Hip-Hop, Men & Crying

Crying is a negative for men. For goodness sake, nobody likes to see a sloppy, weepy man. But I have to admit, the other day, I was straight up down. I can’t even front. These days it seems like our world is falling apart. But, the thing is, I still have my little job, my […]

Crying is a negative for men.

For goodness sake, nobody likes to see a sloppy, weepy man.

But I have to admit, the other day, I was straight up down. I can’t even front. These days it seems like our world is falling apart. But, the thing is, I still have my little job, my family and a roof over my head.

I’m lucky so far.

Everything around me isn’t as fortunate.

Many of my friends are struggling to find work. My uncle was recently laid off and he’s older so it’s going to be extremely hard for him to get work over some cheap, young kid that can do the same thing. My dad’s friend lost nearly $400, 000 in the stock market. He foolishly put all his money there and when the market tanked his money was gone. He was left with about $50,000. There is no such thing as riding out into the sunset at any age. There is always going to be some BS speed bump that is going to mess the drive up.

Such is life.

So, I had a quick moment of tears. I wasn’t blubbering like a baby, but it definitely caught me off guard. I’m not ashamed, but at the same time, I am happy that I was alone when it happened.

A crying man isn’t readily accepted, even though we do it. Most times men cry in the dark and alone. Not always.

Take Maino, as an example. He’s one of the hardest brothers in the streets these days, but he started weeping openly in front of all his fans. But, his tears had a thug twist. His friend had gotten hot in the back by the NYPD. That’s certainly just cause to cry, right?

Nobody gave Young Buck any slack when he started to cry before his boss 50 Cent. In fact, the streets really came down on Buck mercilessly, even though 50 secretly taped him without his knowledge. If he knew he was being recording, I doubt he would have said,”I’m just wrong.” Rappers like Freddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles) rapped about it humorously. It was clearly a moment of weakness for one talented rap artist. Talented or not, it was not appreciated.

No credit for acting!

I hated when Ja Rule did that song, “I Cry” with Lil Mo. (This does not mean I hate Ja. I liked him a lot at the beginning of his career.) That was one phony song, in my opinion, and 50 Cent used that visual moment to destroy Ja in the eyes of Hip-Hop. It seems that Ja was taking a page from Tupac and even ‘Pac shunned the notion of crying on “When Thugs Cry.” Was he crying or not?

Props for sincere tears!

What an honorable moment it was when President Barack Obama cried in front of the world in November 2008. Remember? His doting grandmother died just before he won the presidency over John McCain. The president isn’t supposed to cry ever, but we were able to give him a pass and, actually gave him credit for his ability to force himself to continue. On the flip side, Jesse Jackson got mixed reviews when he sobbed from the crowd.

I don’t know the last time you cried, dude, but choose that moment wisely.

Just let it out…don’t snap trying to be gullier than you are.

Crying can make you praised or pariah and probably will bear affect on the rest of your days.

Maino:

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Good Guy aka Every Man is a columnist on AllHipHop.com and his columns appear every Thursday or when he sends them over.

Of course his views are not necessarily that of AllHipHop.com. We never cry.