Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree
EXCELLENCE IS THE KEY TO BLACK EQUALITY
ABOUT HIP HOP AND BLACK BRAINWASHING
When I was in college it cost me $6.50 a term – and that included parking. Now a young person has to go in debt for life just to afford a Bachelor's Degree. There’s two reasons for that. The first involves class. The White establishment wanted to establish a class system that keeps the “Haves” on top by ensuring that the “Have Nots” wouldn’t be able to get an education, because with an education, the White “Have Nots” began to realize that Black people weren’t the only ones being oppressed, so they became a part of the struggle. But now, due to a lack of education, the ignorance of many lower-class Whites keep Donald Trump in office and help to maintain the viability of the Republican Party.
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Secondly, when the White establishment began bringing Black people here in 1619, they thought they were merely importing dumb beasts of burden. But as the Africans began to adapt to the White culture our intellectual brilliance began to reveal itself and the White establishment began to recognize that the very same intellectual creativity that led to what today is commonly referred to as Black “soul”, could very easily be applied to other areas of intellectual pursuit, like math, science, engineering and politics. That made us a clear and present threat to their status in society.
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So, for generations the White establishment has made it their top priority to keep Black people dumbed-down, and prevent us from unleashing our powerful and creative intellect – they even made it illegal to teach us to read. But in spite of their most valiant efforts, after the Civil War former slaves walked right out of the fields into the halls of congress, and Frederick Douglass, a self-educated escaped slave, became a confidant of President Lincoln, and one of the most celebrated and sought-after intellectuals of the 19th Century. He was way ahead of his time, and was one of the first prominent intellectuals to address the issue of women's rights.
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But in spite of that, the White establishment wasn’t about to give up on their efforts to convince the Black man that he was inferior, so they instituted “Jim Crow” laws and traditions, and promoted anti-intellectual schemes that continue to this day, and the promotion of Hip-Hop is a part of that effort. But they're fighting a losing battle, because what we "soul" is nothing less than Black intellectual brilliance straining to be unleashed. So the Black community should dedicate all of our efforts into demolishing all of their efforts to dumb-down our people.
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KEEP IT GANGSTA, DAWG
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And I’m not spewing a conspiracy theory here. The
evidence is clear. Look at the video below of Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
Notice how dead serious every member of this band is in representing their
culture. There’s no struttin’ around, bouncin’ their heads, or acting like damn
fools for the benefit of the television audience. They simply put on, without
any fanfare, an incredible display of pure artistic genius - and without
bustin' one sweat bubble.
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Unlike today, Miles and Coltrane simply represented the dignity of their people. They didn’t try to tell the White man who we were, they showed ‘em what Black people represent, and in a very matter-of-fact way. This video was recorded in 1959 when you rarely even saw Black people on television, yet, they weren't fazed a bit. None of them even bothered to look into the camera - in fact, at one point you can see Coltrane even turn away from it. They were so solemn, dedicated, and dead-serious about what they were doing, in fact, that Robert Herridge, the White man who introduces them, whispers their introduction in complete awe, and the White musicians who were fortunate enough to be on stage with them obviously considered it a great honor - and check out their effortless groove! They were laid-back and completely in their zone - their Black zone.
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So young people, don’t buy into the bullshit. In the introduction Robert Herridge points out that "There are many ways of telling a story." Well, Miles is telling you yours. He's telling you who you really are, so listen and take heed. You’re not the product of idiots and clowns who have to tap dance, denigrate your culture, and put on a minstrel show for the White man. You’re the product of masters, and true intellectual giants.
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Unlike today, Miles and Coltrane simply represented the dignity of their people. They didn’t try to tell the White man who we were, they showed ‘em what Black people represent, and in a very matter-of-fact way. This video was recorded in 1959 when you rarely even saw Black people on television, yet, they weren't fazed a bit. None of them even bothered to look into the camera - in fact, at one point you can see Coltrane even turn away from it. They were so solemn, dedicated, and dead-serious about what they were doing, in fact, that Robert Herridge, the White man who introduces them, whispers their introduction in complete awe, and the White musicians who were fortunate enough to be on stage with them obviously considered it a great honor - and check out their effortless groove! They were laid-back and completely in their zone - their Black zone.
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So young people, don’t buy into the bullshit. In the introduction Robert Herridge points out that "There are many ways of telling a story." Well, Miles is telling you yours. He's telling you who you really are, so listen and take heed. You’re not the product of idiots and clowns who have to tap dance, denigrate your culture, and put on a minstrel show for the White man. You’re the product of masters, and true intellectual giants.
THIS IS WHO YOU ARE:
MILES DAVIS
(SO WHAT)
MILES
We knew him as Miles,
the Black Prince of style;
His nature fit jazz to a tee.
Laid back and cool,
a low threshold for fools,
he set the tone
of what a jazzman
should be.
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Short on words,
and unperturbed, about
what the people thought;
frozen in time, drenched
in the sublime,
of the passion
his sweet horn
had wrought.
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Solemn to the bone,
distant and torn,
even Trane could
scarcely get in;
I can still hear the tone
of that genius who mourned,
that precious note
that he couldn't
quite bend.
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Eric L. Wattree
BLACK WRITERS, INTELLECTUALS, AND INDEPENDENT THINKERS
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Religion: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
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Religion: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.