Why Kwanzaa and Black History Month are both a joke

(Beware of bold text and angry writer's voice.)

So, Christmas day has passed, and we're officially 2 days into no one's favourite "holiday," Kwanzaa. For those of you who were previously unaware, Kwanzaa is basically black Hanukkah. 7 days, a different principle for each day, a feast, & gifts. And they threw in some Swahili words & dashikis, for extra flavour.

Now, don't get me wrong; I love being black, and celebrating my racial/cultural heritage. I just hate the second-rate, half-baked "holidays" we're given to do so. In fact, because I love celebrating my culture, I hate Kwanzaa and Black History Month. And I'll tell you why:

1. Kwanzaa was created as an Alternative

Kwanzaa was basically plopped down after Christmas so that it could be an alternative to Christmas. Look at other holidays. They're all FOR something. Something specific. They have specific events and history behind them that they commemorate. Christmas is when you celebrate Jesus's birth/the solstice (whatever; not the topic at hand). Jewish Passover celebrates the day the angel of death passed over their houses & didn't kill them. Halloween has a specific background, thanksgiving has a specific background, Valentine's, EVEN ST. PATRICK'S DAY HAS MORE HISTORICAL GROUNDS THAN KWANZAA. None of these holidays were created as a means of NOT celebrating something else. Even the commandeered day of Christmas, once placed, was given a specific event to celebrate. Kwanzaa HAS no event to celebrate. Nothing special happened on the 26th, that's being commemorated. It's a pacifier, basically; it's like when one kid wins a contest and gets a toy, and another kid says "MOMMY, THAT'S NOT FAIR; I WANT A TOY." And the mother just gives the other kid a toy, so that he'll shut up, and she can go back to watching her shows. I, for one, don't want a sympathy holiday to justify celebrating that I have African ancestry.

2. Kwanzaa and Black History Month are broad-spectrum, and marginalizing

Like I said before, Kwanzaa isn't actually in commemoration OF anything. It isn't even african in origin; it started in the states. So basically, you celebrate all of Africa's culture for a week. Same with Black History Month, basically; yes, you have Abraham Lincoln & Fredrick Douglas's birthdays, but why not celebrate their birthdays, in that case ? BHM is a celebration of all black accomplishments, and a time to remember our heritage. For a month(The shortest one, I might add). Now, name me ONE other race that restricts the celebration of THE ENTIRETY of its various cultures and accomplishments to any one month, let alone a damn WEEK. Shoot, we celebrate white history every time we speak, basically. Why can't I observe the principles of Unity, Creativity, Faith, and the other "Kwanzaa" principles past January 1st ? Why can't I celebrate the accomplishments of black people year-round ? Why is it even called "Black" history ? Did not all people benefit from the events that occurred ? Why is it only during February that I can learn about the accomplishments of people like Hiram Revels, the first African-American senator, or Macon Bolling Allen, first black lawyer ? And why don't we LEARN about those kinds of people ? I mean, the supersoaker is awesome, but it's not all that empowering to know that a black guy designed a toy gun. Tell me about someone OTHER than Malcolm X, MLKJ, Madam CJ Walker, and Harriet Tubman. 

Speaking of whom, WHYYY is BHM ALWAYS so SLAVERY-HEAVY ? Why is there no mention of pre-slavery history ? Basically, we're supposed to remember how crappy life was during slave-times, and then go around hi-fiving each other because we're "free" now. And sprinkle in some relatively non-goundbreaking things like invention of traffic lights. The people who SHOULD be celebrating the emancipation proclamation are white people, as a day when enough of them finally realized that black people are equal, and released them from their chains. Seriously, you expect me to be HAPPY about now having the same rights, after hundreds of years of systematic oppression, both during and post-slavery, as an old white man had 300 years ago ? Oh, let me go plan a party. We'll bake an Abraham Lincoln-shaped cake, and never eat it because it is in the image of our saviour.
Basically, what I'm saying is that when you celebrate Kwanzaa or observe Black History month, you marginalize yourself. (If you're not black, then I guess you're marginalizing us, and not yourself.) You restrict the greatness of your (or our) heritage to a tiny, government-allotted period of time, where you could instead be celebrating all year round. Celebrate African culture, not Kwanzaa; celebrate our history, not Black History month.

Peace In, Peace Out.

A Letter to my Future Daughter (Another Poem)

Why Entertainment Sucks

Now, I don't mean ALL forms of entertainment. I'm mostly talking about what's referred to as "mainstream".

SHUT UP; I AM NOT A HIPSTER.
Well, maybe a little bit ?

I'm sure that, at some point in the recent past, you've complained about how the content quality of popular music/Tv/literature has decreased, since we were younger. Or, you may complain that one of your favourite artists (*cough* anyone in Young Money *cough*) have fallen off, since their earlier days. They "sold out", as it were. Now, we all know that nostalgia plays a HUGE part in this; everything seemed more awesome when we were kids, because we didn't know that things weren't awesome. (For example, I just re-watched Monster Rancher. Significantly less awesome than 10-year-old me led me to believe.) But, can it really be ALL nostalgia ? Are we ALREADY that old man sitting on his porch, complaining about kids and their loud music, and their baggy pants, and their crazy hair, and their... *falls asleep*

I say thee, NAY.

I've realized that mainstream entertainment IS, in fact, DUMBER.

Think about it; cartoons are less witty and subtle, popular music is easy to write and follows an extremely generic structure, you can predict the discourse of almost any movie once you've seen the trailer and the first 10 minutes, and even popular dances have been simplified from challenging things like Krump and Crip-walking to the Dougie. (Now, I'm not hating on the Dougie; I love it, but you KNOW it's not as hard as the Harlem Shake.)Yes, indeed; our entertainment culture has seemingly gone soft. Even artists who were one way five years ago are completely different today. And by "different" I mean "kinda lame, in comparison". It would seem that they exchange skill for fame. We tend to call this trade-off selling out. The gravest of artistic sins.

But WHY ?! Why would you throw your career away ?

Guess what, guys: it's OUR fault. We, as a society, make selling out the terrible thing that it is. "Shut your dirty mouth," you say, "I would NEVER tell my favourite artists to sell out. I loved their old stuff." Well calm down, my unreasonable friend; because it's true. We, the consumers, consume crappy stuff. This tells the producers of the things that we consume that, hey, we like crappy stuff. As a result, they tell our favourite artists "Hey, make some more crappy stuff. The mainstream viewers love it." And we DO. Not actively, but passively. We accept the crappy stuff, so it continues.

TL;DR: WE make selling out a bad thing by not demanding higher quality from the mainstream.

Moreover, as a society, we've moved from wanting to be smart to wanting to feel smart. This is where the you find real problem. We in Western society don't care if we're actually smart, as long as there are enough stupid people to whom we can feel superior.

Think About It:instead of watching... Let's say... Jeopardy, we (as a general populous)watch... Let's say... Jersey Shore. Do we envy the cast of Jersey Shore ? Do we look up to them ? Absolutely not. We watch shows with stupid people so we can go: "WOW, there're some STUPID people out there. I feel smart, by comparison." Shows with smart people will give the exact opposite feeling: "Wow, look how much these people know; I should better myself." That, while definitely the better thought, is depressing to think. We're lazy. Why work to feel smart, answering every other question on Jeopardy, when you can laugh at Snooki stumbling around a drunk mess ? This train of thought is why entertainment isn't mentally stimulating. We're enabling it, because it enables us.

So, next time you see an artist you like not perform at his or her best, say "Hey, I'm sorry that you had to dumb yourself down to make it in the mainstream, and actually have money; it's our fault, not yours."

Artists, we're sorry. Tv, we're sorry. Please forgive us, and go back to not sucking.

Peace In, Peace Out.

Haters Gunna Hate

So, I have been called, on more than one occasion, a "Hater." Usually while I'm critiquing someone or something. Could be a movie, a Tv Show, a video game, a person's wardrobe, a book, a character from any of the previous (excluding wardrobe), a person, food, a list of favourite things, a teacher's way of explaining a book... Basically, if it can be critiqued, I've been called a hater for critiquing it harshly. Most frequently, it's music, or musical artists. This happens almost every time I enter a conversation with someone who has an opposing viewpoint on a musical artist.


Granted, I tend to say that the artists suck. If that's hating, then I'm a hater. But, I don't HATE the artist. I simply note that their abilities are subpar. Like LMFAO. Terrible rappers. I love the Party Rock Anthem. They're good producers. Just not good rappers. They're purely club-banger-spewing money makers. Whaddevs. They don't claim to be more than that. One Direction ? Don't hate 'em ! Just think they're lacking in the level of musical talent that would be expected of someone as internationally famous. Even Justin Bieber. Seems like a cool kid. He's well-marketed. He's also hilariously overrated. He's just not good enough for him to deserve that level of fan base. Now, he's getting there. But he's not there. And I'm all for developing artists; artists who don't develop are left in the past. But there's a level to which I feel you should BE developed to before you reach worldwide fame. Like, on the real, I don't feel as though I'm developed enough as an artist to deserve worldwide fame. I've still got a ways to go, in that regard. So, that being said, when I see someone who's got less skill than me in the limelight, I'm like "They don't deserve that kind of attention. Not if they're serious about the art."

So, call me a hater, if you'd like. I'm really not. I just like quality. The high kind. Who doesn't like high-quality stuff, right ? It seems like people are so afraid of being labelled "haters" that they decide to put up with sucky stuff. I have no such fear. 

See what I did there ?

Peace In, Peace Out.

My Favourite Song

Dedicated to my beautiful girlfriend, Elizabeth Lartey. This was her birthday present.

You are my favourite song;

The catchy tune I can't help but hum, once I've heard it,

The beautiful lyrics crafted by a wordsmith,

Music I could listen to all day long,

You're my party anthem,

My cheesy, pop, guilty pleasure,

Motivational tune, to make me feel better,

My Adele track when I'm feeling under the weather,

And my smooth 90s R&B...

One, you're like a dream come true,

Two, I wanna be with you…

3-time platinum, grammy award winning,

leave my head spinning,

Have me Charlie Sheen winning,

Home run in the 9th inning

and the crowd goes wild as the organ plays "Dunana Naa duh naaa"

Charge

My Phone to make sure I always have the battery power required

to hear my favourite ring tone,

Though the tone of your voice rings clearly through my head regardless,

I hang on every note of your instrumental,

every slur and accidental only embellishing the melody,

Your smile tugs at my heart strings and strikes the chords

That play the sweetest tune of amour, tojour, amour,

And your score is akin to

The songs sung by doves,

rather than the songs sung by thugs,

looking for someone to rub;

Can anybody find me somebody to love?

Love like a king loves a Queen,

Not just like how a teen loves a teen,

Or like a fan loves a team,

But when a man loves a woman,

Could you be such?

Is this too much?

Could this be rushed?

But wouldn't this be just

Beautiful if I could listen to

my favourite song,

Day in and day out,

'til the treads fade out,

'til the CD skips,

'til the sheet music rips,

'til I can no longer hear you…

And even if I can't, like Beethoven, I'll still feel your vibrations,

My matching eighth note,

My moonlight sonata,

who I'll hold like a fermatta,

Until the conductor says to rest.And even then, no symphony can best
My Favourite song

Peace In, Peace Out.

Temple Run: a Tragic Not-Quite-Reality

I'm sure that, if you've got an iPod, iPhone, Android, or friends with better taste in phones than you, you have partaken in the phenomenon that is Temple Run. You have skeptically picked up your friend's phone, said "I don't see what's so great.." and played it until you killed their battery. You then downloaded it yourself, and proceeded to kill your own battery. And you LOVED it. You unlocked the girl, the football player, the black guy, the explorer dude, not to mention upgrade after upgrade. And you wondered--for hours--who the Hell thought up those demon monkeys, and whether they were currently receiving the help they so desperately need. You bragged about your high score, and how you could have those little digital explorers survive almost anything the basic programming of the game threw at them. BUT did you ever stop, and put yourselves in their shoes ? Did you ever think of how those poor, doomed digi-dudes & dudettes FELT ?

Probably not. That's why you read my blog.

Our digital compatriots are stuck in a world where they will never, EVER win. Ever. Think about it: you don't hit like 20 million points and then it puts up a little screen with the words "Barry got away ! Congratulations !" and a smiley face. Poor Barry (Yes, I like using Barry. Sue me.) will run for a million lifetimes, and then be cast aside, when a better game is created. He will never escape. He will run from those evil monkeys for all eternity. Let's say you were the best Temple Run player EVER. You could play for the rest of your life, never so much as trip, and have the highest score freaking ever. You could train your children to play on separate devices, and then  pause the game before you die, and have them take it up. They could continue this pattern for as long as your iPod/iPhone/Android will operate. But, eventually, someone's finger will slip, and your character will DIE. Your score will be like 53 Trillion-Gazillion, but Poor Barry will end up RIGHT BACK at the beginning, grabbing that idol, all over again. What a sad almost-existence, right ?


He collects millions of dollars worth of gold, not to mention that priceless idol, but what good is it to him ? He only uses it when he dies, so that he can take a little longer to die, next time around. Or maybe, to swap out, so someone else can die for a few turns. He gets mega power-ups, allowing him to walk through walls, move super-fast, and resurrect himself. Does he get to go to the digital world and become a Superhero-God ? Nope. He gets to run, eternally, from some freaky demon monkeys.

So this post is to you, Guy Dangerous, Scarlett Fox, Barry Bones, Karma Lee, Montana Smith, Francisco Montoya, and Zack Wonder. May your runs be long, and prosperous, and may your temporary angel wings one day carry you far past the reaches of that accursed temple. Thank you for hours of entertainment on long car rides and during meetings when I didn't really want to pay attention.

Never forget.

Peace In, Peace Out.

Introducing: A Thousand New Worlds

So, I've got this blog going, and that's cool, but I was thinking "Hey, what about your short stories ?" Now I could just post them here, but I feel like that'll create unnecessary clutter on this blog, which I want to be more for rants, music-related posts, random thoughts and good stuff like that.

"Whoa, there, AJ... How ever will I access your short stories ?"

My valued and beloved readers, I present to you: Keep-Your-Reality.Blogspot.com. I'm gunna try and update it every other Friday, starting tomorrow. It's gunna be like my own little portfolio of short stories, but you can access it. Lucky you, right ? I know. I'd be envious, but I get to read them anyways.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, poems will stay on this page. Next one is purely stories. Not that I've posted any poems on here, yet, but shut up and let me blog. Lool.

Keep-Your-Reality.blogspot.com; check it out on Fridays ! 
Or maybe Saturdays... I might still be writing late Fridays...

Peace In, Peace Out.

Baby Names... Yeah, you know where this is going...

(All my multi-racial readers, I say black people, but this does apply to ANYONE who's thinking of naming their kid some fool-fool kinda name.)

So get this... I return from walking my dog, and notice a birthday invitation sitting on the kitchen table. "Oh, neat !" say I, "Someone's birthday party is coming up !" Though the card is obviously meant for one of my younger brothers, curiosity leads me to read further, to find out who'll be relieving me from babysitting duties for an afternoon.

Guess whose party Alex will be attending... Rakayyah's.

Black people, WHY must we, as a culture at large, name our children in such a way that will likely limit the kid's ability to gain respect from peers and/or authoritative figures ? And don't give me that "It's not JUST black people" crap, because you and I both know you can name like 10 black people on your Facebook whose names make you want to question their parents' sobriety, at the time of their birth. Like, just because something sounds cool in your head, does NOT mean you can just sentence your offspring to life as Tamianique. Like, these names have got to stop; they're just this weird paradox of being completely random, yet following a set pattern. If you hear a nice name, DO NOT just add -iesha, -nelle, -ique/iqua, -ayla/ayah, or -tavia, and call it original. In fact, the fact that I can pick out those suffixes means that they are rather run-of-the-mill. And can we let go of the names Jordan, Jermaine, Jamal, Tyrone, and Jerome, please ? And for the love of GOD, no food references. Let's move away from stereotypes, wherever possible. I'm not saying don't be creative; in fact, DO be creative. But use your creativity to create a name that won't get your kid's resume thrown directly in the recycling bin. Go to a different language(provided you're willing to learn to pronounce the names of that language correctly), find a book/Tv show character whose qualities you'd like to see in your offspring, find namey-sounding words that carry some power behind them, like Harmony, or Melody, or Hope, or Faith. THINK about it.


Really, our kids deserve better than these fool-fool names. It's already hard enough to be black in this society; let's make it a little easier on the next generation, shall we ? ESPECIALLY if you KNOW the name doesn't mean a damn thing. Like, that's serious; what you name your kid is supposed to have to do with your expectations for that kid's LIFE. If you name your child Trey-shawn, in honour of your homie Trey, who's doing time for larceny, and your uncle Shawn, who's your favourite uncle because he's always drunk and thus makes family reunions HILARIOUS, THAT is the meaning that you're attaching to that name. It's like telling your unborn son "Yo, little dude... I honestly don't expect you to amount to a whole lot... Well, not enough for me to stop and think of a name that sounds like that of a successful person, anyways."

I'm not insulting YOU, if you have one of the aforementioned LOL-worthy names; it's not like you named yourself. So, don't feel a way. Just don't go naming your kid Dru'kwon Jr. I'd love for petty things like this not to matter, and for people to be judged on their personalities, and not just their names, races, or economic classes. But, we live in a crappy world, where crappy people get to do as they please for crappy reasons. So, stick it to the man; make it harder to discriminate, before they can even look them in the face.

Peace In, Peace Out.

Music News: Lonely Rhodes

Check-che-check-check-check-check-che-check it out !
So I had this idea, earlier today: why not pick a concept, and do another mixtape ? "Well, that's a great idea, self," said I, "but, what would this concept be ?" I then decided that I should make all the beats, too, which led me to the idea that the beats should be incorporated in said concept. "Again," said I to myself, "WHAT concept ?" But alas, I did not answer. Instead, I just started jamming on my keyboard.

Our story takes a TWIST,  as the weather goes from sunny & cheerful to a pretty epic thunderstorm. So, I'm jamming on my E. Piano setting, playing some soulful chords, and there's all this gloomy weather, and the inspiration struck like the lightning that killed the power in my house for 10 minutes. I would call the tape "Lonely Rhodes" and limit the beats to incorporating only a rhodes keyboard sound as a melody point. So, when I do actually release the whole thing, keep in mind that every song is using the same instrument, but with variations on its settings. As for content, I decided to go across the board, and do it kinda album-style. So, there'll be the bragadocious, the conscious, the love song, all'at. I'm even throwing in a trap-ish song. Just one. ONLY ONE.

And all of this will be done by the 20th, God-willing. You know how I like these speed-tapes. They're actually pretty fun; I challenge any artist who's trying to get past their productivity block: give yourself a week or two, and be like "at the end of this time, I'm gunna have a good[however many] songs done, and I'll release them.

Hey, it worked for me with Show-Off: The 7-Day Mixtape <-- that's totally a link. You know how you like those. Click it. Just do it. It'll feel good.

Anyways, that's the deets on this next project. Hope y'all will support it, just like you did with Show-off, the link for which just happens to be right there, for you to listen to and download.

Yeah, I can shamelessly promote. It's MY blog.


Peace In, Peace Out.

Know What I like ? Ranting. Here's One About Rapping.

So, if you know me at all, you know that I LOVE to rant. I LOVE it; whether complaining or praising, nothing entertains me like expressing my opinion. And, since you're reading my blog, guess what you get ? Nope, it's not a pony. Not a brand new car. It's a big ol', heaping helping of MY OPINION ! *crowd cheers*

Now, again, if you know me at all, you know I'm a rapper. You know I love music, and you know how I'm generally a pretty fair judge, if a little overly harsh. This is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to indie artists, like myself. I'm passionate about what I do, and I hold everything I hear to the same standards that I hold my own music to. So, here are some things that bother me about other indie rappers, as a whole:

1. If I haven't heard your song yet, your MC name is EVERYTHING.
Seriously, get a respectable name. I'm not saying it has to be like mine, where it's mimicking a regular name, or a part of your own name, or anything like that. But, if your name is something like "STUNNAZZ di Rude Boi" or "T-Swagger" don't expect me to click the links you ever so frequently post on my wall. Find something original, that reflects your identity as an artist.

Which brings me to...

2. FIND YOUR FREAKING ARTISTIC IDENTITY, AND SOLIDIFY IT.
The caps were soo very necessary. If you don't know who you are, why should I want to find out ? Figure out who you're trying to be (here's a hint: aim for not being someone who already exists)and be it ! Now, people change; I've re-invented myself a few times, and I'm still solidifying myself. But, as such, I still have a general feel for who I'm trying to be. If you don't have that, you'll have no trademark feel for your listeners to identify as being you.

Oh, and on a more technical level...

3. Pleeeease.. ENUNCIATE.
If I don't understand what you're saying, I'm honestly not going to try to. If Busta Rhymes & Twista can enunciate while rapping as fast as they do, you can make it so that your 92 BPM club track is clear. Not that a little slur isn't cool, but like... You're not Plies. Chill.

And another thing...

4. Be inventive about how you say things.
I'll be real; there are like 5 things to rap about: your skill, your swag/money, relationship stuff, ambition, & conscious stuff. Now, that being said, "I'm the best" will NOT cut it. It wasn't enough for Melly-Mel, it's not enough now. Figure out creative ways to say the same thing, because that's ALL WE DO. You are, by default, redundant. So am I. I've come to grips with it. I CANNOT be 100% original. So, I'm gunna push for whatever percentage I can get. Stay away from clichés, unless you're gunna spin them a different way.

5. Do some personal quality control.
Don't release EVERYTHING you record, just because you managed to get 5 songs done during your 3 hours at your cousin's friend's boyfriend's uncle's studio; check those songs. Chances are, at least one of them sucks. Ouch, right ? I say that to myself EVERY TIME. Because it's like this in the studio: "DAAMN, AJ ! This is gunna be the ONE ! We're blowing up TONIGHTTTTT !" And then like this when you hear it in a week: " Damn, AJ... Why did we even record this track ? This goes softer than sentient marshmallows having a pillow fight..." So listen to your songs. Listen for flaws. Look for weak things. Scrutinize. Otherwise, you post stuff that you'll regret IMMEDIATELY afterwards... And I'm just as guilty of this. Trust me... Soo guilty... Lol... ANYWAYS. Quality control: don't give your haters any more ammunition than they already have, lol.
If this seems nitpicky and harsh to you, guess what... The list of things I personally do, with regards to my music, is sooo much longer than this. Like, absurdly longer. Maybe one day, I'll post my mental processes for things like that.

For now, though, hope you enjoyed reading what I again would like to state is my opinion. Y'on't like it, don't read it.

But seriously, like it & read it. :)


Peace In, Peace Out.

First ACTUAL Post: Writer's block

Well, since people are apparently already viewing this, I guess I should post something other than the original mission briefing thing. Now, this is the challenging thing: I'm not sure which of my completely AWESOME ideas I should use for this, and which ones I should actually turn into ARS videos. (Youtube.com/imAaronRidge; if you don't know, now you know.) It's actually quite the dilemma. So, as a result of my inability to decide what to write about, you're here, reading what is essentially a big paragraph about nothing. Congratulations. However, your reading this does serve a greater purpose: you see, I'm actually just stalling for time.

It's actually a great writer's tip; when you're feeling blocked, write until you're not blocked, anymore. Just useless blather. Whatever you can think of; who cares if it sucks ? Eventually, you'll get through all the crap, and ta-daaa, something meaningful comes out. Or entertaining, funny, cool... Whatever you're trying to write. This is legit how I get over most of my dry spells; I just force myself to write, until it works. And it does work. I do it all the time with songs, poems and stories. In fact, I do the same thing with making beats.Yep, just force it out until it comes out naturally. Push, and push hard. I suppose it's only appropriate that the process for pushing out a brain-child is similar to giving birth. Enjoy all of the beautiful mental images that come with that sentiment. You know the ones; I won't spoil them for you.

Well, that's all for now. Have fun pushing out those word-babies.
(Darn it, I spoiled one of the mental images, didn't I ?)

Peace In, Peace Out.

Soo, Yeah.

Whaddup, World ? 

Well, I have little else to do this Summer, so I figure why not blog ? I was gunna use my old blog, but it was slightly outdated. By which I mean I just didn't feel like showing the ridiculous time gap between my last post and the next one. Yeah, I have "Aaron Ridge Speaks !" On Youtube, but editing is tiresome. I figure I can do this on a much more consistent basis than that. Not to say that I'm abandoning ARS; on the contrary, I'm expanding it to this blog. Soo, that's the story. This will pretty much be ARS, but you get to imagine my voice, facial expressions, and hand gestures. Yay, imagination !

Enjoy & Spread !

Music > imAaronRidge.Bandcamp.com

Videos > Youtube.com/imAaronRidge

Facebook > Facebook.com/imAaronRidge

Twitter > @Im_AaronRidge

Peace In, Peace Out.