I seldom use the word “nigga” because it doesn’t serve a purpose. It’s derogatory and no matter how much we try to claim we are taking it back from the White man; really we are just making it acceptable for others to call us niggas. If a woman lets other women call her a bitch all day long (and she answers to it without pause), then she should not be surprised when a man calls her one. I have no idea why in our community we feel like we’re the exception to the common sense rules. But, I digress…
For the purpose of this piece, the word nigga will be used to describe Black people who have lapped up the bullshit media to the point that it is embedded into their psyche. It will be used to describe Black people who stand behind such bullshit as Lil Wayne, The Flavor of Love and other cooning forms of media as the “voice of the people.” And real talk, if this piece offends you, then you may want to check your Black person status and officially claim the title of nigga…otherwise why would you be mad???
Black people do not watch BET. We just don’t. No matter what they put on, we just refuse to watch it. So, imagine my surprise when I actually flipped on my television and turned to BET last night (thus wearing a “nigga hat” for a few…I’m so ashamed Black people. So ashamed! ) Sigh… I must confess that I got sucked in by the supposed Michael Jackson tribute. I was highly upset for two reasons: One, BET used the MJ tribute to sucker us black folks in to watching their fucked up program. Two, by watching even for a few minutes, I supported their ratings and reinforced that the notion that mess they broadcast is acceptable and even enjoyed by the masses.
I hate having this conversation with niggas. It goes a little something like this: Me—I hate (insert random untalented rap artist here–like Lil Wayne). His music is garbage. Nigga—what??? Lil Wayne is the truth! Me—Nope, not even a little bit. His music and his fans are the reason the industry continues to push ignorance music into rotation and is why real artists cannot thrive in the music business anymore. Niggas—Oh, you must like that Common and The Roots shit…you burgoise. Me—Sigh…
Niggas act like BET and the artists this station promotes is the voice of the streets; like they dare to put out stuff that others won’t touch; like they put on for artists that ordinarily wouldn’t have a platform. Well, in certain instances that is true. Back in the 80’s, MTV wouldn’t air videos from Black artists. So BET was created as a response to that sort of discrimination. But like so many other things in the Black community that began with good intentions, BET has spiraled into chaos and is an embarrassment to the Black community.
BET no longer caters to Black people…it caters to niggas. Yeah, coming up from the ‘hood and making a dollar is all well and good. But when you do it under the guise of “keeping it real” and feel no shame about exploiting our women, pandering to our children and further devaluing our men, then as a Black person who cares about the advancement of our people, I have no use for you. I tuned in last night to see a tribute to a man who knew all about hard work, sacrifice and grace. Say what you will about Michael Jackson, but he worked hard to make music that all people could enjoy. He was from one of the poorest cities in the Midwest and he made something of himself through his music. As a Black person, I can honor the spirit of persistence, dedication and diligence. What I cannot honor is drunks up on stage, talent-less acts commanding “respect in the game” and niggas that don’t see the big picture. I cannot overlook the fact that BET has adopted the nigga attitude by trying to insist that subpar efforts (although inspired out of real hardship in the streets) are indeed excellent.
And with that, I take a u-turn out of the useless land of niggas and get back to the world of Black people—all of whom are outraged at the bullshit that BET put out last night.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Pretty good piece and I couldn’t agree more. A lot of ppl including me got suckered at a ‘potential’ to see a good show which didn’t happen. For that reason, I believe that BET lost bigger than it gained that night. Although they suckered a lot of new viewers (or those that temporarily lifted the ban), in the end they probably (re)lost all of these people AND some of their current viewers (at least I hope).
From this epic fail, I would hope that more and more celebs start distancing themselves from the network and stop validating it by their presence. Let the nigg’ers’ have their own TV island.
If TV One doesn’t see the wide open opportunities from BETs continued failure esp this last one, they need a new business model.
Next year we need to be having a TV-One Black Music Awards. Give BET a run for their money.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:41 am
I cannot thank you enough for saying what so many of us are thinking. BET used to be classy, stylish, on the forefront of Black media. It’s now the biggest embarrassment to anyone with skin darker than a mocha latte (and a great many who are lighter).
But I digress. I did the same as you did – I tuned in for a few minutes, hoping to catch something positive, something special, but the half-assed effort was not only not enough, it was reprehensibly horrid. The highlight of the bit that I saw was Ne-Yo’s performance of Lady in My Life. I turned it off after that, because I knew (I *knew*!) it wouldn’t get any better than that.
BET, its producers (executive and otherwise), its owners, and anyone who has a hand in the programming, should be ashamed of themselves. They’re supposed to be uplifting and unifying. Instead, we get Jamie Foxx’s camel-toe. And, in my opinion, Jamie Foxx did more to set Black people back by flashing his camel-toe at the camera than the Soulja Boys of the world ever could.
Okay, maybe not “ever”.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I watched it, much a Dylan said, for the “potential” and really, hope. Reading this post, I feel like all of the autotune artists who listen to Jay-Z’s D.O.A. and think “Man, Jay’s not talking about me…” but know deep down that yeah, that’s my punk-ass you’re talking about.
February 25th, 2010 at 11:56 pm
sorry to say but you’re article is contradictory. you give the reason why people shouln’t use the word nigger yet you continue using it throughout your article, and also i feel as if you have good intentions but your arguments are to naive and would never change anyone’s mind on anything. also the music you name and attack is played on almost all channels (lil wayne) and the flavor of love is a vh1 show, if anything BET is just as bad as any other music channel. and your idea of telling people that specific music is garbage and your music (common who is just as bad as lil wayne only worse because he calls himself true hiphop) is great just makes you come come across as a pretentious d-bag. again good intensions but poor article.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
NET NIGGA ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISON
June 12th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
COMPLAIN COMPLAIN COMPLAIN! BLACK PEOPLE ALL WAYS COMPLAIN! TELL ME FELLOW BLACKS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CHANGE YOUR SITUATION? WHEN HIP HOP WAS POSITIVE BLACK PEOPLE DID NOT SUPPORT IT. BLACK PEOPLE SUFFER FROM WHITE SUPREMACY AND SELF HATRED! WE FIGHT OVER SKIN COLOR AND OTHER NON ESSENTIALS. WE FIGHT OVER WHO IS DOWN OR NOT (REALLY BLACK). WOMEN HATE MEN, MEN HATE WOMEN. MEN MAKE MISTAKES, MEN DO TO BUT WON’T SAY SO. WE THINK WHITE OR “OTHER IS BETTER”. WE MARGINALIZE OURSELVES. WE DON’T WANT EDUACATION ETC. WE WANT ALL BLACKS TO BE THE SAME BUT YET FIGHT OVER OUR DIFFERENCES. BE BLACK PEOPLE AND NOT THE N WORD. A WORD YOU DID NOT EVEN INVENT.
June 12th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
SLAVERY: Black PEOPLE, DON’T USE THE SLAVERY ARGUMENT IN FRONT OF WHITES OR OTHERS. ALTHOUGH IT IS TRUE, BLACKS HAVE NOT BEEN SLAVES SINCE 1865. USE SEGREGATION AND RACISM (INSTITUITIONAL AS IN HOUSING, ECONOMICS, POLITICAL, SOCIAL, HEALTHCARE ETC.) TO SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENTS. NO WHITE OR “OTHER” PERSON TODAY IS GONNA FEEL RESPONSIBEL FOR SLAVERY. BLACK WOMEN NEED TO OWN UP TO THEIR RESPONSIBLITY IN MAKING BAD MISTAKES I.E LIKING THUGS ETC. CHRISTIANITY, DON’T USE THE BIBLE AND “THE WHITE MAN” AS FOR YOUR ATTACKS. READ THE BOOK. THE GENESIS BEGAN IN NILE VALLEY AFRICA!
August 8th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I read the article. The issues are simple. BET is interested in making money and if exploitation of Blacks equals more money than that is what will happen. Aside from the desire of BET to make money, there are more relevant issues. We as Black people do NOT focus on education. We we do, our women are NOT interested in us, because a life of luxury that arises from education takes much longer to attain. As one of the post eluded to, women like THUGS….their real interests (the women) are in money. THUGS attain it (money) sooner than the man that focuses on education. I believe we can debate this forever and there will be NO change in behavior. I am a proud Black man and I believe that our history is strong and laden with pride…..America is a great country and I have achieved a lot and made a lot of money….ALL BASED ON EDUCATION. It has been a lot of work, but working hard is something Blacks have done for years….when more of us see this and take pride in what others endured before our generation, than the wealth available in this country can be shared. Good Luck.