AOG Series: Gangster PSA

This right here?? You know, the thing you’re reading right now?? Yeah, it’s about to be ReaL.. ReaL talk.. feelings will be hurt, some of y’all dudes might start a whole “eff Q.” fan club.. some females might claim that I’m wrong.. or talking about their man.. but hey, what I’m about to say is true.. and ReaL..

This started based on an argument I had w/ a female.. it escalated into a venting session I had w/ my boy/business partner/business twin.. he felt my pain.. it all came together w/ one line that I vented.. “I’m not a per hour nigga!!”..
Listen up while I explain that line to you..

A lot of females say men ain’t shit.. for the most part I can buy that.. and I can return it like a forehand shot from Serena on you, too!! Most women ain’t shit either.. but that’s not what this blog is about.. it’s about the misconceptions that turn into realities.. I’m here to educate some of y’all.. I’m here to cuss out a few of y’all negroes that’s messing it up for men like me..

Here’s the situation.. you take 10 men and put them in a room.. matter of fact, take 10 guys you know or 10 dudes that roll together.. get them in a room.. look at every last one of them.. say hi to them if you want.. 9 of those dudes are wack.. I label them per hour dudes.. 1 of them is straight up and down a man that’s on his J-O.. a good dude.. smart dude.. common sense dude.. call him the salary dude..

So there we have it.. 2 labels.. per hour dude.. salary dude..

Keep in mind that I’m also talking about my friends.. also understand that the per hour dude can one day rise up to be the salary dude.. right now? At this present time? That’s not his desire.. he’s content being a per hour dude.. now let me further break it down for you..

Per hour dude..
This is a dude that can live w/ mom dukes.. can work at your neighborhood game spot.. will get happy about going from $8/hr to $10/hr like he just won the lottery.. this dude will spend all his money on clothes, video games, weed, going to the clubs, etc.. that’s his life.. that’s what his life revolves around.. this is the dude that is down for going to the spot w/ you whenever you hit up his cell phone.. it never fails no matter what he may be doing or what time it may be, if you got at him, he would be down to drop what he’s doing to roll w/ you.. truth be told, that’s a dude I want and have in my circle.. his mindset is different.. he almost has no worries.. his worries revolve around talking about a chick, the cops, that new mixtape cd, or the new pair of jordans.. that’s pretty much it.. he can be a smart dude, too!! He might be able to wax poetic w/ you, but he really doesn’t care..
When you talk about females w/ him, or relationships w/ females, this is the dude that’s quick to tell you that you’re doing too much “for them hoes”.. he’s the dude that’s quick to tell you what he won’t do for a chick, but is also quick to be searching for another one at the club.. spending lunch money on drinks for them.. playing the pimp card and getting happy over getting a females fake number.. bragging that his cell phone is full of “hoes”..
Let me get at you dudes for a second.. I can care less about the numbers in your phone.. truth be told, I can battle you number for number.. and I don’t even hit up the clubs.. truth be told, every number that I have in my phone will still be working 6 months from now.. can you say the same?? And I’m not calling not one of them a hoe.. I mean a label is a label, but dang.. and please understand that if your game is really up to par you don’t have to spend a cent to keep a female around you.. but anyway..

See, for some reason females have per hour goggles.. every dude they see is a per hour dude to them.. granted 90% of the dudes they see are per hour dudes, but when they meet a salary dude they treat him like a per hour dude.. but I’m getting ahead of myself.. let me break down the salary dude for you..

The salary dude is about something.. forget the fact that he can’t get overtime or guarantee that he’ll be out of the office by 5PM.. that comes w/ the territory.. he makes a salary.. he gets percentage raises.. not dollar raises.. working on Saturdays is a no-no for him, unless he’s out of town on business.. or if his career is such that he has to work on weekends..

A salary dude dreams realities.. I don’t mean to get deep on y’all but think on that for a bit.. he’s trying to become something.. he understands construction.. he’s laying down that foundation for a fruitful future for his future family.. tongue twister, I know, but it’s the truth.. can’t build the pyramids in a day or w/out thoughtful planning and careful considerations.. excuse the alliterations.. the salary dude also understands what being a man should entail.. he keeps you on his inside if y’all are walking down the street.. he opens doors for you.. steps off the elevator after you.. removes your coat should you desire him to.. he doesn’t mind spending money on females.. but he understands that spending money on a bunch of females will lead him into financial ruin!! Juggling 5 girls?? Come on fam, why?? 5 different lives.. 5 different headaches.. 5 separate relationship bills?? Stupid.. shoot if you were smart.. nah, lemme not go there.. he understands the value of having a down-ass chick.. and he will deal w/ those relationship headaches if he knows that this chick will be there for him..

Some of my friends joke that I’m always liable to have a chick living w/ me.. I can live w/ that.. my heart is big.. BUT.. please understand one small but big difference.. I’m ABLE to move a chick in w/ me.. I’m able to have a chick eating out of my refrigerator.. you.. the per hour dude?? You don’t have that luxury.. so joke all you want.. i look at my Pop-Pop.. he will spend his hard earned money to care for others.. some of y’all per hour dudes will call him a sucker or just plain stupid.. nah negroes, that’s a man.. that’s a salary man.. he understands the calling of helping others in need when you can.. I learned almost everything I know about being a man from that man..

The salary dude also has some bad traits.. he KNOWS he’s a salary dude.. he’s confident.. he doesn’t feel that he should be treated like a per hour dude.. he feels that he should get away w/ more.. he feels that he should get more slack.. he feels that he should be talked to rather than screamed on.. called a prince, rather than a nigga.. he also tends to feel that if he asks you to jump then you should jump.. BUT.. don’t get it twisted.. he feels that he should act and react the same way.. if you are holding him down, he has no problem w/ jumping when you tell him to..

Please understand what I’m saying.. I am saying that there are a different set of rules for the salary guy.. put it this way, if I’m married to Oprah, she’s def’ going to be treated differently.. I’m not trying to mess that up.. ok, some of y’all might have a hard time thinking of Oprah, so if it’s Halle or Jada, I’m not trying to mess that up.. I’m treating her like I was playing out a scene from Coming to America.. I’m singing “my queeeeeen to beeeee” like I was Luther.. it’s not a game.. that chickenhead?? She ain’t getting treated that way.. nor, in my opinion, should she.. and y’all might not agree.. oh well.. but let y’all get Jordan, Carmelo, Iverson or Boris, y’all know y’all wouldn’t be trying to mess that up!!

But the fact remains, y’all treat salary dudes the same as per hour dudes and y’all need to stop.. we are not the same! I love my boys, but even they’ll tell you that I’m on some next ish.. and that’s not me saying I’m better than them.. it’s just my focus and my mindset is different.. it doesn’t make me better.. it just makes me that salary dude.. not that per hour dude.. again, they can get to where I am, but that’s not their desire..

you can start yelling at me like you don’t have no sense if you want to.. and I will quickly let you know that you can get the eff outta my face.. I will also let you know that I don’t need you.. no disrespect, but it’s the truth.. and if you think that I can’t find a female that won’t agree w/ the words that I’ve stated in this blog, try me.. she’s out there.. I’m waiting for her to show up.. I’m stubborn, I’m confident, and I’m blunt.. as far as I’m concerned, you need to treat me like you understand what a Northwestern University degree stands for.. understand what it’s like having 2 engineering degrees.. understand what Graham School of Business, Kellogg and Columbia University stand for.. understand what excelling at sports while being a nerd (in an academic state of mind) stands for.. realize what the gift of gab stands for.. realize that on any given day I might get a call or email from a person that you might see on CNN or something.. shoot, next time you walk in my crib, look again at those books on my bookshelf.. those aren’t your average books, and I’m not your average per hour dude.. y’all need to realize that all those things combined aren’t found in your average per hour dude’s repertoire.. I’m not saying give up on the per hour men out there.. truth be told, the same applies for females.. there are some per hour females too!!

There are some good per hour men out there.. but I’m just saying don’t treat me like one..

AOG Series: Leaders of the New School

i’m thinking about making this either a 3 or 5 part series.. maybe i’m on my R. Kelly ish right now, but i’m inspired to blog again.. to blog with purpose.. please check part 1 for an understanding of how we got to this point..

i’m having more and more philosophical conversations.. i love them, but i’m saddened after a lot of them.. just because of how we allow the media to be our education.. i recently said in a conversation that placing blame is the American way.. from Bush on down to the Imus situation.. when we can’t own up to something, we place blame elsewhere.. we can’t find Osama, let’s go to Iraq.. we make racist statements, let’s blame hip-hop.. we use the n-word 6 times during a taped recording to our son, and we respond by going on a show no Black people watch and claim that we are Black too.. come on now.. we find excuses.. and the society allows it to go clean.. Imus got off big time, just by blaming hip-hop.. from a man that doesn’t even listen to hip-hop.. blame hip-hop if you’re truly influenced by it.. and influence is not hearsay.. blame hip-hop when you have all of Snoop’s albums and a copy of any NWA album.. i’ll start buying your story a bit more..

but this doesn’t surprise me.. i look at this country, my place of residence, as a nation of followers.. we go where the wind blows us.. we are educated by the “idiot” box.. not by publications such as The Economist, Hidden Agenda (R.I.P.), TROUBL, but nah, CW11 and MSNBC.. that’s our reference point.. beginning and end.. and it’s sad.. a nation of followers.. a minority of leaders..

let that marinate.. a minority of leaders.. double edged sword.. a mouth full of marbles.. call it what you want, but that’s where my head is at in this country.. we are a minority of leaders.. meaning, our leaders are minorities.. both in the sense of far and few between as well as in the sense of our community..

i’m cool with both sides of that coin that i just flipped.. seriously.. there shouldn’t be a gang of leaders running around.. but there should be a team of them.. and i think we can make it happen.. self-reflection.. reflection eternal.. look in the mirror people.. some of us are chosen.. it’s time for us to accept that calling, instead of waiting for others to take or make a step.. if you’re not a leader, it’s not a bad thing.. all leaders need a team to help carry them to the promised land.. i played on a squad that had a few, but i was the point.. it was my job to lead other talented cats.. they believed in me, and i believed in them, and we made some nice memories.. put the ego to the side.. i ain’t pressed.. we ain’t pressed.. together we pressed on to make a difference..

as minorities, we are leaders.. think about it.. we’re placed at the bottom, and it takes a leader to climb out of that.. so look around, and see how many of us have made it out.. that’s not by coincidence.. it’s innate.. it’s what we do.. for every 1000 of us, it’s 1 of them.. i made that up.. but it feels right.. maybe i’m off by a few more 0’s.. who knows.. but it can’t be far from the truth.. we can do this if we want to.. we have to..

just the other day another kid was shot in BK.. for having a hair brush in his hand that was assumed to be a gun.. i don’t know the whole story, cuz i’m waiting for someone i trust to cover it.. it’s all over the news, but i ain’t buying any of it just yet.. the fact remains that an unarmed child got killed.. point blank.. not a man.. a child.. by individuals who are trained to assess the situation and act accordingly.. why are we continuing to get killed by cops? why are we shooting to kill? can we at least aim for a knee cap or something? or maybe it is about there being so many cops shooting, that one will eventually be a kill shot? them dudes doing the shooting are followers, though.. they followed their colleagues.. doing what their colleagues did decades before them..

i’m going to stop promising getting moving on some of these town hall meetings and just make them happen.. what do i have to lose? my business? come on, i have people coming for that every day.. and they are doing a good job of stopping my business.. i remain resilient, even during times of weakness.. i’m strengthened by my sense of self-worth.. so again, what do i have to lose? my sanity?? nah, never that.. the strong survive, and i’m built strong.. trust me on that.. i’ll lose my sanity by remaining the status quo.. i know that for a fact.. i have family members who are a testament to that.. there are dudes from the South Side of Chicago, that i no longer can call my friends because they remained with and amongst the status quo until they met their demise..

our community is a community of mirrors.. that’s just real talk.. i walk down the streets and see the same thing.. if that ain’t a mirror, i don’t know what is.. i see my reflection in a bunch of them.. in dang near all of them.. pieces of myself.. cuz i refuse to see what others see.. what others feel.. i don’t see drug dealers and ball players.. i see business men and talent.. call me naive if you want, but that’s what i see.. i see the good in us.. i just deal with the bad.. but i’ma stop dealing with that nonsense.. i’m going to influence the nonsense.. so i’m writing these words to be my own line in the sand.. my own reflection point.. it’s out there, so i gotta follow up on it..

we have the anatomy to be a leader.. we sit on the graves of hundreds of them.. we walk alongside hundreds more.. self-reflection.. we gotta start from within..

our community.. our friends.. our families.. ourselves..

let that marinate..

Anatomy of a Gangster..

The #1 movie in America is not only about a former king of Harlem, but about the power we all have within us.. Frank Lucas, Bumpy Johnson, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali.. All held power beyond what the majority felt was appropriate for them.. Our ascension scared them..

“No man should have that much power”.. I play that line in my head from time to time to recall the words of a police commissioner about Malcolm X.. That’s scary to them.. To reach our full potential would mean that we would rise way above the majority.. That’s a reality to me.. Not a dream.. That’s a fact.. When we reach our full potential, we surpass our competition similar to MJ in his prime or Tiger Woods until he’s ready to quit.. It’s Michael Vick running faster than they think he should, and throwing farther than others previously thought to be stronger.. It’s Johnnie Cochran against all odds.. It’s Oprah.. It’s Barack Obama..

When we want to, we can do some powerful things.. And when we get to that height, we become an American Gangster.. We become the top of the food chain.. I’m not talking about dealing drugs or shooting people up, either.. I’m talking about our ability to be the ones setting the trends and determining how circles move.. We’ve been doing it for years, but haven’t taken our rightful place on the throne.. The time is now..

From our athletes, our entertainers, our educators, our business executives, and our youth, we’re ready and poised to make a difference.. If we want to.. So this is a call to everyone out there who talks about doing something.. Let’s make it happen amongst ourselves.. Why go outside of our circle without first solidifying our circle? Let’s join forces and “fuze” our abilities for a common goal.. Let’s make some Troubl.. Let’s see if we can go against all odds and scare people straight.. Let’s become our own version of American Gangsters..

Q.