Greetings friends. Please forgive me for the extended absence. I’ve had some inquiries as to why nothing has been posted for so long. I just took a little break to spend time with family and friends down in ATL over the holiday season. I had to leave my laptop in ATL because it crashed and my Uncle Len was kind enough to offer to get it fixed for me. Gotta love family! So please bear with me for the next week or two because I’m using my dinosaur of a Dell until Lil Red returns. Anyway, I am back now and I’m wishing you all a Happy New Year!
Now let me get on to the topic at hand. Yesterday morning on my way to work I heard on the radio that Rihanna has a book coming out this summer called “Last Girl On Earth.” You’re wondering why that’s a big deal right? Well, they said the book will consist mostly of pictures of the singer and that the retail price will be a whopping FIFTY DOLLARS. That is also the price I’ve seen online. However, you can special order it now on Amazon for $38. Ok this struck a chord with me because no book that I’ve read by Malcom, Marcus, Mandela, Huey nor any other revolutionaries or scholars cost that much. I was telling a friend of mine about this and his response to me was “Uhhh duhh. Sex sells!” Ok that may be the truth but now it’s time to insert the “Clever tangent.” While I am glad that books of more substance are priced more reader-friendly I am really frustrated at what this shows society values most. It’s like we’re telling our young girls if they are willing to take off their clothes and show their bodies they will get attention and people will pay for that. To hell with their minds. That’s exactly what they’re going to believe if we don’t teach them any better.
Now please don’t get me wrong. I do not subscribe to the theory that women should have to cover our bodies from head to toe. How could I because I don’t even abide by that. But while I was in the airport Sunday I saw a topless Rihanna on the cover of GQ magazine. Not hung up in an art gallery but in an airport convenience store. Come on now. What’s next? Make no mistake that I’m hating on Rihanna. I think she is a pretty girl and the people who control her look and image are milking her beauty for everything they can get from it. I mentioned this on Facebook and someone replied that they like the way Rihanna looks. Well that’s not the issue I posed. I never said she looked bad. It is her good looks that will allow her to sell a $50 picture book. It is her good looks and the mega-celebrity she attained that will cause impressionable young minds to want to be like her or to want to date women like her. Now I don’t know Rihanna personally but I do know what she portrays. To me it’s all about her look, not so much her talent. She’s like a machine that operates by other people pushing its buttons. However, she is a young sister and we’ve all been that age before minus all the fame and fortune. I just hope as she grows in age she will gain more control of her career and her image. I’m not saying she should become a fist pumping revolutionary or the spokesperson for female equality. I just hope she realizes the power and influence she has as a result of her celebrity and finds her own voice. But I won’t be mad at her if she becomes a revolutionary, feminist, fashionista either(currently laughing out loud).
But my final beef comes from my own personal experience that it is hard enough trying to get many of my people to read. I have even offered to pay people to read certain books to no avail whatsoever. So, if people pay $50 or even $38 to look at Rihanna’s body yeah, I’ll be kind of pissed. There are so many talented and inspirational people who give so much of their time, talent, knowledge, effort and hard earned money to provide the world with such uplifting literary works and people won’t pay $10 for it. Ok, I’m going to end this now because I know you’re rushing through this blog so you can go pre-order “Last Girl On Earth” for the low but if you buy it just remember I charge you to 38 hours of mentoring to at least two little girls and boys and at least a $10 purchase towards a book written by a Black author who is not a pop star!
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Good question.
I can only name one Rihanna song… lol. the best part is, my children don’t know who she is (they know who Nneka is and Nina Simone, but not Rihanna). My point?
We have to create those good habits at home while they are young. BOTTOM LINE. if we are not creating those wonderful habits such as reading, eating green vegetables, showing respect, etc. between the ages of 6 months and 6 years, it will be very very very very very very very hard to do it when they are 16, or 26, or 36. ALL the studies prove it and every decent parent knows this without all the studies.
I love reading. I love reading to our babies. I love recommending books. I love trying to get other people to read what I am reading. I think I recommend at least 5 books to people a day. Heck, when Jehovah Witnesses knock on my door, I make them sit down and listen to me and I give them a list of books to read!
When I was in the Navy, I used to give brothers Donald Goines books to read. Then I would hit them with “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.” I used to always hit the sisters up with Assata’s book. MOst of the time, I would convert most of these folks into the church of the bibliophile. THey would stick with it. I will admit that in the last few years, it has gotten more difficult to that.
While we do read more, we read more smut than ever before. Urban Lit sells and it sux. But its kind of like fast food to me. We are stuck on fast food and its hard to get people to stop eating Micky D’s every day especially with that dollar menu. It’s a bad habit that we all have to kick.
I AGREE WITH YOU CLEVER…THERE IS NO WAY POSSIBLE THAT $50 IS A REASONABLE PRICE FOR A PICTURE BOOK. I HAVE A ONE YEAR OLD BROTHER AND THE MOST I’VE PAID FOR A PICTURE BOOK FOR HIM IS TEN BUX AND THAT WAS FOR A THREE PACK OF BOOKS WITH THINGS LIKE…A IS FOR APPLE…THE BLUE BALL I IS ROUND…IF ANY ADULT OF THE HUMAN RACE WOULD PAY $50 OR $38 BUX TO LOOK AT PICTURES OF A POP ARTIST BODY THEY MUST NOT HAVE ANYTHING OF IMPORTANCE TO DO WITH THE MONEY THAT IS SO HARD TO COME BY THESE DAYS…WHY NOT GIVE THAT (WHAT WOULD HAVE TO BE CHUMP CHANGE TO YOU) TO A VERY DESERVING YOUTH ORGINAIZATION TO HELP BETTER THE YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE IN OR COMMUNITIES. I FOR ONE WORK WAY TOO HARD TO SPEND MONEY ON SOMETHING SO NON-LITERARY. I’M 23 AND STILL LEARNING(IMPORTANT) LIFE LESSONS. IF THIS BOOK ISN’T GOIN TO TEACH ME ANYTHING BUT HOW BEAUTIFUL SHE IS THEN I COULD JUST TURN ON BET OR MTV…I SEE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE EVERY DAY… WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND LOOK IN THE MIRROR I SEE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BLACK WOMAN IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA…;) ONLY BECAUSE MY MAMA(STARR) IS IN VA…HAHA!!!!!!!!!!
Bottomline, people purchase what the want more than what they need=make people want to buy your “product”=Creativity.
I personally feel that I have the same capabilities of: Russell Simmons, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Barak Obama, BUT have I “publically” gone through their plights? NO! Me pointing out, in any way, on how their getting “more $” for something I feel that I can do the same or better or saying “all he did was take his shirt off in the movie & they gave him $20million”=very lame & un•educated of me. No one would pay $38-$50 for a picture book of someone the did not know or recognize, it’s because of whom she is & her “fame/popularity”, the same goes for US! People know US both, but on a larger scale NO one knows us, so how could you expect anyone to pay anything for something they do not know, know enough about it to like it or never heard of?
Our cultural values are all about needs, gratification and desire not about what theoretically goes with sex; love…which, in my opinion is about valuing another human beyond what they represent and can do for you.
Sex sells because it’s so taboo here in America. Yet, it’s applauded in movies, sitcoms and even commercials, but we try to act prudish and have laws against nudity, but when there’s a profit there’s no need for principle.
Most people only read when it has something to do with how much money they’ll make once they finish college, it’s so rare to see a person reading because he or she has the desire to understand history, to get to the root of something, etc.
If I mention how The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a life changing book on Facebook no one will care, the minute I mention something about Karrine Steffans I will have status comments galore. Even if I’m talking to someone via phone, their attention span decreases if I talk about Martin Luther King or anything connected to our true history. We are not wired correctly and we can fix it, it’s just that most don’t care to…
Great blog!! And I feel some of the very same thoughts as SevenTheMessenger.
@Seven
I think if you actually state her name, no one will know, but if you say Superhead, they will… lol!
Happy New Year People!!!!
Clever
I wonder if you were surprised of angered or both that she’d have the audacity??
She can’t get my $50 but only because I’ve already seen her naked!!! LMAO
PS @ Dantresomi— & Seven Yes Brothers Yes!!
@Dantresomi…lol, that’s true. Usually I put Karrine Steffans aka Superhead and someone said “I didn’t know her name was Karrine Steffans…no wonder I kept seeing that name everywhere a few years ago”….lmao
I am so happy they put a $50 price tag on Rihanna’s book. I saw the nude pics and yeah she’s worth 50 bucks. But on a serious note, I hope all the books by Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and whomever else had something meaningful to say or teach are dirt cheap or free because things that have the most value are often priced at a level that’s hard to reach for the people who need to experience it most. Burgers and fries are cheaper than the healthier choices at your favorite fast food joint. So in my opinion, they priced this book just right.
Oh and one more thing, Super Head’s dvd was worth every penny. She’s got skillz and should be applauded for her talents and abilities because they are a gift from the heavens.
Lol @ Sensai…
@Sensai I agree I have found some of my most treasured books in Thrift Store’s and I am very thankful. Realistically the people who will purchase this book are those who first of all place books on their table, not remotes or game controllers.
The little girls and young women who will have access to this $50 book will first have to have parents willing to spend and then hand over said book w/o pre-viewing it. I just don’t see it affecting our babe’s in any more a negative way than 106 & Park.
Great comments from everyone so far.
Here goes my responses:
@Dan Tres We are on the same page with this one and kudos to you and your wife on the proactive parenting.
@Nell Wow. All it took was an online call out
Well I do appreciate the follow thru. However, nowhere in this blog do I mention that I think I can do Rihanna’s job or do it better than she does. I have no desire to appear half-naked on magazine covers.
I also think you may have missed my point. My annoyance with this $50 book is moreso about the values of our society than it is about Rihanna bashing. She is a product. She has been molded into a money making product for the people who control her image. She is indeed what is hot right now and if it wasn’t her it would be somebody else. She’s becoming the Black Brittany Spears except she is pretty but she is everywhere and the young girls and boys love her.
My disappointment is again our values. Again, I’ve tried to pay people to read and they won’t do it. “Sex Sells!” So if the masses go out and buy this book for either of those prices it would indeed frustrate me. Also, trust and believe Rihanna’s $50 book is not my only grievance with our misplaced values. It’s just a new one. I’m thinking “Oh ok, they’re buying $50/$38 scantily clad Rihanna books now but won’t pay $3.99 on Amazon for books that contain knowledge OR check them out at the library for FREE. URGH!
BUT, when I release my$65 book it will be well worth every dollar so you ALL better make sure you cop it!
@Seven I’m co-signing your sentiments.
@Tierra Happy New Year to you too. I was just frustrated bc of the reasons I stated above.
@Sensai Good for you homie. Way to support the Black author.
Anywho, if you read my blog you would notice that I mentioned that I too am glad that books of substance are priced where the masses can afford them. Again, my beef is that they aren’t buying them or checking them out as they should! Such books are hardly as coveted.
@Tierra Again, I agreed in my blog that books should be affordable. I also realize that Rihanna’s book will be a “coffee table” book I would assume. As far as the kids go let me clarify that I still call our teens babies. R.Kelly raped a baby! They are not grown no matter how they look or what comes out of their mouths(ok that’s a personal issue of mine-people considering teens to be adults)I’m back from the tirade lol. So, I’m thinking teen girls will see “Damn, Rihanna’s BOOK is going for $5o!” She is commanding a lot of money for a book to show off her assetts. What a great example. Maybe if Rihanna were a more well-rounded celebrity it would be a little better but I haven’t heard her have a voice about anything. She just seems like a machine(trying not to say puppet bc I know she’s young and I truly do not hate this sister)
And no I don’t think this any worse than 106 and Park it is just yet another bad example for our youth. It is the values I’m frustrated with and as Dan Tres stated we have to do better as parents and I’m going to add as a community to make sure that televsion is not where the younger generations get their values.
Finally, maybe Rihanna will surprise me and actually have something to say in this $50 book.
Ok it’s after 2am. Goodnite
@Clever
after re reading your post and your comments, I did miss something.
You make a great point. Rihanna doesn’t choose to make those decisions, someone else does. That’s the sad part. One would think with enough money, fame, and influence (then again, i never seen her contracts so I don’t know if she is seeing any real money or has any creative control), she would be able to make her own way.
Clever,
As I sit reading your blog concerning Rihanna, I agree with you whole heartedly. I am from the generation of the 70’s & 80’s. Leaving all the sound judgement aside with stating “we would have never heard of such”, I would just like to implement, todays’s society truly is at a substantial source of a lost generation. A lost generation of valuing morals, manners, self, others and life itself. I feel that the ball was dropped sometime ago. Sadly to say if the ball will ever get picked up to send the airways of communication connectors for our young people to connect with. But with all said and done, on the young entertainers endeavor, she will stand to have to give an account on her part, anyone else, all of us if we are not valued communicator connectors of the heart.