Tattoos, smoking weed, toting guns, reppin sets, or composing Rap songs that are vulgar, promoting homicide, or crass materialism are no longer hardcore, rebellious, or even controversial. I’m sorry, but that shit is mainstream now; if you do that kind of shit then you are making people like Justin Bieber, and Miley Cyrus your contemporaries. Chief Keef ain’t gangsta, he’s a Pop Star. Sorry, its not my fault, blame Ice Cube, Jay Z, 50 Cent, and all the rest of them that pimped Black Street and Gang culture to the White majority for personal riches.
Now I was a teen, I know how strong the drive to be different (just like very one else) is, to be cutting edge, to seem dangerous, but that shit we did in the 90’s and early 2000’s don’t work no more. White folks pants are sagging further than yours, they buying more potent weed than you, and they got ‘Nigga’ drawn on their skate board.
There is hope tho. If you wanna engage in teen rebellion now, you just gotta flip the script. You gotta do shit that scares the mainstream (and trust me, your self-destruction doesn’t scare them at all).
Here’s a short list of shit you can do in this era to be dangerous, rebellious, and to stand out from the herd.
1. Read (non-fiction, political, and historical Black) Books
2. Eat Healthy (Red-Hot [insert food like substance here] is no longer hood)
3. Wear Reasonably Priced Clothing without any Prominent Labels
4. Be Articulate (That shit scare the shit outta people, esp. racist)
5. Listen to Progressive & Pan-African Talk Radio (L.I.B. Radio is a good start)
6. Own the Hood that your Homies are Reppin’.
7. Wear You Hair Natural, and Use Natural Products (You’ll scare the shit outta Korean Beauty Shop owners, if no one else.)
8. Reject the Newest Gadgets Right Out the Gate, Then Buy Them Used When Your Folks Trade Them In for the New Newest.
9. Grow Food on the Lots Where Your Homies Run the Block
Please believe me, if you do just a few things on this list, you’ll stand out and be the most dangerous young person anyone has even seen.
