November 2006 Archives

It’s official. Hip-hop is in hell.

Enough is enough. Recently, some kid from North Carolina told me that if the South ever proclaimed hip-hop to be dead, the whole world would take it as serious as the whole world took Nas. At that very moment I knew that this rap brainwashing nonsense had reached its peak. First of all -- and this is not an attack but the truth -- if someone from the South said that, then we would all laugh. Don't hold your breath.

LL Cool J is still tight that his (wack) album flopped. He told MTV that he refuses to resign with Def Jam after his current contract expires because:

"How am I gonna re-sign with competition? I'm not an idiot. I can't depend on that man [Jay-Z] to promote my record while he's somewhere writing rhymes. I'm LL Cool J. I ain't doing that, B."

That bag-o-hair she has slapped on the top of her head looks ridiculous.


And this is the bird chick Nas calls his baby moms?... Yawn. Another dirty industry slut.

I was checking out thuglifearmy, and saw this article:

"In Hip Hop pimps are celebrated, just ask Katt Williams; and whores are vindicated. Unlike everyone else who is so happy that the south now has a turn in Hip Hop, I am trying to figure out when did strippers become more regarded than women like Coretta Scott King. What the hell happened? Hip Hop has truly went south.

This is getting to be ridiculous.

No matter how many times I change the phrase or word while doing a news search, “Jay-Z” pops up under every other headline. Can we please fast forward Friday to Wednesday of next week so we can see the Soundscan numbers? If he does 800K like hitsdailydouble is predicting (and keep in mind that hitsdaily only estimates) then that’s cool. If he doesn’t…well whatever.

Someone told me that I "hate New York City more than I hate Field Mob." And maybe it's because I cut down on G-Unit and Fat Joe so bad that this would be the only assertion one would come to. However, while the rigid despise for the Unit remains, I am forced, based on agreement with someone, to publicly apologize for calling the Trinity Ave MC "Fat Joke."

His album is actually decent. Now I didn't know what the hell he was thinking with that awful Lil Wayne collabo, "Make It Rain," 'cause the song is so poorly produced, poorly written, and just flat out poor period, that I could only scratch my head and wonder why he would even do a vid for this as a means to promoting his LP.

...Because that's what he wants it to be.

Can I get an encore.... 'cause it seems as if the very same beef from back in May has resurfaced. Cam'ron doesn't understand that no matter what he does, he will never get under Hov's skin. The lyricism in him just doesn't exist. Who really takes the Dips that serious anyways? You could hear the mockery and playfullness in Hov's "Brooklyn" dis record.

Hip-hop was invented by Kool Herc in The Bronx in 1971. Two years later, 138th and Cypress Avenue's Grandmaster Flash came along. He later invented the turntable techniques that would become known to many as "cutting" and "backspinning" and whatnot. And unbeknownst to most, he created the (human) "beatbox."

Everything you hear DJs like Green Lantern doing on the turntables now (what few DJs actually have some talent on the tables), this dude is responsible for...

S-Dot, you're crazy for this one.

Lord Tariq, you're my boy. And I still bang that "Sunshine" to the death. But being that you've been gone from the scene for so long, it kind of fits your situation.

However, when you're a new artist on the come up and you haven't even hit the national mainstream circuit yet, and people start creating things like this, this is NOT a good look. Pap, you better step your buzz game up my dude. Niggas are starting to lose faith in the kid.

What a joke. I couldn't find a title good enough to sum up Luda's silly attempt.

Find homes for Field Mob, Pimp C, UNK, and Young Dro (to name a few), and maybe I'll take you serious.

Don't get too ahead of yourself now. You've done a good 600K... but that's all. And it took two months at that. So until I see T.I. numbers...

I guess "On My New York Shit" should've been a fair warning.

He set it off with the Ruff Ryders back in the ‘90s, then continued filling his credentials with other big name artists.

Now, is New York ready for a Swizz Beatz full length solo LP? Ready or not, the album -- and I didn't catch the album title or release date on last night's Green Lantern mixshow -- is in the works and set for a release soon.

Haha. Pardon me I had to laugh at that.

Before I continue on, let it be known that Def Jam reps are claiming that a lot of the leaked tracks from Hov's album really aren't on the real version of the album. Many of the tracks off of Kingdom Come they say are, in fact, "locked in key." But you wouldn't know that by the million and one Kingdom Come posts in the SOHH Forums.

They came after Public Enemy, but held it down before cats like Dead Prez and Mos. Not enough info for you Nellies and Jeezies? Then press the "back" button. This discussion is irrelevant to you anyways.

For the schooled and familiar, X-Clan's Brother J recently sent a message to Thuglifearmy with thoughts on whether a commercial, candy shop-plagued generation of hip-hop would appreciate the Clan's next release:

Say word.

The listening session went down last night at Sony Studios, and it sounds like your boy Nas nearly took it back to Illmatic.

Every last song, from the first joint played, called "QB Tru G," to the last, "Can't Forget About You," was crack fuckin' juice. Word ... I'm so confident in this album, I'm so confident in hip-hop at this moment in time, I aint even gonna say shit else.

It's kind of a long shot, but...I think he can do it.

Right now, even though his nemeses' graves are still fresh and warm -- a sure sign that it's not completely over -- their CD shelves are still covered in dust.

The first effort went platinum, and the second was said to be just as good as the first.

After a few years of keeping his mixtape hustle on slow mode, a source at Island Def Jam recently said that Cluemanatiiiiii is slated to release the follow-up to the second, The Professional Pt 2, December 19th... the same day as Nas' long-awaited Hip-Hop is Dead... The N. It's November, and Clue has no single or video for that joint with Fabolous and Kanye West. Better get to work.

...Nigga please.

This is becoming yet another one of my pet peeves of the rap game. I find it kind of sad that the only way newcomers and back-from-the dead-MCs can seem to make a name for themselves is by coming out with a dis track. The constant recurrence of this makes it appear as if it's the new phenomenon of hip-hop. But whatever happened to creating your own buzz with a relentless showcase of talent? Riding off propaganda is an old strategy, and has become so much of a cliché that it doesn't even work anymore. Maybe for internet outlets and fifteen minutes of fame on Concrete Loop, but not in the sales department.

For someone carrying such a powerful message that is not common in hip-hop today -- which is reminiscent of the Public Enemy movement and other earlier "pro" rap artists -- this is definitely a good look. This is the volume of New York City exposure Immortal Technique should have been granted a long time ago.

I've sat and watched Hov's "Show Me What You Got" plague just about every music television station -- even VH1 Soul -- to the point where I can play back the entire vid in my head. And as I reflect on this I wonder, 'why didn't Method Man get at least one skimpy video... even if it was cheap?'

... And I mean that in a positive light.

At first, I didn't pay it much mind even though Jay had already said it. But once someone brought it to me, I realized how big of a deal this could be. If all four of the release dates hold fast, then this could very well be deja vu... a walk down memory lane of the '90s Ruff Ryders/Roc-a-Fella era. Back then, it wasn't even so much selling records, even though they were pushing units hard body. But it was the hype, the buzz, the anticipation, the tours -- everything -- that was crazy. Forget clearing out Virgin Megastore. Bringing back the excitement and energy to hip-hop is what we need.

Everyone should know by now that I'm a real hip-hop head. And I don't appreciate the garbage that has been plaguing TV, dominating spins on the radios, and brainwashing folks into believing this crap music is real rap music. So when people ask why I'm so hard on artists -- especially artists like Fat Joe who went from the first (crack) Terror Squad album to sell-out Lil' Wayne cameos -- and people ask why I come down so hard on these clowns... well, that would be the reason.

Finally, after months and months of spitting fire at about every rapper on the bubblegum bandwagon, my vision has finally extracted itself from out of wishful thinking; just check Nielsen's Soundscan. I remember not too long ago when anyone could snap and lean their way to gold status. But times have changed. I knew this shit wouldn't last forever.

Just because you write lyrics doesn't necessarily mean you can spell. The mistake, however, has been corrected.

In any event, Jimmy's LP will be hitting the shelves less than one week from now. I'm not sure of how many units he'll pull off, but I'm pretty sure the success of "We Fly High"-- which has been worn out from the constant "BAAALLLIIIIINNNNNNN!" outbursts from kids all over the streets, on the trains, and on ringtones -- will give him good guap. According to a street vendor (who most definitely knows what's hot in these streets):