Ready for the next fact? I hope so, because it’s coming atcha.
Fact #4- “She was called the “Notorious RBG”.” Guys, I fucking love this fact. Of course, I saw the documentary they made about her (see it if you haven’t—it’s transcendental) and for me, the imagery was insanely brilliant.
Why? Well it helps to know who the Notorious B.I.G. was, or Biggie Smalls, or Biggie. I remember the first time I heard a Biggie song. I am a white, Jewish girl from Long Island, New York, and there I was, singing along to gangsta rap. Biggie’s laidback and easy delivery belied how intense and gritty his lyrics were in nearly every song he put out.
I was 14 when he really came into his own in the music world and 17 when he was gunned down. So, I didn’t really understand the implications of his music all that well. I didn’t understand how autobiographical most of his songs were and how they spoke to a life of struggle, as well as celebration. I just thought they were fun. I found that the lyrics were easy to memorize. I never gave great thought to the meaning. I wasn’t hopelessly ignorant. I was just a kid.
I didn’t understand that he was one of the most revered rappers during his time making music and would continue to be well beyond his death, a talent who other rappers deeply respected and admired, an individual whose influence on hip hop would stand the test of time, and a man whose legacy will likely live on forever.
He inspired other musicians, fashion labels, and artists. He created brilliant lines of lyrics that have seamlessly integrated into our speech and entertainment. Um hello…have you seen the dissent collars? The pop influenced, brightly colored portraits of Justice Ginsberg?
Are you starting to understand why Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg would be compared to Biggie Smalls? How we can draw a line between a teeny white female lawyer and a 6’2” black rapper? Is it because they were both born in Brooklyn, New York? Nah, but it does reinforce the notion that Brooklyn is truly the shit and the birthplace of many a magical person. Rather, it was because they were both so amazingly impactful. Because they both left behind a legacy that was staggering. Because they both spent their lives, though Biggie’s life was objectively way too short, trying to make known the issues and facts that they felt deserved attention.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg was only 5’1”. I love that little tidbit. Not just because I’m a wee one myself, but because she was such a force. It didn’t matter how physically little she was at all. Her intelligence, vigor, dedication, and passion, made her appear as someone far bigger than her diminutive stature.
If you have never heard her deliver a formal legal opinion or decision, I will strongly recommend that you do so. I was just blown away the first time I was able to bear witness to her courtroom greatness. Not because she used fancy legal jargon and had great command over the law, though certainly that was a factor, but because she elevated herself when she spoke. She grew bigger and taller and just commanded the room. She was truly a force to be reckoned with and I believe that even her fiercest opponents knew that.
Like Biggie Smalls, she picked unpopular topics to focus her energy and attention on. She put her energy into those subjects that were challenging and controversial. And she didn’t waiver. Not once. To that end, as I mentioned in a prior post, she often offered powerful and notable dissent.
In a New York Times opinion piece Justice Ginsberg wrote in 2016, she was quoted as follows: “When a justice is of the firm view that the majority got it wrong, she is free to say so in dissent. I take advantage of that prerogative, when I think it is important, as do my colleagues.” In other words, when she had the opportunity to use her voice for justice, even when she believed that opinion to be unpopular, she did so.
I’m not about to wax poetically or teach you about rap because I’m not educated myself enough to do so. Though I have been known to crush a run with Biggie rapping through my AirPods. However, what is widely known is that rappers, to this day, extrapolate bits and pieces of Biggie’s raps to create their own songs. He offered tough stuff and people reached out and lapped it up. His dissent. His separation from the same old in that musical genre.
RBG has had that same influence and I believe, will continue to for years to come. Justice Ginsberg has inspired so, so many and has given so many hope. She has spoken for the marginalized and downtrodden, time and again.
Both Biggie Smalls and Justice Ginsberg were, in their own ways, powerful voices for the struggle, a struggle. Some debate the value of Biggie Smalls as the best rapper of all time, but few would challenge the notion that he was the best battle-rapper out there. He used wit, humor, and heart to spit out lyrics that left others floundering.
Of all the amazing dissents penned by Justice Ginsberg, the Shelby dissent was perhaps her finest battle rap. She left it all on the table. Her arguments were powerful and undeniable. In Shelby County v. Holder, “the Supreme Court invalidated a decades-old “coverage formula” naming jurisdictions that had to pass federal scrutiny under the Voting Rights Act, referred to as “preclearance,” in order to pass any new elections or voting laws. Those jurisdictions were selected based on their having a history of discrimination in voting” (Vann R. Newkirk II.”How Shelby County v. Holder Broke America.” The Atlantic. (July 10, 2018)). Justice Ginsberg wrote a scathing dissent in which she pointed out how the majority decision in Shelby actually gutted the Voting Rights Act and flew in the face of the spirit of the monumentally important legislation. She said the Court had taken the heart out of the VRA. She threw down in the most epic way and her words and fire will be used and referenced for years to come.
“If you don’t know…now you know.”
More manana.
L.
thepathtoworthy.com 