Top 25 Coolest Black Men

Black men have been stereotyped as being pimpish, jive talkers, with a dippity slip stride, wearing big hats, and acting like bullies. As far as Heaven is from Earth, so are the extreme differences between the real black man and the stereotypical fictional characters like Hawk, Huggy Bear, Super Fly, Shaft, Reverend Leroy, and Bill Clinton. Cool is an unexplainable kind of persona, a quiet confidence, and simply a bad mo-fo. The world could be a much better place if black men were understood more. This article will have the usual sarcasm, but some of you will understand and appreciate the humor. This is all about cool, not autobiographies. So sit back, take a deep breath and enjoy this hip trip.

Presenting: The Top 25 Coolest Black Men -

25. Snoop Dogg - I grew up near the LBC, so I know for shizzle that the double O and the double Gizzle is cool. Should Soul Train return to television, Snoop would be the coolest man to fill Don's shoes. Only, if he promises to leave the goblet, the cane, the hat, the bling, the blunt and the foul language at home. I see you nodding your head.

24. Billie D. Williams - A.k.a. "Billie D" is a suave and debonair type of cool. He still hypnotizes women with the Billie D voice, the slicked-back hair, and that little smirk. Billie D has the kind of cool you wish you could buy in a bottle. Quietly kept, I have a bottle. Tell you about it later.

23. Herbie Hancock - Herbie is a whole different kind of cool. Mr. Jazz Extraordinaire is a quiet cool and is quite simply a genius. Find yourself a weekend with nothing to do, and just sit and listen to Herbie's music from the early sixties to inception- to-date, and you will do a slow little bob of your head and just say "yeah".

22. Quincy Jones - "Q" is old school cool. "Jook Joint" was a cool project. All of the "true" jazz cats are cool.

21. Barry White - A dude who grew up in South Los Angeles a "maestro"? Dig that! Did you know that Barry's songs are recommended for couples if the man is experiencing (ED) erectile dysfunction? "Bedroom Barry" is in the house! The industry didn't give Barry enough props after he left us.

20. Spike Lee - Anybody named "Mookie" is cool. Spike has been a voice, an institution who insists that the truth be told, by any means necessary.

19. Huey P. Newton - If Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, and Don Imus can still be on the air, I can include Huey on this list. Hope you're not thinking that Clarence Thomas should be in this slot.

18. Little Richard - Yes I did! He said that the white man stole from him. Lyrics, songs, royalties. He talked smack about it on national television, and made them like it. And he got what he was entitled to. $$! Richard Penniman is cool. Shut up!

17. Grover Washington, Jr. - You can't write and play a song like "Mr. Magic" and not be cool. The song became "the cool" anthem.

16. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Com'mon now! Kareem was a hippie. Down with the Haight-Ashbury scene, but with class. The brother dated Pam Grier. If that ain't cool. An extremely intelligent man, a jazz aficionado and the greatest basketball player to ever play the game, Kareem is cool.

15. Paul Mooney - Paul wrote much of Richard Pryor's stand up routine. I've seen Paul driving down Crenshaw wearing a beanie, sitting low and copping a serious lean. You know that kind of cool.

14. Al Green - All breakfast food jokes aside, all of us love us some Al Green. And who we love, is cool. The intro to "Love and Happiness" has to be the most recognizable sound to black people. That tap, tap, tap, tap...then, you know the party is on!

13. Julius Irving - Grover wrote a song "Let It Flow" dedicated to "Dr. J". Dock had the fro, the glide, the whole persona. When he was a television basketball analyst for CBS, he tried hard to take the cool out of his voice, but he just couldn't. Dock is just too cool.

12. Al Sharpton - Al is cool with his New York City relaxer. His connection to James Brown, and his stance on core issues that affect American blacks. Al is "a bad man", just like James.

11. Isaac Hayes - He should have played the role of Shaft. The brother wore a chain shirt! Nothin' but cool. My picture in my profile is modeled after Isaac. Remember the cover of the "Hot Buttered Soul" album?

10. Tupac Shakur - The youngster makes the list. I guess he wouldn't be quite so young now. The dude had vision. Coming from Oaktown, he wasn't afraid to be a voice far beyond his time.

9. John Carlos - As a pre-teen on Saturday morning I would rush to cut the grass and dash back into the house to watch the AAU track and field meets just to see John Carlos. The sprinters back then looked cool. They were long and sleek. When I saw John Carlos win the 100 meters at the '68 Mexico City Olympic Games on Wide World of Sports, I was beside myself. When he and Tommy Smith stood on the podium, I was proud.

8. Harry Belafonte - Making noise behind the scenes, he is a vocal champion for civil rights. Putting activism before career is cool.

7. Smokey Robinson - One of the top 5 song writers of the era, Smokey penned some serious tunes. He gets cooler with age. He has become a true leader.

6. Richard Pryor - Richard told it like it t. i. twas. For those who don't know what that means, I guess this list has been an educational tool for you on cool. I'm laughing right now thinking about Rich.

5. Marvin Gaye - Marvin was everybody on this list rolled into one. See my article entitled "Top 10 Songs by Marvin Gaye" to see how cool he was.

4. James Brown - James was an "everyday black man". He worked hard, demanded respect, and wore a cape after crying to his woman, "please, please - don't go". Have you ever been to a Baptist church, and after the reverend delivered a fiery spirited message, a male nurse draped a black cape over the preacher's shoulders? They got that from James. James was cool.

3. Denzel Washington - He's another one of those first name brothers like "Marvin", "Stevie" and "Tupac". Just say his first name, and immediately everyone knows who it is. Denzel plays smart, respectable roles that are indicative of his personal pride. He accepts nothing less than representing a black man in a positive light. Cool.

2. Miles Davis - "Dewey" invented cool. He was the Barry Bonds of jazz. He hit hard with his horn, and was always controversial. But there was no real controversy. He was just being Miles, the coolest dude to ever live in Malibu. It's a challenge to capture his persona with words. You just have to watch some video footage.

1. Don Cornelius - I am declaring Chicago as the "cool capitol of the world", and Don is King. I dare anybody to try to duplicate Don Cornelius' cool. Remember that time he danced down the Soul Train line? If you were like me you were thinking, "Don probably can't dance". Don 'tow it up!

1.1 Me - Cool recognizes cool. Later.