Lil Kim: Publicity or Revenge?

Now I usually don’t do this, but erm…

Over AIM last night, a question was posited to me about why Lil Kim was attacking Nicki Minaj. My one word answer: “publicity”.

[Insert disclaimers here!!]

I do not claim to be a gossip blogger, if for no other reason than because I have a full-time job and I do not have time to keep up with celebrities’ lives and scandals myself… I’d rather let NecoleBitchie or Michael K tell me what happened over the last few days.

Nor do I claim to know everything about the music industry.

Nor can I claim, with a straight face, that I am a true hip-hop head that can weave you through the annals of hip hop and rap starting from the first person who dared to speak words in cadence over a sampled beat to the latest “genius” rapper that was signed to Def Jam… or wherever.

But I digress.

Back to Lil Kim and her reckless tweets. Here’s the background of the story as I understand it. Nicki Minaj, a female rapper who often employs multicolored looks and is inspired by being the “black Barbie”,  is poised to “take over the music industry” as the latest, greatest female rapper (notice the qualifier? But that’s for another day). However, Nicki draws many comparisons to Lil Kim. And why not? Lil Kim was a trailblazer and has firmly cemented her place in hip hop history. And as such, any rapper who imitates her style, in my opinion should be looked on as an honor.

I don’t think Lil Kim agrees. She wanted Nicki Minaj to “pay her homage”. How? I’m not really sure. There’s talks of how Lil Kim says she reached out to Nicki as a mentor and was shot down. Nicki, on the other hand, claims she’s been nothing less than civil and respectful. And I have no idea what actually happened, so that’s where we’ll leave it.

So why is Lil Kim attacking Nicki Minaj? Publicity, of course… And then I read her tweets. And I was hit upside the head by the acrid tone in many of them. Nicki Minaj wasn’t her true target… Drake wasn’t her true target. Her true target is Diddy. In fact, she throws about many claims including some that Diddy is gay and listing artists whose careers that he has supposedly ruined.

My mouth dropped as I read her tweets. My thoughts? “OMG WHERE IS YOUR PUBLICIST?!?!!!” My responses on AIM were either she doesn’t have a publicist or her publicist sucks because she been allowed to put out uncontrolled messages. Or, maybe the publicist subscribes to the age old adage of “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”.  Because, of course, Kim has an album coming out soon, right?

And of course there will be the Lil Kim stans who will jump on the bandwagon and diss Nicki Minaj as a no talent hack and wannabe. And there will be the people who enjoy witnessing conflict and will gladly sign up to watch this drama unfold with a bucket of popcorn by their side. And there will be the people who shake their head and walk away from the entire mess.

I wonder about her emotional state. Diddy is not a saint by any stretch of the imagination, I’d assume, but what in Kim’s history caused such animosity towards him? What in her history makes her feel the logical decision is to attack a potential protege (because of said potential protege’s apparent alliance with Diddy)? And I wonder about her publicist who can’t possibly be all that concerned about her career and image if aware of her tweets and encouraging the tone of her tweets.

So why is Lil Kim attacking Nicki Minaj? Who cares knows…

But whatever the reason… guess who’s talking about Lil Kim vs Nicki Minaj?

Austrailia + KFC = Racism? Why the Ad Failed

Are Australians racist? I have no idea. There are camps that say yes. But that’s not why the only reason the ad failed.

The ad failed because it was seen in a market other than which it was designated for. Australians might have seen it, realized that this guy (who happened to be white) was a fan of cricket team X (because of the shirt/jersey he had on) and but was stuck in the cricket team Y side of the stadium (which happened to be West Indies and therefore all Black…. logical conclusion? You tell me…)

If the ad had been race neutral (all white  or all black) this issue wouldn’t have come up. It would have been “Oh, ha ha, that was a cute ad” or whatever.

If the ad had been designated for an American market, it might have featured, let’s say a Dallas Cowboys fan all decked out in his blue and silver seated in a Washington Redskins side (yes, I had to ask someone for sports team rivals, don’t judge me), you would have chuckled. Or you would have been like “oh that was a stupid ad”… but you wouldn’t have said “oh that’s racist” (aside from the fact that “Redskins” is a stab to Native Americans, but that’s not the topic here either)

The fact of the matter is, the treatment of African descendants is ALWAYS going to be a topic of sensitivity around the world. That sensitivity is concentrated in the Western Hemisphere, the US mainly, let’s be sure. But it’s always going to be there.

For Austrailians to say to American “Hey, lighten up! We’re not racist like you are” is laughable to me. We see the image and it is like a slap in the face and dredges up those old but persistent stereotypes that we hate. Maybe, in the future, design your ad for your market, but be sensitive of the fact that due to the pervasiveness of the internet, other people will see it too (YouTube, anyone?). And these people may get angry… or may get sad… or may decide to sue… or may boycott your product or services or decide to boycott your parent company which has a ton more restaurants in the United States than in Austrailia, I’m wiling to wager….

Just a thought.

What do you think about this ad? Racist? Not racist? Or why the hell are we even talking about this? Comments welcome and adored (I’ll take care of them just like a new born puppy…)

Where Are All The Normal Black People on TV?

Anyone who knows me probably knows that I’m a TV junkie. TV entertainment, it’s my getaway, my vicarious living, and the source of some of my knowledge about the world. A singular phrase uttered in the realm of a TV show can send me into a Google search in search of what it was about.

According to Nielsen Media, Black Americans account for approximately 13 percent of the over 100 million TV households in the U.S.  Black Americans (and Latino Americans) also “generally watch more television than other segments of the population”. Additionally “the African-American TV population is estimated to increase between 5-7% every five years. The largest percent increase will be between the years 2010 and 2015, increasing African-American TV households by 920,000 households. At this pace, African-American households will increase to 14% of total U.S. TV households by 2050″ (TV Audience Special Study: African-American Audience) .

What are we watching? What portrayals of ourselves do we see on television? And when others watch, how do they see us? In an overly generalized personal opinion, I see a lot of  the portrayals of Black Americans on television come mainly from reality show fare on VH-1 and BET, some of which is neutral and even positive, but most of which is negative. This is where much of America and the world get their perceptions of Black America from. Yes, there are plenty of supporting characters on network television that are Black. Two snaps for the networks. But I can only think of two current shows with majority Black casts (House of Payne on TBS, which I refuse to watch, and Lincoln Heights on ABC Family, which I have not yet had an opportunity to check out) but neither air on the major networks (that is, NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX).

Lincoln Heights is a TV show that features a predominately Black cast.

Let’s focus on Black portrayals in reality shows for a second. In this realm, Black Americans are usually only showcased and focused on if they are celebrities (Keisha Cole, Snoop Dogg, Deion Sanders) or if they are acting a fool for “love” or otherwise (Flavor of Love, I Love New York, For the Love of Ray J). Hmm. Seems like the only interest in Black people on reality shows is if they’re famous or if they are given or create opportunities to shame themselves.

Since we know that reality shows are quick and easy to churn out, it’s very likely that new reality shows will premiere on a regular and pervasive basis. So what about showcasing Black folk in “normal” situations? Is it not interesting enough to watch a Black family going through their day-to-day life? Where is the Black “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ (putting aside the recent controversy that has found that family for the moment)? I’m sure there’s a Black family out there who runs an architectural firm or a plumbing company or something that we could follow. Hell, there was a reality show that followed a family of tow truck drivers!! Well, normal Black people aren’t interesting enough, you say? The right editors could take my own boring existence and make you interested in it for a 30-minute time slot, ha ha.

And so if that hypothetical Black plumbing family got a show, by chance, what channel would they be on? Could a black-only or majority Black reality show make it onto the major networks? And again, I’m not talking about BET or TVOne or any specialty channels or targeted-audience channels; I mean mainstream channels that intend to cater to a mainstream audience?

Where is today’s Cosby Show? Good Times? The Jeffersons? Hanging with Mr. Cooper? Family Matters? New York Undercover? Living Single? Fresh Prince? Did all that die with the nineties? Are we in 2009 less open to see a “normal” Black family or “normal” Black people on TV than we were 10,15, 25, 30 years ago?

Cosby Show cast

Living Single cast

The Jeffersons cast

Black people… to all my folks with increased melanin in their skin… We consume the most media, we have a high amount of buying power (“total buying power expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2012” according to The Nielsen Company) What are you doing to ensure that you see a more balanced and fair representation of yourself on television? I’m all for having Flavor of Love out there for me to shake my head at. But, where is its counterpart that I can raise my head high and feel the pride swelling in my chest about? Are you happy with the way you are represented on television? Is it accurate? If not, what do you think should be done to change that? Can anything be done to change it?

Tell me what you feel about this in the comments. Everyone, Black or not, is welcome to comment, but let’s keep things civil