Nikki Giovanni

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Giovanni#Virginia_Tech

anyone heard of her before?

another one of those under the radar celebs people don't know about

i didn't until recently, and thought she would be an inspiring figure for people with a penchant for writing:smt038

 

Knew about homegirl since hs. Good poet and writer

 

i never heard about her until today

after doing a glance at her history, i felt the need to put her around here:smt023

another one of those positive figures outside of rap and NFL

 

We need to bump that living the life thread. Very inspirational. Especially for guys like myself who have no desires to be a rapper or an athlete at this stage of my life. No matter what age we are we all need to be inspired.

 

It was a rap song that made me aware of her existence.

A song by Nas, actually. It's called "These Are Our Heroes".

 

NAS isn't a rapper

he's a philosopher...there's a difference

sadly you don't get artists like him anymore, that put it down about memorable figures that we have in our communities. You don't get that educational process.

 

Excuse me?

JIGGA NICCA

The Greatest to touch the mic ya dig!!!!

 

Jigga just wants money

NAS made you look on some real shit about society

seriously

 

Motherfucka have you heard the Blue Print or the Black Album

Do me a favor and check out that Diamond Remix or that Swagger Like Us. Dude is the best ever hands down

 

when i want to learn something i could use in a college paper, ill listen to nas

i didn't hear about the Kingdom of Kush or any of that until after listening to him

i also didn't know that ancient africans taught 'greeks and romans,' as he claims

seriously his stuff makes you do private research, to see the history of your people and become aware as to why no one mentions it in the mainstream


when i want something to bump while taking a crap or material for a youtube comment, ill listen to jay z and cock-a-fella

Beans is cool tho...him and freeway represent philly hard and you can't go against the family

 

I just want to point out every lame who tried to us that bs cock-a-fella line ended up working for Jigga. NAS where you at??? lol

 

lol i know

i was shocked to see NAS sellout..

but hey..it really IS about the money

Jadakiss loves to clutch street and go hard on fake mothafuckas, but he gets peanuts compared to Jigga

TBH id rather have the money than some street cred over @104th

 

Warburton kid. Get that shit right dumb mofos are willing to cut you over a mistake like that. Yonkers kid not Harlem

Jigga let them dudes know he had to dumb it down to get that paper. Can't hate him. Out of all the dudes in hip hop he's winning the most. Worth have a billy or more and he's got the hottest chick this side of the sun having his seed and she's got money too which is the ultimate icing on the cake. No one can ever say dude was tricking, shorty must really love dude.

 

Nas is the greatest rap artist of all time. My signature is a dedication to him. Illmatic, best rap album ever.:smt045

 

Same here. I actually have learned shit from NAS. Jay just raps about the same shit every other rapper raps about. How much more money than me he has. How the baddest bitch in the game is wearing his chain or whatever, yadda yadda yadda. NAS spit knowledge like KRS... Jay just talked the same shit.

 

NAS had to sell out if he wanted to keep making money. People rather hear that ignorant gang shit than get educated on their history. The fact that 50 wackass Cent sells so well is testimony to that.

 

Cosign that shit! Fuck 43 cent wackass!

 

Basically

just like rza, nas used to make you think and look shit up

stuff was deep

really shown how intelligent they were

 

Others would argue flipping that rap shit into a corporate business where you take care of your friends and family and make those close to you into millionaires is a bigger sign of intelligence but oh well.

Real talk if I want deep intellectual stimulation I'll read a damn book or watch PBS, the same sources these deep thinkers get their source material

 

That's a sign of business smarts. The content of their rap is commercialized and watered down. Music IS entertainment and for some reason cats like P.Diddy do manage to entertain. The problem is the shit they produce is formulaic, mind poisoning garbage. All it does is feed into the hood mentality that you so frequently shun. You're fooling yourself if you think rap music, which many people feel is a part of black culture, does not contribute to the opinion people have of you when you walk into their place of business for a job interview. I don't think I have to even begin to talk about the influence rap music has on urban youth.

So yes, you're right.... it does take intelligence to make yourself a millionaire entrepreneur in the music industry. However, you completely missed the point about the music educating it's listener.

Go to most houses in the ghetto and you'd be hard pressed to find any book other than a King James Bible but you will find Eminem, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross CD's. I'm not saying every artist has some social responsibility, but I certainly do hold the ones who can spit knowledge, politics and history to a higher standard than those who can only talk about the ghetto, money, cars, bitches and clothes. I also imagine having the opportunity to converse with Common, NAS, Chuck D or Rakim would be more fulfilling than talking to Soulja Boy, Wakka Wakka Flame or Blinky Blink.