For Women

I was just chilling at the crib... cleaning some chicken... listening to some music. Then it hit me. My boy Talib Kweli was on the iTunes, and the joint was "For Women." If you ain't heard this track then you will have to go out and find it. It is a old track from Reflection Eternal, but it's a banger and he spits some real life stuff that some of you all might not be able to grasp. There is no mentioning of rims, drugs, guns, or degrading of females. Whenever you listen to this please make sure to grab your pencil and notepad, because this is a true history lesson for many of my young brothers and sisters who are lost out here.

At any rate, I'm sitting here cleaning my chicken, right. And it hit me. This song is what true hip hop is all about. A message, and being able to broadcast it to the masses. Who is really listening though? The first verse goes like this:



I got off the 2 train in Brooklyn on my way to a session
Said let me help this woman up the stairs before I get to steppin'
We got in a conversation she said she a 107
Just her presence was a blessing and her essence was a lesson
She had her head wrapped
And long dreads that peeked out the back
Like antenna to help her get a sense of where she was at, imagine that
Livin' a century, the strenght of her memories
Felt like an angel had been sent to me
She lived from nigger to colored to negro to black
To afro then african-american and right back to nigger
You figure she'd be bitter in the twilight
But she alright, cuz she done sseen the circle of life yo
Her skin was black like it was packed with melanin
Back in the days of slaves she packin' like Harriet Tubman
Her arms are long and she moves like song
Feet with corns, hand with callouses
But her heart is warm and her hair is wooly
And it attract a lot of energy even negative
She gotta dead that the head wrap is her remedy
Her back is strong and she far from a vagabond
This is the back of the masters' whip used to crack upon
Strong enough to take all the pain, that's been
Inflicted again and again and again and again and flipped
It to the love for her children nothing else matters
What do they call her? They call her aunt Sara.

How many of your favorite rappers can switch it up like this and speak something real? Not many. Talib Kweli... pure hip hop and there is no denying it. It's funny because I tell my students who some of my favorite rappers are, and when I get to Talib they laugh at me. Some of them don't even know who the cat is. That always brings my world to a complete halt. I wish that everyone listened to music for the actual words and the message. Instead of for the beat or the hook. Thanks producers, but you guys are working too hard. You are getting too much attention. What would hip hop be like with no producers? All acapella. I'm telling everyone once again... open up your third eye and dead the blindness. Maybe Talib Kweli will never get the respect that he deserves. One day my brother... one day my brother.

Over and Out... DocBoone