A Lesson in Reading: Jerome Harris, Black Futures

A LESSON IN READING

JEROME HARRIS

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YouTube user Patti LaHelle’s series Got 2B Real was a viral phenomenon between 2011 and 2015. Her flawless impersonations of beloved Black music divas found the perfect balance between paying homage and parodying their infamy. Rumored celebrity feuds between our favs, like Patti and Aretha, Beyoncé and Rihanna, and Whitney and Mariah are amplified through some of the most clever, witty banter I’ve ever heard in my life. Even now, almost four years after the end of the series, the episodes still make me laugh just as hard as they did when they first premiered.

Got 2B Real lived on YouTube as a fictional serial, sporadically posted parody of reality television shows. The format of the show seemed to mock The Real Housewives of Atlanta, placing these divas in social situations like housewarming or engagement parties, as they throw shade at one another in various interactions. In the first episode, Patti says to Aretha, “Just because I have on a watch, don’t assume I have time for your bullshit.” Within days of my discovering this Internet treasure back in the summer of 2011, this line and many more had found a common place in the conversations of me and my friends. Then they told their friends, and these lines became viral cultural elements quickly spread by imitation, or more simply, memes. Through 2015, when the series ended, the creator left her viewers with enough reads to address any situation. (“Reads” act as one version of the traditional witty banter found in Black American culture, also once known as playing the dozens. Dorian Corey in the iconic film Paris Is Burning explains reading as “the real art form of insult.”) In the 1990s, growing up in Connecticut, we called it “cutting,” but I soon realized after meeting other Black folks from the Northeast and mid-Atlantic areas as a student at Temple University in Philadelphia, there were other names for it, including: “bussing,” “ranking,” and “hiking.” The term preferred by Got 2B Real, however, is “reading.” I suspect Patti LaHelle’s use of the term originates from its roots in Black queer culture. Black culture is layered so effortlessly in Got 2B Real. Even in writing this piece, I’m still finding new levels of genius in the show.

The parody series speaks to my Blackness, queerness, voice as a curator, sensibilities as a designer, and curiosity as a researcher. Formally, the editing and choice of video clips are perfectly paired with their respective voice-over lines. Details like the facial expressions and gestures of the divas in each clip increase the impact of the comedic timing. The writing is chock-full of clever pop culture references that make the jokes much funnier if you happen to catch them. On a personal note, I’ve always had a hard time defending myself against insults, even in playful settings. However, since Got 2B Real, I can pull out lines like “Haters are people that read with no résumé, and critique with no credentials. Is that you?” Then, BAM, I’m reading like a pro. In addition, LaHelle celebrates the legacy created by living and deceased legends by honoring them through uncanny renditions of both celebrated and notorious characteristics of these powerful Black women in music. It makes up for moments when the Grammys allow Alessia Cara to pay tribute to the late Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Lopez to do so for the enduring legacy of Motown. These missed opportunities are disrespectful to the tradition of R&B and soul music, as well as to the level of influence these stars have on American culture. Patti LaHelle generated an online cultural relic through which we can memorialize these divas through a fan fiction steeped in Blackness—the bonus is that she also blesses us all with a dissertation on the art of throwing shade.

HARRIS