₦airaland Forum

Where is Rakim? Where is KRS-One?

How is Jam Master Jay up there and he is a DJ not a MC? I would place him on a Greatest DJ list.

How do you have 50 cent and DMX on this list? You are not great because you sell records,

I agree with others, NAS was crowned one of the greatest lyricist with his first album and Illmatic is a CLASSIC.

There is too much wrong with this list I think a few others can come off this list,

paul a:
olaudah equiano probably was the first nigerian to know ow 2 use the english language in reading and writing,this is a man who was born in essaka,igbo village in 1745.He was sold as a slave in 1756 when he was 11 years living his beloved sister which he never saw again,gained freedom unlike others probably due to his brillance and went on to learn ow 2 read and write which made him nigeria's first world known noveslist,it would interest you to know that some of his works helped us know how pre-colonial nigeria was,his works also defended nigeria in the sense that the british said that nigeria was undeveloped prior to their take over,nigeria as a whole could not defend themselves because we could not be heard,equiano with his write use of the english language has stated earlier that pre-colonial nigerian organisations where developed.Why should olaudah equiano be forgotten especially by those in the literal field,someone who's picture hangs in a royal museum in england,if we remember shakesphare that much why not we remember our own pride who was a novelist,human right activist and a poet,he was involved in the struggle against slavery being a one time slave.please lets remember and honour our own hero - olaudah equiano(1745-1797) . as compiled by paul alfred

Nice post! We should remember.

I think we need to stop looking at the "Black movement" where ever it was as people blaming

chiogo:
No, they're just lazy and don't care about education. I've seen lots of dumb white folks. Just because they go to harvard or yale does not make them smart. They got parents who are in the upper class and stuff. black people don't and most of 'em just think they can't be anybody because of that. now that is mental slavery, hence they quit school and stuff. Even without finishin' school, most of 'em have made names. There're still lots of black celebrities. One thin' i do know about black folks is that they own music. white folks can never take that from them.

Show me what Black people in the world owns music? You show me how many Black people sit on the board of Sony BMG, EMI, Universal, or Warner who control more than 70% of the world market. Black people create music but they don't make the real profits of that music. So they don't own it. They try to get what they can. We have the resources but others make the real money off us.

I think this is nice article. I try to embrace everyone that lives on the Continent and in the Diaspora. I have seen the same attitudes that you are stating within the African American community but also in other African Continent and African Diaspora communities. I think a lot of the disconnect has to do with people not knowing the history and culture of the African Continent and the African Diaspora and how similar and connected it really is. These attitudes exist largely because historically what was done in the Diaspora and on the Continent. It is just today they are perpetuated largely by people of African decent no matter what nationality.

Ivvie:
@Lazy
Some people think moving up means being like the rest. Personally, I don't believe in it and wouldn't condone it either. In the case of the African race and hair texture, that issue came up at my place of work. Judge Mablean got fired for the same reason as well. I don't blame the people enforcing it, but the ones adhering to it. The whole hair-straightening came from slavery and this became popular as a means of trying to get accepted. Some mulattos that could pass for white were simply accepted. One thing I will say in all reality is that the blacks can never be white and whites never black. One would suppress and the other would oppose. I was made to take Speech as a Sophomore because my advisor taught I needed it because I spoke words differently. To date, it has made no difference. Recently, I just found out that Webster couldn't spell, that's why American spellings differ from the standard spellings.

@Ivvie
I totally agree with you. I don't blame the people enforcing it, but the ones adhering to it. If you want something to change then people need to stop adhering to something that is obviously not a requirement that any individual should have to meet. Some things should not be a requirement for "making it". If they are then people should want to be a part of the process in changing that requirement if you feel it is something that needs to change. If people didn't fight against certain opinions, Africans would still be a colonized people on the continent or an enslaved people in the Diaspora. I feel that the African Race still suffers from the "Slave" mind in the diaspora and the "Colonial" mind on the continent. People just need to be who or whatever they are and know that that is just as good as anything else. I never knew that about Webster! That is interesting.

@Ivvie

I understand what you are saying and I wasn't trying to accuse anyone of wanting to assimilate to Western/European ways. I just don't understand how his hopes and accomplishments wont be archived if he still keeps his accent. There are somethings in the corporate world that feel that should be adhered to. For instance, I feel your work attire is a uniform. We all put clothes on and take the off, just like the next person. It is a uniform in the sense of someone in the police force or a fireman. That is why everyday I have no problem wearing a suit or business casual attire(when appropriate). The thing that bothers me is when people want to change things that you born with. You can speak with an accent and sound intelligent and many times more intelligent than someone with an "American" accent. This is just one aspect but there are many more like I know some in the corporate world have issue when Black women wear their hair natural. They get their hair done just like everyone else and it is nice, neat, and clean. They don't ask women of other races to change their hair texture to make it tightly curled. I say this only to mean that there is no need to "assimilate" aspects of yourself that you are born with. When it comes to things that all in the corporate world do then I feel that is something we all should do.

I don't understand why someone would want to talk with an "American" accent? I think it is great to hear a variety of accents. I personally have my work accent "European American Accent" and then I have my "Southern African American Accent". You just have to know when to use them and with whom. I will speak differently with my Grandmother who is 92 and couldn't get "Skewlin" (Schooling--because of limited education in rural south of US for African Americans) as she would say than in a meeting at work. I work in the computer industry and sad to say their are not many Black(Africans or African Diaspora) people at all I run across. It is mostly Asians and I love that they have their accents still. I work with Australians, Canadians, and British and they never talk about wanting to have an American accent when they speak English. I think people should appreciate their accents. I do.

I have to agree with you. It brings to mind a saying that people say "their(meaning Western/European) ice is colder". Until people realize that isn't the case, things will always stay the same.

I defiantly understand what you are talking about when you stated:

"Some of the terms seem African but obviously not Igbo which I can relate to."

A large portion of African Americans don't relate to it either. I think when the holiday was created it was with the ideal of Pan Africanism in mind. They were trying to keep alive the ideals of Henry Sylvester-Williams (Trinadad), WEB Dubios (USA), Kwame Nukramah (Ghana), Patrice Lumumba (Congo), Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya) etc. The whole concept of seeking to unify the global African community for the goal of uplifting all Africans worldwide. There isn't any one group's culture I can say that makes up all of Kwanzaa so that is why Africans (even African Americans) don't relate to it. I think the principles of Kwanzaa are good (Unity, Self Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, etc, ) but i can understand why most don't relate to the holiday.

I am wondering what kind of response you were looking for from individuals living in Africa? It isn't an African Holiday in that sense. Kwanzaa is a Pan-African Holiday that was created in the US. It was basically created for the Africans in the Diaspora (mainly in the US) to allow them to reconnected with their ancestors (that were left in Africa and those sprinkled across the western hemisphere) and to remember the struggle (Slavery, 40 acres and a mule, Black Codes, Jim Crow, etc, ).

I personally think that a large portion of hip hop today doesn't reflect Black culture or is created for Black People. So I don't see why people see attacking hip hop is attacking Black culture. I think they should evaluate first what is Black culture and see if what they see/hear on the T.V./Radio is promoting that.