Keepin it Real (From the 2004 archives)

I wrote this in 2004 to the Y membership

My six-year old son Brooks got a soundtrack CD from the movie Holes for Christmas. He begged me to play it so that we could listen to it in the car. The first song on the track was this RAP song, and I instantly hit eject and said, “Listen to that stuff on your walkman!” You see, I am not a big fan of rap music. The Michael McDonald sings Motown CD was more my style.

A funny thing happened over the holidays, though. Brooks memorized the rap song within 24 hours and was constantly singing it throughout the house. “Give me that head set. I want to hear that song,” I exclaimed. The words actually had this great message. I was amazed at what my son was spouting! Here is a verse.

When I was young I used to dream of being rich.
I’d have a lot of houses and cars, Couldn’t know which one was which.
And finding me a chick and getting hitched
Living the fairy tale life without a hitch.

You’d think that this would bring me happiness
If at the end of every rainbow there was a treasure chest
Sometimes having more is really less
So take a look inside yourself and you’ll realize you’re really blessed

No matter how inside you’re blue
There’s always someone who has it worse than you
Sometimes you gotta pay your dues
So don’t worry just push on through.

Got to big up all my peoples who be working on the future
Though they know they got to struggle
To all my homies working on the 9 to 5
And doing right to keep themselves up out of trouble

Although sometimes I know it seems impossible
There ain’t no need in drowning in your sorrows
If things are as bad as they can be
You can be sure there’ll be a brighter tomorrow.

Keep’n it real

Aren’t we like that most of the time? We create an opinion on something before we have truly experienced it. I didn’t like rap music, yet I really had never listened to the words. My son doesn’t like broccoli, and he’s never tasted it. Be it music, race, gender, ethnicity, or vegetables, we are all guilty of being too quick to judge and form opinions.

My goal for 2004 is to not only open my eyes and ears a little wider, but to open my heart. I hope you will join the YMCA as we discuss and celebrate the diversity around our community. Who knows, we might learn a little about each other and ourselves, and we can all be “biggin’ up all our peoples!”