speak on it

some mc's be talkin' and talkin'
tryin' to show how black people are walkin
but I don't walk this way to portray
or reinforce stereotypes of today
like all my brothas eat chicken and watermelon
talk broken english and drug sellin'
See I'm tellin, and teaching real facts
The way some act in rap is kind of wack
and it lacks creativity and intelligence
but they don't care cause the company is sellin' it
It's my philosophy, on the industry
Don't bother dissin me, or even wish that we'd
soften, dilute, or commercialize all our lyrics
Cause it's about time one of y'all hear it

KRS One (My Philospohy)


Have you ever lived for those moments when you opened your mouth and you had an entire room hanging on every word? Have you ever said something before a group of people and you saw eyes lighting up? Have you ever wanted to speak your mind and change the perceptions that people may have had about you? My answer to all of these questions is YES! When I was in college, I really felt these things. I enjoyed doing presentations and reports in front of my classmates. Everybody in my class...including my professors...knew that I played football. But when you heard me speak, you knew that I wasn't some dumb jock. Actually, they didn't I was a jock at all. I'd hear the whispers after I wooo'd the crowd...

"He's smart. He's articulate. He doesn't sound like a football player."

I was one of the few football players who didnt major in education or criminal justice. Nothing wrong with those majors but the School of Business was no joke. That was my home. Rezidl was in there, too.

Here's my point...as an athlete I loved to have the opportunity to give people a chance to see me as something more than a athlete.

I thought about this topic after watching an episode of Outside the Lines on ESPN this past Sunday. The episode was about whether athletes should be vocal about the political and social injustices that plague this world. It examined the dilemma that the NBA is facing b/c as they try to globalize their game this summer with the Summer Olympics, their athletes are being asked to address some serious issues. The Summer Olympics are being held in China. China has played an active role in the genocide in Darfur. It has been reported that 400,000 non-Arabs in Darfur have been slaughtered.

LeBron James is looking to use the Olympics to increase his popularity in China. However, a year ago his former Cleveland Cavalier teammate, Ira Newble, gave James and the rest of the team a petition to sign to protest China and Darfur. LeBron declined to sign the petition. He told Newble that he didn't know enough about it to sign off on it. Keep in mind that LeBron James is one the faces of the NBA. China's record on human rights issues was, and remains, a sensitive topic, especially for James' employer, the NBA, which has had its eyes on China for more than 20 years. And then add the pressure of James' $90 million contract with Nike, which has its own designs on the vast Chinese market. James is so wildly popular there that he already has two China-only marketed shoes and his own museum in Shanghai, filled with artifacts from his life, including a copy of his birth certificate. And right now, China estimates it has 300 million basketball fans -- the same amount as the entire population in the United States.

Newble understood why LeBron James was hesitant about signing the petition.

"I told him the same thing I told everybody else, except I understand by you being LeBron you have a lot at stake," Newble said. "You can't just put your name on anything, so you need to go back for yourself, get as much information as you can, educate yourself and come to me if you want to sign. He came back and we talked a little bit about it, but at the end of the day he decided not to sign the letter and that's his decision. I respect that's what he chose to do at the time."

Newble's letter made news. But not as much as James not signing it. This took place just as the NBA Finals were beginning between the Cavs and the Spurs, and suddenly James was cast with those athletes who don't know and don't care. And he was ripped from coast to coast, by pundits, columnists and social observers. They all characterized James as a greedy, spoiled athlete who cared more about his business interests in China than about what was going on. James now states that he has more information and he can talk more about it.

"At the end of the day we're talking about human rights," he said. "And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."

We live in a different time than our parents did. The athletes of the 60s and 70s were trying to gain their civil rights so they often spoke about the injustices that were going on in this country. Things are different today. Do you think it's fair to ask a 23yr old brutha about his stance on Darfur? What about the war in Iraq? Should athletes say more? Should they be doing more? I have some strong opinions on this. I'ma hold off and let my peeps speak first.

holla at meeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!