"BLACK FOLKS SAYIN' THAT I'M TOO INTELLIGENT????"

HOW TRUE IS THAT TITLE ABOVE?  IS INTELLIGENCE NOT A RESPECTED QUALITY WHEN DEALING WITH HIP HOP MUSIC?  WHO IS THE JUDGE TO BEGIN WITH?  THIS TOPIC WAS SPAWNED BY A SIMPLE T-SHIRT THAT I SAW PHONTE (FROM LITTLE BROTHER) WEARING IN A PROMO PHOTO A GOOD WHILE AGO...

I AM DEFINITELY A FAN OF THOUGHT-PROVOKING IMAGES, SO I WONDERED WHY MR. COLEMAN WAS WEARING THIS T-SHIRT.  AFTER RESEARCHING THE BACKSTORY BEHIND THE T-SHIRT, IT STARTED TO MAKE PERFECT SENSE, IF YOU EVER WATCH THE AT-TIMES BUFFOONERY WE CALL BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION.

I'VE BEEN A HUGE LITTLE BROTHER FAN FOR THE VERY REASON I'M WRITING THIS BLOG ENTRY, BECAUSE I COULD IDENTIFY WITH THE THOUGHTFUL, INTELLIGENT CONTENT AND DOPE MUSICAL STRUCTURE.  EACH MEMBER PLAYED HIS ROLE PERFECTLY:  PHONTE BEING THE DOPE LYRICIST, EVERYMAN, BROTHA NEXT DOOR WITH HIS COOL, JOKING PERSONNA; RAPPER BIG POOH AS THE PERFECT COMPLIMENT TO PHONTE WITH A TRADITIONAL, ALMOST OL' SCHOOL APPROACH TO CRAFTING LYRICS ANYONE COULD IDENTIFY WITH (AND A SLEPT ON LYRICIST IN HIS OWN RIGHT); AND 9TH WONDER BEING THE SOULFUL MAESTRO BEHIND THE LAPTOP-BASED BEATS COURTESY OF FRUITY LOOPS.  THE FORMULA WORKED IN THE PAST WITH OTHER DOPE GROUPS SUCH AS EPMD, A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, RUN-DMC, SALT N PEPA, AND COUNTLESS OTHERS.    FOR WHATEVER REASON, HOWEVER, A GROUP AS DYNAMIC AND RELATIVELY FLAWLESS FROM AN ARTISTIC STANDPOINT AS LITTLE BROTHER COULDN'T GET THE WIDESPREAD LOVE AND SUPPORT IT TRULY DESERVED.  I HAVE COME ACROSS MANY HIP HOP HEADS THAT SHOW LOVE FOR THEM, BUT I FOUND IT A BIT ODD THAT PEOPLE I CAME INTO CONTACT WITH IN THEIR OWN HOME TERRITORY OF DURHAM-RALEIGH-CHAPEL HILL, NC DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHO I WAS RAVING OVER WHENEVER I CAME TO VISIT.  NC IS LIKE A HOME AWAY FROM HOME FOR ME, BECAUSE THE BULK OF MY FAMILY RESIDES THERE. 

THE ALBUM THAT REALLY HIT HOME FOR ME FROM LITTLE BROTHER WAS "THE MINSTREL SHOW", RELEASED SEPT. 13, 2005 ON ATLANTIC RECORDS.

I KNEW THE LISTENING AUDIENCE WOULD BE IN FOR A TREAT BECAUSE OF THIS ALBUM BEING RELEASED AS A CONCEPT ALBUM.  THE RUNNING THEME ON THE ALBUM IS THE NOTION OF "UBN---U BLACK NIGGAS NETWORK".  I THOUGHT THIS WAS BRILLIANT IMAGERY, SOMETHING NOT SEEN IN HIP HOP SINCE THE SLEPT-ON GROUP KMD (SIGNED TO ELEKTRA RECORDS) CONSTRUCTED "BLACK BASTARDS", AN ALBUM THAT DIDN'T SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY FOR YEARS DUE TO LABEL BACKLASH (AN IMAGE OF A BLACK SAMBO, THE ICON KMD UTILIZED ON THEIR FIRST ALBUM, HANGING FROM A NOOSE, PRETTY MUCH FRIGHTENED HEADS AT THE LABEL).  ANYWAY, I MADE SURE TO COP "THE MINSTREL SHOW" AND LISTENED TO AN ALBUM FULL OF INTELLIGENCE, HUMOR, DEPTH, SOUL, ELEMENTS YOU RARELY FIND IN FULL ON ANY RECORDINGS.  THE SONG THAT I LOVED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WAS "LOVIN' IT", FEATURING JOE SCUDDA (IRONICALLY A WHITE EMCEE FROM THE JUSTUS LEAGUE COLLECTIVE).  I SAW THE VIDEO, AND IT CEMENTED MY VIEW OF LB AS THE HEIR APPARENT TO THE NATIVE TONGUE COLLECTIVE (TRIBE, DE LA, JUNGLE BROTHERS). 

          HERE IS THE LINK FOR "LOVIN' IT"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLReIhRgVS8&feature=fvw

LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT BACKLASH WOULD APPEAR IN THE FORM OF BET (AFFECTIONATELY REFERRED TO AS BLACK EMBARRASSMENT TELEVISION).  FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE BRASS AT BET DECIDED NOT, I REPEAT, NOT TO SHOW THE VIDEO FOR THIS SONG BECAUSE IT WAS DEEMED "TOO INTELLIGENT".  WHAT IN THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN IN TODAY'S SOCIETY ANYWAY?  I'M ASSUMING THAT TALKING ABOUT WOMEN AS OBJECTS FOR SEXUAL SATISFACTION AND BRAGGIN' ABOUT MONEY AND MATERIAL ITEMS MOST INDIVIDUALS MAY NEVER OBTAIN IS A MUCH BETTER STANCE...I THINK NOT!!!  I WAS INCENSED BY THIS STANCE THAT BET OBVIOUSLY TOOK AGAINST QUALITY, INSIGHTFUL HIP HOP.  I TOOK BET REFUSING TO AIR THE VIDEO AS A SLAP IN THE FACE, AND I STARTED TO LESSEN MY VIEWING OF THE SO-CALLED BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION.  A TOTAL TRAVESTY, IN MY OPINION.  I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT BET REFUSING TO PLAY THE VIDEO HINDERED SALES FOR LITTLE BROTHER WITH "THE MINSTREL SHOW".   

I THINK A FIRE WAS LIT UNDER PHONTE COLEMAN, BECAUSE ON THE "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" JOINT BOONDOCK SAINTS (FEATURING L.E.G.A.C.Y. AND CHAUNDON), PHONTE SPIT SOME OF THE MOST VISUAL LYRICS I CAN REMEMBER.  HERE IS A TASTE OF WHAT PHONTE SPIT ON THAT CLASSIC SONG:

Right back to business off a six-week tour

And I ain't never seen drama like this before

Got a lot of shit to get off my chest
Some wild shit to address, so I told Khrysis press record

I'ma put it on wax and give you the raw facts
And truth about life and the things I'm dealing with

Black folks saying that I'm too intelligent

And white folks saying I'm a little too niggerish

It got me in a strange predicament

I wish black embarrassment TV was judged more wisely

But I don't know what's worse

The fact that they ain't playing our shit, or that it don't even surprise me

Because I shucking and cause I ain't jiving

Some of these crackers won't stand beside me

And cause I ain't killing and don't support pimping

Some of these niggas wanna call me a Cosby

Well, I'll be that dude, I'll scratch that itch

I'll play that role, call me Heathcliff bitch

If this ain't what you want then fine

But somehow, someway we got to draw that line

And it goes without mentioning, I thought about censoring

This verse so my label and manager stay cool

But as of this recording we ain't even outsold The Listening

So really what the fuck I got to lose?

Bitch it's Phontigga, lo the show ripper

Hoe cause my hoes would change week to week

But now my flows be changing from beat to beat

Tell my nigga Jim Bowes he gotta beat the streets

Cause I know that they need us - there's got to be more to this generation

than dranking and smoking all they weed up

This is my confession with the Embassy

You fuckin imbeciles can put your Rosary Beads up, now

BOONDOCK SAINTS (FEAT. L.E.G.A.C.Y., PHONTE, AND CHAUNDON):



HE ARTICULATED HIS PAIN AND "EMBARRASSMENT" IN A WAY YOU JUST DON'T FIND IN MAINSTREAM HIP HOP AT ALL.  IT'S A SHAME MORE FOLKS DON'T KNOW WHO LB IS, BUT THE OVERALL CATALOGUE FROM "THE LISTENING" TO THE MOST RECENT (AND LAST, AT LEAST FOR NOW) ALBUM "LEFTBACK".  I WILL KEEP YOU ABREAST OF MORE NEWS REGARDING A CREW I DEEM AS THE DOPEST IN HIP HOP.

UNTIL THEN...

PEACE AND LOVE!!!
                             ---------------WISDOM