Intelligence with experience begets wisdom. I’m a hella intelligent person. What I don’t know I earnestly try to learn. I would have been that nerd in your school that you couldn’t stand because of all of his accolades and prestige. But there’s a twist, I would have also been that kid in your school that you just knew would become a thug because I was always in the streets. So when you saw me on the block hustling at age 15, you weren’t surprised. This duality has given me tremendous insight into life-decisions that black youth make and on how they interpret what they’re taught, simply because I’ve made numerous decisions on both sides of the tracks. I’ve worked for a living to support myself, knowing what your blood, sweat, and tears will get you. I’ve also committed numerous crimes to earn a living, from robbery to drug-dealing, knowing that the G-Code must be strictly adhered to to come out alive. I went to prison for 12 years when I was 22 and starting at age 16, I’ve been to college four times, so I would say that I’m well-equipped to say what separates the Thug from the Good Kid and how we as Black People can/need to reconcile them both in order to raise the strongest soldiers in our war against oppression.

SOME RANDOM LAME: “If your so smart, what do you suggest that we do about the current state of Black America?

Jalepeno Jux Progress The Spirit:

Before I get to that, and trust me, I will, I suggest that every Black person get on the same page as to what IS the current State of Black America so we can ,move cohesively and as a unit. In order to do that, there can’t be any lames like yourself allowed to advance to positions of social power and influence our people to a position of antagonistic behavior towards the Movement. Lames come in all shapes, sizes, but Thugs GangsTas and STrong Leaders are inherently of a single Toughness. In Thugonometry, Obama was a GangsTa because through sTrong RheToric and unparalleled discipline, dedication, and determination (Shout out to Styles P), he basically used pure will to strongarm a country of conservatives in his quest to become president. I say that to say this, real hittas do real things, and becoming the first Black president is as real as it gets. So in defining the state of Black America, it could be said that Black Americans are in in a “Post -Obama” Era. The once in a lifetime event known as president Obama has defined Black America in this era. On one hand, we have the conservatives who can’t see past go in their quest for superiority and are angry because a Black Man, representing descendants of slaves, became leader of the free world and did a better job leading than all of the conservatives who previously held the position. Had John McCain become the president, then it is possible that we would still be in a recession, if not a depression. The reason that I said that he did a better job was because he was re-elected in 2012. To be a Black Man in Power is a difficult deed when conservatives are the perceived gate keepers in this country, so to remain in power as a Black Man means either conservatives respect what you bring to the table or have nothing to bring to the table themselves and are starving to eat off your plate.

As angry conservatives, some who hated the idea of a Black President, they elected donald in 2016. We all know what donald did so I won’t speak on it, but to make a long story short, police brutality against Blacks is an attempt to force Blacks into submission and re-assert conservative dominance because they know we are liberal and have reached the highest echelons. I’m not saying that the retaliation that Blacks face is Obama’s fault, It’s just the natural effect of conservative anger derived from a thought-process that’s based on their alleged superiority over black people. That’s the Conservative side of the equation. The Black side is that of Black people who want a little notoriety, at a time where through hip-hop it seems that every black person is getting famous, but because the lamers can’t become rappers because they’re lame, they choose to bash Obama to get likes on Social Media or create controversy in a world where controversy sells. They’re mostly apart of the younger Black generation who haven’t lived through great enough adversity even though they’ve lived through some adversity when compared to their grandparents who lived through the 60s. Not to downplay anybody’s plight, but police are killing individuals and beating up some individuals at protests, but imagine a time when ALL protestors were subject to police brutality. From being hosed to having dogs and K9s sent at them, to white bystanders throwing rocks and bottles and the WHOLE of protestors being imprisoned, rather than a select few who were passionate. That was the 60s. And then your grandparent’s leaders were assassinated. Martin and Malcom being killed along with JFK is the equivalent of saying that in 2010 Barack, Al Sharpton, and Bill Clinton were assassinated. If that had happened, what would happen to the movement? To the youth, respect your elder’s opinions because they survived what you haven’t and gave birth to those that gave birth to your every aspect and with that survival and subsequent labor and labor comes a type of insight that only The Avengers had after Thanos snapped his finger. They fought like hell to get us the victory, and yes, we were victorious. However, a new battle rages on the horizon…

Not to say that the youth’s opinion doesn’t matter, because truthfully, yah got next. However, oppressors in power will treat a youth of color differently then they will treat an elder of color (and the elders hold the secrets[keys] to victory), giving us an advantage in our elders. Old white racists in power are on-the-low scared of Black elders, but they’re not scared of Black youth. Maybe it’s because they see factions like the Black Panthers in our elders and it’s a traumatizing experience. In any event, that’s the Black side of the equation. However there’s a third side; the streets/the hood. This side is separated from Black People because not all Black people come from the streets in the Post-Obama era. In Albany, N.Y., when George Floyd was ascended to the Lord, we protested for a week, then the next week, there were 18 shootings in the hoods of only about 30,000 Black People in a city of 100,000 people. That’s a high rate. Research the rates if you don’t believe me. Albany, N.Y. has been deemed more dangerous than over 90% of cities in America. The common rhetoric on this is that when blacks kill blacks they go to prison. It would seem so looking from the outside in, but that type of rhetoric is how you can tell who is really from the streets, because you can’t say that to the Black Mothers, Sisters, Brothers, and Children who have lost loved ones to senseless violence. It doesn’t matter if the perpetrator is caught; their loved ones are gone forever and you can see the pain in them every time you see them out, if you see them out… I know this from experience. I may or may not have gotten away with attempted murder, three times. On top of that, within a year of being home from prison, my little brother was gunned down on a hot block in the middle of the hood. A year later, one of the O.G.s was gunned down in front of his kids which happened to be my cousins. What these situations have in common is that nobody has been prosecuted for these crimes. The streets know what it’s hittin’ for, but the law is at a loss and this happens more often than you would think in the hood. So what do we do about the three sides of the equation that equal the state of Black America today? I’ll tell you after the midterms 2022; just vote.