I watched Scarface when it first came out, and I loved it, but I knew it was a movie. When I went back to school I imitated the accent and recited the lines, but I didn’t go out and buy a white suit with a black silk shirt and begin snorting cocaine off of the table (possibly because I couldn’t afford it). I have always had the impression that most of the current crop of Hip Hop artist understood the lines between fact and fiction. But when we look at the unfortunate case of Remy Ma, apparently the ‘gangsta’ mentality has become more than a myth in urban society, it has become a reality. Now let me start off by saying I don’t listen to Remy Ma. I remember the track she did with Big Pun, but I can’t say I’m a fan. However, the young lady does have a gift with language. Let’s look at one of her homages to her native Bronx:

Excerpt from ‘Bilingual’

It’s gon’ be armed see
I’m so from the Bronx be
And all I really wanna see
Is blood on the concrete
Body’s in bags and
Flowers on caskets
Corpses’ swarmin’
With flies and maggots
Innocent girls and boys
Turn into bassets
I want bitches to die
Deaths that are tragic
And niggaz fucked in they ass
Turn into faggots
Their balls cut off
And mailed to they parent
See I don’t give a fuck
I’m a mothafuckin’ savage
Now ya’ll tell me
What bitch is the baddest.

Now that is a gifted lyricist. Wow, what vivid imagery! I love the way she uses death as an analogy for the decay of inner cities. That is what she was doing right? I want to believe this, because I refuse to believe that she really feels this way. The woman is a mother, and by all accounts probably a good one. However, apparently Ms. Ma began to drink her own kool-aid. One evening, after chatting on the phone with her friend about which outfits they would wear, and sharing a drink and a slice; she stepped into the same friend’s car, pulled out a gun, and shot her at point blank range, over $3000. She then stepped out of the vehicle and left her friend to die. Now, I don’t know if no one told her that life is not a video game so the person doesn’t come back to life by hitting restart, or that money can be replaced, but a friendship, better yet, a life, cannot. Obviously that didn’t matter, she made her decision, and now she will have to live with the consequences of that decision.

I don’t want to beat a beautiful young sistah when she’s down, but, I dare you to find one reference anywhere of Remy Ma apologizing for the incident. Perhaps this lack of remorse is due to some expectation of heightened celebrity status. Hell, look what it did for Paris Hilton, Lil Kim, and Martha Stewart, they all have TV shows now! There is one big distinction, Lil Kim, Martha Stewart told a few lies, Remy Ma tried to kill somebody. While I am saddened by the entire event, and don’t think it is something to laugh about, I have to admit, I did chuckle to myself a bit when I saw reports that Remy Ma broke down in tears after hearing the verdict. Even after being removed from the court room, her cries could be heard from the other room. Even better, The “baddest” bitch is now begging for help from her fans. A statement posted prominently on Remy Ma’s MySpace page asks visitors to write letters about how the rapper and her music have “positively affected you, influenced you, inspired you, etc. … in hopes that the judge will be lenient. Finally! Some remorse! Don’t get it twisted however, this is not remorse over the fact that she left a good friend to die, but remorse over the fact that she got caught and will now spend 8-25 years in jail. I wonder which part of her lyrics quoted above does she want her many fans to make reference to as positive influences in their lives. The part about cutting balls off and mailing them to parents? Or my favorite part about wanting Bitches to die deaths that are tragic.

I hope that during the time she will spend in jail, Ms. Ma has an opportunity to think about her fans and her child and really think about positively affecting, and inspiring them. I would guess that taking a starring role in her own hyper violent fantasy world may not be the best way to do that. But hey, that’s what it takes to be a mothafuckin savage, her words, not mine.

 FL

Filed under: Purple State, Big pun, Bilingual, celebrity, Hip Hop, Politics, Remy Ma, Remy Ma asks for help, Scarface