Is It Still Cool to be From Tha Hood?

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

When I was a shorty the hooder your block, the more respect you got. Now that I'm grown if I see a cat living in that hood I'm feeling sorry for him.

But is that still how it is for young people or can black folk be proud to rep upper middle class neighborhoods now? Basically I'm asking are they gonna try to play my kids cuz they got 2 cars in the driveway?

We always gon have friends and fam in the hood so they gon always at least have temp ghetto passes.

I wanna be Philip Banks with Will as my biological son insteada Carlton.

 

[observe]

It's better to be poor and try to make it than grow up super rich..you learn how to struggle..and appreciate the things you have..all those rich kids with helicopters and exotic cars that have inherited their families money are babies in the real world..they don't know how to deal with society and are dependent..their life is pretty sad..

 

[Ronnie Lott]

what kind of dumb thinking is this

 

[Virtuous_Brotha]

yeah if your a rapper

 

[kp404]

When I was a shorty the hooder your block, the more respect you got. Now that I'm grown if I see a cat living in that hood I'm feeling sorry for him.

But is that still how it is for young people or can black folk be proud to rep upper middle class neighborhoods now? Basically I'm asking are they gonna try to play my kids cuz they got 2 cars in the driveway?

We always gon have friends and fam in the hood so they gon always at least have temp ghetto passes.

I wanna be Philip Banks with Will as my biological son insteada Carlton.

Why would blacks wanna rep the upper middle class neighborhoods when those blacks have worked extremely hard to alienate and distance themselves from the black masses over the decades? Plus the fact that many blacks can't "rep" the middle class because that group is so small...most blacks don't grow up in that setting, so their allegiance and love is for the people they most identify with and where they grew up; nothing wrong with being proud of your neighborhood/community because it makes you a stronger person.

 

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

It's better to be poor and try to make it than grow up super rich..you learn how to struggle..and appreciate the things you have..all those rich kids with helicopters and exotic cars that have inherited their families money are babies in the real world..they don't know how to deal with society and are dependent..their life is pretty sad..

I definitely feel you. But my is... then what?

I mean, I was that kid who struggled. It was a beautiful struggle but it was also a necessity. So you try to make it and then about your kids? That's my concern. They don't have the same necessary struggle. Do you think I should move back to the hood just so they can get an artificial taste of struggle?

This is fascinating to me because what's the point of "making it" if it's not going to benefit your kids? And again I feel you on the struggle thing and attribute my struggle to the man I am today. But I did that, so hopefully mini me won't have to go through that.

Why would blacks wanna rep the upper middle class neighborhoods when those blacks have worked extremely hard to alienate and distance themselves from the black masses over the decades? Plus the fact that many blacks can't "rep" the middle class because that group is so small...most blacks don't grow up in that setting, so their allegiance and love is for the people they most identify with and where they grew up; nothing wrong with being proud of your neighborhood/community because it makes you a stronger person.

Aight maybe not "rep" per say, but their address is their address.

Like in my pre-teens my fam moved to a little better neighborhood but we still repped the old hood. Well, until the new hood became hood enough to rep too.

I just want my son to have some street smarts about him without being one of them corny cats who seeks out or manufactures fake drama just to appear hard.

All I ever wanted to do was make money so I could live comfortably. But as my babies turn to kids I'm starting to wonder about they're upbringing. Mainly from a neighborhood standpoint. Cause I'm still hood as ever but ain't no OG's on my current block to teach my son how to roll a blunt or shoot dice.

 

[mrken12]

what kind of dumb thinking is this

There's this weird narrative here that black people from the suburbs are c00ns in training (not entirely true) and that black people in the hood deserve more respect and are "more real". If anything, those people from the hood who make it big are more likely to be tap dancing because they don't want to go back to that poor lifestyle.

 

[Taadow]

Being from the 'Hood is like...a cert.

 

[Jahmal]

growing up in the hood means your parents werent shyt. how can you respect them for letting you grew up in a shytty environment? fukk the hood!

 

[Zero]

It never was

 

[BillCosbyAteMyHomework]

We struggled hard, but that is what gave me character and drive. I'm making sure my children don't have to go through the financial struggle that I experienced, and we bought a house in a safer neighborhood. However- this neighborhood is still very diverse. I didn't move out into the suburbs and expect to fit in with all of the people that had things handed to them.

 

[StickStickly]

It's better to be poor and try to make it than grow up super rich..you learn how to struggle..and appreciate the things you have..all those rich kids with helicopters and exotic cars that have inherited their families money are babies in the real world..they don't know how to deal with society and are dependent..their life is pretty sad..

I don't think any person who grew up poor would say they'd prefer that lifestyle to growing up rich and not having to worry about needs being met.

 

[MikelArteta]

I remember I would lie and said I lived in government housing when I was like 16 on black planet , even though I lived in the burbs.

Only lame nikkaz rep the block like its cool still

 

[Freedman]

I had to deal with alot of suburb nikkas when I went to college for the first time and none of them nikkas is normal. They either try to be extra tough or they be heavy on some steeze

 

[The 2020 New Member]

it was never cool to be poor. ever. When I was young, i used to have kids in worse situations try to make me feel bad because i didn't live in the projects...even though my family was still struggling. it's basically contempt for the world. people put on each other personally. people's perception of the hood fukks me up and that's why most of the time i don't even get into it with people (white or black). i enjoy people's perception of me until some shyt pops off and my ghetto side kicks in. There's a time and a place to use street smarts. Most folks be thinking on a lower level, though.