It’s midnight and the house phone rings…no one answered…
At 12:02 the phone rung again…this time she answered…and the person on the other line said…
Is this Marylou Johnson? Yes, she said…Ma’am, I am sorry to call you this late but your son has been struck by a moving train…screaming...Yelling…crying…devastated she was that her oldest son had been killed. She gathered herself and started calling family members…lavish funeral…spoke well of the song in the eulogy…standing ovation…more tears…more sympathy…lots of condolences…
Joe was a very talented guy. He was a church going, God fearing young boy until the day he came home and told his mother that he was interested in doing rap music. She give him an ultimatum, it’s either you stay here and forget about rap music or you can vacate my house.
Joe wanting to follow his dreams left his mother’s home; luckily the mother of his best buddy, Ms Park, took him in. She accepted Joe because she knew this was a good kid and if he wanted to be a rap star then she was going to help him out. After all, he only needed a place to stay. Joe could take care of his other needs. So, Ms Park had some issues of her own, she decided to pack up her stuff and leave the state. Now, Joe had no where to go. He ended up linking up with some dudes from around the way and soon after Joe’s life started taking a different course. He became so aggressive and hostile. F’s and B’s all of a sudden became his favorite words and he dropped out school just so he could fit in.
Ms Park came back and when she realized that Joe had completely changed, she told him he couldn’t come back and live with her but she was going to help him get back in school and as long as he kept up his grades, she would help him however she could. So Joe took her advice and he was doing pretty good. He was on the Dean’s list for 2 straight semesters…Ms Park was proud of him and by then Joe had returned to live with is mother.
Everything was peaches and cream until this one night…they had a heated argument and she threw him out of the house…He found himself homeless and for 2 weeks he slept on the benches at the park…until that one night when the phone rung. Joe couldn’t take it anymore. He was so promising yet hardheaded. He had talents and he could have made it. So he jump onto the tracks and committed a deadly sin…”why Joe?,” His mother asked, Why did you do it son?
One will never fully understand why Joe did what he did but then again I still have a hard time understand why the mother did what she did. Was he that bad a child that she had to put him out on the streets? Could she has simply talk to him and see if they can find a resolution? I guess we will never know but Joe’s music lives on forever… His brother is currently putting the finishing touches on his Joe’s CD…You can also check him out on Myspace…
RIP fam…
Thanks RAP for the inspiration…
2021-2022 Season Finale
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*What's That Growling Noise?*
The WORD wonders. That growling noise could be his stomach. Maybe it’s the
backhoe digging up the front yard. Or, more like...
2 years ago
He's gone very young w/promising talents and a superb intelligence.
ReplyDeleteMay his legacy live on...
The writer has written this piece so well about the late poet/artist.
May Joe's spirit r.i.p.
I could say that I knew "the Joe" in this piece.
ReplyDeleteHe was a good local rapper and yeah, that boy could really spit some lyrics. His passing was unfortunate and the story behind his death had saddened the Haitian Community at large.
I think it's a shame that Haitian families cannot see pass and embrace their children's lifestyles. Whether your child wants to be a rapper or a lawyer, accept and love them for who they are, because everyone is created differently and have different dreams and ambitions. Most of those young Haitian rappers are college students or graduates, so families should see the positive side of them instead criticizing of rejecting them. After all, before he was a rapper, he was your child. A chosen lifestyle should not come between family bonding.
Most Haitians automatically see rap as something negative because of the way most rappers dress, their language, their overall behavior, etc.
I think Haitian families should be educated on rap as being an art, poetry, reality, true talent, etc., but that's going to take some hard work to motivate their narrow minds, to accept and support that culture.
The whole misconception is nothing but pure ignorance, but with careful and proper education, our Haitian people will eventually change their views of rap.
Those are my thoughts and opinions.
Big Ups to the writer!