Verbal Lashing, Chuck D style!

Of course, reality TV is not reality at all. It’s shot, canned, edited, and processed Amerikkkan style—like Mickey Ds, over 99 billion served and told. In a land where a village idiot reigns at the top, it’s no surprise that many citizens would be reduced to “vidiots.” Anti-lectualism and mass dumbass-ification across five hundred channels is candied stress relief from the rigors of reality.

The public should know that Flavor Flav’s Flavor Of Love and other reality shows are shot approximately five months beforehand within a 23-day span, so how stupid is it when people wait week by week to find out something that happened almost half a year before?

Television is considered the most powerful weapon/tool created to inflict influence. That power, as far as black folk is concerned, is like a snapshot of a gathering. If you were in that gathering and the snapshot was passed around, the first person you look for is yourself. This is the basic reason black folks flock to the tube.

At the same time, black women’s images have never been so low. (A shameless plug here: all-female rap group Crew Grrl Order’s debut on my SLAMjamz label [slamjamz.com]; it’ll be interesting to see the support for these women’s recordings by the mega conglomerates come this October 2006.) What’s more disturbing is that Christina Norman of MTV Networks, Debra L. Lee of BET, and Cathy Hughes of Radio One are all black women and presidents of the most powerful portals of culture [and] image portrayals that millions of black folk visit daily.

This brings me [back] to Flav’s scenario. When I pulled Flavor Flav up twenty-five years ago, Public Enemy was a varied, diversified collection of personalities, just as was our Long Island neighborhood. Flav was Skittles and Starburst to [former PE member] Professor Griff’s okra and beets—and Flav’s that same cat today.

You must understand, [Public Enemy producer] Hank Shocklee and myself formed a noisy rap vehicle in terms of words and sonic assault. PE was to destroy music, as we knew it, because it was elitist from a position of black complacency. But somehow, along the way, black life and culture [has been] deemed profitable, and the big, great, white male took interest. “Niggativity,” which was a minority element in the ’hood, has had its DNA corporately extracted. This created the climate for Flavor Of Love. This is called diminishing returns.

The truth is, black men (whether lawyer, comedian, militant, athlete, mechanic, drug dealer, drug addict, soldier, academic cat, thug, etc.) are still grouped into one cookie-cutter category. Class clowns and thugs are cosigned, socially applauded, and rewarded, while teachers and valedictorians are clowned.

I’m glad Flav is busy, really not surprised at all (I’ve been traveling and living with dude all over the earth 25 years, people—56 countries, 54 tours…hello!!! Why would I be surprised?). Personally, I thought Flavor was the smartest cat in the room on The Surreal Life 3, and he showed the heart he had in Strange Love (Although I interjected when I heard a conflict was shot between him and his ex, and I threatened VH1 and the production company [that] if they aired it, we’d have problems. They were calling the conflict “good TV”…shit.…) Viacom, which owns MTV, BET, VH1 (Flavor Of Love’s television home), and reality shows are inseparable. The Real World jumped it off in the early ’90s. [So] when Flav told me he was doing a Flavor version of The Bachelor, I just laughed and wished him luck.

Flavor Flav is addicted to fame. When he has had run-ins with the law and some substance cases, that’s been when his fame was on the low. We always knew that Flav would be the loudest in any room. In a twisted way, perhaps he was an asteroid smash-landed to possibly change the terrain of imagery and wake some people up. Perhaps Flavor Flav is an introduction to black folks killing off the nigger in us. But it’s a double wince at times when the stats say that Flavor Of Love is a well-watched program by the masses of black folk and the topic the next day among our people at school and work.

This just in…the rest of PE continues to contribute socially, both nationally and abroad. We’re balanced as a structure and expect no coverage or publicity campaign costing $6K a month. I don’t do reality TV and won’t bend for it. Among many things, I’ve been on the Air America Radio network for the past year with a black woman cohost, Gia’na Garel, boosting social-cultural-political opinions nationally and abroad. We expect a minority of listeners, but also I realize the glaring fact that if I’d merely robbed a gas station, I wouldn’t need a publicist.

So I would like this to be read and thoroughly comprehended. [But] if it’s fulla shit and too deep, then there you have it. I’m glad you’ve made it this far. Don’t expect some reality show nearest you.

- Chuck D -

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Bam! In your face TRUTH.

There was a time when I refused to laugh at anyone else’s expense. I refused to watch Entertainment News shows and read gossip blogs. It was as if an invisible protective shield surrounded me and let negativity in any form bounce off me. Something happened and of course now I watch dumbness and know more useless trivia than the average person. *shrug*. I am not proud of this but Lord knows I needed to LAUGH and watching mindless entertainment was the quickest cure.

Chuck D is right. We have to see these shows for what they are - PURE ENTERTAINMENT. Sure I sit on couch and watch BUT you have to know that there is nothing real about any of it. As soon as these contestants leave these reality shows they are quick to let the world know how shit really happened and how they were edited to look the fool.

Lets face it, someone falling over drunk makes good tv.

And there is a reality tv formula….contestants know how to get more camera time. Usually the more obnoxious and bigger than life you are, the more people will talk about you. These contestants forget that the 3 minutes of obnoxious behavior presented to the masses have life long effects. 20 years from now Somethin’s children will be teased over her smelly accident.

Watching real reality is painful and boring.

Watching House of Carters is painful but it is the truth. This is real life. People have shitty parents and siblings fight and try to find their way. If it was for tv then they would have their Mom & Dad on there acting like good parents.

Watching Keyshia Cole’s show was painful but it was the truth. Going to prison to visit her mother and having the family (mother and daughters) have a heart to heart was truth. If it was for tv then a casting call would have gone out for a Claire Huxtable type to play Keyshia’s mother and look like she had a perfect life.

Watching Intervention is painful but it is the truth. Family members do lie and steal to get high.

Reality tv is going nowhere. Everyday a show is being pitched somewhere and we eat it up BUT we gotta take it for what it is. We CANNOT believe that love is found on a tv set..it is a fantasy complete with mansions, chauffuers and all that. None of the Bachelors ever got married and yet the show goes on and people continue to tune in.

Oh and about that invisible protective shield….I am beginning to long for it again and that is a wonderful sign. I feel myself wanting to look inward once more and find all my laughter there.

Life…it is a beautiful thing.