The Air Up Here, Vol. III - "The Big Lie" Edition

To the millions and millions of my adoring fans,

Okay, so it's been a while since I laced you that commentary that you've been clamoring for. However, if you noticed in the last edition I said it wouldn't take me four months to put it out. It took six and I apologize. However, your boy has been through a lot personal and professional turmoil and when you couple this with my writing process it forms the perfect storm for that dreaded "P" word: procrastination.

Every year I like to change up the column to keep it fresh for me, and hopefully not bore you all with my 5000 word essays, masquerading as friendly emails. This year, since it seems like August is the beginning of my writing year, I'm going to do a series of articles focusing on topics that no one tells the truth about: Race, Business, and Politics. Remember what Dave Chapelle said about politics, "[Everyone] knows who they are voting for but they won't tell you." They'll tell you things like, "I had a three-way with my wife last night", but if the conversation turns to whom they are voting for "Hey, that's personal." The same thing happens with race matters. Oh, amongst our own ethnic groups or amongst a group that we feel some kinship with, such as blacks and Latinos, you would be surprised by the bluntness of the conversations. However, in mixed company everyone does the "PC" thing and I'm not talking about those black boxes made by Dell. Now don't get me wrong, if being PC prevents you from acting like a jackass, then by all means keep it up. Everyone knows there are far too many jackasses running around out there under the guise of "keeping it real." What I'm saying is that at some point meaningful discussions on difficult topics must be had. Since most individuals are too scared to start the conversation for fear of being a lightening rod for controversy, I'll do it. After all, you all know I never miss an opportunity to get my shine on even it comes back to bite me in the end.

By now you know the drill, you probably will want to print this out or read a little bit at a time throughout the day because it is quite extensive. What would you expect? I have been gone for six months :-)

1. WE'VE BEEN HAD. One of my favorite songs is by the Seattle/NYC-based rock band, The Walkmen. Their song "We've Been Had" is the theme music for a Saturn car commercial (how is that for irony?). But I'm not here to reprimand the auto industry; I'll do that at another date. No, I'm here to tell you, my loyal readers and the rest of the American public that you have been had. You have been played for fools. You have been made out to be patsies. You have been bamboozled, run amuck, and led astray (still a shame that Denzel didn't win an Oscar for Malcolm X). The news media, your elected officials, your government and yes even that guy occupying The Oval Office think that you are “booty”, not that pirate stuff either. That's right, straight derrière I said. Why? Because they keep pulling the wool over your eyes and the majority of the public not only takes it, but also willingly castigates anyone that has a dissenting viewpoint. You know where I'm going with this: the war on Iraq.

Now before you flag waving, Bill O'Reilly watching, Ann Coulter book buying, gun-rack-in-the-pickup having, Ronald Reagan worshipping neo-cons try to question my patriotism; let it be known that I have no love for the "Butcher from Baghdad." He's gone, kind-of sort-of, and that's most definitely a good thing; but the question remains: WTF are we really doing in Iraq? It's amazing how the bar continues to get moved as for our reasons for going to war. For those of you all not keeping up with the changing stories let me recap. First, it was because of Iraq's connection to terrorism. You know how Saddam and bin Laden just love to sit on the beach, sip a few mai tais, and plot against the Americans; but that connection didn't quite pan out. Then it was because they had nuclear weapons. The government even trotted out trusty ole Colin Powell in front the UN with that one, but that story has also fallen by the wayside. Then the story was conventional WMDs, but that too is looking a little suspect. Then it was weapons programs. I have no doubt that programs will be found, but let's examine that a little closer. I have a stellar workout program, but it doesn't mean I'm utilizing it. Anyone that's seen me lately can attest to the fact that six-pack abs and massive muscles are not rippling all over my body. Don't get it twisted, I'm still sexy as ever, but I digress. Now I think the official story is that we liberated the country from some really, really, really, really, really, bad guys . . . Oh, and they were mean too.

All I'm saying is that if you are going to lie to me (and regardless of how this turns out, lies were told) then do it the right way. Do it with some confidence. Do it like Bill Clinton, when he got on national television and waved his finger and said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." Do it like those females that I have dated: lie with a straight face, a soothing voice, and oftentimes a kiss on the lips. Did this administration learn nothing from that early 20th Century dictator, who like that character from the Harry Potter books name will not be spoken in this column? If you are going to lie then do it big. Thus, where the phrase "The Big Lie" comes into play.Another thing that disturbs me about the Iraq situation is the new standard of preemptive intervention. It smacks just a little of schoolyard bully to me. What if we all applied this anti-"Golden Rule" principle to our lives; can you imagine what might happen? For example, based upon this new doctrine I am now serving notice to all that I feel empowered to deliver my own brand of street justice. Anyone who gives me the evil eye will be subject to the "one-hitter quitter." For those of you unfamiliar with the vernacular, that means knocked the "F" out. I mean it. If I think you're plottin', I'm a coming a knockin'. Okay, I am being facetious in my comments there, but think about the real world possibilities if all nations adopted this doctrine. There have been many reports that both Pakistan and India (who it seems since the dawn of time have been embroiled in dispute over the Kashmir region) are thinking about using this principle as justification for preemptive strikes on one another. Hey, if it's good enough for the U.S. then it's got to be okay, right? If I'm wrong about the things I've mentioned here I will come back and write a public apology to any that I may have offended, but don't count on it.

[A Quick Note: I can say almost to a certainty that Iraq had (past tense) WMDs, but that's partially because the U.S. gave them some of the weapons. For the over-25 crowd reading this, we can all remember in the early 80s when Iraq was our friend and Iran was our enemy. During this time both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia supported Iraq in an effort to depose the fundamentalist government of Iran.]

2. WHAT IS FAIR? I've been wrestling with myself for about the past year about writing on race issues as they pertain to the justice system, higher education, and interpersonal relationships; but something always held me back. I know I did that piece on the reporter that wanted to close HBCUs, the review of Pat Buchanan's book, and few other short pieces; but the majority of those pieces just hit around the real issues. The reason I held back is because, believe it or not, I try not to offend. However too many recent events have happened that shed light on the polarization of our society. Without any real discussion this polarization can only lead to more misunderstandings and violence. So I’ve stopped wrestling with myself and decided to discuss it. I'll address the Supreme Court's affirmative decision, the Kobe case, and some other shocking events I have uncovered during my research at a later date. But right now, I want to discuss an event that even almost nine years later still serves as a classic case study in race relations.The OJ case for good or bad was one of those seminal moments in American history that brought to light racial issues that everyone had been trying to pretend didn’t exist but had existed all along. Everyone wanted to pretend that race problem had been solved, that everyone saw people as people, etc. but even in the 1990s, the bottom line was that the race problem wasn’t even close to being solved. I have never seen white people more angry or black people more delighted. The question that we all must once again ask is, why? White people, what were you so upset about? Say what you want, but this is YOUR court system. A system brought over from England and tweaked in that most unique manner to make it “all-American”: tip the scales of justice in favor of the rich, the powerful, and dare I say it, the “white”. I only throw that last item in the list, because no one that looked like me had any hand in its creation. Don’t get mad; you know I’m right. Next, black people, what the hell were we so delighted about? OJ, a man whom by all accounts did as much as possible to distance himself from the black community, was found “not guilty.”

I can remember just coming back from lunch and heading to Mr. Grabowski's class. (How does Grabowski always seem to make his way into my commentary? You all are going to think he was some kind of guru the way my stories always revolve around his class.) Anyway, the verdict was announced and many of the black children were running up and down the halls yipping like banshees, while the white kids were breaking their knuckles punching lockers. To my Caucasian readership once again I ask, “Why the anger?” The man went to court. He was tried, albeit by a somewhat inept prosecution team, but tried nonetheless. Finally, he was found not guilty. The fact that he had the best legal team money could buy helped, but is not that the American way? I hear you talking now:

"But the evidence showed . . ."
"The jury was biased . . ."
"They weren't smart enough to discern the facts . . ."
"It's just not fair . . ."

You better find Justin Timberlake and cry him a river cause it doesn't matter. I'll spit a few cases right off the top of my head that were unfair: Emmitt Till, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing (commonly referred to as the "four little girls" case), Medgar Evers, and Dred Scott. I'm from Mississippi so if you want me to I could continue this list until the cows come home. Do you think that those cases were tried in front of impartial juries? I'm sure that Dred Scott looked up at those Supreme Court justices and thought something along the lines of Samuel L. Jackson's character in A Time To Kill, "Does this look like a jury [bench] of my peers?" And while these cases set the historical background, only window dressing changes have been made to the justice system. You want me to continue? I will bring you through the 70s, 80’s, 90’s, and right up to March of this year.

Example #1: Clifford Glover. He was a 10-year old boy from Queens that was shot in the head by a cop, after he had inquired if the officer was at his complex to lock someone up. The officer walked. (1973)

Example # 2: Michael Stewart. He was arrested for scribbling graffiti on a subway car. Thirty-two minutes after his arrest he was admitted to Bellevue Hospital with severe injuries all over his body and would die two weeks later of a “spinal cord injury in the upper neck.” Three cops were indicted, but none were convicted. (1983)

Example #3: Rodney King. I don’t even have to recap this story. His beating was captured on videotape and the cops got off. This event sparked the L.A. Riots. (1991/1992)

Example #4: Amaduo Diallo. The police fired 41 shots. I repeat, they fired 41 shots at this man while he was reaching for his brown wallet to show them some ID outside of his own apartment building. Do I even have to say again that the cops got off in this case? A lawyer for one of the officers said that Diallo’s neighborhood, Soundview, “[was] one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York City” and this was one of the reasons that could have led to the cops feeling threatened when Diallo reached for his wallet. Well, as some of you all know, when I lived in New York City I worked in the Bronx. I was in Soundview almost every week (holla at those cats at the Soundview Clinic, they know me). Although it’s not the best neighborhood, it is definitely not Beirut. I walked around without apprehension. And before you go saying, “Well, you’re black;” I ask you, “Do I really exude any aura of “street-cred?” Hello, I grew up in the ‘burbs. My people from New York correct me if I’m wrong, but when I worked Uptown, there was a mural on St. Nicolas Avenue or Amsterdam Avenue that had the faces of the cops from the Diallo case. The inscription above their pictures read something along the lines of “Innocent in their courts, but guilty in ours.” Although one can effectively argue that there are two sets of courts, “ours” unfortunately is not the one that counts. The Diallo case occurred in 1999 and the Justice Department in 2001 decided not to file federal charges against the officers.

Example #5: Marquise Hudspeth. On March 15, 2003 in Shreveport, LA police officers shot the 25-year old, Hudspeth, 8 times in the back as he was walking away. Let me repeat that in case it didn’t fully sink in the first time. Shot 8 times IN THE BACK, as he was WALKING AWAY. They claimed that they thought he was brandishing a weapon. This “lethal weapon” in question turned out to be a cell-phone. I thought the only way cell phones could get you killed was through brain-cancer, obviously I was wrong. After examining the videotape, (yes, like Rodney King, this too was captured on video) the police review board and District Attorney ruled that the shooting was justified and the cops were cleared of any wrongdoing. And yet you all want to know what black people are mad about all of the time. If you want to take a look and decide for yourself the police video for this shooting is provide on BET.com. Just follow this link: http://www.bet.com/articles/0,,c1gb6832-7635,00.html#. I must warn you that this is very graphic and disturbing material.

So my Caucasian brethren, did you break a knuckle or two punching the wall over those cases? Did you question the integrity of the justice system? Did you go on television and cry in Geraldo Rivera’s lap about the “race card?” I’d be willing to bet the answer in “No.” That is if you were even aware of the verdicts and the injustices that continue even in this day and age. However, for all of the white people who have asked me over the years, "Do black people really think that OJ is innocent?" I'm going to answer like this: A third if not higher think he did it. A third thinks he's innocent. The final third, and this is where many of the people I talk to fall, is still just amazed that a black man being accused of such a crime was found not guilty, even if it is OJ. They thought that innocent or guilty, he would rot in jail because that is what past and recent history teaches. Many within this third group were happy, that’s right, H-A-P-P-Y, when OJ was acquitted. Why, you ask? Because the frustration and injustice that whites felt and still feel over that case is what black people experience almost daily. Although it is painfully obvious that it has not helped much, many black people thought, “Well, maybe now that you’ve walked in our shoes for a few minutes real change will occur.” Sadly, as example #5 makes plain, nothing has changed.

All right, I'm sure that at least five or six of you all will not be speaking to me for the next few months, but it’s okay; I’ll holla at you during Christmas. With that said, let us move on to some lighter stuff.

MUSIC REVIEWS
Yes it's time for my music reviews, because you know you can't trust what those mainstream publications tell you about CDs. If you listened to them all of you would still be bumping Jay Z's last CD. I do not care what you say, his last one was certainly not a "Gift" and it made me want to "Curse;" but I’m drifting off on a tangent so let's get on with it.

1. The Colored Section by Donnie. "Criminally slept on" is a phrase that my brother and I like to toss around when discussing music. Basically it means that an artist's work is so great that it literally should be a crime that the label isn't pushing his or her work more and that general public isn't buying the album in droves. Donnie's album has been "criminally slept on." This Atlanta native is the cousin of the late Marvin Gaye, however on this album one might think he is channeling Stevie Wonder during his Original Musiquarium phase. Donnie doesn't sound like Stevie, but the style and subject matter of his songs is very reminiscent. The beats are experimental and unorthodox, but the messages are clear and powerful. After the intro, the first song "Beautiful Me" takes on the idea of what is beautiful as defined by American society. In what is one of the most powerful lines on the album he challenges the listener to take control of their on identity and not allow anyone to put a label on them. He states, "I'm not a n*gger / I'm a Negro / When I become a n*gger / I'll let you know." The song "People Person" deals with the dichotomous and sometimes hypocritical nature within all of us. In describing this drug dealer he says, "He'll slang [drugs] your way, [everyday] but the Sabbath Day." In going on to describe this very spiritual woman he states, "Get a drink in her hand and she'll curse you like a sailor man." My favorite song on the album is "Big Black Buck." This song borders on genius in its presentation. It starts off with circus music and the barker calling people to come and see the show. "The show", unfortunately, is life in the black community and how we keep ourselves subjugated with hyper-consumerism. He states "Mama's little baby is nothing but a consumer / Never making a profit, rendering empty pockets / Mama's little baby is trendy on the rumor / . . . making dough for the man / Whipping that big black buck again." The way he weaves modern spending with the old plantation system and its modern incarnation, known as Corporate America, is seamless. This is why the circus music provides the perfect backdrop for the song. Given the recent shenanigans of companies like Enron and WorldCom, it is a masterful comparison. Furthermore, the old circus used to have the "Freak Show" in which they would parade people onstage for the audience to gawk at and ridicule. This parallels the auction block used by slave traders in the early development of the nation. As I stated before, the song borders on genius in its intricacies and subtleties. After “Big Black Buck”, the album turns to the subject of love. "Turn Around" deals with the classic scenario: Boy and girl are friends. Boy likes girl. Girl likes other boy. Other boy is not feeling girl. If girl would just turn around she would see that all the love she needed was right behind her all of the time with original boy. "Rocketship" is my favorite of the love songs. It deals with trying to keep the love alive in a long distance relationship. Given that I've gotten on my share of planes and taken a few road trips trying to do the “L.D.” thing, I can relate. I like the chorus that goes, "I'm living to see your smile / Loving you from over 3000 miles away / And if you were on Saturn / I'd take a rocketship just to see you baby / You're the one." What can I say? It brings back memories. Anyway, quit being one of those drowsy people sleeping on this album and cop it today. It can be had for $8.99 (at least the last time I checked) at your local Best Buy, Circuit City or Target.

2. God's Son by Nas. I think that rap music has gone down the toilet. Get me an industrial-sized Kohler, toss the CDs in, and flush please. However, once or twice a year an album will come out that makes me remember why I fell in love with hip-hop in the first place and what a powerful medium that it can be (Oh my, I 'm sounding like one of those bad movie trailers for Brown Sugar). Most of you know the story with Nas, but in just in case you’ve been hanging out on Alpha Centauri, I’ll do a quick recap. After Jay-Z's "The Takeover" off of the original Blueprint (which by the way, was actually a great album) and his "Super Ugly" song on the mix-tape circuit that described Jay’s Herculean nocturnal activities with Nas' baby's mama, many people thought that Nas' career in rap was a wrap. Finished. Done. Someone find John Donne and have him tell Nas that “the bell tolls for thee." Nas took that public embarrassment and put out the very good album, Stillmatic, featuring his reply to Jay-Z called "Ether." That song ranks up there with Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up", which I still feel is the hardest “dis” song of all-time. A few months after dropping Stillmatic his mother passed away and it's been reported that he didn't want to finish this album. Well, it's a good thing for us that he did, because God's Son raises the bar over his previous work. This album finds him wiser, more focused, and introspective. On "The Cross" he debases the jiggy (did I just use that word), bling-bling culture of hip-hop that even he fell victim to on a couple of albums (Can you say “Oochie Wally?). He states, "I don't need much, but a Dutch / A [chick] to f*ck / A six, a truck / Some guns to bust / I wish it was that simple." Although it is pretty much agreed in the hip hop community that Nas got the better of Jay-Z in the lyrical battle, he takes one more jab at him on "The Last Real N*gga Alive." This song is a hip-hop history lesson chronicling the rise of Bad Boy Entertainment, the Wu Tang Clan, and the truth behind the controversy surrounding the "Hate Me Now" video. "I Can" is the song with kids singing the hook about self-esteem and learning. This is a good thing, but please do not take all the words to be fact. He did mesh a couple of historical events together that did not exist contemporaneously. However the message is positive and I love that. "Dance" is a song that finds him mourning for the mother he lost to cancer. Depending on which version of the album you have, it probably ends with my favorite song "Heaven." Saukrates and Jully Black (who sounds like she could be Mary J. Blige's sister) ask the question, "If Heaven was a mile away / Would I pack up my bags and leave this world behind / If Heaven was a mile away / Or save it all for you / If Heaven was mile away / Would I fill my tank up with gas and be out the front door in a FLASH / Before reconsidering this hell with you.” The first verse finds Nas pondering about the spiritual. How would we act if we knew that God was watching our every vice? Would we pray more, quit drinking, quit smoking, quit sexing, and quit slanging kane? The second verse once again finds him disillusioned with materialism and the formulistic nature of making popular records. He states, "It's getting unbearable / Making hits is easy / Put a famous [chick] on a hook / There you go with a platinum CD." In the song's outro he implores the listener to find their Heaven here on Earth. Not with money or with material trappings, but with family, with relationships, and in the everyday blessings.

3. The Chocolate Factory by R. Kelly. Regardless of what you may think of Mr. Robert Kelly as a person, you can't deny that the guy is talented. Although I must admit that his taking up of this "Pied Piper" moniker slightly disturbs me and really isn't going to help his legal problems. Didn't he read the original version of that fairy-tale? Anyway, with apologies to Bobby Brown, Arruha is the real King of R&B. He's been on like twelve movie soundtracks, given us that Mr. Biggs soap opera, and revived the Isley Brothers career. Do you know that this Mr. Biggs stuff has been going now since I was senior in high school 7 years ago? Yet, I still find myself entertained by that new video "Busted." R's so ingrained in our musical culture that you might like R. Kelly and not even know it. You like Ginuwine? You like R. You like the Isleys? You like R. You like Aaliyah's old stuff? You like R. You like B2K, Nick Cannon, and Marques Houston? You like R, R, and R again. If you like Celine Dion. What? Celine Dion? Yes, he's produced for her too. He's like the Neptunes; you just can't escape him. On R's last official release 2000's TP-2.com, he opened the album with those subtle, yet endearing lyrics "Hit it hard from the back / Roll around on the front." Okay, you could tell that album was a continuation of 12 Play. Although you would not know it by the songs he's released, The Chocolate Factory finds the new and improved R. Kelly. It has your typical R. fare of beautiful ballads mixed in with a couple of club bangers. However, what makes this better than the typical R album is that the sexual innuendo is finally just that, innuendo. It's not that raw, in-your-face unabashedness that made him the bane of parents. Like rap, I think that most R&B music should be tossed in the same toilet. Yet, what separates R. from the rest of the R&B pretenders are his deftly crafted, if somewhat simple, lyrics and his ability to ride over a beat better than 95 percent of the rappers as exhibited on the "Ignition Remix" and "Imagine That" (which just screams of Prince influence). For the tragically un-hip out there, "riding" over a beat means the ability to use words that flow in sync with the variations in the music. Some of the best examples on this technique are Outkast on "Southernplayalisticadillacmusik," Jay-Z on "Jigga What," Slick Rick on "Lodi Dodi," Ice Cube on "Today Was A Good Day," and probably the best example, Biggie Smalls on the remix of "One More Chance." Depending on which version you procure, the album includes up to five songs from the "Loveland" bootleg. However, it is missing my three favorites including the ten-minute “I Believe I Can Fly” remix. So go to the store and pick up The Chocolate Factory and then go to your local bootleg man or swap meet and pick up the bootleg. Together they represent his best work to date.


SHOUT OUTS

Farewell to those that have passed on:
1. Fred Rogers, who invited us all into his neighborhood. I hope there’s a cardigan in Heaven to fit those wings.

2. Barry White, whose music is probably the reason that some of you all are here. I’m still bumpin’ that “At The End of the Day.”

3. Maurice Gibb, who along with his brothers is the reason that I like disco. That Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is blazin’.

4. Nina Simone, jazz singer and outspoken activist. Her music continues to inspire a new generation.5.


As I stated up top I'm going to be experimenting with a few things that will hopefully make this column better. Most likely I'm going to switch to doing less topics per column and increasing the frequency of my production. As always, your feedback is appreciated and taken into consideration one way or another. Special thanks to my friend from Chicago (you know who you are) who called me out on one of those articles I occasionally forward out to fill time between columns. I was slipping slightly into the realm of tabloid reporter. Thanks for bringing me back.

--AIR © 2003