For those who do not know, I am an avid sports fan, amongst other things. I appreciate how during the course of a game, sport is an example of a perfect society. It doesn’t matter who you are - a professional or a kid playing in a summer league, a starter or reserve so far down on the depth chart you only see the field during warm-ups - the rules are the rules. They do not change from day to day, but remain the same. The rules are a constant.
The perfect society analogy comes in when you include the participants, the rules, and the refs. Everyone involved understands not just what the rules are, but also the punishment for being caught breaking those rules. Take a couple of steps without dribbling the basketball, that’s traveling. Your punishment for breaking this rule is immediately forfeiting the possession thereby turning the ball over to the other team. Sports are not like the “real world” where someone can say you did something that no one else saw and you have to defend your name. The punishments aren’t ever something that can be negotiated. The rules and the punishments for infractions are understood before the game ever begins. In my opinion, the equality and fairness of sports dictates something that the rest of the world can learn from.
With that said, I recently watched an ESPN program entitled 30 for 30. This particular episode was a one hour documentary of sorts on Ricky Williams, the infamous running back, pothead, and escape artist. I thought that I knew everything worth knowing about this man. I thought I understood that he loved the foliage and smoked it when he wanted to. Stubbornly, he continued to smoke even though he repeatedly failed drug test after drug test and received suspensions from the NFL on more than one occasion. He has retired, returned, left, come back, quit, come back, gone to Canada and played there, and came back again. I thought he was someone who loved herb more than football, and that he was probably one of the most self-sabotaging individuals in recent football memory. However, after watching the 30 for 30 segment, I realized that like everything else the media touches, I did not really know the truth.
This man is highly enlightened (no pun intended). He seems to have an understanding of life better than just about any athlete I have ever heard speak. Everyone thought he was a fool when (straight out of college) he solicited Master P, the infamous ice cream man, to represent him during his contract negotiations with the New Orleans Saints. The deal, which some found laughable, was primarily incentive based. In other words, in order for him to be paid the majority of the money he could earn he had to produce specific things for the team. The contract contained clauses that dictated how many yards he would need to rush (not a small number at all) and in turn, how much he would be paid for rushing those yards. He would have to put up big numbers in order to get paid big bucks. The media laughs at him for being so arrogant and simultaneously ignorant as to think he could produce numbers as a rookie that would rival the numbers of other great athletes in the prime of their careers. His response to why he did that (discussed during the segment) was that he did not want to be a man who did not earn his living. He did not want to be a man who had money handed to him if he did not perform. The media never mentions that part. For that, I found Ricky Williams the opposite of arrogant. In fact, I think his attitude about his trade is admirable.
He could have made $30 million dollars over the course of his career had he not run into so much self-created adversity. However, he does not apologize for not doing so. His outlook on life is not one of chasing after the money; he’s more interested in living up to his potential. He was quoted once as saying that he’d come back and play for free. For this too, the media has laughed at and mocked him, but his response is that his motivation should not be the almighty dollar but, rather, to be the best running back he could possibly be. His motivation was doing the best he could regardless of what anyone else thought of him or how much he was being paid. He was doing it for himself. This is why I find him so enlightened. He does not follow the path that society has said he must follow in order to be successful.
The popular ideal in America is to somehow live the “American Dream.” Capitalism has created a society in which we are raised and conditioned to believe that getting rich is the ultimate goal. Forget who you are as a person. Forget the necessary sacrifices to attain this dream. Your goal in life is to somehow chase the paper and catch it. We have bought into this ideal (myself included) so wholeheartedly that we never stop to ask ourselves what are we really putting in to something. How much are you actually sacrificing for the hope that one day you’ll make it big? Now, I know that this is a hip hop blog, so what does all this have to do with hip hop?
Recently Curren$y inked a deal with Warner Records. He stated on Twitter that in order to “look the monsters in the eye and subsequently cut off their heads” he needed to “leave is lair”, which is of course reference to the fact that he needed to leave the “underground” hip hop scene. I can respect someone doing his/her best to climb up through the ranks. However, my worry and fear comes from the fact that before this signing was confirmed by Curren$y, The Brain and I had a conversation. Warner was called “where artists go to die” because of their reputation of signing hip hop musicians yet never releasing any of their albums. Since the artist is under contract with the label they are not allowed to self release any music. If their work is to ever see the light of day and grace our waiting ears, the label has to be the one to give it the green light. I am a huge Curren$y fan and would seriously hate to lose what I consider to be a valued member of the culture. If he falls victim to the fates of other Warner hip hop artists it will truly be a loss. Regardless, he acted in a way that he feels is best for him, so I will continue to support him.
I still think of Ricky Williams, though. The man found demons when he started running for the money instead of just running for the end zone. The man caught hate in the media when he refused to join the ranks of the capitalists in the NFL. I sometimes think that if you are to be successful in this world, whether in hip-hop, sports or any other industry, there is no choice but to turn your back on the money and the greed that makes a few chosen white men rich and instead work for yourself. The reasoning for this belief is exemplified in a T shirt I saw once that said “hip-hop is the new cotton.” At first I was like WTF, then I realized how true it actually is. White men (slave masters) control the company (plantation) where black men break their backs (the artists) to only end up with pennies of what they produced is worth. The people truly getting rich are never the ones actually creating the product just like the ones getting exceptionally wealthy aren’t the ones running the football.
Ricky Williams was chastised by the media for refusing to play their game. He ended up an outcast when he voiced his distaste for the new rules imposed on an old game and turned his back. The same ones that love you when you’re on top will inevitably attempt to fuck you in the ass with a sandpaper condom when you somehow do not do what they desire (do the thing that makes them rich). It’s a dirty world we live in. I wish Curren$y the very best of luck and wish nothing but prosperous times in his future. He likely will not necessarily run into the same problems as Ricky Williams, seeing as how there is no drug testing policy in hip-hop. Curren$y’s well publicized love of the green is up there with my love of breathing. However, when money comes into the picture, especially big money, I must defer to Biggie on this one with his assertion of “Mo Money, Mo Problems”.
Just a little food for thought.
Put that in your trunk and thump it,
GFUNK.
Be sure to follow @gfunkinyotrunk
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