Black sxn type thread.

This quote from chris rock during a d’angelo interview i been re-reading been having me thinking: what is the cost of black excellence and is it worth it?

Inspired by a convo with @TUNDRAIV who answered yes (because of the influence to other black youth in the diaspora) and no (cause it comes at the cost of your health)

That kinda peturbed me.

Cause it’s like white folk’s dont have to walk around knowing everything they do or say makes their entire race of people look a way. Meanwhile if you black you gotta “be the spokesperson of your entire race”

And that just sounds like an ungodly amount of pressure.

Like imagine a world where mj aint have a traumatic childhood? Maybe we dont get thriller but we get a well adjusted human being ( who probably still does music) who would probably still be here.

Or if d’angelo never did untitled music video ( which propelled him to “black excellence”) maybe he doesnt go off the d**** after voodoo and maybe we gearing up for his 5th or 6th album.

It just hit me like a brick today a lot of our black trailblazers died mad early. And some of the causes you can honestly sum up into the pressure of “Black Excellence”

Is it worth the cost to your soul?

Cause I dont know if I have an answer tbh.

in

love you put this here

Had to.

Like d said part of the writer’s block between brown sugar and voodoo was the notion of being told he was the one to carry the black genre.

That is a HELL of a thing to tell a 21 year old lolol

coming back 2 this but thought this was relevant

I think the one thing about Black people that is inseparable no matter how we try to chalk it up. Is that community is everything to us. Even our worst perpetrators of anti black behaviors or super capitalist thrive in community (see roc nation brunch). I think that’s largely due to the fact that regardless of social economic status in this country. Whether you’re a fifth generation lawyer who summers at Martha’s Vineyard or a fifth generation farmer from Auburn, Alabama.. there’s a shared understanding because every black person gets the circumstances of being black America (some understand better than others!).

Because of this it’s abundantly clear how F***ING hard it is to receive success of any kind given that the country is quite literally designed for our people to fail and if they had their way they would eradicate us all. You add that along with this old Hollywood cointelpro level campaigns (birth of a nation, and the mad brute) of the worst possible stereotypes and caricatures, we then lean HARD into respectability politics (your boomer nanas, veteran uncles, and aunties probably the worst enablers of this).

I know I’m rambling at this point, but the point is there can never be a separation of being a statesman for your race in the case of being black in doing anything great in this world

I also was trying to be mindful and not really getting into the real spirituality of the burden of responsibility for our greatest black minds, but that’s all in there too

If I had to sum it up in a video

It feels that way even outside of “stardom”. Even if you are just in an industry where we lack representation, or a room at any profession we aren’t usually in. You have to excel just to “represent” the race right. It’s exhausting.

Being black is tough regardless of your occupation or social status

Absolutely, way too much weight on their shoulders

though I also agree with OP

saving this vid

this s*** is f***ing me up yo.

I always felt that the "Black excellence" term has an otherness attached to it. S*** is depressing when you consider that the little grace/leeway already given to us will grow lesser the more we ascend in our respective fields.

i've grown to hate the term ngl.

This be the reality of things

pernicious talented tenth vibes
ouroboros of abuse and exceptionalism
no. not worth it.

is it reality? Or is it living up to #their standards of us?