CEDTalks

"The beat is crazy though!" "This song just gets me hype!" In his 2004 comedy special "Never Scared", Chris Rock talks about growing tired of defending his beloved rap music. While highlighting the songs, he mention how fans of hip hop overlook how incredibly tasteless, misogynistic, and crude some of the lyrics are: While I laugh insanely at this clip and the special every time I see it, my recent involvement with music causes me to laugh to stop from crying (or the infamous, "ha hah...not really funny"). As I've grown older and have become more aware of the music and its ramifications, I can't just laugh it off. I can't just dance to this music because "the beat's hot" or "it's so catchy". I'm not grooving just because Chris Brown is on it anymore. I've supported Usher for years but bruh I DO mind. I mind that you're not pushing our women to have employment that speaks to their ...

I've found myself visiting and sharing several posts from social news and entertainment site Buzzfeed; many of the posts not only amused me, but created moments of reflection. From 30 Signs You Went To A HBCU  to " 40 Things That Will Make You Feel Old ", I've considered how certain aspects of my upbringing and education shaped me. That said I bring to you my own list, eleven essential life lessons learned in my journey to manhood. While some of these are specific to my role as Black man in America, most are still applicable to grown men of all ages. 1. Reality shows are the modern day crack rock. What is something people fiend for, sets black people back, and is monitored by the government (in this case, the FCC)? While my father and those around for Reaganomics would probably answer "base", there is a new drug decimating the black perception and it's found on VH1 and Bravo. Many look at the shows as pure entertainment, but so were sitcom...

The following blog is not meant to demean or offend any one of any race. It was written with the pure intent to entertain and identify ways for people of all colors and creeds to all work together. -Ced Recently a follower sent me a trailer on the controversial trailer, "Dear White People" , a creative project from screenwriter Justin Simien which humorously details the taboo subjects that cause tension between Whites and Blacks. The clip was spot on, questioning such topics as the required amount of blacks in a white crew, the notion of listening to "Black" music serving as validation, and touching our hair. The video doesn't appear to be aimed at demeaning our white brethren; it was simply highlighting that the two races just think differently. Michael Jackson said it best in the unreleased track "Carousel": "She's from a world of popcorn and candy/Pony rides for a dime/little children laughing.../I'm from a world of disappo...