These days, I wonder what the criteria really are in order to be called a G. A gangsta. An OG. Whatever you wish to call it. Point being that it seems anyone can get away with it.
Case in point, the "Myspace Gangsta". He wears clothes big enough to fit the Michelin Man. His layout is poorly designed, with hard-to-read-text over a background of weed, bikini models, and/or cars. His photos will include the following:
+ Himself, shirtless in the mirror, taken from his camera-phone
+ Himself with random attractive women with whom he stands no chance
+ Drugs/drug paraphernalia/alcohol
+ Himself in the color(s) he "reps"
+ Himself and his "homeboys", all bearing expressions resembling those of a constipated infant
His "Heroes" section will somewhere include Tupac Shakur. His "Favorite Books" section will be either conspicuously vapid, or absent altogether.
The incongruity? While he was definitely not a role modelfor his lifestyle by any means - selling out for a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card from Death Row Records for sexual asault charges, for one - Tupac Shakur was one of the most well-read, politically conscious artists ever to be present on the music scene.
Shakur was a regular at the Bohdi Tree Bookstore in Los Angeles, a "voracious reader", and a Shakespeare performer in his youth. He's probably read more quality literature and political commentary than your average university graduate.
Needless to say, if he knew any of these "Myspace Gangstas" were claiming to be disciples of his, so to speak...
If you believe he's dead, he's turning over in his grave. If you believe he's alive -- well, you better be watching your back in case he's out to get people using his name in vain.
It's not illiteracy and ebonics that make you a G. The number of people whom I know that embody what a real boss is - someone who knows the world around them, knows their history, knows their roots, and aims to make change, starting on the homefront - can be enumerated on a single hand.
So let this be a lesson to you - you are not the next Tupac Shakur, and you never will be unless you get literate and get aware. So boys, pull up your pants and crack open a book. It won't kill you.
Sources:
http://www.librarything.com/profile/2pac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur
4 comments:
Someone sounds a bit bitter. What is the purpose of this article? Well, other than to make obvious observations about a group of misguided individuals who may or may not have had as many opportunities to "whiten" up as you have had.
This isn't a personal attack on you or anyone, but many of the people that you're labeling "myspace gangstas" are either legitimate delinquents or fraudulent ones and either way that shouldn't have any effect on you.
I can respect that you didn't explicitly implicate any particular racial demographic as being susceptible to this kind of behavior, but I feel you've implied it within the contents of your blog.
Maybe if you got to know some of these "Myspace Gangstas" you'd see things differently.
Well, I don't consider my self "whitened up" by any means - I don't really think literacy and insight are something attributed only to whites, do you? That, however, is probably a different topic entirely.
I've known my share of "MySpace Gangstas" or the equivalent, so to speak, and indeed could name some among my friends. I'm merely making an observation of the incongruities between what they say and what they do.
This is in essence, a surface analysis of a deeper underlying social issue, and I understand that. It's not something limited to any particular race - it's the tendency of a generation to superficially embody a philosophy without truly knowing its roots.
HAH!!! you just got called whitewashed for telling peeps to be more like tupac. FYL.
I think your point was extremely poignant and well-said, Vicky. The fact of the matter is, there are a large amount of American teenagers who are being misguided by a lifestyle that isn't plausible. Endorsing f*cking b!tches, making money, shooting people and smoking blunts is not a way to set an example for youths, nor does it hold any artistic merit whatsoever (and neither is taking a sample riff from a song and putting a beat over it artistic either).
In a world plagued by various social problems, it is the job of an artist to not only portray the everyday struggles of human nature in a unique yet relatable way, but to also set an example as to how to be more socially and politically conscious. Tupac Shakur embodied these traits and many more. But there are people out there who venerate him without being properly educated on his mission to empower youths with knowledge and not Glocks, to change the social awareness of a budding generation in the hopes to spark some sort of revolution so that a certain class could be liberated from an ongoing struggle.
Yes, this was a huge undertaking, but I believe the point Vicky made so well was that these "gangstas" HAVE the means to be educated (do they not have libraries in Loserville?). Being educated is not a matter of race, it's a matter of determination. And to think that these individuals are so misguided because of some alienation they feel from the world around them and not just because they don't take the time to transcend all the bullshit, then you, my friend, are the misguided one. Tupac Shakur didn't always have the means or access to education, but he found a way because he believed knowledge can truly liberate.
And to this Anonymous person, Vicky has every right to publish this BLOG posting which is not, by definition, the same as an article. And if you are going to comment, at least have the balls to credit yourself.
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