South Central is Not for Sale

About three years ago, I finally noticed that the racial landscape of my predominantly black neighborhood of View Park was changing. Going through my normal routine as I got home from work and classes, I put the leash on my dog and walked out the house. I walked by several white people walking around the neighborhood with high-tech strollers and their dogs. I was confused. Each one that would walk by me was extremely nice and introduced themselves as the new neighbors. In my mind I was just confused for a bit about what their intentions were for moving here. I know it’s nice but why? Why now? 

South Central is the best place in LA to live especially in View Park/Baldwin Hills a prestigious and fairly wealthy black neighborhood. All fifteen to twenty minutes away from many of the amenities Los Angeles has to offer like LAX, the beach, several malls, amazing restaurants, West LA, Beverly Hills, Culver City etc. It really is central to all of Los Angeles. However it’s hard to watch this neighborhood become gentrified. For a young black man growing up here it was great to see successful black people living with one another peacefully. This area is a beacon of hope for African-Americans to realize that we can be successful in  a society that restricts the amount of success African-Americans can have. 

According to an article by Andrew Khouri in the LA Times, “Priced out of much of Los Angeles, young professionals are zeroing on several neighborhoods around USC and to the west, as the expanding Expo light rail line delivers new residents to the area.

Communities such as Jefferson Park, Leimert Park and West Adams are attracting buyers — and investors — seeking their relative affordability, location between the Westside and downtown Los Angeles, and the rail link between the two.” There is no way to stop people from moving to these neighborhoods because that in its self is discrimination but we just ask that they be mindful of the culture that currently resides. 

There are many factors that are leading to white people moving into these south central neighborhoods and it is truly out of our control but I can only hope that the current residents of my neighborhood in particular remain strong and hold on to their homes despite the lucrative deals being thrown in their face everyday. I hope they realize what this neighborhood has meant for my generation growing up because it is motivation for me to be successful and give back to my communities.

The Current State of Hip Hop

Currently in Hip Hop there is a very concerning disconnect from the generations of artists that helped pioneer rap. Artists like Pete Rock and the group De La Soul chimed in with how they felt about the current state of rap. Pete Rock stated in an interview, “These Kids Don’t Give a Fuck About The Culture.” De La Soul was quoted as saying, “Rap is redundant now” in an interview with popular hip hop media magazine, Pigeons and Planes. However I think that this is inherently a problem and flawed argument. The “old heads” of hip hop say that the new age rappers don’t care about Hip Hop culture but cultures change and I think they just don’t understand that change is inevitable. Hip Hop at its purest form started with a DJ mixing records accompanied by a MC who delivered rhymes and kept the crowd rocking. Then transformed into a mix of gangster and “conscious” rap in the 90s. That seems to me like the culture changed then. If the pioneers of rap changed the so-called Hip Hop culture of their time why is it a problem now that the younger generation has begun to shift the current state?

I think personally that artists should be able to express their music in any way that they like. Rap is an art. You cannot tell someone how to express their art. You cannot put art into a box and that is what the new Hip Hop artists are truly doing, expanding. Infusing different genres and unorthodox techniques into their music has allowed for the sound of Hip Hop and its fans to broaden into a much more expansive “culture.” There are still new age rappers that still stick to what would be deemed as classic hip hop. Artists like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Earl Sweatshirt and Joey Bada$$ are prime examples of new artists who keep the culture the way older generation prefers. Classic hip hop will always be the best but many new age artists like Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, 21 Savage, and others have pushed the boundaries of Hip Hop that tried to mold artists into the prototypical rapper. They went against the norm and have seen new mainstream success at 18-21 years of age. In an interview with The Fader, Lil Yachty’s father addressed all the comments the “old heads” had about his son’s music. “His music is for the kids” said the father of the 19-year-old star. These new age rappers are making music for their generation many don’t care if their predecessors love their music or not, it is truly for the love of their fans.

Part of this has to do with the internet and the cult like following many of these new artists receive with the help of streaming platforms like Soundcloud where everyone can tweet about an artists song and it can go viral over night. I believe that rap is in a great place right now because of the many different sounds that have come into the game to give  Hip Hop a breath of fresh air. There are still the top-notch MCs like Kendrick and company but there are also more melodic rappers like Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi who are creating a wider spectrum for what the culture is. 

I Don’t Know Why but I Forgive You

I’ll never forget it. It was the summer before sophomore year of high school. I was 14 and playing basketball. When you told me, “Dylan, I have cancer.” My heart shattered. I looked at you like superman. “My dad can’t have cancer, he can’t.” I kept repeating this to myself in disbelief as I was crying my self to sleep nightly for months. He would be late to pick me up from practice sometimes saying that his chemotherapy treatment was running long. Then I found out that you were faking it the entire time and I was filled with a wide range of emotions. I was sad, angry, in disbelief and happy all at the same time. Angry you lied about something so serious, sad that I looked at you like a hero and spent countless nights falling into depression facing the reality I might lose my Dad to cancer. However, I found myself happy that you lied because that meant you did not have cancer. Little did I know this would be the first of a string of lies that led to me resenting you for years. 

The final straw came when you were dating a childhood friend’s mother when I was a freshman . When she randomly saw me that Sunday morning at the Fairfax Flea Market and asked me “Dylan, honestly, how are you doing with everything? If you need anything let me know, I know this must be a  hard time for you.” I looked at her like she was crazy. I know she wasn’t talking about all the stuff that happened with my Dad in high school so this had to be something knew. I asked her what she was referring to and she responded, “Your dad didn’t tell you and your sister? He is terminally ill and only expected to live for six months.” 

I tried my best to not laugh in her face but he was pretending again in order to get money from the lady. I told her not to believe it and I could not believe he was manipulating women in that way. It was disgusting. After everything, this is what you turn to doing? You’re better than that. I was hurt again, I had started to forgive you but this time I didn’t even want to associate with you. We didn't speak at all for over a year. 

Everything that happened between us has allowed me to grow up and realize many things I was oblivious to earlier. The world may have it’s beauty but it is a cold place. People are naturally flawed and will at some point or another hurt someone or people they love whether it be a friend or family, it will happen its human nature. However, I have grown. I see everything you did as a way for me to learn and be better than you. I have learned the power that the truth truly holds, how to be a real father who puts his kids first and puts myself aside. I have learned that trust must be earned and not assumed. 

I have found the power to forgive you. I don’t know how and will properly never know how but I did. I have started to try to save whatever relationship we had but it will truly never be the same.  I went through two years of my life depressed, and not eating regularly because of 3 years where my life turned from the greatest to pretty bad. Which now looking back I regret allowing anyone have that much control over my life that caused me to go to such a dark place.  Its embarrassing. I should have been stronger than that. 

What got me through it was always telling myself that I  will be better and that my situation could always be worse. I started to see the bright side of any and every situation. It wasn’t until I experienced real pain in my life that the silver lining would become clearer to me. 

To Pimp a Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar’s latest effort, To Pimp a Butterfly was the fourth hip-hop album ever archived in Harvard University’s library. According to producer 9th Wonder in an article in XXL Magazine, “In 2012, I was chosen to be a Harvard University Fellow at The Dubois Institute under the direction of @henrylouisgates and Dr. Marcy Morgan,” 9th Wonder wrote. “I chose the research project ‘These Are The Breaks’….a collection of albums that are the standard of the culture…..200 in all in no particular order.” 

The first time I heard it, I sat in my room completely in awe of what I had just listened to. I played down in my bed in my Hannon Apartment bedroom and put on my Beats by Dre headphones and had to pull our my notebook to right down quotes that took out. As I listen I was floored. I had never heard anything like this album before from the production, rapping, singing, interludes, everything was so carefully curated and masterfully completed. I was simply amazed. As the album ended I just stared at the artwork for awhile and thought to my self, “Wow, what did I just listen to? Kendrick is the greatest rapper of all time in my book.”  He is the mind that Pac said that he would spark who would change the world. 

This occurred during a time when racial tensions were soaring to new heights. Kendrick Lamar  in the meantime, released the most important album across all genres, ever. He used this album to address a plethora of issues that face the black community like the demonization of the black man,  dark vs. light skin , racism, police brutality/corruption, music industry executives, greed, temptation by the devil, classism and the list can go on forever. 

Kendrick’s third studio album, “To Pimp A Butterfly” sonically fuses, hip-hop, jazz, electronic and several other genres in order to produce this politically charged album that highlights the struggles of being a black person in America, but despite these struggles black people must still love themselves despite all of the pain and suffering they may feel from how America views them as less. Kendrick teaches self love. Kendrick also highlights the temptations that he faces when dealing with what comes with being rich and famous. He refers to these temptations as “Lucy” short for lucifer who is constantly tempting him to sell his soul throughout the album but he stands strong because of his beliefs that will not allow him to sell out and be the devil’s poster child as other rappers have and continue to do.

In his ending song “Mortal Man” he ties everything together and states that he will help lead the fight against oppression and hatred following the steps of previous civil rights leaders. He rapped, 

“The Ghost of Mandela, hope my flows they propel it

Let these words be your earth and moon

You consume every message

As I lead this army make room for mistakes and depression

And with that being said my nigga, let me ask this question:

When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?”

Kendrick also highlights in this song that no matter who you are, as a black man you will be demonized and treated as a criminal. Later in the song he rapped, 

“If I’m tried in a court of law, if the industry cut me off

If the government want me dead, plant cocaine in my car

Would you judge me a drug-head or see me as K. Lamar

Or Question my character and degrade me on every blog

Want you to love me like Nelson, Want you to hug me like Nelson

I freed you from being a slave in your mind, you’re very welcome

You tell me my song is more than a song, it’s surely a blessing

But a prophet ain’t a prophet ’til they ask you this question

When shit hit the fan, is you will a fan?”

Kendrick challenges his true fans that when they try to bring him down despite knowing his true character, will we will continue to be fans and believe in the real Kendrick or fall for the trap of the demonization of a black man.  Mortal Man is one of the most powerful songs ever created. 

I have been a fan of Kendrick since 2010 when he released his earlier mixtape “Overly Dedicated.”  Seeing his progression as a fan has been amazing for me because as I have grown older listening to him, his material has matured also and he is one of the few rappers who is tackling political issues that don’t just plague the black community but the nation as a whole. I could write an essay about each song of this album due to its depth but that will have to wait. I will leave you with this. Kendrick will not be pimped by the industry executives and will put out the music he wants to put out even if it is against the wishes of the label. He will continue to stand up for what is right. He will continue to try to enlighten other artist to not allow individuals to “pimp” them and their art.

Aruba Ariba

“Bon Bini Aruba!” is all I saw as I exited my plane back to my favorite place on the planet. “Welcome to Aruba” is what bon bini means for those who are unfamiliar with the local language of Papiamento. This was my second time to Aruba and I couldn’t be more excited for Soul Beach Music Festival where I intern. “The Soul Beach Music Festival is one of our most popular annual extravaganzas,” says Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croes, CEO of Aruba Tourism Authority. “Travelers looking for more than a basic beach getaway this Memorial Day Weekend will find their paradise in Aruba while enjoying electrifying entertainment and international culinary influences on some of the world’s most famous beaches.”  This time around the festival line up that I work for out there was stacked with unbelievable artists. The comedy night consisted of comedic legend D.L. Hughely and actor/comedian Brandon T. Jackson. The music concert nights included the legends Charlie Wilson and Doug E. Fresh, along side Dru Hill and Estelle. However, the true headliner of the festival was Trey “Trigga” Songz. Mr. Steal Your Girl was going to perform on the island oasis. 

Aruba is my home away from home. I love it. My days there are nothing but relaxation and fun. Out there work is truly play. My friend and I usually start the day by the pool or beach and sip on an Aruban favorite alcoholic beverage known as the “Aruba Ariba.”  A rum and vodka infused beverage mixed with fruit drinks and served with an orange and pineapple slice. I always forget until I am there that the Aruban equivalent to a squirrel is an iguana. They are literally everywhere. You learn to get used to it but at first it is kind of weird to see iguanas walk right by you as a norm. While enjoying my “Aruba Ariba” on the beautiful white sand beaches of Aruba over looking the clear blue water I always find peace and quiet, something never found in Los Angeles. I feel at home whenever I am there. My friend and I have spent a good amount of time there and we have used that time away from LA to focus on all of our entrepreneurial ideas, goals and aspirations. While in LA it was always easy to get distracted by school, work and everything else that comes with being back at home.   I truly believe the island life is amazing, but I digress. I am truly here to prove that Aruba is great but I also want to leave you guys with a story where my beloved Aruba Ariba drink betrayed me. 

The night of Trey Songz concert, I learned the hard way why he is known as Mr. Steal Your Girl. At the concert, Trey absolutely shut it down and had left Aruba with a memorable performance. Aruba’s official Facebook page posted, “Trey Songz just delivered an outstanding performance at the 15th Soul Beach Music Festival Aruba. Thousands of fans sang and danced to his tunes! #sbmf15 #discoveraruba.” During the concert, I met a girl and her friend who wanted to go out with us to the after party and hang out in the VIP area. We exchanged numbers and information and met up later that night outside of the club. We walked in together and proceeded to the back where the VIP section was located. As we were enjoying our time, I saw Trey Songz arrive with at least 15-20 women and a few of his friends. They were on the level above us reserved for himself and his guests. I was waiting on the waitress to come by to buy some drinks but she was taking too long. I left the VIP and went to the bar area to purchase two Aruba Aribas. As I turned around with both drinks in hand, I saw Trey signal to the girl I came with and her friend to come up to their area and I didn’t see her for the rest of the night. I sat there mad and drank my two Auba Aribas and experienced Mr. Steal Your Girl first hand.

Yoko Ono’s Art

Yoko Ono is typically known as being the wife of the Beatles icon, John Lennon. However, Yoko is an icon in her own right. She has been an advocate for equality and women’s rights before she even became a household name. Her contributions to the feminist sect of avant-garde art are great, yet not commonly known to the public. She has created feminist performance art, music, and written essays. Yoko Ono’s artistic contributions to the avant-garde movement touch upon the several recurring themes of feminism such as the male gaze, sexual assault, and a call to action to end female silence, all while being radical, unorthodox, and sometimes even controversial.

Yoko was born on February 18th, 1933 in Tokyo, where she was raised by her two parents. Her mother was a classical pianist while her father was a banker. Thus, she got her musical inclination from her mother. Being born in Japan, Yoko experienced the firebombings of Tokyo done by the United States at the time of WWII. After she experienced that and the sudden disappearance of her father, her and her mother had to struggle to live day by day. According to the Inquirer in their article titled “Yoko Ono recounts own hunger during war in Japan,” Yoko Ono experienced extreme poverty herself. After her family lost their house, they were left wandering streets, often times begging for food. She recalls “she knew [people who] starved to death or died from eating poisonous mushrooms they collected in the hills. This of course has led herself to believe that this is where her aggression stems from. It has hardened her, thus affecting the way she views the world and feminist issues.

One of her most famous performance pieces is called “Cut Piece.” This performance concerns itself with the way women are subjected to being probed by men and even other women. Although this piece became famous and well-received in the U.S., it did not always have the same response. According to Jieun Rhee in “Performing the Other: Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece,” when Yoko Ono first performed her art in Japan, her and her collaborators were rarely praised. Instead, they were met with criticism. However, one anonymous critic from Tokyo understands what Yoko was trying to achieve and claims that the audience “seems to have had unusual experiences...seeing the sequence of these apparently senseless mundane acts.” He explains that her piece is “not an art that has already been completed, but an art form which the audience can receive something by witnessing the unfolding of nonsense acts, experiencing the process together with the performers,” by which he means that this type of art is something that must be experienced through the passage of time.

In Yoko’s feminist essay titled “The Feminization of Society,” she grasps at the hope that the world can begin to push forward a female energy, one that has been suppressed by its counterpart, the male energy. This essay was written in 1972 which happens to align with second-wave feminism. Second-wave feminism tended to focus on issues such as sexuality, reproductive rights, and the workplace. In this essay she claims that women need to “realize the futility of competing and trying to be like men,” and instead use “feminine tendencies as a positive force to change the world.” By feminine tendencies, she means the emotions and characteristics that are hegemonically feminine, such as compassion, love, empathy, and so on. She wants to push the hegemonic boundaries and try and make these “feminine tendencies” the hegemony for all genders.

In the end, Yoko Ono has created a large portfolio of avant-garde feminist art, which has largely pushed previously set boundaries and limits. Although not many people are aware of it, mainly due to her association with her late husband John Lennon, we must continue to celebrate her work and message

Tired of Grieving Mothers and Lamenting Politicians

Sometimes when I’m walking through campus I get this odd, indescribable chill that sprints down the arch of my spine. I feel paranoid. I find myself looking at every person walking in my vicinity. I scavenge the empty cavities of the airport/shopping mall-like UHALL building of Loyola Marymount University. Sometimes the tension at my school is so dense, I can almost feel the looming bullets in the air.

To my surprise, when I described that feeling to my class, every student and even the professor knew exactly the feeling I was describing above: the inherent fear of a school shooting. Recently, tensions at my university have been tumultuous at best. With die-hard Trump supporters mixing with liberal students, sprinkled with all of President Trump’s recent executive orders it’s almost like you could cut the air with a butter knife.

Though, why is it that campus shootings are the first thing that come to mind in times of disagreement and chaos? Why are those the weapons of choice? Maybe it’s because “In the 190 shooting incidents between the 2001-02 and 2015-16 school years, 437 people were shot, including 167 killed and 270 wounded. The victims included 290 students, 77 individuals not associated with the college, 40 employees, and five former students (we were unable to determine the relationship of 25 victims). An estimated 2.5 million students were enrolled at the 142 colleges where shootings occurred, and, thus, were directly or indirectly exposed to gun violence” (Crime Commission).

Or perhaps it’s because, anyone can go out and buy a gun? Remember the Santa Barbara school shooting? In reports, it became clear that Elliot had an extensive history of manic thoughts and actions which were not only addressed to his parents but also to the police from his therapist. 

However, because no one thought of aiding him, he decided to take the situation into his own hands and bought not one, not two but three weapons at different arms dealers within moments.  Let me add, that not only are there a surplus of individuals with Elliot’s mental instability, but thanks to Trump’s newest executive order, the mentally disabled can now buy guns.

You’d think that with a devastatingly drastic increase in school shootings that prompt regulations would be at the top of the priority list. Well, they’re not and at this rate are very unlikely to be. The problem with the conversation of gun-control, is that the moment it is mentioned Republicans scream “THEY WANT TO TAKE AWAY ALL OF OUR GUNS!!”  Well, no we don’t. In fact, I’m a firm believer in owning a gun, especially because I am a woman, and the world is a scary place for 110 pound Ellie.

However, I do believe in regulation. I believe in background checks, drug testing, mental checks the whole nine-yards. I mean, if we have to go through a drastically long process at hell-on-earth (aka the DMV) just to obtain a piece of paper that lets me operate a vehicle, why can’t there be a similar process when it comes to obtaining machinery specifically designed to kill humans?

Let me remind you that, GUNS DO NOT KILL PEOPLE. PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE.  However, with that being said, it is also important to tackle the understanding of why school shootings occur. In recent events, it became clear that school shootings occur largely in part of bullying. Yes, bullying doesn’t end in high-school, it’s very adamant across college campuses-especially if you mix in politics.

According to an accurate site, bullyonline.org, " it's funny how people who simply say "stand up for yourself" never, ever, tell you how to stand up for yourself” because this leads to kids lacking the knowledge of proper “physical, psychological, emotional and verbal self-defense”.

 I cannot stress enough the emotional impact bullying can have on an individual, and the importance of knowledge on what to do in such circumstances.  I believe that kids need to LEARN how to treat others and LEARN how to appropriately handle bullying. I accept the fact the bullying takes place everywhere from the playground to the office, but it is not something that one should brush of their shoulder and not take seriously.  Did you know that statistically, “harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents” (makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org) ?

I feel like we’re not asking for too much. I feel that what we’re asking for benefits both sides respectively. Don’t you think that having active shooter drills on campuses nation-wide is alarming? That students and professors alike know all-to-well that indescribable ominous chill- that inherent fear of someone shooting up the halls of your school? I want to feel safe on my campus. I want to know that the mentally-ill have treatment, but don’t have access to weapons that have the potential to cause mass devastation. I’m really not asking for much, and for the last time- no, dear Republicans, no one said we want to take away all of your guns!