According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “Facade” means one of two definitions:
- the front of a building
- a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect
I want to be as free as the spirits of those who left
I’m talking Malcolm, Coltrane, my man Yusef
Common, Be
Have you ever felt like you have multiple facades ready depending on where you are or who you are with? Have you ever felt like you have to be a different version of yourself because of the environment you’re in or because you value someone else’s opinion of you? Have you ever struggled to be yourself?
Have you ever struggled to just “be”?
Damn, here we go again
Common passed on this beat, I made it to a jam
Now everything I’m not made me everything I am
Damn, here we go again
People talking shit, but when the shit hit the fan
Everything I’m not made me everything I am
Kanye West, Everything I Am
Each and every one of us is a complex concoction of various elements ranging from social constructs to the shows we watch, from our cultural backgrounds to the way we dress. Some of these elements exist in harmony, however, many of them clash in a pit of dissonance.
Sometimes we can only be a fraction of who we are among one group and a separate fraction of who we are among another. Sometimes these people are the closest to us such as a mother, father, partner or maybe even a child. It’s mentally draining, emotionally tiring and spiritually damaging.
For moms, new steps in a direction
In the right way, told her, “Inside is where the fight lay
And everything a n***a do may not be what he might say”
Common, Be
I do not entirely practice what I preach. There are instances where I struggle with my identity. I have to put on a facade every now and then because the other side just wouldn’t understand. Sometimes it’s the lesser of two evils. Sometimes it’s necessary. Sometimes it isn’t, but we lie to ourselves (before anyone else) to the point where it starts to become who we are.
We will forever be criticised for anything that we do. What is good and right in some people’s eyes is bad and wrong in the eyes of others. So why does anything other than what is good and right for us matter? Apart from what is unequivocally wrong or evil, why are we afraid or concerned about how others perceive us?
I never could see why people’ll reach a
Fake-ass facade that they couldn’t keep up
You see how I creeped up?
Kanye West, Everything I Am
Isn’t the ultimate respect the one that is earned through being true to one’s self? Indeed, it is. Doesn’t it say a lot about those who don’t accept you for who you are or don’t want to “let you be” purely because they struggle with their own truth? Indeed, it does.
As difficult as it may be to understand and implement for some, being true to ourselves is paramount in the path to achieving. It doesn’t take “success” to understand this, but rather the journey itself or learning from those who came before us. If we aren’t true to ourselves, we won’t be true to our cause, we won’t be “truly” successful.
Walk like warriors, we were never told to run
Explored the world to return to where my soul begun
Never looking back, or too far in front of me
The present is a gift, and I just want to be
Common, Be
Before starting Hood Intellectuals, after starting Hood Intellectuals and during my graft for Hood Intellectuals I was told that I shouldn’t. Music is impermissible. Hip-Hop is dangerous. Hip-Hop leads to tribulations. Do you really want to get into that environment? These rappers are not people you can look up to. These rappers are this and that. Fair enough.
I have never said that I looked up to any given rapper. I do not follow in their footsteps. I take the good and leave the bad. This is who I am. I’ve got a burning passion for lyricism and intelligently crafted creativity. I can see deeper than the facade of what Hip-Hop is marketed to be – entertainment.
I know people wouldn’t usually rap this
But I got the facts to back this
Just last year, Chicago had over 600 caskets
Man, killing’s some wack shit
Oh, I forgot, ‘cept for when n***as is rappin’
Do you know what it feel like when people is passin’?
He got changed over his chains a block off Ashland
I need to talk to somebody, pastor
The church want tithe, so I can’t afford to pay
Pink slip on my door, ’cause I can’t afford to stay
My fifteen seconds up, but I got more to say
That’s enough Mr. West, please, no more today
Kanye West, Everything I Am
People have their own opinions and they are forever entitled to have them. However, I am not here to conform to any given person’s opinions. I am not here to please group X, because group Y will be disappointed, or to please group Y because group Z will be disappointed. I am doing what I find is true in myself and a few people who are close enough to me can testify to that.
The inspiration for this post didn’t come from Hood Intellectuals but rather deeper personal matters which will not be mentioned. The principle, however, is consistent. The fact is, I have people who deep down oppose the fundamental of what I build my platform on, but they respect it. They respect me because I am me. They just let me be.
This is transferrable across the board. Are we true to ourselves in front of our family? Are we true to ourselves in front of our loved ones? Are we true to ourselves in front of our friends? Are we true to ourselves in front of our colleagues?
When will we understand that everything we are not, made us everything we are? When will we understand that everything someone isn’t, made them everything they are?
I just want to be.
#HoodIntellectuals
