Throwback Thursdays

Picture it: New York. 1993. The World Trade Center was bombed (from the bottom up), Billy Clinton became the first Black president and Brand Nubian released In God We Trust. I remember all of this clearly. Mostly because it was a time that was rife with duality. Good times and hard times held hands. The mother of one of my closest friends worked in the Twin Towers. I can remember the sense of urgency that day. Where was she? Was she okay? And nobody's beeper would work. Remember those? It was scary. At the same time, I was in love for the first time. That alone made all the confusion in the world alright with me. Anyway, Brand Nubian was still rockin' after Grand Puba bounced for a solo mission. He's noticeably missing on one of their best singles of all time, Love me or Leave Me Alone. I'm wondering now, all these years later what a verse from Puba Maxwell might have added to this song. The other two are so matter-of-fact in their statements to their prospective and current lovers. My guess is that he would've told Baby Girl just why she should act right before she gets cancelled in a way that only he can do it. He's such a smart aleck. Either way, without him the other two break it down. This is not a love song . It's a song about wisdom and understanding- of self and then between a woman and man. At the time, I couldn't appreciate the jewels they were dropping. I was a teenager in a teenage love affair. Nothing really mattered. But I'm older and wiser now. I can see to a degree why acting tone deaf can be your own mental death. (Props to Lord Jamar on that witty play on words.) Now, I don't necessarily agree with every point they make. Some of it still comes off a tad chauvinistic to my ear- but truly, if a man is worth it...there should be no shame in dancing to his tune. A strong couple is a blessing. Love, Hell or Right. Either way, a man and woman has to go through all of it to get it right. This joint took me back to '93 while catapulting me into the present. Eight years after the first World Trade Center attack, the intended target was hit once again with devastating results. Seventeen years later, we have another Black president. And I can safely say that I'm in a grown up love affair now, where the lyrics to Brand Nube's song make sense to my adult mind. "So on your wisdom I'll shine my light-Bring forth the seeds, created in the night."