With a five minute Jay-Z interview and not much going on elsewhere I flipped to American Gangster. Actually I had been going back and forth between the two shows, now I could settle in.

Gotta tell you this was the first time I watched American Gangster. The thought of BET spotlighting drug dealers and killers on the Black Entertainment Network convinced me that Debra Lee was quite fine with taking things to the extreme in that everquest for ratings.

Not that the show isn’t a reflection of that, but it really was an informative and well made show, and looked at from the perspective of mafia figures, your John Gotti’s and Al Capone’s, always on parade when looking at criminal life, why not peel back the skin of some black and Latino criminal idols.

Hesitate to call them idols.. because crime is exactly what you don’t want to encourage anyone to get into, and that aspect of the show, showing the downfall and personal regret of these people is what makes it digestible.

Last night’s show was about Fat Cat from Jamaica, Queens. The leader of Queen’s heavyweight crew.

You’ve seen it, heard it before..

Fat Cat admitting to crimes he didn’t do, plus the ones he did but the cops didn’t know about in order to spare family and crew members a jail sentence shows how real he was. Not a snitch bone in his body. It’s what someone in his crew said, they were living the high-life, had all the toys they wanted, but also knew the consequences of their actions - jail was in the job description.

Close to an endorsement, but the added layer is the regret That Fat Cat expressed to his son for what he did - not being able to see him or his grandkids, regular life in general doesn’t set in until the reality of jail kicks in - you’re not going anywhere, in Fat Cat’s case, for 40 years to life.

Fat Cat’s son may have asked him that later, he wanted to be like his Pops and got caught too. He rationalized selling drugs as they are gonna get it from someone, why not me.. he reflected how he later saw how drugs (specifically crack) affected more than the user: babies being neglected, women selling their bodies, families being destroyed, ultimately destroying the neighborhood.

Which is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about huge drug operations. The customers are the people down and around the block, are you really that selfish to say I’m gonna fuck this person’s life up so mine can be better?

That’s maturity thinking.. when you’re young there are no consequences.

That mature side as I said is what makes it watchable: rise and fall, up and down, that’s good stuff (pun intended).