New Year's Success Plan

"The only successful New Year's plan is a flexible one." — Amir Said

The 'American Way of Life'

"The 'American way of life' depends on: a middle class, a poverty class, and millions of people voting against their own self-interest." — Amir Said

Army of Individuals Bring Art to Life

"In the both the movie and music businesses, there are an army of individuals responsible bringing art to life. What's one of the biggest differences between the two? In the movie business the "crew" is respected. In the music business the "frauds" are respected." —Sa'id (Amir Said)

Business Is Always Personal

"Business is always personal. If you buy the argument that it isn't, then the argument you've bought is less valuable than one side of a dirty penny." -Amir Said

Proven Leadership Found in the NFL, Not the Music Industry

By Amir Said

Why is the NFL's business model so solid, and why is there so much talent parity throughout the league? I'll tell you why: It's because the NFL values veteran leadership. Indeed, the NFL routinely recycles proven winners at coaching and front office positions.

In contrast, the major record companies have traditionally relied on leadership that was never REALLY proven at all. In the old music industry, a "hit record" was secured through the avenues of traditional media and controlled distribution channels. So when traditional media gave way to new media and when new distribution channels opened up, fraudulent music experts were exposed.

Success of Miami Dolphins: One Example of NFL's Solid Business Model

The competitiveness of the Miami Dolphins football team is not a fluke. It is a direct result of Bill Parcells' proven leadership. On the other hand, the so-called proven track record of some of the music industry's greatest names is not the result of their leadership, but instead the benefit of a rigged playing field that virtually guaranteed hit records—so long as the general public only had real access to just a few artists already in the machine. And now that music listeners have real access to choice and variety, it should come as no surprise that many of the music industry's most celebrated leaders have nothing really to celebrate at all.

Don't Touch That Dial: Radio Ain't the Radio Anymore

By Amir Said

In case you haven't noticed, radio broadcasting is increasingly losing its influence over the general public's music listening (and buying) decisions. In his rather organic and illuminating study, author and Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson notes that "in 1993, Americans spent an average of twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes per week tuned in to the radio;" and that by the spring of 2004, that figure "had dropped to nineteen hours and forty-five minutes" (a 15% decline), bringing traditional radio listenership to a "twenty-seven year low." To be certain, traditional radio listenership continues to spiral downward. In fact, if the current rate of decline simply holds up, 2009 will show an 8% decrease in traditional radio listenership. This means that since 1993, there will have been at least a 25% nosedive in traditional radio listenership—a rather precipitous drop, to say the least.

Where Have All the Traditional Radio Listeners Gone and Why

There are many reasons why radio listenership continues to decline at such a rapid pace. Radio behemoth Clear Channel and its one-size-fits-all radio centralization—what Anderson rightfully regards as Clear Channel's bland homogenization—has indeed played a role. And we can not overlook the fact that the increasing lack of artistry found in the music industry-pushed "hits" has also prodded some music listeners away from the radio. But these factors represent the under card. The main event—if you will—is choice and variety.

Remember when we "heard it on the radio?" Well, yeah, that was back when we really had no choice. Let's remember: Traditional radio represents the old “hit” music model of narrow choice and low variety; no choice or variety meant that you had to listen to the radio and whatever traditional media deemed as a hit. But the web age has truly brought more choice and variety through a myriad of more music listening options. With the expansion and popularity of the internet as well as the advent of the must-have iPod and other MP3 players, many traditional radio listeners peeled away from the radio and moved towards those options that, in effect, allowed them to be their own personal radio programmers.

So Who’s still listening to the radio?

Whether due to unchecked arrogance or denial, broadcast radio culture has failed to see the writing on the wall. Indeed, instead of opening up their programming and shifting to a more variety-based structure, radio stations (particularly in the urban market) are pairing down their playlists, essentially walling them off from the threat of any real variety. So entrenched is this culture that many of the same household radio personalities from 1993 are still on the radio in the same regional markets. This certainly begs the question, How can the very people who have been behind the wheel during the decline in radio listenership still be given the keys to drive broadcast radio towards new horizons? The answer, of course, is: They can't!

In fact, I would argue that many of these held-over radio personalities have been left in place just to cater to those music listeners who have yet to escape the traditional radio programming model. After all, if there is as much as 75% of the once-mighty radio listenership, one can understand why the grand old music industry is still supporting the old radio model. For the music industry—which is seemingly dedicated to bleeding manufactured formulas dry—is always the last to know when something new has emerged, and something old has died.

(1) Anderson, Chris, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, (New York: Hyperion, 2006), 35.

Desperation and Success

"Desperation doesn't lead to success, it leads to compromise, followed by the swift forfeit of integrity." -Sa'id

Many Today Coon and Shuffle

"Black artists of the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s suffered through bullshit and specific indignities, only for many today to coon and shuffle." -Amir Said

The Danger Your Goals Face

"If you don't know that the biggest danger your goals face is inactivity, then you're probably clueless to the fact that you'll never achieve them." -Amir Said

'Rent a Negro' - The Satire of *Some* Educated Black People

By Amir Said

There's black, white, and in between. When dealing with race and questions of self-identity, it's the "in between" where you will, at times, find some of the most engaging art, some interesting cases of valuable knowledge, and, unfortunately, some of the most absurd instances of ignorance. The book, How to Rent a Negro, and its subsequent commercial internet property, "rent-a-negro.com,” are a curious combination of knowledge, ignorance, art, and good old fashion American entrepreneurship.

When I first learned of these two rather alarming entities, I automatically assumed that the architect of such provocation had to be an "educated black person" of some sort. Alas, I was right. damali ayo (she insists on presenting her name in lower case) is indeed educated and also artistically informed. I'm somewhat aware of her work, and I applaud her for her consistent pursuit to encourage (or rather provoke) realistic dialogue and discourse on race relations. Hence, in the following piece, I will not be attacking ayo or even her enterprises. Instead, I'm only interested in how such enterprises might come about. More specifically, I want to explore the back story of so-called "educated black people,” and contrast it with their current narrative.

Before I proceed, here, I must define what I mean by "educated black person.” The phrase itself has a deep and long history in black American culture, a history that is far too complex to handle in this piece. And although I will not drag anyone through that particular history, I would, however, like to draw attention to only one of the two main groups that routinely receive the "educated black people" moniker. This First Group, if you will, are composed of black Americans who seek to resolve the question of their own black identity by becoming what I like to call "art-textual experts" on black identity. This group of black Americans fall into two categories: (1) those who grew up socially amongst whites, (i.e. did not grow up around many blacks, if any at all); and (2) those who grew up among blacks of upper-middle class socio-economic standing. (Suffice to say, some members of the first group of "educated black people" fall into both categories.)

Also, before I proceed with the crux of my exploration, I think it is necessary to introduce one more context for reading this piece: the fact that the "educated" description of white people is almost never used in the same context as it is with blacks. You might regularly hear/see the term "highly educated" in conjunction with the description of whites, but that is because it is somehow naturally assumed that white people are educated. Thus, the use of the adjective "highly," in this case, is just a way to distinguish a higher degree of a “naturally assumed education.” Think about that...

Now back to the exploration at hand…

The typical story of the "educated black person" of the First Group goes something like this. Having grown up, regularly co-mingled, and interacted with whites, the "educated black person" goes on to college (as is expected of someone of their socio-economic standing). At college, the First Group soon gains a form of “cover.” For students of all races and ethnicities, college usually provides a level of physical and emotional distance from the only family and friends they've ever known. So it is understandable that many of these students "discover" things about themselves--that is to say, things about their ethnic/racial heritage. For many blacks with a white socio-educational background, this discovery often takes place in the form of what I call a “black identity awakening.”

There are two levels of “reorganization” that are central to the black identity awakening that some blacks of white socio-educational backgrounds experience. There’s “social reorganization” and then there’s “scholastic reorganization.” Having gone, in some cases, as many as 18 years without many black friends (if any at all), this First Group "educated black person" reorganizes their social structure. This often includes a more pronounced adventure into and appreciation for black music (in particular hip hop, jazz, and reggae) and other Afro-centered art forms. Also, almost always at the core of this social reorganization is the notion of friendship and romantic (sexual) interaction with other blacks, (something considerately “new,” given their social backgrounds prior to college). Indeed, having had a limited number of black friends (if any at all), this First Group of "educated blacks" now actively pursue both friendships and romances with other blacks.

In the scope of the “scholastic reorganization,” some within the First Group of "educated black people" aim to learn more about the cultural history of black Americans as well as other blacks throughout the African diaspora, while seemingly increasing their own sense of black identity. This process usually involves taking more elective courses related to African American history (aka Black Studies). It also includes an increased interest in many black cultural and community events.

After completing their undergraduate studies and obtaining a degree, reflective of either their broader or specific interests, members of this First Group of “educated black people" typically head off to graduate school. After obtaining an advanced degree, often at some point through an Ivy League institution, some members of this First Group of “educated black people” eventually venture into the market place, where they quickly (typically) learn to market what? Yep, their so-called "expertise" at intimately knowing both black and white people in a way that most people do not or could not. But, no matter how interesting existing "in-between" worlds may be, what I find more engaging is the level of acceptance each world actually affords the so-called "educated black person” of the First Group.

Here, I want to return your attention to the book, How to Rent a Negro, and it's companion website, "rentanegro.com." I have one sobering question: How much outrage would such a book (title notwithstanding) and website cause, if its creator were white?

Finally, to be fair, I am certainly not making the case that all "educated black people" are propagators of the kind of ignorant satire that damali ayo has seemingly orchestrated. Instead, my exploration (brief as it is in this article) of a select group of "educated black people" has really been an attempt to examine just how a black American could come to create a "product" that is so incredibly insensitive and degrading to all black Americans. What I've concluded is this. Somewhere in the educational and social processes of the First Group of "educated black people," the wires between dignity, pride, integrity, self-respect, common decency, "Booker T. Washingtonism," reckless opportunism, and capitalism get crossed. For most "educated black people," these separate spheres of influence usually reconcile properly. That is to say, dignity, self-respect, and common decency move to the forefront, while reckless opportunism and capitalism fade to the back. That being said, however, there is a small percentage of "educated black people" for whom the aforementioned reconciliation is carried out improperly. On that note, here's some more free press for damali ayo (again she prefers her name in lower case)...

How to Rent a Negro by damali ayo

damali ayo on the Bill O'Reily Show

Rent-a-Negro.com

You decide... Is it engaging knowledge, is it provocative art, is it plain ignorance, or is just entrepreneurship disguised in satire?