Thursday 9th August - I sat in the barbers reading the Guardian this afternoon. It appears Gordon is readying himself to tackle an issue that "Worried ministers move to tackle rise in gang violence". Surely, that's got to be a good thing. This latest bout of introspection was triggered by the murder of Jessie James, a teenager who lived on Moss Side, Manchester. He was apparently killed for refusing to join a gang. Although it's too late for Jessie, let's hope any action that they decide on is pro-active rather than waiting until the horse has bolted the stable before thinking it might have been an idea to close the gate. Give 'Mothers Against Guns' the money Blair promised them for starters.
One thing that I did find odd was the assertion that role models, such as rappers should be replaced. Sure, 50 Cent doesn't always have the most positive take on life, but his songs are entertainment, in that time honoured outlaw tradition. They are the ballads of an anti-hero. Hymns to fast money, faster women and the biggest gun you can lay your hands on. Is that any worse than what they stock in the 'Action' section at Blockbusters? What most of these people fail to realise is that he's a character. Like John Rambo, The Terminator and John McLean. Around his grandparents and his son he's probably just plain ol' Curtis. What if we were to apply that thinking retrospectively? What would Bond be without the sex, violence (and the occasional tongue in cheek xenophobia)? The character, who has been remodelled for each generation of cinema- goers, became an icon for shooting anything that moves and screwing anything with a pulse, and he's been doing it for over half a century. But when 50 is mentioned, they'll talk about the nine shots before they mention the fact that he's made a (non literal) killing on The Stock Market this year. If anyone has to shoulder some blame, why should it not be the guys who sign Curtis' cheques and by themselves yachts off the P.I.M.P profits? On his latest single I Get Money, he declared himself "stanky rich". If that's the case, right now Jimmy is reeking.
I spent a day holding a music workshop with school-kids in Peckham in February. These were kids who had a tougher up-bringing than I did. They didn't really have to listen to anything that I said. Unless you went looking for trouble, when I was a kid, you wouldn't find it in Surrey. That's not necessarily the case now, unfortunately. Musically, they were a lot more organised than I was at that age. They all had their bars written up, they knew who had chemistry with who over certain types of beats. They hadn't just taken on board the superficial imagery that rap in it's flimsiest form offers. They'd adopted the work ethic too. I sat and watched the next generation get down for theirs with near military precision. The 'What Ends You From?' mentality didn't even figure. Sure there were a couple of moments when we had to step out of the booth to give them time to think about what they were spitting, but they had that unbridled enthusiasm about them. Of course, they won't all end up in the spotlight. Not everyone gets to rock Wembley Stadium to rave reviews, but the important thing was the fact that they were expressing themselves. When people lose that ability, that's when you get Columbines and Virginia Techs. John Pitts - a professor from the University of Bedfordshire, said that his research had shown that 75% of the gangs in South London, used kids playing truant from school as drug runners. To me, that's a clue to the 'solution' (I don't like having to use that word in this context, because it makes it sound like there is an answer waiting, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow) - if school is not engaging them, they're going to find other avenues for their ambition. What other people happen to think about those avenues is neither here nor there.
The kids I spent the day with just need to have that energy channelled in the right direction. We talked about music for most of the school day. We showed them footage of Rakim and Slick Rick at Rap Mania (Ricky D's truck jewellery is officially admired across the generation gap now), rhymed with them and had them sit through one of my favourite documentaries Just For Kicks - to show them how an artform and the culture created by young Black people, who probably had a similar upbringing to them has become a worldwide movement. I was genuinely surprised that 14 year-old kids knew Ice Cube. And I'm not talking Are We There Yet Ice Cube, I'm talking the 'Jheri Curl, Letter from The FBI' Ice Cube. I don't know if it's enough to tell kids who they can and cannot look up to. They're naturally going to gravitate towards the rebel. That can't be helped. And that's not to say that they shouldn't look up to the likes of Ozwald Boateng. He's made himself a household name, by throwing Savile Row on his back and carrying the bespoke suit industry into the 21st Century. And the suits look good too (Ozwald, holla at your boy!)
Don't worry, I'm not going all 'hug a hoodie' on you. On the flip-side, some kids are just bad and need their asses whooped. Yeah, I said it.
Save for the occasional ad, the newspapers are disappointingly Prince-free today. Rumoured support act Amy Winehouse, who had just been nominated for 3 MTV Awards, found herself in hospital yesterday, with what her record company called 'exhaustion'. I personally can't wait for the weekend. I'm leaving the car at home and catching the train for a change so I can get completely 'exhausted' too. I've seen Ms Winehouse live once. On tip-toes outside a packed Deal Real a couple of years ago. Great voice. I think she was playing guitar too. This was before superstardom set in and she still filled out a pair of leopard skin leggings pretty well. It's a shame to think a talented musician may end up going the way of Doherty.
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