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- » Location: Atlanta, GA
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hip hop • rap • t.i. • the dirty south
Why Think Let Me Do That...Jesus Approved Commentary
Jadakiss: a Moment of Profundity
"Start with straight shots and then pop bottles/flirt with the hoodrats and then pop models"
Taking a cursory glance at the above quote you would think it's simply a nice choice of words; rhymes well; solid hook; sounds good, right? Unfortunately, if that's all you received from the above quote you'd miss the erudite nature in Jadakiss' moment of profundity and some important kernels of veritas. This all culminated proceeding my visit to the strip club, Pin Ups. Let me elaborate--not on the strip club story because I'll post a drop strictly on that later--but on the Jada quote. Lets start with "start with straight shots and then pop bottles." It's an important maxim of "take it slow and work your way up" veiled in an instructional on how to get tipsy.
Peep game: If you're at the club and you plan on getting intoxicated you don't just start off with the Ace of Spade. You get your shots of Patron/Hennessy (your choice) get a lil' bit nice, chill, socialize a bit, then you get some Moet and if you want to work your way up to Cristal or Armand de Brignac (Ace of Spade) then you do so...If you start off with the top shotta champagne then you're destined to stall out before the night ends, which would just be lame...Same thing with life. You can't cop the Bentley boy before you move out of a rental property; you don't get the Prada sneakers and place them against a white tee; you can't get a job and start off at CEO. You gotta start with straight shots and then pop bottles.
The same applies to the latter end of the quote ("flirt with the hoodrats and then pop models...") Anyone who has bagged more than one chick at a party knows that you have to bag a few 6 and 7s before you go in on that 10 piece you've been peeping all night. Sorry 6/7s...That's just how it goes. You have to work your way up the hierarchy before you become the man. I don't know if Jada knew how much insight was contained in those two lines but its pretty much applicable to all facets of life where there's a hierarchy. Try it for yourself and you'll see...
Up Next: Warren G's bitch, hoe, trick hierarchy in "Ain't No Fun"
Streets On Fire: 500 Dead in Kenya, 250,000
I know most of you jabronis' world pretty much ceases beyond Rap but this is something I thought some of you should know about...
Anywhere from 500 to 1,000s of Kenyans have been violenty murdered just for opposing the status quo and we're still worried about Ms. Spear's next relapse...tsk, tsk. I found out about this story from my homeboy, SpaceBarZ, on his blog, here and I was surprised that another GENOCIDE has gone relatively unnoticed in the US but, sadly, thats the current state of affairs we're in. News about dysfunctional celebs >>>>>> African Genocide.
Here's a very, very brief sketch of the happenings in Kenya. Incumbent president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga were in a heated race for the presidency of Kenya. The race was neck in neck for months until Odinga took a narrow lead in the opinion polls. On December 27th, the official election was to take place. Kibaki won, but there was talks that he and his clique had "rigged" the election. To say the least, Odinga supporters were a bit upset which led to riots; not to mention both candidates were of rival tribes which further fueled the situation. Odinga enthusiasts took to the streets and were met by the "forceful hand of the government." What ensued was the death of 500 Kenyans and the displacement of 250,000 others; not to mention the government shut down broadcasting outlets (another reason why this hasn't received much media coverage).
Since then, the toll has risen to the uppers of 1,000 and this has been since December 27, 2007. That's about 83 humans killed per day. Think about that and wonder why this story hasn't been received more coverage on international news. If you want more information on this story check here, here and here. My prayers go out to those who have to suffer through this bloodshed. We can turn the TV off or look away but this is their lives...
Mathematics: The Truth Behind the Numbers
Soulja Boy Souljaboytellem.com >>>>>> Wu Tang 8 Diagrams
Dance Moves + Gimmicks = cha-ching...Straight-up Hip Hop, not so much.
No one gives a shit about the Wu anymore, which, frankly, is pretty sad.
Being new is the new being good.
Kanye West Graduation >>>>>> Jay-Z American Gangster
Kanye West is waaaay more relevant than Jay-Z
Raps about perservering >>>> Mildy exaggerated crack Raps
Being trendy >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Being Good
Lupe Fiasco The Cool >>>>>> Ghostface Killah The Big Doe Rehab
We're experiencing a changing of the guard (good looks TGJ) in Hip Hop
Old heads need to develop new methods of communicating with Generation Y or perish...
Being trendy >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Being a legend
DJ Drama Gangsta Grillz the Album >>>>>>> Styles P Super Gangster Extraordinary Gentleman
"5,000 Ones," c'mon. Who the fuck bought this CD?
Dancing >>>>>>>>>>> Hip Hop
Stripper tracks >>>>>>> Head Bangers, Hood Tracks, Conscious Tracks, etc.
Country Music Sales >>>>>> Rap Music Sales
Y-ites buy music, blacks not so much
Is this where we're at now??? The numbers don't lie people.
What do y'all think?
Truth Spoken by a Man of Letters
This is going to be a short drop. It's the effin' holidays for 8 pound baby Jesus' sake so I'm trying to stay away from the computer but I had to share this with yall...
This excerpt was taken from the Cornel West Reader specifically, "Sing a Song," an autobiographical short story. It's a conversation that emanated from the death of Duke Ellington, and they're discussing his kingship. But this part is specifically about the youth, then, but it still holds true to this day.
Ya' see, the young folks today lack discipline--and ain't nothin' worthwhile been produced without discipline. But discipline is based on authority, and what authority is worthy of their loyalty? Corrupt governments, status-ridden churches, the suspicious media, adulterous parents, manipulative peers? To whom or toward what can they turn? Solely to music. So they have turned to music. Music has become the air they breathe, the very sunlight they absorb. They imitate its rhythms in their walk, their talk. Yet they are the soft, for they have never really suffered. That's why so much of their music lacks depth.Take that Jigga, syke (lol)
Riddle Me This
Is she really gon' let her style on her....like that?
Now that he's much more relevant to the game, can he takeover the position?
Was he really on the white horse?
Will he drop the classic album and silence the critics once and for all?
Does he only have one album left? Really?
Wouldn't his career be much better if he parted ways with him?
After all of these years, will he finally drop the fuckin' album we've been waitin' for? Him too?
Okay, now that he dropped it can we get a sophomore effort that doesn't suck like the first?
What if after all the drama, the album's just "eh" then what will he do?
Now, that he's there can he drop an album that's not a shitbag?
I Am Purist
(I am Purist enters his mother's basement after a day of work) I'm glad B.I.G. was right about UPS. Otherwise I'd still be watching daytime soaps in my one room spank it palace at ma duke's house. Good thing I got those steel bolt locks installed for my one man coitus sessions; the last thing I need is anotha episode when my lil sister just bust in, like last week, when me and Herman, the Gerbil, were doing our thing. But fuck all that, let me crank my super duper t-100 high speed internet up and finish downloadin' that midget porn. Shawty chocolatte' is dat ish...(Thinks to himself) I gotta pass the time while I'm doing that so lemme check out some blogs. I wonder when Hip Hop 2.0 is bringing his ass over here...Hip Hop 2.0 enters basement)
Hip Hop 2.0: What's good man, I know you downloaded (insert random obscure group that 10 people know about)"
I am Purist: Maaaan, I had that 8.5 minutes ago. Where you been? You're sooo behind. (In his head, thinks I'm so much cooler than HH2.0. He could never match my Hip Hop credibility).
Hip Hop 2.0: You going to the concert when (insert random obscure group that 10 people know about) comes here?
I am Purist: Hell naw, I'd rather show everyone online how much Hip Hop knowledge I got. I'm the king of this message board comment shit. I'm so much more Hip Hop than these clowns it's ridiclous. Anyways, let's see what these morons at HipHopDX are talkin' about. They're always violating the Immortal Purist Hip Hop Head Backpack doctrine. How could their opinion differ from mines. I know my opinion has to be the predominant one out there. They're so not purist, like me and you.
Hip Hop 2.0: Yeah, that cat Meka Soul pisses me off. He's always saying some shit that's mad left field. Why can't he just agree with the Hip Hop community at large like us??? Fuckin racist scum. Imma kill em'. How he could he start of listening to Hammer??? I forced my moms to bump Marley Marl while I was a fetus. I had an internship at Cold Chillin by 9 years old. You gotta be born into this shit man.
I am Purist: Yeah, wait till we find out where he lives. You should've seen the comment I left that fucker the other day; really put his ass in his place.
Hip Hop 2.0: Can you believe this cat J. Burnett misquoted that line off Illmatic. It's like he doesn't keep Hip Hop Purist Encyclowikipedia Brittanica open right next to him while he's writing. I mean these guys get paid thousands of dollars to write, the least they can do is have fact checkers to meticulously comb through their every word and I know their posting interface has Grammar check on it.
I am Purist: Sometimes, I think they're purposely attempting to kill Hip Hop by offering their outlandish opinions that reside out of the status quo. I mean, imo, if you're opinion is not seconded by the Hip Hop Community at Large than that shit ain't valid.
Hip Hop 2.o: Word, son.
I am Purist: But lets see what's going on today. (Reads title aloud) "RE: Definition." Oh, son better represent, like fa' real. Moses himself brought down Definition and RE: Definition with the 10 commandments. (Begins to read). Aight, he ain't fucked up so far. Wu did what?!? Did that cat forget a comma too?!? He didn't like "Halftime" nor "Cashmere Thoughts?!?" This is not right!!! It can't be so. (I am Purist turns red with anger).
Hip Hop 2.0: I'm fuckin speechless!!! This cat ain't Hip Hop at all b!!! How could he be allowed a space to blog??? We should open our own shit and give him the real.
I am Purist: Naw, B. We're just gonna blow this shit way the fuck out of proportion and tell him how Hip Hop he isn't with one of our groundbreaking comments. How could he not recall the year of an album at moment's notice. It's like he just wrote this blog off the top of his head; blog's should carry the utmost journalistic esteem seeing as how those cats get paid. It's time to break out the ALL CAPS to let this jig know how I feel.
Hip Hop 2.0: Yeah, son. Let em know how feel!!! This is for Hip Hop Purists, Backpackers and Heads everywhere. Tell em why you mad son!
I am Purist: DEAR BLOGGER, YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU OMITTED THE COMMA OUT OF NAS' BAR ON TRACK 9 AT 2 MINUTES AND 12 SECONDS. WHAT ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!? EVERYONE IN HIP HOP KNOWS ABOUT THAT SHIT. YOU MUST BE LIKE AN EMBRYO. AND WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WITH THAT WU SHIT. I MEAN PUFF BEEN AROUND SINCE 1990 BUT WE ALL KNOW SHINY SUITS STARTED THE MOMENT BIG DROPPED READY TO DIE. IT WAS WRITTEN DOWN IN TEXT BOOKS, DUDE. DID I SAY YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!! AND WHY DID YOU PUT 'SHOULD HAD.' ST. MARTIN'S HANDBOOK FOR GRAMMAR SAYS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN "SHOULD'VE." AS IF...YOU HAVE THE BRAIN OF A 2 YEAR OLD AND I WONDER HOW MANAGEMENT ALLOWED YOU TO GET THIS SPACE! I HATE YOU. YOU REPRESENT THE OPPOSITE OF HIP HOP; SOMEONE WHOSE OPINIONS DIFFER FROM MINE. STICK WITH THE OPINION THAT EVERYONE HAS, NOT YOUR OWN. "CASHMERE THOUGHTS" IS JAY'S BEST TRACK EVEEEERRR!!!! I AM HIP HOP. YOU ARE NOT. HIP HOOOOOOOOPPPP 4 LIFE BEEYOTCH.
Hip Hop2.0: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. You really tore that fool a new asshole.
I am Purist: Yeah, I know man. Sometimes someone has to put these guys in their place. You know since they have blogs, they're supposed to be perfect; I mean facts on point; opinion has to be like mine; they have to have a working knowledge of every Hip Hop record there is. Oh, lyrics included. That's the way it's gotta be. Nevermind the fact that we can't quote the shit. They have to. As paid bloggers it's their job dude. I mean they're supposed to live and breathe this Hip Hop 24/7. Like for me...when I'm at the dock moving boxes, I do it to the beat of "Microphone Fiend." Even when I take a dump; it's 1-2 push, 1-2 push, 1-2 push and then the break fam. You wasn't even ready for that double entendre, son. There's no deviating from this Hip Hop, B. I got a Jansport with a mic, some Technics, a can of that spraypaint Krylon, a bootleg of Beat Street and a cardboard box set up for my breaking sessions on me at all times. That's my life.
Hip Hop 2.0: That's the realest shit I've heard like ever. Shit brought a tear to my eye.
I am Purist: That's how I live man. Forget about family life, chicks, politics. It's Hip Hop; nothing more; nothing less. Oh and my midget porn, which should be done downloading by now. Er....um...yeah, your'e gonna have to leave man. I'm about to listen to Rakim's catalogue simultaneously while reading Canibus' lyrics.
Hip Hop 2.0: I so fuckin admire you. (Trailing off...) I'm inspired (HH 2.0 bounces).
I am Purist: (Sigh of relief) Now that that nigga is gone. It's time to crank up the Window Media Player and get it in. Orgasm here I come.
RE: Definition
At different points in the day when I'm at the plantation I have conversations--which is usually where most of my blogs emanate from--about history, religion, pr0n, fashion, politics, the economy and the sort but most times the convos are about Hip Hop. And I've just about come to the conclusion that in the year 2007 and beyond there will never be another classic; at least not to the Hip Hop community at large.
Here's why...When I think about Illmatic, Chronic, It Takes a Nation, Reasonable Doubt, I think that they perfectly capture a sentiment or the sentiment of that time period that was prevalent amongst the people. At that time, it was just right...When PE dropped It Takes a Nation niggas were really ready to rebell and go Nat Turner on YTS some shit. When the Wu dropped 36 Chambers the game was mad bubble gum and needed something that was the opposite of that. Don't act like yall don't rememeber the shiny suits and how necessary it was for some cats to come some ultra gutter ish. To me, it's not so much these albums I've mentioned were perfect--in our minds they may be but they all have flaws, besides nothing's perfect--because on every classic album, there's at least one "Halftime" or "Cashmere Thoughts" you dig. It's just they were superior albums that hit at a perfect time, if that makes sense. Another problem the game has is that people are trying to recreate that essence; that feel from the early 90s (the so called "Golden Era") when it's 2007. It's time to recreate the formula not copy and paste it (pay attention old heads). Cats stay aggy about this grand conspiracy to hold em' back when it's not the "machine" holding you bruh, it's you. Re-invent yaself.
As I digress...A classic now will sound much different from a classic then simply based upon the fact that it's a different time--different place, different sentiments, different sound--which makes it futile to compare. It's just like comparing sports legends. It's so difficult because balling in the 80s was maaaad different from the 90s and wild different from what's going down now. The legends from all of the eras are great in their own right; shied, there's room to give Oscar Robertson his props; Magic Johnson his; MJ his and Kobe and Lebron theirs. Our generation has spawned a few albums that are classics but we shoot them down maaaad quick because we're holding them next to this unrealistic larger than life perception of a favorite album from our childhood. Times have changed so why shouldn't our criteria for judging what a classic album change? I'll be the first or second to say it Desire = classic. Below the Heavens = classic. Undisputed Truth = classic. College Dropout = classic. There's alot more but I'm ready to get up off this cpu. What do yall think???
Let a ninja now how you feel on my blog StuntinOnProse
Could Lupe Be the Best Ever??? His Impact
Note: I never thought this discussion would take on the life that it did, but here we are...As I stated, I haven't fully committed to the idea that Lupe is the best ever. At the same time, why can't he be??? This dialogue serves a number of purposes besides debating the question could Lupe Fiasco be the best ever. Alot of times cats will tote whoever as the G.O.A.T. and their logic behind it doesn't go beyond it's the status quo to say so and so is the best i.e. the Hip Hop community deemed him so. For me, thats not enough. If Hip Hop has taught me anything it's to question to the status quo. At the end of the day, whoever you think is the best ever is the best ever, but what is it about your G.O.A.T. that makes him superior to the next man's. With that said, lets continue.
When I started this endeavor I said I'd examine lyrics, impact and subject content. Today, lets delve into impact. Impact is difficult to discuss because there's no empirical data measurement for impact. So, most of this is based off of my own observations and purely subjective. But for most of the things I proffer, you'll be able to go outside or online or wherever and be able to identify what I'm discussing unless you're a recluse or...a retahd special.
Lupe Fiasco's Impact On Fashion
Lupe, one album deep--mind you an album that sold 3-400K odd copies--can name drop a brand and months later you can find it in your local boutique. Let me restate that. A cat who hasn't went platinum influences retail chains all over the nation world. Case and point, Maharishi (MHI). Would cats even know what it was if dude didn't name drop it??? Probably not, but right now, like right now, I can go to Wish, (a boutique) in Atlanta, Georgia and cop a MHI shirt (a UK brand mind you). Why, because Lupe Fiasco co-signed it and there's enough people out there who will go out and buy it...Same story with SBs. Would they be as big without "Kick Push?" The products he's name dropped have catapulted into mainstream notoriety. There's a big difference between being a fashion icon in the urban community and just being a fashion icon i.e. Pharrell and Kanye. Cats in other countries respect and emulate his steez. A guy that has been in the mainstream eye for not that long has fueled a fashion revolution. Don't believe me, before him were cats in the hood rockin' tight jeans? Were cats rocking all over prints? SBs? For a long time the most expensive price tag defined what's the coolest. Now, it's about exclusivity. Did Lu accomplish this on the dolo? No, but you can't say he didn't play a major part in it either.
Impact on Lifestyle
What's the first thing detractors of Lu gon' say about dude? Man, that nigga's a nerd. Okay, cool. But, I think it's also feasible to say he's a superstar too and I say that to say this; when's the last time an emcee has made it cool to be smart? There's been intelligent emcees; no doubt, plenty of them. But, how many have made it cool to be intelligent; to be worldly; to be cultured? When has being a nerd ever been the trend? It goes beyond that though. In Hip Hop cats have always had to "dumb it down" to make it; at least in a financial sense (not in all cases but the majority does it (dumbs down)). Whether we admit it or not, cats having been playing dumb for a long time i.e. acting dumb and it has sold. Traditionally, u"nderground" emcees have always grumbled about there not being enough outlets for their music; the people don't want quality no more; there's this big conspiracy entrapping "real artists" etc, etc. But this cat has cracked the formula. He didn't dumb it down and he's made it in a sense. What's fucking with that? The most idolized archetype nowadays, well at least in the urban community, is a D-Boy. He's 180 degrees from that and still made it. He did the opposite of what's popular and now it's okay, even cool to be different. Now, it's okay to appreciate art or be into Anime or skateboard down the block. Now, you can be...YOU without having to worry about getting pelted with rocks. Dude has cats at HBCUs kick, pushin' through campus (getting honeys, mind you). Maybe it's just a gimmick but think about how significant it is for a man to rap it and months later it's realized on the street. That's something that's not exclusive to Lupe though. Cats have always fucked with the things I've mentioned above (art, Anime, skateboarding) but now it's acceptable...How major is that? He hasn't sold a million albums yet but his influence is everywhere. Who's done it in as short an amount of time and on such a major scale before? So, it goes beyond the lyricism. This cat has had an impact on the way cats live.
Meet me at StuntinonProse.com to let me know how you feel.
Could Lupe Be the Best Ever???
Disclaimer: Now, I haven't fully committed myself to the idea that Lupe Fiasco is the best emcee ever. It's just an idea that I'd like to explore. In short, don't wet yourself over my opinions. At the end of the day, YOUR opinion should be the most important to YOU. I surely could give two fucks about what people think about how I feel. Keep in mind...this is just an open-minded dialogue.
I feel as if we're going to deem Hip Hop an art (and I personally believe it to be so) then we should be able to debate ideas like the one above; no matter how preposterous you may feel about it, personally. Also something else to consider would be this: who one considers to be the best is subjective to that individual. There's no set criteria for being the best emcee, so whatever an individual values the most is usually what defines their preference. Anyone can build a case for anyone being the best as long as there is some backing behind their logic; at least that's how I feel. Finally, in the words of the late Pimp C: "opinions are like boo-tee holes and this is mine. Feel how ya' want but I'm entitled to feel how I want to feel." And for cats to rebuke me for putting my opinion out would be the antithesis of Hip Hop, an art of expression. Tell me I'm lying....
Note: I don't have a Lupe Fiasco dissertation laying around the crib so I'm composing this as it comes to me using Google and Wikipedia for reference. Feel free to agree, disagree, retort, but spare me the comments that have no merit i.e. "you're an idiot." I'm going to respond to EVERY comment that is respectful and intelligent and calls for a response. Until someone provides a compelling enough argument to disprove my argument the debate is still open, in my eyes. With that said, let's get it crackin...Argument: Lupe Fiasco is the best ever. My argument is based off of a few things: lyricism, subject content, impact and miscellaneous (just random tidbits I couldn't categorize). For this drop, I'll examine lyricism.
Lyrically, I've yet to hear another emcee who's stanzas contain as much depth; complexity; creativity with word choice and placement; strong usage of metaphors, similes, allusion, hyberbole, etc. Like, there's so much contained in one verse that it's almost impossible to digest in one listen. As opposed to telling how great a Lupe verse is, I figured I'd provide an example with some liner notes. I chose the "Intro" from the bootleg of Food and Liquor, because it contains alot of what I'm alluding to above and more. And....the shit is kind of fly. By all means it's not the best Lupe verse; it's just a sample.
Audio here
"Intro"
I can't feel a field nigga pain (remember the reference to slavery for later)
Devious skill to make a strong will nigga wain
Since a lil' nigga hang (double entendre-slang usage and literally referring above to "field nigga")
With the killers and the distributors of cane
They dismember-ers of Swishas and refill it with the Jane
Then they tilt it and they lit it with the flame
Then they took a pull of killer to the brain like (pulls, then pauses)
Evil-minded like Krang (villain from Ninja Turtles who's literally an evil brain)
They became deranged like the Rover (reference to Range Rover) that I rode
That was the wings that I drove when I was a lil bit older
Mane, declaring war on the deck like they Joker (allusion to Batman and card game I Declare War)
All while ducking from Bruce Wayne (Batman/law enforcement) while they poker (play cards)
with the devil in our moon lit-en ghetto (Allusion to the line from the movie Batman where the Joker says "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight)
(pauses)
hello, my name stickers (tags) on the stickers (heroin addicts) of the veins in rehab
rememberin' the feelin' when they used to get mellow
When they was on back of a nickel like Monticello (briefly, Monticello is Thomas Jefferson's estate which was a plantation for slaves)
And the underworld (crooks or underground railroad?) had to be smarter than Donatello (allusion to the Ninja Turtles)
No honor amongst fellows
It's harder than sitting with a blind man and...
Trying to describe yellow
Got me feelin like Killer Joe ( a character in a play named Killer Joe. He was a detective during the day and an assasin at night who walked the line between good and evil), my life the album
Know the classics by heart and exactly how the filler go
Repeat it on my way to the liquor store
I'll stop here for time's sake but as you can see there's alot going on there. There's the good and evil aspect with Krang/Donatello & Batman/Joker. Then there's the slave motif that runs throughout the verse. He's using all of the above imagery to describe his childhood friends and environment and what he sees on the way to the liquor store, hence the end of the verse as well as him saying "That was the wings that I drove when I was a lil bit older." It's basically him facing tempation head on when his partners moved cane as well as other miscellanous criminal activities but it's done in such a different way. There's few times I've heard verses this good, EVAR. This is one verse; not even the whole track but there's enough here to dissect it and discuss it for hours. So to yall I ask, who else gives you this much and who could do it better??? Give me names and verses. And remember this is just one piece of my argument; more to come later. I'll be engaging all debate on my site. Peace.
Man Up: Maybe You're Just Wack
This drop stems from a composite of recent conversations I've had about the industry with associates of mine. You see, there's two parts to J. Burnett. There's the side of me that loves, appreciates and respects when an artist takes pride in their craft (creatively, lyrically etc.) But, then there's also the pragmatic side. The side that tells me niggas got to eat too. So when I listen to the radio and hear some drivel, I have ambivalent feelings. Half of me wants to sloppy slap whoever made the song and half of me is just proud to see someone making something from nothing; no matter how rudimentary it is. I mean I'd (and I'm sure most of yall too) rather have some (not all) of these cats making wild dumb raps rather than taking up the career of a stick up kid or slingin' rocks (disclaimer: all rappers are not about stickin' cats up or slingin rock. that's for yall sensitive fruits who overanalyze my joints) but this drop isn't about me per se. It's about the artists.
At this point, most of us with some semblance of how the game generally works understand it's a dirty game. It's just the nature of the beast and if you intend on eating off of this game you gotta ADJUST. The music business is just that the BUSINESS of music.
Take for example, the neighborhood, wild nice rapper who's jaded with the politics of the business and sure that what he's saying is going over cat's head. Sometimes there's not a conspiracy invovled. Sometimes you're just not that nice and your music isn't going over cat's head. It's just boring. There's a billion cats who can rhyme words brilliantly but that don't mean you can put a song together; like a song: 3 16s, a hook, a concept, understand the beat/rhythm etc. It's more than just being nice nowadays. Not only do you have to be nice but you have to be entertaining. Lupe said it best in the interview I did with him. When niggas go to the club to dance, they're not going to learn. They're going to dance.
Part of it is defining what success is to you. If you want to enlighten cats do that--you can eat doing that, not 50 mill house in the hills eat but i'm maaaad comfortable eat--or if you want to be nicest dude ever to like 50 cats on the net, shit ain't nothing wrong with that either. But if you're trying get guap, like that robb report guap, the music business paradigm ain't gon change overnight. Either get ready to grind it out or get ya dancing shoes ready.
Being from the Hood Isn't Fly...At All
This email was sent to my personal email address in response to the piece I wrote comparing Lil Wayne to 2Pac:
"UR A PUSSY ASS NIGGA FOR THAT SUMMERY OF PAC MAYBE WAYNE BUT NOT PAC SO WAT MAKES U GANGSTA PEOPLE FELT PAC BECUZ EVERYTHING HE SAID WAS HOW PEPLE FELT AT THE TIME AND WHO THE HELL THINKS WAYNE IS GANGSTA WHERE U FROM ITS GOTTA BE THE SUBURBS WRITING SOME BULL SHIT LIKE THAT"
I'll skip jonesing this cat out for now (fuckin' putz), but I've noticed a trend in Hip Hop, or at least in its fans. Some of yall marks glorify being from the hood like zig-zagging from bullets or stepping on crack vials or being slammed on the pavement several times a day by the cops is glamorous or some ish. That shit's not hot...at all. Here's a brief synopsis of where and how I grew up. I was born and lived in Chicago till I was like 7 then my family moved to Calumet City, Illinois (you know where they tried to apprehend Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, well nevermind). Although we moved, I finished elementary in the Chi and completed the rest of my schooling in the burbs--not the burbs like the Hills but the burbs where the poor white folks & blacks who can't afford to live in the city and want to avoid taking to the jects live.
I went to a Catholic school that was predominantly white so I spent alot of time going to the city partying, going to malls bagging chicks and, fronting, swinging through the city streets in my father's Cutlass. The core of my family stays on Stony Island and the rest is scattered throughout the Southside. All my childhood friends live in the city so I spent a lot of time kicking it with them. Also, my father's from the Low End of the Chi--the innercity--so I spent a decent amount of time kicking it with his people and observing the environment. It ain't pretty; alot of broken crack vials, gunshots, 15 yr old prostitutes etc. It's real. A few of my close friends from elementary caught charges (grand theft, gun and substance possesion, etc.) while my sister has a friend who's in county for having a shootout w/cops. My homeboy's sister is in county b/c she stabbed a taxi. Some of you will think that I'm stating the above to gain some sort of credibility or something like that but I can honestly say I give two shits about what you all think of me personally so yall can dead that notion. I sleep well if you hate me or love me. But, this is real life shit that goes down in the hood. It's nothing sweet about any of that. It's not a happy place to be. So it's a bit frustrating when cats glorify it like Diddy and the latest B&B chick are there drinking mimosas partyin and shit.
Rap is Poison
Yeah, I'm up at 1:20AM in this bitch on a stolen DSL signal. Why, because I'm a G like that. Lately I haven't been as active with my blogging. Sometimes I simply don't have shit to say and other times I have too much shit to say and then I end up getting high and/or buzzed off of Olde E 40s, subsequently forgetting the shit I was going to say. That's just the kind of life I live ya dig. But, truth be told, lately this Hip Hop and Rap shit has been fucking me up. It's like none of these mainstream actors rappers have any substantial shit to say. Forget about keeping it real that would be unprofitable and god willing, lame. And that bothers me because alot of you dumb fuckers are gonna go out and re-enact the fables you listen to and end up getting swiss cheesed by the real gangsters who are apeshit OR get sent upstate and catch the same OZ treatment your boy Lesane caught when he was in the pokey OR just believe the shit is hot when it's really wack (which pisses me off the most). It's a gay cycle to say the least.
I got to thinking about why rap sucks again and here's what my brother and I came up with. The fans have too much fucking power. We control the rappers which ultimately fucks things all the fuck up. Picture this, you're fixing to buy your flat-chested woman some double Ds. The surgeon is doing his Nip & Tuck ish and some random comes up behind him like "yo, those shits would look mad hot if you adjusted the lefty like this and slumped the other joint lower" and he was like "cool, that's a bet." Needless to say that would probably turn out to be a fucked up pair of tits because the random dude is just some schmoe with no knowledge of putting nice looking breastasis in a woman's body. It's not a difficult connection to make for Hip Hop though. How the fuck is some random Stanley gon' tell you how to make music. He's a fan; not an artist. That's what you, the artist does; artistic shit. But, that's what happens. So and so drops an album. Some random blogger like myself rips them for dropping an ear turd and then they adjust and drop another frisbee. By the third album, they're blaming all their shitbags on me when they should've stuck to the script and came from the heart in the first place. You know what happened when niggas told Miles his shit was weird, he either slapped the shit out of them or said some shit so cold they wish they would've slapped the shit out of themselves. Like for real, it's documented. Why was he like this though, because he knew his shit was fly. Same thing w/Prince, Parliament, M. Jackson, James Brown and other cats we generally would consider weird as fuck. No matter what fans said about them, they just kept droppin' their shit b/c it was just them doing them, they were passionate about what they were doing and what they were doing was from the heart. But now, niggas are so wrapped up in making a quick buck they'll do whatever it takes to get the money similar to those hoes in that one HBO special, Hunts Point or some shit like that. So in the end, we all end up losing. They end up broke. We end up unhappy and shit continues to be phyucked.
Oh yea, Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Only In Rap Music
Only in rap, can a man explicitly say "I'm dumbing down my music so you stupids guys can keep up" and that equals a good business strategy. The common response: "yeah, Hov's a smart business man for that son." Maybe I'm misreading this but in my book that means I could rap about more complex matters or I have the potential to do so much more but because you (the public) are not smart enough I'll give you something a lil bit mo' simple. In any other world that strategy equates to mediocrity but not in the coonfest that is rap. And you wonder why rap keeps losing...smarten up dummies. Well I guess as long as you sell a million albums it doesn't matter what you say because C.R.E.A.M. and we can keep on dancing to the rhythm.
See, what you loose nuts don't understand is that while Jay-Z double his bucks "dumbing it down" from a reasonably intelligent level there's a YT/TI (you choose) label exec using that same strategy to force feed you the snap music you detest. Yall don't get it huh. I wish I had some crayons to illustrate. Here's a simpler picture--I suppose that would make me a better writer/business man. If I'm in a boardroom making decisions on which albums get promotional $$$s and Jay's assertion that dumbing it down = more guap then guess what, I'm not gonna look for the next Jay-Z, I'm gonna look for the next rapper who can dumb it down to the lowest common denominator. Why, because more people are going to consume it which equals more $$$. So next time you hear "Aye Bey, Bey" or whatever music you choose to offer as a contrast to good music so often on this site, applaud yourself for accepting mediocrity which allows for the descent in quality in rap music. Is Jay the predecessor to Hurricane Chris??? Not directly, but man didn't morph into a man from a rock. Lemme break it down, shon. Jay = lil bit of a lesson + crack rap + nice beats + witty lyrics. The nextcoming is crack rap + nice beats + okay lyrics. The next is crack rap + better beats + and lyrics a baby could digest w/their Gerber. As long as the guap is rollin' in why would the content change.
I can see the retorts now, but if Jay's as good a hustler as yall think--and for some reason yall like to think Jay is John Gotti or some ish--and as good a businessman as you proffer, think about this. Jay is at the helm of Def Jam and while he may not be much more than a figurehead, he still signed on the dotted line for Young Jeezy, Ricky Ross and a few other assclowns that are constantly bashed by those who hold the Jigga man's sac like a golden calf; why b/c he know's it'll sell. Why else would he put them out there??? I got a handful of quarters for all you. Bottomline: mediocrity begets mediocrity and if the supposed GOAT is allowed to drop a album that is so so then what do you think the weaker rappers are gon drop.
PS If it seems like this post is on some talking down, condescension like M.O. it is. I figured you accept from Hov why not J. Burnett. Kind of rude and disrespectful to take yall intelligence for granted huh???
Afterthoughts On American Gangster
Here's my initial thoughts on American Gangster and damn, I was wrong. As a critic and just all around stubborn-type negro, I hate admitting when I'm wrong but this time I'm dead wrong; wrong like lettin' ya mom's/grandma/aunt go to church with her wig on backwards. I mean it's hella funny but in your heart you know that ish is grimey. Yo, I helmed AG as a contemporary classic when truth be told, all it is is a carbon copy of a carbon copy and it's lightweight meh and borderline wack. Fuck it, it's wack. I spent the whole day arguing with my brother about it. Basically, my point was "yo, this cat Jay is an ill rapper and although what he's rapping about is ultimately destructive, i appreciate the high level of skill duke has when he's rapping." My man's stated "the album was lazy, the concept's stephen j. garbowski and it's a xerox of a xerox of a xerox" and damn i hate to admit it but he was right. What I was doing was separating Jay's talent to rap from his content. See, Jay's a dope rapper but what he's talking about is shit. Who gives a shit about the life of a hustler??? We've heard that tale a million times but to me, when I first heard it, I was like the content is weak but the rapping is crazy. But the thing is you can't separate Jay's gift, being an ill rapper, from his content, highly exagerrated drug dealer caricatures that are largely nothing more than hyperbole.
Peep the analogy. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. When MJ arrived in the league, he was the quintessential nigga; dunking on fools b/c he could, crossing cats then coming back to cross them again, scoring 60 pts for the hell of it. At the end of the day though, he had no rings which in the by and large made him a loser. Throughout his career he grew, his mentality changes and he realized that the YT who could hit that 3 was important or that a useless player like Horace Grant and Cartwright did have a use and it was grabbing boards so he can get the outlet pass and dunk on somebody. Then there's Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant shoots better than MJ, he's quicker than MJ, will probably score more points than MJ but he could never be what MJ is because he can't lead his team plus he's sort of a bitch. Shaq lead that team and when the power switched over to Kobe, the year they had GP, Karl Malone etc they got their ass handed to them. You can't separate Kobe being a ball playing machine and his ability to lead and that's what I was doing with AG. I was like damn Hov can rap but that drug ish he's talking is lame.
"Success" sums it all up. See, Nas is an emcee, the true G.O.A.T. And Jay is just a rapper. When you hear Jay's verses on "Success" it's easy to say they're smashing Nas' because you instantly get the punchlines; you don't have to think about them. They're clear as day. "I got an appetite for destruction and you're a small fry." Ok, cool. With Nas' verse you actually have to think about it and put it together. And thinking is like taboo in today's mucked world of rap. Nas' verse is about being a different type dude and still having chicks lust you and having friends turn on your when you make it and the trappings between wanting to be fly but righteous which is in essence typical Nas. Jay's verse is more so his attempt to prove that he can wreck a beat and in his mind it's competition between the greats. He probably wrote his verse solely thinking I'm going to shine on Nas. Nas just sits back and does him aka Keeping it Real. Jay, not so much. And that describes the album in a nutshell. It's like a Blow Pop [II]. It's sweet on the outside and even once you crack that first surface and chew the gum it's that ish but after a lil bit of time passes that gum losses its flavor and you toss it. If you're truly the G.O.A.T. why can't you push the envelope forward instead trying to rehash the moment when you eclipsed in your career, Reasonable Doubt. Why does a man who's made it already still have to sell lies to us? How many kids are gonna go out and try to sling powder b/c Hov made it. For ever 1 who's touched by "Fallin" theres 1,000 that are like "yo, I'm gonna be a Roc Boy" and that shit is wack, for real. Truth be told there's no reason someone Jay's age can't rhyme about something more important like the water for Africa movement he championed or falling in love with his chick yet instead he's still concerned with how fly he is...There's no doubt in my mind that Jay is a supreme rapper but he's not an emcee and the difference between those two is that you put rap on when you want to be entertained and you put Hip Hop on when you want be enlightened as well as entertained. A rapper could never be the G.O.A.T. because what they leave behind is temporary gratification. Emcees leave you with life lessons. I'mma wrap this one what do yall think?
Freedom of Speech + The Death of a Lady + Talent Vs. Charisma
I had a couple of blogs that I've wanted to pen for awhile, but since I've been busy as shit--excessively drinking, smok