"You see thru, that is why no one is going to believe you." Virtues: honor, respect | Quote by Jadakiss, 1997 'All about the Benjamins' | www.vacantlot.org
What is there to say about the 'fake' individual? Always putting up a front, a facade, trying to be something that they are not. Some do it as apart of their occupation, others do it hide their true self so that they can 'fit-in' with a crowd; this is very evident in hip-hop culture. As many dudes will try very hard to be 'hardcore', but in their attempt to be hard, it is evident that they have no substance inside, and that they will do anything in order to achieve their goal. Their goal may be simply to impress you, but more often than not, it will be probably be a goal that is intended to hustle you out of your possessions.
However, the quote is almost objective in the sense that not only does the 'see thru' aspect can be a negative connotation, but it can also be somewhat positive, or just explain a person's motives. Its like, nah they are not doing what they say, because we can see their motives and see their true objections.
So call them the 'translucent' hustler, the transparent gangsta, or the clearview opportunist, but these are a list of some of the infamous/famous 'see thru' males & females:
Cam'ron "I front like I got money"
After the Youtube clip of Cam'ron showing-off his pool in a beef video to 50 Cent, it became apparent that Cam'ron really doesn't have the paper that he claims in his raps. Come on Cam, that pool was tiny, looked like a pool the average family in the burbs has.
Soulja Boy "Gimmick Boy"
Soulja Boy is the poster child of the new era in rap where artists need to have a catchy dance with a song release. This gimmick really takes away from any lyrics an artist may have - Soulja Boy is the lucky one of this bunch because he has become somewhat successful for having an infections/catchy dance, but there is no substance in any of his lyrics.
Karrine 'Superhead' Steffans The Opportunist
We all know what Superhead has done, and to whom, but her tell-all book where she name drops on her relationships is an exercise in opportunistic behavior. I mean, it must be somewhat self-demoralizing to live with the fact that all these men are calling you all sorts of names, and that you have a moniker such as 'superhead', and to go and try to monetize off of your exploits shows that you are a straight opportunist - even if it means throwing more shit already on your shitty name. But hey, get your money girl, and get a STD test.
Jay-Z Never Quit
Jay-Z was supposed to retire a couple of years ago, but after the release of the acclaimed American Gangster (2007), and another release in 2008, and word that he may be working on an album with former foe turned friend Nas, it is clear that Jay-Z will never quit; the game is in him.
Vanilla Ice Soul-less
Vanilla Ice is one of the classic jokes of hip-hop, pop culture - as he was known as the white guy that exploited the music to make a buck. No one believed him, he had no credibility, and in the end, a real gangster saw thru Vanilla and took his publishing ... ice, ice baby.
Suge Knight Untrustworthy
This was the real gangster from the Vanilla Ice post. This is the kind of guy that you don't trust; he has been involved/implicated with the deaths of Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls and countless other ordeals. Many of said that anyone can see that looking at Mr. Knight, not much 'good' is there.
Flavor Flav Coon
Self-explanatory, have you seen Flavor of Love 1-3? Enough said.
"She wears a dress to the 'T'; like the Letter" Virtues: garment, style, impressions
Lil Wayne has been killing the game for a minute, so its only fitting that we try to analyze one of his lyrics. The quote is pretty self-explanatory, and the quote alludes to women and their curvaceous figures. So, we thought instead of writing a lengthy piece, even thought it would be insightful (as always!), we thought it would be best to illustrate beautiful women in dresses to the 'T'; like the letter.
Introducing variations of 'T'
The "I have you in the palm of my hands" Dress
The "look at my face, but my body is better" Dress Mya is hoping that it will correlate into album sales
The "I can wear anything, anywhere" Dress Lauren London is doing it well
The "Innocent girl from next door, but will still f*ck you over" Dress Megan Good, kind of getting her anorexic on
The "Definition of 'fit' " Dress When Serena Williams pulled this dress out at the U.S. Open back in 2002, she brought sport athletics clothing to a new level, a tighter level
The "Even the mulattos and whites have booty too" Dress Socialite Kim Kardashian showing off her assets
.:: Vacant Lot
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Two extremes collide like 'Jekyll & Hyde' Virtues: bi-polar, psychoanalytics, real | Quote from The Roots Black Thought
In case you all don't know, Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a classic novel about a London lawyer who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the misanthropic Edward Hyde. The work is known for its vivid portrayal of the psychopathology of a split personality; in mainstream culture the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" has come to signify wild or bipolar behaviour.
I think we all have a little bipolar tendencies in us; on any given day our mood can rise to an elated state all the way to deep depression. Differing variables such as friends, family, school, work can easily alter our mood. The clinical definition of being bipolar is having at least one manic (characterized by extremely elevated mood, energy, and unusual thought patterns) or mixed episode; which could include episodes of hypomania and major depression.
Based on the recording industry state, I bet more than 50% of rappers have some sort of bipolar in them. Its almost a criteria of a 'certified' rapper to be a bipolar because it displays their range of 'depth' in their content. From Kanye, Jay-Z, Eminem, Nas, Lil Wayne, and even 50 Cent, these artists have demonstrated that life isn't just about a 'party' and doing the latest dance; these are certified MC's because they can talk about their struggles and pain (depression), and then can be equally engaging in a feel-good song (hypomania). With the new generation of rappers, its kinda peculiar, but, they need to start being more bipolar - the people can not relate to a hypomania rapper all the time, because 9 times out of 10, the fan can not related to all the 'Ice', 'rims', and 'hoes' that the rapper is spitting about.
I hear people say that the old heads (veterans like Jay, Nas, Kanye) need to make way for the younger generation to get in the game; I agree, but based on what the younger generation is bringing out - hip-hop is in trouble. And maybe my beef should be more directed to media, as opposed to the rappers; because the media is only giving light and attention (in terms of new artists) to hypomania hip-hop artists like 'Soulja Boy', and other 'dance-pop' rappers. Great hip-hop still exists from the south, east, west, and north, but it remains in the underground - NOTE: where much greatness in any industry and/or art form exists.
Long live the bipolar rapper - it is they that give real music.
"Not always right, but I'm always real; that's how I sleep at night." Virtues: Honor, Pride, right vs. wrong, politics
On any given day, I have any given mood to aspire to change my career direction to psychology, entertainment, programming, and even to politics. I'm always on the news tip watching either local or national news from the likes of CNN & Fox News (insert joke here), and I am impressed how politicians are able to answer a question without answering the question; commonly known as circular argumentation. Its also interesting to see how politicians seem to always get themselves in some scandal where there is some piece of revealing audio/video footage, perversive picture, or online chat transcript of foolery - that is one of the reasons why I will never take 'pictures' (of the indecent kind) with any girlfriend, or make a 'sex tape' which is what the Hollywood kids seem to be doing nowadays; I mean people, think about your futures before you do something - its called foresight & common sense.
But back to politics and politicking, if I were to model myself of a current politician, I would choose the politician that stays true to their self; I would not design myself as one who switches positions based upon population/voter research and what my 'handlers' tell I should do. Politics have received negative light because, pretty much, politicians are not honest, lack credibility, and are at the mercy of the interests of their financiers.
That ain't 'keeping it real'.
One politician that has to be respected - on a characteristic level, not for his policies, is the U.S.'s current President George Bush. Yes, he is not very charismatic, doesn't have the swagger as Clinton, and has made some very questionable actions (i.e. Katrina, Iraq), one thing that can be said is the quote that this piece references: "Not always right, but I'm always real; that's how I sleep at night." Bush is very adamant in his decisions and I think it can be said that he honestly believes that his decisions are right. I think he believes that he is doing the 'right thing' and is not concerned about appealing to popular consensus if it means violating his beliefs.
Even though his policies have been twisted and may even defy logic to some, I am sure that George Bush sleeps well at night; and as a politician, that may be the most important and coveted quality that one can achieve.
'O' must stand for OPPORTUNIST! Virtues:Opportunist, ignorance, deflection, redirection, scapegoat
The other day I caught a portion of the Oprah show (which I don't watch on a regular basis) and I saw Russell Simmons, Common and some other people talking about the state of hip-hop. Of course, this is all in relation to the whole Don Imus fiasco, which incidently, Don Imus is not a racist because of Hip-Hop and black culture. I don't know how the light has been re-directed to hip-hop in this whole situation, but I guess we can account that to 'spinning' the story or deflecting attention from the true events.
But, I don't want to really lament on Imus, my focus is Oprah, and I just have a brief assessment - in all of her thousands of shows, Oprah never ONCE did a show regarding hip-hop culture. She voices her displeasure to the genre (which i'm not hating), but she could have had open discussions on the state of hip-hop many years ago ... I find it interesting that it takes Don Imus and a racist statement (that has nothing to do with hip-hop) for Oprah to have a 2-part series on the state of hip-hop .... sounds like an opportunist to me ... or I guess a "money grubbin driving by advertising hoe"
Check out these very, very intelligent quotes by Snoop Dogg - I couldn't have put it any better myself:
!Case Studies by Vacant Lot
