Michael Rain

My TED Talk is now live! x.com/tedtalks/statu…

@YinkaWrites For sure. I did a talk on this for @HarvardCID from the perspective of how the development space contributes to this same problem. youtu.be/0z1p5iy7_eE

This is a whole chapter in a book about Africa and the global media.

@yehyeh1215 @Symply_rhoda1 Because emotionally immature people find it difficult to differentiate doing a bad thing from being a bad person. To them, apologizing means saying they are a terrible person, versus admitting they did a terrible thing. Avoiding accountability feels like protecting themselves.

@Symply_rhoda1 I always wonder why some people find it difficult to apologize even when they know they are wrong

One of my closest friends taught me a lesson I’ll never forget—and she learned it the hard way. She had the kind of boyfriend who always fought for the relationship. Every time they argued, he’d be the one calling first, sending long texts, apologizing just to keep the peace—even when she was clearly the one in the wrong. After a while, she got used to it. She stopped taking accountability because she believed he would always come back. During one of their biggest arguments, she refused to apologize, ignored his calls, and acted like nothing had happened. When we told her, “Just say you’re sorry. You messed up this time,” she laughed and said, “You gotta let them know they need you. Trust me, he’ll be back. He always comes back.” But this time… he didn’t.

@zagrebbi There is no business major at Columbia. This data set is suspect.

Average SAT by major at Columbia. Classics improbably edges out Math and Physics for the top spot at 1529. Sociology is on the bottom (1422), though "Ethnicity & Race Studies", "Public Health", and "Human Rights" aren't too far in front. The within-school spread is 100 points or so — around half of a standard deviation of the SAT-taker population.

@muheediva01 What makes this worse is your ability and effort to understand them makes them think that are communicating well and what they are saying makes sense. And conversely their inability and disinterest in understanding you helps them believe you’re failing to communicate well.

Can we talk about how exhausting it is to be emotionally intelligent in situations that don't deserve your understanding. To see everyone's perspective when nobody is extending the same courtesy to yours. To regulate your reactions while others express everything without filter or consequence. To be the bigger person so consistently that nobody even acknowledges it requires effort. Emotional intelligence is a gift.

@dskillzhtown @DragonflyJonez But Prince didn’t write and produce and play everything either. He collaborated. The Revolution was a band. NPG was a band. Wendy and Lisa were arranging on his hits, too. If Prince’s collaborations do not take away from his genius, then it’s not an argument over MJ.

@DragonflyJonez The fact Prince wrote and played everything is a fact lost on many people. Not saying Michael wasn't talented, because he was, but so many of his biggest hits were written and arranged by other people. On a related note, people don't know how important Toto was to his career.

I saw that “MJ was a child prodigy, Prince was not” tweet too and folks really dont know how young Prince was when he first hit the scene. Or how ridiculously gifted he was. Go listen to I Wanna Be Your Lover. Every single thing you hear on that song- the lyrics, the production, the arrangement, the instrumentation from the drums to the guitars to the synths- was all done by a 19 year old

@RenyTure This album doesn’t get enough love.

What’s yall favorite jazz albums?

@TJECS206 @DragonflyJonez It was a Penny-led Shaq-less (injured) Magic team that gave the 72-10 Bulls team their first loss that season. Penny and the Magic the prior year were the only team to defeat a Jordan team after Jordan won a chip. He was that dude.

@DragonflyJonez could you imagine what he'd be doing in today's league with all this space everywhere? only player besides MJ with more than one MVP vote in the Bulls 72-10 season. just another great player it's going to be impossible to explain to the kids™

Something this commercial highlights is that Penny was one of the few NBA players who MJ was openly and out loud a fan of. That’s a pretty short list. It’s like Penny, A.I, Kobe and that’s it. Penny was special, man. You really had to be there.

@whateveramara I’ve had someone apologize for taking my friendship for granted and under appreciating me 20 years later. 20 years of being haunted.

@michaeljrain Exactly this. Unless they are a sociopath, the comedown from their ego trip hits them deep and they deal with it for years after, decades even

The person who withholds always ends up haunted that’s why I never play nonchalant

@NefflynBe Wanna Be Startin’ Something

@voteheaux @cquiller1 @SlaveOfMC There is a difference between a song and a recording of a song. Regardless of who owned his recordings of that wouldn’t affect who else could record a different version. Legally no one can stop anyone from recording their song. You must pay the owners, but they cannot stop you.

@cquiller1 @SlaveOfMC Your supposition is correct: He didn’t own his publishing when she made Butterfly. Prince didn’t get his masters until a couple years before he died, bc he had to wait 35 years. Only Warner Bros had to offer clearance for samples & remakes.

Prince didn’t like Mariah’s version of The Beautiful Ones?!

@cquiller1 @SlaveOfMC You don’t need anyone’s permission to record a song. You can get something called a compulsory license. You have to pay whomever owns it, yes, but you do not need their approval to record it.

@SlaveOfMC But Prince had to give clearance for her to remake the song unless he didn’t have the rights to “The Beautiful Ones.” I love that Mariah is such a big fan of Michael Jackson and Prince.

🕊️🕊️❤️

@Iamivy05 This adjustment approach sounds good in theory. But that person hasn’t adjusted their own expectations of the relationship. They will continue to try access you in ways that do not fit the new dynamic you’re trying to establish. And you will eventually have to cut them off.

my mom was telling me today that there's no disappointment when you accept things or people for what they are. but you don’t always have to cut people off when they don’t meet your expectations sometimes you just have to adjust the relationship + accept their capacity.

Today is #Juneteenth. June is also Men’s Mental Health Month. Honored to be celebrated on this list: 🔴 10 TED Talks by Black men worth watching. Check it out and feel free to share your thoughts. #BlackMenSpeak #TEDTalks

@TheJobfather__ Some people minimize the value they receive to justify not giving anything back. If they admitted it meant something, they'd feel obligated to reciprocate. 
So they reframe real generosity as “the bare minimum” to excuse doing the least.

I've always found this line of thinking interesting...Humans by nature react more positively to Positive reinforcement than overt criticism and the implication here (to me at least) is that your light on praise but heavy on criticism...and it's like why are you surprised when the person disengages and becomes nonchalant?

This Father’s Day, I wrote about my dad, the ripple effect of immigration, and what we lose when we close the door on global talent. If that resonates, I hope you’ll read it. 📨 Full reflection on Substack: enodi.substack.com/p/harvard-my-d…

📈 46% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children. 🦄 80% of billion-dollar startups too. That kind of impact often starts not with wealth or status—but with a student visa. We forget that at our own risk.

My father came to the U.S. from Kumasi, Ghana in 1968—on a student visa. He didn’t just build a life. He built a foundation. His story shaped mine. A Father’s Day reflection on immigration, legacy, and what’s at stake when we stop welcoming global talent. 🧵