Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Don’t Tell Them

“Don't tell 'em. You don't even. You don't even gotta tell 'em. Don’t tell ‘em.” – The great urban poet Jeremih.

I remember when I was a child and an assortment of silly fucking grown-ups told me that “honesty is the best policy” on a regular basis. Truthfully speaking those conversations often ended with a belt landing on my backside. Those were the good old days when you could still beat your kids and not fear prison and/or Child Protective Services showing up at your front door. None of that has anything to do with this blog I just took a quick trip down memory lane. Anyway life has shown me sometimes honesty is not always the best policy; especially when it comes to your past relationship exploits. Honesty has its place but when you’re dealing with affairs of the heart the truth just might set you free and leave you lonely. All the wrong shit and some of the right shit you’ve done should be avoided in conversation at all cost. I’m not saying lie, but yeah go right ahead and lie.

Texts from exes
It’s hard to believe, but for most cordial and even genuinely friendly PLATONIC relationships with former flames actually exist in real life. And no, not just on white network television sitcoms. And no, one or more parties for the aforementioned relationship has turned to same sex dating. If you’re one of the lucky people to still be on good terms with an ex you might want to keep those text messages on the low. Some real innocent shit with 1 too many emojis attached can mean something downright out of pocket to your current significant other. Just make sure you keep everything on the up and up if the text thread ever sees the light of day.

Your best sex
If Tyrone used to make your left thigh shake just thinking about it; keep that shit to yourself. If Keisha once sucked the soul of you, and you hopped up then took her shopping immediately afterward; nobody needs to know about that, specifically your current love interest. If they ask you about who put it on you in the past you reply swiftly “Ain't nobody kiss it like you” and change subjects, FAST.

You’ve cheated
Unless your current main piece used to be your side piece or you got some sideline babies running around these streets, there is no good reason under the sun to bring up your past infidelity issues. If your cheating days are behind you bringing them up in current relationship won’t aid in alleviating any worries in your new relationship. Would you trust a kleptomaniac as your maid? Then you probably wouldn't trust an admitted cheater with your heart and that’s exactly how your new romantic interest is going to view you. That knowledge will plant seeds that will grow into full out suspicion over every unanswered called, unreturned text message and every reason to get stuck at the office. When she sitting Indian style at the front door waiting for you to walk in and then asks to smell your dick just know you did this to yourself.

What you did for your Ex
I’m not a jealous dude. I’m not even the type to be in competition with another dude. My ego isn’t set up like that but the idea of girl holding down some other dude and she’s not trying to do the same for me will drive me insane. “Fuck you mean you not taking off to wait for the cable man? You took off to go to some loser ass repeat offender niggas court trial but you won’t sit in here so I can get HBO? You better call in sick or something. Let me walk about in the house and this cable don’t be on.” Maybe when you did what you did for your ex you were in a different place. A little more gullible, a little less able to prioritize with or own things, or you just don’t feel the same about you current love interest as you have felt the love before them.

Things that your ex did and he/she doesn't
Keisha paid your back child support, put a cellphone in your name until you paid Sprint what you owed and used give you the best head any time you even looked like you had a tough day at work. Keisha was an angel. Guess what though? You & Keisha are done. Same thing goes for Jamal. It doesn't matter how much your mother loves him because he shoveled her snow every winter. It doesn't matter how much money he gave towards your house bills and never even asked for a key. It doesn't matter if he treated you son like his own because you two are done. Don’t try to use any of the things to motivate your current love interest to do anything and damn sure don’t bring in up in an argument in an attempt to shame them. You already have lost Keisha & Jamal don’t lose Ashley & Mike and bring up old shit.

Seriously don’t tell them
Jean DeGrate has spoken

Thursday, April 2, 2015

A Second Chance… Anthony Stokes WTF

Two years ago Anthony Stokes received a heart transplant due to much controversy. See Anthony was a bit of a juvenile delinquent and at the age of 15 he had a criminal record along with numerous problems at school. I remember reading the article stating how he was originally dropped from the donors list because of his behavioral issues (which was code for “nigga you ain’t about to be shit”) and was deemed a waste.  When I read the article I was heated, but this was after activist had already came in and saved the day without creating a hash tag movement, so my opportunity to speak out on the situation had already passed. I was still upset, in my eyes it was unjust and this was without pulling the race card. How could you possibly deny a CHILD a chance at life? Where was the moral ethics at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta? How do you tell a parent “We would save your child’s life but his conduct is kind of sketchy so we’re just going to skip over him on the list”? I wanted heads to roll, I wanted people fired, but then I realized he got the transplant and I’m just a sometimes blogger, so maybe I should just relax.

This might be a bit redundant but Anthony Stokes what the fuck dude?

If you haven’t read the articles about this young man let me catch you… In 2013 he was happy to have a second chance at life and intended to clean up his act. He wanted to finish high school and attend college then go on to start his own computer business. He forgave the hospital staff for judging his character, because God says forgives, and he promised to stay out of trouble. Yeah, people often find God when facing hardships, especially death. Ok fast forward to Tuesday (March 31st). Anthony Stokes is dead. He crashed a stolen car into a pole during a police chase. He was 17. On his way out with a bang (for lack of a better word), in the midst of a home invasion gone wrong he shot the resident of the house and hit a pedestrian prior to the crash that ended his life. Aside for that his Facebook account is littered with images of him holding guns, wads of cash and smoking weed; so the writing was on the wall.

Second chances

I’m all for second chances, and third chances, and fourth chances; EXCLUDING instances that are life effecting. I don’t know who else was in need of the heart that Anthony received. See when I read the original story I had an glass half full point of view and I expected him to turn it all around; I also didn’t put any thought into who would die so he could live. I’m pretty sure it was another candidate on the list that wasn’t a criminal to say the least. I’m pretty sure that there were several other candidates that would have truly cherished a second chance at life. The doctors were playing God when they decided not to give Anthony a chance but isn’t that what doctors are paid to do? Sure we can all say nobody could have known how this would play out, but be honest we had a pretty good idea. Would you choose Anthony for a heart over your law abiding daughter or next door neighbor or the teenager that always remembers your coffee order at the Starbucks across the street from your office just because his name was next on the list?

What’s a human life worth?

Sure the Declaration of Independence says “All men are created equal” but this was written by a bunch of slave owners so I’m not sure how much faith they had in the statement. The truth is we aren’t equals. Some of us are assets to society and our fellow man and some of us are drains on society and are the reason why car alarms exist. No matter what type of person you, I or anybody else would like to think we are, what we are is a sum of our actions. Anthony was a juvenile delinquent at the time he was passed over by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He lived up to what he was considered to be and inflicted harm on others prior to his own death. Anthony didn’t just lose his life his lost the life of the child that went without.

I hate it when we live up to what “they” think about us
Jean DeGrate has spoken

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Nah Hov Tidal seems real LAME

Yesterday or the day before Jay-Z and his talented super friends dropped what they might have thought was the best thing to happen to music since the iPod but is more like shining up the same old shit then adding a price tag to it. But fuck the long prologue and let’s just get in to it.

Side note but I’m currently listening to “Watch the Throne” which I illegally downloaded the day it came out #ThugLife.

Nobody asked for this

At least once a week I read or hear somebody asking when is Andre 3000 going to drop a solo project. At least once a month people are still on the lookout for a Jay Electronica album. Shit I can name 20 people I personally know that still have hope in the Detox ever seeing the light of day. You know what I never hear? You know what people never ask for? The ability to stream lossless music files. Fuck the fact that average FLAC file is about 100mb and streaming it over your 10gb data plan with allow you about 45 minutes of music a month. How many of you actually knew what lossless music was prior to Monday? Ok here’s an even better question if you are listening to a lossless version of “Niggas in Paris” through your Beat by Dre headphones could you even tell? My guess is no, because I’m listening right now (via a download, not streaming) and I can’t tell the fucking difference after 3 playbacks the shit sounded the same.

Music is FREE and nothing is exclusive

Music is so free it’s actually harder to buy music than it is to “illegally” download it. Remember when the Magna Carta dropped via that Jay-Z app at midnight for Samsung phone owners only? Yeah I literally had it on my Drop Box drive at 12:05am EST and on my HTC phone and PS3 by 12:07am EST. The exclusivity of the app didn’t even last long enough to make it to the 4th track. That was 2 years ago if it dropped tonight I’d probably have it by 12:01am if my internet connection is slow. So with that tidbit of knowledge and the fact that 99% of all recorded music is literally keystrokes away at any giving moment and FREE why would John Q Public pay you for it? And for the exclusive video content you can YouTube Netflix original content right now. If Netflix can’t keep its exclusive content from escaping to the regular net how is Tidal going to keep behind the scenes footage of Alicia Keys at the Grammy’s safe?

Pandora and Spotify exist and are doing pretty well

I don’t stream music. Even with my unlimited data plan I don’t stream music. I don’t like commercials. I don’t like surprises in my playlist. I like to have total control of my music so I’m only listening to music from my digital library. This clearly sets me aside for the average Joe because every other person in my office is streaming for FREE. That 30 second Spotify commercial doesn’t even faze them neither does running into a track they might exactly fancy because they won’t pay to skip it they’ll just suffer thru it. A commercial break every 5 songs isn’t a deal breaker and certainly does not validate a $9.99 monthly charge.

We don’t care if “artists” aren’t getting their money

The Beyhive is huge. If you sneak diss Beyoncé online they will swarm into your Twitter mentions and make you consider deactivating your account. An artist my think that kind of love can be transformed into dollars and yeah that’s true, if you’re on tour because we can’t bootleg concerts. See being on online terrorist to people that don’t feel the same about our favorite artist is free love and we are all about FREE love like it’s Woodstock. So if Pandora isn’t giving artist their fair share of profits for the usage of material that’s something for that artist to take up with legal office at Pandora. We don’t care. We see the artists as rich, even if they aren’t rich like Ryan Leslie. From the consumer stand point our free music vs paying for music isn’t going to stop you from getting that new Maybach. Plus Kanye has thousand dollar Lavin T-shirts with no logos and Jay-Z has a Basquiat to look at while he’s peeing so yeah we won’t be adding to excess without good reason.

Good Luck but ain’t nobody fucking with Tidal
Jean DeGrate has spoken