Today’s quote of the day is a verse from Cee-Lo. Before he went completely bo-ho and started singing with Danger Mouse, he was the lead MC for Goodie M.O.B. This verse, taken from “The Experience”, is classic:

I thought you said you was the G-O-D
Sound like another nigga to me, shit
What a nigga do, what a nigga does
And a nigga is what a nigga was
And a nigga done read history but yet his eyes didn’t see
The only reason you a nigga is because somebody else wants you to be
Well a nigga uneducated, integrated, sangin’ “We shall overcome”
A nigga trying to be white is what a nigga seem like have become
And when they call me a nigga to my face
Can’t do nothin’ but walk away
But here it is niggas call other niggas nigga each and every day
Dividing and conquering
when they say the lighter shade of black is okay
After the middle class and they passin’ by
The projects laughin at where we stay
Since a nigga had got grown, had a little bitty of nigga of my own
Should’ve known I couldn’t show ‘em no better than what I was shown
Shit, I still want to hit the club as fresh as I could be
But really, it’s all for another nigga to see
You know how a nigga get when he see another nigga outfit
Don’t want nobody to have what he ain’t got
Somebody get drunk, get mad, and get shot
That’s why the property value ain’t no good in a nigga neighborhood
A nigga could overstand if he only understood
I’m sick of lyin’ I’m sick of glorifyin’ dyin’
I’m sick of not trying, shit I’m sick of being a nigga
Destiny sent me to this dread and she said she felt led
To offer me some wisdom frm this little book she read
And it said a great deal of the black man’s downfall
Was not know that we were not ever niggas at all, hmm
And she looked deeply into my eyes and said brother don’t you know
You complain about being black,
When they mad cuz they can’t be black no mo’
So many black men out here trying to be niggas
Keeping it real to the point that they dying to be niggas
When in actuality the fact is you ain’t a nigga because you black
You a nigga cause of how you act

According to my usually reliable sources, Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy was allegedly murdered on Friday in a New York shooting. In addition to receiving more than a dozen e-mails, I received a phone call from one of my New York informants saying that s/he was a few blocks from the shooting. “I saw the police taping off the area and everybody crying about P”, s/he swore to me on Friday evening.”, s/he swore to me on Friday evening. After several confirmatory phone calls, I reported this information on the site.

As it turns out, rumors of Prodigy’s death were greatly exaggerated. By all accounts, the QB MC is alive and prepared to embark on series of overseas shows.

To be clear, I don’t believe that my source was lying. Rather, s/he probably heard the same rumors that I did and assumed that the shooting was Prodigy-related. What’s most interesting to me is how such a rumor starts in the first place.

To be sure, the Prodigy story is part of a long tradition of premature public obituaries. Every few months, a rumor emerges that one of Black America’s stars has passed away. I’ll never forget sitting in my Freshman composition course at Morehouse College and having my instructor stop the class and announce that Chris Tucker had passed away. We then devoted 15 minutes of class time to discussing the alleged specifics of his early demise. (I can’t help but think that our White instructor’s decision to hault our education to discuss the star of “Friday” would have been different if he weren’t in a classroom filled with Black men.) The rumor, which circulated around Atlanta very quickly since Tucker is a native of the city, remained the main topic of conversation on the city’s urban radio stations until Tucker finally called the station to verify that he was alive.

This past Spring, it was Jaleel White (aka Steve Urkel) who was killed in the public rumor mill. In fact, everyone from Mark Twain to Jim Brown has woken up to read about their alleged death in the daily newspaper. The question, however, remains: Who starts these rumors?

Sometimes, the rumor is started by the person herself. After all, given his latest career moves, under what other circumstances would I be talking about Prodigy? By adding his own name to the rumor, the celebrity is able to enter his or her name back into the public conversation and, given the hagiographic nature of most death reports, remind the world how wonderful they are. After a day or two of public rumination, the subject of the discussion can correct the record and hopefully revive or strengthen her career.
At other times, the rumor is started by a random trouble maker. Similar to the computer virus engineer, the rumor-maker gains pleasure from witnessing his power to affect the lives of countless people who she otherwise wouldn’t meet.

Lastly, many rumors are crafted by anonymous haters. Despite the above-mentioned perquisites, death rumors nearly always cause some form of pain and grief for the subject of discussion. As such, death rumors allow acknowledged enemies and fake friends to rhetorically murder the subject and hurt their loved ones without ever stepping out of the shadows.

Peace, love, and health to Prodigy and his family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is Condi in over her head? If so, writes Deborah Mathis, it’s not because she’s unqualified or unskilled.

If Condi Rice Is Incompetent As Secretary of State, It’s Not Why Most Folks Think
By Deborah Mathis

It was bound to happen that Condoleezza Rice’s magic would fade. She had a long honeymoon, but it may be over. Last week, Republicans — that’s right, Republicans — began whispering that the secretary of state was in over her head in dealing with the sticky, maddening, always impetuous Middle East. Some even tossed around the “I” word — incompetence.

I, for one, never believed Rice deserved to be the nation’s top diplomat, but not because she doesn’t possess the intelligence and experience for the job; I think she does. Rice is no Harriet Myers, who may well have lacked the chops to sit on the highest court in the land, especially considering she had never so much as presided over traffic court. It’s just as well that she slithered back to the White House counsel’s office to affirm more bum decisions by the client-in-chief.

Rice has the portfolio. Her academic credentials are strong and impressive. She certainly has the charm thing down. And she was, after all, national security adviser. The woman knows her stuff, no doubt.

What makes her unfit as secretary of state is not that she doesn’t know what to do to make things better for global relationships, but rather that she doesn’t do it. The man who got her gig prefers dictation over diplomacy and lording over listening. It’s his way or the highway, and Condi Rice is his parrot.

For the rest of the story click here.

“There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Anais Nin

According to AllHipHop.com, LL Cool J has signed a seven figure deal to develop and produce a new dramatic television series for CBS and Alchemy Entertainment.

Am I the only one who finds this bizarre? I’m not hating –yes, I know that this is the first thing that all haters say– but I can’t imagine what would prompt someone to pay LL millions to develop drama. Perhaps it was his Emmy-worthy role as Marion Hill in In The House. Or maybe it was his classic romantic comedy with Garielle Union.

While I’m genuinely happy that a brother was able to secure a big deal, I can’t help but think that there were more worthy candidates. Who wouldn’t prefer to see Don Cheadle, Hill Harper, Denzel Washington, or even Mos Def at the helm?
Still, much support and success to Uncle L!