• » Name: Meka Soul
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Slap-Boxing With Jesus

Critical Beatdown

A few weeks back, the Internets were in a nostalgia-related tizzy, creating lists of what they felt were the greatest rap albums of all time. When my Central American blogging brother from another mother Belize (who unfortunately holds the title of “the most overlooked and slept-on blogger”) suggested that I should create my own list, I thought about it for a moment, but realized I couldn’t since so much more music inspires and piques my interest in hip-hop. I couldn’t add Illmatic without throwing in the Heath Brothers, nor could a laud about Like Water For Chocolate without acknowledging the contributions of Bobby Caldwell and The Family Stand [1].

Despite this state of confusion, I subsequently followed with a list of timeless songs by otherwise craptacular rappers. Unfortunately it was not well received, as once again I got a shitload of e-attacks for my choices. Not that I wasn’t surprised of course; anybody who honestly believes that Pimp C isn’t a shitbag rapper has got to be out of their fucking mind. He looks like someone who humps ottomans in the off-season, but I digress.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t hate or have a problem with hip-hop (just the schmucks in it). And while I refuse to listen to music that makes me want to lean like a cholo on the 405 Freeway [2], there are many other sounds that I wholeheartedly support (read: illegally download from the Internets). Without further adieu, I’d like to present a shorthand list of those favorites. In an effort to combat coastal discrimination yet again, I’ll drop one song from each relevant coast (West, East, South and Midwest). Feel free to suggest your own as well.

Federation, “Donkey” (click here): I try not to venture up north too much for music because let’s face it, nothing has set the movement started by the Black Panthers back worse than a bunch of jackasses having epileptic seizures while on the hood of their moving hooptie. Every once in a while however, they’ll pull some incredible shit out of their ass (pause?), and this Rick Rock-produced heatrock is no exception. The braying in the background is fucking priceless, and if there were more videos like this I’d probably respect the hyphy “movement” more.

J-Live, “One For The Griot” (click here): Although the original concepts of New York-based lyricism has regressed into a horrible mish mash of nursery rhymes over shitty Casio beats, there are still a few artists out there that still read a dictionary from time to time. In a song inspired by the movie Memento, the artist formerly known as Justice Allah takes storytelling to another level.

DJ Hi-Tek, “Keep It Moving” (click here) While too many people are thoughtlessly referring to Tooda as the “new Primo” in hip-hop, they’ve also apparently forgotten about the Midwest beatsmith responsible for Rawkus Records’ backpacker renaissance. Honestly, I had a tough time choosing this joint out of about eight others, but it was the soulful cooing, ridiculously ill falsetto [3] and a re-energized Kurupt and Q-Tip that did it in for me.

DJ Premier, “Doobie Ashtray” (click here) and Polow Da Don, “Get Buck” (click here): Speaking of which, not a lot of people know that Chris Martin was born in Houston, then emigrated east. Whereas Tooda has a somewhat annoying tendency to needlessly ad-lib over someone else’s beat to garner some attention, rappers always find their comfort zone within the snares of Premier’s compositions. And as much as I hate to admit, I have a guilty pleasure listening to songs such as “London Bridge” and “Buttons,” thanks to the beats from the King Of The White Girls. “Get Buck” is the best G-Unit song I’ve heard since “Heat” - which has my favorite Dr. Dre beat of all time - thanks to its Grambling Tiger Marching Band-inspired production.

[1] That album would never make my top 25, but follow me for a second.

[2] That shit is slowly replacing “Teabag Dat Hoe” as my favorite worst song ever.

[3] This is how a falsetto should be done. Pharrell should take notes.

15 Comments             

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

“It's your honesty that people have a problem with, Meka.” - DX commenter (and good friend) ReyTheHussein

A while back one of the faithful c-boys on this site (what up LOL) suggested that yours truly should write a post on the anatomy of a “hater,” which is a word I can definitely do without in my vocabulary. For a minute I seriously contemplated doing one, but then I realized there’s no way for me to stretch out a relatively moot subject into at least 400 words. Plus, I had to get up early for work the next day.

The reasoning behind the whole thing - from what I understand at least - is that if one’s opinions differ from those of the general consensus, said opinions are simply passed off as hate-filled negativity, while the individual is considered nothing more than a single, sex-deprived homosexual who should kill themselves for thinking such asinine nonsense. Pardon my Nigerian, but that has definitely got to be the most ass-backward piece of shit logic I’ve ever heard, and this is coming from a writer whose life has been cyber-threatened countless times [1] since I got here because I don’t think that Weasel F. Baby is one of hip-hop’s premier lyricists [2]. What many of those humps fail to realize is that a person’s beliefs are nothing more than that: their personal outlooks. If every member in this hip-hop society felt the exact same way about everything remotely related to the culture, the entire shit would truly be dead the way Nas yapped on about it last year. As I’ve said before, hip-hop is a fighter’s music, and while some of that fighting has been damaging to the culture, our difference in attitudes is one of the reasons why it is still going strong some 30-plus years after Kool Herc unwittingly introduced it to the world from his house parties on Sedgwick and Cedar. Opinions are like assholes; everybody’s got one.

Since I’m on the topic of assholes (pause), it shouldn’t be a surprise to any visitor that I’m the “local one” on this section of the Internets. While it’s simple to jump to that conclusion, as I’ll admit that I have a tendency to paint your favorite rapper in a rather unflattering light, I find it hilarious when I see how most of those hoppers here are quick to call me a “hater” at the drop of a dime. I’ve never been one to initiate or indulge in any sort “e-beef” [3], and it certainly isn’t my fault that most of the things I spit here tend to fly over heads here. I, like all my fellow bloggers, am here to offer my own criticisms based on my own personal values, and if I believe that your “producer du juor” is an overrated, half-‘tard twit who creates the audio equivalent of fecal matter, nobody can, will or is going to convince me otherwise nor can I do the same, and I refuse to switch my style just to appease a couple schmucks. On the other hand, I’m more than willing, ready and able to smack the kufi, ottoman, Pelle Pelle jacket and/or ever-loving shit out of anyone if I feel they’ve stepped out of pocket and insulted my intelligence [4]. Cheap jabs are meaningless if they don’t knock your opponent out [5].

As such, there’s been a few instances where my thoughts have been misconstrued as “shocking,” yet another word that is quickly becoming a loathsome bother to me [6]. The last time I checked my driver’s license I was well into my twenties and a couple years removed from receiving my college degree, so if any reader (or blogger for that matter) considers my opinions appalling, I figure they’re either still attached to their mother via the umbilical cord or they’ve not stepped into the real world and faced its harsh realities. With all the bullshit that’s played on the radio, paraded on television screens and downloaded from the Internets, the problems of society stemming from an overly corrupt government, wrongly imprisoned change makers and political activists, well-intentioned but clueless soldiers getting ethered in the Middle East for nothing and insane religious fanatics ready to blow themselves up for their God(dess), the last thing my own personal thoughts should ever be considered is “shocking.” There’s a reason why my shit is entitled Slap-Boxing With Jesus , not Spooning With Xenu.

Hip-hop is an incredibly beautiful culture that has spread from the basements of the Bronx to touch the lives and souls of billions of people across the globe. Yet many conformists still tend to nitpick the thoughts of a lone individual, which is not only a complete waste of energy and time, but is essentially fucking up the culture itself. If those same sheeple spent that same energy fixing the rapidly increasing problems in hip-hop, I’m pretty sure nobody would be bitching about the South’s musical sense anymore.

I’m just here to provide my views - and possibly clarity - on hip-hop. But if I have to crack a cranium or two to get my point across, so be it.

[1] Seriously folks, my sisters frighten me more than “random e-thug #10.”

[2] And he’s not. Quit fooling yourselves.

[3] And contrary to what my Midwestern blogging brother from another mother Willie Ketchum thinks, I don’t have the “penchant” or time, nor do I really care to start shit on the Internets. “E-beef” is childish, and I’m quite grown.

[4] Don’t be the next contestant on that Summer Jam screen. Nystradomus just got off easy.

[5] And yes, broke bastard and all, I’d still catch the next red eye to your place and smack the flames out your ass in front of your moms for your chain. But only if the correct buttons were pushed, however.

[6] Right next to “subliminal,” “swagger” and, of course, “hater.” It’s like people just learned these shits and are saying it to impress their friends now.

54 Comments             

A Long, Hot, Boring Summer

With summer usually being the make or break period in rap music, it’s not uncommon to see more bullshit than usual flood the airwaves and Internets. While some of those songs tend to stick inside our collective consciences not unlike a hollow-point to the head at point-blank range, most of them will eventually end up at the bargain bin at the local Terrible’s Car Wash. Not to say I wasn’t enthralled with “Teabag Dat Hoe,” but personally I could have done without “Wet Wipes” and “I Love My Bitch.” Apparently those shits aren’t for me though, as I witnessed two women damn near start scissoring on the dance floor once “Disco Inferno” was thrown on at the birthday party I attended last night (where oddly enough I spotted the newest addition to our blogging brethren, Crooked I).

Although the radio and television have done a stand-up job violating my eardrums thus far, I’ve more of less found myself returning to those mediums nowadays. While I derive some sort of guilty, if not masochistic, pleasure blasting “I’m A Flirt” and “Straight To The Bank” in the car my mom gave me, my cynical pride makes me unwilling to illegally throw those shits into my iPod. Call me crazy, but I particularly don’t dig guys who piss on underage jailbait and introduce brassiere tops to the masses. Pause.

While I’m on the subject of Fiddy, he’s already kicked off his latest shit-starting campaign in support of his upcoming album into high gear, this time with recently ex-communicated Diplomat Cam’Ron in the place of Ja Rule [1]. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, Cam made a little noise last Friday with his home video from his retirement center in La Jolla, responding to Curtis’ accusations that he’s been in hiding since getting sucker-punched by Tru Life a few weeks ago. The shots of the pool the size of the sauna at my local gym and Cam running around in some Daisy Dukes (pause) were hilarious, but the real kicker was the second video, when the shot zoomed in on his face as if to show and prove that he never caught an eye jammie in the first place. I don’t know about you, but the shit looked pretty fucked up to me.

But we all know that Cam’Ron has more pressing issues to worry about than Bugs Monkey picking on him for some extra record sales. If what Jim Jones said to Asian sensation Ms. Info a while back was true (and although he and hired gun Hell Rell have tried to downplay it as of late, we all know that shit is), then not only does Cam have to deal with the fact he was unceremoniously kicked out the group he founded, but he also will be forced to go it alone against the Jimmy Iovine-run machine. And as evidenced in the battles against Styles and Cassidy [2], those odds never end with a good outcome. Then again, leaving the Dips could prove beneficial for Cam. Seeing as how Grandpa Simpson just benched Tru Life for Beanie Sigel, I really don’t think Jr. Writer or Jha’Jha really stand a chance now.

As (un)interesting as this ordeal may sound, it’s kind of sad to see Curtis essentially rehash the same ideals he pulled against Ja Rule and Game in order to build a buzz for his latest shit sammich. But I guess when your album cover is a direct rip-off of two LL Cool J covers, you don’t have much going for you in the first place.

[1] Or Nas. Or Fat Joe. Or Game. Or Jadakiss. They’re all interchangeable.

[2] Although Cassidy ended up doing time for shooting up his weed carrier, then had his cranium cracked by a UPS truck before that beef had a chance to be any good.

12 Comments             

William, You Idiot

Being both a fan and an aspiring music critic of this culture I hold so dearly to my heart, I’m usually not apt to responding to or criticizing the next man’s opinions and/or beliefs, as varying views are part of the reason why this thing called hip-hop still exists so prevalently today, regardless of what half-decent albums may proclaim.

Now going into the twentieth anniversary of my love affair with H.E.R., I’ve read, watched, ingested, studied, heard, listened to [1], bought and stolen my fair share of music solely for the love of understanding the beauty, science and mechanics of hip-hop. And like every other cyber-geek and e-thug, I have my own set of opinions and beliefs. While they are vastly different from the next man or woman, they are nothing more than my own personal theories. And being granted with my own section on this particular part of the Internets, I am able to convey those theories on a grander scale, not for the intention of racking up the most comments [2], but for the purpose of providing my insight on your favorite artists, regardless of whether it’s in a positive light or not [3].

As such, I’m apt to listening to the next man or woman’s opinions for their views. I’m not one to reject deposits, but imagine my surprise (and amusement) when I read that my Midwestern blogging brother from another mother William E. Ketchum III begrudgingly admitted that Kanye West is the new DJ Premier a few days ago. Originally I passed this off as delusions of grandeur, but being the resident biased asshole, I refuse to acknowledge that Tooda is even the new Teddy Riley, much less this generation’s Christopher Martin.

Granted, Kanye may be today’s producer du jour, but his “prolific” creations only stand out in today’s lifeless arena due to the fact that most of the shit out now sucks balls. With today’s beats weaker than the unfinished levees of New Orleans, it’s easy to make a song like “Drive Slow” sound as if it wasn’t jacked directly from All Eyez On Me. And after listening to some of the rapidly-improving compositions from Atlanta’s self-proclaimed “King Of The White Girls,” Polow Da Don, Kanye will not be in that so-called class for long.

The main reason DJ Premier is DJ Premier is that through his productions he was able to bring the best out of a shitty rapper, or at least make them sound competent. Memphis Bleek, Heavy D, Fat Joe, Non Phixion, even the sauce-ass Teriyaki Boyz have at the very least come across as bearable. On the other hand, Kanye is known to hoard his best beats for himself, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if he weren’t such a shitbag rapper. While Common may have profited from bartering his fedoras for some of Tooda’s better tracks [4], Consequence, Jadakiss, Rhymefest and Freeway haven’t. Perhaps if they weren’t being raped for their publishing they could, but whatever.

Speaking of shitty tracks, it’s laughable to even assume that Kanye hasn’t produced a throwaway beat. Whereas Willie can’t think of five, I can rattle off the top of my head at the very least six:

* Jay-Z’s “’03 Bonnie & Clyde”
* Freeway’s “Turn Out The Lights (Freewest)”
* White Boy’s “U Know”
* Jadakiss’ “Gettin’ It In”
* Memphis Bleek’s “I Wanna Love You”
* Brandy’s “Talk About Our Love”
* D12’s “ D12 World”

And if I could think of name of that Boo & Gotti bullshit, I’d add that to the list as well.

In a sense, I’ll agree that Kanye’s current set up today is akin to Premier’s own in the 90s, where everyone wanted a track from the respective beat smiths. However, that is where the similarities start and stop. Whereas Primo was almost single-handedly responsible for injecting a wonderfully muddy yet abstractly hardcore sound into hip-hop music with his jazz-inspired productions, I really don’t see anybody going to a guy who has the gall (and financial backing) to yoke the likes of The Fifth Dimension and Bette Midler for that street shit. But in today’s age where “street” records are a one-way ticket to Koch, that probably isn’t a relevant factor anyways. And while most of the humps on this site are just simply passing this off as “hating” (since I’ve already expressed my opinions on Tooda before), apparently I’m not the only one who thinks Common needed a word to rhyme Nemo with.

[1] There is a difference between listening to and hearing the music, much like there’s a difference between the rapper and the emcee.

[2] If I really wanted to do that, I’d talk about how shitty Lil’ Wayne is all day long. Besides, do you really think I give an eighth of a shit about the quasi-homosexual “cancer to hip-hop” rants?

[3] But let’s face it; most of the shit has been negative, because I’m an “ignorant hater” like that.

[4] In Common’s case however, he sounded much more hungrier on his earlier tracks produced by his former right-hand man No I.D., who ironically not only introduced Tooda to hip-hop production but mentored him as well. In that sense then, Kanye West would be nothing more than a weird amalgamation of No I.D. and The Madd Rapper, both who still couldn’t hold a torch to Premier on their best day.

31 Comments             

Hip-Hop Ain’t Dead

Before everyone’s favorite Gotdamn Editor decided to give yours truly a slot on this esteemed site[1], I was nothing more than your typical c-boy relegated to talking shit on the Internets. Like everyone else, if I felt that if the opinion of a blogger didn’t match mine, I’d politely tell the writer to lay down their pen and kill themselves immediately.

One of the prevalent trends I notice a commenter centers around is the whole “Hop-Hop Is Dead” phenomenon. And with ever-advancing technology making stealing music is easier now than it has ever been before, rap music selling next to nothing, a lack of fresh, creative artists and labels being splintered and subsequently ceasing to exist, those four words may have some validity.

But let’s be honest: that whole thing was created by Nas to garner interest for his latest hit-and-miss album[2]. At the same time, it’s renewed efforts by artists and fans alike to keep the flames most of us hold so dearly to our hearts brightly lit and ultimately prove him wrong. In a sense, Nas is somewhat responsible for your favorite rapper stepping up their respective game in an attempt to show him as well as the various detractors that the spirit of hip-hop is still very much alive. Hell, the shit even inspired KRS-One and Marley Marl to join forces, and those two were on opposing sides during one of the greatest beefs of the 80s.

Many people say that hip-hop is dead because the South is yucking it up with minstrel-era dances and asinine material, but that really isn’t the case at all. As I’ve stated before, although Southern music has its fair share of craptacular music, they are currently responsible for at the very least curbing hip-hop music’s downward spiral into obscurity, as well as forcing other coasts to upgrade their sounds to validate their relevance. Southern music is merely an example of our culture’s ever-evolving sound, and it’s essentially forcing other rappers to adapt, adjust or implement new techniques.

Hip-hop music is a fighter’s music, not unlike the blues and jazz sounds of the early 20th century. If hip-hop were really dead, most of the humps on this site wouldn’t resort to verbal slobber knockers to defend their favorite artists, while our resident cracka-ass musical deity/aspiring Iraqi War victim Nystradomus wouldn’t claim to know hip-hop more than yours truly because he owns a gajillion mixtapes. I guess by that logic anybody could be the defining source for all things hip-hop because they can recite an obscure lyric from Funkdoobiest, but I digress.

Hip-hop’s not dead as long as there are rappers rapping, breakers breaking, graf artists painting and deejays spinning. Hip-hop’s not dead as long as it continues to inspire the youth. Hip-hop’s not dead as long as you, me and the rest of its denizens continue to defend and support it. And anybody who believes that hip-hop has dies should either immediately kill themselves or spare the rest of its true fans from their melancholy bullshit.

***

Although I missed it this Saturday as I was out of town, I’d like to dedicate this post to the birthday of perhaps the gulliest person ever, Malcolm X. To honor his memory, here is my favorite use of his voice.

Ghostface Killah – “Malcolm”
http://www.zshare.net/download/ghostface-killah-malcolm-m4a.html

[1] I know. I have no idea what the hell he was thinking either.

[2] “Black Republicans?” Hit. “Who Killed It?” Miss. Tell me I’m wrong.

23 Comments             

Who Ever Thought That Hip-Hop Would Take It This Far

By the time you'll be reading this, I'll be en route to Las Vegas. If there's any female fans that would love to split a Denny's bill with me down in Sin City, I'm not too hard to find. That said, today's guest blogger is none other than the author of "Black Rapping School" and "White Girls,"  Boston's own Mighty Casey...

Throughout my whole life I’ve been defending Hip-Hop to my parents teachers white kids, whoever didn’t understand it. I still defend it, but I can’t defend the corporate funded gangsterism and coonery that is currently being attacked. That’s not to say I’m riding with O’Reilly. Anyone who supports the conservative movement and the war in Iraq and criticizes Hip-Hop is like a crackhead criticizing Snoop Dogg for smoking weed. However I can say that I’m riding with Spike Lee(who helped Hip-Hop come to mainstream prominence), Bill Cosby, Oprah and Al Sharpton all of whom I have a lot of respect for and have done way more for the black community than any gangster rapper.

When I first started listening to ‘gangsta’ rap it represented a voice of the unheard, the ghettoes of LA which was previously a voiceless entity was given a voice by NWA. The poverty and frustration which most of America was ignorant to was put in the open so people could no longer ignore it, the gangster movement in LA served as a prophecy for the LA riots. I listened to other ‘gangster’ rappers like Kool G Rap and the Ghetto Boys too but there was a balance, positive songs like Slick Rick’s Hey Young world, squeaky clean acts like Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, pro-black rap acts like X-Clan, Def Jef, BDP Brand Nubian, gave a well rounded voice to the new voice of the  black community. Gangsta rap was underground, only independent companies like Ruthless and Rap-A-Lot and received little to no airplay or video spins but sold records do to a strong movement and word of mouth. In order to find gansta rap, I had to navigate through college radio shows and friends tapes, it was not force fed on me like gangsta rap is on children today.

    When Luke was censored in FLA, I objected strongly, not that I was a huge Luke fan, but if you let the government censor someone for talking about pussy, next thing they’re censoring you for talking about weed or revolution. When Ice T was attacked for Cop Killer I was right there in his corner even though I didn’t really like the song, his creative license gave a voice to the 1000’s of black males who were harassed, beaten and even murdered by the police. My little sister put me on to Tupac and I strongly identified with songs like Trapped and Brenda’s Got a Baby. Tupac became Hip Hop’s own Robin Hood, avoiding the law while repping for the people. When C Delores Tucker attacked Tupac, I saw her as a pawn for the white establishment. By grouping with William Bennet, the former US Drug Czar who is responsible for many of the laws that keep African American males in prison, she lost  all credibility to me regardless how legitimate her claims on his misogyny was. The fact that she ignored his songs like Brenda’s got a Baby, Dear Mama and Keep Your Head Up and focused on the few songs in which he referred to women as bitches and hoes, showed how ignorant she was about Hip-Hop.

    Towards the late nineties I noticed a trend towards more gangsta rap and less positive well rounded material. BIG and Pac had become martyrs for the gangsta rap movement. However rather than emulating Tupac’s black panther influenced revolutionary ideology, and heartfelt poetic compassion for women, they would just copy his Death Row gangsta swagger and playa image. No songs about momma Brenda or keeping your head up but a whole lot of I Get Around type of songs. Around this time Hip-Hop had become a corporate entity, no longer reserved for college radio and the occasional mixshow, as hundreds of radio stations adopted the Hot, or Jamn titles and proclaimed themselves as the place where ‘Hip-Hop’ lives, MTV was playing rap videos ad nauseum. Hip Hop, once and underground force had become corporate sponsored, all over commercials, corporate radio, movies lunchboxes and toys. At the same time, I began working as a school teacher. I noticed how heavily Hip-Hop was being marketed to children, specifically in the urban community. These kids would sing a long with the lyrics, no matter how raunchy or drug related. Kids from the hood rarely see anyone from their background achieve any success or attention so they identified with and idolized them.

In 2002 Gangsta rap has its first fully marketed matinee idol in 50 Cent. Complete with a compelling backstory, dope beats, a gangster image and memorable catch phrases, 50 became the ultimate marketing strategy and brought gangsta rap to mainstream America. It was also clear that Interscope records was marketing 50 and G-Unit to kids 10 and up specifically in the hood, putting the videos on kid oriented show like TRL and 106th and Park and marketing G-Unit sneakers and clothes to young kids. To white kids 50 is nothing but a Scarface like gangsta figure for their amusement to get a taste of the ghetto gangsterism that they will never see in their life but for black kids, 50 is a hero, who they want to be like when they grow up. The young girls who are infatuated by 50 and the likes will look for the same type of guy as a boyfriend and the young males who look up to him will see selling drugs and gunplay as a ritual for manhood. With books, drinks, sneakers and movies 50 became fully marketed to the American mainstream. Unlike before there was no political backlash against 50 cent, maybe because he was making corporate America so much money. Clear Channel, one of the Bush camp’s biggest supporters was playing 50 non stop on its hundreds of urban radio stations, making countless money marketing gangsterism to middle schoolers. Unlike before when Tupac posed a legitimate revolutionary threat to the establishment, 50 and the likes fell into the American corporate structure. America needs black males to fill up their jails, thugs to sell their guns to and someone to divide the hip-hop community through beef to stop it from being the genuine force of resistance it once was. It would not surprise me if 50 was a cointlepro agent, starting conflicts within the Hip-Hop community just as they did with black power movement years ago.

It’s funny that it took an old white man making a racist comment for people to realize what was going on in Hip Hop.  Russ and them decided that the best way to combat the negativity was to censor out a few select words. However it’s much more deep than bitches and hoes. It not the vocabulary of Hip Hop that creates the negativity, it’s the ideology. Queen Latifah and Tribe Called Quest both have used the term bitch and nigga for positive songs(U.N.I.T.Y. and Sucka Nigga). It’s not an issue of vocabulary in the Hip Hop community its misogyny. Ho and Bitch both have a place in my vocabulary, if a girl sleeps around I may refer to he as a ho(which is just shorthand for whore), if a girl is stuck up or mean spirited I might refer to her as a bitch however I’ve been trying my best not to use bitch or ho to refer to women in general as in ‘I’m goin to the club to fuck with these hoes’ or ‘I’m tired of these industry bitches.’ I think a better way to combat misogyny would be to have more female rappers. These days a female can easily become more successful in Hip-Hop, by being a video ho(or vixen but in this case I believe ho is more of an applicable term no Imus) than a rapper. So rap fans have no examples of intelligent, articulate females with their own ideas who aren’t just decoration for rappers to pour champagne on and make it rain on. The few female rappers who have had any prominence recently have had their personas and lyrics developed by male svengalis  and played the sexpot sidekick role rather than developing their own identities. There’s no more Latifah’s to ask the male rappers ‘Who you callin a bitch?’ or MC Lytes to shut down the wanna be players.

As a school teacher I have seen the negative effect on Hip Hop first hand. I work as a music teacher in the Bronx, where the graduation rate is under 40%. Who do you think the over 60% look to for guidance? The bloods and the crips are thick in the BX recruiting teenagers straight out of middle school and artists like the Game are giving them giving them excellent advertisement. These kids look for guidance from rappers, the only symbols of success they see from their community. A co worker of mine who works with 7 year olds told me about a story about one of his kids who took all the money out the monopoly game went to the cafeteria and proceeded to make it rain on the nearest 7 year old ho he could find.

I have heard a number of excuses about negativity in Hip Hop. Most of time, its just people pointing their fingers elsewhere. I’ve heard the comparisons of violence in movies to justify violence in rap. However while most movies are clearly fantasy, Hip Hop depends on its credibility of reality to sell. When people found out that the Terminator was in fact just Arnold Swartzenneger an Austrian bodybuilder, the movie did not lose any credibility. Do you think if people found out that 50 was not in fact a ‘gangsta’ from the hood but just male model from the burbs do you think he’d sell any more records. Rappers are not just playing the roles, they are living them(or at least want you to believe that). This leads to rappers having to justify their gangsta by packin heat, staying around thugs and getting into violent altercations.

    Another excuse I’ve heard is ‘poverty’ as if rappers where forced to smack women, sell crack and shoot eachother because they were poor. This is a very patronizing attitude. Bob Marley grew up in Jamaica with a rock for a pillow and yet still sang about positivity, freedom and stopping the violence, KRS-1 grew up homeless in the Bronx yet still rapped about stopping the violence and educating the youth. Most jazz artists grew up in poverty as did most soul singers. However rather than promote the violence and drugs that plagued their communities or proclaiming themselves participants in the them, they gave a vivid picture of negativity and condemned it(even though some of them were drug addicts, they rarely sung about the positive aspects of drugs).

Even rappers like Just-Ice, whose gangsta is verified in the streets, and Freddie Foxx participated in positive songs like Heal Yourself and Self Destruction. Easy-E helped combat gang violence in We’re All in the Same Gang and Kool G Rap attacked racism on Erase racism. Can you think of one positive song that any of these current crop of gangsta rappers have been involved in? Could you make a Self Destruction or We’re All in the Same Gang without someone getting shot in the studio nowadays?

Music has always been a vital part of black peoples struggle in America. From the folk songs and negro spirituals of  slavery  that helped us abolish it, to the jazz songs of Billie Holiday and others that vented our frustrations against segregation, the gospel and soul music that served as the soundtrack to the civil rights movement, the funk and poetry that represented the black power movement. How will history remember Hip Hop, where are our Louis Armstrong’s, Marvin Gaye’s, James Brown’s, Bob Marley’s, Aretha Franklins? When was the last time you can say a rap song touched your soul and not just made you dance and sing a long with it or go damn what a clever metaphor about selling cocaine. Hip Hop used to be the voice of young black America, now it’s the voice of how white America wants young black America to be.  Will Hip Hop be remembered as a potent creative social force or just a silly ‘gangsta’ gimmick? In no way do I believe in the governments right to censor hip-hop, however I strongly applaud people like Al Sharpton and Spike Lee who have spoken out against it and used traditional methods like boycotts and marches to condemn the negativity in Hip-Hop. When Russel Simmons sold Def Jam to Universal and Bob Johnson sold BET to Viacom, two of the biggest black owned entities in Hip Hop were sold to white corporations. Its not the rappers faults. I don’t condemn and black man for having a criminal background, or trying to rap about it. Malcolm X started as a criminal to become on of the biggest voices for black power. What rapper will take his role and say stop the violence, stop mistreating our women, stop poisoning our neighborhoods with drugs. Rap music is what black movies in 70’s were, originally a potent creative force to show what was going on the hood, it became a corporate sponsored fest of stereotypes, violence, negativity and coonery, A Hollywood version of the ghetto. I can get a more accurate depiction of what’s going on in the hood from the Wire than I could with all the crack rap out today. When Hip Hop first started it was a grass roots movement that didn’t need any of the big labels, TV channels or Radio stations, I think we need to take it back.

33 Comments             

Kanye West Is An Overrated Schmuck

Way the fuck back when used the steal rap music the old fashioned way, I gaffled the debut (and thankfully only) shit sammich from one of Puffy’s producers/umbrella holders, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie a/k/a the Madd Rapper[1]. Despite the incredibly shitty raps from nobodies like Mae West and Picasso Black, part of the reason why I never tossed the album was since I actually found some of the songs to be tolerable due to their soul-filled samples ghost-produced by a young Kanye West.

I never assumed that a Madd Rapper weed carrier would go on to receive so much critical acclaim and praise. So when it actually happened, like most people I was tricked into buying his underwhelming The College Dropout, thinking that here was actually a rapper who attempted to balance the “socially conscious” (yet another term I hate) lyrics of Mos Def with the swagger of Grandpa Simpson. I even thought that the shit could change the soundscape of hip-hop music as a whole.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

After The College Dropout - which I haven’t listened to in years – I now see his whole “rapper with a conscience” shtick as nothing more than a load of bullshit. I suppose it doesn’t help that he can’t really rap his way out of a wet paper bag with scissors in his hands, but I’ve never been convinced that he’s anything other than walking contradiction in some Capri pants.

It also doesn’t help that he’s not a very good producer anymore to boot. Alongside hoarding his best shit to mask his own lightweight rhymes, the results upon listening to some of his original compositions where he doesn’t snatch a sample from Hall & Oates are usually bland and stale. I’d never consider him one of the all-time greats as long as craptacular songs such as “Gettin’ It In” and “Turn Off The Lights (Freewest)” exist. And after listening to his newest ear violation, “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’,” it’s safe to say that the guy obviously doesn’t care about the craft anymore, as he had the gall to attempt to pass off a faux-“Hustlin’” beat, amateurish rhymes and a Young Jeezy ad-lib of all things as a song.

Going back to Tell 'Em Why U Madd again, it’s still hard to believe that Kanye’s creativity would actually peak at the time he used to be D-Dot’s hash stasher. But in all honesty, none of the songs he’s released since could ever compete with the dopeness of “Ghetto.” Maybe if his sweater vests weren’t too snug on his chest thus restricting the flow of blood to his brain, he’d have a clear focus on how to actually deliver a classic album. Until then though, we’re all going to have to suffer through his same old half-hearted bullshit.

As a side offering, I’ve also included “Ghetto” with this blog. Listen to it and prove to me that he’s come up with something better than this.

The Madd Rapper featuring Raekwon and Carl Thomas – “Ghetto”
http://www.zshare.net/audio/the-madd-rapper-ghetto-ft-carl-thomas-raekwon-mp3.html


[1] This was at the same Sam Goody in the mall where I did my infamous 40-minute snatch-and-run. Ironically, the store ended up going out of business a couple years later. Coincidence?

91 Comments             

Homosexuality Is The New Black

First off, it should be noted that I have nothing against the gay community, nor do I believe that there is something wrong with homosexuals. If anything, their culture has helped usher a level of tolerance in this decidedly racist country we currently reside in.

That being said, for all the stereotypical machismo that is the norm in hip-hop, it’s not uncommon to see a rapper spewing some decidedly homophobic banter. But over the past couple years I’ve noticed that things were once considered taboo are now becoming the norm in the culture. I’d like to believe that this is a sign of hip-hop’s growing tolerance, but seeing as how I’ve been called a bigoted fruit bag on this section of the Internets on various occasions, it’s obviously something else.

But it’s not like any of us shouldn’t have seen this coming. Prior to rap’s newfound fascination with brassiere tops and skinny jeans, groups like Parliament and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five used to run around rocking gear normally seen in figure skating competitions. I guess that when you came out with powerful songs like “The Message” and, um, “One Nation Under A Groove,” you could afford to look like a backup dancer for Brian Boitano or some shit, but whatever. And we all know that before Dr. Dre became NWA’s faux-gangbanging producer, he used to pop-lock behind some turntables while wearing some mascara and a sequin bodysuit as a member of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru.

Yet even after decades of blatant brushes with homosexuality, it’s still considered a violation in hip-hop. But at the same time, those who are openly homophobic have done some outright gay shit themselves. Fiddy was responsible for bringing those funny-looking wife beaters to the public, while Cam’Ron ushered in the age of pink. Meanwhile, Southern pariahs Lil’ Wayne and Baby are probably tonguing each other down as you read this. And I won’t start on Lil’ Cease and his “tendencies.”

It’s a known fact that hip-hop is one living, breathing contradiction. The same rappers rhyming about killing fags also tend to run around without a shirt on to show off their six-pack and their grandmother’s chunky jewelry in their ears. As I stated before, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the homosexual lifestyle. But I find it hard to believe any rapper who does some of the things gays do, yet claim they’re homophobic. And if anyone thinks otherwise, they should take a look in the mirror and question their own sexuality.

40 Comments             

The Chronicles Of Mason Betha

One of the perks of being a rapper’s cheeba stasher is that some nasty, random-ass whore is almost always willing to partake in some bukkake for a chain and a pair of Dunks without hesitation. While that may seem no different than playing Madden to some, I’ve never envisioned the day where I’d be squirting on a woman’s face with my homeboys. Call me crazy, but the whole thing reeks of quasi-homosexuality.

When a piff pocketer’s time is running out in the game, they either find a way to keep their face in the public long enough for a hoe to get tricked into being tea-bagged by them (pause) or they go an entirely different route for some ass. I know that the whole “no sex means you’re gay” rationale puts a lot of pressure on guys, but then I’ve never understood the logic that getting some head determines how much of a man you are. With all sorts of diseases and conniving-ass broads ready to trap us at any given moment, you’d think that rappers wouldn’t risk catching The Germ or paternity suits at all for some notches on their scorecard.

You can’t help but laugh at them when they pull some off-the-wall shit and end up falling flat on their face however. Akon tried that “trip to Africa” shit on a 15 year old, and he ended up losing his Verizon Wireless deal in the process. But I’m pretty sure nobody wants to be in former Bad Boy and G-Unit bling handler Ma$e’s shoes right now. I assumed that his “hash-holding for Jesus” shtick would have granted him all the Christian ass he could eat, but apparently things are so tough for him nowadays that he sideswiped another driver’s car while trying to pick up a transvestite, which is pretty fucking disgusting. I guess that after getting kicked out of two shitty crews not even the dirtiest whore would juggle his balls (pause), but I never imagined that any weed carrier would be so desperate for sex that they’d actually bang a she-male. But then again, priests - particularly those in the South - are known to engage in immorally gay shit. Word to Ted Haggard.

With the rapidly changing shitty climate in hip-hop, ganja moolies are indeed the most expendable entities in the business. I guess that even after catching bullets and cases for their superiors, they still can never seem to make it. The worst part about the whole thing is that I have a sinking feeling Ma$e was the one who wanted to get touched from the inside (pause!), which is just wrong on all levels. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson, that is some fucked up, repugnant shit.

13 Comments             

How The West Was Lost

For all the talk that’s been going on in regards to how hard New York has fallen off, not too many people mention how nonexistent Left Coast hip-hop is nowadays. Biased asshole that I am, I could easily do without most of the shit that spews from here, but even I’m a little surprised that the last classic album from here came out way the fuck back in 1999 by a now-reclusive part-time producer, Dr. Dre.

But in all honesty, without Dre in the first place, there probably wouldn’t be any West Coast sound to begin with. Outside of no-name underground rappers, minstrel-style dances and ass-backward gangbanging, virtually every prominent rapper from California can be Kevin Baconed back to Andre Young. The only problem is that the shit has pigeonholed any and everybody into poorly duplicating his sound in order to achieve some form of recognition, with craptacular results almost every time.

It also doesn’t help that former protégées of Dre end up stinking to high Hell once they attempt to stand on their own two feet[1]. Daz has been demoted to a So So Def weed carrier while Kurupt hasn’t been the same since he ditched Foxy Brown for that fake-ass Left Eye on that ridiculously shitty “It’s Over” song, and Snoop Dogg seems more content with making bad albums and protecting a man’s right to call women nappy-headed hoes. But the one who took the hardest hit may have been The Game, who is beginning to sound more like a jilted lover (pause?) than the snarling, name-dropping emcee from before. I guess after Fiddy got him booted off Aftermath he had to return the battery in his back as well.

If anyone could be blamed for this shit, it could be Eazy-E himself. Think about it: if he hadn’t convinced Dr. Dre to drop the lipstick and eyeliner for some khakis and Chuck Taylors, the West probably wouldn’t be struggling to establish itself and remain relevant today. The worst part about it is that some genuinely good talent out here[2] may never get the shine they deserve because of this shit. Who could have known that someone who used to rock a sequin bodysuit with the World Class Wreckin’ Cru could have so much pull on an entire genre of music?

[1] In Warren G’s defense however, he sucked balls to begin with.

[2] You’ll have to ask my fellow West Coast affiliate Brillyance about them though, since I could give three-eighths of a shit about them nowadays.

56 Comments             

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