Ghetto Pass

"Make sure your joint is updated!"

Every kid in the ghetto dreams of making it big so they can one day escape the madness of the hood. It’s simply a place where drug dealing, murder, prostitution and gang bangin' are a part of everyday life. I can remember growing up in Gary when gun shots from the nearby Delaney Projects had simply become white noise. Whether you were an athlete or not the goal was to make it out.

As bad as people wanted out there always seems to be a magnet that pulls so many back. All too often do we see professional athletes hanging out in the hood without understanding the rules of being in the war zone with all of that money! The Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos simply didn't update his ghetto pass before returning home to Venezuela.

The 24-year-old player, who had returned to Venezuela after his rookie season, was just outside the front door at his home Wednesday night when an SUV approached, armed men got out "and they took him away," said Ramos' agent, Gustavo Marcano.

There are certain rules that have to be followed when you return to the crib whether you're a professional athlete or professional in Corporate America with money. You can't just come back home and think that everybody is going to be happy to see you. When you’ve got that type of bread you suddenly become a target. In the hood they call you an easy lick! That means we can come up big by robbing you without having to fight for it.

In order to be protected at the crib you've got to still be connected to the streets. You can't just pull up in the Benz or Beemer, wearing expensive jewelry, buying up the bar and thinking that it's all good. You've got to be with some cats that have never left and are still highly respected on the streets. That way you're protected from being an easy target.

However, the longer you've been away the less likely you are to be able to get your pass updated. The older you become that pass becomes null and void because you're hood secret service eventually dies off. All of those guys either die in the streets, end up in prison or have changed their lives in the process. Either way your ability to move through the hood becomes limited because the dynamics have changed.

Now the guys that are running the streets are much younger than you are and they don't know you. So if you come home to visit Big Momma you better tone it down and keep your butt at her house! Unfortunately, Wilson Ramos didn't have his street security detail with him with when he was kidnapped.

Not having the guys with their ears in the streets around him has proven to be a huge mistake. He could easily have been tipped off well before he was kidnapped. One thing about it, the streets are always talking. So the next time you decide to roll up at the crib flossin'. Ask yourself this question, "Am I still connected?" If the answer is no! You better keep in movin'!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport