Imperious Entertainment

As an award-winning author and speaker, Hasani Pettiford
has an appeal that transcends barriers of age, culture and occupation.

IMPERIOUS INTERVIEW

IMPERIOUS: It is said that you have an appeal that transcends barriers of age, culture and occupation. How so?

HASANI PETTIFORD: I spent the last 10 years of my life speaking for colleges and universities, trade associations, civic associations, churches, and high schools and middle schools. So, I have a message that’s actually ageless and timeless and relevant to all genders and all ages. If I had to describe my style of presentation, I would say it is simple enough for young person to understand but sophisticated enough for an old person to appreciate. That’s why I have been given that label.

IMPERIOUS: Let’s talk about your best-seller Black Thighs, Black Guys & Bedroom Lies. Briefly describe what the book is about, what inspired the book, and what was the goal of the book?

HASANI PETTIFORD: Well I wrote the book because there seems to be bitterness and pain and resentment and animosity and mistrust and just plain hatred that exist between black men and women as a result of all of the sexual games and bedroom lies that we play with one another in relationships. A game is competitive in nature. Whether you are watching baseball, football, basketball, or wrestling, no matter what the sport, there is always someone who wins and someone who loses. But anytime you take this “game” concept which is very competitive in nature and then try to put it in the confines of relationship, which is supposed to be cooperative in nature, it can never work. So often times, all players end up getting played in the end. Many people just don’t know how to operate in a successful relationship and often times, the false understanding of sex can really dampen a relationship. So, the purpose of book was to expose the sexual games and give people a foundation to build on in order to have a healthy relationship.

IMPERIOUS: Your other best-seller Pimpin from the Pulpit to the Pews seems to be a very controversial book. What is that about and what inspired you to write about such a topic?

HASANI PETTIFORD: Interestingly because black thighs did so well, so many people in the church read the book and said the issues you are talking about in black thighs exist in the church. And I said wow, you’re absolutely right. So that kind of inspired me to write the book because there are so many people in church struggling with sexual issues and relationship issues. There is a scripture in the bible that says, do not participate in the darkness, but instead expose them. So the book exposes fornication, masturbation, infidelity, bestiality. It exposes every sexual sin that exists both in the bible and in the church. It then talks about what we need to do to get that spirit of lust out of the church. It’s a powerful book. Most people either love the book or hate the book. A lot of preachers and pastors don’t even pick up the book. I went to a church conference once and a minister picked up the book and threw it down on the table. He then said, man, why are you telling all of our secrets? I said that’s exactly why I wrote the book, to expose people like you. The book has been doing tremendously well and has gotten rave reviews.

IMPERIOUS: Your latest project is a CD Program entitled Sex Talk: Controversial Subjects Most People Won't Touch. Tell us a little bit about the project. What inspired it?

HASANI PETTIFORD: People tend to ask me "why are you so preoccupied with the issue of sex?" My response is, because the world is preoccupied with the issue of sex. No matter where you go, sex is everywhere. And usually, the media, in all of its five (5) forms, glorify it. Whether you are watching TV, film, print media, internet, or the radio, sex is everywhere. So, the problem is, sex is something that we love to do but hate to talk about. So, I intend to explore many of the things we are participating in and look at it from a different perspective. They are educational CD programs that will really explain the pros and cons of our actions and unveil a lot of the secrets and lies that have been hidden about the things that we do. For instance, I have a CD on the issue of abortion that’s powerful. A lot of people don’t know statistically what has taken place in the black community as related to abortion. I have a CD series that deals with homosexuality. We talk about the secret sex lives of kids. We talk about how Christians get STD’s too. We deal with pornography. I have a CD entitled the porn effect. It discusses how pornography affects men, women, children, and our relationships. It really is a powerful CD series that will open up your eyes to the truth that mass media has tried to deny us of.

IMPERIOUS: You published a book series on personal growth & development entitled The Habit Series. The book includes The 12 Habits of Successful People, The 12 Habits of Wealthy People, The 12 Habits of Healthy People, and The 12 Habits of Effective Leaders.

What is the primary difference between those who are successful and those who are not?

HASANI PETTIFORD: Habits, habits, habits. Someone once said, “the secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. So in essence, I can determine where you will be in ten (10) years by spending one day with you. Because in that one day, I can assess your habits whether pro or con and I can ultimately know what direction you will go in. Someone said that, today is built on yesterday, and tomorrow is built on today. So the things you did yesterday will affect your today and the things that you do today will ultimately affect your tomorrow. So when you look at that from a larger perspective, you can actually almost predict someone’s life, five, ten, fifteen years from now by looking at their habits. So I spent a good six or seven years studying successful people, wealthy people, and healthy people and identifying what traits and what habits they utilized to acquire their success, wealth, or optimal health. I have a book in that series, the 12 habits of effective leaders. It deals with the good habits that leaders need to implement to be effective. So it’s powerful man. And it’s simple to read. They’re short, powerfully packed books of information that will transform your mind and your life.

IMPERIOUS: Speaking of leadership, what are your thoughts on today’s black leadership?

HASANI PETTIFORD: It’s hard to give a short answer to such a complex question. We really have to determine what we mean when we say black leadership. Are we talking about black church leadership, black political leadership, community leadership? It’s so many leaders within our community. As a leader, I think sometimes we as a community are kind of hard on our leaders because it’s a whole lot of responsibility and a great weight and burden that our leaders bear. But, at the same time, I think there are not enough checks and balances and accountability when it comes to our leaders. Often times, they can do dirt and get away with it because it’s really nobody to check them because it’s nobody that they have to answer to. In the black community, it’s unique. Most of our organizations are centralized organization, meaning the organization is built and centralized around a personality. And whenever something happens to that personality, that organization in most cases ceases to exist. It think that, if we had a decentralized organization, where its not based upon an individual voice, but based on maybe a board or a number of people with equal power, it would allow for checks and balances and accountability. We have to have a critical eye of leadership but at the same time have a level of compassion for the role they have.

IMPERIOUS: Who in life, past and present, have traits or characteristics that you would want to emulate?

HASANI PETTIFORD: I’m fascinated with Muhammad Ali. I always have been. I’m fascinated with Robert Kiyosaki. Fascinated with Les Brown. Fascinated with Bishop T.D. Jakes. Those types of individuals, I’ve always looked at, read their materials, been to their seminars. I have a professional speaking office, so I guess I gravitate to those that deal in the same area that I’m in. Obviously Muhammad Ali isn’t one of them. But, Muhammad Ali has had such a major influence not only on blacks, not only on America, but on the entire world. His story is just so phenomenal to me. Not only what he was able to do in the ring, but who he was and what he was able to do outside of the ring. I think he was just as important outside as is in. Unfortunately, when you deal with a lot of our athletes today, they remain voiceless when it comes to political, social, or economic issues, particularly those that affect African-Americans. Because they are worrying about their contracts, endorsements, their “other” fans, so they’re careful or “advised” not to say or do anything. And I think that’s a “punk” move. Muhammad Ali was a man. He was willing to stand up to the racism that exists in this country. He was willing to stand up to this country. That’s a leader. That’s a leader who will be willing to lay his life on the line and say, you know what, I’m taking a position on this war, I don’t agree with it. And if that means you have to put me in prison, then do it. And I think leaders today by in large, don’t do that. There are few that do. We can all learn from a Muhammad Ali and what he was able to do. His personality. His ability to communicate with such power. His ability to knock jokers out and predict what round he would do it in. His ability to prophesize and see certain things come to past in his life. He was able to talk and back it up. That’s the type of man that I want to be.

IMPERIOUS: What are your views on the current state of hip-hop music and culture?

HASANI PETTIFORD: I love hip-hop music. I was born and raised on hip-hop music. However, I’m disgusted with the current state of affairs. We’ve gone from a music that spoke to the needs and issues of African-Americans within our communities. It was a medium we could use to speak our minds because we were a voiceless people in this nation. It was a political voice, a social force. However, it has transformed into a highly hedonistic, misogynistic, materialistic, stereotypical type of music, that creates or depicts a false sense of masculinity, an exploitation of black femininity. I think we have degraded our women. It talks about sex with no moral responsibility. It highlights and glamorizes the worst of us instead of the best of us. You can point the finger at many people. The artists themselves, the actual music industry, the corporate execs, the record labels. Everybody has a part to play. Everybody’s trying to pass the buck and say, "It’s his fault, it's there fault," but they all have a part to play because they don’t have to fall in these categories because you still have conscious rap today.

I think we need to get back to what it originally was. Remember how KRS-One bought those rappers together and had that song “Self Destruction”? What happen to the KRS-One’s and Public Enemy’s? You have Dead Prez, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli. But, when you look at the big picture, those brothers are like flies in a big burning bowl of buttermilk. They are so scattered and so few and the industry has become a beast. We need to get back to the way it used to be.

IMPERIOUS: What’s next for Hasani Pettiford?

Comments (1)

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written by zamaih , November 16, 2007

Preach brotha preach! good interview!

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