I Support 2-Cent...Crabs in a Barrel Part 2

I would first like to apologize for my lack of posting lately. For those of yall who don't know, I have moved back to New Orleans and am in the process of getting settled and accustomed to being back home. Anyone who knows me knows that I love any and all things New Orleans, and have devoted my life to removing any and all negative stereotypes associated with my great city. With that being said, when my homie, Malik, posted on twitter that we should retweet our support for 2-cent, so I just posted #Isupport2cent without hesitation and without knowing what was going on. But after today, I found out about the media beef between B-Mike Odums and Tom Joyner, and boy was I appalled. For those of yall who are unfamiliar with 2-cent, please go to http://www.2-cent.com/ and educate yourself about who 2-cent is and what they do. I probably shouldn't get into my opinion on the creative works of 2-cent and all because of my tweets, postings, and favoriting of their videos, one would be inclined to think that I have a biased opinion, but at the end of the day, 2-cent is a bunch of 20-somethings who are doing their part to eliminate those same negative stereotypes of New Orleans youth, and do their part to make the city a better place.

Anyways, last week, Tom Joyner decided to "go in" on 2-cent and B-Mike of which the most pertinent parts can be heard here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5EnhSlLrEA. Now, let me "go in" on Mr. Joyner, cause I swear he DON'T want my stress trouble! Mr. Joyner brings nation-wide notice and attention to the book drive sponsored by 2-cent and showcased in their video "Every Book" which can be seen here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HBbTlRz9ZQ. But Mr. Joyner seems to do one of the most ignorant things that any person (black, white, hispanic, asian, male, or female) can do in an argument, and that's not know all the facts. He proceeds to state that while he supports the actions of those who are trying to uplift and educate America's youth, that he cannot pass on such support to B-Mike because he needs to go back to the drawing board as Young Money's "Every Girl" is not the right vessel to propel such a movement, and then plays a sample of "Every Girl" to show why he disagrees with the song. Now Mr. Joyner and I do agree on the point that the youth do not need to be hearing words like that song's infamous hook "I wish I could fuck every girl in the world," but that's about as far as our agreement goes. Tom even goes further in saying that Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff's "Parents Just Don't Understand" would be a better song to use in this plight, and I can only shake my head at his ignorance.

Apparently, Mr. Joyner never watched "Every Book" or he would have listened to the lyrics, the hook of "I wish I could read every book in the world," or the bridge of "we read that...we read that too." Or maybe Tom Joyner needs to do like Lil John suggested and "read a muhfukkin book," possibly one that would teach him the meaning of the word parody, which is prominently displayed in video's title on YouTube. In addition, most educators would agree that the best way to educate children is by associating unfamiliar information with familiar works, so why wouldn't Young Money's song be a good look? You'd be surprised at the things children pick up on these days, and I'd much rather my 4 year old telling me about his desire to read book in the world, as opposed to smashing every girl (before yall start, YES I WOULD). What's even funnier or more ironic is how Tom Joyner suggests "Parents Just Don't Understand" from 1988. Keep in mind that it is now 2011, the last of the 80's babies, those born in 1989, will be 22 this year, and I honestly think that those with a memory of said song would probably be those born in 1985 or before meaning those 25+ which is far beyond what society would consider as the youth. Children these days probably couldn't think back to a time when Will Smith was the Fresh Prince, and not an actor, or just simply Willow's daddy. They probably couldn't even remember songs such as "Gettin Jiggy With It," one of Smith's latter (and lamer) hits.

Now even after reading, listening to, and thinking all that, I was upset but not necessarily pissed off, but what really got to me was the response Tom sent to one of 2-cent's high school ambassadors after she decided to share her thoughts and experiences with 2-cent with Mr. Joyner. Mr. Joyner tells her;

"My office has been flooded with emails and phone calls about this, and if there is an opportunity to address this I'll definitely let you and the folks at 2-cent know. For now, let everyone know I'm getting your messages but there are a whole lot of other things we're focused on right now on the TJMS and I can't make any promises that we'll get back to this right away. I appreciate your reaching out."

REALLY, TOM?! REALLY?! You have other things to focus on, but you didn't have those other things to focus on when u decided to fire shots at 2-cent. Be the bigger man and give them a medium to explain their side of the story instead of the coward who throws a sneak punch for the first attack and then runs away from the repercussions. I'm putting Tom Joyner in the category with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, in saying that while I appreciate all that you have done for Black America, you're getting dumber in your old age! I think Tom should actually watch the video, have a talk with Michael Eric Dyson, who comments at the end of "Every Book," issue an apology to 2-cent, and bring them in for guests on his show.

B-Mike and 2-cent, I support you! If you feel the same, please re-post this, comment, tell a friend, and write Tom Joyner at tom@blackamericaweb.com, and let him know that he who lives in a glass house should not throw stones, and that NEW ORLEANS SUPPORTS 2-CENT and has the intelligence to know that we should have all the facts before passing judgment.

I can't wait to see the 2-cent parody of "Tom Joyner Just Don't Understand."