Kanye, I'm the peoples champ part 2

I was in a church service one afternoon this spring. It was a pastor’s anniversary service. The liturgical dance ministry at the church was set to perform [read “minister” for you church folk] and show their appreciation for their pastor. The group was made up of mostly young girls. And they were dancing from a CD. The CD skipped, they kept dancing. It skipped again; they picked up where they had left off. The CD kept skipping and it got to be embarrassing. The Dancers couldn’t stay on beat and didn’t know at what point start to over again from. Just at this point the man behind the keyboard grabbed the mic and said, “ya’ll go ahead and dance, we got you.”

The band had picked up the tune that they danced to and played so that they could finish. The crowd applauded and the girls danced their dance. The guest speaker, whom I accompanied to the church, followed the dance presentation. He opened with this line. “Isn’t it good, when you’re in a crisis, to hear a black man stand up and say, ”I got you”?

What does this have to do with Kanye West? Well in effect that’s what he did last Friday on no less than four NBC networks (NBC, PAX, CNBC, MSNBC.) Well at least on the East coast, the comments were censored on the west coast. Kanye told the world what we’ve all been thinking and not heard anyone dare to say so plainly. “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” (He could’ve left those last two words blank and substituted a myriad of things.) And I don’t know about you, but it does my heart well to hear a black man, with a national voice, and everything to loose, stand up and stick up for his people. Tell the highest authority figure in the nation off. And know that there will be repercussions.

Last week I was critical of the Mayor’s call for martial law. But at the time I didn’t understand his comments in context. The mayor talked about how New Orleans has been a major thoroughfare for America’s drug trafficking. Now that Katrina has decimated the city the drugs aren’t coming through and the addicts aren’t getting their fix. The mayor believes that they are the ones stealing the guns and raiding the hospitals to “take the edge off of their fix.” He wanted the troops to save the citizenry from the gun-toting addicts. It may sound crazy but he’s down there with his nose to the grind not us. The mayor said this on a midweek radio broadcast. These comments were made during an emotional tirade where mayor Nagin was so frustrated by the ineptness of the relief that he and the host both ended the interview crying. Our people are dying and you’re not moved to tears? Amongst other things, Mayor Nagin challenged the president and other federal officials to “Get up off you’re a$$ and do something.” I can imagine his disdain Friday having to stand next to the man he had just openly criticized, put on face and make nice. All while having to leave his city and his people to do a press conference in Mobile AL, instead of in his ground zero, New Orleans LA. After his statement in which he called for a moratorium on press conferences.

Now I know, you maybe saying that’s talk. But gosh darn it somebody has to say something. I mean action does speak louder than words, but if nobody sees your actions, if you represent people that don’t have a voice in America at all, then saying something is important. Especially for those of us who make our living in communications. Mayor Nagin had to say something. Just like Kanye had to say something. He couldn’t stand their helpless, losing his authority, with the notion that he is a political novice surfacing, and not say anything. The President was in New York in two days post 9/11, the aid was to the Tsunami victims halfway around the world in two days. New Orleans? On the back burner until four days after the initial hit. And the CBC kind of skirted around it. Jessie, well it just doesn’t seem as potent (no pun intended) anymore whenever Jessie speaks. The thing is that they both (Mayor Nagin & Kanye) are doing something, but the flack they are receiving now is in direct response to what they have said.

After Kanye spoke his mind wouldn’t it have been tight if Chris Tucker instead of looking dazed and confused, would’ve at least said, “He’s right, I can’t do this” and walked off? Or at least, “Kanye’s right”, and then kept reading? But no, Chris is too busy trying to get back in the good graces of White America, to get back to doing more stereotypical movies. He had too much to loose apparently to amen and or big up Kanye’s remarks. Too bad he hasn’t realized that since he’s given up his cursing and off color comedy Hollywood doesn’t have much use for Chris Tucker any more.

I’ve always noted that young black men only have a free voice in America if they speak in about three distinct ways.

1. Rapping/Singing
2. Comedy
3. Preaching

All others and even these mediums to a certain extent are heavily censored and pasteurized for the consumption of the American public.

So who do we look to? Not the free Negroes that rely on their own people to pay them and therefore aren’t completely reliant on the public opinion of White America to keep them employed. Nope, the ones who have a lot to loose put it on the line. They put it on the line for those who have lost everything, and are at risk of losing their lives as we speak. The one whose sophomore CD just debuted this week. And I hope his comments boost sells but some how I doubt it. I want to buy another copy now myself. The one that got out of the lucrative cable business to lead his people politically. The one whose people are now disbursed and fragmented. That seems to be the story of our diaspora. We always seem to be in exodus mode. The one whose constituents are going to be long-term residents of other states and cities and are almost totally at the mercy of forces beyond their control. They are the ones who spoke up, and said what we’ve been saying to the TV, instead they said it for us from the TV studio. What we’ve been saying to the radio, they said it from the radio both.

(I wrote this before I went to church yesterday and heard a call to action and not just words from the preacher.)

I’m not doing these brothers justice. So hear them in their own words basically say… I got you. The sad part is, that there is still only so much they can do…by themselves.

Kanye Cuts up (Video, windows media player)

Nagin Nuts up (Audio, mp3)