Word of the Week ~ Obeisance (pronounced: o-'be-sens)
Meaning : A Bow made to show respect or submission.
Sentence : Obeisance Fool! Obeisance!
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February 4, 2006 Saturday, 12:17AM
Gender Bender: James Tony, The Source Mag, Sojourner Truth, & Mary J. Blige - Oh, yeah, it's a Blast!
It's a rare Friday night at home for me and it's a good thing 'cause I'm hella tired. Not only am I overloaded on clubs, interviews and networking, but the politics of the business have me completely insane right now. As a woman in this business, there have been many times that I've had to triple-check myself before taking action (including vocally) against someone who is disrespectful and/ or extremely misogynistic in their tone and/ or behavior. And, ironically, this has nothing to do with spending the afternoon at the Wild Card Boxing Gym where the small crowded room was intoxicated on testosterone and then laced with Heavy Weight Champ, James "Lights Out" Tony's, spewing of non-stop sperm-driven commentary. Commentary, typically referencing his threats to fuck someone else's wife as punishment for running from his beat-down. No, that was actually comedic (more on this ina separate article). No, my experience was more personal, more hurtful than insulting. Yup, tonight, I had to go there. I had to finally cut the strings from a contractual employee who continually tried to treat me as if I was working for him and not the other way around. I mean, I was paying this dude to perform a job (and a job that he could have been a lot nicer at for the training he's supposedly had and the money that I paid him, but that's another story) but he would constantly treat it as though it was some extracurricular activity that he could take or leave.
We bumped heads on the very first project we worked together and I should have listened to my team when told me that he wasn't a good fit. But he was referred by a friend and I guess I wanted it to work so badly that I forced something that was never meant to be. This was definitely a "let go and let God" situation from jump. But anyway, even on his first day of work he behaved in a way that screamed that he dis-acknowledged me as an employer. . . And, I'm gonna pay somebody to disrespect me & my game? Hell naw. I mean, I'm used to ni**as trippin' when they learn I'm a woman after dealing with me strictly via internet in the beginning, but business moves forward regardless because I've already proven a strong knowledge and work-ethic for the business at hand. But for a man who I'm paying to try and scream on me and then insinuate that my projects are second tier to his fucking minimum wage- 9 to 5 folding- t-shirts at the fuckin'Gap, or some shit job? Give me a fuckin' break.
Please believe, if I was a man, I would never be treated by this person in this way. Message to Dumb Ass: "You have proven by your actions and your finished product that this business is not your passion. Stop frontin' ni**a-- you were born to fold t-shirts, so fold-the-fuck-on, just keep that shit movin'. And, until you sharpen your skills, expand your mental capacity, deepen your creative cavity, and pop a breath mint, you'll never make it in this business. You will always make minimum wage, you will always be on public transportation, you will always be someone's minion, and you will always be a Dumb Fuck.
Hip Hop as an art is a male driven business and accepted as such. We all know there are a handful of female mainstream artists in the game, compared to an army of male counterparts. And, the behind-the-scenes female executives are not as recognized as say the L.A. Reids, the Russell Simmons, and the Steve Stouts. This is not a new theory, it's fact. And, the sad part is, Hip Hop borrowed this ideology from the global society in which every day we live and breathe.
In the February 2006 "Power 30" issue of The Source Magazine (I know, who read that shit anymore, right?) there are five female executives (out of 30 spots!) ( Julie Greenwald, white chick--President of Atlantic Records; Debra Lee , CEO of BET; Cathy Hughes, Chairperson of Radio One, Silvia Rhone, President of Motown Records & Executive VP of Universal Records, & Christina Norman , President of MTV ), a radio personality (Angie Martinez, On-Air Personality at Hot 97 Radio), and not surprisingly, No Female Artists to speak of in that bitch. And, Irv Gotti on the cover? I mean, damn. Yeah, he and his brother Chris were found not guilty of money laundering, etc., but he still ran the business into the ground with druggin', boozin', gamblin' and womanizin'. How weak is that? Allhiphop.com recently posted a feature interview with female rapper, Charli Baltimore, who states that the Gotti brothers smoked (popped, injected, snorted and traveled) her budget away, preventing her album from seeing the light of day. What is that shit? Would they have done that to Ja Rule? (Well, they might now but they definitely wouldn't have when he was hot).
But is this analysis just a matter of considering the source? (No pun intended). I say, Hell Naw. Though, The Source Magazine is well known for deployable treatment of female employees (not so mild cases of verbal abuse and sexual harassment, because of which they are entangled in several lawsuits), they are only a product of their own environment; in this case, the Hip Hop Environment. As a magazine, they are only reporting (and in some cases uncovering) what's going on in Hip Hop, not creating it.
This publication, and every other Hip Hop media, is simply giving to us, in tangible form, the behaviors, beliefs, strengths, weaknesses, attitudes, and expectations of Hip Hop today. And, one of those behaviors (beliefs, weaknesses and attitudes) is the lack of respect & acknowledgement for females. But are they to blame? Or is there some deep psychological connection to the past when Blacks were enslaved and women, especially Black women, were considered lower than cattle? Black enslaved women were humiliated when stripped naked (when white women were clothed up to their chin because that was considered being a "lady" during those days) and then poked and prodded on the cinder block before being auctioned off. Then once they were purchased, they were overworked, raped on a regular, just plain-dehumanized and expected to do so with a smile, or else. One of the Black enslaved females' main functions, was as a baby-making machine. Her white owner(s) would breed her like a dog, and then sell off the father and the children before God-forbid they'd get close enough to experience being a true family. For one thing a slave never knew, was stability. If physical stability was there (some slaves worked for families for several generations over), there was most likely never an emotional ease. All of this, and yet still treated as if she was damn-near inhuman, let alone a Woman.
An important figure in the Freedom Movement and the Women's Suffrage (Rights) Movement, Sojourner Truth had to ask this to a generally all white and racist audience that was lucky enough to experience her Speak, well, The Truth: "And, A'n't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! (and she bared her right arm to the shoulder showing her tremendous muscular power). I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And a'n't I am woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man--when I could get it--and bear de lash as well! And a'n't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen 'em mos' all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And, a'n't I a woman?"
Entire generations have been psychologically brainwashed to believe that women are here on earth only as subordinates to the male; thanks to Eve and her deception to Adam (causing human sin and our banishment from The Garden of Eden) we will probably always have a hard time getting our props. I mean, how can you argue The Bible? It says that the world began its' troubles when the devil tempted Eve with the sin-ridden Apple and she bit it--hook, line and sinker. Now that fable is the reason many righteous and moral misogynistic men give for our downfall. Personally, I think it's all bullshit, but hey, what do I know? I'm just a Woman!
And, a reflection of Sistah Truth (and all of the other strong enslaved sistahs, even those without famous names, who held it down for us now "free" Blacks who would die at the very thought of having to go through the daily misery that they were forced to endure) is why I look at today's female symbol of strength, Mary J. Blige, and appreciate her the great deal that I do. On Oprah last week, Mary J. admitted that "admitting to ignorance is painful but necessary [for the sake of breaking a generational cycle of self-doubt, low self esteem, which inevitably leads to self-inflicted pain]". Unafraid of stepping out front with hers, and by using her beautiful voice with which to lure us in, she became a human-real-time example of how to do this shit. Mary is honest about her struggles and has since broken through much of the muck that has troubled her much-publicized life. Through her we see that through all of life's trials and tribulations (for her there has been family drama, drugs, alcohol, abusive relationships, and the like) one can still come through it all shining as brightly as a heavenly star. And, that she is, a heavenly star that has descended on earth to show us by example the way to our True Selves. When we finally get there, and find a comfort zone, we can live freely in our flaws, our strength, and Our Truth. It is with the help of her example and the knowledge through my own experiences that life is a cycle of Transformations, Break-Through's, More Transformations, More Break-Through's, Going, Coming, Passing through. . . It's all necessary for growth as humans and survival as a woman. And, it is for this reason, I can say--pleasurably, with my head held high and my soul in tact-- to all in the male race (specifically the individual to whom I'm dedicating this piece) who treat women as though incompetent, insignificant, and indigent--Fuck Off! You Fired Ni**a!
*Exhaling*
Well, hey, I appreciate your reading this through. I hope you got more out of it than just an angry black woman on a rant because it goes much deeper than that. I mean truly, thanks for listening, and as always, remember to Keep It Truth !
Source for Sojourner Truth quote: Liggins Hill, Patricia, General Editor "Call & Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Tradition" 1997 Houghton-Mifflin Company, Boston, New York. (261-262).
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