(ThyBlackMan.com) Does living the Thug Life really pay?
It was yesterday when I caught the news online (I don’t really ever watch television anymore) about the arrest of Florida Rapper Trick Daddy on several charges which included possession of cocaine and possession of a weapon and ammunition.
A Broward County Drug Task Force was conducting surveillance when the 39 year old Trick Daddy, whose real name is Maurice Young, was stopped as he got in his car to leave.
He was initially stopped because of his expired drivers license and after questioning admitted that he had drugs and a weapon inside of his home. Of course something about this doesn’t look right but if Trick had nothing in his home he wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place. Seems like they were coming after him in the first place and were looking for an excuse to get him.
To be honest with you with a expired license I wouldn’t even feel right sitting in my car while it was turned off and parked inside of my garage if that was the life that I was living!
My question is why would he still roll like this when he is already a convicted felon.
Has he forgotten that this is the infamous place called Florida?
Evidently so, or maybe he really believes in the thug fantasy he has so successfully portrayed that so many countless millions of youths subscribe to as their mandatory inner city Right of Passage into a warped sense of manhood.
You live by the sword and you die by the sword and with so many Rappers who want to project this image out to the world it will eventually come back to haunt you in the worst way.
Of course he has been through the system and probably feels that this could be a drop in the bucket for him in comparison to his other brushes with the law, but who in their right mind would live in a manner that is literally guaranteed to bring the bad karma right to your doorstep?
I never knew of Trick Daddy until I moved down to Orlando Florida back in 2001 and at that time his hit song “I’m A Thug” was bumping out of every “Donk’ car (Those cars with the HUGE wheels sitting up high) that would pass me by in the street.
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I was also hit with so many songs from other artists that didn’t exist to me because of the lack of airplay in the New York City market that didn’t savor that brand of music entirely.
But I have to say that I loved that song of his as it reminded me of how different things were in Florida when I first arrived as opposed to the present time of the northern saturation that came from so many New Yorkers moving down in a mass exodus.
Trick Daddy has a huge fan base and is loved by many but at what point do we as entertainers stop the madness of thuggery and evolve on into living a clean life that won’t end you up once again in the slammer.
Just like any business that one gets into, you have to have an exit strategy just in case things don’t really work out.
“What is the exit strategy for these thugs turned rappers once the limelight and fascination of their brand diminishes?“
Sadly, the retirement plan and only option for most rappers who came up in the streets is to simply go back to what they really only know.
…….drugs, violence and those inevitable brushes with the law that go along with that life like an unwanted amenity on a brand new vehicle that you didn’t ask for.
In this day and age of social media and its powerful intoxicating ability to make one feel as though they’re a legend in their own mind, the music never has to stop playing and ones long gone heyday is merely one mouse click away.
Living In The Past
That being said, it has become increasingly hard to move on and grow up to living differently when you get stuck in the mental rut of living in the past.
Is this the case for Trick Daddy?
I don’t know and I couldn’t really tell you. But I must be fair in saying that for the projected imagery of him such a menacing character, I’ve been told by the few that I’ve run across who actually know him is that he is a really nice guy in person.
That may be true but one has to understand that once you are branded in the media as one thing over another, to change lanes afterward is truly difficult once your brand is built.
I mean, who wants to see Sylvester Stallone in a romantic movie without any action scenes?
The difference with Rocky Balboa and John Rambo is that Mr. Stallone knows that those are creations out of his own mind and not actually who he really is.
When was the last time that you saw Al Pacino get caught up with drugs and guns? It’s because he knows that his role as Scarface is something that he could never be in real life!
You don’t get arrested for playing a fictional role to entertain the masses, but when you start living that life for real then there are definitely some consequences to face after not realizing that you are accountable.
I wish more of our rappers knew this because it would land them in a whole lot LESS trouble!
But the sad fact of the matter is that our youth will continue to emulate what they see broadcast over the actual and cyber airwaves and dot the urban landscape with the visuals of the inevitable “FREE TRICK DADDY” t-shirts that I KNOW are probably being screen printed up as we speak.
We’ve got to show the other side of life and make a point of showing our youth that you can make it big by utilizing your inner talents, abilities and mind to excel in a way that won’t land you in the slammer.
And we as responsible adults have got to make our children see that what happened to Trick Daddy is the result living a life that has no long term rewards to be enjoyed from it while the music executives profit for your fame and fortune before moving on to the next thug rapper to bankroll their children’s attendance to Harvard or Yale.
I sincerely hope that Trick Daddy lives a long and prosperous life and that he gets through this unscathed while learning a big lesson.
Stop being “About That Life” and scrape up your resources to move away from that influence on a mental, physical and spiritual level so that you can taste true success without having to look over your shoulder for the crooked police or for the next young thug who may want a reputation in the streets by coming after you.
