What's Going On? (2006)

In Boston 2005, 75 people died of murder
75 mothers cried and further
If all you get from that is a statistic
The point of this,
You missed it
I don’t claim to be a mystic
But I do have faith
That we as a people are great and it is not our fate that
Dorchester 2006 looks like Greenwood Tulsa 1921
And asking each other ‘What’s Going On?’ Is not enough
We must ask the mayor 'What’s Going On?'
Ask the Governer 'What’s Going On?'
Ask the President’s puppeteers 'What’s Going On? '
Cos Marvin wrote that song in the 70’s and this shit is STILL GOING ON
We need to speak truth to power
And fighting for justice is not easy
But believe me when I say that change is coming
The masses are restless
And I dare you to test this
Cos in this chest beats the heart of a warrior
It isn't coincidence we can’t see another way out
Because the Government and big business have more than clout
They have money
And when your mother and baby are at home hungry
You will do what needs to be done
Even if it involves picking up a gun
I as one who cares know that it is not fair
Choices limited by systems we livin in.
This country cant even take care of it’s own
11 dead at the Super Dome
And a pregnant mother left alone on a rooftop for 6 days
Not enough relief workers to save the day
Because they are 15,000 miles away spreading democracy
Spreading hypocrisy
It’s odd to me that more of us are not rebelling against what we've been taught to be.
Holes in the ozone the size of ten football fields
Eleven year old suburban kids talkin bout "Keep it real"
Thousands dying in Palestine and Lebanon
And we are still asking what's going on?

Don't mess with "my" man

This shit is all about claiming. I had a cute, cerebral intro about the intricacies of relationships, but no... This is about "That's MINE." I can't help but think about all the grief Emily B has gotten for claiming a man who doesn't claim her. But I think I have solved the Rubik's cube that is the claim.

When a woman says "that's my man", what she really means is "I am his woman". She means I am dedicated to him, I support him, and I am loyal to him. To me that sounds like a declaration of fealty. Like she is pledging herself to him, which logically would make her his, not the other way around.

When men say "that's my woman" they mean "that's my woman"... i.e. That belongs to me. Not I belong to her. Now when women hear a man say "that's my woman", since we conflate our pledge of dedication with it being reciprocated we hear "I'm her man". Titling yourself or someone else does not imply they will do the same, and better yet it does not imply their behavior will be satisfactory.

So basically, we are out here reverse claiming. Next time call it what it is, not what you want it to be.

Biggie as a son. Thinking about mothering.

Biggie as a son. Thinking about mothering. Follow me if you will...

Today marks 15 years since the murder of Biggie. Even though I wouldn't consider myself a Biggie "fan", I LOVE his talent, brilliance, raw emotion, and deep analysis. He changed the game, period. He was also more than a musician, he was a father, hustler, friend, and SON... a piece of his identity he often referenced (noting either his fathers absence or mothers presence), and his mother was well known even before his passing.

While reading status after status and tweet after tweet, and watching classic BIG clips I was paused. The post of my lost friends mother, publicly feeling her own sons murder, caught me. She probably never heard him spit BIG lyrics like I did, or had any idea the significance of March 9th, she just missed her son right now. Erik made it past 30. BIG didn't see 25. As a mother to a son it hurts and scares me in a way different from many.

It also makes me proud that Boston has institutions like the PI and sisterhoods like MJE because while we work towards losing less sons, we still need the support and guidance out of the trauma.

Rest in power BIG and E. Love and respect to Voletta and Bellie. Guard them well and tell your sons: