Nedra (Mom)

There was this sweet lady I knew when I was younger. She was the nicest lady I ever knew. She always did what was right for me. Even if I didn't listen. Until one day the devil came around and took her away from me. That devil was not of the flesh. It was something she continued to buy even though she didn't necessarily need it. And it destroyed the sweet old lady and made her precious son a menace to society. And one day that menace had a drug-induced revelation: college. And that menace got his priorities straight and started to put certain puzzles together as quickly as possible because college was not doing it for him. And one day that menace will come full circle and hopefully become so powerful that he can change all the wrongs in the world. But that menace is not me: it's hip-hop. The slogan of CHANGE the Obama administration has adopted is not a reference to the fact we have a black president. It means more. It means a revolution is coming. One that Jay-Z would say requires a Glock 40 instead of 40-acres and a mule. Because America can't CHANGE it's past. It can only forgive itself and do the right thing: share the wealth.