(ThyBlackMan.com) As a freshman in college I eagerly awaited the release of Lupe Fiasco’s first solo album (and magnum opus?) Food and Liquor. For a hip hop fan who previously expressed fandom for the likes of Three 6 Mafia and Mike Jones while in high school, Lupe Fiasco was a breath of fresh air as I began to discover my intellectual, Black nationalistic self in college. He embodied musically and poetically what my upbringing consisted of on the south side of Chicago. The lyrical dexterity of his music had seemed to usher in a renaissance of the classic hip hop era. I remember rushing to the local Best Buy in Champaign, IL after my last class on Tuesday in 2006 to purchase the CD. I was in enthralled and needless to say, I was not disappointed by Wasalu’s display of art in the form of music. However, what I would really admire Lupe Fiasco for was not his penchant for multisyllabic rhyme schemes or metaphoric songs that would take an infinite number of listens to capture every message. I would admire his audacity to take a firm stand for what he believed in.
Sure, many will pinpoint Lupe Fiasco’s recent (controversial?) remarks about President Barack Obama being the world’s eminent terrorist. However, those 
same people will look past the political stance Lupe Fiasco took before his moniker became the equivalent of socially conscious commercial success. Without the promise of reaching the plateau he is at today, Lupe Fiasco took a bold stance against an extremely successful and infamous global company: McDonalds. Lupe Fiasco, not swayed by the monetary gain that could have come from advertising with such a gargantuan company, decided to place his morals and religious beliefs above any sort of avariciousness to attain the ostentatious allure that is erroneously linked with commercial successful hip hop starts currently. He told McDonalds that he would not advertise their product because in the advertisement, he was scheduled to promote pork, which is absolutely intolerable for human consumption according to Islamic beliefs. Now, I can think of a million other reasons why McDonalds (who should be on everyone’s top 5 public enemy lists) should not be promoted by anyone of significance, much less eaten, but I’ll save that for another post and I’ll let them handle it.
I didn’t realize it at the moment, but this political stance would have a profound effect on me. It reiterates a belief that I have always had that seemed to be more widespread during the Civil Rights Era amongst entertainers than the present day. That belief being taken from Peter Parkers Uncle Ben (Spider Man fans whatup?): “With great power comes great responsibility.” I’d even take that quote a step further and rephrase it as: “With great power, influence or money comes great responsibility to the people who are responsible for your success.” Whether Lupe Fiasco was able to influence others with this solitary moment of activism will probably never be known. However, what is known is that on that day, a rapper with a tremendous amount of influence took a stance that not many in his position would have. He valued his morals, religion, pride and supporters more than a temporary influx in his bank account and that his commendable in more ways than one.
But why was it so admirable? Whether Lupe Fiasco knew it or not, he took a stance against a corporation that is arguably the most noticeable culprit behind the obesity epidemic in our country. We live in a fast food age, where the rates of obesity and heart disease have increased dramatically nearly in concurrence with the heightened success of McDonalds. Two thirds of all Americans are obese or overweight. Do you know how disturbing of a statistic that is? That means that in a room full of 100 Americans, you are likely to encounter 67 people who would become short winded while walking up one flight of stairs. In a country that claims prominence from its GDP and technological innovations, the number more Americans should be concerned with is their BMI (Body Mass Index).
As we have known for hundreds of years now in this oxymoronic country of supposed freedom and equality, whenever mainstream (White) America has a problem, what this really means is, it is doubled or tripled for ethnic minorities. A recession in America (9% unemployment) means a depression in Black America (18% or more unemployed). So, if America has a health crisis, imagine the affect it is having on Black America as a whole where you can find more liquor stores and friend chicken shacks than grocery stores (ironically Lupe Fiasco touched on this topic on his first album). There should be no surprise then that the average life expectancy for Black men is 66 years old, 74 for Black women and 78 for mainstream America. It is because of these startling statistics that Lupe Fiasco’s stance is that much more meaningful because he didn’t just protect his religious beliefs but he stood firm against a conglomerate that is partly responsible for clogging our arteries.
This leads me to the recent controversy surrounding Mary J. Blige’s recent Burger King commercial where she is crooning/cooning about the delectable taste of a crispy chicken wrap. This commercial is disturbing for a variety of reasons. In fact, a dissertation length essay would probably be needed to dissect every component of the commercial that is damaging to the Black psyche in regards to the Jim Crow era stereotypes it reinforces. However, the stance I choose to take is one from a health conscious perspective. By choosing to do this commercial for a large sum of money (reportedly 2 million dollars) Ms. Mary J. Blige basically chose money over morals. Now, I do not know enough about Ms. Mary J. Blige’s personal life to know of her eating habits and religious affiliations, but I do know what she stands (stood?) for symbolically as an artist. Additionally, Ms. Mary J. Blige has the economic flexibility to shop at establishments with healthier options or even hire a chef while most of her supporters probably do not. We can reluctantly say that celebrity product placement does not matter but subconsciously it affects us all. Nike can attribute all of their success to Michael Jordan for example. So, if I’m an impressionable child or adult that blindly follows celebrities then I am more likely to eat hazardous foods at fast food establishments if someone I admire does too, especially if they sing about it gleefully. I’d probably believe that this food couldn’t possibly lead me to a hospital bed with clogged arteries or damage my intellectually capability by destructing my brain cells since someone who I admire deems it permissible.
Ms. Mary J. Blige, I’m not disappointed in you because of your coonish antics (well, just a little). I am disappointed in you because as an extremely influential Black woman who has overcome a tremendous amount of obstacles (health obstacles included) you chose to use your power of influence to lead my people astray. That is the most disappointing aspect of this whole ordeal. You exchanged 2 million dollars for the possibility of leading 2 million more Blacks to their early demise with diabetes, clogged arteries, heart attacks and cancer. “With great power, influence or money comes great responsibility to the people who are responsible for your success.”
Staff Writer; Ernest Crim III
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