READ A BOOK N**GA! (hip hop parody)

By Keyonna Summers
Entertainment Editor
http://reddingnewsreview.com/newspages/2007newspages/video_takes_aim_at_black_youth_0709100100112.htm

July 20, 2007, 11:30 p.m. - A new music video that aired today on Black Entertainment Television takes a satirical shot at the Hip-Hop generation, using vulgar terms and the N-word to encourage them to take pride in education, family and personal hygiene.

The lyrics to “Read A Book,” penned by D.C.-based poet Bomani “D’Mite” Armah, urges viewers to “raise your G... d.mn kids,” to “brush your G… d.mn teeth,” to “wear deodorant n…ga” and “f...k spinning rims.”

It also encourages listeners to “read a m…f…ing book, not a sports page, not a magazine, but a book n…ga, a f…ing book n…ga.”

“Let us know what you think,” Terrence 'J' Jenkins, host of BET’s 106 & Park, told viewers after an edited version of the video aired Friday.

Despite recent efforts by black leaders to ban the N-word and clean up rap lyrics, the nearly three-minute animated video is being lauded as one of the most innovative tools to reach young men and women.

"This is what you needed to make your mark. It's sad but true. If you have to add a m...f...r so the ignorant n..gas hear you, (as) long (as) they hear you," read one response on Armah's Myspace.com Web page.

Another viewer wrote: "This is the greatest parody ever conceived. Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!"

The video has received more than 413,000 views since posted on the popular video sharing Web site YouTube.com on June 30.

Armah, who makes it clear that he is not a rapper, did not respond to an e-mail request for comment.