Once upon a time in a universe far, far away, HipHopDX used to host blogs. Through Meka, Brillyance, Aliya Ewing and others, readers got unfiltered opinions on the most current topics in and beyond Hip Hop. After a few years, a couple redesigns and the collective vision of three different Editors-In-Chief, blogs are back. Sort of. Since our blog section went the way of two-way pagers and physical mixtapes, Twitter, Instagram and Ustream have further accelerated the pace of current events in Hip Hop. Rappers beef with each other 140 characters at a time, entire mixtapes (and their associated artwork) can be released via Instagram, and sometimes these events require a rapid reaction.
As such, we’re reserving this space for a weekly reaction to Hip Hop’s current events. Or whatever else we deem worthy. And the “we” in question is myself, Andre Grant and Ural Garrett. Collectively we serve as HipHopDX’s Features Staff. Aside from tackling stray topics, we may invite artists and other personalities in Hip Hop to join the conversation. Without further delay, here’s this week’s “Stray Shots.
Are We For Dame Dash Or Against Dame Dash?
Andre: Dame Dash’s recent trip from ultra 1% to 2% or more has created within him a bit of cognitive dissonance. For all the extravagance that was signature Dame during the Roc-A-Fella period, the pouring champagne on dimes and being a bull in a china shop at Def Jam meetings, he was also a brilliant and violent protector of his personal brand and the Roc’s. I’ll never forget that scene in Backstage when these loose cannons found Memph’ Bleek mentioning that Def Jam got him a jacket with his name on it and so has one upped Roc-A-Fella in that regard. Of course, Dame lit the match:
What followed was the best and worst of Damon Dash. An intellect of concentrated venom spewing insults while mixing board room and acquired intelligence with equal ferocity. It’s a painful joy to watch. But when the conversation on branding was over and Dame had established that all of this was his and not Kevin Liles’ or Russell Simmons’ or whomevers, you could see the pulling on the company seams already. Especially as Jay Z stood by quietly and watched, his meter on viewing Dame as his impassioned protector ticking slowly over into liability territory.
AD LOADING...
The thing is that Dame Dash isn’t exactly wrong, he’s just angry. He’s always been distrusting of the powers that binded him. And now, with seemingly only his platform to work with, he’s creating a conversation around vehement empowerment with the same wild gambling mentality that made him his millions. It’s a stance in direct contrast to the respectability politics that govern the worldviews of some of our most sincere intellectuals. Dress in the way they tell you, go to school, get into a good college, get a good job and, still, when the boys in blue flash lights behind your hard earned Mercedes begin to shudder in a completely rational fear because it could all end right now if you aren’t careful. Just ask Lawrence Otis Graham, who went on a media tear after his 15 year old son was called nigger at his elite New England prep-school. Check out the lengths he’s gone to insulate him from that word.
World News Videos | US News Videos
There’s no insulating anyone from anything. Especially that. It’s the other stuff that don’t seem to make much sense. The focus on hypermasculinity as the baseline for all those moves. That’s how hashtags like #TweetsLikeDameDash happen, and how his hilarious non sequiturs become a weapon against the message itself. That message is that if folks want power then there’s only one way to get it: money. It’s the American way. So while I don’t agree with nonsensical lines like, “My son got cookies!” Or, “Why would I ever work for somebody else?” All in all I’m for Dame Dash, despite all this other stuff.
Ural: There was a specific level of sincerity in Dame Dash’s message regarding financial independence and for the most part, he was absolutely right. Maybe it’s time for African Americans to stop using respectability politics as a crutch in terms of sustaining the future of its communities. Hell, maybe those with children should instill an entrepreneurial spirit during an early age. In today’s hyper-capitalistic America, one is either an employee or boss. Before the 1% became the buzzworthy term of the century, men (and women) were respected despite where they exactly stood. Sure, the wealth disparancies between the rich and poor are wider than ever while the middle-class gets shut out. However, for any man to disrespect another man for how exactly they get their money, especially if it’s legal, doesn’t deliver a solid answer for Dash’s core message of economic freedom. Matter of fact, those types of messages can potentially be damaging to a community that already has a slew of shit to deal with.
AD LOADING...
Let’s be completely honest in terms of Dame. During his interview with The Breakfast Club, he bragged about never working a job his entire life. The reason, because apparently Harlem is full of hustlers. Those types of empty answers are so mind boggling that it’s surprising people are using this as gospel. To start any type of business, one is always going to need something taught in every economic class for the last several decades. That’s right, capital.
Roc-A-Fella’s illicit form of early funding (watch the first couple of episodes of Empire for an example), which won’t be touched on in detail today. Who needs morals right? Hustle hard in any way fashionable, even if that means taking part in a community’s downfall or eventual gentrification. A nice amount of labels in Hip Hop or businesses in general have used illicit means of gaining capital to fund businesses. That’s not up for judgement but here are some things to consider for those looking to go that route:
– African Americans and Hispanics represent 58% of the prison population.
– Though white drug usage is five times as much as African Americans, African Americans are sent to prison for drug charges five times as much as whites.
AD LOADING...
– African Americans serve more prison time than whites for the exact same drug charge.
Those naturally afraid of becoming the next Kareem “Biggs” Burke can consider getting a business loan. Well, then one has to consider the extremely low possibility of getting that when one is African American. Part of the reason could stem from a lack of black owned banks as there are only 21 total in America. Yes, 21 spread out throughout the entire United States. With that in mind, this is why many choose to work mundane jobs, save for years and hope that their seed money actually sprouts into something successful. That’s totally fine, contrary to how one man who may or may not be reportedly negative two million dollars in debt feels, it doesn’t make one less of a man for working a nine-to-five.
Oh yeah, there is the issue regarding eight of ten businesses failing within the first 18 months. Even those numbers depend on what’s defined as a failure. Speaking with Kutt Kalhoun for DX, Strange Music didn’t start making actual money on albums until eight years after the fact and early performances only netted him around one hundred or so dollars. So if one has to work some bullshit to live their dreams, no real man judges it. On some personal shit, there was a time where my daily routine meant substitute teaching bad ass kids whose parents were a part of the drug-prison industrial complex that folks like Dash took part in from around 7am – 2pm, make a bi-weekly donation of plasma for a couple of hours and finish off the day managing a pizza spot till around 2am hoping my black ass had enough time to review a Drake album before doing that shit again. Some years later, I’m freelancing enough to attract the fine staff of HipHopDX. The rest is history. Story aside, everyone’s struggle to attain personal financial success doesn’t come in one-size fits all package. Dash is coming from a place that’s part righteous, part insecure considering the numerous amounts of losses he’s taken throughout the years. The message didn’t serve the need to help a wide group of people in need of it, it only served to help his currently bruised ego. Hopefully he learns better with the recent news of him and Kanye’s purchase of Karmaloop. He’s going to have people in customer service (which we all know needs improvement) and even janitors(something I used to be as well) working within the confines of their headquarters. Here’s hoping he has respect for those men and women working there. If not, I’m totally against it.
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
AD LOADING...
Ural Garrett is an Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.
