MANY ACROSS AMERICA are singing the catchy pop tune “I Got it From My Momma” from Black Eyed Peas member Will.I.Am. As inviting as this song may be to our party consciousness, we can discern quite more from this factually-based lyric.

Given the fact that our biological make-up is defined, in large part, by the genetic connection to our mothers, coupled with many of our psychological propensities and physiological dependencies, we can certainly, without pause, say, “I got it from my momma!”

Urban sociologists and criminal justice researchers are quick to conclude that there is a causal relationship between high incarceration rates of youth and natal alienation (a disconnect between parents and children).

There are some who believe that young men who grow up without a father fail to become strong and well-rounded men.

They argue that these boys tend to be overly-aggressive, immature and lack responsibility. Further, they suggest that young ladies, estranged from their fathers, are prey for smooth-talking men, who may have the inclination to exact a paternal chastisement on their bodies physically and sexually, while they incessantly seek for that “daddyâ€Â in their numerous male relationships.

But do we give the presence of our mothers enough credit? Kanye West does, and today he grieves the loss of his mother.

Donda West, Ph. D., focused on raising her talented son as a single mother in the African-American community, eventually becoming his manager, as he gained national attention as a new musical sensation.

True artists have the ability to appeal not only to our senses but also to our mind, and that is what Kanye, if taken seriously, accomplishes.

He may not have the alluring voice of a Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg or the late Biggie. He may not create flawless rhymes like a Jay-Z, Fabolous or Eminem. But in the tradition of the guys from Black Thought, Common, Pac, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, KRS-One, Nas, et al., Kanye attempts to provide a scathing critique of our common consciousness and force us to wrestle with our own sense of right and wrong.

He pushes even the conscious rappers to a level of entertainment and psychic freedom that very few have done since 2Pac.

Kanye’s music, and life, seeks to uplift and sustain self and community while representing the best of creativity and individuality. Under his mother’s leadership of the Kanye West Foundation, its purposed goal is the education of those who may have slipped through the cracks of truancy, teen pregnancy and juvenile incarceration. His music, albeit consistent in the American fetish of materialism, resists the industry’s luring temptation of misogyny and challenges women to seek a better or “G.O.O.Dâ€Â Life.

His mother, an English professor, instilled the power of language and metaphor into her son while sustaining his place in the unnerving streets of our inner-city (or “Keeping it Realâ€Â).

She, like millions of single mothers, deserves deep appreciation and intellectual respect, as she produced one of the most innovative and free-minded artists of our generation.

May God grant eternal rest to your soul and may your light continually shine in the life of your son, who influences us all.

Bless her life and the lives of all mothers, like mine Sandra, who demand excellence of their children.