THE DOWNFALL of #THEMECCA: "LEGACY DEVELOPMENT (PART I)

"I'ma true King, tryna raise a new king

I wanna show him stuff , how to do things

How to ride a bike, how to tie shoe strings

How to be a man, how to treat his boo thing

Gotta have a OG, to give you that "Go 'head"

I don't blame you dudes, I blame your old head

I know all about that, my Poppa wasn't down

Poppa used to come through, Poppa doesn't now

Shoulda' protected me, but Poppa wasn't 'round

So now I got this 9, that pop-a-dozen round

Them kids grow up quick, usually grow you up too

Turn you to a big dog, that's what having pups do

Did a lot, but I know I ain't done yet

Before it goes down, I make sure that my son set"

"YOUNG OG II" by Fabolous

HOT TAKE:

In hindsight, largely due to the "Reagan-nomic" mind set of the 1980's and 1990's, many pioneers of NYC's "Golden Era" focused on their status within the eco-system and in doing so did not create a culture of "legacy development".  As result, many in "power" today are in a weird position for they are essentially "trying to figure it out" which reminds us of the old adage "building the plane while flying it" .    

If there is any doubt of this reality ask yourself these three questions. “Who succeeded your favorite program once “the old head” decided to “moved on” then “Who did your favorite program “groom” to take over once he/she decided to transition to another “basketball lane” and finally "Who, of the forefather's have a proverbial "family tree" within the current eco-system?".

Being a "gatekeeper" should not be a singular generational topic, instead each "gatekeeper" should place a few youngsters under their wing and mold him/her to be able to carry on "tradition", create and maintain a system of checks and balances, as well as maintain and grow a self serving ecosystem that is not dependent of one person.  Sadly, although the "forefathers" created the BLUEPRINT they did not provide the necessary "carpenters" needed to build from their BLUEPRINT.   As a result, the "powers" of today mostly driven by money, clout and fame, have created a "WILD Wild West" landscape.  This "new frontier" has all but completely shredded the highly successful BLUEPRINT created by NYC's "forefathers".  

It is time to hold many of the current self proclaimed "gatekeepers" aka ADULTS accountable for NOT following the trail blazed by the forefathers at the same time hold the forefathers accountable for not providing a culture of (business) mentorship for the new generation.