Is Like" to name a few), but there have definitely been moments of his career which suffered due to substandard instrumentation.

"Purple" is not one of those moments.

For me, the most unique element of this track is it's lack of a hook (or chorus to some). Hooks are the staple of hip hop songs, usually because they are the only words anyone can remember after a first listen. They are also the lyrics to which people outside of the culture tend to gravitate. I'll never forget a stroll I took on the campus of Louisiana State University through the tailgating festivities before a football games. I walked past one group of fans who were flying a purple and gold Confederate flag and listening to OutKast's Stankonia album. I watched with slacked jaw as they flailed and gyrated while singing along, chanting "I'm sorry Ms. Jackson!" Surreal.

I think it's actually quite daring for Nas to forego adding a hook on this track. The urge to "catchify" a hip hop song is significant, and many otherwise decent songs have been weakened with the addition of weak or unnecessary "hookage". With "Purple" Nas recognized the obvious density of what he's written and decided it was enough to carry the song. That type of commitment to one's message is difficult to play; ask any actor who has moments alone on stage. But because Nas has chosen to simplify this composition, his words become much clearer and more expressive.

I dig it.

peace.

Locked in Paradox

This is almost too easy.

University of Missouri student Benjamin Elliott, 18, was temporarily suspended from the school this week following his arrest on Saturday for allegedly spray-painting racist graffiti on a campus fixture reports the Maneater.

The offensive phrase was discovered early Saturday morning by a student who reported the find to officials, the Riverfront Times reports. According to the Kansas City Star, Elliott was arrested after campus security watched surveillance footage which implicated him in the incident. Campus police added that witnesses confirmed that it was Elliott in the video, but Elliott told police that he was drunk at the time and does not recall what happened.

More here.

This type of thing happens all the time, so when I first read this story I wasn't surprised. I mean, I went to graduate school at Louisiana State University where the white football fans fly purple and gold confederate flags on game day in support of an unpaid group of black college athletes. So hypocrisy and racism are old news to me. But then I had a look at the kid's mug shot...

Wait for it...

Seriously, homie? You're a racist white cat with DREADLOCKS?

Listen up, Benji. I'm sure you're a decent enough kid. You probably play World of Warcraft during your spare time. There's a girl at your school that you really want to know better. You skip class every once in a while and spend all day at the student center making inside jokes with your friends. And you probably locked your hair because you really identify with Bob Marley.

If Bob Marley were alive and saw you do what you did, he would most likely smack the sh*t out of you; not because of what you spray painted on a wall. He's seen that crap before. Rather, because you have chosen to make a definitive ideological statement about your distaste for people of color while adopting a headdress that is quite literally THE SYMBOL of everything for which he stood as a person of color.

Your ignorance nullified your perspective before your ideology was even heard. You are cartoonishly contradictory. Until you make some honest and difficult decisions about who you are and what your life means to this world, very few people you encounter will be able to take you seriously; on all sides of the topic.

The good news is you're 18. Consider this event your first quiz in "Life 101."

Learn something?

peace.