Yes Yes Ya'll: Crews, Security & Violence at Parties

This chapter talks a lot about rolling deep in parties for protection, something I didn't understand for a long time. Ray Chandler talks about the Casanova Crew on page 93, saying "...sometimes we'd have fifty or sixty Casanovas in the trucks 'cause wherever we went it was like a family." Ok, so when I was in middle school and I made myself a bunch of enemies by messing around with one of the most popular black guys in school, I had no conception of the idea of a crew and I got jumpped trying to "shoot the one". I mean, I can understand when it's crews or gangs up against each other, but I never understood the point of jumpping one or two lone people. It's not like they are much of a threat against a whole group of people.


---So, not to belabor this (and I hope I don't get in trouble for this), but I found another thing that Professor Ryan mentioned that day when he said people were making stuff up in the quizzes. Someone had said that the DJ's were able to throw parties in schools because they were friends with the janitors. Now, while it never says they were "friends" and it probably wasn't how it happened all the time, it does say on page 102 that for Busy Bee and Tony Tone, the janitors were key to getting school gyms as venues.

Can't Stop Won't Stop: Making a Name

This Chapter gives a great example of one of the elements of KRS's nine elements of Hip Hop, Street Entreprenur Realism. On the first page, it describes how Kool Herc's sister, Cindy Campbell decided to throw a party to raise money for school clothes. She convinced Herc to headline and took the measly paycheck she had to invest in the rent for a rec room, advertisement, and "some Olde English 800 malt liquor, Colt 45 beer, and soda" (p.68).

This is one innovative way to raise some extra cash. She had to target a specific demographic, supply the goods and services that attracted them, provide inciting advertisement, budget her limited funds to get the most out of her money, recruit and fairly compensate employees, and manage many different people in a chaotic environment. I think it is incredible the business savvy approach she had at such a young age. And as sad as it is that they had to assimilate, Herc even practiced speaking until his accent became less noticeable so he could be more marketable and his target audience could identify with him better (p.68).

Hearing people complain about the music usually played at parties, he tailored his selection to match the descriptions of what the party-goers clamoured for (p68). So, once he gained a following he continued to survey the crowd, reading their responses to stay on top of any changes in opinion or new fads. And he discovered that people were waiting for particular portions of songs, so he began buying records just for the "break" (p.79). He even allowed drunken fans to grab a mic and make shout outs (p.78).

Essenatially, Herc was a great business man. He did market research to stay in the latest trends, developed new name recognition, spared no expense to get the top notch equipment, made the people feel apart of the experience, and was an excellent showman. It is no wonder he succeeded. And all without an MBA, let alone a highschool degree.

---I just have to put this out there because there have been a few times I read things in these books that don't agree with what Professor Ryan says and I always wish I could find it again to show him, so I found something saying that gangs & crews were the same thing (to back up Brittany). On page 81, Herc says, "That name 'crew' took the place of gang. When they say 'crew', we knew it was a gang."
And in Yes Yes Ya'll, on page 90, Kool DJ AJ starts off calling the guys who protected the DJ gangs and then reverts to crews, using the terms interchangeably.

Can't Stop Won't Stop: Blood, Fire, with Occassional Music

This Chapter is another reason why I wrote in my blog on Compton & N.W.A's "Fuck the Police" that I think COPS are only out to start trouble. After the Bronx Boy's Club meeting, in which all the gangs signed & agreed on the a 5 points Peace Treaty, the police started the Bronx Youth task Force to harass the supposedly now peaceful gangs (p. 61-62). Afrika Bambaataa describes the ex-Marine Purple Mothers on page 62, saying, " It was like a fake, secret type gang that was going around attacking people and assassinating them." And Mercado said, "Police was fucking with us a lot. They see more than three of us walking, they would arrest us for unlawful assembly."

It angers me that even after the gangs showed some effort by holding this meeting and signing the Peace Treaty, the fucking COPS had to ruin it all by spoiling their hard work and turning them against each other. I mean it must be hard to keep the trust & faith in each other and in the treaty when you got the COPS starting fights and making you think it's your biggest rival gang.. Just because the gangs weren't doing things the way the police wanted things done, the police had to mess it all up. It's like they had a grudge and had to get retaliation. They couldn't handle having "crews" that would be "the people's army" and hold clothing drives and rid the communnity of drug dealers. They didn't want any gangs AT ALL. It was like the police were saying "This city ain't big enough for the both of us."

It freaks me out that not only would a little kid go through a gauntlet of "swinging fists and boots and chains and baseball bats" (p 43) but also go through a round of Russian Roulette! (p 44). I just can't imagine what their parents would have thought or done if they died during the game. I understand that it is a test of their bravery, but it sounds stupid to risk killing someone who could potentially be the strongest member of the gang.

Yes, Yes Y'all -- B Boys

My high school AP US History teacher always said that if they say the title of a movie in the movie, it's a good movie. If that applies to books, then Yes Yes Y'all is a good book because on page 120, Kevie Kev tells how he rapped at one of DJ Theodore's parties, saying, "Yes yes y'all and you don't stop".

So this chapter is about how crews formed. It tells about how an aspiring DJ would just set up his stuff and start playing at a party in an effort to gain some recognition, about how an aspiring MC would grab the mic and rap and try ro prove he was good enough to be the MC of a crew. Then how once they had all the members they needed, the crews went to each other's homes to practice their routines, bought identical jackets or made T-shirts, and looked out for each other.

I was amazed to read that Mean Gene "had a house with 12 rooms" at a time when most people were struggling to make it, lived in the projects, and could barely afford to buy new needles or records. (pg 123). I am also surprised that the police didn't bother or harass the Hip Hoppers as they partied in the parks. On page 124, Busy Bee says they would drive by to tell the boys to turn it down or close up for the night and that was it. I guess COPS were ok with things they could relate to and understand, like throwing a party. But when it comes to things that are unfamiliar, like graffiti, break dancing, and wearing "colors", they probably got scared or felt uneasy about the new phenomenoms so they turned against it-agressively.

In addition, I can't believe how much money they spent on these sound systems when there were other things that they could have used the money for, like helping pay rent or buy groceries. Now, I know that as a kid you don't think about or care about things like that, but it seems wild that their parents allowed them to spend so much.
I guess it's a Capitalist investment. You spend a whole lot of money upfront and hope to make it all back and then some in the future. Plus, I'm sure with all the stress and depression of living in those conditions, their parents either couldn't pay that much attention to the hobbies of their children, or encouraged them as a way to uplift their spirits.

It's pretty funny that the Grandmaster Caz & DJ Disco Wiz thought they blew out the whole street because their systems were so powerful and they had plugged into the lamppost, and it turned out to be the blackout of 1977. It's funny because it gives the reader a sense of how loud those speakers must have been for the DJ's to think they had enough power to put out an entire city block. It helps me envision what it must have been like to be a one of those parties, with the bass making your body vibrate, and the trebles making your ears ring. That's definately enough to get a crowd of people dancing and going wild.

Bubba Sparxx & Ass

I think the idea of a Ms New Booty contest is stupid. Yes, it is supposed to be a selection method for the new video, but I can't help thinking how degrading it is to win a contest because your ass was voted on the most times by "a guy in boxers" who is probably jacking off to your backside. I am a supporter of porn for the theraputic value it has in reviving relationships, so I have to explain why this contest is unacceptable to me. It seems wrong that these women are not getting paid, are thought of only as sex symbols used to gratify the men (or women) voting on their booty, and that their personalities are totally irrevelant. This is reinforcing the social inferiority of women. It just turns them into a tool or lowers their societal status by allowing themselves to be thought of as purely entertainment for a man's sexual daydream. This is why we don't get paid as much as men and why so many women are solicited for sex at their workplace.And this is a double standard because it doesn't really happen much with men as the objects.

Now, having said that, let me back up Bubba by saying I do not agree with the article that this is pornographic material. It is just a bunch of butts. We see that all over the place, when we were younger and bad kids mooned us, or in Maxim, in movies, whatever. It's not like we could see their other side, or even faces for most of them. I think the article is blowing it out of proportion by claiming it is a dangerous contest because child predators can find their next victim through it. Although, I was disturbed that the only indication of the material on the site or the legal issues involved is a small dialogue box asking if you are 18 or older.

In addition, I know that the porn industry and Hip-Hop thrive together, as Professor Ryan has pointed out that Snoop Dogg has the number one porn company out there. And having watched his music videos (especially his earlier ones with Dr. Dre) and listened to the lyrics I can see that same disrespect for women-calling us bitches & hoes. I was glad when Eve was big because she brought a different viewof a woman to Hip-Hop: One of an intelligent, beautiful woman who was tough enough to kick your butt if you disrespected her. Not like the trashy Foxy brown & Lil' Kim, who are both fine with being known for giving head & being easy.

Plight of Black Men

It angers me to read statistics about the increasing disadvantages impoverished minorities face everyday. The article presents several major obstacles in the way of black men: the lack of a father-figure, high drop-out rates, drug addiction, incarceration, a stigma attached to imprisionment that prevents employment, and child-support issues. I think that as a society we are not doing enough to help these people battle these issues. I used to live & work in D.C., and I would see so many homeless people that it made me really depressed about how our society practices "benign neglect" to the detriment of an entire population.

We could institute and promote Big Brother/Big Sister programs in inner cities to give youths a positive role model to emulate as a way to enstill positive behaviors early on. I also think that coaches tend to be father figures for athletes, so if we could get more children involved in after school sports, not only could it be another way of providing a positive role model, but weekend and after school practices and games could help keep the children off the streets where they encounter negative influences.

I grew up in a town that had 1 high school for the entire city of 55,000 people-which means that about 6,000 teens attended the high school at the same time. This made it extremely difficult for faculty to provide quality instruction to every student. So you know what they did? They bussed the minorities off to Vo-Tech to learn hairdressing, automechanics, plumbing, electrical work, and construction. While these are usually high paying jobs that require a lot of skill, pushing minority students into these niches is telling them that they have no chance of going to college so they shouldn't even try and if they are not in school, teachers can focus more time on the (predominantly white student population) that will be going to college. It seems self-defeating to neglect the students who need the most help. Last semester, in one of my classes, we did a report on FACETS, an organization in Fairfax that offers free afterschool tutoring & snacks.In my school, there was an afterschool program called RAFT that was a hangout place, with video games, pin pong, pool, foosball, and tutoring. Students could hangout for free until 5 or 6pm. We need to promote more programs like this, geared toward helping youth master the cirriculum and keeps them off the streets and into more positive activities.

I get even more angry that blacks are incarcerated more than any other race, usually for drug related charges. Instead of throwing them in prison, we should be trying help them stay off the drugs and the street corners. We should provide rehab stays, and offer better legal jobs so they don't feel the need to sell drugs. As far as the stigma goes...I'm not so sure about how to address that one yet. But that Discovery Channel show, It Takes a Thief, where the two ex-thiefs help families develop better security systems shows that companies can utilize their streetsmarts to provide services for the community.

As a child whose dad fathered 4 different children with 3 different women, I do think child-support is nessecary and should be legally required for unmarried or separated parents. However, I think if we educated our youth about the dangers and inconveniences of unprotected sex, and even passed out condoms, we could help reduce the number of unwanted pregancies.

As I Community Studies major, I hope to one day operate or serve in a family services non-profit similar to trhe one in the article, Center for Fathers, Families, & Workforce Development. My goal is to provide disadvantaged racial minorities with the resources they need to make positive lifestyle changes for workplace success and more stable family/home situations. We need to empower people to start making better decisions in life by providing them with the tools to succeed.