You Don't Know Me!
You know, there's a lot of people talking trash about me on the internet these days...Folks think they can judge this book by it's cover but they can't. You've got to open up the book and read a little more than the first few pages when it comes to me. And I make no apologies for not being shallow! You can't even begin to know me at first glance.
There's more to me than meets the eye. But what's wrong with what meets the eye? So what I was in videos! SO WHAT! All I've ever done in a video is dance with a glass of champagne in my hand, play around in a pool, or dance with a rapper. No those appearances aren't going to change the world, but they are not going to destroy the world either! I didn't single handedly destroy hip-hop! I did not feel degraded doing videos, and I know what degredation feels like. And I didn't get a credit card run up my butt crack. I didn't get doused with champagne. I didn't make my booty clap. I got paid to get cute, and look like I was having fun. And it was fun. And I never slept with any man from a set, so WHAT, I say again! WHAT?!
So what I swung around a pole. SO WHAT! I don't anymore. And there are a lot worse things to do in this world. At least it was legal. At least men weren't touching me, because I didn't play that. At least your tax dollars weren't going in my pocket via welfare! At least I paid taxes and contributed to society! And I was never a ho. I was greedy. I got caught up in the lure of fast, legal cash. So are lots of people. No it wasn't right. No I'm not proud of it. But you can't unscramble eggs and I made peace with God so...WHAT?! I got frustrated with having a degree and going on hundreds of interviews only to be told I was too qualified or not qualified or not even given an interview. Folks act like jobs are growing on trees ripe for the picking if you get a degree. Don't believe the hype! You all know how much a house is, how much rent is, how much GAS is! And I turned a big negative in my life into a positive. Once again, I offer NO APOLOGIES! I turned lemons into lemonade, daquiris, margaritas, and lemon drops. Why you hatin'? If I hadn't taken that particular journey, I wouldn't have this particular book. And this particular book got me a deal, so why you hatin'? I'm happy! I'm glad I wrote The Rolexxx Club. Because I did, I am living my dream, not just sitting around dreaming. Because I did, I have a lasting legacy. Because I did I have a chance to make a difference. Because I did I'm not sitting in a cubicle gaining weight at a phenomenal rate, cursing my existence, kissing the asses of idiots, playing corporate games that I hated and sucked at because I have a heart, dreaming I was back in Miami and crying buckets when it snowed because of my daily 3-4 hour commute...all for a paycheck. A paycheck that seemed to stretch less even when it got bigger! Still I worked my way up the corporate ladder and then was able to branch out on my own. After videos, after dancing, after modeling, my world didn't stop. Because I wrote this book I don't feel like I sold my soul. Because I wrote it, I'm getting glowing reviews from Book List, from Amazon, from entertainers, from fellow writers. So I ask again, why are you hating?
I am aware that not all videos portray African American women in a postive light, but by chastising the models, you are putting the cart before the horse. We need to talk to models, rappers, and the industry execs and listen, not talk at them. People don't respond well when you tell them what they have to do before you even ask. Lets give folks basic respect, even to those that seemingly disrespect themselves. Why? Why not? If you want to be a role model, why not show people how to always give and command respect. Showing respect to others at all times reflects self-respect. I'm not perfect in this, but I am working on it. All you foul mouthed folks who just want to bast me should try the same.
Say today, that every video model had an epiphany and decided to stop working in rap videos. Tomorrow by sun-up a fresh new crop would be lined up at casting agents across the U.S. And they'd be younger and more naive and would do more for less money. And the videos would still be there. But say, you got an industry exec to expand his or her vision, preferably at BET or MTV or at the top level at a record lablel. Say you got them to sign artists based on talent not just gimmick. Or say that for every gangster rapper signed and promoted, two different kinds of artists were signed and promoted just as heavily and given as much attention, then maybe things would change.
Or maybe, three projects that I'm working on will take off and truly make a difference.
The first is called the Magdalene Foundation. It is a non-profit, of whic I am the CEO whose mission is to provide support and resources for at risk women and girls. Named after my favorite Biblical character Mary Magdelene, I want to reach out to misunderstood women. Mary was assumed to be a prostitute, but she WASN'T! See this link for more info: http://www.magdalene.org/intro.php.
Anyhoo, two of my programs are: Getting Out the Game, helping women employed in the sex industry find a way out, and Knock That Hustle, aimed at helping women involved in the drug trade to change their lives and stop contributing to the destruction that drugs cause. Both programs focus on prevention as well.
Our music is filled with sex and drugs, but that isn't the best way to live. Still you can enjoy hip-hop, and life in general and have fun without degrading women and without slanging dope. And you can still be sexy and smart. You can still talk about adult themes without pushing the message to children. Grown-ups can be responsible, and still grown and sexy.
I believe that changing the images of women in hip-hop is like pruning a beautiful rose garden. You don't chop down the bush to get rid of the weeds. And you don't pull the weeds and leave the roots in the ground. You've got to start below the surface which is the record companies. No not even the rappers, but the record companies. It is about changing the images at the source: the distribution channels. Because just like the most effective way to prevent drug smuggling would be to stop things at the border and where they are made, the best way to change something is at it's source. Now I fancy myself a gardener. I'm not going to destroy the roses or try to change them into daffodils. I will let a rose be a rose. But I want prize winning American Beautys. I'm willing to analyze the soil, find out what it needs, and do my part to make the plant grow.
Which leads to my second project, Redbone Productions. My best friend Angela Allen and I are writing and developing film and video projects that portray a range of the African American experience told from the perspective of African American and Latina women. All kinds of African American and Latina women! There will be Color Purple type stuff, and there will be Scarface type of stuff, but all the scripts will explore the different and diverse tracks our lives take. No one book or film or story tells the story for all of us.
And last, there's Dream Press. Soon I will be accpeting submissions for novels and non-fiction by talented African-American and Latino authors. There's room for ALL of us on the bookshelves! So tell your story if you don't like what's out there. Don't just sit and complain about what you don't like.
Last I want to give BIG UPS to Karrine Steffans. I never thought I would say this myself, but I have to give her props for her strength and courage. No matter what her motivations were for writing Confessions, no matter how you feel about her bedroom business, one thing is for certain: she is a strong woman. People have said some very harsh things about me, and I know that she got blasted waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy worse than me, but she seems to be a trooper as am I. It can be a bit frustrating to be called a ho all day by strangers, and at least in my case, I know that I'm not (I can't and won't speak for anyone else), but still sometimes you just wonder where some people get off. Free speech is one thing, but some folks have some true venom in their veins and need to pray long and hard! So, love her or hate her, I'm just calling it how I see it. Yeah, it's crazy, but that's real. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes and see how you feel...
OK the end of my rant is this. Now TI don't get mad and sue me for jacking, but I want to quote you:
You might've seen me in the video, but n!$#% you dont know me
When you holla when you speak, remember you dont know me
Save all that hatin and that poppin pimpin
Quit tellin people I'm a runner listen you don't know me
Don't be a groupie keep it movin, n*&^% you dont know me
Hey I aint trippin but the truth is really, you dont know me
Yeah you know they call me so fly but you dont know me
You be hatin and I see why, cause you dont know me!!!!
OK that was silly, but hey, a girl's gotta vent!
Peace & Positive Vibes,
Meta
There's more to me than meets the eye. But what's wrong with what meets the eye? So what I was in videos! SO WHAT! All I've ever done in a video is dance with a glass of champagne in my hand, play around in a pool, or dance with a rapper. No those appearances aren't going to change the world, but they are not going to destroy the world either! I didn't single handedly destroy hip-hop! I did not feel degraded doing videos, and I know what degredation feels like. And I didn't get a credit card run up my butt crack. I didn't get doused with champagne. I didn't make my booty clap. I got paid to get cute, and look like I was having fun. And it was fun. And I never slept with any man from a set, so WHAT, I say again! WHAT?!
So what I swung around a pole. SO WHAT! I don't anymore. And there are a lot worse things to do in this world. At least it was legal. At least men weren't touching me, because I didn't play that. At least your tax dollars weren't going in my pocket via welfare! At least I paid taxes and contributed to society! And I was never a ho. I was greedy. I got caught up in the lure of fast, legal cash. So are lots of people. No it wasn't right. No I'm not proud of it. But you can't unscramble eggs and I made peace with God so...WHAT?! I got frustrated with having a degree and going on hundreds of interviews only to be told I was too qualified or not qualified or not even given an interview. Folks act like jobs are growing on trees ripe for the picking if you get a degree. Don't believe the hype! You all know how much a house is, how much rent is, how much GAS is! And I turned a big negative in my life into a positive. Once again, I offer NO APOLOGIES! I turned lemons into lemonade, daquiris, margaritas, and lemon drops. Why you hatin'? If I hadn't taken that particular journey, I wouldn't have this particular book. And this particular book got me a deal, so why you hatin'? I'm happy! I'm glad I wrote The Rolexxx Club. Because I did, I am living my dream, not just sitting around dreaming. Because I did, I have a lasting legacy. Because I did I have a chance to make a difference. Because I did I'm not sitting in a cubicle gaining weight at a phenomenal rate, cursing my existence, kissing the asses of idiots, playing corporate games that I hated and sucked at because I have a heart, dreaming I was back in Miami and crying buckets when it snowed because of my daily 3-4 hour commute...all for a paycheck. A paycheck that seemed to stretch less even when it got bigger! Still I worked my way up the corporate ladder and then was able to branch out on my own. After videos, after dancing, after modeling, my world didn't stop. Because I wrote this book I don't feel like I sold my soul. Because I wrote it, I'm getting glowing reviews from Book List, from Amazon, from entertainers, from fellow writers. So I ask again, why are you hating?
I am aware that not all videos portray African American women in a postive light, but by chastising the models, you are putting the cart before the horse. We need to talk to models, rappers, and the industry execs and listen, not talk at them. People don't respond well when you tell them what they have to do before you even ask. Lets give folks basic respect, even to those that seemingly disrespect themselves. Why? Why not? If you want to be a role model, why not show people how to always give and command respect. Showing respect to others at all times reflects self-respect. I'm not perfect in this, but I am working on it. All you foul mouthed folks who just want to bast me should try the same.
Say today, that every video model had an epiphany and decided to stop working in rap videos. Tomorrow by sun-up a fresh new crop would be lined up at casting agents across the U.S. And they'd be younger and more naive and would do more for less money. And the videos would still be there. But say, you got an industry exec to expand his or her vision, preferably at BET or MTV or at the top level at a record lablel. Say you got them to sign artists based on talent not just gimmick. Or say that for every gangster rapper signed and promoted, two different kinds of artists were signed and promoted just as heavily and given as much attention, then maybe things would change.
Or maybe, three projects that I'm working on will take off and truly make a difference.
The first is called the Magdalene Foundation. It is a non-profit, of whic I am the CEO whose mission is to provide support and resources for at risk women and girls. Named after my favorite Biblical character Mary Magdelene, I want to reach out to misunderstood women. Mary was assumed to be a prostitute, but she WASN'T! See this link for more info: http://www.magdalene.org/intro.php.
Anyhoo, two of my programs are: Getting Out the Game, helping women employed in the sex industry find a way out, and Knock That Hustle, aimed at helping women involved in the drug trade to change their lives and stop contributing to the destruction that drugs cause. Both programs focus on prevention as well.
Our music is filled with sex and drugs, but that isn't the best way to live. Still you can enjoy hip-hop, and life in general and have fun without degrading women and without slanging dope. And you can still be sexy and smart. You can still talk about adult themes without pushing the message to children. Grown-ups can be responsible, and still grown and sexy.
I believe that changing the images of women in hip-hop is like pruning a beautiful rose garden. You don't chop down the bush to get rid of the weeds. And you don't pull the weeds and leave the roots in the ground. You've got to start below the surface which is the record companies. No not even the rappers, but the record companies. It is about changing the images at the source: the distribution channels. Because just like the most effective way to prevent drug smuggling would be to stop things at the border and where they are made, the best way to change something is at it's source. Now I fancy myself a gardener. I'm not going to destroy the roses or try to change them into daffodils. I will let a rose be a rose. But I want prize winning American Beautys. I'm willing to analyze the soil, find out what it needs, and do my part to make the plant grow.
Which leads to my second project, Redbone Productions. My best friend Angela Allen and I are writing and developing film and video projects that portray a range of the African American experience told from the perspective of African American and Latina women. All kinds of African American and Latina women! There will be Color Purple type stuff, and there will be Scarface type of stuff, but all the scripts will explore the different and diverse tracks our lives take. No one book or film or story tells the story for all of us.
And last, there's Dream Press. Soon I will be accpeting submissions for novels and non-fiction by talented African-American and Latino authors. There's room for ALL of us on the bookshelves! So tell your story if you don't like what's out there. Don't just sit and complain about what you don't like.
Last I want to give BIG UPS to Karrine Steffans. I never thought I would say this myself, but I have to give her props for her strength and courage. No matter what her motivations were for writing Confessions, no matter how you feel about her bedroom business, one thing is for certain: she is a strong woman. People have said some very harsh things about me, and I know that she got blasted waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy worse than me, but she seems to be a trooper as am I. It can be a bit frustrating to be called a ho all day by strangers, and at least in my case, I know that I'm not (I can't and won't speak for anyone else), but still sometimes you just wonder where some people get off. Free speech is one thing, but some folks have some true venom in their veins and need to pray long and hard! So, love her or hate her, I'm just calling it how I see it. Yeah, it's crazy, but that's real. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes and see how you feel...
OK the end of my rant is this. Now TI don't get mad and sue me for jacking, but I want to quote you:
You might've seen me in the video, but n!$#% you dont know me
When you holla when you speak, remember you dont know me
Save all that hatin and that poppin pimpin
Quit tellin people I'm a runner listen you don't know me
Don't be a groupie keep it movin, n*&^% you dont know me
Hey I aint trippin but the truth is really, you dont know me
Yeah you know they call me so fly but you dont know me
You be hatin and I see why, cause you dont know me!!!!
OK that was silly, but hey, a girl's gotta vent!
Peace & Positive Vibes,
Meta
posted by Meta Smith @ 5:07 PM
2 Comments:
At 12:54 AM,
Anonymous said…
Heyyy-
So like I am reading your book and it's pretty good. I'm glad you got out of the dancing business. I hate how people try to act like strippers don't have feelings, they do. Strippers didn't ask to be in the position they are in.
At 12:54 AM,
Anonymous said…
Heyyy-
So like I am reading your book and it's pretty good. I'm glad you got out of the dancing business. I hate how people try to act like strippers don't have feelings, they do. Strippers didn't ask to be in the position they are in.
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