Lately, I find myself frequently pondering the dark side of entertainers.  It all began with Phil Hartman.  Then Sam Kinison.  Then Chris Farley.  Then several others after research came into play.  All of these entertainers died early deaths.  All of them were said to be the opposite of their on-air persona.  These were people who made millions laugh to the point of tears.  But the jokes all began as tears of their own.  What is the correllation between these dreadfully sad, angry, and depressed home lives and their ability to make the world smile in unison?  i look at the Blues Brothers and SNL skits and wonder, how could John Belushi be so light-hearted and funny in front of the camera, then walk off-stage and need every drug known to man just to cope with day-to-day life?  Is that why Richard Pryor was freebasin'?

And it's not just comics either.  I look at all the famous entertainers who seemed to live in that same neighborhood.  Billie Holiday, Jimi Hendrix, etc etc etc... Why does there seem to be such a direct connection between the heavenly image and the hellish reality?  I love Lil' Wayne to death but sometimes I wonder, who is writing the songs, him or the drugs?  Do drugs really make you artistic?  I've listened to my white friends talk about all these famous rock-n-roll folks and how may drugs they openly abuse. 

With my own demographic, the hip-hop community, we see the turn taking the drugs and hardship from the behind-the-camera individual to the dominant topic of their verses.  9 outta 10 rappers claim to be drug dealers as well as drug users.  Since Tupac died, everyone seems to be dealing with so much pain... pain that wasn't there before.  I dont think you should have to be an unhappy and deprived miscreant to enter the music world, but apparently, I don't know much.

I wonder what percentage of Hollywood is on cocaine...  I wonder what percentage of today's rappers could be left in a room with cocaine and come out with crack...  I wonder how many kids would be drug free if the Big Daddy Kanes, Rakims and Kool Moe Dees would have lived through the NWA takeover...  I wonder if the new Ice Cube has influenced as many people in a positive way as the old Ice Cube influenced in a negative way...  Finally, I wonder if positivity will ever sit in its rightful throne at the head of entertainment...