Good morning world! As you can see by the title of this post, I’m here to talk shit today. And hopefully, what I have to say inspires someone to do something (other than the bullshit we been doing). Now I know it’s been a minute since y’all heard from me. In all honesty, I’ve been busy putting my proverbial money where my mouth is. What does that mean exactly? Well, let’s get into it…

For those of you that faithfully read this blog whenever I decide to write in it (I appreciate ya!) or know me personally (what up kinfolk!), you know how I feel about Nipsey Hussle passing and the subsequent conversations. If you don’t, I’ll quickly recap.

For all the outrage over Nipsey’s death (whether fake or genuine), the conversations never evolved. As a community, we did the same dysfunctional ass bullshit we always do. We mourned. Then we searched for the conspiracy (no matter how convoluted). Then we sensationalized the tragedy by wanting to share actual footage of him dying! What kind of fucking savages are we?! But through all that meaningless white noise we let out into the ecosystem, one thing went painfully ignored: we lost sight of the message that Nipsey was preaching up until his last moments. That bothered me tremendously, and it still does.

That brings me to the message Mr. Mike Render (bka Killer Mike) gave us that I KNOW fell on deaf ears. His remarks came at the vigil held in Atlanta for Nipsey. If I could’ve found video of it, I would’ve included it. But maybe, just maybe, y’all need to read his words. The written word has a profound impact in some situations. Here’s hoping this is one of them.

“We have a choice. We don’t have to be nobody’s motherfucking savages. We ain’t gotta be their examples of the wrong way. We ain’t gotta be no thugs that are thrown away. We have a choice. That rag that is over your forehead or out of your left pocket is better served for wiping the sweat off your head for the work you are doing on the behalf of your community in a way that is not the murdering of Africans. You do not have to kill one another to prove your love to your neighborhood. You can uplift one another, first of all as individuals. Second of all as a small group of friends. Third of all as a neighborhood and a greater community. Your enemies don’t give a fuck what color rag you wear. They will murder you in the streets, they will leave you dead for your mama to find, and I am tired of my enemy looking like me. I am tired of my enemy looking like my cousin or my brother.”

Peace and love. Let’s take back our neighborhoods. The right way…