I CAN'T SEE IT COMING DOWN MY EYES - I GOTTA MAKE THE SONG CRY

I can't see it coming down my eyes, so I got to make the song cry.

That's the hook from Jay-Z's 2001 Song Cry off of the Blueprint Album.

Today while listening to Babyface on the radio and analyzing a current situation, it got me to thinking; the male R&B artist has gone into hiding.

I don't even know if there is a category for this anymore.

Right now one of my favorite jams is VSOP by K. Michele.

I think that's just an uplifting song with a jazzy beat. But that's a song written by a female for females; am I wrong for emotionally internalizing the words. You can hear my words here.

Let's discuss it

As men, we are taught to be strong and tough.

Our decision making is affected by feelings first and logic second. If we're feeling upset that means that someone has pulled the emotional trigger, but if we can change vest quickly those bullets will no longer affect us.

To get over the pain in this manner we have to either hide from the gun or change emotionally so those bullets don't affect us. If we are not taught how to do this we are forced to suppress the pain.

We all know that just ends up with us blowing up in anger and frustration. Men these days don't even know how to express their feelings, so they stay bottled up. Given this scenario, it would appear that we stand alone.

The radio used to help

The interesting thing is that the radio would always seem to give you what you needed, at least back in the day.

Let's say you were upset at your girlfriend when your parents picked you up from school, on the radio would be Al Green's Let's Stay Together.

The music would subconsciously guide your next move.

The team would even give you the words to use.

When you started driving and you left your girl house you might get a Jon B., Usher, Tyrese, hell even Dru Hill.

These guys would let you know all about what love is and what it isn't for them; you had to choose your own path but at least you knew someone else was going through or went through it.

Nowadays listening to the radio you're so bombarded with this hoe, that bitch, get her drunk so tomorrow you can call her a t.h.o.t. and on to the next.

Did the radio help

As men, we grew up learning strategy, comradery, teamwork, and competition.

It's a lot of pressure to always be tough, always be dominating. So when I heard Boy II Men's I'll make love to you, I learned how to treat a woman, we were a team.

When I wanted to share emotions (shhh s.e.x) I was the Point Guard coached by Barry White, assisted by R. Kelly. Even as tough as we're supposed expected to be we could still use a team.

You can't win championships on your own, Jordan taught us that.

Men are not allowed

You have a bunch of men who are not allowed to be in touch with their feminine side.

There is always a masculine and feminine aspect in everything.

This means that the world is becoming more violent because you have guys that are not really tough, being subconsciously forced to be.

Now we have to decode each other's words to decode when we're really crying or in need of some uplift.

I can't see it coming down my eyes, so I got to make the song cry.

Nowadays your team is made up of all women.

When you're confused about the feelings you have, you get a woman telling you what you're experiencing.

She's talking to other women and you're overhearing it.

She's not talking to you.

When you hear a song about a woman expressing her feelings it's meant to be a guide for other woman and for you to have empathy for their plight.

This should make you a better person because you should never want to see anyone hurt.

That should work both ways only we don't have a team anymore.

You couple that with no strong male figure and you're basically alone, experiencing everything on your own. Learning as you go.

I guess it's up to me to bridge the gap.

I can't see it coming down my eyes, so I got to make the song cry.