Originally Posted at The TSA Report.com
http://www.tsareport.com/#3

Allen Iverson is a generational icon. Iverson embodies the Black athlete who was birthed from the Hip-Hop culture. He personifies the Hip-Hop aesthetic: brash, relentless, and fearless. His free-wheeling, improvisational, lightening-fast game introduced the next phase of basketball - a phase that actualized a playground sensibility, and embraced the oppositional, self-defining world-view of the new athlete.The cornrows, the cross-over dribbles, the multiple tattoos, taking on Michael Jordan at the top of the key; these were the features and qualities that endeared Iverson to basketball fans throughout America’s urban landscape, and made him intriguing to the post Bird-Magic-Jordan NBA community. Iverson was NBA basketball…the remix.

But that was the 90’s.

As we close the first decade of the 21st century, Allen Iverson’s thirteen year NBA career and cultural status stand at a crossroads. No longer is A.I. the youthful “rebel without a cause” adored by all. In many ways his cultural resonance has been surpassed by the Lebrons, Carmelos, and Dwyanes of the perpetual “next generation.” The “ghetto fabulous”appearance and “take-no-prisoners” disposition that defined a cohort of players like Chris Webber, Latrell Sprewell, and Iverson, has given way to an economically driven sense of market-awareness and commercial appeal evident by the league’s new superstars. Symbolically, Chris Weber’s “Fab Five” has become D-Wade’s “Fave 5.” A.I.’s Reebok has become Lebron’s Nike.

The story that remains though is Iverson's career on the court. Statistics certify his status as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. The memories of fans and the highlight reels will certainly affirm him as pound-for-pound one of toughest players ever to step on the hardwood. But his one-man show in Philadelphia, and two-star attraction in Denver, did not achieve the accomplishment that distinguishes an NBA career: a championship ring.In fact, they barely produced playoff victories - note Denver’s 1-8 playoff record during the Iverson years.

And so, the legacy of Allen Iverson rests not on his cultural relevance, but on his basketball career. As he now stands in Detroit, he has become part of a Pistons group also trying to define itself in basketball history. Their one NBA championship is blemished with six consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals without advancing to the NBA Finals. As this Pistons team searches to solidify their place among the greatest, so does Iverson. Can A.I. transcend them, and his career, to all-time stature?

“The Answer” remains to be seen.

(ORIGINALLY POSTED @ REAL TALK NY.NET)

Forty years ago this month, the 1968 Olympic Games was defined by the political statement of two Black athletes. With Black fist raised high, and an ode to the Black Power movement displayed, Tommie Smith and John Carlos made one of the most profound political statements ever seen at an international sporting event.

The beauty and the significance of the statement was the weight and poignancy of its symbolism. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to symbolize Black pride, and Carlos wore beads around his in recognition of the Blacks who lost their life on the Middle Passage. Both wore black socks but no shoes, to symbolize the pervasive poverty numerous Blacks faced. Each had on a black glove on the raised fists, emboldening the Black Power cry.

Smith and Carlos' act was not a "rebel without a cause" moment, but an attempt to raise awareness about the condition of those who materially have the least and work mightily to obtain more. They represented not just the Texas and Harlem neighborhoods their came from, but struggle of those in the African Diaspora. Class, race, and human rights all came together in sports.



Would Terrell Owens put up a fist for "Black Power" after he scores his next touchdown? Would Lebron James lead a voter registration drive in his home-state of Ohio?  Is Floyd Mayweather going to comment on the need to restructure America's health care system?

When the Celtics visited the White House for their NBA Championship visit, did Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett talk to President Bush about his tax plan?  Will Candice Parker and Lisa Leslie come out and endorse Cynthia Mckinney and Rosa Clemente for President?

And if they did, would Nike, Reebok, Adidas, and all their other sponsors take away their endorsement deals?

When Jim Brown criticized Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and today's Black athletes a few days ago, he touched on an important issue---the role of the Black athlete in contemporary society, and their responsibility to themselves and the Black community.

Certainly it isn't a new discussion. But given the times, it seems all the more pertinent to think about.

The Black athlete in today's society is perhaps the most notable figure in the Black community. They are certainly among the wealthiest; and among young Blacks, perhaps the most influential. While it may not be a position they asked for, it is one they occupy none the less---no matter who thinks they shouldn't be, and no matter how much the athletes may say they don't want to be.

The question becomes what does their social position and privilege mean in today's society.  Should we expect them to be more than athletes?  Do they have a greater responsibility?

For the Black community, sports have always been about more than achievement.  In fact one of sports main functions in Black life during the first half of the 20th century was disproving the idea of Blacks being biologically inferior.  Contest on the field, in the ring, and on the court were challenges to White supremacy (biologically and ideologically).  This is why the fights of Jack Johnson and Joe Louis, the races of Jesse Owens, and the success of Jackie Roberson are monumental events in American history.  It is where not only did we see sports, but racial struggle played out.

For the Black community, sports was political. The 68' Olympics Black Power moment defines this.

But it was also economical.

Sports opened financial and entrepreneurial opportunities for Blacks.  Successful athletes were able to open businesses in Black communities, and some members in those communities sought to use sports to create business enterprises (i.e. the Negro Leagues).

Many athletes felt a duty came with this success: a commitment to advocate for Black rights, a responsibility to stand against injustice and the violation of human rights, a mandate to use financial success and social recognition as a tool for community building.

You didn't just play a sport.  You were compelled to have a moral stance, a social consciousness, and a political awareness.  The lives and work of Black leaders like Paul Robeson, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Muhammad Ali are a testament to this.



Sports, race, politics, economics, morality, community---they were not separate, it all went together.

There is no question Black athletes like Serena Williams, Lebron James, or Carmelo Anthony know about the struggle of many Blacks in urban cities today.  Being raised and growing up in areas like Compton, CA,  Akron, OH, and Baltimore, MD make that reality unmistakable. Living in cities marked by racial segregation; plagued by the economic troubles of unemployment, gentrification, and de-industrialization; and haunted by racial inequalities embed this reality in them.  They and many other Black athletes have lived the other side of the Civil Rights Movement's success: the continuance of racial segregation, unequal access to resources, and inequality in living conditions. The issues that Smith and Carlos attempted to raise are still issue today.

Many of these athletes have a Black consciousness, constructed by living through the success, hardship, pride, and complexity of race in America.  And many of them understand the economic situation of those who have the least.

It is being young, Black, and successful in America, and the burden and challenges it brings that they struggle with. It is not financial obligation or charity that is difficult for them, it is the accountability of political advocacy and the fight for justice that is the burden.

"Do You," "Give Back," "Stand Up," or "Say Something," these are the choices and pressures our Black athletes face today.  A pressure added to the fact that many have to grow up and mature in front of the whole world; making their missteps, mistakes, and learning experiences subject to the scrutiny of the public.

This all combines to create a tremendous tension over what is their role---to be role models for the Black community; to dedicate themselves to giving back to those who have less; and to use their global name recognition, ample resources, and media access to advocate for social justice and human rights issues; in short, to become more than sports heroes---to become role models, and community-orientated, politically involved leaders.



There's no doubt your parents, your teacher, or someone in the community should be young people's role models; these are the people they should look up to.

The problem is how many young Black kids grow up without parents, without teachers who care, and with adults who certainly are not role models.

The fact that so many Blacks have chosen to use sports as a healthy, legal way to provide for themselves and their families should be commended.  But doesn't it show that their lives and their stories, the perseverance, dedication, and determination used to reach their level of achievement, their accomplishments, doesn't those things deserve to be so much more than example of how to succeed in a sport?

This is the point we should take from Jim Brown's comments.  These young Black women and men lives are bigger than sports; it means more than money.  Their lives are so much more meaningful than those things.

In life we all live together, not separate.  We affect each other, and we can affect anything. Jim Brown's comments attempt to explain this. Tommie Smith's and John Carlos' statement reminds of this.

This is why we must ask Black athletes to do more---because our life is more than sports.

And until we develop ways to keep more parents involved in young people's lives; until we economically, spiritually, and emotionally empower those Black communities in the deepest struggle; and most importantly, until make sure that the parents, teachers, mentors, guidance counselors, educators, sanitation workers, rappers, nurses, case worker and everyone else who deserve to be role models are seen as such, we have to ask for our Black athletes to lead the way.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:

The Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center

(And I am sure there are more. Please feel free to mention them in the comments section)

THINGS TO READ, PEOPLE TO KNOW:

Paul Robeson

Roberto Clemente

Dr. Harry Edwards

Common Bond for Uncommon Men: Roberto Clemente and Martin Luther King Jr-David Zirin

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete-William C. Rhoden

Darwin's Athletes: How Sports Has Damaged Black America and Preserved the Myth of Race-John Hoberman

Michael Partis

michaelpartis@gmail.com

www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com

www.myspace.com/hiphopthought

http://my.rawkus.com/profile/ForeThought

The 7 Day Theory: Remembering Why Tupac is Important

http://realtalkny.uproxx.com/2008/09/topic/topic/editorial/the-7-day-theory-remember-why-tupac-is-important/

I had a conversation with a couple of people the other day about the importance of Tupac.  Somebody told me that Tupac wasn't one of the most globally known, or internationally recognized Black people ever.  Another person said that his music wasn't politically or socially relevant; that he wasn't as important to Black music as Bob Marley.

All of this is just a couple of weeks after Blender Magazine said Pac was the most overrated musician of all-time.

So is the world coming to the end?  Was Tupac really not that important, then and now?

FOR THE REST PLEASE READ AT REAL TALK NY.NET

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR PEOPLE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING

PEACE

The 7 Day Theory: Remembering Why Tupac is Important

http://realtalkny.uproxx.com/2008/09/topic/topic/editorial/the-7-day-theory-remember-why-tupac-is-important/

Michael Partis

www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com

myspace.com/hiphopthoughthttp://my.rawkus.com/profile/ForeThought

michaelpartis@gmail.com

Read my new editorial on the lost of social consciousness in Rap music.

Feedback welcome.  Peace

You Aint Sayin Nuthin: Rap Music's Lost Message

"Mr. Carter's Coming of Age?"-Is Lil Wayne one of the greatest rappers of all time?

"And next time you mention Pac, Biggie, or Jay-Z don't forget about me"

Lil Wayne-"Mr. Carter"

Pac, Big, Jay-Z, and Wayne…? Sounds blasphemous right…or wrong?

Does "Mr. Carter" mark Lil Wayne's "Coming of Age"? Is this his transformation from "Best Rapper Alive" to one of the "Greatest of All-Time?" And is the man arguably rap's G.O.A.T co-signing?

Think it's truth? Or think somebody bugging? Read the article on Real Talk NY and let me know

"Mr. Carter's Coming of Age"

Michael Partis

For Online version real www.realtalkny.net

Check out an exclusive review of the Rik Cordero-directed "Be A Nigger Too" Video from last night private Tribeca screening

"Nas doesn't offend anybody, because Nas offends everybody" Rik Cordero

Last night Real Talk NY attended the exclusive private screening for Nas' "Be A Nigger Too" video.  In attendance were artist like Q-Tip, Consequence and DJ Green Lantern, and industry insiders Angie Martinez, E-Bro (Hot 97 Program Director), Shaheem Reid (MTV News, the MTV "Hip-Hop Brain Trust") and others. 

Director Rik Cordero addressed the crowd and explained how the video's theme came from the Spike Lee flick "The 25th Hour."  He cited how the political nature of Lee's films was a perfect fit for the tone both he and Nas wanted to set for the visual representation of the controversial song.

The video opens with audio clips of Malcolm X and Paul Mooney against a visual background of lower Manhattan.  The opening bars of the song begin acapella leading into a montage of shots with people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds (presumablely emphasing the "anybody can be a nigger" idea).  This included cameos by many from the cast of The Wire ("Daniels"-Lance Reddick, "Bubbs"-Andre Royo, and "Chris Parlow"-Gbenga Akkinagbe), Hip-Hop writer and actor Danny Hoch, actor Michael Rappaport, spoken word artist La Bruha, and from "Harold and Kumar," John Cho.

Other strong political messages in the video were reenactments of conflicts between Blacks and Whites (including a White man pulling out a gun on two young blacks), and the chilling scene of a Black man in the process of being lynched.

After the video Nas confirmed that the album's name had been changed and that it would remain "untitled."  "My fans know what the name of the album is, and I think the picture on the cover speaks for itself," he said.  When asked about Al Sharpton and others who have been taking credit for forcing the title change, Nas responded, "They saying they wanna take credit for changing the name of my album, they didn't change shit.  I coulda still put my album out in a bunch of Mom and Pop stores and been cool." 

Speaking further on older Black leaders and their relationship to the Hip-Hop industry, he says, "See you gotta understand these older Blacks make a lot of money outta stoping these record companies from using the word nigger.  So they can't let me jeopardize how they make their money by allowing an album called 'Nigger' to come out."

Fielding questions from the audience, Nas futher explained some of his thoughts on the word nigger, its affect on Black culture, and on himself: "We made a culture outta something they never expected us to come out of, " refering to nigger and Black culture.  "We made a beautiful culture from it.  We had people like Richard Pryor, N.W.A., and Dr. Dre help make this. "

Nas also spoke about his relationship to politics, and how it affects his music and himself: "I'm not into politics.  It be cool if Barack won, but I don't support the political system.  I'm in a world of my own.   That's why when they had the 'Vote of Die' shit I wasn't apart of it. 

"Ain't no President ever effect me personally,"  he responded when asked about U.S. Presidents who have affected Black community.  "But now that we all seeing in front of us what's going on.  We all seeing it now.  So if nigger means ignorant, then we all niggers because we seeing now in America how we all getting played."

Nas' political statement and political album will be either another notch in the belt, or another controversial offering that complicates Nas' legacy in Hip-Hop.  Best exhibiting this is Nas' mimicing of Ed Norton's memorable scene from 25th Hour: "Fuck you Nasir Jones, you fucked it all up for yourself."

 

The Bell Has Been Tolled, Mainstream Hip-Hop Must Answer! A Call for the Mainstream Hip-Hop Community to become Political in the Wake of the Sean Bell

   

By Michael Partis

(T0 VIEW ONLINE VERSION CLICK HERE) 

"If Malcolm or Huey had the outlets our musicians have today, it'd be global.  I have to figure out a way to do it myself."

Alicia Keys- "Alicia Keys Unlocked"

Blender Magazine-May 2008 edition

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1964 book, "Why We Can Not Wait"

  

When I saw Jay-Z, the biggest artist in Hip-Hop, could put out a record dissing NBA basketball player Deshawn Stevenson two days after the Sean Bell verdict, but yet could not put out even a statement on the case, I said enough.

Hip-Hop music and culture is an often criticized, highly stereotyped art form and cultural movement.  Gangsters; ignorant; selfish; destroying the Black community; perpetuators of the word "Nigga;" and vulgar, incendiary rebels without a cause---these are among the many charges routinely hurled.  And typically in the dead center of the attack are Black and Latino youth; and more specifically, the Black and Latino young man.

For all the racially-tinged hatred disseminated from the narrow-minded faction of the political right, or the equally narrow, grossly misinformed analysis of the Black conservative cohort (the John McWhorter's and Stanley Crouch's among others), there has been an identical amount of advocacy and support for Hip-Hop.  Whether it be from religious, political, academic, or grassroots sectors, people like Kevin Powell, Rosa Clemente, James Braxton Peterson, David Kirkland, Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, Trica Rose, Joan Morgan and numerous others have articulately, comprehensively, and thoughtfully commented on the full spectrum of the music and culture.  They have ardently and courageously defended it's legitimacy to legions of Americans who see it as a one-dimensional, hedonistic, pesticide in America culture.

But now is the time for mainstream Hip-Hop to stand-up and defend the same community of folks who help create it, support it, and maintain it.

The claim of "We're just rappers" and the like is no longer valid. 

In a music and a culture that is heavily populated and controlled by young Black and Latino men who many times laud themselves as being the authentic voice of an urban Black experience that while is extremely harsh, vulgar, self-indulgent, and misogynistic but yet claims to be "real"---it is time to talk about this realness.

It is time to speak on a how the United States makes up less then 5% of the world's population, yet has almost 25% of the world prison's inmates. AND 1/9^TH OF THOSE ARE YOUNG BLACK MEN. 

During the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections we have seen Black votes be treated as if they were meaningless in Georgia, Florida, and Ohio. We have seen increasing attempts to demonize our largely Black African and Latin American immigrant population without understanding how our state-endorsed, government-supported, private- corporate sector's role in globalization is helping to profit from and perpetuate, not address, this issue. 

We have seen how the lives of Blacks in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama were not primary but secondary concerns in the face and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina---and how we still have no national agenda to address the displaced peoples or comprehensively rebuilt their cities.  We are in the mist of seeing historically Black sections of cities like Chicago, Flint, Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and Trenton suffering through staggering high school dropout rates (and correspondingly, significantly low high school graduation rates) and economic stagnation.

We have seen how the NYPD could stop the Bushwick 32 from going to a friend's funeral.  And now we see how no amount of bullets to an unarmed man warrants excessive force by the New York City Police Department…again.

Now we need mainstream Hip-Hop to talk about it.  They need to tell America how they see it.

While R&B superstar Alicia Keys has come under great scrutiny for her comments about "Gangster Rap" in the May 2008 issue of Blender Magazine, the most profound statement she said has been lost.  Keys talks about the women empowerment anthems of Aretha Franklin and the soulful, yet explicitly political songs of Marvin Gaye as being examples of the power music holds: the ability to impact society.  She goes on to express how she wants her music to bridge the politically & musical gap in an effort to raise awareness on important societal issues.

It is in this spirit that I call out the most talented and successful Hip-Hop artist of our society to rise.  Brothers and sisters are being killed, disrespected, and belittled to the point where many now are saying our lives are meaningless. 

This is directed at your "favorite rapper" and your "favorite rapper's favorite rapper."  It is a call to go against the inclination towards profit-driven commercialism and mass media appeal.  It is a call to step away from the "music is just fun," "music as a way to escape reality," "we're artist, not politicians," explanations.  It is a call in the mold of Dr. King and many Black leaders of the past to look beyond your image or your bank account and into the heart and soul of our society; to look at injustice and stand against it.  It is a call to use our largest communication and cultural medium to talk about the pressing issues of our community right now.  It's time to break from our regularly scheduled programming, because our community is in a state of emergency.

It is not a call for the adults of Bakari Kitwana's Hip-Hop Generation, or the activist of our past movements, or the Hip-Hop artist of today that are "underground" but making music in the "backpacker," "conscious MC" tradition.  This is a call for the biggest of Hip-Hop's stars to stand up and say something.  It is time to answer the call.  Our people can not wait any longer.

We need our Hip-Hop stars to stand up beyond being artist, but as responsible men and women that are needed.  Because right now, it's bigger than Hip-Hop.

   

Michael Partis

http://my.rawkus.com/profile/ForeThought

michaelpartis@gmail.com

myspace.com/hiphopthought

http://michaelpartis.blogspot.com/

New commentary on Barack Obama’s "A More Perfect Union" speech.  Feedback & comments welcomed.

Unity’s Great Inspiration and Complicated Path to Resolution-Commentary on Barack "A More Perfect Union" Speech

Michael Partis
www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com

Obama’s rhetorical ability is among the most skilled ever.  Indeed, his speech on forming a "more perfect union" was prophetic.  It forces us to see and create a transformative agenda for uniting a divided America (a unity we desperately need to more forward), wrestle with the questions on how to address the methods of bringing us together, and deal with the socio-economic policy issues that needs intricate planning and analyze in order to address all citizens.

FOR MORE READ AT:
www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com

If Heaven's Got A Ghetto, Tell B.I.G. Things Done Changed: The Legacy of The Notorious B.I.G. and Today's Urban America

By Michael Partis

NEW ARTICLE POSTED @ REAL TALK NY. CHECK IT OUT!!!

"Excuse me, flows just grow through me/like trees to branches, cliffs to avalanches/ It's the praying mantis/ Deep like the mind of Farrakhan/ a motherfucking rap phenomenon."

 The Notorious B.I.G.- "The What"

"Cuz the streets is a shortstop/ Either you selling crack rocks or you got a wicked jumpshot/ Shit, it's hard being young from the slums/eatin five cent gums not knowin where your meals comin from"

The Notorious B.I.G.-"Things Done Changed"

The story of Biggie Smalls is the ultimate urban Black narrative: He went from ashy, to classy.  The life of Christopher Wallace tells of a popular sentiment shared by many U.S. immigrant families: wanting more than just getting by; wanting to get all the riches this country has to offer.  It is this story, this desire, and one of the most gifted lyrical skill sets of all-time that allowed "the nigga Biggie Smalls" to turn into "the Black Frank White."

B.I.G. was never afraid to bring you the grimiest stories from the streets, with the most graphic imagery he could conjure up (peep "Somebody's Got to Die" or "Long Kiss Goodnight").  But even while being gruesome he could make you laugh (who could say, "I shot Maxie Priest at least twelve times in the chest").  He could bring the ladies' man swag that every kid who grew up on Blacksploitation films fiended for (didn't it look like Big was resurrecting Ron O'Neil or Goldie in the "Big Poppa" video?).

But what gets Biggie remembered by many as the greatest rapper of all time was his lyrical ability: the skill to tell a story, rhyming words together cleverly on an instrumental, and all while staying on beat (I figured I define lyricism since we so rarely encounter it in mainstream Hip-Hop today).  The inventiveness of the rhymes in "Unbelievable" (dude called himself "the triple beam dream"), the poignancy of the lyrics in "Everyday Struggle," the rawness in "Who Shot Ya," the realness in the words of "Suicidal Thoughts," or the superior story-telling in "I Got a Story to Tell," these are the abilities that puts B.I.G. in the pantheon of rap greatness and in every single argument over who's the best MC's… (Biggie, Jay-Z, or Nas???)

Or has it?  Do the rhymes, abilities, and stories of Biggie still resonate with today's Rap fan; especially with today's young Hip-Hop listeners.  Do kids who "Get Lite" or "Hyphy" want to hear about "Playa Haters" or "Goin Back to Cali?" 

This question of Big's reputation today becomes all the more odd considering the fact that he was among the originators of bringing (and talking about) upscale fashion and culture to the Hip-Hop scene.  But can Versace shades, Girbauds jeans, Coogi sweaters, trips to room 112 at the Parker Meridian, Kangol hats, Cristal, "Cubans with the Jesus piece," or "Throwing Rollies in the Sky" match today's True Religion's, Mauri's, Red Monkey's, Patron, or Prada shoes?

Are the stories he talk about still relevant? Is the everyday life of today's young Hip-Hop listener filled with crime, stick-up kids, poverty, down South hustling trips, guns, and misogyny?  

It might seem like the answers to these questions are easy, but perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to respond.  I think maybe we should look a little closer at the realities of life for young people of color in urban America today.  We should also be looking harder for Hip-Hop artists that are telling us this reality.  And we should try the hardest to promote the ones that do it at a high skill level; those who invoke the memory of the talent and ability of Biggie (and encourage them to exceed that level).  As a Hip-Hop community, is that a voice we want to silence?

Perhaps one of the greatest ironies is as we celebrate and remember the eleventh anniversary of the passing of one of Black urban America's greatest voices, March 9^th will now also be known as the day one of the greatest shows to ever convey the contemporary inner-city Black experience ended.  Over the past six years, "The Wire" has detailed the story of urban America on television as skillfully Biggie did in Rap music.  But now, that story will be over as well.

As we approach the end the twenty-first century's first decade, we are becoming farer removed from that time; and creating a generation farer removed from that music… possibly even that reality.

I know for older Hip-Hop heads it must be difficult to hear, but:

                   "Will we always love Big Poppa?"

Michael Partis

michaelpartis@gmail.com

myspace.com/hiphopthought

http://michaelpartis.blogspot.com/