Skip to main content

In Living Color (Originally posted on 9/7/2010)

What's going on everybody? I decided to try something new, and see how it flows. My little brother "vlogs", and my sister has something in the works, so I figure it's my time to sample the sauce. This is my first blog, and I will title it, "Confessions of a Big Dreamer". Jacked Karinne Steffans there a little bit, but she made her paper already.

Yesterday was Labor Day, the most ironic of days because we do NO work, and I continued to contemplate a very serious discussion I had with my mother, sister, and her two college friends. So, today's topic of discussion: The prominent black man, and his desires for women outside his race. Now, personal disclaimer: I love the sisters, but I wouldn't disrespect an interracial couple. Your decision is your decision. The true issue here is the great impact that interracial dating leaves on young African-American women. Fellas, If you ever want to see disdain, disgust, or any other word beginning with "d", bring your Caucasian woman around a group of single black women. To a certain extent, their response is justified. According to a recent Yale study, 42% of Black women are unmarried, as opposed to 23% for whites. Couple that with the large disparity between black women and black men, and you can begin to understand the frustration of the single black woman as she watches black men, already outnumbered, diversify their "portfolio" by dating outside their race.

What are the reasons why brothers look elsewhere? I grew up in the suburbs, the mecca of interracial dating. It's like the Taj Mahal of Interracial Dating. Anyway, I've heard some crazy reasons. "Black girls are too ghetto," "I only see them as friends," "They're too loud." It can be scary the things that our young brothers say. Their foolish theories are empowered by society's perception of beauty:  Blonde hair, blue eyed, and thin as a rail. The perception is so preposterous, WHITE women have a hard time meeting the criteria. Nonetheless, this image is what is preached to men, black and white, as the mainstream perception of beautiful, even today. Finally, our biggest heroes...smh athletes and entertainers...are the biggest promoters of such. Chad Ochocinco is one of my brother Malcolm's favorite players, as he shares the same birthday as Malcolm and electrifies us with his great play and post-score tomfoolery. But as he searches for love, Ochocinco, who is so dark my late uncle would call him "Country Dark", selects a female outside his race, never mind that he all his children are fathered by black women. Do you, 85, but understand the message that you portray to our youth. We can teach our young black men to rap, play sports, even thug, but we can't teach them to properly love the women who gave us life? YOU TRIPPIN'.

So how do we address this? Amazingly, not all of the burden falls on the brothers. 1.) Ladies, do not be discouraged by the trends perpetuated on television. There are very qualified, ambitious, respectful black men on the market, looking for the right woman to grow and develop with. If you fall off the horse, get your booty back on and ride! 2.) Fellas, do not be had, don't be took, HOODWINKED, BAMBOOZLED...sorry, I was watching "Malcolm X"...understand what true beauty is...beauty is not what you see on tv and magazines. Beauty is the look in a woman's eye who supports you before it's fashionable. Beauty is the ability to nurture not only you, but your seed. Beauty is taking $100 worth of clothes and making it look like Fashion Week. Beauty is inner strength. Some qualities are exclusive, man. 3.) Ladies, when you do get your man, recognize his value and don't undermine it. You should not be blamed for prior relationships, and neither should he. Don't push the good ones away because of what the bad ones did.

Well back to dreamworld...Last night I dreamed I was Bow Wow in Lottery Ticket when Teairra Mari jumped on him. Lord have mercy...


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"What's Up, Youngblood?": A Deeper Look At The Old School Player

They are found pretty much everywhere: at the supermarket, on the second floor at your job, and especially at family reunions. Though conspicuous in nature, this species is easy to spot. No I'm not talking about roaches, you heathen; I'm talking about the "Old School Player", aka a "piiimmmmp". Now it is important to differentiate between an Old School Player and a man who is simply "old school". My father, known affectionately as Charles Perry (please say the full name), is old school; he has traditional values, rough hands, and watches westerns like "Gunsmoke". An Old School Player (O.S.P) is different; they are commonly outlandish, shifty, and laugh really weird. These well-tenured romeos carry great influence on the youth of America, specifically young males. Coming into contact with old school playas brings guys to a critical transition in life: the older men become an example for their younger counterparts. Gentlemen decide f...

Choose Your Artist- Future vs. T-Pain

Voice alteration is by no means a new tool to music, but in recent years we have seen a renaissance in its inclusion. Undoubtedly, the Hip Hop and R&B genre have lead the way in including these tools, primarily through its use of the Auto Tune digital processor. Artists such as Will.I.Am, Chris Brown, and Drake have utilized auto tune to create dozens of hits. In our latest installment of Choose Your Artist, we visit the world of Auto Tune as we pit one of the most successful users of the tool, T-Pain, against the recently crowned champion, rapper Future. Tale of the Tape: Singer T-Pain emerged on the scene in 2004 with unique style and voice that fans had not heard in many years. T-Pain's surge to stardom was spearheaded with his use of the largely underutilized voice adjustment tool Auto-Tune.Originally used to disguise and hide off-key discrepancies, T-Pain used Auto-Tune as a device to assist in his melody. The technique would lead to such hits as "Bart...

What The 'Yeezy: Our Obsession With The "Old" Kanye West

"Hov on that new sh*t n*ggas like how come N*ggas want my old sh*t, buy my old album N*ggas stuck on stupid, I gotta keep it moving N*ggas make the same sh*t, me I make the blueprint" Jay-Z, "On to the Next One" This past Saturday, comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live  featured a guest appearance from Kanye West, who debuted two songs from his upcoming album, Yeezus . West perfomed "Black Skinhead"  and "New Slaves" (posted below), two songs that drive us through the introspective, darker mind of  Kanye. The star rapper and producer continues to travel to different worlds with his music; while his production remains stellar, his sound is a far cry from his 2004 release of  The College Dropout. With Dropout,  Kanye West established himself as one of the premier artists and producers of the industry. His sound was an incredible fusion of joy, family values, rebellion, spirit, and drive; West's lyrics and beats were a stylish struggle sp...