Hip-Hop images captured & stilled
for
the worlds view
their mug shots are a center piece portrait
—with most rappers thinking—
the snitch framed them
reading exclusive interviews some writers have
created a moral panic
on their client’s profiled
in magazines asking:
are rappers the target?
is the justice system fair?
behind bars they tell their pathetic stories
of
bad habits: sex, drugs—violence
glorified on record
magazines post
nineteen faces in the trenches
awaiting trial to be punished not by their peers
but twelve evaluators
a jury
& the rap artist
get sentenced according
to their crimes:
holding firearms, robberies, murders,
rapes, perjury
5 yrs—8 yrs—& lives
are accumulated
now these enslaved patrons
of hip-hop—leave slogans
to market their release “get free or die trying”
there’s some confusion
here
the jail system shouldn’t
be a boost
for the label to sell more records
and the beat goes on… the
beat goes on
radio in heavy rotation rapper get crazy spins
in the urban markets
promoting beefs and
misogyny—their vocals rain
supreme
as many-many words come across teenage equilibrium
in song format that djs scratch derogatory terms
back
and forth
that even a five year old can retain songs
like “I’m Locked
Up”
kids understand it more
especially when their
brothers in detention&
father’s serving eight
years for domestic violence &
distrubution of powder white
operation lockdown is in effect
with female rappers—too
are almost identical with their cell space
the monkey bars are holding their words
they’re punished for selling sex—lies
in court
then—they’ll get a little
conscience
& see their adversary
for who they really are:
corporate industry designed to profit
& incarcerate all
Black and brown …
do not quote me
see Ms. Barnes piece “off the cuff” & read
the depressing media hype
with some of hip-hop most celebrated
going to places where
Larry Pinkney & Huey
P. Newton have been
for real causes—the people’s struggle & not
for the non-sense
of seven shots in crowded parties or aggravated
assault
rappers now sit miles away
isolated from fans
platinum records
& iced out jewelry
that could’ve saved
residence of New Orleans
SUFFERING without revenue or a place to stay
these are members of
Hip Hop images captured & stilled for
the world’s view
their mug shots are a center piece portrait
--with most rappers
thinking—
the snitch framed them.
The preceeding words are lyrics from the
CD Blackman
Preach:Bumpy Tymes
BlackCommentator.com
Spoken Word Columnist, Poet Blackman Preach (Cedric T. Bolton),
is a poet (spoken word artist) and producer, born in Pascagoula,
Mississippi and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. Cedric received
his Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University
and currently resides, with his wife, in Syracuse, New York.
He is the Founder of Poetic
Black Fusion, a writers' workshop that provides access and
opportunities to poets of African Ancestry living in Central
New York. He is also the co-founder of Voices Merging,
a student-run poetry organization (spoken word) at the University
of Minnesota that provides a social outlet for undergraduate
students to develop as writers, network and express themselves
on stage. He has been writing poetry for 14 years and is published
in the Ethnic Student Center's Newsletter at Western
Washington University, The Spokesman Recorder, and
St. Cloud Times. Click
here to contact Blackman Preach.