BlackRadioIsBack.com's 4 Random Things That Worked My Nerves in 2008 List

What's good folks,

While I'm still getting together the BlackRadioIsBack.com/FuseBox Radio Broadcast Best and Worst of Black Music Lists for 2008, it's time to do our first official popular culture listing here of "BlackRadioIsBack.com's 4 Random Things That Worked My Nerves" of the year.

This list is not in any particular order and pretty much consists of anything and everything over the past year that for one reason or another gave folks headaches and overall annoyances.

Hope you enjoy them, even if you don't agree about what I'm writing...here goes:

BlackRadioIsBack.com's 4 Random Things That Worked My Nerves in 2008

1. The U.S. Presidential Election & The Coming of The Term "Post-Racial"



With this recent U.S. Presidential Election cycle, the election of a Black Man (at least by the old school "one drop" and "would a cab at night stop for you" rule standard and his own words) with President-Elect Barack Obama had a lot of mainstream news media outlets throwing this the word "post-racial" around a lot.

News reporters and commentators said that now with this event, the country was now essentially free of any sort of ethnic and cultural issues between its peoples - a "post-racial" America has come to pass.

For the first in 8 years where folks actually knew who was going to be the President of the United States after Election Day (imagine that), the ultimate goal of the Civil Rights Generations had been achieved and now, neither protests of actions or words were not needed anymore for this new 21st century populace - the American Dream of Equality has come true.

That sounds nice and wonderful, but this totally not true.

If we were in a "post-racial" United States:

* Folks would not still be getting their collective panties and boxers in a bunch over folks wanting to actually have a serious discussion talk about race and it's impact in this country.

I mean really, if that can't get done, WTF do folks think is going to happen? The same pent up bad feelings and misunderstandings that this country had since slavery, Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction are going to continue to exists.

*Racial stereotypes would not have been used by both political parties (from advocating Coonery from Rich Black People along with so-called Activists to Sen. Hillary Clinton's blatantly stating that her base was White Americans to folks messing around with Obama's name to make him seem like a colored terrorist, to various politicans talking about "they" a.k.a. Folks of Color were going to be out voting) to try to bring down the President-Elect.

* The creative video editing of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's 10 seconds of calling folks out in his institution along with the debate/fear-mongering about Liberation Theology in the Black Church (and the public cutoff by President-Elect Obama of the man whos church his family worshipped at for over 20 years) would not have gotten it's Warholian 15.

* The idea that Black People in the U.S. besides the Huxtables could achieve a solid family structure and be educated (by the university to the streets) would not have seemed amazing in a Heavenly way or as something scary.

* The election of President-Elect Obama would not to some be a Batman signal for most media to tell Folks of Color - especiallly Black People in the United States - to essentially sit down, shut up and enjoy their "equality" when they see something wrong.

* There still would not be issues with FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina.

* The so-called "War on Drugs" would be drastically changed and not feed into a Prison Industrial complex which population consists dispropotionately of People of Color for small time crimes.

This list could go on and on for days and weeks.

This year, a bag of potatoes wearing an American Flag should have been able to run for President and won in a popular and electoral landslide if someone stapled a decent political platform on it.

The United States and the world would not have had to go straight to Hell with gasoline boots on with an economy reaching to Depression-Era levels, the failing War on Terror and so forth to get a Man of Color in office who damned near had to shed the idea of what is "Blackness" (which for most is not a color that scares them, but a FIGHT against the system in some way) by some in the country.

I hope the best for what's coming up in the next few years for the President-Elect, not just for him or his family, but for the people in this country as a whole (it's going to take at least 4 years to get things decent if things go VERY well, let's be honest) and so maybe, just maybe, we can step closer to that "post-racial" era that not only means folks are looked at on the basis of their actions, but they do not have to culturally give up themselves to get there beacause other folks got shook.

2. Rappers Embracing of YouTube For Pre-Planned Overcooked Hip-Hop Beef



If your average Hip-Hop crew (the MC/rapper + the entourage of weed carriers/peoples form around the way who hang with you) can afford a cheap portable video camera or a high-resolution webcam to mouth off incoherently about the next man's woman/clothes/rhyme style/views/jewlery and how tough they are, I think money should be invested in a cheap laptop and Pro Tools LE to at least go about Hip-Hop Beef the old fashioned way, via crafting a dope song.

If we go by the Nas/Jay-Z feud (and compared to the 1980s, this is low grade), it's coming up to over 9 years since there was an engaging Hip-Hop Beef on wax.

When Ice-T vs. Soulja Boy gets play like it's major and not just two heads venting, there's a real problem (and that wasn't the worst of it this year).

Technology is nice, but please go back to the studio, don't commit goony action like beatdowns or stick up kid stuff with post-commentary words on tape and let's get some good music out of that one aspect of Hip-Hop Music please, thank you.

NOTE: 50 Cent's "Ja Rule Sings The Hits", while amusing and to me his best diss, was a skit. The songs were decent against other heads but became routine to the point of boredom (absolute equation being that an album coming out from the G. Unit Camp = Diss Track/Video against someone getting mainstream media shine).

3. "Exhaustion"



Rich People (in particular socialites and various entertainers) get "exhaustion" like your average person gets the common cold in the winter.

They suddenly get worn out by "hard work" (yeah, ok) then get to take mad time off, go to the hospitial/clinic/spa/vacation spot and rest on a whim the second this myterious illness (usually due to a bender of booze, sex and/or drugs or needing extra publicity) comes about.

Regular people get "exhaustion" and that's called your everyday life.

Working a 9 to 5 or your daily hustle, taking care of family, paying bills and living check to check is what brings about REAL exhaustion.

If the average person calls saying they need time off for "exhaustion" at the 9 to 5 and need a vacation (much less paid time off), that's an invite for most Big Bosses to give you a side eye and the Pink Slip to Unemploymentville.

For the 95% of Rich Folks and your publicists that bandy about "exhaustion" to dip off and cancel your obligations can dig yourself a hole, for real.

4. Dr. Dre's Detox LP STILL Hasn't Come Out



I truly do hope that this project is hot on a Sade comeback sort of vibe with some serious music, but really, if Guns 'N Roses, EPMD and AC/DC can drop new joints this year after a lot of time apart, what's the big hold up with the good Doc?

Not even a single has leaked as of yet that's been solidly confirmed to be a part of the Detox sessions, yet folks talk about it at least every few months.

Am I going to be 50 by the time this drops when it's found in someone's storage box, telling my children about the good ol' days of CDs and mp3s?

Five Other Random Music Albums Also Tn This Category Of Where The Heck Are They Coming Out:

MF Doom/Ghostface Killah collabo album
Fugees new album (which looks pretty impossible now)
Maxwell's new album
D'Angelo's new album
A new Regina Belle album that's NOT cover songs