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article by social commentator Harold Clemens entitled “‘Ghetto’—The New N-Word,” he describes this usurpation of the Black experience. He writes that the word “ ‘ghetto,’ when used colloquially as an adjective, is the most racist, derogatory word in the common lexicon, given its so subtle insinuations and layers. Employed to mean ‘uncouth,’ ‘unruly,’ or ‘parvenu,’ ‘ghetto’ is the most popular new code word to stigmatize blacks.” He goes on:
    Evidence of this relationship is the commonality of statements like, “You can be black and not be ghetto,” which sounds a hell of a lot like the formerly popular, “You can be black and not be a nigger.” People even make comments like “ghetto-ass, white boy.” The first remark
obviously insinuates black people are usually “ghetto,” or at least that people that are “ghetto” are usually black. The latter obviously insinuates that white boys, and white people in general, usually aren’t “ghetto,” since the identification, “white boy,” is necessary to complete the description
.
     
    The ghetto experience in our history in America is an important one, mainly because it represents our historic and contemporary socioeconomic struggles for liberation. Because the reel ghetto experience has been highly profitable, it has left all Blacks—in the ghetto or outside of it—feeling inauthentic. The reality is that young, nonviolent Black men are born into a world that has already pegged them as violent criminals. Further, they treat and mistreat them based on this falsehood. It’s no surprise then that many youths explained their decision to act out as a giving-in of sorts to a reality that is fixed. The mentality becomes, “If you’re going to treat me like a criminal, I may as well get what I can get,” because ultimately both fates are the same. My brother and ODB became what society viewed them as, which is always unfortunate.
    When I see young people like Alyce Bush, the founder of Roots to Freedom, a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to providing an alternative to the negative images that sabotage our reality, I’m hopeful that we will find a rhythm that helps those of us who have sought authenticity through combing through the most inauthentic places.
    In Richard Wright’s
Black Boy
, Bigger Thomas remarks, “Having been thrust out of the world because of my race, I had accepted my destiny by not being curious about what shaped it.” My brother, ODB, and countless others felt that they could not challenge the perceptions. One does not have to go along with any image imposed upon them by the outside. We are not simply to be acted upon; insome real senses we are actors ourselves, making the world go ’round, and choosing to be what we choose to be. Poet Saul Williams reminds us that “Right now, we are unable to imagine world peace. Why? Because our imaginations have been stolen from us. We can imagine World War III because we’ve seen it in every movie, every TV show, etc. We cannot imagine world peace because we’ve never seen it before.” If it’s not up to the post-hip-hop generation to create alternatives that will reveal their infinite possibilities, then who will produce these images?
    Tupac once told us, “Stop being cowards and let’s have a revolution, but we don’t wanna do that. Dudes just wanna live a caricature, they wanna be cartoons, but if they really wanted to do something, if they was that tough, all right, let’s start a revolution.” That revolution may not be televised, but with the advent of digital and Web technology, the post-hip-hop generation is utilizing forms of new media to challenge, discover, and influence how we think about our world.

 
    A ghetto can be improved in only one way:
out of existence.
     
    — JAMES BALDWIN
     
    First off, thanks for granting me this interview.
    No problem. It’s time for me to set the record straight.
    About…?
    About me. Who I am. And