"DMX" and "Church" In The Same Sentence??

Have you ever made a change in your life that was so drastic, so far out there, that the only person who understood why you did it was... you? Ever know anyone who did something like that?

If you listen to rap, then you definitely know someone who did. His name is...

D - M - X!!!

That's right. DMX, also known as Earl Simmons, also the rapper of classic hits such as this, has taken a turn in his life. See, DMX has widely been known to not only have some anger management issues, but he is also known to be a person who is a little too familiar with the internal workings of the incarceration system. In the past, he's been arrested on gun charges, violence charges of many kinds, animal charges, drug charges, etc. On top of that, his music was the epitome of what people either loved or hated passionately, in terms of rap music. Lots of killing, lots of bitches, lots of gay bashing, and lots of bling. That is what he was, and he seemed comfortable with it...

Or was he?

His music also had elements of wrestling with his inner demons and questioning his life in the eyes of God. He didn't do that much... but it was almost a requirement that he'd have at least one track per album about God, then follow it up with the music that he's REALLY known for.

So with that said, DMX is catching a little flack for making a change. See, this past weekend, DMX was scheduled to throw a fundraiser. He was scheduled to throw it in a high school. The money would be used for repairs on a church. And he's doing it for free. (If you went, you'd have to pay $35-40, so it's not free to you). The money raised from the concert would be used to do repairs on the church. And the kicker... he doesn't swear anymore.

Not even a little bit.

So no songs with lyrics like:

What the fuck you gonna do
When we run up on you?

Fuckin with the wrong crew, don't know what we gonna do

I'ma have to show niggas how easily we blow niggas

When you find out there's some more niggas

That's running with your niggas

And that really sucks that the people didn't hear that. If he didn't swear, I'm not sure I would've went. If you paid that kind of money, you'd have to be a really big fan of DMX, or a really big fan of that church. I'm not sure of what the turnout was for the concert. Since I'm neither one, I'm not sure I would've went if I had the money, the time, and lived right next door to the church.

But back to the subject. He's getting some heat for the concert. The man who turns swearing, violence, and acting like he lost his damn mind into an art form... has straightened out? And he's trying to do something to benefit someone else? And he can stay out of jail long enough to do it?

Is it really fair for people like me to let him have it? I mean the one we've come to know and adore is gone and replaced with... someone else. And we don't recognize him, and we're not sure if we really want anything to do with him. Granted, it's pretty sweet that he's doing something that seems good on the surface for something other than to sell records (from what we can tell anyway). But still... he's ryde or die! What ya'll niggas want?!?!

**Update**

The concert was actually cancelled, not by DMX, but by the high school. Apparently when the word got out that DMX was heavily involved, the school wanted nothing to do with him, despite his advertised change of ways. Even with the cancellation, he doesn't appear to be the same person that we knew, which has still thrown some people off.

So sound off on this one and help me out. What do you think?

White Girls Can't Step

White girls can't step. It's that simple.

Or can they?

Hmmmm...

As a matter of fact, who knew that white girls knew was stepping is? And who knew that a white step team could beat a black sorority at their own stepping competition?

And who knew that the black community would be PISSED about a bunch of white girls coming in and winning a competition founded by black fraternities and sororities, and pretty much kept within that realm?

Lost yet? Here's the short version of what happened. Zeta Tau Alpha (or Zeta), a white sorority, entered itself into a step competition against two black sororities. Zeta won with the routine seen in the link below (I don't know how to insert the video in a blog yet, so be patient with me). Because they won, a lot of people are trying to figure out how in the hell it could've happened and what it all means. Did they win, because of special treatment as the novelty white team? Did the judges cheat? Or were they just better? Or is a white step team winning a black competition a step toward equality, in the same sense that a black person winning a white game is a step in the same direction? Hmmmm... (as a sidenote, there was so much noise about the white girls winning, that a black team was named as a co-winner after the fact.)

White Girls Stepping

Theories abound, but this has become a pretty big deal in some parts. There is a long history of black culture being stripped by white people, then exploited for some kind of gain. It's happened quite regularly in music, language, clothing, and demeanor. Stepping seemed like it was something that could not be taken by white people for any reason... and what do you know... there it is. Zetas in the house.

The interesting thing about this is that black people are now at the other end of the table. There was a day in time when black people were denied first-class citizenship. And when we finally were allowed to sit at the table with whites, our abilities were analyzed under a microscope and questioned beyond reason. Do they really deserve to be there? That's not fair that they can do that, now is it? Now the Zeta team is under that same microscope with the black community doing the observing. Should they really be doing this? How the hell is it right for them to even compete, let alone win? It's just not fair!

I have mixed feelings on this, mostly having to do with the historical context and what it means now. But I'm curious... what do you think about this the concept of the exploitation of black culture in general, and the white girls beating the black sorority at their own game in particular?