It Was a Good Day

 

I remember my first day at Junior High School 123 in the Bronx. The bell rang signaling the start of a new beginning in the 9th grade for me.  The recently painted walls were littered with freshly dressed onlookers, some new some held back from the year before...the chatter grew louder with every fabricated story.  Then without warning, a brown Bahamian beauty who seemed to appear out of the halls of injustice (rare... like a novel found in a strip club).  In strolled a pecan tan bunny named  Icilma Williams.  Her dress showed off her belly and the halls froze, captivated like the opening of Belly. 

As she walked pass me..., her hair smelled like a golden baked waffle cone, with chocolate syrup dripping from the melted Oreo ice cream on her dishwashing-free hands.  Her exotic presence parted the horny halls like a drink menu from Moses' wine collection.  Her dress blew in the air-conditioned tiled halls, letting her senior class frame hit the homemade stiches on her dress like they were trying to escape the floral print.  

I was staring at her so long and "hard" that I didn't see the school's terrorist, Jerome Barker leaning on the wall sporting his fresh, light blue suede Pumas with the cocaine white fat laces.  Jerome could have easily been the main character in Scared Straight the Early Years.  Moments later, I assumed that my eyes had rolled to the back of my head because of dream I had from Icilma's first kiss.  Well as the credits rolled from the nighttime series, Fantasy Island I woke up from the school nurse's stretcher, and I later found that I was the victim of a lightening quick upper cut from Jerome's right hand of fury.   

In my daydreaming gaze at Icilma I didn't realize that I stepped on Jerome Barker's fresh, first day footwear.   The thought of Icilma's warm lips was enough to dull the pain from that Tyson-like upper cut as it was later described to me after the coma.   The school hit Jerome with a suspension so stiff that Metta World Peace held a banner outside in protest.  For most preteens and teens, the first day of school is often a highly anticipated balance of love and lust, neatly wrapped in what will one day create a lifetime of memories for the Brighter Days ahead.

Released June 6, 2025 BBE Music Inc.

Well on June 6, 2025, when most schools were letting out for the summer, one of UK's Mount Rushmore of musicians, Omar Lye Fook, kicked off the summer with The Brighter Days and I am here to tell you this shit feels a lot like the first day of school. I am on my 42 spin and this masterpiece feels like Erykah Badu, Nia Long, and Lupita Nyong'o invited me to a sleepover and the maid, Halle Berry was applying the baby oil using a replica of a winning mega million lottery ticket.   This is Omar's 40th anniversary in the music business and The Brighter Days feels like he wanted to share his lowkey journey with some of his loyalists.  You are going to want to open the magnums to fully enjoy Omar's Magnum Opus. 

Assuming this is your first stop at Ghetto Proverbs..., welcome and I thank you for stopping by.  Pease understand that as much as I love Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Eric Roberson, Donny Hathaway, and Rahsaan Patterson, Omar's Brighter The Days is the Icilma Williams of his storied work.   I never, ever thought any of his previous work could surpass For Pleasure or This is Not a Love Song, which are true treasures. But this 18-track soul session is nothing short of spectacular.  The guest appearances feature a wide array of icons like: Brooklyn rap legend, Jeru The Damaja, soul poet, Eric Roberson, the soul princess, India Aire, the early songstress version of Ledisi, and soul royalty, Raheem DeVaughn (who is the first cousin of Chrisette Michele). I am telling you this featured collection feels like someone threw a house party and replaced social media with courting 

For you Johnny and Jane Come Latelys Omar isn't going to blow you away with his vocal prowess, like a Luther or Donny or Marvin, nor will he outdance your favorite member of the Patridge Family.  Omar is more like meeting the love of your life for the first time and going for a walk under a star-filled sky and all of a sudden bending down to find a $100 bill stuck to your beach sandals.  He is an unexpected treasure, and you will always remember where you were when you first heard his extremely soulful music. Most of the hour-long wax-appeal seems like he got stuck in the studio with Sly and the Family Stone, D' Angelo and Prince.   You may have to turn the clock back to D Angelo's Voo Doo to find a more soulful project.   

In New York City most of the public schools are attended by many of the people in your surrounding neighborhoods, as such you tend to see the same kids from K-12.  Well, my last year of high school was a blur, in fact I had enough credits to graduate six months early.   I decided not to leave early so I took a few elective classes and one of them was home economics.  I was the only dude in the 12-student class.   Just as the teacher closed the door on the first day to go over the (loosely termed syllabus), guess walked in the door?  Yep, Icilma Williams.   It had been three years since I last laid eyes on her, as her family moved back to the Bahamas (probably to build another Rhianna).  

A lot had changed since we last saw each other. Thanks to Run and them, those Hollis Queens Kings helped bury Pumas in the goodwill footlocker and now ADIDAS was the hood shoe of choice.   A Japanese automaker, Datsun invaded the American landscape with their signature Maxima model. And I upgraded my teenage hormones by tapping my 33-year-old English teacher for the past two summers -- did you think that I did the extra six months because I liked to bake?  

Epilogue

Icilma still looked the same, she still smelled like a freshly baked dessert and her hips finally outgrew those stiches on that summer dress.   At the end of the first day of home economics she walked over and hugged me like she was proud of the young man I matured into.  

Like magic we picked up where we left off laughing and chatting about what the future started to feel like.  I told her that one day she can watch me hoop for the hometown NY Knicks, she was too kind to mentioned that I didn't even play for my high school team (in my humble defense, Stevenson High did boast three future pros and one of them was Kyrie Irving's dad).  She told me that she will spend the summer thinking of baby names for her oven baking newborn.   There was a time that news would have felt like a Jerome upper cut, instead it felt more like The Brighter Days were ahead.  

1 Love, 

Ray Lewis 

  

WALK THIS WAY

I am not sure how many people reading this are true sports fans, so I took it upon myself to offer this First Take.  It's important to note that when the basketball mecca of the world has a hoop's team that flows deep into the post season, New York City will feel like riding down the Broadway's bonanza of boutiques , catching all the green lights, in a yellow cab, holding a black American Express, weaving your brown hands through two weaves on each side of you, while both beauties believe that you are "other" Ray Lewis. 

As for the game itself, the New York Knicks blew a 4th quarter lead to the mostly light-skinned Indiana Pacers that was wider than a Kardashian gap during an HBCU homecoming.  You may be asking who the f@$ cares..., which is a fair question. Butt, then you also have to ask yourself, have seen Khole lately?  She is more open than a 2am HOV lane in Elmhurst.   

side bar

I believe that one day a Kardashian is going to whip my ass, which would be a 180 for them. 

Let's be clear, sports are no different than religion. It means everything to their supporters & nothing at all to their detractors.  In fact, the only people that profit from either are the puppeteers dangling the invisible strings.  Dr. Jah King (who clearly didn't have many fans in Memphis) once said "The most divided time in AmeriKKKa is during the hour of worship".   I really miss him.  At any giving time, the people in the front row at the Garden of Eve own a net worth that is more than the combined wealth of 99% of the rest of the country.  Ready for more sad irony, having the Knicks in the NBA playoffs actually benefits the US economy.  Forget the fact that you have 19,500 -- MSG's seating capacity -- screaming lunatics hoping the mostly black teams continue to tap dance in front of a mostly white audience. 

The truth of the alternative is..., if those Kiggerbockers stop fetching they may start to think.... "Hey since we are the only reason this arena is full of stars and this system is so profitable, we should all come together and buy a team in the league we pretty much built.  What if they start to think our families don't benefit from the sweat pouring out our veins on these floors. Instead, our families are more likely to land a job cleaning them.  Perhaps one of those Kardashian balla's wives can use their legs to kick THAT door open. Perhaps.    

Now we know none of the white owners want black people to start thinking... that black people can be on Wall Street despite the fact that black people built their own Wall Street and the replica is less than 6 miles from where the caged birds are currently singing (and dancing).  

Money, It Must Be the Shoes...

Honestly fam, I grew up in the Bronx rooting for the Knicks and my favorite player was Bernard King who as like Chuck D and Neno Brown to me.  Bernard's lightening quick jumper used to have opponents shook like a Saint Bernard in an elevator of people holding White Castle Bags.  However, when the game ended, King rolled through the city like a Rakim single parted the streets.   King wore number #30, so when I started to play ball, I wore the number 15 because I wanted to be half the player he was.  And you thought my wit started when I measured Barack's ears?

When I look back, I often think about what if I would have stopped trying to be Bernard King and focused on who was paying him?  Perhaps my Visa card wouldn't say Knicker Please when I swiped it. 

Epilogue

The moral of the story isn't all that tricky.  As long as all we keep doing is singing and dancing, the person holding the leash will keep feeding the starving, hunger, insatiable desires from the frenzy of fans. Then, in the morning when all 99% of those fans (that have no real tangible or vested interest) are back at work, crying about the game's outcome, the oligarch owners (win, lose or draw) will wake up the same morning, but they will go for a 6-mile walk and not just to buy a longer leash. 

1 love, 

Ray Lewis 

Nobody Wins When the Family Feuds

There is no secret that throughout her tainted history the USA have been involved in some unforgettable battles (and that's putting it mildly).  It's that bloody history that will remind us..., that just one day before there was an actual "Independence Day" to celebrate (using the term celebrate loosely), there was a three-day, bloody Battle of Gettysburg.  The conflict between the Union and the Confederate marked the turning point of what we now know as the Civil War (April 1861).  Some people would call the Union's victory a win for independency. 

Of course, the Confederate (unable to digest such a loss) decided to erect a Confederate Flag to mark its participation. Just think for a second just how ignorantly arrogant one has to be in order to hang a flag in a war that they lost?  It would be like Elon Musk-y winning a paternity case. 

Eighty-two years earlier, a Battle of Yorktown propelled this very same land to become one of the most prosperous in modern Western civilization. This despite just how uncivilized the wars truly are.  

Some credit the ambition and wherewithal of (then) President, George Washington, who simply refused to wave a white flag.  The real truth is..., the outcomes of most battles are decided long before the gloves are ever tied.  There is no coincidence that many of today's USA residents don't really feel like a victory lap is in order considering many have not experienced the freedom or independence that either war boasts. In many ways, these wars are still active even if the opponent is not nearly as clear.  

… We bring knife to fistfight, kill your Grandma

We kill you iddy bitty ants with a sledgehammer

Don't let me do it to 'em, dunny, 'cause I overdo it

So he won't confuse it with just rap music…  jewels from Jay-Z's 2001 Blueprint 

Mr. Morale Vs. Moral of the Story

The Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake beef wasn't really a fight between 1 and 1/2 Black emcees.  This fight was more about Culture vs Commercialism, and which flag the society truly supports.  In one corner you have K. Dot, the culture's cornerstone from Compton.  In the other corner you have mainstream's erection, Aubrey Graham, the outstanding Orator from Ontario.  

In the early "Karen" Polls -- which also tracks just how much mayonnaise is in a beef produced by Mustard -- it doesn't even seem like a real fair fight.  However, for the first time since an Obama run the people got to chance witness what happens when the "referees" aren't on the presumptive winner's payroll.      

"Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul."  Ezra Taft Benson

On any level playing field the culture, talent, justice will prevail.  Always.  This is why Drake is suing.  Drake is accusing the machine (the same one that made him a pop icon) in helping K. Dot obliterate him.  He probably forgot that evil people only do evil things, even if you were once the beneficiary of these shenanigans.    

Jew Think I'm Playing

I am often called a radical extremist, (which really hurts my feelings) when the honest truth is..., that's what I am fighting against!  Why else would you ever know who wack-ass Bruno Mars is, yet have no clue who Skyzoo (one of Brooklyn's illiest) emcees is?  Why would you know (or care) who Taylor Exit Swift is, but not know who Eric Roberson is, or Rahsaan Patterson, Hiatus Kaiyote, Donnie, Moonchild, Seba Kaapstad, Jordan Rakei or Cleo Sol or.... I wonder which side of Drake's DNA (the light or dark meat) he used when he attempted to sue his brethren at UMG? 

WHO's YOUR DADDY

Only in AmeriKKKa can a Puff Daddy be crucified for sexual assault and beating a woman in his robe, while the Vatican City gets all puffy about selecting a Pope who has a history of using their robes to hide sexual assault.   

Epilogue 

Now that the black smoke cleared from the all-male, robes-only meeting in the Vatican City, the world can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the Ultimate Holyman, who rides in a bullet-proof whip, is here to restore your faith.  The new Chicago-bred Pope, Robert Francis Prevost will have to find a way to navigate through some of the most intense world battles ever.  

'I Ain't Sayin' She's a Pope Digger"

Some people expect him to carry the liberal torch that Pope Francis left burning in the LBGTQ (I may need to buy a vowel) community.  Others will expect Minister Chi-Raq to exercise some balance between baby oil and holy oil -- and the dwindling lines at Target.    

In lieu of tithing, I am offering this quote to the Pimp My Ride resident: 

"There are some fights that are worth fighting even if you lose; while other fights aren't worth fighting even if you win."   

In the end, it's my hope that Rome's new Robe Runner concludes that when the family does feud the top five answers won't be found on AmeriKKKa's history board.  

1 love, 

Ray Lewis

SHEDEUR SANDERS' CROSSROADS

 

There are many layers to the Shedeur Sanders saga, so let's begin to unpack a few.  Let's start with the number of black owners in the NFL.  While you are spending useless time counting something that doesn't exist, maybe you can shift your focus to digesting that since 1942 the NFL was a non-profit organization. 

Commissioner, Roger That Goodell sent a letter to the all-Klan NFL team owners alerting them stating that: "The league’s nonprofit status is a 'distraction' and the league office, and its management council would file returns as a taxable entity for fiscal year 2015." More impactfully, the league is currently classified as a 501(c)(6) under the Internal Revenue Code. Think about this additional quote from Roger Rabbit: “The change in filing status will make no material difference to our business,” said Goodell in the same letter.  

e-BONIC TRANSLATION:

"Homies, let's change our filing status before these new nigg-s decides to "Target" us after church." After all, the last thing we need is for our image to be burnt in a Tabitha Brown fryer." 

Notice I have not mentioned one thing about Sanders' talent or how he, two-way phenom Travis Hunter, along with roughly 37 black transfers 180-ed the Colorado Buffalos.  

That's right, a football program that was 5-18 (a 27% wining ratio) two seasons before Sanders and Hunter arrived -- flipped to a 2-year record of 13-12 (92% winning clip, including a 9-4 playoff run this year).  

Now from a purely sports perspective one can argue that Deion's senior seed has very similar traits to the senior Sander's college alum, Charlie Ward.  And those sports facts could've played a major role in Shedeur's NFL projection and subsequent dip in the draft.  I could buy some of anyone selling that.

That is an absolutely fair critique, especially considering that they had a similar (football) style and stature.   Ward, despite winning the Heisman Trophy (college football's top honor), was never drafted by an NFL team. Instead, he went on to spend 10 years turning the ball over for the New York Knicks (SMDH). At least you can't blame Ward's dismay on his dad flying in helicopters between NFL and MLB games showboating how far more superior black athletes were, are and always will be..., unless you put a big black baby in "Karen" the porn star. 

Side Bar: I think Shannon Sharpe's last name is very misleading.      

Sanders was eventually plucked by the Cleveland Browns in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft, and based on the slave owner's projections 5th Rounders will (generally) sign a four-year contract worth approximately $4.6 million or 1.9 million less than what Shedeur made in college. 

Epilogue: 

It's really hard to feel sorry for a 23-year-old that can subtract $1.9M from his previous year's college "earnings" and still be a multi-millionaire.  One that works 4 hours per day, 16 days per year while avoiding rush hour traffic or having to walk home sipping a cold beverage while eating Skittles.  Or maybe, just maybe this is a lesson for us to clean our version of our societal lens and remember how the slaves' talents were evaluated by their owners who didn't feel like their value was even worth feeding them from the best part of a pig or in Sanders' case a buffalo.   

1 love, 

Ray Lewis