The Soundtrack to Life: How Black Are You? Top 5 Affirmations of Blackness

Being that its "Black History Month", I thought it would be a good time to write an article about something that's been on my mind for a while. The music we listen to does much more than simply entertain us and occupy time or our sonic background, which I'm sure you know by now. What you may not know is that music is one of the most (if not the most) important aspects of our life. Listening to music is one of very few endeavors in which we can participate that activates and engages both hemispheres of our brain simultaneously. Music has the ability to serve as a catalyst for trance, thought projection, short and long term consciousness development. That being the case, it almost goes without saying that music is vital to the creation, identification and reinforcement of one's self identity.

I often think about things in terms of anecdotes that can be easily expressed to people as understandable cultural reference points that fit perfectly as metaphors for any given subject matter. Usually I pull from music or movies. One such subject matter is the subject of Blackness. More specifically, the measure of Blackness, or the question... How Black Are You?

I've thought about this, from time to time and mentally catalog song lines that answer this important question. I decided to write a short article covering the Top 5 Affirmations of Blackness, because we are in a very pivotal time in our history where our survival as a people depends on our collective self love. Self love is a direct function of self image - and this is where music comes in. I think this will be a fun and thoughtful exercise which can, hopefully, open up the conversation on our Self Image and Self Love (both as individuals and as a people). So here it is... after my years of music listening and hours of study...

The Top 5 Affirmations of Blackness

5. "... I'm Blacker than Garvey..." - Sa-Roc, True Mastery

Sa-Roc, a relative new comer to the music scene delivers a powerful affirmation, which stays on your mind for days to come. When I first heard it, instantly it was engraved on my mental memory bank. This line references Marcus Garvey, an early twentieth century leader, who's passion, charisma and business acumen catapulted him to a position of leadership throughout the Americas, as well as the world, as the leader of the Pan-African movement. It is Garvey who popularized the notion of operating as one body of people, focusing on our commonalities as Black people all around the Earth, instead of our smaller differences of religion, geography, philosophy, educations, etc. To be "Blacker than Garvey" is a tall order and requires determination and an uncompromising love for our people.

4. "... I'm Blacker than the shadow of the darkest alley that their always scared to go in..." - Brother J (X Clan), Funkin' Lesson

In their classic debut LP, X Clan delivered some of the finest poetry ever penned by Black people in America. Lyrically lead by Brother J, this album offered several classic songs that stand the test of time, as perfect Hip-Hop alchemy. The use of lyrics to uplift, inform, teach, and create new visual impressions to stimulate a new paradigm is displayed with levels of mastery throughout this album. In this affirmation, Brother J embraces the strength and power inherent in our Blackness that often frightens white people. This even is delivered with the notion of using this power and fear combination to our benefit, with the very next word in the song, "Boo!"

3. "... Black like my baby girl's stare, Black like the veil that the muslimina wear, Black like the planet that they fear... Black like the slave ship belly that brought us here, Black like the cheeks that are roadways for tears... Black like assassin cross hairs, Blacker than my granddaddy arm chair..." - Mos Def (Black Star), Astronomy (8th Light)

Not many groups have put out one album and that album be so perfectly crafted that it is considered to be one of the best of that era (or even of all time)... Black Star is, however, that group! In this timeless song, which is itself an exploration of Blackness, Yasiin Bey (then Mos Def) gives a chilling list of affirmations! With these, we see and embrace the infinite variety and levels of the beauty of Blackness. The eyes (the window to the soul), the skin and our very planet... we are these things; we are also the experience of pain and pressure, that still live in us today (both from our ancestors as well as our current collective struggle). This set of affirmations simply reminds one that Black is everything.

2. "...I'm Black - Blacker than a trillion midnights..." - Ice Cube, When Will They Shoot?

In his third solo album, Ice Cube gave us an absolutely stunning affirmation of Blackness, in the opening song. This affirmation is especially important because it also addresses the issue of the "African American" question. Ice Cube is very definite that the proper terminology for self identification is Black. The referencing of the blackness of space ("a trillion midnights") is also a reference to the teaching of the original state of the Universe, at the point of Creation... Triple Stage Blackness. Simply put, everything in the Universe... all of life's existence... comes from the Blackness of Space; also known as the Divine Intelligence, or Creator. This intelligence manifests itself into this level of reality via what is called "dark matter", which is another way of saying "dark plasma" (the intelligent energy/power which is the space between all atoms)... also known as melanin. Ice Cube's affirmation links us to cosmic Blackness - Godhood. The more one explores this line, the deeper it goes.

1. "I'm Black and I'm Proud!" - James Brown, Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)

The number one affirmation of Blackness is the most simple: "I'm Black and I'm Proud!" James Brown (master of countless aspects of our collective consciousness) single handedly reestablished our lost heritage of self identity, with this song. Without directly teaching it, we were at once reconnected to our ancestral pride in calling our selves Black. Just as our identities as Moors or Kemites, we have always identified with Black. This is because, as a people, we have always known that Black is more than simply a color. Black is the presence and manifestation of the power of the Universe, a collection of all energy together, in harmony as one. Black is the connection to the Divine; the conduit through which we commune with the Universe and Creator. It is in the Blackness of our mind that we imagine, create, and build reality, which later manifests into our visual perceived reality. Not to mention that it's so simple and catchy, that it stays on our collective consciousness for years and years (maybe even forever).

To listen to these powerful affirmations in their original contexts (each of which are legendary in their own rights), I've included them below. You're also encouraged to leave comments about these or sharing your own Top 5 Affirmations of Blackness!

True Mastery, Sa-Roc (from Nebuchadnezzar)