Keeping It Real

Back in the late 80's, while other kids were listening to NKOTB, I was geeking on De la Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, the first CD I ever bought. My love for hip-hop grew from there and I even tried my hand at DJing in high school. I made mixed tapes (actual cassette tapes!), DJ'd small house parties and even lunch time in the quad at good ole West High. I thought maybe I could make some money doing this DJ thing but I quickly found out that the money I thought I was making just went back into buying records, tapes and maintaining the Technics 1200's. I had mad love for it but I had no dough to back it up. Immersing myself into the culture of hip-hop, I quickly found myself holding onto some of the ideals of the culture as defining points in my life.

"Keeping it real" was a phrase widely used in the 90's. It means being true to yourself and your values. It also means being true to values that others find respectable. While the notion to remain authentic is a noble one, it was used far too many times as an excuse to be ignorant. This was hilariously portrayed in a bit from The Dave Chappelle Show called "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong".

Even though the phrase was misused numerous times, there were some instances where the conviction to keep it real was used in a compelling and inspiring way. One song that stuck with me through the years is O.C.'s "Time's Up". O.C. rapped about taking the art of being an MC to another level by using more intellect and higher concepts. Here are the lyrics that I can recite to this day:

See I know yo, slow your roll, give a good to go

Guys be lackin in this thing called rappin just for dough

Of course we gotta pay rent, so money connects, but uhh

I'd rather be broke and have a whole lot of respect

It's the principle of it, I get a rush when I bust

some dope lines oral, that maybe somebody'll quote

That's what I consider real, in this field of music

Instead of puttin brain cells to work they abuse it

Non-conceptual, non-exceptional

Everybody's either crime-related or sexual

I'm here to make a difference, besides all the riffin

The traps are not stickin, rappers stop flippin

For those who pose lyrical but really ain't true I feel

"Their time's limited, hard rocks too"

O.C. probably didn't write these words dreaming that one day, I would quote them. But he did dream of inspiring people to find something to do that they love and warned against doing things just for the money and the accolades. He wanted people to rise above the fake meaning of "keeping it real".

This is something that I've always struggled with. In my attempt to keep it real, I've done the opposite and put up a facade. Saying things like, "Everything's fine" and "I'm all right" are really just excuses to not deal with what's really going on with me. To quote Donald Miller, one of my favorite authors, from one of my favorite books, Blue Like Jazz,


"'I feel like I'm a fake person. I say what I need to say, do what I need to do, but I don't mean it.'"


He said this is how he felt when he was ministering to college students and he started to feel like he was going through the motions. He took some time off, got away from everything and just spent time with God, under the stars and had a real, sincere talk. This brought him back to the realization of the realness of God. He went beyond knowing that God loved him, he felt it. I need to be reminded of that same thing. I need to keep it real with God. I need to keep it real with people. Because when I pose lyrical, I really ain't true, I feel that my time's limited, hard rocks, too.