Generations of Cool: Harry Belafonte and Common

Okay, let’s kick this blog off in tribute to two generations of cool Black men. That would be the honorable Harry Belafonte and Common. Now I ain’t making no secret of my thing for Common. Way too much hotness! He is handsome and fine but first and foremost he is humble and intelligent. I don’t know whose idea it was to pair these two awesome gentlemen but that was excellent. From this experience with Mr. Belafonte, I do hope that Common realizes his true gift and his ability to make change in the world. I’d like to see him return to his straight underground hip-hop roots I do also understand that each of us must evolve and hopefully grow in the process. Before I noticed how fine he is I dug his lyrics on his raps. The brother is deep. He gave me a deeper appreciation for the Minister Louis Farrakhan and powerful positive messages that I missed in the recent past. This blog is about celebrating Black folks and prayerfully educating and entertaining in the process. Let’s see if this works. I’ll do a few posts on Common’s lyrics that you may have missed. Holla at a sister and let me know what you think. For the most part, I related Harry Belafonte as being Shari’s dad. I had no idea of his involvement in civil rights and activism until recent years. He is a down brother and still as handsome as he was in Carmen Jones with Dorothy Dandridge. I advise everyone to read the EBONY article on these two gentlemen. Belafonte took me to a different place. I felt as though I was seated at the foot of an elder and trying to absorb all the knowledge he released. One of the key points Belafonte touches and I hope it’s not lost on folks, is the fact that Blacks were able to accomplish so much in the sixties because their role models --- Paul Robeson, Dr. Dubois and Jackie Robinson all lived in the Black community. I sincerely believe the abandonment of the Black community by the Black middle and upper class has significantly led to the deterioration of the black power base. Now little June Bug and Shakisha want to be drug dealers and gang members because that’s what they see where they live. It’s a simple solution but Blacks have become so brainwashed that we don’t see nor have the will to change our plight. Anyhoo, let me get off that soapbox. He also spoke prolifically of the impact of rap and hip-hop during their infancy. The power to educate while entertaining was strong. Then, the minute the big boys saw that there was money to be made, its origin was eradicated and the music transformed into to something negative. Blacks allowed that to happen. A few benefited financially. The rest of us are doing very little to reverse that cycle. I don’t want to give away too much on the article. Just check it out in the March 2007 EBONY. Behind the scenes video of EBONY photo shoot with Harry Belafonte and Common Behind the scenes photos of the EBONY photo shoot with Harry Belafonte and Common