Recently Played (On My iPod)

Hood Music- Right now I'm feeling Ice Cream Paint Job by Dorrough. Honestly it has no substance but it has a nice beat and I can vibe to it. If he sounds familiar he's the same dude that sings Walk that Walk.

Oldie- I was randomly listening to 92.3 and The O' Jays came on. I can't say I'm a fan because I never followed their music like that but I do know a few songs of theirs and this my friend is my sh*t!





Random- So it's a tie between these two songs. If you've seen Juno then you've heard "Anyone Else But You" and if you listen to gospel music or saw the BET Awards then you've heard Mary Mary's "God In Me." So I'm gonna go ahead and post both of them. I like the first song because it represents my silly personality. Although I'm a critic of religion as an institution, I'm still a believer and the second song shows that plus the song bangs!

Anyone Else But You



God In Me

BET: Do Better

So here's my issue with the Black Entertainment Television network. First for years they have focused mainly on depicting stereotypical images of the same people they are supposed to be representing. The countless hours of music videos that are played (or that was once played seeing as I haven't been a frequent viewer in quite some time) is ridiculous. Videos of blacks glorifying sex, violence and drugs in the morning, noon, night and every where in between that.

I need the station to promote positivity while also showing an accurate representation of Black people. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy watching music videos from time to time but after a while it becomes overbearing. I don't even think BET has its news show any longer. Outside of short clips that highlight some major event every once in a blue moon the station doesn't educate its viewers on the news. Yea I understand it's Black ENTERTAINMENT Television but when you are rarity such as this network you have a bigger responsibility.

The entertainment is cool but educate, inform and inspire our people. Give them a reason to want to do something with their lives outside of becoming a rapper or singer. Stop glorifying and reinforcing the negative images set upon our people. Videos that constantly portray our women as sexual objects and men as violent thugs and social deviants. I loved the idea of College Hill but as I watched it I realized they seldom showed the students in school. However they focused on the drama and the beef between the roommates.

Lastly the lack of originality within the network saddens me. It makes it seem as if Black people don't have the power to create, invent and expound upon things because of their programming. "College Hill" seems like a spin off of "The Real World", "106&Park" "TRL" and even this new show I saw today "Tiny and Toya" looks very familiar to "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."

I applaud the effort of the station because at times it does seem to attempt to create positive but then there's the numerous images they depict that nullifies it all. BET stop claiming to be the "Black station"if you don't step up to the plate and act as such. The Black experience encompasses more than just an entertainment aspect, our culture is richer and runs deeper than that.

The D

Hmmm let's see what I can rant about today. Well the weather as of late sucks. It's kinda like a reflection of Detroit lol. Don't get me wrong I love my city, born and raised here but things are looking pretty dim for the Motorcity/Motown. I don't know if either nickname is appropriate for the city. I haven't seen the true Motown except for in history and the building (which I believe is on Grand Blvd). Outside of that Detroit is no longer the epicenter of music like it once was. It is a thing of the past which can be recalled through listening to old albums of the number one hits. And Motorcity. The only positive thing about that name nowadays is the casino on Grand River. The Big Three are no longer so big, all trying to survive this recession and the end of the Industrial Age. These car companies employed thousands of people and seemed to hold the very fabric of Michigan's economy together and with its absence we can see how well things are turning out.

In addition to white flight, the brain drain and an absence of retailers and quality education Detroit is looking pretty glum. The only thing it seems to be doing well in is unemployment, violence and terrible schooling. BUT even with its flaws I must point out the positive because the city and the people are honestly great. If you've made a trip to Downtown lately you'll notice how things have changed within the last 5 years. It is actually looking like a downtown rather than a bunch of abandoned buildings. The museums seems to be flourishing and the schools in the area seem to be doing well (Wayne State, Creative Studies school, of course Cass Tech [lol] and a new school for the arts is being built down there). I love driving around downtown. You see the Fox and the sports arenas . Then you go down a little further and you're passing the People Mover and on both sides there a new stores surrounding you. And on top of those are lofts and condos for people who have faith in the city and want to be in the midst of it. You pass more clubs, stores and restaurants until you hit a dead end. Cobo is to your right and if you make a left you'll be riding alongside the river with the newly renovated riverfront. You can see the Windsor skyline in the distance and Belle Isle is a few miles down.

The city has potential and lots of it. There is beauty in Detroit, you just have to know where to look.