Leaders, Heroes, and Bears.... oh my....

Well, i try to walk a careful line when it comes to speaking on Politricks and certain matters of the world due to the business side of what we do and the fact that i am not the only person involved in HCSN or HSN (HardCore Street Nerds). But there again, our entire point is to DO SELF. Not talk about it, but actually do it. At the chance of what....? not having followers? LOL. if you having noticed, we don't have many currently. The reason, well we are new to the world as a collective, but each of us has carved our own space and though it is probably crazy to not attack the world with who we really are, we have chosen to take the long path and build as we  go. Those who find us or are told about us and decide that they like what they see or read, due to agreeing or disagreeing, and tough it out with us will be a part of the silent quest. Those who don't.... their choice. Their freedom. I don't doubt what we will become, but i don't wanna gain it off of name sake or premature endorsements. But in due time... i hope. But i digress.... I said all that to say this, at what point do you change your view of someone? A Hero, or leader. Do you love Biggie due to his lyrics and ignore the other side of him, the reluctant father in his early days, or do you love Malcom before his trip to Mecca or after.... or both? Do you hate Che for the things he may have done that you don't agree with or do you ride with him for the things he did that helped other people. Do you idolize King for his attempts to unit people and forget the issues he had at home as an actual man, or hold those against him and write him off as a fraud? How about our beloved Tupac.... he openly talked about the streets, Thug Life, bitches, hoes, and queens. He also worked to unify gangs, and build and educate people. Do you accept all of him, or rebel against his negative sides and allow that to out way who he is as an entire person. Look at yourself.... who are you really. Who where you once upon a time compared to now. We were all innocent before the world tainted us. Then we began tainting ourselves......
  
     Now lets look at Kanye West a second. Views have changed on this man a lot. from his music to his words, to whatever you can think of. I have heard back packers say he isn't one of them even though he rocked a packback, an expensive one.... but still a backpack, through most of his early career. Hardcore lyricist say he can't rhyme, while poets say he aint poetic.... funny, in his early stages he embodied a bit of both to me. Hell, still does. I love Dead Prez, but can you say that lyrically they honestly spit any better than Ye? can you say he hasn't touch as many social issues as them just from a different point of view at times? Has he not walked his dogs both as a producer and as an MC? Others hate him and love Jay Z.... funny though. Lyrics aside, has Ye not done just as much as if not more for music as a whole? He worked with Kiesha Cole before most knew who she was. Provided a sound scape for many of your fav MCs and singers without credit due to ghost producing. Signed Common when others wrote hi off, he could have easily signed the next Soldier Boy or Wacka. Signed John Legend, produced for Estelle, worked with Consequence, Rhymfest, has signed Mos, Cudi, Pusha, Big Sean, the Cat from the A (can't recall his name but i heard some good stuff from him), and could have worked with and signed more commercial artist over those he has signed. I'm simply saying he has contributed to our beloved hip hop. So give the man his credit.
   
    But on the other side.... the current bashing has come from his "apology" for speaking out on Bush. This is, i don't think he owed anyone any apology. But i can come up with reasons why he may have done so. Regardless of why he apologized, i won't take away from the fact that he said what needed to be said when it mattered most. When other " hardcore rappers"  were silent. When other so called militants and equal rights individuals were pretty silent. Hell i commend him for simply speaking his mind. I have to respect him. This reflects to the earlier thoughts i offered about at want point do you block out the other sides of a person. I mean so what if he was scared into apologizing by the powers that be, or if money "changed" him. Does it change what he did once before? Maybe you don't like the current person, but that doesn't mean the past person doesn't matter. Now, i am not saying you have to rock out with the current person either. Just saying that there are 3 sides to a story. For those who believe in big brother and Illuminati, we can sum it up real simple. Maybe they did get to him. It is easy to say, "wouldn't change if it was me". But it's not you. I had an ordeal once where i had to battle a government entity. I got a lot of calls and emails saying "be careful". Lawyers ran from even offering advice. It showed me the reality of it all. But i didn't back down. A while later, my significant other was under investigation by the feds and those i called myself fighting for weren't fighting with me. Maybe it was pride, ego, anger, or just a desire to see it through that made me keep going. But people in high places began to speak softly about what i was up against and how i needed to tread carefully. This all from a battle with not a governor, or mayor, or president.... but a smaller government power. I wasn't worried about what they would do though.... i pushed forward. But when the investigation began.... i realized, it's not what will they do to me..... it was what will they do to those i care about. Still i moved forward and saw it out til the end. But it made me see what could happen. Lets remember Kanye lost his mom in a surgery that should have been simple. He lost his lady who had held him down for years. Who knows what else he lost and why it REALLY happened. Still doesn't make it all right.... no more than a cigarette company selling product in one commercial and saying it's bad for you in another. But it is the yin and the yang of life i guess. Walk in those shoes before you pass that judgment. Would Super Man really be so super if he had no powers? Maybe he would be a good person, and the fact that he does good with his powers is amazing.... but would he be so "SUPER" if he had no powers? anyway, allow your heroes to be who they are to YOU. But understand that some are far from who they seem online or tv or radio or where ever.  The actual person may not be who you think they are if ever you meet.  aight enough babble.
peace