Blought #8 'What is A Black Nerd?'

The definition of a Black Nerd isn't easy. There are so many types of Black Nerds, and seeing how this is a trail lest traveled, I will try my best to define what a Black Nerd is. A Black Nerd is the awkward Black kid who doesn't interact well with other kids in a multitude of environments. They tend to be drawn to things that many kids don't find themselves attracted to. Pretty much the typical nerd just with darker skin is what I'm trying to get at. That's where I come in. Society is a very complex machine. It tries to group us all into this huge vague category but then starts to break those down into sub categories. The tree continues to branch off until there are a million different groups. At the same time, the societal machine tries to tell us we are all the same and that we are all equal. Bullshit. If that was true I would have never gotten picked on in elementary school. In America there's this bullshit idea some old guy came up with called "equality". There a bunch of things that can be made equal. Math problems, money, measurements. Not people. Everyone has advantages and disadvantages. Being a black nerd is both.

'Afro That Holds My Pick' from 'If I Wrote a Hip-Hop Album'

The Afro that holds my pick is more than just hair.
It serves as a symbol of strength for a displaced now mixed race of oppressed people.
When no one would call out the world’s big brother for what they had done,
we grew out our native kinks, picked them out,
and put our ebony fist in the air.
The Afro that holds my pick was worn when Conductor Cornelius,
led the country on a magical journey upon his train of soul.
When the sweet tunes of The Spinners, Ohio Players,
and The Commodores graced the radios of Black America
My pops and his niggas all rocked the simply coined “Fro”
The Fro I rock has purpose.
I bear the pain from every pull of my pick.
I know it don’t equal lashes
but it’s the best way to represent.
Now from beatin’s to hangin’s, to revolutions, to groovin‘,
not only is my Afro a hairstyle,
it also serves as a symbolic
historical text book for my people.
Ima sag my pants with the pick in my back pocket
to show where I’m from,
And use my pick to show what I’m Is.

Blought #7 'Avant Garde Hip-Hop and Why it Needs to Die'

Hip-Hop has now been around for nearly 40 years. The impact it has left on the music world is hard to put into words. It has spanned over numerous eras and has spawned many of its own sub-genres. Hip-Hop has seen it's Golden Age, Conscious Age, Gangsta Age, and now a new age. The rebirth of Hip-Hop that has taken place over the past five or six years is breeding a sound and culture I really don't like. Before I get into that let me do a little background.

In the early 2000's my favorite artist of "All Time!" broke onto the scene. Yes, I'm talkin' about Mr. Kanye Omari West. He not only brought millions of records and countless Grammys, he also brought his own style. Kanye has remained relevant thanks to his phoenix like approah. After every album Kanye was able to reinvent himself and bring a new and different styled Kanye to the table. This las go around he brought something my genration just won't let go of. This new Avant Garde style Hip-Hop. When Ye first did it, I won't lie. It was kind of cool. Heavy bass lines, choral like arrangements in the back ground, and his weird $600 leather skirts was something we all expected from the musical genius.

Sadly many of my peers have taken it too far. Many artist have taken to the sound and they bring nothing new. Just a recycled Kanye type product. Its okay for an entertainer to wear a leather skirt, but the average joe wearing Pyrex. You  look stupid. When did it become cool to wear over-sized hockey jerseys  that replace capital A's with capital V's with trim along the bottom that looks like black and white 1960's floral wall paper? Remember people, he's an entertainer, you are not. Only thing worse than you are hipsters, and America hates hipsters! So lets stop thinking we all can make the next HAM instrumental and stop with the Pyrex purchases and let this fad die. Avant Garde means ahead of its time. You're just recycling it.

Blought #6 '#F*** Yo Followers'

Is it me or does it seem like my generation has become infatuated with a new addiction? My fellow millennials seem to be wrapped up in this thing called "followers". While I admit I am an avid instagrammer (@sneakersmcgee) I don't get wrapped up in my follower count. I follow a bunch of celebs and personalities with a few friends and family thrown in there. I started to notice this obsession with follower count back in the Myspace years. The more friends you had, the cooler you were, although you only knew like 25 of you 762 myspace friends. Facebook was a completely different beast. This was when I started to see followers hit the thousands. Why in the hell would anyone want 2000 people in their business? Not I.

The sad part about all of this is the vanity and the lack of human interaction this is causing. Most guys with a high number of followers is usually what I call an "internet playa". They bag girls with lame song lyrics or questionable selfies in an attempt to bag the ladies. The ladies they bag are usually the girls who post, well meaningless song lyrics and the not so occasional but rather too often self revealing and most of the time self depriving selfie. This usaully contains her exposing a little breasts while wearing some scantily clad outfit. Sure, I met my girfriend of three years on Facebook but at least our pages are something our parents won't be too ashamed of.

This a call to my generation. Don't use social media as your outlet for emotion or the pics you took of yourself half naked after a shower. Get up, get out, and do something. I'm not perfect but I surely practice what I preach. Use your Twitter, Instagram, FB, or whatever else is out there these days to showcase your passion, talent, or just a simple pic of a bluejay you saw or your favorite Starbucks drink. Don't think because you have 1500 followers and 850 "friends" that you've accomplished something, because you haven't. Fuck Yo Followers nigga!!!

Blought #5 'Gotta Love Sparknotes'

At the tender age of 21 I have spent 76% of my life in school. I've written countless papers and essays and I've taken plenty of test. I've also been forced to read a decent amount of books that I didn't like. The coolest thing about my generation is that invention called the Internet. Thanks to Google Scholar and Wikipedia fuck all encyclopedias. Now, thanks to Sparknotes I never have to read another lame book again. I was recently assigned “Northanger Abbey” by Jane Austen. Sorry, but most straight men don’t do Jane Austen and her lame ass 18th century literature.

Thanks to Sparknotes, I turned that little teenaged love fest into a quick ten minute read. Sparknotes not only gives you the plot, but it also gives you a character list and  a list of themes used in the story. All the garbage your professor wants you to look for and you don’t care for is there. Writing a five page analysis has never been easier. Only downside is some titles aren't there. Most of the time some of your bigger name titles are there. Sparknotes is sure to get you through those 250-page novels that don’t grab your attention but you have to write a paper on it. All I can say is thank god I’m not an English major.

Blought #4 'The Gift and Curse of Leggings'

     I love women. I love them so much that when I see one I really find attractive, I tend to stare at them and undress them with my eyes (creep, but I don’t care). I love a woman with nice curves and tight pants. When leggings became an actual article of clothing  to be worn outside the house I was extremely excited. Sadly like most things attractive women wear some women abuse leggings. I know people in stores lie to you for commission, but selling you leggings when you aren’t fit for them is taking it too far.
     First off, overweight  women need to stop it. Sexy big women do exist, but leggings just isn’t your thing. Your stomach hangs over the waistband and your ass looks like a worn out pillow. Like the one your grandparents always give you when you sleep over and you wake up with a sore neck. Just stop it, get sexy in another article of clothing. Pencil thin girls, you also need to knock it off too. When leggings are baggy in the butt region you are too damn skinny for leggings.
     I’m not too up on styles for women but I think leggings as stand alone pants is kind of gross Most of the time you have camel toe. I wear skinny jeans, I know how hot genitals can get in tight pants. Your sweaty moose knuckle is not attractive. Wear a shirt that covers that are up or a skirt or something. One last guideline in my opinion is no sparkly, glittery, neon colored, or animal print leggings. Basic colors are good enough. If you wear any ridiculous patterns I should be able to offer you $20 for a blowjob and you not get offended. Listen to these wise words and you won’t look like an idiot the next time you wear leggings.

Blought #3 'Netflix Done Saved my Life'

Don’t you just hate those long miserable nights when there’s absolutely nothing to watch? You’re on the couch and you've just passed the 1000’s for the third time. Then you start to wonder, “how in the hell do I pay over $100 a month for all these channels and I still cant find anything to watch”. Well I’m here to tell you that I haven’t had that problem in over four months, thanks to Netflix. I think one night before Al Gore went to sleep he looked to the sky and prayed to the internet gods for a solution to television boredom. When he awoke, he had a Netflix subscription. Wikipedia should cite me for that.

When I look at my life before the almighty Netflix, I see TV with no color or sound. Now I have the greatest invention since internet porn streaming right into my XBOX. I haven’t had HBO or Starz in about six or seven years but ever since Netflix those channels mean nothing to me. Sometimes when you channel surf you have a mood set for what you want to watch. Netflix will meet those needs. Bored? Watch an action movie. Babysitting? Search all of the children’s categories. Want to relive your childhood? Watch Rocky and Bullwinkle, GI Joe (the cool 80’s version), or watch old Nickelodeon shows from the 90’s. You can even watch it on your tablet or phone for those long car rides and family get-togethers you don’t remember agreeing to go to.

You know the selection of shows and movies is absurdly huge when the suggested categories include “Suspenseful Spy Thrillers“, “Asian Action Movies“, and “Family-friendly Talking-animal Animation“. You might as well pay the $7.99 a month for stream when you already pay an extra $10 bucks on a package for one specific channel but that package includes 15 channels you don’t watch. So to Netflix and Al Gore’s prayers one nigh full of boredom, I thank thee.

Blought #2 'Mike and Us 90's Babies'

In recognition of His Airness’ upcoming 50th birthday, I've decided to share my thoughts on his impact of American culture in the eyes of a 90’s baby (I’m old enough to be nostalgic now).Other than  Kobe and Lebron most of us 90’s kids don’t have much memory of any other player who has dominated the game of basketball. I could bring up Shaq or Dirk but Kobe and Lebron are the only players comparable to MJ. By the time we could begin recollecting any memories of Mike he was past his prime and glory days. He was drafted in ’84, won his first ring a month before I was born, and  retired when I was about six. When you look at Lebron, the guy who has dominated the NBA since I was about twelve, idolized Mike. The guy who most kids looked up to in my generation, idolized the greatest ever. Talk about leaving your mark on the game.

MJ’s legacy isn’t exclusive to the court, but American culture period. One of my favorite movies ever starred Mike himself. In Space Jam, the world’s greatest basketball player was playing alongside Warner Bros. cartoon elite. Mike didn't put on an Oscar winning performance or anything, but watching that movie at five years old was better than an All Star game. The movie was so huge, it even garnered it’s own shoe, the “Space Jam 11’s”

It doesn't matter how much basketball you watch, how many times you’ve seen  Space Jam, or even if you don’t care about the man, the largest impact Jordan has left may be his shoes. His shoe brand has had 28 official player models and a few other models including the Phat and Spizike. Jordan and his shoe has dominated the sneaker culture for almost three decades. That’s a pretty impressive stretch. Kids who have never even seen him play line up for his shoes on those early Saturday mornings (I've been to my share of releases).

What else can you say, the man practically created the endorsement. He endorsed the hot dog you ate, the white t-shirt you spilled mustard on,  and created the shoe that had you wanting to be “like Mike”. Mike has not only left his impact on the game of basketball, but he’s left an impact on American culture as a whole. From my 90’s baby eyes, that impact is pretty big.

Blought #1 'Can A Kid Be A Kid These Days?'

Remember the 90's, I do. It was a time when all was well and the US was worry free. At least my pre-pubescent mind thought so. The only things I was worried about pre-2000 was Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. That was the golden age of cartoons for me. Cartoon Cartoon Fridays was the best part of my week. Dexter's Lab, Power Puff Girls, and Johnny Bravo were some of my favorite shows to watch. It was cool being a kid at that time in the world of television. Those characters gave me an escape from my chores, spelling test, and teachers constantly calling my mom about my behavior.

Today television is far from what I knew 15 years ago. Everything is live action and real people. I hated shows with real people until I was 12. Today all I see is teen stars talking boy business and becoming sex symbols when their shows go off air (Hi Miley). Dee Dee and Bubbles never were the talk of the town because of racy photos. It's almost as if childlike innocence doesn't exist anymore in children's programming. I know these shows are intended for teens but I'm sure  8 year old kids are watching this stuff too.

I don't know how to feel when a kid watches t.v. today and all they see is kissing and crushes and drama. ABC Family is the worst. Some of the shows I've seen on there are frightening. I don't think that Secret Life show is appropriate for a 12 year old girl to watch. What happened to Kim Possible and Penny Proud? Sure they had crushes, but it was animated and rarely the main focal point of the show if ever. Programming isn't very family oriented when high school kids have sex and get pregnant. (change your channel's name at least)

I would just like to know will my future daughter or daughters be subjected to images of teen stars on television kissing boys and being caught up on boys, to being on tabloids because of a drunken night on the strip at 17. The real question is can kids be kids today, or is television and other media outlets making them grow up too fast?