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Recently, I have received a lot of "heat" for not welcoming C-Breezy back with open arms (…presumably from the young teeny bopper chicks whose hormones would allow a guy to hit anything on their body...). To clarify, my beef is not necessarily with Chris Brown in particular, but more the Entertainment business. First off, this "only God can judge me" saying is a half-truth to me. Sure, only God can make the final decision, which is ultimately the only one that matters, but to say you can’t be judged by anyone else is unrealistic. The definition of the term “judge” means to form an evaluation, to determine, or to decide. Are you telling me that you do not have the right to form an evaluation of another person? We judge people (character-wise) daily in one way or another. Whether it is in an incorrect manner: deciding that a black man cannot possibly have a house in an affluent neighborhood (Henry Louis Gates Jr. …seriously?!?). Or whether we use it to make wise decisions, like deciding to not let the friend, with whom things mysteriously disappear around, house-sit for you.

Granted, in everyday life, people make mistakes. But, sometimes those mistakes although not intentional can potentially follow them around for the rest of their lives. Is it fair? No, not all the time. But, life isn’t. Why should it be any different for anyone who is a celebrity? They want us to treat them like "regular folk" when it is convenient and then want to flip the script and have us treat them like celebrities the moment they may have to actually pay “regular folk” prices for an error.

Since when did we become the society that judges a person by their talent and not their character? (Almost everyone was beating somebody in the 60s and Ike Turner still lost his career). If you want me to be nicer to Chris you are going to have to give me a better reason, then the fact that he is amazingly talented. What is at stake here is his singing career, NOT his life. It would be a shame to see that talent to go to waste, but to me it would be an even bigger tragedy to see that type of character celebrated.

For example: Recently in Georgia, a middle school teacher, (for arguments sake lets say he was an excellent teacher), was fondling a 15-year-old girl in the back of his car at around 2:30 in the morning. She was not there against her will, and may even have encouraged his behavior. The pair was discovered by police as he was putting on a condom. I want to believe he did not start his day looking forward to molesting a student,( or at least getting caught doing so), and it would seem obvious that he left his better judgment somewhere north of his penis. There were probably a number of circumstances and missteps that led to him committing this mistake. But, would you understand the school system welcoming him back, with open arms? His career as a teacher is effectively over, despite all the kids he may have helped, and the fact that he may have no intention of hurting another child, it is over. As it should be, no? Would you have him around your 15 year old daughter?

Recently, everyone has been applauding Jay-Z for regurgitating, over a hot beat, what most of the public, has been saying for about a year now: the auto-tune must die! But, I'm afraid Jay and the public, got it wrong. It is not the auto-tune's time to pass, instead the moment of silence should be used to observe the exit of the old generation and the emergence of a new. You can debate whether or not the auto-tune is played out (it is) or whether or not hip-hop artists have become less and less creative (they have). You can even question the fashion statements that some rappers choose to make by parading around in extra tight jeans (its gross). But without a doubt, we the 80s babies and 90s hip-hop lovers, by hating on the Soulja Boys of the world, have become the generation that refuses to realize that their time is up (similar to the way our parents did).

This change didn't just spring up out of nowhere. While in music, the present or the future, may not always be clear evident extension of the past, the link is always there. Late 80s gangsta-rap, fed us vivid depictions of the violence we saw prevailing in our inner cities, by either glorifying it or by motivating change (because of how much it was glorified). By the 90s, pessimism had set in our youth's hearts, and what you got was thought-provoking tales dipped in hopelessness and sprinkled with violence. The anger of our realities fueled a style that could only be described as: raw. Today's youth, still see the same world we do, but their reaction is different. All that talk we did, our expressions and gripes over our present, didn't change much, the world is still for the most part, the same. So, from their standpoint, why keep talking 'bout it? Just accept it, and say "F*ck It", lets be happy over the paper-thin trivialities of the world. The result of that train of thought is "swag" and songs about nothing. And clearly anyone can create an "empty song"; talent isn't required.

True, you don't have to ride every wave hip-hop sends your way, but as a true hip-hop lover, you owe it to try and understand why the wave was created and then appreciate the best it offers. A few artists will remain true to the days we loved, but most will be met with mediocre success. In the meantime, the stubborn only have a few options: try and get with new acts such as Cory Gunz, Charles Hamilton, and Drake, maybe even a little Kid Cudi, reminisce with old CDs over what used to be, or retreat to the underground. Visit the comment section below, and tell me how right I am!