support and rap music

Support.

It’s a simple word that shouldn’t be underestimated.

First, a few questions:
How do I support those around me?
Do I support my friends in their interests, hobbies, jobs, beliefs?
Do I support my coworkers in their responsibilities?
Do I support my students in their learning?
Do I support exploration and discovery in those around me?

I used to think of myself as a helper, or a servant. I thought of this role as the best in the kingdom. Matthew 20:26 claims “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” In “I’ve Got a Thing About Seeing My Grandson Grow Old” Cat Stevens sings “Even sweep the roads to be there.” I always took this line and reinterpreted it my own way: I would sweep the streets to be in heaven. I would be a servant in heaven, sweeping the streets, as long as I was there.

Well, I still want to be a helper and a servant, but beyond that I want to support people in their own ventures. This makes me think of the saying: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” I like the idea of giving a man a fish, of providing what someone needs. But it would be much better to teach a man to fish, to support someone in their venture to provide for themselves.

Now, a few statements:
I want to support those around me in exploring their interests.
I want to support those around me by helping them find a focus.
I want to support those around me by advocating for them when they are misinterpreted or marginalized.
I want to support those around me when they are discouraged by obstacles or failures.



And on an unrelated note:

I like rap music a lot. Some of it is absolutely beautiful. I’m not thinking analytically right now, or I would probably start counting the syllables and examining the internal rhyme. Right now, I’m just enjoying the awesomeness of this verse. I’ve listened to it four times in a row, and now I think I’ll start the whole song over for number five. I hope you can enjoy something as much as I enjoy this.

Verse 4 – Eminem, in “Forever” by Drake, featuring Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, and Eminem

There they go, back in stadiums as Shady spits his flow Nuts
they go, macadamian, they go so ballistic whoa
We can make them look like Bozos
He's wonderin' if he should spit this slow

Fuck no! Go for broke
His cup just runneth over, oh no
He aint had a real buzz like this
since the last time he overdosed
They've been waiting patiently for
Pinocchio to poke his nose

Back into the game and they know
Rap will never be the same as before
Bashin' in the brains of these hoes
And establishin a name as he goes

The passion and the flame is ignited
You can't put it out once we light it
This shit is exactly what the fuck
that I'm talking about when we riot

You dealin' with a few true villians
Who stand inside of the booth truth spillin'
And spit true feelings until our tooth fillings
Come flying up out of our mouths, now rewind it!

Payback muthafucka for the way that you got at me
So how's it taste? When I slap the taste outta your mouth
With the bass so loud that it shakes the place

I'm Hannibal Lecter, so just incase
You was thinkin of savin face
You aint gonna have no face to save
By the time I'm through with this place, so Drake