more than soul, the ooh-gah boo-gah

Not having one single definable or identifiable heritage is mind numbing. For years I've joined the scramble to call it something. One thing is for sure, there is something there. I've been told I've got soul from "I'm Black and I'm Proud" to "He's got soul, he's got soul, ooh ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh baby!"  So go ahead play some music with a beat, the hands and feet jump in sync and the dance is on. We gots' the way with words, rap'in as it were natural and dress'in because styling is in the blood man! And sports............!

 Of course when the dust settled there were pictures of big hair and flared pants and loud colors, loud actions, exaggerated as if playing on a stage and making it plain to the back row. Having soul mainstreamed, everybody who is in the public eye has got to have soul. Soul is the one element of entertainment/sports that has transcended the bounds of cultural definition. Soul = a cultural charisma originating in Black peoples.

One problem I've noticed is that when all was said and done, concerning the outward display of soul for everyone's enjoyment by everyone who practices the genre called soul, is whether or not folks realize "soul" as a marketed trend product does have a downside. Like when you must do the Polka at a wedding and you are now out of sync. It's not that other cultures don't have soul, but the obvious difference can require a major adjustment. I am not nuts, ask any classical musician how difficult it is to play jazz. You can create a kind of hybrid to accommodate classical training and techniques, but on the fly improv and jazz rhythms is a way different world.

Soul is so pervasive, it is the root. Folks have gone from putting down the brown to getting down with brown to trying to be brown. From disgust and mistrust to admire and acquire. I am surprised there is not a soul pill and a book of how to practice the nuances of soul or how about a secret unpublished ancient document written in hieroglyphs about "soul" in the early dude?

I will conclude this soul train of thought by saying, yeah today we all got "soul" of some sort, but do you have the "ooh-gah boo-gah!?!