The Devolution IS Being Televised

by Reverend Reynard N. Blake, Jr.

You do not have to leave home, brother
You have already plugged in to TV, TiVo, and video
You have watched MTV, BET, and other video hos
Commercials running to and fro
Filled with drink, drama, dunk, and dough
Because the devolution is being televised

The devolution is being brought to you by the good people at Viacom, Fox, BMG, Sony
And other assorted fuehrers who bring you your daily dosage of cultural destruction
The devolution will NOT show you Michael Powell
Worrying about titty during the "family hour" while, time after time
And without rhyme or reason allow mega media conglomerates
More power to mess up your mind, your morals, and your membranes
While taking your money
This devolution will NOT be televised

The devolution IS being shown in your ghettos, suburbs, and exurbs
Bringing you, WITH commercial interruption, niggas talking about triggas
And wiggas wanting to be niggas thinking that it's good to be a nigga
In the streets but not in THEIR neighborhood
This devolution will not give you food for thought
But will make you think about food brought to you by McDonalds and Subway
Telling you to "eat fresh" while getting fresh with women and showing no love
Brother, this devolution IS being televised

Pictures of big booty hos and conspicuous consumption
Laminated by limited-thinking artists promoting
The art of illusion where they live in the lap of luxury
Livin' in the "durty, durty" while leaving no messages
Yet, they maul manhood and desecrate womanhood
As their money is on their mind and their mind is on their money
Honey, the devolution IS being televised

However, there WILL be images of "Soul Plane"
The devolution of "Soul Train"
Maimed will be the way of black worship
As LeBron is portrayed as a basketball Son of Man
Damn! Is ANYTHING sacred?
There will be no images of black power
Only petty, profane people hour, hour after hour
Providing chuckles to the masses
While they sell their asses for the "bling, bling"
Whitey laughs and says "watch the monkeys sing"
As OUR pockets go "ch-ching"
This devolution will NOT be televised

Yet, the devolution will show our penchant
To be pimped out and straight pimpin' while thinkin'
"Ho-ing is hard, but pimpin' ain't easy"
Please!
While "thugs" are pimpin' girls
The white man is building worlds
And, ain't it funny that the white producers are building wealth
And black artists are just making money
Honey, this part of the devolution AIN'T being televised!

And what about the lost fear of being in prison?
Is "thug life" a given to create art?
What is "keepin' it real?"
Real is when whitey makes the deal
Aren't we the "Shot callers?" "Brawlers?"
Or, are we just the "ballers?"

So, why is the devolution is being televised?
To reinforce the power of the vultures to perpetrate lies
About our culture
To make 50 Cent make no sense
To make comedy the domain of the darker
Like "The Parkers"
To make Blues, white
To make Jazz, white
To make ignorance, right
To make black thinkers invisible
To make black prisoners plausible
To make black families dysfunctional
Despite the Huxtables
To make the switch from black mammies to black bitches
To show that Black riches only come from music, sports, or pimpin'
To make us simple, without vision
To make the minister, sinister
To make us the underclass
To kick our ass

How do we stop the devolution?
Demand the artists get right and understand
That they are just contraband
To make smile, dance, shuffle
To make them docile and define themselves
As neutered, nonsensical, to be repelled
And held in low esteem
However, to be redeemed
Artists must be seen as doctors, lawyers
And heads of strong families
And not convicts, the first killed, or the drug dealer
Determine your destiny, don't sell out
For 30 pieces of silver and gold in your mouth

And the rest of us must tell the gatekeepers
The WE are in the drivers' seat and that
The devolution MUST be deemphasized
Must be deemphasized
Must be deemphasized
MUST BE DEEMPHASIZED

Your power will be undone
If you try to dis' us with reruns

Reverend Reynard N. Blake, Jr., M. S. is an ordained Baptist minister living in East Lansing, Michigan with his wife Karen Kelly-Blake, Ph.D., Research Associate, Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University (MSU). He earned his Master of Science degree in Community Development-Urban Studies from MSU and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the College of Charleston (SC). He has co-authored several articles on faith-based community development and is also a poet and hip-hop cultural analyst whose work have appeared on Black Commentator, Michigan Family Review, Op-ED.com, the Online Journal of Urban Youth Culture and Black Agenda Report. He is putting on the final touches on a book of political parody and poetry; no publisher yet. He would appreciate any input on where and how he can get it published. He can be reached at reynardblakejr@yahoo.com.

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