Hello Africa,
I really don’t know why some guys just love to pretend/impress, particularly when there is a lady in the equation or where their male friends are in the picture.
In today’s Letter to Jack, Uncle Leke tries to enlighten Jack on why he needs to be himself and what practical steps he can take to obtain true street credibility. Indeed, street cred has levels. Read on….
1. Dear Jack, thank you for delivering my letter to Jackson last week. Do pass this one to him as well. Unfinished business: #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
2. "Dear Jackson, I want to tell you a story… about fish and chips, well sort of- a true story. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
3. I took a young protege out for lunch at a cafe. Wanted to catch up on her life, help her sort out a thing or two. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
4. Our lunch went quite well- can't remember what we ordered, but we had good fellowship. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
5. A young man and his girlfriend walked onto the terrace. The cafe has a terrace. (We ate on the terrace). #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
6. They were apparently on a date. They seemed culturally intimidated by their context, a tad nervous. (The cafe was upscale). #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
7. They were fidgety, like someone afraid of the financial repercussions of a menu. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
8. The cafe was an aspirational challenge for the boy, but you know how we like to impress girls. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
9. The cafe has two menus: a cake and pastry menu, and a light meal menu, you know, burger, chips etc. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
10. The waiter presented both menus to the couple, then withdrew to give space for rumination. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
11. The guy stared at the menu in an important manner. The girl was less confident. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
12. You and I know the guy's mannerism is a responsorial shoring up of self assurance. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
13. He was bravely familiarising with gastronomical depth, not sure he hadn't taken on more than he could chew. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
14. You know how you pray the menu is what you can afford? And your head becomes a calculator and estimator? #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
15. And you start praying the girl doesn't get inspired towards certain items on the menu? #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
16. You do worst case scenario calculation- possibility of doing without food in order to cover the cost. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
17. Well, the waiter came back to take the order and the young man decided to order on behalf of both of them. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
18. To be fair, the girl didn't seem to have cognitive resonance with the menu. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
19. "We'll have fries and chips," the young man ordered with synthetic confidence. The waiter was a bit confused. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
20. The young woman lent support, borrowing nervous confidence from the ether: "Fries for him, chips for me." #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
21. The waiter was kindly amused. He politely explained that fries and chips are one and the same. Even I was embarrased. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
22. This is a classic case of not being confident enough to say, "I don't know, I need help!" #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
23. If you don't know the way ask for directions. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
24. There's nothing wrong in asking the waiter questions, seeking guidance. If you don't know, you don't know! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
25. Here were two people pretending to be cultural aficionados, yet both knew they were lying to each other. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
26. He could have managed the date better: #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
27. "Hey Molly, I'll like to impress you…want to take you to this cafe. It looks expensive. Never been there before. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
28. If I can't afford the fare we'll do the dishes!" would have been a redemptive starter joke. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
29. "Molly can you make sense of the menu? I can't! Let's ask the waiter!" #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
30. "Waiter, what's the most expensive cheap item on this menu a young man can impress a beautiful lady with?" #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
31. I'm just saying BE YOURSELF! BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR OWN SKIN! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
32. You can't go through life pretending to be what or who you're not, even emulating false values… #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
33. I hear a lot of talk about gaining street cred…Maximum respect! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
34. There's nothing wrong with street cred. It all just depends on which street. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
35. There's Wall Street. There's also Kirikiri Road, you know Sing Sing! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
36. Jesus spoke about street cred: Straight Way vs. Broad Street: “Don’t look for shortcuts…" he said. Then he further advised: #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
37. "The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for successful life. Don’t fall for that stuff though crowds do." #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
38. Now, there's nothing wrong with rap music. I listen to it as you well know. But you have to understand it's all business! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
39. The stars wear bling just to have cred. No one listens to a poor man Solomon says, even if he's rapping great wisdom. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
40. So the stars bling and pose with posh cars so you pay attention to what they say. It's the Solomonic principle in operation. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
41. It's why producers rent props and cars and babes for music videos. Those video vixens are working! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
42. Cars, bling, diamond grills, gold chompers…they're all tools of business. No different from a carpenter's hammer. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
43. Now, if you don't understand these are businessmen selling entertainment you're going to get conflicted. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
44. "I hydroplane in the bank coming down with Dow Jones" saith Jay-Z in Rihanna's Umbrella. (Dow Jones is a stock market index) #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
45. "You know me. In anticipation for precipitation. Stack chips for the rainy day," he continueth. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
46. What's Jay-Z doing? Building Solomonic cred with talks about the green. It's all hustle! Rap is poetry on green steroids. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
46. What's Jay-Z doing? Building Solomonic cred with talks about the green. It's all hustle! Rap is poetry on green steroids. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
47. There's a well known American rapper who swigs vodka on stage during performance. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
48. There's only one problem. The vodka ain't real. The bottle contains water! Pure water! Make believe! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
49. He's just a businessman trying to sell a brand of vodka. It's an endorsement deal! The man is a marketer! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
50. There's all that gangsta talk in rap music- "thug life nigga", "thug love", "boss playa"… #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
51. These can be no more than entertainment for you. Nothing more. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
52. I mean, you don't watch The Godfather and start plotting how to send your brother to go sleep with the fishes! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
53. Anymore than watching Batman and you go and jump off the bridge. If you do, you'll be considered stupid! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
54. So why jump off the bridge from rap lyrics?! That a rapper talks about guns don't mean you should go get one! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
55. Moving in bad company and wielding guns and knives tend to shorten lifespan. Look at rap history. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
56. You can't have a convict as role model either. Going to prison is not hip. Ask prisoners. Orange jumpsuit is not fashion. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
57. Why do you think convicted rappers and producers avoid going back? If prison is cred won't they get more cred? #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
58. It's not cowardice to decline participation in a crime. It's wisdom. Listen to Solomon: #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
59. "If bad companions tempt you, don’t go along with them. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
60. If they say—“Let’s go out and raise some hell. We’ll load up on top-quality loot. We’ll haul it home by the truckload. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
61. Join us for the time of your life! With us, it’s share and share alike!" — #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
62. Don’t give them a second look; don’t listen to them for a minute. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
63. They’re racing to a very bad end, hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on." #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
64. Solomon's father was a rapper by the way. He was a lyricist-composer. Well over 100 songs. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
65. "Don't hang out at Sin Saloon…Don’t slink along Dead-End Road… Don’t go to Smart-Mouth College," he wrote. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
66. Fear God, avoid bad company, be wise, work hard and focus. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
67. You get street cred, and a very correct babe doing just that! Peace! Uncle LA." #Letr2Jack ©Leke Alder talk2me@lekealder.com
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) October 19, 2013
I just love Tweet No 64. “Solomon’s father was a rapper by the way. He was a lyricist-composer. Well over 100 songs” I had never seen it this way before. I am learning. I don’t know about you.
Cheers.
p.s. Did you miss “How to be a Cool Dude – Part 1?” Click here
