Quick note - If you read this while you listen to Bitches Brew by Miles Davis it might make it cool, lol. Enjoy!
Where did this come from, you may be wondering, right? (Well, maybe not if you read these posts from time to time you'll see there's a trend, lol) but this post, like all my others, came from somewhat of a minimal thing.
If you know me personally, you would know that my favorite artist out at the time is J Cole. His story, his flow, his artistry within the rap/hip-hop genre right now is something that can only be paired with the greats. He's really a modern legend that we're watching emerge right before our eyes, well and Kendrick and people like that, digress.
So I'm listening to J Cole songs on shuffle, anything from The Warm Up to Born Sinner and I don't know what it is, but I feel like he really tells a similar story to mine. Of course as an artist you're supposed to connect with the listener, but anything from being mixed to making it out of a rough neighborhood to go to college, it just all connects. But through his projects you can see a theme, right? And if this post relates to you, you should check out his music too.
The theme? This type of bipolar syndrome that comes from the contradictions that you've seen in your life. This love for life and everything that makes it what it is to you, but also this undying hatred from the lives that you've seen. I'll explain further, on my behalf - I don't know J Cole personally so don't quote anything I say about his lyrics and how I interpret them. Cool.
But for example, growing up I didn't realize that my family had money problems. We were happy. I have the best family in the world, man, swear to the Almighty. My family has everything money could never amount to, from love to trust to actual friendship and memories. I love my family; both sides black and white. Digress, I could go for days about that.
Anyways I never realized we weren't, you know, "well off" financially until I began getting older. Slowly I started realizing how this whole system worked, right? It wasn't until I applied for schools, and got into college that my eyes were opened. I've talked about it before so I won't hark on it too long, but it's ridiculous that someone can make millions of dollars, sometimes billions, and all they do is sit somewhere and chill all day, if they even do that much. Like do people understand the Mars family are all on the USA most wealthy list and have not worked a day in their lives? Meanwhile there are people who work 55-60 hours a week and make less than $50,000. Like if you don't think that system is stupid as fuck, please explain to me.
Anyways, so I'm listening to J Cole and these themes arise time and time again, and it sparks some thoughts in my mind that I've always kind of had but I never researched. So I came along Du Bois "double consciousness" theories and read them for a couple days. And while what he says is brilliant and I believe time-less, I believe there's a new element that can be added to this theory.
So, this post is about the "conscious negro" in today's society, in particular in my generation. Generation Y, where blacks are portrayed as hip-hop junkies and you're either a hipster/thug that "turns up" or you're someone who went against the stereotypes and went to school and all that jazz. Mind you, I respect all of these people. This post is for when someone is the combination of the two.
If you read my post "I F**k Up..." you'll see I have vices that I try to deal with. I've been getting better to some degree but it seems no matter how hard I try, it's almost ingrained in my mind that these things are a part of me... it's actually shitty. And that's where this post comes from, because I know I can't be the only one.
So for the conscious negro of today's age, and yes I will label myself as one of them. We know, are conscious, of the contradictions in our lifestyle. The ying-yang that is ever so apparent in our lives. We know that we are conscious for a reason and that we are here for a greater purpose, but we still have these demons. We know the money we waste every so many days on liquor, drugs and partying (or whatever you do) and we know what we could do if we saved that money, but we spend it anyways. We know how much time we waste doing some of the BS that we do, and how much we could gain if we were productive during that time period, but we waste it anyways. I could go on for a while with examples but I'll stop there.
This is not new, by the way. I'm sure MLK had the same problems, knowing that a black man is supposed to be strong for black women and be above adultery yet he still had his missteps. Point proven.
But for our generation it is different. Point being, there is a major divide today. Between the different type of people that are in different points in their lives. I am not sure how to connect to a 14-15 year old who has already started selling drugs just to make some side money. But I know it's happening, though. I know because those were my friends when I was younger. Not bad, just misguided. Not ignorant, just knowledgeable in the wrong walks of life. This is where I believe this "conscious negro" holds the power and promise of our generation.
**I've been bouncing around this post, but I'm listening to the album Bitches Brew by Miles Davis and it's got my mind everywhere so just bear with me. I'll make my point coming up soon. lol**
So for the conscious negro of our generation. The ones who know what it's like in the rough neighborhoods, but also know what's happening in the corporate world as well. The ones who are in between, with a foot at the bottom of the barrel and the other still walking up the steps. For all of us who can swear that we're bipolar because it makes no damn sense why we can love and hate so much at the same damn time, I'm talking to you all. It is our job, our duty to start a movement. And not a movement that only will engage people who were already on the right path, a movement that brings power to the people. Regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation. Shit the Black Panthers did so much work for the LGBT and white poverty communities, they just don't teach you that because they try to paint them as a certain type of group, whatever.
Anyways, it is up to us to spark the fire. I write this on the 50 year anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and can say without a doubt that there is still much work to do. I believe we are the only ones who can connect our suburban friends who we met in college to the "hood" friends that we grew to be who we are with. We are the ones who have seen more than one layer on the totem pole and have made marks in both of them. We have the technology to do so, we have the knowledge to do so, we just need the organization and collaboration to do so.
By this point I probably lost everybody, which is cool. If you made it this far do your own research on Du Bois and "double consciousness" then go listen to a song by J Cole titled "2 Face" you'll see what I'm getting at. Our lives are perfect contradictions. Ying-yangs. Until we understand that we cannot make a profound change. Open your mind and become conscious. The world is depending on it, foreal.
I'll leave you all with this quote.
"To be a Negro in this country and to be relativily conscious is to be in rage almost all the time." - James Baldwin
Just my thoughts.
Marcus J.
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