Friday, January 20, 2006

GRITTY LIVING

When RZA droped that "Grits" single (Birth of a Prince) my mind was completely blown. We first saw the video & the old timers crooning about impoverished conditions that many of us know so way was enough to make somebody shout:

[Hook: Allah Real]
When I was small
We had nothing at all
We used to eat Grits, for dinner
It was pain
almost drive a man insane
what we could find for
to survive another day
but I said nah...


You might remember back to Nas' quick reference on Illmatic, but he didn't go into enough detail to really capture the signifigance. Though it did bug me out to hear him bring attention to an aspect of my life that eye had never noticed in Hiphop.

Down South, grits & farina (cream of wheat) are a standard filler food the same way that Asians use rice or Italians use bread. This is partly because these are the cereals that come in the food bank box, but also because you WILL get full for cheap. Now even though we were poor, my granny believed in cooking a solid meal every evening. Even if that was just spam and a canned vegetable and potatoes, she would do her best to provide a balanced meal. But eye can remember spending time at the houses of other friends, and for days at a time, bread & farina might be supper. Grits with cheese on top might be the gourmet meal for the week. That's real.

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