Reason First: LightSkinKeisha's Daddy Issues

LightSkinKeisha has an excellent attitude. She’s calm and composed and ladylike. She has an air of sophistication while still exhibiting an “around the way” girl appeal. Her mother made her that way. As for her dad, well, he just wasn’t there. And that’s a pity. And it’s far too common within the culture in general, and the genre of hip hop specifically. Fathers guide, lead, provide, and nourish. They are the standard bearers for the family unit. LightSkinKeisha can attest to a relatively large family unit. One of eight children, she hasn’t seen her father since she was four-years-old. Allegedly, he got strung out on an undisclosed substance and never bothered to show up for her on her practices for all-star cheerleading. She did that for thirteen years. In all of that time, her father never bothered to even call his daughter.

The black father is the most discussed, but hardly understood group in the genre of hip hop. Much maligned, this figure is seen as a weakling, a traitor, an imposter, anything negative. Few exceptions, like Nas’ and Common’s fathers who had somewhat strong ties with their sons exist in the rap realm. With new blood like LightSkinKeisha, it is sad to hear that she never had those kinds of bonds with her father. The twisted fate is that rappers like Eminem (whose father recently died) and Jay-Z (he got to know his father more before he passed) “blew up” and became rich and famous without the steady hand of a biological father figure in their lives. Through all the adversity, they still maintained their dignity, and excelled at life in a major way. Things like the hot water being turned off in LightSkinKeisha’s house, and her mother getting up to boil water so that her multiple siblings could have a bath resonate. Things like having new clothes and shoes for the start of school show the love and dedication that a real mother should have for her children.

The real fathers out there teach their children how to be rational, life-loving adults. With the onslaught of so many toils and snares that crop up in life, it is the father’s role to ensure that his children are well taken care of and want for nothing. From the ravages done to the black neighborhoods by drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, the father superhero image has been replaced by a silhouette of a male figure with a huge question mark plastered over it.

This does not have to be the norm. Individualistic men ought to know that it is selfish and righteous to take care of the child he sired. It is selfish and good to know that a man must present a blueprint for survival in America and the world. While it is possible to be raised without a father, it is not recommended. It takes only the strongest of women to fulfill both roles. And for a father to be Mr. Mom takes a spine that must rival steel. It is a testament to the men who stand up, armed with their wits that permit them to take care of their offspring. By recognizing reality, fathers become enabled to put in the work that is necessary for leading a household. No matter what they must do, (morally, legally) dads will do it for their children. He could be a minimum-wage earner or a CEO of a major firm, it does not matter. Because that minimum-wage earner can take night classes at the community college and become a manager of a restaurant. Then he can pick up a bachelor’s and a master’s in business administration. By then he can become CEO in his own right. All the while, he would have shielded his babies from danger and raised men and women of substance.