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The Pillars - The Miseducation
In my culture, lessons are taught by the elders to the community and especially to the young children. Ironically, one thing has not changed over time which is song is a form of communication used to narrate stories. This is still on display today with the power of music artists sharing stories through song If you have read my blog you know that I like a flashback and reference songs that were defining for a generation. When I thought of this post, a song came to mind popped in my head that defines success. Success for many could be summed up through the hit track "Money, Power, Respect". Many will believe this song was a track by Lil Kim. Simply, before there was a Nicki Minaj or Cardi B there was Lil Kim eviscerating hooks like she did for the L.O.X on this track. No disrespect to The L.O.X or Lil Kim, but my generation and generations before that bought into the wrong message:
See I believe in money, power, and respect.
First You get the money.
Then you get the power.
After you get the power, MF will respect you
Song: Money, Power, Respect; Artist(s): The L.O.X ft. Lil Kim,
While Lil Kim described one way to obtain respect, she forgot to tell you that this way is not sustainable for everyone. So I challenge, what you need in life --- are the pillars. We need to strengthen our mental fortitude through education. Those are skills that can never be taken away from you. We need to use our skills to invest in our own assets. By being independent, no one can dictate the terms to how you live, especially if you live within your means. I'm proud when I see people discussing the pillars in our community here a few recent examples:
I believe J. Cole's has unplugged from the Matrix and understands the Pillars. He's on the same mission, Check out his lyrics from the track "Middle Child":
What good is the bread if my brothas is broke?
What good is first class if my brothas can't sit?
That's my next mission
That's why I can't quit
Just like LeBron
Get my brothas more chips
I think Kanye read my post on Master P. Go back and read how I wrote that over 20 years ago he inspired me to be independent, black owned, and bout it bout! People are finally understanding the stakes. Yes, Kanye you are the talent, why don't you own your own masters sir. Don't be afraid brotha because as a producer, artist, businessman, and family man you owe it to yourself, family and community to negotiate your own terms as long as you know your worth. Thank you for seeking out Master P and as I've told many people, you will grind for years but you must flip the switch to negotiating own your own terms when the time is right. I look at all my business deals closer, eliminate the middle men, and because it's my business I can choose to keep the money in my community and invest in people who share my values.
For years I've been talking about living within your means and prioritizing ownership and investing in assets that appreciate. I was pleased to see the rapper Plies make this comment:
Finally, I'm hopeful people are listening. I read a great story and about a business man, named Young Bleu. He talked about his goals of being an independent music artist and how he already owns a few assets: a house and a restaurant. And the thing I love the most about his article was an example that he gave: Young Bleu Interview courtesy of HipHopDx:
"I’m going to put it like this. Just say as a rapper, you got $400,000 in your account. You don’t got a house, right? Now just say that your label say, “F&ck you.” You know what I’m saying? “F&ck you. We don’t want to do nothing with your shit right now. We don’t feel like we want to do shit with you right now.” All right. You got $400,000 right? Okay. A nigga come up to you and say, “Man, shit. I can get your record going. Shit, we can go and do radio 150,000, 200,000.” Okay, there’s always a chance that this shit might not go as planned. So now you only got $400,000 but nowhere to go besides what someone says they can do for you.
Now if you already had a house, you already had cars paid for, why would you spend the $400,000? You know what I’m saying? If all else fails, you have a home to go back to. But if you don’t you’ll be scared to spend that money if you felt like, “Damn. Shit. If I blow this shit, it’s over and I’m back at the bottom. Shit, I’ll probably be back staying with my mama. Goddamn.” You feel me? If you got your shit in order, you will be more comfortable spending money, you know what I’m saying?"
Sound familiar?? All I can say is well said young brotha. This young man understands the game. If you dissect his statement, he says: "what is the point of having so much capital (or cash) in your account and you own nothing. If you own a house and have assets to fall back on (especially if this house was paid off), then when someone approaches you about doing business you are more likely to take prudent risks and make more investments knowing that you have something to fall back on. As he eloquently stated, if you don't own that house (or some asset that appreciates) you will be scared to spend that money. I have a 9-5 job and a side hustle for income; my assets range from: 2 homes, have a individual retirement account that I could live off of and I use my brokerage account as war chest and make numerous investments every day...I'm not scared because I approve every investment. I can't wait to invest with J Cole, Master P, Young Bleu, Kanye if they share my value (b/c I don't always see eye to eye with some folks). But if we can agree people of color need their contracts rewritten, need independence, and they need investment...then let's do business.
#pillars, #independent, #Master P, #Young Bleu, #MiddleChildInvesting, #J Cole #educationispower
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