Hi! My Name Is

I'm sure some of you would not expect a guy who's pseudonym is The Creative Brother to defend a white rapper. Frankly, I'm a little surprised myself. But, the reason why I am is because I am glad that there is finally something out there that isn't making black people look like pimp-thug wannabees, and that has an element of HUMOR.

What the world--particularly the Hip-Hop World--needs now is more laughter. Good Lord, you would think that every black person in America lived inside of a roach ridden apartment, was on welfare, did not know their father, and had to trip over crackheads everyday if all you saw were the videos (and a lot of people think exactly that!) You'd also think that every little black boy wanted to grow up to be a criminal and every little black girl some kind of sex kitten. I am NOT on the C. Delores Tucker bandwagon (I felt she hurt my business when I was rapping because she tended to overgeneralize), but there is one thing I would like more of: BALANCE.

Why can't Snoop Dog and Meeshelley (spelling?) exist in the same rap era? Why is it that if the lead rapper is pro-black, EVERYBODY has to be pro-black, even the white rappers; if the LEAD rapper calls herself a bitch, then ALL female rappers must call themselves bitches, and so on. I was glad that the bubblegum rap was offset by some more reality based stuff, but come on people! Every minute of every day, even if you are poor (and I know, because I grew up without a lot of money) is NOT misery. I have seen people in the ghetto laugh and people in the suburbs cry. Life is not all joy or pain, it simply IS. I wish the rap world would see it that way.

But no, since the thing now is to be hard, then EVERYONE must be hard or they will be seen as a weak rapper. You would think that white rap fans would adamantly support one of their own, but so far, the criticism I have heard of Eminem has come from a lot of them. And, I'm sure that a lot of black hip-hoppers who have been dining on a steady dieat of Tupac, Biggie, Master P, and Foxy Brown are NOT going to appreciate something that's a little light (no pun intended) for once.

Quite frankly, I do. My ears need a break from all of the posturing.

It is almost as if you cannot be a successful male rapper unless you have this neurotic urge to prove how much of a man you are. Now if you want to show off those washboard abs to get the ladies (like my man L.L.), then that is using sex appeal. However, if you have to go over board and act like you are the baddest crook on Planet Earth, growling, grunting and yelling at the screen, then I think that you are just a prentender. The toughest guys I know are the most laid back people you would ever meet. If you mess with them they will kill you, but they feel no need to walk around with their chests out, letting the world know that they are the baddest men alive. Some people feel that the louder you yell on stage, the more intense you are. I think that intensity comes from a vibe, and that unnecessary noise (even though I have yelled in songs where I thought it would SOUND GOOD) is really a cover-up for a lack of talent. "Want to see me stick nine inch nails inside my eyelids?" I think that a lot of you do.

Hey, I like to look at half naked women on television. But too much booty cannot cover up for a woman that can't rap or can't sing. I don't how many times I have been enthralled with a female performer (or potential date) until she openned her mouth. To quote Guru "If you ain't got it, you ain't got mutha-". That's all I'm going to say about the ladies in rap that feel showing skin is more important then showing skills.

But hey, don't listen to me. Continue to only buy music that appeals to the lowest levels of humanity--Greed, Lust, and Fear--so that the world can continue to think bad of black people because of all of the messed up images they see in the media. Continue to allow the other rap artists out there who want to show the other aspects of life to be marginalized. Eminem's words are by no means squeaky clean, but at least this debut cut is not littered with the "N" word (I'm sure he knows better. He'd better not say someone was being niggardly, no matter how down he is). I have been black long enough to know that everybody is not living trife.

I don't want to see the end of hardcore rap.

I JUST WANT SOME VARIETY!

GOOD GOD, MAN, DOES EVERYBODY HAVE TO BE A NIGGA?!?