"Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ." Col:(2:8)
YEEZUS: THE CULT OF BLACK CELEBRITY
Sometimes, we must utilize the lives of others and make them our books, in which, we should study in order to learn from their success as well as their failure. This week's Sunday School lesson is about the Cult of Black Celebrity, which came from our “beloved” brother Kanye West, who showed us, despite all of his Narcissism, that Black success still desires white validation, which usually comes in the form of award shows-that, unfortunately; offer us nothing-but “valueless” trinkets, trophies, and toys. West, with all of his accolades and arrogance, proved that this “stuff” still matters to him and us, with his past on-stage antics-when he interrupted singer Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. Because, Beyoncé’ didn’t win….
Yes, West has morphed into an extreme exaggeration of the Cult of Black Celebrity, who, “unsuccessfully,” try to escape from their blackness by buying into whiteness, while living in a Black body in the white space of Hollywood. Whether, it comes in their desire or fetish to have a white lover-or their odd promotion of some form of white supremacy. In Kanye’s case, he expressed it by proudly wearing a “Let’s Make America Great Again” hat and foolishly saying that- “slavery was a choice,” which seemingly came straight out of the Alt-Right handbook- that would, in his mind, allow him access into a world of unattainable white wealth.
We saw this play out on Celebrity Apprentice, where Donald Trump constantly fired and embarrassed former celebrities, who still desired the attention and adulation from their fictional boss. Unfortunately, being on the show never really paid off for anyone, who chose to be humiliated on it. For instance, the hated Black villain-ness, Omarosa Manigault-Newman, despite her loyalty and devotion to Trump,eventually found herself getting thrown under the segregated bus as well as out of the White House.
See, no matter, how Kanye or Omarosa tried to tap dance around the real issue and the reality of racism, it still existed when Donald Trump's name was mentioned. So, whether West’s crazy appearance on TMZ, was a twisted plot on the Kardashian-reality TV show, a political distraction from the war in Syria, or simply a mental meltdown-or a mental breakthrough, according to Kanye. His actions, showed us that alleged “greatest entertainer ever” was metaphorically-living in “a house without mirrors,”-Michael Jackson-style, where somehow, he had forgotten about his own reflection as well as what he was reflecting to the rest of the outside world. Especially, in the land of Holly-weird, where attention has become the “new” currency, if people are willing to pay attention to it.
This attention, of course, is driven by trolls, who penetrate lost souls, with hearts, -seeking for love, bruised egos, with hateful comments- seeking for acceptance, and ideas, through like buttons, which get murdered if they are not liked or shared. Especially, if it is music, an album or an unwatched video.
Yes, we have all “secretly” had our Kanye moment, myself included, by posting our emotional comments and rants about people, who have hurt us, voicing our uninformed “opinions” on issues with little knowledge or political education about the realities of certain situation - in our quest to be “deep” or Facebook famous, while trying to obtain Trump like Twitter followers, by (sometimes) uploading ill-advised photos on Snapchat, with “hidden” desires to be Instagram Supermodels or PornStars by getting butt implants. Or, highlighting how gangsta-we really are-by foolishly displaying all our guns and drugs on our bed on Facebook, while bragging without fearing that someone watching it-won’t report our actions and location to the local police.
Yes, in the world of Reality-TV, this is the “craziness” of the Cult of Black Celebrity, which some say- is a form of cultural prostitution, where Black bodies, ideas, and expression, are used, abused, exploited, trashed and even killed after they are deemed useless-only to replaced by a younger model or version, who, unfortunately, fail to learn from the past of those that came before them. And, sadly, repeat the same mistakes.
Yes, Kanye showed us that he was only an “expression of wealth,” who was spiritually broken, while complaining about being financially in debt and a “slave” to his own “Dark, Twisted Fantasies,” where he believed that love and wearing a cheap-looking red Trump hat could somehow eliminate racism and change the landscape of American history in a blink of an eye. Because, despite all his alleged “Black genius, Black riches and Black mobility through materialism,” he still found himself powerless and pointless in the hierarchy of Hollywood, who only saw him as just an “Uppity,loud-mouth”Ni#**-that made beats and designed high priced sneakers for the fashion world, which he didn’t have access to.
See, regardless, of his so-called popularity and “free-thought” philosophy-(no different from Puffy, with his claims of purchasing the Carolina Panthers)- Kanye, found out, that he didn’t have enough cash to buy his way into the room. Especially, when nobody invited him to the party, in the first place. OJ couldn’t do it. Tiger couldn’t do it. Michael couldn’t do it. And, Bill Cosby couldn’t do it, either.
Therefore, maybe, Trump will give him some “Hush Money,” in order to shut him up like he did Stormy Daniels. Because, Bruh, you just got “F*#@ed,” without a condom. So, good luck, with the “new” album, they will probably give you a Grammy for it. Because, without knowing it, you have done so much to advance their cause…."But, brother, don't forget the lyrics of your old song; Jesus Walks cause the Devil is trying to break me down. (Source:Eric D. Graham)(bobbeethehater.blogspot.com)
