This is an oldie but goodie in my book. Never Gone Forget The Times – Lil Boosie.

People are often surprised when I tell them Boosie is one of my favorite rappers but then I ask them if they’ve ever TRULY listened to his music. The answer is usually no. Once you really listen you’ll realize there’s a level of honesty, vulnerability, and passion that is rare in hip hop these days. A lot of these pop artists or r&b cats I can’t really get into because there’s no honesty there. I lot of them don’t even write their own material. As far as hip hop goes, the only thing missing is balance. Most rappers would tell you how they came up from selling drugs or whatever but Boosie will paint the entire picture, giving the full story and what the negatives are of being a drug dealer as well.

I’m from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Boosie is from Baton Rouge, LA. Those two places are only a few hours apart. The conditions of the people are the same in both places. For an artist telling the story of his community, this is the only type of music that can honestly come from those places and I can respect an artist anyday if they’re honest. If you’ve ever lived on those places then his material easy to understand. If you’ve never been to those places or if you can’t relate to the people who relate to those places then you’re probably disconnected from a large part of the African-American community.

I had a convo yesterday about what Black consciousness looks like in 2011. It doesn’t look like Public Enemy, or the Panthers, or Malcolm. In 2011 it’s being aware of the conditions of your community, how that community has been impacted by the government, judicial system, and capitalism in general. It’s having an understanding of how your people fit into the grand scheme of things. (That’s what it’s always been, and true Black consciousness has always been looked down upon by the wealthy or so called intellectuals in the Black community. We have to remember that the masses sided with Dr. King not Malcolm. We have to remember that not everybody in the Black community was riding with the Panthers. Some people were to scared to. Called them radicals. Not everybody in the Black community was listening to PE. Some people were like why are they causing trouble? My point is, the wealthy and so called intellectuals have turned their nose up to what was attractive to the masses of us). With that being said, Boosie is one of the most conscious rappers I know. A lot of people are close minded and they’ll judge him by his voice or his appearance or the fact that they may see a picture of him holding guns or wearing a lot of chains. But he’s an artist and an artist should always be judged by their content/message/lyrics. Not an outward appearance. Boosie’s currently serving a sentence and I’m not going to act like he’s a political prisoner. If he’s guilty he should serve time. If he’s innocent they need to release him. I am completely aware that he often spoken about corrupt cops in the south in his music. I have no doubt that the authorities viewed him as a threat. Furthermore, tho he’s never been huge on the national scene I’m sure labels and other people in power have caught wind of the influence he’s had on his core fan base. Most of Boosie’s fans are hardcore fans, me included. There are people who only listen to Lil Boosie. There’s something about him and his music that we haven’t seen in a while in rap music, something hard to put in words but it feels pure (even though many will say his music corrupts -Toms). Especially coming from the south. I’m not saying that everybody should rush out and buy all of his music but I do think he’s worth checking out. Also, a lot of people have problems with the cursing and what not in rap music but honestly we can’t be so close minded that these simple words block us from the message. Somebody might really be saying something and we’ll try to discredit their entire argument sometimes just because they use one curse word. That doesn’t make sense to me.

You’ll see a lot of Boosie posted on this blog. And a lot of other rappers from the south too. Don’t think these songs are out of place. They’re part of the African American culture in 2011 and they’re connected to a history of struggle and protest that’s always been in hip hop music, especially in the south. You probably won’t see any Roscoe Dash or anything like that but if I feel it has some substance or that it moves a certain group of people in the Black community then I’ll post it. The Black community doesn’t only consist of intellectuals looking for the latest Cornel West book. The Black community consists of cats who work 9 to 5, drug dealers, strippers, custodians, poets, single mothers, cats who’ve never been to a poetry reading, etc. Because we’re so diverse, this blog will be too. I love all of my people and if I find something they’re interested in or can relate too then I’ll share it. I hope that people who don’t initially relate to every posts will give it a second look and see the connection or how some of us relate to it and why. “And why” being the most important part.

Okay, didn’t mean to say that much. Since I typed sooo much, I’ll add more music. Peace. Enjoy. Boosie Boo!

Never Gone Forget The Times – Lil Boosie