Editorial: The Holy 48: The Dying City of Charleston, SC

"Bout that life" y'all say.... "real nigga" y'all say.... "he a fake nigga...."
y'all say.... "Beat her ass" is what you hear in the fight videos. "No let them go"
I heard in the Bayside fight video. Now....



  Many of you know when I write, I write for myself, but this... this is for
everyone. Teachers, strippers, dope boys, Mothers, sons, Fathers, hell the
plumbers, whoever. It may come off as disrespectful to some & uplifting to others
& quite frankly I don't care. There's some issues in the black community but
definitely in my home city of Charleston, SC &  I'mma speak on it.

A "real nigga"; Look, I don't care who you are or what you been through. It doesn't
matter if your Daddy left you to fend for yourself or your Momma hittin' a pipe 3x a
day. You going to do what you have to do to make it, understood. The problem
nowadays is you have a large population of young dudes in Charleston, SC who feel
the need to bang. Banging is something that's not understood by most & well I don't
think it ever will be; & no I'm not a banger & I'm not going to put myself or
anyone's business out there but you don't touch a corner or a glock unless you HAVE
to. 

We all have been in someone's classroom; church; bible study; club; etc. And when we
were in these atmospheres whether we wanted it or not someone reached us in a
positive way. You can act hard & say "no man school ain't been for me" or "man I
built for the block" & what not but the truth is.... none of us were made  to put a
glock in our waistband or hard(crack) in our sock. None of us were born to fear the
next man or run from the police or even get shot by one, believe it or not. We all
had a choice. 

I was as lucky one. I've made decisions I regret & I know people around me who have
also; but as a young man when making those decisions you have to remember you not
ever in it by yourself. Never. If you have a seed out here, he/she going to grow up
without a Father. If you have a Mother/Father, they lose a son. Your granny & gramp?
Yup... they lose you too. Oh & those homies who said they were going to ride? Yeah,
about them. I won't be politically or socially correct & say "they won't be there".
I won't even tell a young man to get off the block without knowing his story. I will
say this, feeding into the social bullshit that's placed before you will get you 20
years plus on stacked up charges or dead. 

These little girls from your neighborhood who claim to be your friend & they hug you
in the party/club or write little' emojis on your Instagram pictures don't mean you
no good. They don't. There's young men laying dead in the grave & at the time of
death females crying all over Facebook for attention but not even a year later in
the bed with another "boss"; another "real nigga". So what does that show you?
Loyalty? No; but that's neither here nor there 'cause those same little girls aren't
even woman enough to help you realize the path you're on is the wrong one. They're
the ones running your business to the same folks who want you dead &/or in jail.
Don't entertain the show if you're about your "hustle" because these people don't
give a damn 6 months or even 1 month after you're behind those walls or in the
ground.

Like I said many will take offense & well I can take some scrutiny; but I can't take
seeing people throw up "#CeaseFireCharleston" yet the same people who have that pic
up on Facebook are clicking like on pics of a young man holding up 2 glocks saying
"pussy nigga killa". I'm no angel & I'm not playing the role of one, all I'm saying
is this....

  Charleston, my city.... my set.... my people... MY HOME, what you have to
understand is no place has 100% peace & won't. What you can do though is try to
save the ones who don't have to be in the street. Just 'cause your homeboy riding
with a .380 on his waist don't mean you have to; 'cause your homegirl carry a
blade in her MK purse doesn't mean you have to. We've seen how many fights people
laughed at on Facebook from Charleston yet the same people rooting it on want to
stand up on Facebook & say "stop the violence". That's like you being an advocate
for seatbelt safety & telling people to buckle up at a red light yet your child in
the back seat jumpin up & down on the seat. Who's going to take you serious seeing
your child jump up & down in the back seat? Nobody. That's how the rest of the
city of Charleston , including it's leaders see a lot of you. If you're going to
support the dope boy movement, then by all means do that; but don't insult the
families & people with actual concern for young black men by talking about
#JusticeForJaba & #CeaseFireCharleston yet you're killing your fellow man &/or
support the "kill that nigga" movement.

  The black community of Charleston has become more of a joke than ever before,
that's evident, but I'm not here to just say that. I'm here to suggest a solution,
which many will disagree with. Some people you can't help & you won't be able to
help. I know you love them; I know it hurts; but my Mother out of all her kids had
to make the same decision in her heart & I could tell. All you can do is pray for
your child or fellow man if they continue to choose that life. You can scream
"fuck them crackers" & "man fuck them niggas" all day, but until you realize the
common denominator everytime your child is in handcuffs or your friends dead in
the street then you wont understand the big picture. It's us. It's the
person/people in the mirror, & if the person in the mirror doesn't really want
change or want to be changed then well ... as someone told me when my lil' brother
left us, "Let go & let God... but keep your sanity." Some people never kept their
sanity so let God handle that. 


Pray, appreciate the time you have on this Earth & be mindful of the people who care
about you. The dope game loves nobody; these streets love nobody; these lil' girls
on Facebook in your inbox for that $ don't love nobody, not even themselves. Stay
blessed, focused & do what you have to do. Just don't pass up a better way of life,
& that's coming from a 'real nigga' who grew into a real man. 


- Jah bless. #TheHoly48
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