Thou must
dis Black Women. You are allowed to distinguish between bitches, hoes and
"real sisters" only during interviews when asked to clarify your statements.
You must talk about beating a woman up at least once on your CD or demo.
On at least four (4) but no more than five (5) singles/demos you must talk
about having rough and unprotected sex with a woman. You must also refer
to your girlfriend or wife as a "bitch" in an endearing way. All music
videos must reflect the aforementioned notions. You can talk about doing
things to other people's mothers as acts of creative statement. You may
also refer endearingly to an unplanned child as a "bastard," "shorty,"
"lil nigga," or "lil G." By honoring this commandment you vow to
never rally behind black females or support a strong family bond. You see
her only as an object for sex and to reap the repercussions of your rage.
You also believe she is only out to get you.
(Supplement
for females)
Thou must dis Black Men. Female
rappers are allowed to distinguish between niggas, bustas, scrubs and punk.
You must lyrically emasculate them in every way possible. On at least one
(1) CD or demo you must destroy his character by either calling him a homosexual
or talking about his lack of money. You are allowed to refer to your boyfriend
or husband as your "nigga" in an endearing way. All music videos must reflect
aforementioned notions. By honoring this Commandment you vow to never identify
with the black male's struggle against white supremacy. You vow to never
support a strong family bond. You also uphold the tenements that all of
his problems are of his own doing. You see him as only an object for sex
and money. You believe he is only out to get you.
Commandment
II
Thou must kill. You must "lyrically"
take the life of at least one other black person in order to secure a hit
CD. This law does not promote the physical killing of another person. However,
it is not against the law to assassinate another person on record. You
must only talk about killing your own kind, however, or other cultures
may sue you for inciting racial violence. You must express pleasure in
the kill. The kill must be graphic and extensive in detail. The consumer
must always be left with the feeling that taking a person's life (lyrically)
was justified. Most of the lyrical murders must be done by guns; however
creativity allows for poisoning, stabbings, beatings, stompings, and suffocating.
You do not distinguish between male or female kills. By keeping this Commandment
you vow to never claim acts of genocide publicly even when you are a victim
of violent repression yourself. You also agree to "lyrical" acts of black-on-black
violence, as well as prolific incidents of brutality.
Commandment
III
Thou must covet. Thou must talk about
lusting after things that do not belong to you. You must have an unusual
craving for things that do not belong to you. Your desire must be so strong
that you unwittingly uphold the second commandment. This law does not advocate
you physically going after the material possessions of someone in your
community. By keeping this commandment you vow to never promote a strong
work ethic in your music or to speak against greed, lust and impulsive
behavior. In fact, you now believe greed is healthy.
Commandment
IV
Thou must have a lot of sex. You
must have no fewer than three (3) songs on your CD or demo that promote
sexual intercourse with one or a group of individuals. You cannot express
a deep sense of love or marriage. Thou shalt not talk about commitment,
bonding, and intimacy. You can only talk about sex in its purest and rawest
terms. Do not use "make love," or "provide pleasure," or "pro-create."
You must never mention a sexually transmitted disease in the context of
these records. You can however discuss the use of contraceptives, but only
if you're referring to sexual intercourse with a hoe. (See first Commandment).
If you are under age 16, you may substitute sex with "flirting," and "fantasies
about being intimate with your teacher, neighbor's child, or another rapper."
You must be creative in your graphic detail of sexual intercourse so to
leave nothing to the imagination. The details can be slightly skewered
in order to circumvent radio censors. However, this does not excuse radio
edits from removing references to sex. Therefore stay ahead of the game
by using clever phrases with dual and triple meanings. By keeping this
Commandment, you vow to never promote unconditional or agape love in your
community; promote the black family in a positive light; or uplift male/female
relationships.
Commandment
V
Thou must celebrate the drug culture.
Thou must condone and identify with the proliferation of drugs in the black
community. You should create endearing lyrical expressions to identify
various narcotics and mind-altering substances. Though you are not to personally
distribute or purchase illegal substances, you may allude to it lyrically.
(To protect industry investment, we discourage musical confessions to crimes
where the statue of limitations have not run out.) You may allude to a
war on drugs, but only as justification to carry out the second commandment.
You must continually suggest that selling drugs or "slangin " produces
the only legitimate income for impoverished black people. All music videos
must either glamorize this lifestyle by showing the "success" of the narcotic
trade, or glamorize prison living. You should refer to drug addicted citizens
in comical terms that illicit disgust, laughter, fear, pity or retribution.
You are never to question U.S. drug policy. You can never promote healthy
living and thinking. Nor can you advocate moderation in tobacco and liquor
consumption. By keeping this commandment, you vow to never discuss the
impact of drug addiction among people of color or the community's overall
health; its impact on the prison industrial complex or its impact on the
black family.
Commandment
VI
Thou must rarely talk about God and
spirituality. You must lyrically condone atheism and a false belief system
that negates the existences of a higher being. You must routinely question
the existence of a god by lyrically challenging him/her/it to take your
life or to grant you three wishes. You are to refer to yourself as a god
who gives and takes life. You may lyrically create your own religion (see
tenth commandment) based on a ghetto belief system. Thou shalt not talk
about life and death as it relates to spirituality or a sense of purpose.
You should never speak of scripture or religious texts. You are prohibited
from acknowledging any spiritual beliefs that may have been instilled you
by family. However, you may identify with a Jesus by wearing a large, diamond
encrusted piece whereby you may brag about its costs. Under no circumstance
are you to promote prayer, reflection, meditation, atonement, redemption,
sacrifice, mercy or grace. The consumer fan base must identify with your
lack of spiritual grounding by believing that the only gods are sex and
money. By keeping this commandment you vow to limit your personal spiritual
growth and development. You also vow to never been seen publicly in a church,
synagogue, mosque, temple or other house of worship and reflection.
Commandment
VII
Thou must promote capitalism. On
no fewer than four (4) singles or demo records you must talk about money
as if it were a living, breathing thing. You must talk about making it,
taking it and the love of it. Your lyrics must always place money over
love, over women, over religion (see sixth commandment). You must never
talking about savings and investing. Thou can, however, say the words "currency
exchange", "welfare check", "first of the month", and
"food stamps". You must never talk about pooling of resources. Thou can
never equate capitalism with poverty. You must never mention the IMF, WTO
or Federal Reserve. In fact never mention banking or the stock market at
all. Do not mention technology. Do not discuss taxing. Do not discuss the
federal budget. (See Commandment V). You must promote individual wealth
over community wealth. You should talk about all of your purchases, specifically
naming makers/distributors of expensive jewelry, cars, clothing and liquor.
Once you become a successful entertainer you should purchase a very big
house and no fewer than three (3) expensive cars. Publicly, you should
live within a lavish lifestyle in order to please your consumer fan base
that now lives vicariously through your music. Your lifestyle should include,
but not be limited to: living in exclusive communities, catering to huge
entourages, routinely eating at expensive restaurants, flying to Europe
for fashion shows, purchasing designer clothing only, ordering platinum
and diamond encrusted jewelry for your body and teeth, purchasing expensive
weapons and devices, frequent partying and purchasing big quantities of
expensive liquor and tobacco/cigars. Thou should consistently ridicule
those who cannot afford the aforementioned items. By keeping this commandment
you vow to always promote a consumer culture vs. a producer culture.
Commandment
VIII
Thou cannot have a sense of history.
Never ever refer to any historical event that may cause the consumer to
think about his/her relation to history. Your role is to entertain, not
educate. Thou art prohibited from speaking of the following: Trans-Atlantic
slave trade; African holocaust; Reconstruction; the civil rights movement;
the Black Power Movement; the "real" Harlem Renaissance, and so forth.
You can never mention the following people: Martin Luther King Jr, Hannibal,
Mansa Musa, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, David Walker, Nat Turner,
George Jackson, El-hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X), Jesse Jackson, Patrice
Lumumba, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Steve Biko, Louis Farrakhan, Booker
T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Huey Newton, Fred Hampton, Bobby Seale, Kwame
Ture, Ida B. Wells, Assata Shakur....unless you are making fun of their
names, causes or crusaders. (i.e., Rah Digga's Harriet Thugman). Do not
mention Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean or Asia, unless to disparage. By
keeping this commandment you vow to never promote a sense of awareness,
a knowledge of self or the consumer's global relationship to kindred spirits.
Commandment
IX
Thou must not advocate. Thou art
prohibited from advocacy of anything of social redeeming value. Your lyrics
must reflect a detachment from the social, political and economic reality
of your community. Your lyrics can occasionally ridicule people who march,
protest and advocate social causes. The consumer should never assume that
thou reads newspapers, magazines or books. In other words it must appear
that nothing that happens in the "real" non-entertainment world, has any
personal affect on your thinking. Nor should the consumer of your CD or
demo walk away with the belief that you care about anything other than
the Commandments IV and VII. Never talk about the "industry." By keeping
this commandment understand you must never appear at a non-entertainment-related
event, unless of course you are entertaining. You must never donate money,
resources or materials to needy organizations, families or causes. When
questioned about this you must defend your position by claiming you are
an entertainer and that's all. You can never participate in interviews
discussing relevant social issues. Thou art not responsible for the behavior
encouraged by your music because thou art not responsible for marketing
and sales to minor, unstable individuals, or mentally ill citizens. You
understand that you cannot attend rallies, sermons, marches, and picnics,
festivals or workshops that have nothing to do with entertainment or the
recording industry.
Commandment
X
Thou must promote all things ghetto.
You may never define the word ghetto or discuss its creation. You must
uphold its principals and create new creeds. You must lyrically create
a fictional account of ghetto living that inspires comradeship and a sense
of pride among its residents. Your lyrics must create a ghetto dweller
that is proud to live in the ghetto and takes offense at others moving
into it. You must celebrate ghetto life by reminiscing about days in poverty
and your mothers on welfare and about your fathers who were not there.
Additionally, your lyrics must offer the mainstream a rare glimpse inside
a "socio-economic matrix" while allowing them psychologically off the hook
for the ghetto's creation. You must celebrate ghetto language, ghetto living,
ghetto housing, ghetto clothing, ghetto hairstyles, ghetto sexual habits,
ghetto education, and ghetto economics and ghetto self-hatred. You must
romanticize poverty with tales of sex, drugs, money, greed and fear. The
ghetto must become a magical place. By keeping this commandment you vow
to create and then instill pride in a false culture of poverty, crime,
drugs, illegitimacy, ignorance and apathy. You also vow to attribute the
ghetto only to Black people. You also vow to never leave the ghetto matrix
psychologically, even when your economic status changes (see seventh commandment)
In other words you will remember to "keep it real.."
By keeping
the aforementioned commandments we, "the industry," guarantee the following: 1. Unlimited
marketing success and cross-over appeal. 2. A guaranteed
income 3. Fame
beyond your wildest dreams 4. Unlimited
(but recoupable) industry resources 5. Several
music awards, citations and honors 6. Protection
from community repercussions This sacred
scroll must be handed to every potential and current Black hip hop artist
in the nation. While some sign, many others I am sure others have refused,
as there is circumstantial evidence that supports that. Occasionally a
break through performer will offer lyrics that make us think, act and believe
as if we have purpose and are loved in this life. Yet the majority of our
youth must be forced to sign, recite and then internalize these commandments
in order to guarantee their market success. I imagine if they do not sign
the doctrine, they are relegated to doing poetry readings at open mics,
working menial jobs, fading into relative obscurity and living in the "ghetto
matrix." This must be the answer, because the truth is surely a lot more
painful. By stephanie
mwandishi gadlin StephGadlin@aol.com
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