If you’re a fan of hip hop and weren’t alive in 1995, I have rational compassion for you. This I say, because you missed out on classic hip hop duo Group Home dropping their album Livin’ Proof, featuring a track of the same name and produced by DJ Premier.
Being fully immersed in the growing subculture that was hip hop at the time, there was something special to me about being able to listen to the album via cassette tape while sharing news of Group Home via word of mouth. Those were exciting times for me!
On the track “Livin’ Proof,” members Melachi the Nutcracker and Lil’ Dap detail a rough upbringing. The theme of the song relates to ambition for success and contains a sampled chorus that states:
Leave it up to me, while I be living proof
Life as a shorty shouldn’t be so rough
From a rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) perspective, I recognize one of the four major irrational beliefs addressed by this psychotherapeutic modality that relates to demandingness. This typically occurs when unproductively demanding what should, must, or ought to be the case.
Regarding both sampled lines from Inspectah Deck of the Wu-Tang Clan on the song “C.R.E.A.M.,” Group Home promoted the productive Inspectah Deck line, “Leave it up to me, while I be living proof,” which advocates taking personal ownership of one’s circumstances.
Alternatively, Group Home followed the sample with the unproductive Inspectah Deck line, “Life as a shorty shouldn’t be so rough,” which endorses a self-disturbing demand. This juxtaposition of productive and unproductive self-narratives is livin’ proof of how life is often lived.
At times, people productively use self-narratives which well-serve our interests and goals. As an example, when Livin’ Proof dropped in ’95, I walked two-and-a-half hours, one-way, to high school after being kicked out of the home of my legal guardians.
After school, I’d walk the same distance back to the children’s (group) home in which I lived. Productively, I believed something along the lines of, “No one’s gonna earn this degree for me. Leave it up to me, I’ll be livin’ proof of success. Despite the odds, I’ll graduate!”
After all, I had an interest (desire) to graduate high school. With an objective (goal) in mind, along with an outlined path to attain success, I productively walked a total of five hours per school day during times when I couldn’t catch a ride.
Still, as fallible human beings, we sometimes use unproductive self-narratives which don’t help all that much. For instance, when walking to or from school, other students would sometimes fly past me in their cars and yell insults out the window.
When this undesirable action occurred, I unproductively believed something along the lines of, “Life as a teen shouldn’t be so rough, and I can’t stand being mocked by my peers!” With those irrational beliefs, I experienced unpleasant consequences such as sorrow and anger.
Ergo, I’m livin’ proof of success through use of productive narratives while also proving that I’m a flawed individual who’s capable of using unproductive beliefs in and about life. I suspect the same is true for you. If so and perchance you’d like to know more about REBT, I’m here to help.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Discogs. (n.d.). Group Home – Livin’ Proof [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/ja/release/2603417-Group-Home-Livin-Proof
Discogs. (n.d.). Lil’ Dap. Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/artist/183879
Discogs. (n.d.). Melachi the Nutcracker. Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/artist/66428
Hollings, D. (2022, October 31). Demandingness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/demandingness
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2024, May 11). Fallible human being. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fallible-human-being
Hollings, D. (2024, April 2). Four major irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/four-major-irrational-beliefs
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2024, January 2). Interests and goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/interests-and-goals
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2022, December 2). Low frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/low-frustration-tolerance
Hollings, D. (2022, October 22). On empathy. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-empathy
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2022, November 7). Personal ownership. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/personal-ownership
Hollings, D. (2023, September 15). Psychotherapeutic modalities. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapeutic-modalities
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance
Hollings, D. (2022, October 7). Should, must, and ought. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/should-must-and-ought
UPROXX. (2020, January 17). Group Home – Livin’ Proof (DJ Premier produced) [Explicit] [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/nLsu7hpB8IY?si=6AdTcwoZPddCQ11Q
Wikipedia. (n.d.). DJ Premier. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Premier
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Group Home. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_Home
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Inspectah Deck. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspectah_Deck
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Livin’ Proof. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livin%27_Proof
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Wu-Tang Clan. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu-Tang_Clan
Wu-Tang Clan. (2014, January 21). Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M. (Official HD video) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/PBwAxmrE194?si=u6wM3aq2x-0wsdUi
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