“Visualize the Realisms of Life and Actuality. ‘F’ Who’s the Baddest, a Person’s Status Depends on Salary.”
This is arguably one of the most profound statements ever uttered from the mouth of a hip hop artist, or any artist for that matter. With this one line, AZ so eloquently magnified capitalism and its relevance in the country that we occupy. Immediately he asked us to, “Visualize the realisms of life and actuality.” The word actuality is defined as a condition of circumstance; a fact. Well, let us consider what’s factual as it pertains to the life we live. It’s a fact that outside of most inner city neighborhoods, people could care less about the number of homicides one accumulate. It’s a fact that outside of most inner city neighborhoods, the reputation that many of our youth is trying to obtain by committing some of the most outlandish and heinous acts, carries neither weight nor influence. And it’s also a fact that when most of the “baddest” people from our neighborhoods are murdered, all they have to leave their family with is that “worthless” reputation that, in most cases, got them killed.
Written by Cornell Dews
Honestly, who cares how tough someone is? For every one person whom “you” think cares, I can name one hundred who don’t. But for the sake of space, I’ll just list ten (1) landlords (2) gas and electric companies (3) automobile financers (4) bill collectors (5) credit card companies (6) child support (7) the IRS (8) everyone outside of your neighborhood (9) people with money (10) the “baddest of the bad,” the United States government. Again, nobody outside of our neighborhoods cares about the reputation a person gained from terrorizing people in his neighborhood. For those “bad boys” who don’t believe me, I dare you to try this the next time your landlord comes to collect his rent money. In your “baddest” bad boy posture, when your landlord is threatening to evict you and your family, look him in his eyes with your most menacing scowl and say to him in your toughest voice, “Do you know how many people I’ve killed and how many more I will kill?” Then wait for your landlord’s response. I guarantee you that he’ll be so “scared” that you and your family will have to find somewhere else to live because you’re getting evicted.
Here’s another one. Not discrediting his “gangster” at all, but it’s probably true that if the “baddest” dude from any of our neighborhoods (who hasn’t been killed yet or isn’t incarcerated) got into a fist fight with the wealthiest man in the world, Mr. Gates would take an “L.” SCORE ONE FOR THE BAD GUYS! But in the major scheme of things, ask yourself, “Who would you rather be?” Who has the greater influence? Who has the ability to provide the appropriate stability and financial security for his love ones? Who has more power?
It’s funny, but not in a laughing sense, that so many people from our community have misconstrued life. We’ve relegated our existence to a substandard way of living. Then we’ve found means to justify and encourage our substandard way of life. I know that a lot of it has to do with the fact that many of us lack the necessary exposure that we need to learn that life has much more to offer. But who’s to blame for us not being exposed to something outside of the “hood?”
Now, close your eyes and think about what AZ said over thirteen years ago, on Nas’ song, so aptly titled Life’s A Bitch. “Visualize the realisms of life and actuality. ‘F’ who’s the baddest a person’s status depends on salary.” My people, in a capitalistic society, one in which we live, there’s nothing greater then building wealth. And for me, “I’m destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it.”
We often times slander rap music, but sometimes the artist make very poignant statements.
Written by Cornell Dews
18 Comments so far
THizz I am Your Father
DUMB PEEPS DONT EVEN KNOW THAT MOST OF THE RAPPERS IN THE GAME TODAY ARE ONLY MIDDLE CLASS IN STATUS.
KANYE WEST ONLY MADE IT TO UPPER CLASS BECAUSE OF JAY-Z.
Illmatic. Classic…
WE THA BEST
wow,it makes u wonder y people think 50 is a betta mc than kanye huh?
im not tryna start dat beef here…it juss got me thinkin y ppl like…lil boosie,50 cent,and T.I.
get more sells than…kanye,common,mos def,PAC,and even Busta (even tho pass tha kaversia ((i kno i spelled it wrong)) was dumb…at least he had 1 of the sickest beats,which iz tha only thing i listened 2)
Cornell, that was a great article, and I hope that some of these people on this blog will take time out and read it thoroughly. I had to reread it three times to acknowledge your whole scope on this phrase and/or situation. I, along with many others im sure, completely agree with what you and AZ have said. Sadly, it seems as if we, the ones aware of this problem, can only do so much.
It doesn’t help the fact that most of the mainstream “rap” music these days perpetuates this endless cycle of “whos the baddest.” However, its not only music, but also Television and Film. I am not shunning these types of media, but merely stating the fact. I too love watching movies like The Godfather and Belly, however, I have developed the ability to differentiate media from real life. And this is frankly probably because I grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood where good education was abundant.
I see this mindset being tied into the other article you wrote about black youth growing up without fathers. Like you said, without that role model in the home, kids tend to look elsewhere for their influences- like gangsters and thugs.
This mindset also gains momentum in poverty-stricken areas such as New Orleans, Baltimore, and Harlem. It is no coincidence that the murder rates in these cities are extraordinary - I believe the violence is indirectly related to education. As most know, the school systems in these areas are failing and are never given enough resources.
Our government is subtly yet effectively discriminating these poor youth from an education they deserve.
This “who’s the baddest” mentality is undeniably tied to neighborhoods, education, and income. The only solution to this problem is to fund more programs for developing children in these areas and show them that there is indeed life beyond being “Hard bodied niggaz.”
(one more thing, there are exceptions to every rule, and in this case - there definately are kids on the right track in these poverty stricken cities. There are also kids on the wrong track in upper/middle class areas, however, they may only be a small percentage.)
keep up with the good work, Mr. Dews
that song has to be one of my favorite songs by nas and az
Thank you for reading my article and thank you for blessing me with your comment Jince. I really appreciate it.
You know, just like yourself Jince, I to enjoy movies such as Godfather and Belly. But like you said, we’re capable of differentiating entertainment from reality. However, many of our children are not. How come? Well, in too many cases, the negative stereotypes they see do not stop when they turn off BET or MTV. The same indecencies that they see on television are the same indecencies that they see when they look out of their windows. (Remember Nas’ song Project Windows) So what do we do, because these are the individuals who our children aspire to be like. People complain that our children aren’t being mentored. I beg to differ. They’re being mentored, but not by the individuals we wish they were being mentored by. I just wanted to add that last piece.
Again Jince, I thank you for reading my article and for posting a great response. Please continue reading and please continue posting. Sincerely, Cornell Dews.
one of the boldest statements possibly in music history? Niggas are takin pills or suttin? Thats OD for real. Not takin nothin away from illmatic though but calm down.
that line is so deep theres only 10 posts lol niggas is lame
@#9 that was an AZ line not a Nas line so sit down youngin,
and thats the type of hip hop i grew up on shit that was telling you to go get money and be smart about it, these lil niggas now a days wanna be tough and catch bodies, which will only land you in jail, im glad to say i was inspired by the like of Jay-z, Wu-tang, AZ, Nas and others because they never sold no bullshit dreams, they was “kickin the truth to the young black youth”, but how many dipset,weezy, jeezy, or uncle murda fans can say the same, did dipset or weezy inspire you to start banging after you turned 20, did jeezy teach you how to be trapper of the year, while uncle murda taught you about some dumb ass “bullet bullet shit?….young dudes need to smarten up and realized what the world is really about and that a lot of the people they look up to are phonies and actors
I was once a in the shoes of many young misguided kids today. When your in the neighborhood and that the only life you’ve ever known or know it’s hard to emagine what the outside world or outside the neighborhood has to offer. When I moved to stay with a uncle after being kicked out of school a new world was opened to me. I think that we need to show these kids that there is something out there. Something worth living and striving for. The American dream has been cut down to showing everyone in the neighborhood you can get money, fancy cars, jewels, and clothes the hood way or the rap way. Hood rich? How about putting kids on a bus and showing them how to survive outside the hood instead of putting them on a bus to prison!
that is so true u can be the most infamous dope boys, gangstas, mobstes, rappers etc… as long as u got that paper though people will look up to u in the hood most dudes a straight up lie when they tell u oh i sell drugs or whatever to make a better life for me and my family they selling drugs to get the latest mikes,whips, rims and attract a bunch of hoes just like the rap group t he clipse siad on my block va thats why they were selling bricks to be in the fast lane but in the end when u die in these streets u still go end up leaving your family nothing ending up just another statistic thats why our black and latino people are mostly in jail now at the end of the day its sad but true money is everything its status
koolaid wrote on September 7th, 2007 at 10:34 am
that is so true u can be the most infamous dope boys, gangstas, mobstes, rappers etc… as long as u got that paper though people will look up to u in the hood most dudes a straight up lie when they tell u oh i sell drugs or whatever to make a better life for me and my family they selling drugs to get the latest mikes,whips, rims and attract a bunch of hoes just like the rap group t he clipse siad on my block va thats why they were selling bricks to be in the fast lane but in the end when u die in these streets u still go end up leaving your family nothing ending up just another statistic thats why our black and latino people are mostly in jail now at the end of the day its sad but true money is everything its status
of course this only has 14 replies. no one cares about anything important. go do the crank dance.
anyway its good to see az getting some deserved recognition
Wow that piece was breathtaking and oh so true! AZ always feeds knowledge through his music but UNFORTUNATELY not all are able/willing to digest which is why he hasnt recived the recognition that he truly deserves. Too many Hip Hop artist dont either realize or seem to care (and trust that hip-hip is who i am but real talk is what i speak) that they have the power of influence to change the atmoshphere of some aspects of the community. If there was more knowledge being displayed in our music I guarantee you there will be a change! Much respect to those artist who have tried and are trying to get those messages out such as AZ, Dead Presidents, Nas etc…. And much respect to Mr. Cornell Dews!
Cornell, that was an excellent article. Are u a published arthur? I don’t think these young kids understand the importance of “real wealth”. I’m not talking about Baby and his thirty ought carzz, or the blood diamonds I’m talking about “long bread.” Money that can be touched generation after generation. When Mr. Gates or Hov leave this earth they will leave a legacy and financial stability for generations to come. Most neighborhood gangstas or tough guys will leave behind t-shirts with a picture of them hold guns with a mean mug on his or her face. That S aint tough. Mr. Gates is bad. Hov is bad. Diddy is bad. The Walton family is bad. To piggy back on Cornell, these bossess could care less how “Bad” you are..
Can’t wait on the book Cornell. Lets get money.
sad but true
“we would rather be entertained than informed”