Life Lessons Learned from Noire Books

by Reem Raw

As far as key themes, I think Noire always has a life lesson in all of her stories even though they're urban erotic tales. Something that you can draw from. Whether it be a character's words or the actual character.

Like Hood was a stand up dude. No matter what was going on around him, no matter what situations he was in, whether he faced jail time, life, or death he always stayed himself. He always kept it honorable. Sometimes you gotta read between the lines.

And that's why a lot of ladies can relate to Noire books. Of course they're entertaining and they're funny. But we know that somebody knows a Juicy. Somebody knows a Candy Rae Montana. Somebody knows a Saucy. We know these people.

So that's the real draw. Not just because it tickles your fancy and your imagination. It's because you feel some type of connection in every one of these characters.

Shit, it might be you!

You might feel like she's talkin to yo ass! And you don't even really wanna admit it. So that's the real thing. To me, that's what makes a great author. Tap in to what real people are going through and real life situations.

And not only are there relatable characters, she got alotta strange ones. I guess people couldn't fuck with Dreko from Hood. Just a maniac, rapist, creep type of guy. He's a hard character to stomach. Just like Haz in Empire. He's one of them dudes that ya'll probably know of and you stay clear of those people.

And I would ask readers to look at how people are being manipulated. They're being manipulated in ways that happen in everyday life. People trying to gas you to do something. Or you value this person's opinion so much that you do something to prove something to them.

So it's everyday shit. Don't just read for the entertainment and glamorous parts. Take the jewels from it. The shit that's happening every day. The shit that's happened to us all at one time or another.

When Haz grabbed Handgun Goody. Goody had just watched Haz murder his nieces and nephews and he was like 'Nah nigga, you gotta stand here and you gotta stab these muthafuckas up too. If I go down, you go down.' Which is smart on Haz part, if you're that kinda guy.

But if you're put in that scenario, what if you see something and somebody tries to make you do something that you don't wanna do? It happens everyday. People don't see it coming because they've never seen it before.

So that's one of the hidden jewels of these kinda stories because it gives you preparation for the unexpected events in life that maybe you haven't gone through yet, but you could. It kinda gives you the armor to say 'I've seen this movie before. I've seen how this turns out. I done read this somewhere. We know how this story ends. It ain't gonna end like that for me, so I'm gonna do something different.'

And these might prepare you. It might save your life. Hopefully you get the insight to not do the exact same things that didn't work. You don't have to be that character and have that bad ending. Sometimes people can relate to books more than actually sitting down and being told. People will listen to their favorite entertainer or celebrity before their parents because of the way it's being delivered and it's not people too close to the situation.

Some people need outside validation, a second opinion, or a second thought process. Some of your parents didn't even go through the shit you went through. So they can't relate. They're speaking from a parental place. But young adults, they need to feel like you went through it and then they'll respect your opinion.

And even if you did go through it as a parent, they're not gonna see that. To them, you're just old. You never did it. They don't believe you. And that's why it's interesting that we kinda look up to people that are 10-20 years older than us more than our parents sometimes.

If you grew up in the 90's your heroes were Tribe or Wu-Tang or whoever. They're not as old as your parents, they haven't been through as much as your parents, but they look cool to you. And they're more in tune with what's going on now, not 30 years ago.

That's why when people say 'This rapper raised me" it's because they found something relatable in their character, in their music, in their way of life. And their style appealed. They want somebody who talks and dresses like them, who they can mold themselves after. You can't copy your pop's style and have it work. It's played out.

Maybe you can take some verbal jewels. But that's not the image your going for. The trends go so fast in our times. Sometimes the trends circle back around and get repeated. But only people who know their history can see that.

Like I was saying in that scene between Haz and Handgun (from Beast):

And the haters on my dick,
I just let em be alone,
If you gonna ride by any decisions,
Then let it be your own

I believe that's in Hood. For you young cats, ride by your own decisions because when it goes down, them people you're living for, seeking their approval, they not gonna be there for you. And it be niggas your own age you're seeking from. That's the blind leading the blind. Just because his character might be a little stronger than yours. 

You don't have to be as assertive outwardly to be valuable. You don't need to seek nobody's opinion who don't know no better than you. They don't even know that they don't know much more than you. You're just going off the fact that he's loud or his position of power within ya'll ranks. Or the pecking order. But don't throw your life away following some nigga who's not really even a leader. The real leaders, you probably don't even know about. 

The leaders you're supposed to be supporting, you're probably too ignorant to even know what their names are. And that's a major part of our problem. We're not real leaders, and we're not even smart followers half the time. So smarten up and open your eyes. That's a jewel for ya'll young cats out there. Peace.