Kanye West-Good Morning

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On, Feb 10, 2004 as I was finishing up my senior year of high school, Kanye West released College Dropout, an album that that I connected with like no other based on the fact that it discarded the then-dominant gangster persona in favor of more diverse, topical proponents that represented the voice of the average person.  As a DJ/straight A student/part time worker at K-mart in the K-cafe, the theme of College Dropout and it’s subsequent releases (Late Registration & Graduation) felt like a soundtrack to my life and how I felt about education since reaching a point where I was able to make a significant amounts of money off any of my crafts.

When I burned my Ivy League Diploma a few months ago many of my friends, family, associates & strangers were confused, disappointed & even enraged (shouts to peyso who blogged this), reacting in the same exact manner I react anytime I see Floyd Mayweather Jr. or any other athlete or rapper make it rain in the club. The problem most people have is that they fail to recognize that the things they cherish could mean absolutely nothing to someone else who has earned them. That’s not to say my degree means absolutely nothing, but it was not an item in which I “cherished”.

As a child I grew up with my mother who was a teacher in the school district of Philadelphia constantly programming it into my head that college was the key to success. Being that many of us were programmed to this this way, we find ourselves having a false sense of security as if graduation from college, especially an Ivy League School is the end all be all.  You spend thousands of dollars that you don’t have, forgoing your dreams and  the things in life  you really want to do only to spend countless hours studying & reading shit that will make you a more cultured, worldly and knowledgeable person but ultimately you’ll never use in life. At times you find your self so far from the place you wanna be that words can only fuck it up more……..follow me? You spend the rest of your hours partying, drinking, smoking, fucking the frustration away only to hope that one day when you’re finished the hazing process that is school you’ll have the opportunity to obtain a career in which you’re able gain a significant amount notoriety & income. Nonetheless, I went through all this, finished college and it was wonderful. Continue reading »