The Good... The Bad... and The Ugly; Inspiration from Hip Hop and Life

How do we do our babies?

The Good-
When you are a baby, you should be loved by your mother and father as if you are the future of the familial legacy.

The Bad-
A lot of our children are growing up in single family homes and alternative forms of living. Youth are being raised by aunts, uncles, siblings, grandparents, foster homes and other situations outside the preferred "mother and father" household.

The Ugly-
We are not getting better at this! Until we decide to take family life serious, this will be an issue in this country for generations to come.

“In to receive, then you need to give, we got to feed the kids they got to eat to live”
Talib Kweli / Eat to Live

What do we expect from our children and youth?

The Good-
We expect our children to go to school and be the angels we raised them to be; to sponge the flowing stream of information being presented by the excellent teachers and staff. High School is the a wonderful experience and you should put your best foot forward so you can earn a scholarship for college and get the tools you need to be successful in life.

The Bad-
Our youth attend school as if they're a disgruntled employee who comes late, leaves early, takes frequent and unnecessary breaks and gets made when you ask them to do work as if that is what they are there for. (The Irony!) Too many teachers have lost hope in the students and attend work to collect a check. High School is often a bad experience filled with pranks, pointless sex, hardship and people who thrive and are entertained by making others life hell.

The Ugly-
Education is never promoted and praised in most of our communities and most do no view it as a priority. Until this happens, we will continue to live in poverty. This is the time when most of our students drop like flies, buzzing into the world lost, trying to find some direction only ending with a life of poverty, crime and premarital children.

“Education leads to jobs and jobs kill poverty and no more poverty means we making money obviously. Everybody getting money, everybody smillin.

Bun B/ If it was up 2 Me

And as a man...

The Good-
I graduated from high school, finished undergraduate and moved on the get my masters... and one day my PHD.

The Bad-
I am in dept paying from loans for school and still do not make good money even with my degree. Thoughts often arise questioning whether or not I should have taken another path. The payoff is not the “good” that was promised to me as a youth.

The Ugly-
Although this is the path you are "supposed to take" nobody really wants you do it. The law is set up for you to go to jail, elders hate on youth with new and creative ideas, and people overall do not want to see a us succeed without glorifying negativity. Was it worth the sacrifice… its ugly that we even have to question ourselves when we make the right choices? The important thing is to remember why and who we do it for!

"Sometimes I want to give up or at least take a break, then I close my eyes and see Coretta Scott’s Face”
Game/ A letter to the King

Despite the good, the bad and the ugly, we do it for those who did it before us and we move forward. -Sankofa-