Content Harvesting and Gossip Era Groupies

In my 2022 article Intellectual Property: How Protected Are We? I shared that, "This society is drastically changing with the exponential growth of technology. Those changes are not favorable for those of us who have little to no control over any legal assets/intellectual property. As black people, we cannot allow those changes to happen around us." With the expansion of technology, we went from an Internet Era to a Social Media Era. Since publishing that article, society has begun to move through an IP [Intellectual Property] Era and devolve into an Era of Content Harvesting and Gossip Groupies.

  Step back and look at the content being shared online today. Whether it's skits, LIVE videos, reaction videos, music, social commentary, or podcasts, most of that content is based on negatively talking about others. Everyone has something to say, about everybody. As much as some people claim to hate "Lying Donald Trunk" -as my six-year-old calls him, he is generating millions of dollars of content revenue for people talking about everything he does/doesn't do and anyone remotely associated with him. This does not mean that I support him. I am simply pointing out the same contradiction of Northerners running textile companies making a claim that they were against slavery while enriching themselves from the cotton picked by enslaved people and shipped by Southerners. Trump is content gold and his remarks/tweets provide job security for some of his most vocal content-creating critics. It is a sick symbiotic relationship. Knowing this, I strive to step outside of this cycle of abuse by not allowing myself to be used as a content tool. It is not often, but sometimes I have still fallen short of that. More recently, I publicly addressed a male with an obvious man-crush who has consistently trolled me privately and publicly over the last several years. In hindsight, it started after I gave them an interview for YouTube, yet never gave them direct access to me. Over time, I was accused of "thinking I was better" and they became an outright contrarian to whatever they would see me share online, and recruit others who secretly felt the same way. Because they are not in my personal or professional circle, I would receive this information from those who wanted to inform me about some things that were going on in the periphery of my life. Anyway, I humorously responded to some recent low budget content they made that included me. My response was all EGO and ultimately fed the attention seeking behavior that content harvesting gossip groupies like them monetize. As the old saying goes, if someone walks in on a wise person and a fool having a disagreement, they won't be able to tell the difference. In this instance, I was definitely a fool for even entertaining this.

Universal Parliament, P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman Elementary School 
[November 28th, 1982]

Speaking of foolishness, there has recently been a lot of discussion, particularly among members of our Five Percent Nation, about public commentary shared by Golden Era Hip Hop Pioneer and Brand Nubian group member Lord Jamar. Lord Jamar recently appeared on the In Godfrey We Trust Podcast to debate Professor Dave Farina about the Flat Earth; a concept supported by Lord Jamar yet disproved by the scientific community before the 6th Century BC and not advocated by our Five Percent Nation. As a professed member of our Five Percent Nation, Lord Jamar has been publicly and privately criticized for his pro-Flat Earth stance by some Nation members and people within the general public about how he handled this public debate. Many have shared that it was an embarrassing display by Lord Jamar, and he even issued a public apology stating that, "I was not myself." I received many requests from viewers to share my perspective on this and I honored those requests with the below video:

Commentary on Lord Jamar and The Flat Earth Discussion

     As you can see in the above video, my position is clear. Some of us Five Percenters are too fixated on conversations that do not actually impact the larger community. This is also reflective of this Content Harvesting and Era of Gossip Groupies. We should be directing our focus and finances on things that will aid in our growth and development. Some Five Percenters have argued that it is not about Lord Jamar and the Flat Earth. The issue is he is misrepresenting the teachings of our Five Percent Nation to a wide audience. Ironically, two years ago I put forth the unsuccessful effort to guard against incidents like this by trademarking the elements of our Universal Flag and seeking a body of Five Percent Nation members who would manage it. In this instance, they could have easily sent him a cease-and-desist letter for trademark infringement and the unlicensed use of our Universal Flag with his content, including its removal from the cover of his The 5% Album and any related merchandise. If this cease-and-desist warning was ignored, we (the trademark owner) could have escalated the situation by filing a lawsuit against him, leading to legal repercussions like court orders, financial damages for any profits made from the infringement, and attorney fees. It seemed simple enough to me, yet some Five Percenters just didn't get it. This idea was eventually sabotaged by some of the same folks who have criticized Lord Jamar about his public representation of our Nation. In replacement of our trademark, I've seen Five Percenters choose to make long-form videos about Lord Jamar, go on Podcasts and make social media posts talking about him; none of which are an effective call to action to address their so-called issue. Maybe now folks will start to better understand the power of controlling our identity/representation in the public domain by owning our IP [Intellectual Property]. Maybe. If someone is really that concerned about Lord Jamar's public representation, I would encourage them to just be better representations in their communities, municipalities, and online. Unfortunately, that is all you can really do at this point. 

     As this society continues to move through an IP [Intellectual Property] Era and devolve into a Content Harvesting and Gossip Groupie Era, it is important to not lose sight of the tangible everyday work we need to do that positively impacts the lives of others. We also must not minimize or overlook the importance of owning our IP. The folks who are chasing ambulances to have something or someone to talk about, and/or not owning their IP, will not always be around. They have "a said birth record" and will eventually run their course. Think about the big celebrity gossip that you heard last week and if folks are even talking about it today. They are not, unless more information has been leaked in the media that is connected to the original story in order to keep it alive. There is something or someone else being talked about today and people are making a living off of it, like parasites. What we ultimately need to ask ourselves is, are we going to ride these shallow waves or be an ocean of ideas and proactivity? I have always chosen the later, and that is why I am here today. Not because I am a so-called "content creator." It is because I am a creator, who is personally and professionally content, with what I consistently share to inspire, empower, and educate others.

Peace,

Saladin

Should Allah's Five Percent Form a Tribal Government?

   On October 18th, 2019 the Yanadameen Godcast, a Youtube podcast hosted by Hip Hop Artists Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian and Rah Digga of the Flipmode Squad, was joined by Actor, Hip Hop Artist and Community Advocate Born Mastermind Allah to discuss nation building and steps needed to form a tribal government. This episode highlighted an initiative spearheaded by Born Mastermind to nationalize Allah's Five Percent Nation of Gods and Earths into a tribal government. You can view this episode in its entirety HERE. 

     While this was the first time that many Five Percenters became aware of this initiative I was aware of this for some time before it was publicly shared. The first time I heard about this determined idea was in 2018 during a panel discussion about community building and the political process at our Annual Show and Prove. That panel was coordinated by our late great brother Cee Aaquil Allah, moderated by the elder God Minister Justice and featured King Civilized, Born Mastermind and myself. While King Civilized and myself elaborated on our insight and journey in the political arena and community outreach, Born Mastermind spoke about creating a plebiscite and forming a tribal government. The second time that I heard about this initiative was early 2019 when I built with Born Mastermind in Mecca [Harlem] during the Official Street Naming ceremony. We exchanged math and soon thereafter discussed his initiative more extensively and my projects, programs and initiatives. We also discussed potential collaborations. Following that conversation he also sent me information to do further research and decide if I was willing and able to be involved in this initiative. It was following that initial conversation, unanswered questions I posed, research I did and the cultural inconsistencies I saw that I decided not to be involved. So I ceased to follow-up on the private meeting texts and donation initiative Born Mastermind began to organize around his idea.

    In regards to the cultural inconsistencies I saw, there were things that were not in line with our teachings. In a November 15th, 1967 interview at the Otisville Reformatory School for Boys, Allah, the founder of our Nation of the Five Percent, shared, "I'm not against the United States. The Earth got to be build on. And it's your duty to teach the uncivilized we don't care whether he's black or white," and "... you got to educate these children in a way to show them why they must keep this country themselves, black and white, must unite together... now many of my people are against me." This, among many other statements by Allah, made it clear that he and his Five Percent were not Pro-Black or Anti-White nor were we against American citizenship. Allah, who was a military veteran at this time, did not refer to his Nation as a tribe nor did he promote the idea of being a sovereign body operating apart from the local, state or federal government. 

Who is the Founder of the Five Percent?

     Since our formal inception, we did not need nor seek to be nationalized as a tribal government. Allah’s Five Percent is already a Nation, with a National Flag, a common culture, chronology and land [territories]. When it comes to nationalization, for one to claim federally recognized tribal enrollment status you must prove your ancestry as a descendant of Indigenous People here in North America and/or use other tribal constitution criterion to prove your nationality as outlined by that particular tribe. This means you must show genealogical proof and/or other enrollment criteria that you descend from First Nations People such as the Seneca, Hopi, Olmec, Mayan or any of the other 550+ federally recognized tribes. If you are saying that you were here before these 550+ federally recognized tribes then you must be able to show and prove that. That requires more than books and artifacts in a museum as proof. Although we recognize that we are descendants of First World People, the Original People and fathers and mothers of civilization, and can cite archaeology, paleontology and other facts as evidence to support that, many of us who descended from those First World People have difficulty proving our ancestry genealogically and genetically.
     Forming a tribal government was not Allah’s impetus, program or goal. Allah was practically invested in community outreach and youth advocacy to help his Five Percenters become productive members of this society. Our unique culture was and is a way to facilitate that process. It is through our culture that people learn to think global and live as local citizens. At the same time Allah was not advocating assimilation or being a part of “the dead world.” He advocated the acquisition of power through showing that our Nation is equal to all nations through the science of education. 

   I understand Born Mastermind’s desire for organization, collective work and responsibility. Many of us understand this and are already working individually and collectively within our respective areas as Allah’s Five Percent. Many Five Percenters felt violated, expressed outrage and publicly shared their contempt upon hearing that Born Mastermind along with a small group of people came together as a plebiscite to draw up a constitution, form a government structure and vote to nationalize Allah’s Five Percent and our Flag without our consent. Although Born Mastermind shared his perspectives on nationalization during a 2018 panel discussion I took part in at our Annual Show and Prove, he did not formally bring this initiative before our Universal Parliament for input nor did he share it with many of the elders of our Nation. Many Five Percenters felt blindsided seeing and hearing his tribal government initiative for the first time on a Hip Hop podcast. That shrewd, non-participatory approach often makes any initiative, regardless how well meaning, doomed from the start.

     Living in Western New York I have had the privilege of knowing, working with and being with many members of the sovereign Six Nations; the Cayuga, Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga and Tuscarora. When I was a child I invested a lot of time on the Tuscarora Reservation because my Ole Dad was friends with the Chief. When I first began to see these ideas about sovereignty, particularly among Moorish Science Temple members, I immediately recognized that most of those folks were basing that upon what they read online or saw in YouTube videos. I could tell that they had rarely if ever been around First Nations People, on their territories and had no clue what sovereignty and self governance practically looks like. Even though I've seen some well intended people seeking sovereignty, most of these folks were males interested in forming a tribal government for less than noble reasons. Most of them wanted to assume a different legal identity to allude past debts like child support/arrears, taxes or to hide criminal background records they couldn't get expunged. Whether well intended or not, I also realized that most of these sovereignty seekers didn't consider the real responsibility that comes along with it. Self governance, forging a court system, institution building, credentialing professionals, obtaining housing and etc. hit different when financial institutions, hospitals, county buildings, utility companies, wireless service providers, insurance agencies and automotive dealers don’t provide services in your sovereign jurisdiction. It doesn't mean that the idea of sovereignty is impossible, it means that folks must really be willing to make serious sacrifices in order to truly live that out. Most folks aren't even built for that and this is the reason they promote the dual citizenship game; to have one foot in and one foot out. Some do it to acquire benefits from a society as one of its citizens, but then claim sovereignty when they're expected to do something for that society in return. In other words, I can buy property and open a business people patronize yet not pay any taxes to the society that contributes to the fire, police and other services that protect my property, patrons and supports my business. Does that seem fair to you? 

     I do not consider Born Mastermind’s nationalization initiative, nor his intentions, evil. I do consider them not well thought out, grandiose and culturally inconsistent. I think that he truly thinks that his initiative is in the best interest of Allah’s Five Percent, and like with other controversial decisions he has made concerning our Nation in the past, he is doing things his way regardless to who tells him otherwise or what the consequences are. If the name and flag of the tribal government he was nationalizing was unique, it wouldn’t be problematic. Unfortunately, he is using our Nation's name and flag for his tribal government initiative. When you use the name and flag of any Nation that already exists, that is a serious problem. 
     The bottom line is this: I am not in support of creating a tribal government because Allah’s Five Percent is already an autonomous Nation. That is our body politic. We are culturally self-governed and come together locally, regionally and nationally for Parliaments to build upon how our local and general body is operating in accordance to our culture. If changes need to be made in the best interest of our ciphers then we build upon that and collectively make a decision in the best interest of the body. We have no individual leader and encourage collective leadership with everyone possessing an equal degree of input in our affairs. Our ciphers are a consensus method designed to get everyone’s equal input, not a plebiscite where the few can decide what is best for the many. When the few vote to make decisions for the many that process produces dissatisfaction, dissension and division... Regardless what our profession is, we are Allah’s Five Percent credentialed within various industries. We own property and thus have jurisdictions, as Allah’s Five Percent. We are not in need of autonomous Federal recognition or jurisdiction nor do we need permission to operate as we already do. What we do need is for some of us to realize that we already have everything that we need, and simply build upon that.

Peace,

Saladin

HipHop Culture 101
-In Defense of Lord Jamar-

I recently read an Article by Michael Muhammad Knight entitled "Kanye West in a Kilt Has Lord Jamar So Hard Right Now" that was in response to Lord Jamar's recent Tweets, Vlad TV Interview and New Song entitled "Lift Up Your Skirt". Lift Up Your Skirt was inspired by Lord Jamar's stance on the Skirt/Kilt Kanye West -in particular- has recently worn, skinny jeans and ultimately the effeminization of males in HipHop Culture. After reading Knight's Article I was compelled to further add-on about what I understand this issue to be. 

One of the things that many people need to first consider about HipHop is that it's a Culture, meaning "a way of life". This way of living is comprised of various elements such as Breakin (Dance), Emceein, Graffiti Art, Deejayin, Beatboxin, Fashion, Language, Knowledge, Entrepreneurialism and any other components that make it a Culture. These elements were first forged and defined as a Culture by Black/Brown youth within the inner cities of New York, beginning in The Bronx. This definition did not come from thin air or a position of privilege or entitlement; it arose out of a position/condition of making a way out of no way. The founders of HipHop Culture were Black/Brown youth; the children of the Segregation/Civil Rights/Black Power Movement and Oppressed/Colonized people from the Islands. As the children of these conditions, our goal was never Cultural Assimilation or seeking acceptance/validation from a Western Society that rejected us; we created our own way of life. (Basic HipHop Timeline) So this way of life or Culture we call HipHop was born out of the socioeconomic, cultural and geopolitical considerations (and influences) of our fore parents, our chronology and our environment. This is one reason "sampling" has always been a  part of HipHop Culture; it demonstrates that connection to the chronology, cultural roots and musical contributions of our fore parents. This does not mean that there were NO Caucasians present because some did participate. This only means that we, Black/Brown people, were and still are the First World (Indigenous) People of HipHop Culture; not the minority, second class citizens or Third World people. The only reason HipHop is present today is because it was passed on from one generation to the next. It was this form of cultural propagation that made this reproduction possible. So from a Cultural perspective, there have always been principles and core values to ensure the birth of HipHop's future "offspring". There  have also been foreign values outside of HipHop that were never advocated because they would not ensure the birth of HipHop's future "offspring".  So HipHop today, in 2013, is now a Global Phenomenon and this is because of its Cultural virility (power to procreate) and fertility (power to produce).

Lord Jamar

Lord Jamar spoke clearly on how the effeminization of males within HipHop in particular (via skinny jeans, skirts/kilts and etc.) is the result of foreign values being injected into this Culture that is altering its course and potential to reproduce. In other words, he was pointing out the cross-pollination of values going on between HipHop Culture and Western Society. He argued that this effeminization is a  process and practice that is causing a HipHop Cultural Genocide. He also pointed out that effeminization has never been a part of core values of HipHop Culture, nor has it ever been reflected in the social norms/more of those who live this way of life. However, we do cee this process and practice as an acceptable "lifestyle" norm within Western Society at large. For example: Homosexuality, as a practice, is no longer defined as a mental disorder (per the DSM-IV) but a lifestyle that Western Society openly embraces; although this style, defined as life, does not actually propagate life. In other words, if all of us chose to practice Homosexuality right now, there would not be another generation of human beings on the Planet once we die. All opinions and feelings about Homosexuality aside, that is the genealogical reality; this practice violates the first law of nature: Self Preservation. The only option for those who do choose to practice Homosexuality is to manufacture artificial means to propagate life such as: the building of sperm banks, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, human cloning and etc. As Western Society continues to inject it's values within HipHop, also consider what artificial means (people, places and things) it likewise employs to propagate it's life.

Some people feel and/or think Lord Jamar's stance was a personal attack against Homosexuals. No, his stance was  for the conservation, production and perpetuation of a Culture he and other Black/Brown people created -that has now gotten into the hands of cultural bandits. Kanye West and various other Entertainers are the ambassadors of these bandits and use their status within Western Society to primarily reinforce its values, not the Cultural principles and core values of HipHop's First World (Indigenous) People. I know the difference because I am the younger sibling of the youth who created HipHop Culture. Yet what about the youth of today? Would they know the difference between HipHop's core values and Western Society's foreign values being injected in our Culture? Those who know our chronology probably do. Those who don't know this chronology typically look at Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, P-Diddy and other Entertainers choices as a simple fashion statement, not a Declaration of Independence from an Indigenous HipHop Nation. Lord Jamar was not the first person to raise the issue against Cultural Assimilation; this stance was present in HipHop's inception and was always reflected in it's various "counter-culture" elements -as Western Society deemed them. It was only when Western Corporate Interests saw that they could make money from HipHop that they eventually began separating Emceein & Deejayin (Rap) from the other elements in order to get paid. And if the Rap didn't coincide with those Interests they either didn't promote it, undermined it or simply paid "Sellouts" (as we called them) to do it. This is still the Corporate formula of today and even though the term Sellout has become archaic amongst the present generation, Sellouts still functionally exist.

In closing, keep in mind that HipHop as a Culture is now becoming a Global Phenomenon that is primarily in the hands of Western Corporate Interests. These Interests primarily reflect the core values of the West yet many of HipHop's Indigenous People (and progeny) have bought into these values and dance to the tune these Corporate Pipers are playing. The euro-centered materialism, objectification of women, effeminization of males, rugged individualism and etc. are all examples of Acultural elements that never represented the roots of HipHop Culture. Within this Culture we always had proverbial wisdom, colloquialisms and slang that reinforced our core values. "Biting" meant to be original and not copy. "Crossover" meant to keep our Culture originally HipHop, not assimilate or become Pop (Popular Culture). These, and various other  terms/phrases, reflect core values a lot of the present generation is no longer aware of and do not advocate. These, and various other  terms/phrases, are not reflected in alot of the mainstream Rap Music or advocated by many Entertainers that are supported by Western Corporate Interests. An example of this is how this Society originally declared the HipHop elements Emceein & Deejayin (Rap) as "Jungle Music" and refused to play it on the radio. Michael Muhammad Knight's Article clearly reflects a lack of awareness/connection with the chronology of HipHop Culture and the social norms/mores that helped transmit this way of life from one generation to the next. While many of these social norms/mores were overt, much of the Culture was covert and transmitted non-verbally; unspoken rules and regulations the Indigenous People of HipHop forged and understood amongst ourselves. Those on the outside looking in aren't privy to this Culture's social norms/mores, especially the unspoken rules and regulations. Therefore, they tend to categorize HipHop not as a Culture but as an 'Art' that simply promotes 'Freedom of Expression'; a common phrase and buzzword associated with the LGBT Community. To the contrary, HipHop has only supported Freedom within the context of our Cultural Worldview; a view that was rarely advocated or reflected in the Western Society around us. Anything we considered Culturally 'out of bounds' was considered "Wack", meaning corny or not legit, and those who were saying/doing wack stuff were strait "Buggin"! Again, many of these, and various other  terms/phrases, are not reflected in a lot of the mainstream Rap Music today. So obviously many of the concepts and core values that reinforce this language aren't present. Lord Jamar's stance and many others within our HipHop Community is much more insightful than "policing fabric" as Knight stated, nor does it have anything to do with Prophet Muhammad sitting down to use the bathroom or being, as Western Society has coined, "homophobic". In plain ole HipHop language, Lord Jamar was just reiterating the same sentiments HipHop Culture has always held since it's inception: Kanye West and various other Entertainers are Biting Western Society and that Crossover stuff  is Wack! They may be talented Artists but they're Buggin because their choices are clearly leading our present generation and our future generations down a path of HipHop Cultural Genocide.

Peace,

Saladin