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PG II FRWRD Any critique on the conditions that plague the Black peoples found in the United States of America is difficult. The first thing we have to consider is oppressive psychology. What I mean is: how much of my love for Black people is going into this critique? How much of my disdain for Black peo- ple is going into this critique? What am I using to compare and contrast the message with? How objective should I be knowing that what I write, and for that matter, what anybody writes for a public audience, will be a form of persuasion? How many of the theories used are developed from contexts that could be furthering the oppression of Black people? How academic should I be in expression? What is ‘academic’? And more importantly, WHO is “academic”? This idea stems from the thinking of Bobby E. Wright when he critiques Black academics by writing,”Blacks studying themselves rather than their oppressors...Black scientists gen- erally rationalize their investigations as proof to White scientists that Blacks can be ‘sci- entifically objective.’” In a neocolonial situation, that is, a situation where Blacks have for entertainers, influencers of media, those that are paid by white interests. In studying, say, a pattern like hip-hop and violence in the Black community, I would have to critique NWA. Now, although I agree that much of what NWA performed was tongue-in-cheek, I do also realize that as an impressionable youth listening to it, it had an influence. Couple that with a successful album, thousands of imitators afterward, and you go from Ruthless Records to Death Row Records. One influential “funny” album becomes a composite culture that ex- pands the reach of concepts such as “captain-save-a-hoe”, “thug life”, “money over bitches”, and “street credibility”. At some point, I, as an analyst, have to address the symptoms in order to explain how I arrived at the prognosis. As a wholistic people, that is, as a group of individuals whose culture tends to incorporate all of the aspects of psychology(subjective, objective, analytical, creative, individualistic, societal, organic, systemic), not just the particular aspects presented as superior within the context of a western education(analytical/objective), I offer that Black analysts not only study symptoms, but the conditions that create them. I do you as the student an injustice by labeling a Black artist as a culprit if I am unable to explain the conditions, the environ- ment, and the trajectory of that artist’s works. It is not enough for me to explain that a child listening to a rapper discussing selling drugs can influence that child to sell drugs. I also have to give an explanation of the drug culture and why certain drugs are able to be traf- ficed into an area of close proximity to those children. It would be diligence as a researcher and concerned adult if I am also able to provide an explaination to you that can describe the difference and similarities between a child selling crack in the park and a psychiatrist prescribing Prozac. It would be even more dutiful if I can alert your attention to the fact that I capitalized “Prozac” and not crack, and what that means on a socio-political level in a capitalist economy built by Black labor similar to that of prison labor(actually, prison labor is slave labor as per the 13th Amendment). It is my belief that the job of the accurate Black media analyst is to present the details of a message that are often overlooked to the atten- tion of the Black audience, and then to explain not only the effects that these messages have on Blacks, but also to highlight how the White overstructure creates paradigms in relation to that which the audience may take for granted. It is in the understanding that we are a people with a decidedly different dynamic of going about that I write these essays and attempt to present a template by which to assist a field that is gravely lacking in Black scholarship for the assistance of Blacks. We are a people in which word of mouth campaigns are more valued than marketing strategems that cultur- PG III ally separate the consumer from the corporate entity selling the product. We are a people in which oral explanations of reality are deemed more credible than tomes based on tomes written by people the reader is supposed to take as an authority simply because so many in the past have done the same. We are a people that have psychological templates and sym- bols hidden beneath our subconscious that we have been separated from in such a way that complete series of comics, cartoons, and horror movies are written based on our anacient mythos without noticing the patterns collectively. We also are a people that tend to behave blindly when constructing our arts and media messages as if we don’t realize we are build- ing psychological armaments: either for our own protection, or for our own destruction. This means that the analyst of our culture has the delicate assignment of constructing a ruler by which to measure and critique with that is not of the present oppressing cultures crafting. To be able to remove a moralistic elitism from the analysis and to accept that an empathetic understanding may be necessary to fully dissect the message because a compre- hensive understanding may not be possible outside of an experience with the message and the message reciever. Are we alright? Are you still following with me? Alright, y’all want me to quote a white person to back up my reasoning, don’t you? Eh, you guys...here ya go: “Writing was one of the original mysteries of civilization, and it reduced the complexities of experience to the written word. Moreover, writing provides the ruling classes with an ideo- logical instrument of incalculable power. The word of God becomes an invincible law, mediated by priests; therefore, respond the Iro- quois, confronting the European:’Scripture was writren by the Devil.’ With the advent of writing, symbols became explicit; they lost a cer- tain richness. Man’s word was no longer an endless exploration of reality, but a sign that could be used against him. Sartre, the marxist existentialist, understands this; it is the hidden theme of his autobi- ography, Words. For writing splits consciousness in two ways- it be- comes more authoritative than talking, thus degrading the meaning of speech and eroding oral tradition; and it makes it possible to use words for the political manipulation and control of others. Written signs supplant memory; an official, fixed and permanent version of events can be made. If it is writtern, in early civilizations, it is bound to be true.” - Stanley Diamond, In search of the Primitive In the process of learning to do anything, or more importantly, learning while doing, you are subject to the forces of error and lack of prescience. As a writer, a media communicator, a student, web designer, web developer, and just plain human, I have to tackle many vari- ous projects without a road map. Those who have been following my thoughts via http:// www.owlasylum.net, and the twitter account (@owlsasylum), know that I can be extremely persistent in these efforts, and yet, they do come with a price. I wrote this book, and placed it in the context of a series of books I’ve dubbed the “Crystal Capsules”, to present the reader with a template that I didn’t have while developing my Self. This book, as all of my writings, are geared toward educating my Self, they are conversations with my Self, as the capsules on the cover indicate, this is my medicine. These conversations are being offered to you as a means to avoid the obstacles that I have made, and that I will make. This is not an autobiography, this is an analysis of Black media, media usage, Black culture and the historical patterns by which we accept white paradigms via monetary rewards. It is not a slap on the hands of Black people, I think we have been slapped on the hands too often, and haven’t attacked the issues of the mental colonial structure pimping us from within, and winning from without. PG IV But for some it might feel like someone asking you wipe the spit off your face... This book is written in a tone that my readers, my support network that we refer to as Asy- lum, have grown accustomed to. Although I would want children to become privy to this information, this is not a child’s book, and it will contain language used to emphasize many of the points I am making. I don’t believe that a person with a vast vocabulary should ban them Selves from using certain words. As Steven Biko, leader and formulator of the Black Consciousness philosophy and anti-apartied leader who was beaten to death by South Af- rikan officials, once pointed out, some terms simply express emotions better than others. As those who have been loyal to Asylum also understand, many of the passages and discus- sions here within will be erudite as we critique various media messages and once again, cer- tain symbols(words) simply get the job done better than others. It should be also mentioned that this work contains concepts and ideas that I am attempt- ing to master via direct relationship with the act. This means, like with most things I’ve learned in life, experience is my teacher.

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