I bet you never heard of a playa with no game, Told the truth to get what I want, but shot it with no shame. Take this music dead serious while others entertain. I see they makin' they paper so I guess I can't complain...or can I? I feel they disrespectin' the whole thang. Them hooks like sellin' dope to black folks, And I choke when the food they serve ain't tastin' right, My stomach can't digest it even when I bless it.
Interpretation
The quote addresses the complexities of authenticity in art and commerce.
In this quote, Andre Benjamin reflects on the struggle of creating meaningful art amid commercial pressures. He acknowledges the tension between artistic integrity and the need to succeed financially, expressing dissatisfaction with the superficiality surrounding the music industry, particularly how it can commodify culture to the detriment of its authenticity and depth. His metaphorical references reveal a critique of how art can sometimes serve harmful stereotypes rather than elevating the community it represents.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of genuine creativity, I might say, 'As Andre Benjamin once reflected, we must be cautious of superficiality in art.'
I met a gypsy and she hipped me to some life game,_x000D_ _x000D_ To stimulate, then activate the left and right brain._x000D_ _x000D_ Said, 'Baby boy, you only funky as your last cut._x000D_ _x000D_ You focus on the past, your ass'll be a has-what.'_x000D_ _x000D_ That's one to live by, or either that's one to die to.
The medium of poetry is a human body: the column of air inside the chest, shaped into signifying sounds in the larynx and the mouth. In this sense, poetry is just as physical or bodily an art as dancing.
I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.
But I'd be lying if I didn't say that every time you go to make a film, you're desperate to either do it better than you did it last time or to not repeat yourself.
And then he danced,-all foreigners excel the serious Angels in the eloquence of pantomime;-he danced, I say, right well, with emphasis, and a'so with good sense-a thing in footing indispensable: he danced without theatrical pretence, not like a ballet-master in the van of his drill'd nymphs, but like a gentleman.
Writing is very improvisational. It's like trying to fix a broken sewing machine with safety pins and rubber bands. A lot of tinkering.
My eyes make pictures when they are shut.
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