Rap Music And Violence

What is in the world has happened to rap music?

An art form that was created to stop violence and it lived

by the moto Love, Peace and Having Fun

has become Money, Violence, Death and Prison.

My idea for this blog came from the recent imprisonment

of the world famous rapper Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne was arrested for gun and marijuana possession

and the big question is why he needed a gun?

I am very sure I know why he needed the marijuana

but as for the gun I do not know.

I do not know if someone was coming after him

or if he was carrying the gun to represent the persona of a

gangster.

That is the problem that I hate about rap today

but do not get me wrong not all of rap music is about violence and youdo have rappers such as Common. Dead Prez, Mos Def, Queen Latifiah

and yes I said Queen Latifah and I know she is a big name actress

but there are times where she sings and where she raps. These rappers

are not considered to be gangster rappers, they are pretty much

positive rappers.

But now many of the rappers now who are considered to be

gangsta rappers act out the role of being actual gangsters.

I understand that some of these rappers have been through

tough times in their lives where crime was involved where many of them

sold drugs and were in actual gangs but it really does not mean you still have to be

like that and live that lifestyle.

Sad to say the persona is coming to life in actuality

and many of the rappers are actually carrying guns

and being caught with them like Lil Wayne.

Ever since the death of The Notorious B.I.G and Tupac

I really thought that the violence in rap would decrease

but it has not happened.

Rap beefs are supposed to be about lyrical competition

between two rappers, but now rap beefs have become personal

issues where the two parties are just proving who is more

tougher than the other which has lead to serious fights and even near death

experiences and death experiences.

These are young males and females making millions so why in the world

would you want to jeopardize all of that and for what

just to prove to people that you are not a punk or a coward.

The goal for many rappers to become rappers is to get out of the hood

and away from the violence and the non-sense but it seems like they

are acting like they are still in the hood and still caught up in non sense.

I do not mean to insult many of my young brothers and sisters who

make up the majority of the population of rap but we have to stop

all of this senseless violence and it really does not make any sense.

You are making millions of dollars so you should be happy

but many rappers act like they are mad at something and that they have to lash out.

If they feel that they have to lash out I wonder what is it

that they are lashing at or whom.

I know that it is a dream that probably will never become

true because of all of the money that is generated from

today's style of rap but I would really like to see rap

go back to when it was all about partying and having a good

time and not cursing and calling women bitches and other

foul words.

I would like for rap to be about what it was meant for in the

beginning and that is Love, Peace and Having Fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTwipn-Fp_U

Racism On The Campuses

The last blog entry I

did talked about tuition

hikes on college campuses

But there is another issues

that is going on and that i

the issues of racism.

Racism is not nothing new but it seems that

racism incidents are going on around the same time

at UC and CSU campuses

What in the world is going on?

I heard about a situation at Cal Poly where someone recently

was making racist and homophobic slurs at another person.

That is something that probably happens all the time

but it sad that it is happening

It is sad that this is happening especially at multi cultural schools

This is something like that John Singleton movie Higher Learning

The college was very multi cultural and alot of racist acts broke out

It was a crazy movie.

Well I believe that racist act happen every day

and in the colleges but alot of people just do not know.

So what is the answer to all of this

The same old answer if racist and homophobic people

want to abide by it.

The answer is they must be educated about different groups

They must understand they racism leads to violence which leads to death

They must understand that this world belongs to every body

The world does not belong to just one group.

I hope that no more students have to face this

And maybe the ones who are the hate mongers

will be the ones who will be marching in parades for peace.

The great thing that I have learn is that it is a beautiful thing

to embrace all ethnicities because every one has something

really cool we can learn from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyN5vd6ibgY

Tuition Hikes

It is a real shame of what is going on across The United
States with college tuition hikes and budget cuts at
The High School and College level.

My heart really went out for all of those people
this week who lost their jobs who were
apart of The Los Angeles Unified School District

It is shame what is going on in California with

tuition increases and class cuts.
As a college student it is truly wrong to do this
This is costing me time and money

And the certification I am working on now
I do not want to wait a long while to get it

So I am fed up and alot of students in California and in other states are fed up.

I was watching the news and I saw student protests across the country against tuition hikes and budget cuts.

The news stated today that national tuition hike increased to 7.3%
That is sad.

Today I was wondering how long is this going to last

Will the price of college tuition for state schools in the next ten years
be the same as the tuition of private colleges such as USC and MIT

Will there be a point where people who will have low incomes
will not be able to even afford community college
Or even worst
If there continues to be lay offs of teachers in public schools
Will kids even make to college
Or will they be not even be academically prepared for it.

What will be the future for those graduating from High School.
I hope that the tuition hike is going to be something that will highly increase
every 10 years.

To be honest with you think that there will be increase in tuition in time
but how much of an increase will there be.

If all schools in time will be as expensive as private colleges
What will be the ways kids coming straight out of High School are going to pay for this.
You probably know that the military will seize their opportunity to influence
kids out of High School to come and join to get The G.I Bill.

But knowing this country there will be some other wars
And will High School kids who will resort to the military to pay for college
LIVE TO SEE THE DAY WHERE THEY WILL TAKE COLLEGE CLASSES
OR WILL THEY END UP IN A WAR, DIE AND NEVER GET THE OPPORTUNITY.
SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE!


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/education-rallies-decry-funding-cuts-around-state-and-nation.html



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDAq5VlEsM4

Multi Cultural Education

You know I never really learned about all of the great things
African-Americans have done until I reached college Oh sure I knew the basics like Martin Luther King
Who was a great man
But in my view when it comes to Black History there is more to it than him.

Also, I learned about Malcolm X, Frederick Douglas Harriet Tubman and Soujourner Truth

But it was not until college is to where I got a real study of Ida B. Wells
Madame CJ Walker
Africans in South America
Africans in Puerto Rico
Africans in Mexico.

I learned about how the slave trade really just put Africans in almost every part of the world
And it was amazingly to learn that the second President of Mexico was African
And he ended slavery in Mexico.

Also it was in college where I took a Black Woman's writers class
This was a great experience
And the funny thing about the class was that most of the students in the class

WERE CAUCASIAN
A SHOCKER.

It was in college where I learned about how much African-Americans
Have been discriminated against in The United States
And about the many people and groups who fought against discrimination.
All of this great knowledge about African-Americans

Was a real pleasure to learn
It really instilled in me a real sense of pride of being African-American/Black American.
The only thing is that I had wait to until college to feel this way
I always loved being Black to do not get me wrong
But after the knowledge I obtained about the accomplishments of African-Americans
It made me really understood who I am in this world.

It made me understand that I am somebody who can accomplish anything
Like many African-Americans/Black Americans are doing now and in the past.

But sad to say it really made me realize that there are obstacles for me to face
In a country that stills discriminates against African-Americans/Black Americans

So I have to still fight through many barriers
I have to worker harder to break through the barriers.

My experience of obtaining alot of knowledge about my culture
Has really motivated me to be a teacher of multi cultural education.
Because I do not want young people to wait until they attend college
To learn about their culture and heritage.

I feel that multicultural education is something that should start at the early
It should start at the elementary school level
And it should be placed in a school's curriculum.

I am one of those who is very willing to teach various ethnic groups
About their culture
I am one of those who is willing to prepare young people to be proud of who they are
I am one of those who wants young people to feel that can break the barriers
Break the barriers of discrimination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8VR8kTOdzU&feature=related

Turning 40

I asked one of my classmates
How would she feel when she turns 40
She gave me some good advice
And she told me that it is not about the age
It is about how young you feel on the inside
I am not saying 40 is old, but it is an age I thought I would
not see for a long time I do not mean to scare anyone who reads this.



When they say after 21 or some say after
you reach 25 life seems that life goes faster
And in my view it does, but after 25.
I remember saying to myself
It would a long time before I turn 40
But for me it is less than 8 years away.

I am proud of the changes I have made in my 30's
One thing I can say is that from 25 to now being 32 I really love the person that I am now.

Maybe turing 40 will not be so bad for me
Hopefully I will be one of those people who get
better as they age.

And I am really glad that in today's society medicine is better making people more healthier.
My classmate also told me that my past experiences from being young has helped my maturity.
It has helped me to become a much more wiser and stronger person and I should be proud.
She guaranteed me that when I turn 40, it will be a whole lot better

I will be alot more wiser and stronger
And with this life will be better.

I know that her words were to motivate me to not be scared of turing 40
But for me geting older is getting older
I truely hope that she is right and that I will change my perception of being 40
Maybe it will be like when I turned 30
I thought 30 would be bad but I really love it and I would not want to go back to my 20's
Alot has made me stronger and wiser in the last 3 years and I am very thankful for it
Or should I say trying to be thankful.

So for those who read this blog about turning 40
If anyone has any advice about calming my nerves about turning The Big 40, let me know
If you give me advice you are invited to the party
That is if I will not be to depressed about turning 40.