Sep 25th, 2003
50 Cent
It’s been over a week since I’ve written but there has been a very good reason for this - I haven’t had any power because of that bitch of a hurricane that came on Thursday night. It looked like the trees were big knobby grandmother fingers playing cats-cradle with the power lines.
Shooting has gone on this past weekend and we got some excellent footage from downtown DC as well as from a housewarming party at Pouria’s house, which was supposed to be an American-style party, but quickly degenerated into an Iranian dance circle. Later in the night, a drunken Jiyan was forcefully pushed in the middle of this circle and ended up looking like an idiot, as usual.
I got into an argument with two of the crew members (I like to call my friends crew members) last week because one of them made the boisterous claim that 50 Cent was, and I quote, “brilliant.” The other made the claim that Eminem was, and I sadly quote once again, “brilliant.”
The 50 Cent backer’s argument went something like this: “So, you think you are a smart person right,” to which I responded, “Yes.” He then said, “Well, 50 Cent is making millions of dollars more than you.” To which I responded, “Is he smarter than your parents? Because he sure as shit is making more than them also.” My friend’s parents are a college professor and a radiologist. He had no answer to this one.
My basic claim was that although they may be construed as being opportunists and excellent businessmen in their own right, brilliance would be marked by an individual’s contribution to society and their influence on the shared perception of a culture. I’d like to hear how you define brilliance in the forum.
In the meantime, I’ll end this entry with the chorus from 50 Cent’s “Wanksta.” Brilliance? I’ll let you decide:
You said you a gangsta
But you neva pop nuttin
You said you a wanksta
And you need to stop frontin’
You go to the dealership
But you neva cop nuttin’
You been hustlin a long tyme
And you ain’t got nuttin
