Thank you, Dame.
In the past two weeks or so, I’ve watched a couple of interesting interviews of Damon Dash. Apparently he’s been making the rounds to promote his new movie Loisaidas, but the lengthy interviews seem not to focus any reasonable amount of time on the movie. Instead, the interviews careened off to other areas of discussion which he then used as an opportunity to give the interviewers and the listening audience what I deemed as an inspiring lecture on shedding fears, no longer accepting complacency, the value of self-worth, the importance of being independent, and Business Entrepreneurship 101. Many websites, this one included, posted Dame Dash’s most recent visit to Power 105 the Breakfast Club under very eye catching headings such as, “Damon Dash sonned Envy and Charlamagne” or “Damon Dash slams the working class” or just simply, “Damon Dash goes off.” Obviously those headings were intended to invoke something in the reader to make him/her want to view the video. That was the sole purpose. And it worked. But was that actually what happened?
People want to disregard Damon Dash or at the very least, attempt to discredit him. He has been sold to the public as being an a##hole or too arrogant. Not to mention that many people, in the Hip-Hop community, perceive him to be or at least, have been led to believe that he’s the reason the ROC, that we were first introduced to, crumbled. He seems divisive. He’s the bad guy. A description people love to so loosely throw around and associate with anyone threatening to the status quo by thinking and doing for himself. Well, you know what? Sometimes we need quote unquote bad guys. Especially when they’re telling the truth.
There is truth to the old adage that “employers raise their children to be employers, while employees raise their children to be employees.” Oftentimes that is very accurate. But what’s wrong with challenging the consciousness of people to change that train of thought for their own benefit?
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While fear can be the greatest immobilizer in the world, being comfortable on someone else’s dime may be the greatest misnomer. Who wouldn’t want to create and develop something of their own to leave their children, with the hope that they’d aspire to do the same? Who wouldn’t want to create several different means of cash flow that allows you and your family to be the greatest benefactors of your work? Who wouldn’t want to invest and continuously reinvest in himself? I mean, come on, if nothing else, who wouldn’t want to have the means to have seemingly control of his own life to determine how his time is spent?
People seem to call Damon Dash (not to his face, he says) a lot of different things. However, one word I’ve never heard used to describe him is “stupid.” With that being said, I loved the apologetic exchange that he and DJ Envy had as men when they both thought that the other had referred to the other as stupid. That was extremely powerful to witness, as was the rest of the conversation when you peel back all of the ill-gotten perceptions, remove the unnecessary emotions and get to the essence of the discussion.
What man doesn’t want to be his own boss? What man doesn’t want to be the only super hero to his own children? Let’s be honest, I don’t know a man who doesn’t want to be in the position to do what the f### he want to do, whenever the f### he want to do it and however the f### he want to do it. And do we honestly believe that working for another man would afford us the luxury to be the man we’re destined to be?
When you work for someone else there’s always a (in my Tony the Tiger voice) great disparity in the profit and earnings margin. We know this. Just as well as we know that when you work for someone else you could always be terminated. Not to mention how you’re made to feel internally as man, and the things that you subject yourself to, as a man, because you don’t want to…But when you have your own and you’re investing your own money, it gives you control, it gives you power. It gives you a greater sense of self-worth, self-value, self-esteem and self-confidence. And if truth be told, it’s not even about the dollar amount. In all actuality, it’s about freedom. And that’s what Damon Dash message was to me. But if possible, people will have you to believe that the cusp of his interviews was something far less important and very miniscule.
Reminding me. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this message. Nor is it the first time we attacked the messenger with this same message, tried to minimize it and dismiss it. Minister Farrakhan and the NOI, other black leaders and organizations have always preached independence, encouraged ownership and a do for self-mentality. But just as they were, so is he, painted as “wrong” or simply put, the “bad guy.”
Well look brother Dame, I just wanted to say “thank you” for the very inspiring and much needed message. And I’m certain that I’m not the only one who needed that particular message at this particular time. We do have the ability to choose our own conditions, with that being said, why wouldn’t we choose to be free?