Kia Speaks
Kia Speaks (20)
Kia is a guest blogger for 66 RAW. She lives in Atlanta and will give her perspective on things and Hip Hop. Feel free to comment on the editorials.
Better known as MCA, Adam Yauch, a rapper and founder of the pioneering and multimillion-selling hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 47. Yauch had spent the last three years battling cancer of the salivary gland (New York Times).
To call the Beastie Boys hip hop pioneers may well be an understatement. To understand their role in hip hop history, start with this New York Times article. After that, enjoy the videos below.
You MUST know this track…
So…Yeezy was taking a drive Saturday afternoon when he happened upon seven things he hates. Thankfully, he shared via Twitter, and as always, Twitter went nuts.
A couple of days ago I posted a picture of an anti-Obama election sticker that read “Don’t Re-Nig in 2012.” When I posted it I left commentary that said racism wasn’t dead. One of my high school teachers responded back by saying, “This speaks more to the idiot in the vehicle than racism. Remember, you can’t fix stupid.” I needed that reminder. You see idiots like that honestly don’t bother me. The unexposed who think all black people act like the ones you see in an overproduced rap video don’t bother. I’d even say fat, paranoid, overzealous, self-loathing bastards who appoint themselves neighborhood watch captains don’t bother me. Idiots with bumper stickers don’t scare me; it’s the idiots with power and titles that do.
As the mother of a 12-year-old, black boy, I know some idiot is going to find my honor roll student who made a perfect score on the Georgia State Writing Exam and has never gotten in trouble a day in his life suspicious just because he’s black, and that doesn’t scare me. I know the chances of my sweet, loving and kind son being called everything but a child of God by some idiot, and that doesn’t scare me. I even know the possibility of my son being harmed or assaulted simply because he was born with beautiful brown skin, and that doesn’t scare me. What scares me is the thought of my son being injured or killed and nothing gets done about it because the idiot with the bumper sticker is now the idiot with a badge. What I’m afraid of is my son getting sick and dying because the idiot with the bumper sticker is now the idiot passing legislation that is denying my son healthcare or making it too expensive to afford. What I’m afraid of are the idiots with power who are constantly, consistently and subliminally whispering to my son, through legislation, through images, and through actions, that his life is worthless and not to be respected.
Today, after listening to the 911 tapes and reading the account from Trayvon’s girlfriend, who he was on the phone with when Zimmerman accosted and murdered him, all I could do was cry. I cried because that could’ve easily been my son, who I have managed to shield from the white elephant that is America’s racism. I cried because that could’ve been my students who are already beaten down by society by the time they reach me in the 9th and 10th grades. I cried because it was Trayvon Martin who not only had his life stolen by an idiot with a gun, but subsequently had his life deemed worthless by an idiot with a badge. I cried because so many of my acquaintances who don’t share my hue don’t seem to understand or even care that this child’s life meant nothing to Sanford Police Department. I cried because I desperately want more people who don’t look like me to be on the front lines of this battle with us. I cried because I thought that my parents and grandparents had fought these battles. While I knew things weren’t perfect, I never thought that people who looked like me would be so close back to being less than a person. I cried because I’m tired of the battle already, and I have yet to even walk onto the battlefield yet.
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The other day I was on the phone with one of my married friends discussing the insignificant dealings of our day when all of a sudden she became irate. Her husband had failed to perform a household task, and that sent her into a rage. She was pissed…incensed…infuriated. She wanted no parts of that man…at all.
I don’t know all the details about what set her off, so I can’t speak on whether her fury was justified. However, I was slightly disturbed by what came out of her mouth next. “I was going to give him some, but I’m not even going to do that now!”
Pause. Time out. Flag on the freaking play!!! What?!?!?
Being single as a crisp dollar bill in an ugly stripper’s G-string, I didn’t say anything. I learned a long time ago not to give my married, engaged, in a relationship, it’s complicated, single, gay, bi, try or “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing” friends any type of unsolicited relationship advice. But a string of thoughts did run through my mind. This can’t be life. Is marriage really about putting your husband on punishment? He can’t even touch the cookie jar. REALLY?!?!? I am not abstaining til marriage only to get married and not get any because hubby doesn’t “know how to act.” No ma’am, this can’t be life. This WON’T be life!!!
As I sat distraught that my fantasy marriage may never be a reality, I found a letter from my good friend Paul that reassured me:
Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations? Certainly-but only within a certain context. It’s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality-the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it’s for the purposes of prayer and fasting-but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it.
–1 Corinthians 7:1-5 (MSG)
There were a couple of things in this passage that leaped off the page:
- 1) Sex is a good thing! So often church folks try to make sex into this dirty nasty thing. But that’s not how God characterizes sex. Sex is the purest form of showing love to another person.
- 2) Sex is powerful. “Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them.” Sex isn’t designed to be causal. When two people have sex they connect physically AND spiritually. That’s not to be taken lightly. People are not designed to casually connect with any and everyone.
- 3) Sex is about satisfying your partner. Sex, and love for that matter, is like pouring a glass of water. If I’m constantly pouring water into your glass and you’re constantly pouring water into my glass, we both stay full and eventually overflow. But if I’m doing all the pouring and you’re doing all the drinking, I will soon become empty and you will become bloated. Seeking to please is beautiful, but only when it is a mutual attribute.
- 4) Marriage is about service, not about individual rights. This goes back to the glass metaphor. If I’m serving you and you’re serving me, everyone’s happy. You don’t have to worry about standing up for your rights because your partner understands and respects your rights. However, if one is doing all the serving, there’s a problem. Someone is being mistreated and put in a predicament that they need to stand up for their rights. This reminds me to be very careful who I enter into the covenant of marriage with. I want to be able to give and serve without considering “my rights” because my partner cares so much about my needs that he considers my rights without me having to remind him.
- 5) Don’t keep the cookies away from your spouse. *Praise dances* I knew God wasn’t anywhere near banning your husband from the cookie jar. Unless the two of you agree to abstain to seek Him, don’t go on a cookie diet. Enjoy all the cookies you can eat. Let me add that there are too many diseases that you can NOT get rid of to be sexing a man who isn’t faithful. God doesn’t expect you to put your life at risks. Remember, mutuality. If things are not mutual, this formula falls apart.
So after reading my letter from Paul, I was reassured. Sex should never be used as a bargaining chip or be revoked as punishment. That’s just not God. So, ladies, stop playing around with your husbands. Sex is an integral part of marriage and should be treated as such. Stop making it seem like a privilege or gift.
I watched Game Change last night, and I must admit I was immediately hooked. Within the first two minutes of the movie, I was intrigued and fascinated by this new perspective of campaign life. And while I wasn’t surprised by the internal mechanisms of a presidential campaign, my feelings regarding Sarah Palin did shock me.
I expected to walk away from Game Change thinking that Palin was the hopeless, helpless, irate idiot that comes across in her public appearances; however, that’s not what I saw at all. Game Change introduced me to a Sarah Palin who is steadfastly committed to her faith and was eager and excited by the opportunity to be on the national stage. She wanted to perform well and do what she thought was best for her country. Unfortunately, she just wasn’t ready. Palin became the victim of individuals who wanted to win at all cost, without regard to what their “winning” strategy what do to their opponent, the country or their partner, Palin. McCain campaign staffers reckless chose Palin and used her as a pawn in their effort to win the presidency.
As a woman, a mother, and a future wife, I understand Palin’s initial rebellion. She felt ill prepared for the attacks that were being waged on her family. And as a mother, if someone attacks my child, I’m not only going in on the person doing the attacking; I’m also going for the jugular of those who disregarded my family’s welfare and placed them in the line of fire. Sarah’s rebellion started the moment she began to think that the McCain campaign didn’t have her best interest at heart. She was upset by the media’s handling of Bristol, her email account being hacked, and her reputation in Alaska declining. She felt like the sacrificial lamb, and she began to snap, like any human would. Unfortunately, her rebellion resulted in unjustifiable behavior. The lies, the deception and the outbursts that followed were incomprehensible and unacceptable.
And while I am sympathetic of Sarah, I also believe she must take some responsibility for the position she found herself in. You can’t run in a presidential election on a moral platform and think the media is not going to criticize the fact you have a pregnant teen daughter. This should have been considered before she committed to being McCain’s running mate. You can’t not understand foreign policy (or world history for that matter) and then say staffers are “overwhelming” you when they attempt to cram 300 years of history down your brain in preparation for interviews and debates. And you can’t say the liberal media is out to get you because you failed to prepare for basic questions that any national politician should be able to answer.
Sarah Palin’s story is actually a lesson to us all. A lesson on what happens when opportunity meets the ill prepared. An example of what happens when people receive too much power too quickly. A message on what happens when leaders are ignorant of the influence their tone, rhetoric, and attitude have on others. When I look at Sarah now, I am reminded of the last thing McCain said to her: “You’re one of the leaders of the party now, Sarah. Don’t get co-opted by Limbaugh and the other extremists. They’ll destroy the party if you let them.” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Palin allowed to happen.