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I got to get this off my chest, fuck it mask off. I had the pleasure of working with the late John Singleton (RIP) on one of his two pilots back in the summer of 2016. The one him and I did together was REBEL. The other pilot he was shooting was SNOWFALL.
He tells me it& #39;s about the crack epidemic in 80& #39;s Los Angeles. The government conspiracies, the major players and I& #39;m like SHIT!!! As he described me the SNOWFALL storyline, I remember silently thinking to myself, "why tf am I not THAT pilot?"
Now I& #39;m all ears. John takes notice and becomes inspired by my genuine interest. It turns into an impromptu Q&A. Just 2 cinephiles from the streets chopping it up about Iran-Contra, cocaine trafficking, Reagan, Oliver North, the CIA, you name it.
Eventually, I circle the wagon back to production related questions. More specifically questions like, what studio, which network, how many days of shooting blah blah. Then I ask him about the producers and that& #39;s why I felt compelled to post this today.
I sense a little hesitation from John so I eased his apprehension by reminding him of two things.
1. I& #39;m a real one and I could give a fuck about all this Hollywood shit.
2. I ain& #39;t an opp. I ain& #39;t ever snitch in my life.
1. I& #39;m a real one and I could give a fuck about all this Hollywood shit.
2. I ain& #39;t an opp. I ain& #39;t ever snitch in my life.
He laughs right away. Does the one, two over each shoulder to make sure the coast was clear and then says, "I got these white mfers (producers) trying to tell me how to create a black story. Not just a black story but one I lived. I LIVED THIS SHIT ANDERSON."
I& #39;m like, ok, what are we talking? Do they have notes on casting? The look? The facts? What?
He says, "all that but that& #39;s ok."
I say then what& #39;s the problem? He say, "I got white producers telling me, & #39;I want you to reshoot this. It makes white people look bad.& #39;"
He says, "all that but that& #39;s ok."
I say then what& #39;s the problem? He say, "I got white producers telling me, & #39;I want you to reshoot this. It makes white people look bad.& #39;"
Say what, John? Come again. He goes, "Exactly what I said. That& #39;s the kind of shit I had to look forward to every fucking day. A bunch of white mfers from wherever they from, who never lived this life, trying to control the narrative because God forbid that truth be told."
He said in his 30 year career he had never been so scrutinized, micro managed and flat out offended by people who could not be further removed from the culture telling him how to tell a story that he had first hand accounts of.
It made him want to leave the business. That& #39;s right, SNOWFALL had John Singleton consider leaving showbiz. In our conversation I referenced CRASH. Remember the Terrance Howard, Tony Danza scene? Make the character talk "blacker"? I said, "like that John?"
He tells me that scene wasn& #39;t even in the ballpark comparatively speaking. It wasn& #39;t even the same sport. And least there was some subtly in that CRASH scene. Nope, these mfers were flagrant. The amount reshooting they did on that pilot was absurd and reasoning even more so.
Listen y& #39;all, I want y& #39;all to know this: the culture is for sale and has been for decades. Yes, our stories are profitable. Black people don& #39;t just move the needle, we are the fuckin needle. Whether it& #39;s Tik Tok dances, our music, our slang, Black twitter, we lead the way.
But the puppet masters of the money at the top are white men with detailed agendas. No disrespect y& #39;all, just facts. That& #39;s where the true power lies.
So when hip hop goes mainstream, it will only go as far as "they" will allow it. I swear on the Qu& #39;ran. Let& #39;s take our music for example. A lot of rap we hear on the air involves reckless spending, killing each other, twerking, etc.
That 95% of lyrical content. Why? Bc it doesn& #39;t lift us up, it holds us back. Instead of money phones we need to be flexing AMEX& #39;s & multiple credit cards (numbers blacked out of course) but that& #39;s not promoted bc that could level the playing field and they don& #39;t want that.
I& #39;m not trying to get self righteous. I love trap but I& #39;m set so I can enjoy the music without becoming radicalized by it. But what about the easily influence? What message does that music send? Most people will hear 1000 songs long before they read 1000 books.
This is not meant to be an indictment of hip hop music per se. It& #39;s just one example of how we are held hostage. Some of our favorite recording artists are no different than the slaves cracking the whip over the back of his brother/sister while massa watches in approval.
