They Done Stormed the Capitol Chile…
Unless you are really into politics, or you received a poly-sci degree (and even then this may not be true), you were probably introduced to quite a few words this week, and rightfully so. After a large group of traitors stormed the capitol to overthrown the United States government it is only right we hear some things we’ve never heard of to define the events we’ve never seen.
I want to encourage you, and let you know that you are not the only one…because “insurrectionists” vs “insurgents” has been kicking my butt all week.
With this in mind, I have created a quick glossary for you to navigate through the political jargon swirling around the newspapers, televisions, and social media because Gerard Butler prepared us for NUNOFDAT in the “_______ Has Fallen” movies.
Banana Republic:
The original meaning: a politically unstable country run by a dictator and his cronies, with an economy dependent on a single product
Evolved to mean: any country that has a ruthless, corrupt, or plain old pyscho leader who relies on the military and destroys state institutions for the sake of prolonged power.
Filibuster:
a tactic used in the United States Senate to prevent a measure from being brought to a vote by means of obstruction. The most common form occurs when one or more senators attempt to delay or block a vote on a bill by extending debate on the measure.
Insurrection:
an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government
Insurrectionists:
a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority
Insurgents:
a rebel or revolutionary
Sedition:
the act of inciting revolt or violence against a lawful authority with the goal of destroying or overthrowing it.
14th Amendment:
prohibits any persons, in this case Senators Cruz (Texas), Hawley (Missouri), who had gone to war against the US or given aid and comfort to the nation's enemies, in this case the insurrectionists, from running for federal or state office, unless Congress by a two-thirds vote specifically permitted it
25th Amendment:
if the President becomes unable to do his job, the Vice President becomes the President
*Section 4, which is the section that we are looking for VP Mike Pence to invoke is the only part of the Amendment that has never been used. It allows other executive officials to declare the President unable to do his job. The Vice President must agree to do this.
I am not going to talk about the events that occurred on Wednesday, January 6th in this newsletter. It’s giving me 2020 energy and in the words of Hov: “WE OFF THAT!” Plus, I know you are probably tired of hearing about it. But I will dive into the impeachment process more as we go into next week and approach the inauguration of the Biden-Harris admin.
Frankly, it’s not our battle to fight at this time.
BK Ballin In Basquiat
Photos via the NBA’s BK Nets
Kyrie Irving ended his Christmas Day post-game interview with a shameless plug for the Brooklyn Nets Basquiat inspired City Jerseys. Then he went sprinting into the tunnel to celebrate the Nets win against the Boston Celtics.
The action screamed “Black Boy Joy!” On the surface it promoted the Net’s City Jerseys, boasting another BK connection between the team and one of their culture-shifting natives. But to those who know, it gave a nod to the young Black athlete’s connection to hip hop’s favorite artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.
If you think that Basquiat is just a fine artist who could not overcome his vices, you are mistaken. In fact, he may or may not have considered the “fine-art” classification a limiting insult. Yes, he is the first Black American street artist to gain worldwide notoriety for successfully invading the fine art world. However, Basquiat used graffiti, one of the key elements of hip hop, to tell stories of the past, make political statements against injustices in America, and express his vision. Yet and still, his impact in the ’80s is mild compared to his influence today.
Verzuz co-creator-art collector-super producer Swizz Beatz is cited as one of the first in the hip hop community to begin collecting Basquiat paintings back in 2005. Then he created a Reebok collection with the artist’s face on it in 2009. Years later the rest of the hip hop community followed suit. Do you remember Jay-Z dropping $4.5m for Basquiat’s 1982 painting "Mecca" in 2013?
Drake also paid homage to Basquiat, curating an exhibit for Sotheby's in 2015, meticulously pairing paintings with the perfect rap and trap tracks to fuse the two mediums. The most talked-about moment in the experience: Basquiat’s Jazz (1986) is matched with “Gangsta Party” by Yo Gotti featuring 8ball.
Not to mention the countless Basquiat lines that are submerged in your favorite rap songs like:
The Oprah:
“Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, iPhone, Microsoft/My paper is very long, your paper is very soft/I am a big BOSS, Boy, get lost, My new Basquiat, H.O.V. know what that cost”
-Swizz Beatz
Ain’t I:
"I got Warhols on my halls walls, I got Basquiats in the lobby of my spot/I'm so sophisticatedly hood, S. Carter cashmere premium goods."
-Jay Z
Land of Promise:
"Promised land, I picture Porsches, Basquiat portraits/Pinky rings, realistic princesses, Heiresses bunch a Kings and Queens."
-Nas
There is a link between the hip hop artists and Black athletes of today and the Jean-Michel Basquiat of yesterday. The link is strong because the plight of the Black entertainer is still the same.
Although considered the most popular or “pop” genre of today, hip-hop is still considered fringe and taboo to the insiders of the corporate world. In its purest form, the bravado imagery and brash lyrics of the hardest rapper must be wrangled and tamed before it can hit the ears of a consumer in a Sprite commercial. Black athletes are looked at in the same light, if they do not smile enough in their interviews, subscribe to the same thinking as mainstream outlets or analysts, and make their own decisions about their career paths--they are labelled difficult. A necessary evil that both sets of artists much contend with for mainstream success.
A woman passes by Basquiat’s La Hara (1981), Untitled (1982), and Irony of Negro Policeman (1981).AP PHOTO/KEYSTONE/GEORGIOS KEFALAS
Overtime, Basquiat’s art was received similarly. Starting much like an underground or “backpack” rapper before their rise to fame, he made his way through the underground art scene as one half of the duo SAMO. Building and grinding to make a name for himself like most NBA players do through AAU and college ball-- Basquiat set out as a solo artist at the beginning of the ’80s. His imagery of African people sporting his signature three-point crown was a challenge to western art and raised the profile of those he crowned (Black artists, athletes, etc.) to a royal stature. And it just took Andy Warhol to cosign and collaborate with him, to propel Basquiat’s star into the stratosphere.
Towards the end of his life, as Basquait became a man and navigated through his success as a Black artist in a white industry. He battled with this space with the art world and used drugs to cope, eventually overdosing and leaving his work behind to tell a story that we are still telling.
In Jay-Z’s book Decoded, you will find a passage that reads:
“One critic said about Basquiat that the boys in his paintings didn’t grow up to be men, they grew up to corpses, skeletons and ghosts. Maybe that’s the curse of being young, black and gifted in America — and if you add sudden success to that, it only makes it more likely that you’ll succumb, like Basquiat did in a loft not far from the one I live now, a loft filled with his art … I’m trying to rewrite the old script, but Basquiat’s painting sits on my wall like a warning.”
The Brooklyn Nets are also rewriting the old script. With each layup, three-pointer, win, injury, recovery, and comeback the “not so media-darlings” like Kyrie and KD are living. Not as corpses, but as success stories. Playing the game they love and turning into physical artists--creating their new story arc each game night, and refusing to get caught up in the hype.
So what is the message that the Nets could send by continuously winning, despite being a team composed of the insider’s outsiders while donning the images inspired by Basquiat?
Well, In the words of Irving: “We Live!”
Before You Head Out
Happy New Year! I hope you all had an amazing and safe holiday.
I probably should have led with that right?
I did not know how many people really read this newsletter until I stopped writing it November. But, it was just a temporary break! I needed sometime after the election to talk to myself and check in on a myriad of feelings.
Here’s What I’ve Been Digesting:
Podcasts
Gaining Ground: The New Georgia
A documentary podcast by Atlanta natives and journalists Rembert Browne and Jewel Wicker who talk to the key organizers, strategists, and voters in GA who are hoping to see years of hard work flip GA.
I plan on talking more about the flip and my take on timing in future newsletters.
Articles
Black Police Officers Describe The Racist Attacks They Faced As They Protected The Capitol
Soon he was screaming, so that everyone in the Rotunda, including his white colleagues, could hear what he had just gone through.
“These are racist-ass terrorists,” he yelled out.
…
“I got called a nigger 15 times today,” the veteran officer shouted in the Rotunda to no one in particular. “Trump did this and we got all of these fucking people in our department that voted for him. How the fuck can you support him?”
Check out this amazing piece written by Emmanuel Felton for Buzzfeed.
TV Shows
Bridgerton
Need I say more?
YES! Because we could be getting 8 seasons. Read more here.
And FYI:
