RIP Old Dirty Bastard
Our Ghetto Heroes Were Meant To Die
By Hector Gonzalez

The death of Ol' Dirty Bastard did not come as a surprise to me. I had been following his music since '93? when the "Enter the 36 Chambers" album came out. There content was very deep, rugged and even soulful. I can honestly say that ODB along with the whole Wu Tang Clan were some of my most inspirational artists.   When I was younger I looked at Wu Tang as heroes even though there music was so violent. I now realize that our urban heroes were meant to die.

The heroes of my community are not teachers, community leaders or politicians. As matter of fact, the person who I've heard referred as a hero amongst young people the most has been 2 Pac, who like ODB, is not with us anymore.   Pac is considered the most influential rapper in Hip Hop history. He was gunned down in 96' at the age of 26. My generation idolizes rappers who are ballin', pimpin', and gangbanging. Three elements that are associated with death through   drug money, sexual diseases and gang violence.   I think that the reason why, is because these are some of the only things that people of color have been able to excel in.

Many of the traditional heroes , even the fictional ones, older America embraced were untouchable.   Batman was always victorious and Superman could only be killed by Kryptonite.    Rappers on the other hand are just as weak as anyone else, but they are our heroes because they are a voice to a community that has never had a voice. Any rapper, who ever he is, once is signed and is making money ultimately becomes a living legend to his community. They will be the spokesman of their communities and tell the stories of their block. But unlike Superman or Batman our heroes were not meant to be triumphant or to be victorious.   They were meant to be fallen soldiers; after all, most gangsters earn their respect through street credibility and battle scars.

For many young people, being a famous rapper is the dream of their life, but even rappers can't flee from the statistic that haunt African Americans, who according to CNN are 7 times more likely to be victims of homicide and 8 times more likely to commit homicides. Rappers, more than anybody else, are examples of this statistic.   Like all celebrities, their individual identity is taken from them and they are now representatives of these statistics, one that ultimately could result in death.

I can't think of one rapper that doesn't talk about death.   It's almost as though our heroes are calling death into their lives, so that it becomes their symbol of triumph. For example, rappers like Biggie Smalls and 2pac put out albums that were they talked about how they would die soon, like Biggies album "Life After Death", and 2 Pacs album "Makaveli."

Although we don't really know how ODB died, unfortunately his death will always be associated with drugs.   There are all kinds of rappers who have been shot and that are incarcerated for murder and assault. Rappers like C-Murder are doing life for homicide, Jam Master Jay was murdered in his studio about two years ago and Bay Area's very own Mac Dre was brutality murdered in Kansas City three weeks ago. Even my favorite rapper, Mikah Nine, who doesn't talk much about thuggin', survived a gun shot to the head.

Everyone needs a hero, we all turn to someone whether they are our community leaders, friends or family.   Even our imagination allows us to idolize fictional characters that will defend us from the evil-doers.   But for people that don't have anyone to turn to, they will turn to whatever captures their attention. Perhaps rappers are one of the best things that could happen to our communities even if many are destined to die. They may be the people that will give us value and a desire to work and live toward something, even if it's something that may not be expectable in our society.

Rest in Peace to our fallen heroes such as Black C, Hitman, Rappin Ron, Mac Dre, Tupac, Biggie, Eazy E, Big L, Big Punn and ODB to name a few of the many heroes that are no longer with us.