Hip-Hop died not to long ago. But, are any of us truly surprised? Are any of us truly hurt? Disgruntled? Saddened? We act like things are suppose to last forever. “Forever, ever. Ever, ever. Doesn’t seem that long until you’re grown,” says Andre 3000. If history has taught us anything, it is things change. Things die. Why should H-Hop be any different? I sit here praying that an art form and culture as strong as Hip-Hop will resurface.
But like the message filled music of the late 60’s got replaced with love ballads, Disco, and Punk Rock, so will Hip-Hop be replaced with some dumbed down derivative of itself. Isn’t that just the way of the world. Are we becoming more savage with our technological advances. If Hip-Hop were birthed today, it would address the same issues that plagued us from yesteryear. You know all the problems it so-called fixed in a broken society.
Hip-Hop was just a voice, but it really didn’t deliver any answers. It was entertaining while it lasted, but now people need some real education. People need some real fortitude. God forbid, we place all our energies into some new form of entertainment. Could you imagine if all the Hip-Hop heads out there placed their energy into making the world better?
Sayonara Hip-Hop. I will always love you, but I will never miss you. I miss the great things my people cherished before you forced them to throw those away for your devoted attention
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Full Circle - The Stone Mason
There was once a stonemason that lived an average life… One day in the midst of the summer, he loaded some statues unto a carriage… As he gazed at the carriage, he thought to himself, “I would love to be a simple carriage driver! All day just riding around on a carriage.” The All in hearing these pleas responded back by saying, “My son, I see you are not satisfied with the occupation I gave you. You feel as though you labor too hard, but I will grant your desires because of your loyalty to me.” In a blink of an eye, the stonemason was controlling the four most beautiful steeds on this planet. As the rider told the carriage driver to slow down and stop by the market, the stone mason said, “I enjoy being the carriage driver, but what a life it would be not to worry about nothing, but shopping.” So, the All laughed and said, “Now, my son, you wish for luxuries of unseen and unheard proportions? I will grant you this wish because you are a loyal servant. And any servant as loyal as you deserves to be a lord upon his own kingdom.”
The stonemason woke up from a sleep drowning in the finest silk bedding from India. He looked up and saw that the brass clock on the marble bedroom mantle fireplace. “Oh, my God. I’m a Lord in a king’s court!” As he sauntered through the ivory hallways, he wondered, “What will I do, today?” So, he summoned his carriage, and went shopping in the marketplace. As he shopped in the marketplace, he overheard people saying, “I cannot wait for the King’s ball tonight.” So, he found the finest of fine attire for tonight’s formal event.
As night fell upon the Earth, the stonemason marched into the ball with a pinch of arrogance on his sleeve. He knew he was the best-dressed suitor in the King’s hall. As he was boasting to a beautiful young lady about his rise to lordship, the trumpets sounded throughout the castle. The King stepped into the silent hall. All eyes fell upon the ground because of the fear and respect the aristocrats had for the king. The mason whispered to the young lady, “my beautiful lady, why do you glare in awe at the king? There are many men with his wealth or wealthier than our lord the King.”
She replied in a hushed voice, “Sure, there are men wealthier than the King. But, none have or will be as powerful as the King. The King has no need for wealth because he is the absolute of power. Even the wealthy must pay their respects to him. Or, they will be relinquished of their wealth. So, my dear lord, it is not your wealth; however, it is the prestige you demand that is respected within the ranks of those that are already wealthy. Only, the poorly rich concern themselves with wealth. It is the wealthy that concern themselves with less tangible items such as power, happiness, and even freedom. Wealth just grants us that luxury.”
Then the stonemason said, “Lord, please grant me the happiness of the King. It is not the luxuries after all. It is the intangible things such as power.”
“Now, you have seen the way. For it is not your wealth, but it is your attributes as a man that will give you heaven on earth. Wealth just allows you focus on gaining those attributes. For I see ‘I’ in you, so I know you already possess some of those attributes stonemason.” As the stonemason left the ball, he noticed something peculiar. All the heads of the aristocracy were bowing before him. He called for the carriage and a caravan of carriages came to his side. “My lord, where are we off to tonight?” asked one servant.
“Take me to the sea, I desire to see a sunrise this morning,” said the stonemason.
As, the carriage halted by the sea, the mason saw birds flying overhead. Not one bird bowed down to him to show respect. On the contrary, all these fowl looked down upon him. “Oh, how great it must be to have the luxury to seek only the necessities of life. These birds have no power over man, yet they do not care for rank among us. It is as though they live freely without all the hang-ups.”
The All answered, “my son, it is only man that has hang-ups of grandeur, prestige, and power. For natural creatures life is the only hang-up. Man has separated himself from nature, thus becoming unnatural or abnormal. I will allow you to enter the natural world. Son, you have learned to crawl, walk, and run. Now, you will learn to.”
The stonemason interrupts, “Fly! I’m flying. I cannot believe it! I can go anywhere in the world and no one can stop me! Nothing can stop me!” Then a storm struck, it took the bird (stonemason) by surprise. The wind kept blowing him around. He did not know what to do. All he could do was contemplate death as a creature of the sky. He was ready to escape this storm. “God make me something stronger than this storm. Show me the definition of true strength,” yelled the stonemason.
God transformed the stonemason into the North Wind. Oh, how great a feeling to actually dominate all creatures on the face of the planet. He illustrated his power on all creatures, big and small. They all knew of the powerful winds coming from the North that caused all creatures to hide in fear. As the stonemason blew in all directions, he noticed he could make everything move, except one thing. He tried and tried, but he could not make the rocks nor mountains move. He said, “God, you have allowed me to be all these wondrous and powerful creatures. I even asked you to make me the most powerful. Your answer was the wind. But, I have learned you are wrong because the wind is not most powerful. The wind cannot move mountains or the heaviest of rocks.”
God answered, “That is true, but I did not know that you would not mind being a rock… The rock is the pillar for my heaven. They form out of the earth and stretch all the way to the heavens. They cannot move because, if they were to move it would cause the heavens to collapse.”
The stonemason pleaded, “Make me one of those pillars. For the wind cannot shake the pillars of heaven.”
God said, “Are you sure? Once this transformation happens, you cannot change again?”
The stonemason responded, “Nothing would make me feel better, except showing you my appreciation by holding up your ceilings until eternity.” The All granted the stonemason this final wish. As the stonemason transformed into a large rock, he told the All, “thank you for making me the strongest object of your creation. Now, I know how life truly can be, besides being a weak little stonemason” A month past, when a large carriage picked up the huge rock.
As the rock (stonemason) could not believe someone moved one of the All’s pillars, he felt a heavy chisel tear into the side of him. The stonemason saw ‘The Truth.’ As his son carved him into a statue of his former self. His son screamed, “God, this is in honor of the greatest stonemason that ever lived, my father. You took him away one day in a carriage led by beautiful horses. I hope this beautiful statue of him will bring him back and bring peace to his soul.”
The stonemason woke up from a sleep drowning in the finest silk bedding from India. He looked up and saw that the brass clock on the marble bedroom mantle fireplace. “Oh, my God. I’m a Lord in a king’s court!” As he sauntered through the ivory hallways, he wondered, “What will I do, today?” So, he summoned his carriage, and went shopping in the marketplace. As he shopped in the marketplace, he overheard people saying, “I cannot wait for the King’s ball tonight.” So, he found the finest of fine attire for tonight’s formal event.
As night fell upon the Earth, the stonemason marched into the ball with a pinch of arrogance on his sleeve. He knew he was the best-dressed suitor in the King’s hall. As he was boasting to a beautiful young lady about his rise to lordship, the trumpets sounded throughout the castle. The King stepped into the silent hall. All eyes fell upon the ground because of the fear and respect the aristocrats had for the king. The mason whispered to the young lady, “my beautiful lady, why do you glare in awe at the king? There are many men with his wealth or wealthier than our lord the King.”
She replied in a hushed voice, “Sure, there are men wealthier than the King. But, none have or will be as powerful as the King. The King has no need for wealth because he is the absolute of power. Even the wealthy must pay their respects to him. Or, they will be relinquished of their wealth. So, my dear lord, it is not your wealth; however, it is the prestige you demand that is respected within the ranks of those that are already wealthy. Only, the poorly rich concern themselves with wealth. It is the wealthy that concern themselves with less tangible items such as power, happiness, and even freedom. Wealth just grants us that luxury.”
Then the stonemason said, “Lord, please grant me the happiness of the King. It is not the luxuries after all. It is the intangible things such as power.”
“Now, you have seen the way. For it is not your wealth, but it is your attributes as a man that will give you heaven on earth. Wealth just allows you focus on gaining those attributes. For I see ‘I’ in you, so I know you already possess some of those attributes stonemason.” As the stonemason left the ball, he noticed something peculiar. All the heads of the aristocracy were bowing before him. He called for the carriage and a caravan of carriages came to his side. “My lord, where are we off to tonight?” asked one servant.
“Take me to the sea, I desire to see a sunrise this morning,” said the stonemason.
As, the carriage halted by the sea, the mason saw birds flying overhead. Not one bird bowed down to him to show respect. On the contrary, all these fowl looked down upon him. “Oh, how great it must be to have the luxury to seek only the necessities of life. These birds have no power over man, yet they do not care for rank among us. It is as though they live freely without all the hang-ups.”
The All answered, “my son, it is only man that has hang-ups of grandeur, prestige, and power. For natural creatures life is the only hang-up. Man has separated himself from nature, thus becoming unnatural or abnormal. I will allow you to enter the natural world. Son, you have learned to crawl, walk, and run. Now, you will learn to.”
The stonemason interrupts, “Fly! I’m flying. I cannot believe it! I can go anywhere in the world and no one can stop me! Nothing can stop me!” Then a storm struck, it took the bird (stonemason) by surprise. The wind kept blowing him around. He did not know what to do. All he could do was contemplate death as a creature of the sky. He was ready to escape this storm. “God make me something stronger than this storm. Show me the definition of true strength,” yelled the stonemason.
God transformed the stonemason into the North Wind. Oh, how great a feeling to actually dominate all creatures on the face of the planet. He illustrated his power on all creatures, big and small. They all knew of the powerful winds coming from the North that caused all creatures to hide in fear. As the stonemason blew in all directions, he noticed he could make everything move, except one thing. He tried and tried, but he could not make the rocks nor mountains move. He said, “God, you have allowed me to be all these wondrous and powerful creatures. I even asked you to make me the most powerful. Your answer was the wind. But, I have learned you are wrong because the wind is not most powerful. The wind cannot move mountains or the heaviest of rocks.”
God answered, “That is true, but I did not know that you would not mind being a rock… The rock is the pillar for my heaven. They form out of the earth and stretch all the way to the heavens. They cannot move because, if they were to move it would cause the heavens to collapse.”
The stonemason pleaded, “Make me one of those pillars. For the wind cannot shake the pillars of heaven.”
God said, “Are you sure? Once this transformation happens, you cannot change again?”
The stonemason responded, “Nothing would make me feel better, except showing you my appreciation by holding up your ceilings until eternity.” The All granted the stonemason this final wish. As the stonemason transformed into a large rock, he told the All, “thank you for making me the strongest object of your creation. Now, I know how life truly can be, besides being a weak little stonemason” A month past, when a large carriage picked up the huge rock.
As the rock (stonemason) could not believe someone moved one of the All’s pillars, he felt a heavy chisel tear into the side of him. The stonemason saw ‘The Truth.’ As his son carved him into a statue of his former self. His son screamed, “God, this is in honor of the greatest stonemason that ever lived, my father. You took him away one day in a carriage led by beautiful horses. I hope this beautiful statue of him will bring him back and bring peace to his soul.”
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