…that you are a completely ignorant asshole, can it be held against you?
You see, I’m fed up. I’m honestly disgusted by a certain individual in the rap world. I would say hip-hop world but I refuse to call what this rapper does hip-hop. I can admit I’ve liked some of his songs, but its not the musical side that I’m fed up with…it is his ventures outside of the rap world that have drawn my ire. For this, I’d like to burn in effigy:
Nelly.
I know some people like Nelly…but really, this man might really be one of the most igrorant people on the face of this planet. And as evidence, I’d like to present three subjects:
1) Pimp Juice…the drink, not the song;
2) Tip Drills, the video and ensuing Spelman College fiasco; and
3) The P.I.M.P. Scholarship, yes…read that again.
Got damnit…can somebody please stop the madness. And oh yeah, this one Cornell Haynes AKA Nelly, is also a part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. But I don’t even want to talk about that because well…one ignorant bastard deserves another.
Bob Johnson of BET Holdings, Corp. meet Nelly.
But let us start with Pimp Juice, because I’d like to save the final nail in the coffin for last, which is his scholarship program.
For those that don’t know, let us define pimp.
Pimp. (noun). def. One who finds customers for a prostitute; a procurer.
Now I don’t know about your neighborhood, but the pimps in my neighborhood were nothing to aspire to. Sure they had all the women and all the money you could ever want…but they were forced to wear some of the most godawful outfits known to man. I mean, I know Atlanta is home and we like colors there…but shit, walking down the street looking like a Sprite can, or checker board, or surfboard for that matter just doesn’t appeal to me. But really…pimps are not necessarily looked favorably upon in the black community.
Or any community for that matter. Pimps get hoes. Pimps take advantage of hoes. Granted these women have to show up for work and don’t necessarily have to be hoes, but maybe there is something in these women that keeps them in that state. And what does a pimp do…
…exploits her and makes money off of her insecurities and gives her 5 bucks to eat at McDonald’s. Burger King if she’s lucky.
I recognize that now in our state of urban-ness, the use of the word pimp isn’t nearly as derogatory as it used to be. Or is it?? Everybody is running around calling themself a pimp…men and women to little children alike. The songs on the radio nearly all make mention to being a pimp in some sort. Even Snoop has taken himself to a former pimp, the Bishop Don Magic Juan. And what are these songs and people talking about when they tell us they are pimps?
They are bragging on either, from a man’s point of view, having all the women, or from a woman’s point of view, having all the men who do shit for you. The basic principle here is basically having the other gender at your disposal for whatever is your heart’s desire. Doesn’t exactly support the whole marriage ideal does it? But that’s okay, as long as you are pimping…don’t hate the player, hate the game. And now, the game has an official sponsor, PimpJuice.
What I want to know is…why would we take something that has been deemed so negative in our communities and give it a sponsor? We use the word nigga…it ain’t like we got Nigga-ritos up in the store. Granted pimp, as a word, isn’t as bad as the word nigga…however, actual pimps are worse. I mean have you ever met a pimp that you were like, that’s my dog.
Wait, don’t answer that. I forgot about the cult films, American Pimp, Pimps Up Hoes Down, Hookers at the Point, and every other pimp film that has come out that we all love so much. So maybe i’m just alone in being slightly perplexed about naming a got damn drink PimpJuice. Because more than anything…its just ignant. Everybody wants to be a pimp not even realizing how subconciously, we already de-value women and tend to treat them like shit anyway…so fuck it…I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s only a word…right? Like I said, don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Guess I didn’t drive that point home. So let’s try with point #2. Tip Drills. Honestly, this video didn’t offend me. Like I said before, I was more amazed than offended. And I honestly thought that the women at Spelman College were putting up too much of a fuss that was probably rooted in more hypocrisy than anything. I mean they didn’t want Nelly to do the bone marrow drive at Spelman b/c of this video…yet I’m sure they are up in the club dancing their asses off to R. Kelly’s “Step in the Name of Love”. But then again, exploitation doesn’t offend me. Unless white people are doing the mocking.
But if you do look at this video closely, along with any other video on BET (at any hour), there is a lot of woman bashing going on. All the women are treated like sexual objects, and nothing more. And we accept it. We continue watching these videos and women continue to show up to be in the videos. Now I can’t honestly blame Nelly for all of this…I mean really…those women DID make the choice to be there. But that video was ignorance at its finest. I mean the song itself, is about ugly women with nice bodies (or big asses) that make great fuck-buddies. THEY MADE A SONG ABOUT THIS. (please read that again…for me…please???)
Now I know the Ying-Yang Twins make stupid ass songs…ALL THE TIME…but we expect that from them. At least Nelly MADE somewhat entertaining music. That little sing-song shit really does need to go though…but fuck…the one time the nigga does decide to rap again…he makes “Tip Drills.” And the video to boot. I mean, really, this video represents everything that women should be against in entertainment…and I’ll bet his albums are going to continue to sell millions and millions of copies. For somebody of his stature in the entertainment world…its just damn IGNANT! But then again, people will pay for it…and do…so I guess…
Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
And finally…the shit that really sent me into Bolivion (y’all remember Mike Tyson’s favorite vacation spot…there’s even a site dedicated to it. The President is a guy named Max.) This nigga had the NERVE to create a scholarship program and call it the P.I.M.P. scholarship. Well we already had the discussion on the word pimp, so that is useless at this point.
Let’s focus on the actual scholarship. It’s more about leadership qualities than academic merit. Now I don’t know if that struck anybody but me as odd…but to be a P.I.M.P….does your leadership include…i don’t know…pimping??? I think a pimp would have to be a natural leader…not necessarily a nurtured one. The gift of gab is a blessing from on high. And anybody or any pimp lucky enough to be blessed with the scholarship had better prove his worth. I’d institute quotas…4 hoes a month. I mean is it the scholarship that keeps on giving??? It starts you out with seed money and creates you into a pimp…so you can sustain your bank account through its program. I know I’m being ignorant here…but shit…the whole concept of naming a scholarship, P.I.M.P. is ignant.
Shit, why stop there…why not have the P.U.S.S.Y. scholarship…Progressing Unadultered Success Seeking Youth…or the B.I.T.C.H. Scholarship…ya know…Bringing Intelligent and Talented Children Hope Scholarships…or even H.O. Scholarships…Helping Out Scholars…that way you can have this spectacle:
Awards Banquet Honoring Scholarship Recipients at B.S.U.
Host: Thank you everybody for coming out to our 11th Annual Scholarship Banquet. We’d like to thank our Board of Trustees and our esteemed President Bill Cosby for coming out tonight. We’d like to recognize our scholars this evening. Students, please stand when we call your program…BITCHS, HOS, PIMPS, PUSSYS. All of our esteemed guests…please give a round of applause for our inner city youth who’ve overcome stereotypes and stigma to be here today. Thank you!
Get the point? The worst shit is, I’ll bet some ignorant bastard will admire one of these P.I.M.P. recipients and walk around talking about, yo dog, you are a real P.I.M.P., if he or she isn’t doing it themselves. Speaking of which…at the scholarship award ceremony, do you come out to 50 Cent???? Or do you play Pimp Juice??? And give them Pimp Juice, which is now, according to the website…a more healthy drink than Red Bull, which gives you wings. Shit…you fuck around with PimpJuice and you might mess around and get some crabs…
I’ll take wings.
But then again…he’ll probably get some sort of recognition for providing youth a venue to gain more scholarship money, which begs the question…do you pick a fight over a name or look at the bigger picture? Funny to me how only in the black community do we have to make this distinction. Only do we take our negative shit and well, push it on the population at large. I’m sure that Latinos don’t have the 8 People in a Pinto Scholarship Fund, or Native American’s don’t have the Smoke Da Peace Pipe Scholarship Fund…or at least it isn’t that obvious that the name gives it away. And I mean our current culture is what Nelly is representing…so I guess once again…I can’t hate the player, but hate the game.
Nelly can’t possibly think this shit is ignorant. Why? Because he continously bombards us with more pimpery and shit that would normally (in a world where parts of hip hop themselves don’t allow for the complete fuckin’ travashamockery of the culture to be reduced into pimps, hoes, and bitches) not even have to be discussed. But we have to…because we have allowed these things to come to pass. Shit, why lie…we love it. We were running around screaming PimpJuice when the song came out. Shit the uproar over the Tip Drills video probably opened up some people’s eyes to BET: Uncut…of which an article was written about in the Washington Post some months back. In our attempts to dispell the ignorance, we often open the floodgates for more people to partake. We do this shit to ourselves. And we continue to enjoy it…
I have to wonder at times…are these people even ignorant, or are we the ignorant ones for continuously accepting the same old shit time and time again. So can I hold Nelly’s ignorance against him? I think not…
Maybe the women at Spelman were onto something with their issue with Nelly…but you know what…
I can’t hate the player…I hate the game.