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Topic subjectSpelman Women Appreciation Post
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=1853
1853, Spelman Women Appreciation Post
Posted by G_Smooth, Fri Apr-16-04 03:36 PM
Y'all gotta give it up to the students at Spelman for taking a stand is something thats crucial to our community. Hopefully, many college students will follow this trend..............I doubt this will happen....Dude...I just heard an Elementary school kid reciting the lyrics to the Tip Drill video.....WTf.
1854, Catch 22
Posted by Ras_child, Sat Apr-17-04 11:19 AM
Wasn't the concert going to support some type of charity though?
1855, RE: Catch 22
Posted by lidawg, Sat Apr-17-04 03:13 PM
as a proud member of the class of '98, thank you for the shout-out. when i left, there were only a few of us still being activists on campus so it thrilled me to know that we were making bold steps once again (very reminiscient of SC's work in the 60s and 70s).

regarding the purpose of the concert: yes, the concert was a drive/benefit for bone marrow; however, Nelly's foundation is for children and he was to be associated with the drive. according to the alumna newsletter i received, spelman plans on doing another bone marrow drive, just not with Nelly.

peace!
li
1856, Lol..always thought you were a guy.
Posted by brokenchains79, Sat Apr-17-04 03:34 PM
.
1857, RE: Lol..always thought you were a guy.
Posted by lidawg, Wed Apr-21-04 05:34 PM
uuuuuuuuuuuuuh nope!! definitely not...but the name does have a bit of a masculine tinge to it huh?? two guy friends (male) from Detwah (detroit) decided it was a cute nickname since my folx call me li....

Go spelman...go spelman!!

peace!
li
1858, Is that Kitty Amin in your Avy?
Posted by Brooklynbeef, Fri Apr-23-04 10:41 AM
?
1859, Go Spelman
Posted by brokenchains79, Sat Apr-17-04 03:36 PM
I support this, even though nelly probably didn't get paid off the black dollar we should atleast actively not support him in the black community. Along with the rest of them.
1860, I think they fucked up.
Posted by FireBrand, Sat Apr-17-04 04:15 PM
They shoulda asked Nelly to finance a more appropriate group to come out, and to do it silently.

That way- if he declined, they STILL coulda went public, but if he didn't people still got helped.

If not that, they should find a way to creat their own program


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1861, nah man fuck that
Posted by suave_bro, Sat Apr-17-04 04:35 PM
nelly put black women out there on front street as sex objects for the world to see, i see nothing wrong with a bit of public humiliation for NELLY, even if nobody will remember this "boycott" in a few months, black women will be viewed as money hungry harlots for the world to remember for decades to come as a result of this video and countless others...black women @ spelman have won this battle, but this war is pretty 1 sided...
1862, So there wasn't another way?
Posted by FireBrand, Sat Apr-17-04 05:03 PM
I mean every college protest I've seen has had a council of some sort- in the Dubois sense the best and brightest got together and contemplated, then in the more Afrikan sense we went ahead and talked as a people about it with all who would attend.

If this is the best they could come up with, so be it. IF not. They dropped the ball.

You can be right in principle and STILL drop the ball.


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1863, damn man u didnt even TOUCH anything i said
Posted by suave_bro, Sun Apr-18-04 04:25 AM
so during the 60's should black folks have just sat in meetings in secret and tried to solve problems in the privacy of our own homes? if we did so, that would have been showing RESPECT for the KKK and the american govt (well, lets not show up da white man in public!), even though they were disrespecting US in public...

sort of the same thing here: Nelly disrepects black women in the open for the world to see, yet you are asking for an organized, methodica,l sit-down, behind closed doors solution to the problem? to me it seems like u are COOL with nelly sliding his credit card down the ass of a black woman, yet when spelman wants to BOYCOTT his ass to let HIM and AMERICA know that they aint havin it, you have a problem with that...man i wonder where we would be if in private we disgussed amongst ourselves how disgusted and tired of being hosed down and dumbed down by jim crowe laws during the 60's, instead of PUBLICLY protesting racist policies...

yall negroes need to stop trying to deify these rappers all the damn time man, that NIGGA deserved to get PUBLICLY BOYCOTTED for PUBLICLY HUMILIATING black women...
1864, The only Time I will ever agree with Suave...
Posted by G_Smooth, Sun Apr-18-04 05:54 AM
n/m
1865, 100000000% co-sign
Posted by , Sun Apr-18-04 06:09 AM




1866, Co-sign, one of the few times.
Posted by brokenchains79, Sun Apr-18-04 06:21 AM
.
1867, RE: Spelman sistas organizing with a Purpose!!!!
Posted by SmalleyeriZ, Sun Apr-18-04 10:42 AM
much respect must be shown to the sistas who were at the forefront of this protest. The fact of the matter is that the entire situation has been sweked and distored by the media to make Spelman appear as though they were the ones who canceled on the bone marrow benefit. This is highly innacurate the fact of the matter is that spelman asked them to bring another representative from the bone marrow organization and they refused to do so...as a result a lot of people who could have benefited from this drive were not........hopefully this will be recified in the future......regardless i give a major "YEAAAAA" to those sisters to resistancing against the popular culture and those who defend it...keep it movin!
1868, Oh tight...see that's what I was asking. Good looking
Posted by FireBrand, Sun Apr-18-04 11:35 AM
cus someone else posted this and I wondered if this was the case. if they asked for another rep, and tried to keep the drive going- they did right on all sides.


Tight. They get my props. That's how you do that shit.


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1869, I directly responded to what you said. I don't get it.
Posted by FireBrand, Sun Apr-18-04 11:31 AM
what do you mean? You just restated the spirit of the original post so I just went on with my misgivings for the TYPE of acation taken.

I don't get it...where did you become confused?


>so during the 60's should black folks have just sat in
>meetings in secret and tried to solve problems in the
>privacy of our own homes?

No, that is not what I said. I said the leaders met to discuss a plan of action. Action for the sake of inaction isn't always the best way.

>if we did so, that would have been
>showing RESPECT for the KKK and the american govt (well,
>lets not show up da white man in public!), even though they
>were disrespecting US in public...

If that is the only result you can glean for coming up with an appropriate action plan...I don't know what to say.


>sort of the same thing here: Nelly disrepects black women in
>the open for the world to see, yet you are asking for an
>organized, methodica,l sit-down, behind closed doors
>solution to the problem?

Yes. In fact let me give you an example- just for perspective. My sophomore year at Georgia Southern there was an uproar. The editor of our school paper said that Black History month should be done away with. So, instead of planning...I, and some like minded friends ran to the 'brary and typed a response, and made like 1000 copies and placed them all over campus. didn't even spell check, but I digress....

We then had a meeting. I was a DJ, so I publicized this meeting. This official meeting was after a smaller meeting of the known Black Activists on campus. The second meeting had all the Black social groups, greeks, organizations, etc. We made a plan, took it to a greater group of all of our supporters and put our plan of action into effect including: media coverage, demands, protest route, inclement weather provisions, signs, etc...

The shit got great media coverage in Savannah, locally on Radio, college radio and newspapers. Might have even gotten play in ATL...I don't know. We still didn't cover all the bases though. Nevertheless...the shit went off OK. If we waited one more day we could have come with a MORE powerful agenda and made lasting change.

Instead...ole boy kept his job, and all we got was like a sensitivity training course for on campus media- something that wasn't even observed.

No teeth because of poor planning.



to me it seems like u are COOL with
>nelly sliding his credit card down the ass of a black woman,
>yet when spelman wants to BOYCOTT his ass to let HIM and
>AMERICA know that they aint havin it, you have a problem
>with that...

No, maybe you didn't read what I said. I have NO problem with that. Did you read what I said?

man i wonder where we would be if in private we
>disgussed amongst ourselves how disgusted and tired of being
>hosed down and dumbed down by jim crowe laws during the
>60's, instead of PUBLICLY protesting racist policies...
>
>yall negroes need to stop trying to deify these rappers all
>the damn time man, that NIGGA deserved to get PUBLICLY
>BOYCOTTED for PUBLICLY HUMILIATING black women...

Fuck it. Responding is pointless. You are just str8 running off at the mouth about some bullshit. You obviously didn't read what I said or at least comprehend.

Either that, or you are crazy...perhaps stupid.



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1870, nigga GTFOHWTB
Posted by suave_bro, Sun Apr-18-04 11:45 AM
>>so during the 60's should black folks have just sat in
>>meetings in secret and tried to solve problems in the
>>privacy of our own homes?
>
>No, that is not what I said. I said the leaders met to
>discuss a plan of action. Action for the sake of inaction
>isn't always the best way.

-action for the sake of inaction!? uhmmm what the FUCK are you talken about...and im sure somebody "sat down" and decided to boycott NELLY.

>>if we did so, that would have been
>>showing RESPECT for the KKK and the american govt (well,
>>lets not show up da white man in public!), even though they
>>were disrespecting US in public...
>
>If that is the only result you can glean for coming up with
>an appropriate action plan...I don't know what to say.

-riddle me this, riddle me that....


>Yes. In fact let me give you an example- just for
>perspective. My sophomore year at Georgia Southern there
>was an uproar. The editor of our school paper said that
>Black History month should be done away with. So, instead
>of planning...I, and some like minded friends ran to the
>'brary and typed a response, and made like 1000 copies and
>placed them all over campus. didn't even spell check, but
>I digress....
>
>We then had a meeting. I was a DJ, so I publicized this
>meeting. This official meeting was after a smaller meeting
>of the known Black Activists on campus. The second
>meeting had all the Black social groups, greeks,
>organizations, etc. We made a plan, took it to a greater
>group of all of our supporters and put our plan of action
>into effect including: media coverage, demands, protest
>route, inclement weather provisions, signs, etc...
>
>The shit got great media coverage in Savannah, locally on
>Radio, college radio and newspapers. Might have even gotten
>play in ATL...I don't know. We still didn't cover all the
>bases though. Nevertheless...the shit went off OK. If we
>waited one more day we could have come with a MORE powerful
>agenda and made lasting change.
>
>Instead...ole boy kept his job, and all we got was like a
>sensitivity training course for on campus media- something
>that wasn't even observed.
>
>No teeth because of poor planning.

- no teeth because you all are ignorant...lets flip it: lets say a BLACK writer wrote up an article that was being critical of "presidents day" (after all, that one article at this college would not stop black history month it was just his opinion) and then all the right wing conservatives on campus decided to organize a "boycott"...first of all do u see how rediculous it is lookin @ it from the other sidE? and secondly, how far would their "boycott" go knowing full well that mans article in the paper is protected by the 1st amendment...

>to me it seems like u are COOL with
>>nelly sliding his credit card down the ass of a black woman,
>>yet when spelman wants to BOYCOTT his ass to let HIM and
>>AMERICA know that they aint havin it, you have a problem
>>with that...
>
>No, maybe you didn't read what I said. I have NO problem
>with that. Did you read what I said?

-yeah i read what u said, and you dont agree with the METHODS they went about boycotting nelly...hell, i would have liked to see them LET nelly perform, and THEN slice that nigga up when he got offstage and stab a knife through his chest with a note attached to it "TIP DRILL"...

>Fuck it. Responding is pointless. You are just str8 running
>off at the mouth about some bullshit. You obviously didn't
>read what I said or at least comprehend.

>Either that, or you are crazy...perhaps stupid.

-HAHAHAAA!!! this nigga. after reading that 3 paragraph long explenation of your failed attempt at being a wanna be revolutionary/dr king, i can now see the root of where your beef lies with this "boycott": IT WAS SUCCESSFULL!! did nelly perform? nope. did spelmans way of doing things work? yup. did yours? nope. OOPS!

1871, What does that acronym mean? What are you talking
Posted by FireBrand, Sun Apr-18-04 12:13 PM
about? Why this tone? why are you acting in this manner? I have already agreed that Nelly's particular infection of European values is deprived and harmful to our community. I agree that action need to be taken, I just questioned the WAY action was taken.

Why can't you understand that?



>>>so during the 60's should black folks have just sat in
>>>meetings in secret and tried to solve problems in the
>>>privacy of our own homes?
>>
>>No, that is not what I said. I said the leaders met to
>>discuss a plan of action. Action for the sake of inaction
>>isn't always the best way.
>
>-action for the sake of inaction!? uhmmm what the FUCK are
>you talken about...and im sure somebody "sat down" and
>decided to boycott NELLY.

Action just to react is what I meant to say, but that should have been obvious I would think...I'm sure they did, but like I said before if they didn't think it out then they dropped the ball as quoted here:

"So there wasn't another way? mean every college protest I've seen has had a council of some sort- in the Dubois sense the best and brightest got together and contemplated, then in the more Afrikan sense we went ahead and talked as a people about it with all who would attend.
If this is the best they could come up with, so be it. IF not. They dropped the ball."--FIREBRAND EARLIER IN THIS POST.

KEY PHRASE: If this is the best they could come up with, so be it. IF not. They dropped the ball.



>>>if we did so, that would have been
>>>showing RESPECT for the KKK and the american govt (well,
>>>lets not show up da white man in public!), even though they
>>>were disrespecting US in public...
>>
>>If that is the only result you can glean for coming up with
>>an appropriate action plan...I don't know what to say.
>
>-riddle me this, riddle me that



What is THAT supposed to mean ...how does showing the white man up in public have ANYTHING to do with what I said. If you knew my politics, this wouldn't even be a question you would ask.

I am insulted. Fuck a cracka. All I care about is the well being of Afrikans, and more specifically my family and Jamaicans. People like Nelly have a function. They serve as a indicator of the levels of yurugu within us, and how far we have walked from the way, our way in the Armah sense.




>
>
>>Yes. In fact let me give you an example- just for
>>perspective. My sophomore year at Georgia Southern there
>>was an uproar. The editor of our school paper said that
>>Black History month should be done away with. So, instead
>>of planning...I, and some like minded friends ran to the
>>'brary and typed a response, and made like 1000 copies and
>>placed them all over campus. didn't even spell check, but
>>I digress....
>>
>>We then had a meeting. I was a DJ, so I publicized this
>>meeting. This official meeting was after a smaller meeting
>>of the known Black Activists on campus. The second
>>meeting had all the Black social groups, greeks,
>>organizations, etc. We made a plan, took it to a greater
>>group of all of our supporters and put our plan of action
>>into effect including: media coverage, demands, protest
>>route, inclement weather provisions, signs, etc...
>>
>>The shit got great media coverage in Savannah, locally on
>>Radio, college radio and newspapers. Might have even gotten
>>play in ATL...I don't know. We still didn't cover all the
>>bases though. Nevertheless...the shit went off OK. If we
>>waited one more day we could have come with a MORE powerful
>>agenda and made lasting change.
>>
>>Instead...ole boy kept his job, and all we got was like a
>>sensitivity training course for on campus media- something
>>that wasn't even observed.
>>
>>No teeth because of poor planning.
>
>- no teeth because you all are ignorant...lets flip it: lets
>say a BLACK writer wrote up an article that was being
>critical of "presidents day" (after all, that one article at
>this college would not stop black history month it was just
>his opinion) and then all the right wing conservatives on
>campus decided to organize a "boycott"...first of all do u
>see how rediculous it is lookin @ it from the other sidE?
>and secondly, how far would their "boycott" go knowing full
>well that mans article in the paper is protected by the 1st
>amendment...

Well, you didn't ask why we marched. I was just giving you the specifics of our organization. The man was also either a senator, or student body officer while a ranking member of the College Republicans. What he had to say carried weight in ways we thought were unfair.

We wanted aan op-ed. Not granted. We wanted a story in the Eagle which is an unoffical school paper. Not granted.

Now, SOME wwere crying for shit that didn't make sense cus they didn't come to the meetings, and in the end the administration used their stances as reasons to keep him on by ignoring OUR requests.

Moreover, this is a SCHOOL paper. Not a private paper that one PAYS for. Our tuition DOLLARS pay for the paper- another argument we brought forth. IF our dollars pay for that shit, the sensitive issues should be cleared with fair and balanced editorial and news pages...shit.

I can see how you would think that shit tho...

>
>>to me it seems like u are COOL with
>>>nelly sliding his credit card down the ass of a black woman,
>>>yet when spelman wants to BOYCOTT his ass to let HIM and
>>>AMERICA know that they aint havin it, you have a problem
>>>with that...
>>
>>No, maybe you didn't read what I said. I have NO problem
>>with that. Did you read what I said?
>
>-yeah i read what u said, and you dont agree with the
>METHODS they went about boycotting nelly...hell, i would
>have liked to see them LET nelly perform, and THEN slice
>that nigga up when he got offstage and stab a knife through
>his chest with a note attached to it "TIP DRILL"...
>
>>Fuck it. Responding is pointless. You are just str8 running
>>off at the mouth about some bullshit. You obviously didn't
>>read what I said or at least comprehend.
>
>>Either that, or you are crazy...perhaps stupid.
>
>-HAHAHAAA!!! this nigga. after reading that 3 paragraph long
>explenation of your failed attempt at being a wanna be
>revolutionary/dr king, i can now see the root of where your
>beef lies with this "boycott": IT WAS SUCCESSFULL!! did
>nelly perform? nope. did spelmans way of doing things work?
>yup. did yours? nope. OOPS!


Well, you are certainly taking a peculiar angle at your observation. We were very successful. Heinsight being 20/20 we didn't get what I think we COULD have gotten, but at the time we were very satisfied. We THOUGHT he was getting fired, but he was able to fight that and stayed in. We THOUGHT the training would be mandatory...it isn't.

Why would you take such a hate filled stance? Why? What exactly is your problem?

And no, only time will tell if Spelman's jawn worked. If another artist comes to campus with a similar catalouge- IT DID NOT WORK. THE MESSAGE WAS NOT SENT CLEARLY.

bandaids don't heal bullet wounds. Surgery does.
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1872, (n)igga (g)et (t)he (f)uck (o)utta (h)ere (w)ith (t)hat
Posted by suave_bro, Sun Apr-18-04 02:27 PM
BULLSHIT!!

i dunno about everybody else on these boards, but you looken mighty bitch (in my eyes at least). why such a harsh tone? why such language?

because the botton line is this: nelly didn't perform. the boycott worked. how they went about it? agree or disagree it was effective. YOU on the other hand, DISAGREE with the way it went down, yet you are happy with the after effects!? and this makes sense WHERE!? if this aint crabs in a bucket i dont know what is...

and again: you tell us YOUR story of YOUR protest and how it was ineffective, which leads me to believe that you are bitter and angry, maybe even a bit jealous to see a group of black college students organize to get something done...

now, set your emotions to the side and reply again.
1873, Forget it.
Posted by FireBrand, Mon Apr-19-04 12:45 PM
this is a waste of both of our times. how I can be jealous of something like that...I don't know.

Like I said, their success will be measure by time.

why you want to make this a personal thing? I don't know.



----------------------
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Rugby.
1874, RE: (n)igga (g)et (t)he (f)uck (o)utta (h)ere (w)ith (t
Posted by Morehouse, Mon Apr-19-04 09:08 PM
you got fire...i admire that...

but,
why are you jumping down homeboy's throat?

another question:
did nelly force those women to be in the video?

there is a problem far greater than nelly as an entertainer,
because bottom line, that's what he does and if people didnt
watch it, it wouldnt air...there is a respect factor that is missing; black men toward black women, black women toward themselves, etc.

i commend spelman and these issues run deep.

peace.



*********************************

she loves me...more than she knows.

exist in limbo.

"when my love comes to see me it’s
just a little like music,a
little more like curving colour(say
orange)
against silence,or darkness…" -e.e. cummings


"we are accidents waiting to happen" -radiohead

"Poetry is a kind of distilled insinuation. It’s a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault." -Yusef Komunyakaa

"The Black Artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it. His role is to report and reflect so precisely the nature of the society, and of himself in that society, that other men will be moved by the exactness of his rendering and, if they are black men, grow strong through this moving, having seen their own strength, and weakness; and if they are white men, tremble, curse, and go mad, because they will be drenched with the filth of their evil."

-Amiri Baraka, from "State/meant" in the essay, "Home"

"My love is my soul's imagination. How do I love thee?...Imagine." -Saul Williams
1875, RE: Spelman Women Appreciation Post
Posted by yngblkprinceMD, Mon Apr-19-04 03:53 PM
thats tite!
1876, from where i sit..........
Posted by Monique, Wed Apr-21-04 06:59 PM
looking up,say whattt at least in videos,is a new day coming and not as justification for black women
but, the face up front and close and in the background is it changing?

not totally a surprise.

this one i am waiting for the fallout.and what a fallout it will be,just on this one video.
but, i could be wrong.
1877, YAY, it's about f*cking time...I support them %110!! n/
Posted by Zorasmoon, Fri Apr-23-04 11:50 PM


"Heidi Fleiss of OKP" -eclipsedini





1878, from yahoo...(post worthy)
Posted by Zorasmoon, Sat Apr-24-04 03:03 AM
Anti-Nigga Machine...
by: heatherday1968 04/23/04 02:59 pm
Msg: 37 of 309
9 recommendations

What happened to Public Enemy-Eric B. and Rakim-Grandmaster Flash type rap that had relevant POLITICAL CONTENT? The only equality that blacks have achieved is the right to be as crass, shallow, spiritually bankrupt, and rotten to the core as whites. They are the main promoters of a brand of capitalism that destroys the soul--the kind centered on acquisition for acquisition's sake, with no meaning to it except to define oneself by the size of the bling. Ironic that the bling they sport are blood diamonds, mined with the blood of Africans who fight wars over diamond distribution. Malcolm X would weep to see this generation worship the false white god of capitalism. They have lost their souls. Unless of course, you're content to be a whore, treated like a slavemaster would have treated you, and are happy to pass down that curse to the next generation of little girls (and boys). The Civil Rights movement is dead. The 'goddamn white man' has clearly succeeded, not by denying rights, but by corrupting the minds of African Americans to the point that they'll step right up to degrade themselves rather than let someone else do it. STOP BUYING THIS SHIT and the market will be forced to provide an alternative.






"Heidi Fleiss of OKP" -eclipsedini





1879, you all need to read this (SWIPE)
Posted by Zorasmoon, Sat Apr-24-04 12:43 PM


In protest of the degrading images of black women in the video for Nelly's song "Tip-Drill," the women of Spelman college forced the rapper to cancel his appearance at a bone marrow drive on their campus.


By Mark Anthony Neal

I'll admit that I've only seen the video once, but the few minutes that I saw left an indelible image in my mind — that of a young black male, running a credit card through the "crack" of a young black woman's behind as if it were a direct payment of some sort. The image is of course from the music video for Nelly's song "Tip-Drill," already a classic on BET's overnight pornographic showcase UnCut. I'll also admit that a few years ago I would have found such a brash depiction of the hip hop generation's male/female relations in an era of cash and carry sexual politics ironic. But taking seriously the world that my young daughters are charged with navigating, there was something disturbing and indeed frightening about the possibility of them being reduced to giant sexualized credit card machines (akin to Akinyele's "Six Foot Blow Job Machine"). Some of the young women at Spelman College, the historically black all-women's college in Atlanta, also found Nelly's "Tip Drill" video offensive and earlier this month mounted a demonstration to protest his planned appearance on their campus.
I know this is beating a dead horse — or what we could call "Benzino-style" race politics — but imagine if that had been Eminem or Justin Timberlake wielding that credit card?
Nelly was to appear on the Spelman campus on April 2nd in support of a bone marrow drive sponsored by his foundation 4Sho4Kids. Nelly began to raise consciousness about the need for more blood stem cell and bone marrow donors after his sister was diagnosed with leukemia last year. But for some of the women at Spelman College, no amount of good will by the rapper excused his role in circulating misogynistic images of black women. As Asha Jennings, the head of the college's Student Government Organization told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "We care about the cause, and we understand the need for bone marrow is so great within the minority community," but "We can't continue to support artists and images that exploit our women and put us out there as over-sexed, nonintelligent human beings." In response to the planned protest, Nelly and his foundation pulled out of the event. According to reports, the Student Government Organization at Spelman only agreed to host the event if Nelly agreed to also appear at a forum where he could address the implications of his "Tip-Drill" video.

For the uninitiated, "Tip-Drill" is a ghetto colloquialism for the proverbial "ugly girl with a nice body." In the context of Nelly's video, such women are only good for one thing - and even then, only from the back. "Tip-Drill" is representative of a world where young black men often view young black women as "chickenheads," "skeezers," "gold-diggers," "birds" and a host of other unsavory adjectives. The common denominators are that such women are viewed as being solely motivated by their desire for money and are only valued as sex objects, hence the highlighting of cash and carry sexual relationships. In many ways "Tip-Drill" is the logical follow-up to "You Owe Me," Nas's club hit from 2000. The song, which was produced by Timbaland and features vocals by Ginuwine, drops gems like "Shorty, say what's your price/Just to back it up/You can hold my ice/Now let's say you owe me something/Yeah, owe me back like you owe your tax/Owe me back like forty acres to blacks." The latter lyric incredibly equates Nas's "getting some ass" with reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans. On the recent DVD release of the Nas Video Anthology Volume 1, the artist quips that he simply wanted a "club hit."

Nelly was at the center of another controversy last year when his name was attached to a sports drink called "Pimp Juice." At the time many black political leaders and pundits, including Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope, were very outspoken about how the product promoted a stereotypical portrayal of African American men. Noticeably these same figures have been virtually silent about the images of women featured in Nelly's "Tip Drill" and a host of other issues in which black men do physical or rhetorical harm to women and gays (still waiting on that R Kelly boycott). Their silence speaks to the fact that for many of these "race men", the race card is only put into play when it's in defense of or in support of said "race men." I know this is beating a dead horse — or what we could call "Benzino-style" race politics — but imagine if that had been Eminem or Justin Timberlake wielding that credit card? The fact that we so often fall back into protecting black men, even at the expense of black women, is the very reason why the efforts of the young women at Spelman (and quite a few of their brothers across the way at Morehouse) need to be affirmed.

On various bulletin boards critics of the Spelman protest have been quick to note that many of the women who appear in videos like "Tip Drill" do so on their own accord. Other detractors have argued that the young women at Spelman need to get their priorities straight, suggesting that the bone marrow drive was an issue more important than the portrayal of women in hip hop videos — videos that many of the women at Spelman have supported in the past. Jennings is aware of such criticism, admitting that "Our stand is not a heartless attack against Nelly, but it's opposition to the hip hop culture we helped create by buying the music and supporting the videos." Jennings adds "I'm just happy that it's opening up dialogue for subjects that have been taboo in our community, including exploitation of women and the need for bone marrow donors. Hopefully this will get our people to talk about important issues that need to be addressed."

Notably the protest about Nelly's video comes from the most well known black women's college in the country. Spelman College is also the only HBCU that currently has a Women's Studies major. The program is headed by black feminist scholar Beverley Guy-Sheftall.


First published: April 14, 2004

About the Author

Mark Anthony Neal is the author of three books including the recent Songs in the Key of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation (Routledge, 2003) and co-editor (with Murray Forman) of the forthcoming That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader (June 2004). Neal's next book NewBlackman will be published in the Spring of 2005. He teaches in the Department of American Studies and the Center for African and African-American Studies (CAAAS) at the University of Texas at Austin.







"Heidi Fleiss of OKP" -eclipsedini

"Fuck you. And the egg you hatched from." -okp bluetiger

Black Label Games announced today that it has signed an agreement to license the interactive rights to Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Miramax film Kill Bill. Black Label Games will develop, produce and publish at least one video game based on Kill Bill for next generation consoles and the PC, with Tarantino serving as creative consultant on the project and providing exclusive film footage for the game's development. Read the press release for more details.







1880, good read! n/m
Posted by NkiRu, Sun Apr-25-04 05:07 AM

1881, Great Read.....Thanks
Posted by G_Smooth, Sun Apr-25-04 05:26 AM
n/m
1882, as much as i love em *some* not *all*
Posted by naame, Sat Apr-24-04 07:09 PM
cause two years from now, them chicks that was shakin they ass to nelly in 04 will be hollerin bout they was in on the protest. knowin damn well. damn well!
1883, lmao!
Posted by Zorasmoon, Sun Apr-25-04 12:56 AM


"Heidi Fleiss of OKP" -eclipsedini

"Fuck you. And the egg you hatched from." -okp bluetiger

Black Label Games announced today that it has signed an agreement to license the interactive rights to Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Miramax film Kill Bill. Black Label Games will develop, produce and publish at least one video game based on Kill Bill for next generation consoles and the PC, with Tarantino serving as creative consultant on the project and providing exclusive film footage for the game's development. Read the press release for more details.







1884, The Cause Is Cool
Posted by RexLongfellow, Sun Apr-25-04 06:07 AM
The thing is, I'm hoping they're not screaming NO to Nelly at Spelman College, and screaming YES to his joints Fridays at the club.