“I’d like to wear a rainbow every day, and tell the world that everything is o.k. But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back. Until things are brighter, I’m the Man in Black.”
Johnny Cash quote

Johnny Cash was the man. Think about it. Not only did he sell, give a good performance and speak to the people. He went from what was considered Rock n’ Roll and when everybody changed their style and started using electric guitars he stayed the same and despite being considered country he kept his appeal. Johnny Cash was the working man’s singer. Hell, he was the working-man’s-locked-up-brothers-singer. This man sold around 50 million albums and despite all of his money he stayed in touch with the poorest segment of the population. What does he have in common with Hip Hop (or what did they share once)? Three things Hardcore, compassion and remorse. Johnny kept all three until he died. Hip-Hop started to die when it lost the latter two. I remember a time when people talked about big cars and nice clothes. The thing was they didn’t have any of it. They wanted it to be sure, however, they acknowledged that they weren’t there. That’s what made them a part of us. Not because they were black, because they were where we were. Now they don’t live like us…hell, alot of them don’t live like they say. The ones that don’t don’t relate anymore and have a whole section of “us” fronting like we live in a manner that we don’t. People have always tried to jump status. Now the difference is I see alot more nice cars in the wrong neighborhoods. They may draw a second look, but a Hummer will not raise your property value. I like nice things, but I also don’t want to live beyond my means. Rather, I don’t want to drive my dope ass car to my beat down house. I like to dress nice, but realistically I’ll buy $20 Old Navy jeans until I die to keep some money in my pocket. Johnny Cash once said “Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world except money.” For some reason alot of people who came up on the same music as me seem to think that the amounts of money they have made exempt them from worrying about anything. Perhaps they’re just really that shallow that they think money is the only thing to worry about…honestly that makes Hip-Hop sort of vapid. Without having any real money I used to party at least three nights a week and alot of the time more than that. What happened? It got boring. I wanted more, I wanted something new. Eventually I stopped partying with strangers and only wanted to be around folks I knew. I kept thinking, “Isn’t there something else”. Party and Bullshit is an accurate phrase. That’s why I can’t listen to most of this Hip-Hop. It doesn’t give me anything else. Just for the sake of clarity there are always groups and emcees who give me something, the thing is we don’t get to hear them every hour on the hour. I’m sure that the same people that want this to continue are the Nixons who wanted Johnny Cash to sing “Welfare Cadillac“. The difference is Johnny sang “What is Truth” instead. Some of us are driving those welfare cadillacs. I can’t totally blame Emcees, it’s the people too and they just come from the people. The problem is when the people were like this the music wasn’t. The music changed quicker. The music amped up the purchases and gave them new things to spend money on. Kimora Lee-Simmons washed her feet in something I would waste (a large chunk) of my money on. I’ll roll with Johnny for now though. I get the feeling he would probably order a beer over a bottle of expensive alcoholic soda. As it stands Hip Hop no longer represents for the “poor and beaten down, living on the hopless, hungry side of town”. So until the day Hip-Hop gets it’s act together I guess I’ll be the Man in Black.

“Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.”
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

I keep my hat on inside and I don’t feel bad about it. I have been told that it’s considered rude but, I don’t listen to those who say so. Why? Because when I ask why it’s wrong no one could ever tell me. It’s one of those things that people adhere to without really believing in it. I say they don’t believe in it cause how do you believe in something you really can’t explain at all? Take for instance pouring out some liquor. The reason that people do that today is the same reason people have done it for thousands of years. Even if you don’t know that it’s been done for so long, you are doing it for the same reason. Did you know that people used to wave at each other to show that they were not only friendly but, that they bore no weapons? Is that why you wave at folks? Probably not since a gun is easier to hide than a sword but, the intent is usually the same…a show of friendly greeting. So why do men take of their hats when women don’t have to. Or more to the point why don’t women have to. My friends break out your pens or save this page or something cause I have come to explain. Women were allowed to keep their hats on because it was considered a part of their outfits. We’re not talking about “caps” These are hats, the kind you put hat pins in. You wouldn’t ask a woman to take off her hat because it was like saying take some of your clothes off and was considered improper. Even in church (which may be the only place you’ll see a woman wearing this type of hat now) she kept her hat on. If she was invited to a tea she was expected to wear a hat to it. On the other end of the spectrum a man would take off his hat but, not everywhere. In an elevator he keeps it on, unless a woman enters. He wears it in a hallway but, if a woman passed by he would lift or tip it to show respect. Actually the only time a man would leave his hat on when speaking with a woman is when they are walking togther. By the by, tipping your hat to a man is like calling him a woman. So when I see women wearing the wrong types of hats inside I choose not to remove mine. Why be slave to a rule that isn’t even understood by the people who are trying to enforce it on me? People I’m around can’t even get responding the to people who say hello to you thing down. Most people don’t even know how rude it is to use your left hand for alot of things. Not to mention that in a lot of cultures a man having his head covered is the decent thing to do. Besides, when I’m keeping my shades on anyway who cares about a hat? All throughout history old men with power have kept little boys around with the purpose of sleeping with them. Gymnasium anyone? Even though the purpose of it is the same as it’s always been the same this is a tradition that is well beyond it’s time. I’ve heard it said that it shouldn’t matter cause the “kid” in question is a young man of 16 years old. When I’m 52 let me be caught giving 16 year old girls on the internet the Austin Powers…Do I make you horny? No matter what it’s wrong as wrong can be. Infact any elder who uses their position and so forth to hit on youth who are placed near you to learn something is just detestable. However, there is something here that bothers me even more. No it’s not the fact that Foley was a champion of catching internet predators (really though how you put yourself in that position and then get caught cause of what you did on the internet is just…special). There is another newer tradition that I hope will one day no longer be recognized. I call it the apology confernece. Where you get the press together and apologize. Where people judge your honesty on how contrite you sound. The added bonus is when you throw out buffers between you and the wrong action. I could get away with a lot of things by just saying I’m an alcoholic and I was abused as a child. I wonder if that could get me out of jury duty…it’s got to be good for at least a week of sick time. Perhaps one day my descendats will be intelligent enough to let someone know that having a press conference and revealing your secrets doesn’t absolve you of your actions. I mean it’s getting to the point where you can’t send your kids to be soldiers or congressional pages without some politician trying to fuck them over. What’s worse for these kids is they can join the armed forces, be a congressmans boy toy and elect the wrong president all before they can legally have a drink to numb themselves to the after effects.