I watched @hbomax's @OnTheRecordDoc (2020) last night. It chronicles the sexual abuse and rape of women in the mid 1990s hip-hop music industry.

It broke my heart.

I know @deardrewdixon, the lead, and remember, well, when she first arrived at @defjam.

The film's description of her, as having a "light" inside, fits perfectly. As I recall her then, I mostly think of her laughter.

I also remember her seemingly disappearing; i.e., just not being around any more. In the music industry, this happens a lot.

Having watched this piece, though, like other people, I'm now thinking about those women who vanished, and wondering: How many of them were chased out for similar reasons? Whether male or female, @OnTheRecordDoc will have you rethinking a lot of things.

I consider @UncleRUSH a mentor, a colleague, and a legend. Without his influence and work, much of what we call "hip-hop" would need to be overhauled and rewritten.

But I don't believe Russell Simmons. I believe @deardrewdixon.

I believe @Sil_Lai, I believe @SheriSher_Bx, and I do not consider Russell Simmons's robotic denials to be credible. Meanwhile, these women are very compelling.

However, I strongly encourage you to watch this important film, and to make up your own mind.

Also, one more thing:

No Black female should suffer violent mistreatment, silently, in order to keep any Black male out of the legal system.

No Black female should shoulder horrible abuse, often for decades, so that a Black male doesn't get arrested.

Black males who want to stay out of prison should not mistreat Black females. They shouldn't, for that and other reasons.

No Black male should shelter, or give safe harbor, to any such Black male. Black males who treat females this way should be shunned.

That Black females should be brutalized, but "take it," in the name of a phony racial solidarity is **a lie from hell**.

I'm definitely not blaming any Black female for doing this, at all.

I blame the white supremacists. I do, since they're in charge.

Finally, as a male, what I connect to most is the time and careers stolen from these gifted women; the passions unpursued; the skills unapplied; the abilities untested.

That, and an awesomely violated and depleted sense of self, and of normalcy.

Rape is a disintegrative act. It shatters females. In @OnTheRecordDoc, @deardrewdixon describes her own flesh as "a crime scene."

Which should make any otherwise innocent bystander tear his or her clothes, and shriek, "My God: What have I done?"