Read A Book

Every so often, someone says something to black people that black people either aren’t prepared to hear or don’t want to hear. Despite the fact that it’s something that needed to be said, we get up in arms about it. This month’s statement was made in a music video called “Read a Book,” that’s been airing on BET.

I’ve seen the video and it’s so over the top, I don’t see how you could be offended by it. Maybe the language is a bit much, but I doubt BET is running it unedited. I’ll never know because watching BET is like throwing battery acid in my eyes. But since the video has been playing, black folks have been so upset about it that they’re talking about boycotting BET, something that should have happened a long time ago.

The song itself had been posted on my Myspace page for most of 2006 and 2007, since I originally heard it. The song is hilarious to me, because it’s speaking directly to niggas. Some rappers had been trying to get a positive message across for decades, encouraging our black people to do better for themselves, to strive for greater things, instead of doing the same stuff we’d been doing. Well, one rapper saw the truth: Niggas don’t wanna hear all that shit.

So Bomani Armah decided to speak to niggas in a manner that they’re more likely to respond to: An ignorant one. He put together a Lil’ Jon type song (similar to his classic “Who You Wit”) and instead of lacing the track with that ghetto mess, he put on a message of bettering themselves. And why not? Rappers have tried for years to get a positive message across to niggas in an upstanding way, without much in the way of success. See, what a lot of people aren’t understanding is that this video is aimed at dumb niggas and this is how dumb niggas communicate.

Of course, people got upset, but I think they’re missing the point here. Like the adage says, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. There’s another adage that says that niggas don’t wanna be preached to. My perspective is, as long as the message is being heard, should we really care about the package that it’s coming in? Black folks aren't the ones supposed to be getting pissed off. Just niggas. Hopefully they'll get upset enough to see the light and stop being niggas.

I think most people would hold up “The Boondocks” as an example of comparison. “The Boondocks” is one of the most graphic, offensive, abrasive shows I’ve ever seen on basic cable. But in my eyes, all that cussing is just a way to get the real message through to the stupid people. Mocking niggas by acting like niggas is a way to hold the mirror up to them and say, “Hey, stupid. Pull your pants up and comb your hair.”

Are we better than that? We should be and I’m hoping the day comes when we are. But in the meantime, we have to show niggas that acting an ass, being uneducated, or not taking care of your kids isn’t anything to be proud of. Shows like “The Boondocks” or songs like “Read a Book” aren’t intended to degrade the race or drag us down. They’re meant to show the people who are doing wrong that they’re the ones degrading the race and dragging us down. It’s just unfortunate that many black people out there are missing the point.

Read a book, nigga. Read a motherfuckin’ book.