Are Southern Rappers Scared of beef?

Let's be clear this is not talking about actually going into the streets and shooting each other, but beef as in making diss tracks about other rappers. Now this was another topic by my man NC-17 as he asked why East Coast rappers make diss records while Southern rappers make hits. I'll address the aspect of beef right now.


It's false. Southern rappers diss and have beefs just as much as anyone else with the exception of Lil' Wayne who is such a massive fraud that the public overlooks all of the obvious lies he tells so what is the point in even bringing it up? For the rest of them there have been plenty of disses. Jeezy and Gucci Mane beefing since "So Icey" was released. TI getting ate by Ludacris on the "unreleased" version of Stomp by Young Buck. Trick Daddy throwing shots at Plies and Rick Ross. Rick Ross going after 50 Cent hard. Fat Joe who is a southern artist now going at 50 cent. Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. throwing shots at Baby and Cash Money. There is plenty of beef in the South to go around.




The thing is since they also have a bunch of catchy songs and the dominant radio spins what we end up hearing is the party, crunk songs and nothing that would show their content, or lack of. Honestly I come across as a Southern rap hater. That's not the case but because thats more of what gets pushed out and exposed to the masses I listen and critique and I have not been impressed with much music period. There are too many rappers and not enough things to say so one guy with a catchy beat gets on and blows up but has nothing behind it.



The diss record is a huge part of the game. As 50 Cent has said repeatedly, Hip-hop is the most competitive art form and thus much more aggressive. Beef records are the outright expression of that. This was great before the internet where a guy would record a song it would play on the "rap show" on radio, hit the mixtapes and bubble for a while. The subliminal shots in every verse on other tracks would be scrutinized and analyzed for at least a week before you heard a response which had to be tough because you only got to do it once.



The internet changed all of this because now within hours your joint will be online and distributed along with 8 interviews where you talk about it. The next day a response will be out and the content gets rushed and watered down which is the trend. But I'm rambling a bit. The real question now is why is it that the South makes hits and no where else is getting any type of airplay or love...that's another issue for another blog...

Nicki Minaj makes excuses...

Now I meant to write or talk about the BET hip-hop awards cipher but other things came before it. However, thanks to Nicki Minaj, I remembered to talk about it. First, let me address what she is talking about in this next clip.



She whined for a while but then she gets to the point that people weren't just saying that oh your verse was written. The problem was that her shit was performed. It didn't even look natural. I mean she had a dude hand her a cigarette on cue. Let's look:



Now no doubt, her verse was not the wackest one. Crown Royyal or whatever takes that honor. Buckshot wasn't great but he freestyled his verse as well like KRS from what Nicki says. But in the end that's not the reason people called the verse wack. The second reason other than the props was the gimmickery (I know that's not a real word) of raising her voice which she does in like every verse that I hear.

Contrast that to Budden who downplayed his verse but had a bevy of quotables such as: "just got the truck customized got a meaner grill told Baby just being real/ leave or get balls in your mouth I spoke to her like Serena will"

Can we guess who that was toward?

Hmmmm, was that toward me?

Then let's look at this cipher which was the main event.



Nicki stop bitching, take notes and stop being a Lil Wayne clone. You were hot because you were your own person.

Is a Hit song a Good song?

Now this stems from something my man NC-17 sent to me on twitter asking about South rappers making hit songs. It got me to thinking does a song that ends up being a smash always have to be a good song. The answer simply is no. The reason's why are a little different.


First of all, this is one of those personal things for the most part. If you don't like the song for the most part you are not going to think it's good. That's my issue, I don't understand why people support some songs to the extent that they do on a personal level. The radio is a business and the best songs are not always going to get played because the best artists don't have the biggest budgets and/or the support of major labels to get airplay.


When it comes to music and especially hip-hop if you don't have a set criteria on how you judge music in the end you cannot have a discussion about it. Today most of the rap music that gets played is based 80% around the beat and 15% on the ability to be repeated and understood. The topic and lyrics of the actual song are secondary to most listeners. For me myself, a good song cannot just have a "rocking" beat which is what people say when they know that a song isn't good but cannot help to like it. I know because I do it. Most people would not actually say that "Turn My Swag On" was a good song but it did rock to them. For me "Wasted" rocks off except for Plies' part because I refuse to support Dr. Algernod.



Peer pressure and constant radio/club spins also make the songs that aren't 'good' into 'hits'. It is a proven fact that the more something is played the more support it will end up getting just because after a certain time for the majority of people most songs will be able to finally grow on them or not sound as bad as the initial listen. Need examples, check Nelly, check Soulja Boi, T-Pain, Chris Brown. All of these guys have limited abilities however, the marketing got them over the top and established.

Talib Kweli-Get By
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So why aren't all good songs hits? that's a harder question for me to get into because I just don't know why some technically sound songs don't get a street buzz. Why don't good singers like Jaheim get out of adult contemporary purgatory when he has the voice and ability to be the next Luther Vandross? Yet the Dream who has made an entire career of being off-key one of the 'hottest' singers in the game? Why does Talib Kweli have to toil in the semi-underground when Gucci Mane is on the radio every 15 minutes. Even when Kweli has had songs that were radio-friendly types he didn't get that amount of burn...but we'll get into that later...tell me what you think, must a hit song be considered a good song?

Spike vs Tyler

Now the funniest part about this entire debate is how old it is. There has been a growing group of people (like myself) who are not fans of Tyler Perry's work for various reasons. Now let me be honest I only have liked X and He Got Game from Spike Lee so it's not like I am a big fan of his either. Beyond understanding his point I empathize with him and his anger.



You see the first thing people say is that "Spike is hating" or "Spike is jealous". That is because they are uninformed. Watching more educated or should I say aware people try to resolve this conflict without picking a side is hilarious because it can't really be done. The common idea is that Spike can't make the money that Tyler Perry makes or that he is jealous because his films don't get that kind of money. how many people have thought that maybe Spike holds his film making to a higher standard and won't do what Tyler does just for money.

This parallels hip-hop in many ways. You have a large number of artists who don't have any business rapping because they actually don't care about making good music. Then you have an artist like a Nas who takes the extra time to put into making every song, verse, and bar count to the fullest. Why wouldn't this person be mad when they put forth the extra time and effort into their product or job (just to relate it to everyday people like you and me) and get overlooked when someone else shucks and jives and gets the love, promotion, and accolades.

Back to the original topic, I can say that Tyler has had some amazing accomplishments. He has created an empire from nothing even though it is very similar to the coonery of Amos and Andy in some regards. His ability to make some big business moves is to be commended, however, his characters are often generic caricatures of the same old stereotypes in every movie and television episode. The lessons are stale and generic as well and the movies always seem to emasculate men and paint them as the villain.

TYLER PERRY'S MEET THE BROWNS-In Theaters March 21st!!
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Spike Lee on the other hand is too smart for his own good sometimes, hitting you over the head the message and smothering you with it so that you cannot breathe at times. That and that damn dolly camera shot of someone walking down the street in every freaking movie can be very, very annoying as is his habit of showing up on screen himself in a bit part with a poignant role in the story-telling process.




Now the final thing I want to address is the idea that Spike should call Tyler Perry and tell him how he feels in private. Honestly, the idea of Spike making the statement is not to change how Tyler Perry makes his movies and his money, but to change the public's view and to open the debate as well as their minds. The problem is never that Tyler makes those movies, it is that the public, especially the black public, runs out to support comedy and entertainment that is silly and stereotypical and not that which has the depth of a Spike Lee. Look at tv. There aren't any serious black dramas on because we don't watch them. The only black movies that get made are drug sagas with an action twist and slap-stick comedies usually involving a drug deal gone bad or a man in drag.



Until we as a people start to support a variety of films, there will seem like there is only room for one person to represent us and that is wrong and what Spike is fighting against.

Beanie Sigel - Jay-Z skirmish....

Now this is what I have to say about it. Honestly this is more because of a twitter conversation I had on Saturday morning. The fact of the matter is Jay is most likely a serial user, there is a definate pattern here. I had one of the participants talk about Beans' accusations and speaking about what happened as just part of business.



That last sentence may be hard to understand. Let's recap: Sigel releases a "diss" track called "Not Your Average Cat" addressing what he felt were shots in the Blueprint 3 and other feelings that were on his chest. He later went on Charlamagne's radio show in Philly to clarify the lyrics. One of the main issues was that Jay-z didn't say he would be responsible so Beans could get out of jail on bail. The second is that he obviously felt they had a relationship that preceded their business dealings. Third, that Jay never really put his neck out there to help push the rest of the label and that it was Dame who set up Bean's deals that were somewhat lucrative to have a back-up plan as the Jay-z situation deteriorated.

Jay-z's rebuttal was that Beanie had a lot of opportunities and still squandered them and basically gave the hollywood round-about answer saying none of it was his fault.



Now one of the issues I'm looking at this is idea that whatever Jay-z does is alright because it is Jay-Z and it's okay because it's business. The problem with that is this idea that Jay befriended and was to take Beans under his wing and actually teach him some things about the game. In his interview Sigel refers to a classic Jay-Z line where he is said to be trying to hip him to game, not making him change (him being Beans). However, it turns out that it wasn't a conversation, but an admonishing because what Beanie was doing was jeapordizing Jay. "Hov" wasn't interested in protecting the career of his artist and friend but looking out for himself. On the one hand, you cannot blame a man for looking out for his best interests, but when the guy purports it as doing it for someone else you might feel a different way about it.

Businesses and capitalism do not have to be inherently wrong, evil, and manipulative. There is enough out there for everyone to get a piece but the problem is some become consumed by power and selfishness. Another quote in my conversations was:

No one makes $400+ million and not be accused of using people!! Its business!!

So is that saying it is okay to use people in the name of business? Not in my personal book and I'm not going to try too hard to convince you otherwise if you believe that it is ok. But a man whose image is built upon being the advocate for the other hustlers, the guy who looks out for his people who don't have anything cannot be the same person constantly being accused of using people and still maintain that image of being Robin Hood. Being accused also doesn't make you guilty automatically, however it doesn't mean that you're innocent either.



Business aside, Sigel is upset that throughout his time in jail he didn't hear from this guy who was supposed to be his friend. This is the same person who wouldn't vouch for him so that he could be out free. Fine, I can't fault Jay for that one. Beanie was reckless. To not call, write a letter, or visit however is unacceptable. This wasn't Puffy and Shyne. Then if you go back to the radio interview and Sigel talks about 50 Cent regularly being in the same jail to visit a relative when he was at the heights of his career truly adds insult to injury and is the real focus of his anger. Well that and the fact he used his new release to throw some shots at Sigel and the SP crew.

In the end, it's just another example of how the industry is a shady place. There is a lot we may never actually know. Jay talks about how Beans had a lot on the label, and he is right but it doesn't absolve Jay of his responsibilities as one of the principal owners of the label. More on this to come....

Album review- Wale- Attention Deficit

Here is to hoping the powers that be don't take down a freaking review. As usual I need to be honest about any bias before I start a review. I don't really like Wale. He strikes me as a real jerk and he is too early in his career to come across that way. Second, I have a problem with the DMV support, not because I don't like people from DC, but because I know there are a lot of people from Baltimore trying to support because they think the love is going to extend North but I'm not believing that it is going to happen. I have the nagging idea that the artists up here are still going to be ignored even after trying to promote in the interest of the region. Hopefully, i'm wrong. Let me tell you though, I was pleasantly surprised by this album especially after hearing "Nike Boots" and "Chillin'" which both were wack.


But he can't make good singles to me, screw it, let's get into the album which has a decidedly D.C. go-go feel to it. I'm not hard go-go fan but this is a good hybrid mix on the album. Early on in the album "Mama Told Me" draws me in after the opening salvo of "Triumph". Good start as Wale also shows more lyrical ability than on the two singles stated above. "Mirrors" is a good concept song about the fact artists don't tell the truth about themselves. Ironically, the song features Bun B who has of late put out lackluster material for the love of regular checks. He does fine on this song as he doesn't even use the word "Trill".



"Pretty Girls" which was performed on the BET Hip-Hop awards should have been the single. It bangs and features Gucci Mane which couldn't hurt when it comes to spins. "World Tour" is another solid cut that also shows Wale knows his hip-hop. Jazmine Sullivan also lends her unique voice to the hook. This should have been single number 2. Chrisette Michelle lends her talents to the powerful "Shades" which addresses the long overdue issue about the tension amongst dark and light skinned people in the black community.



I am torn about "Tv in the Radio". I like the break-beat and Wale does have one quotable line but K'naan actually kills the song and really saves it for me. "Beautiful Bliss" features J. Cole and me(?) and is a decent song but nothing stands out for me. Maybe it's because J. Cole isn't bringing me anything and he needs to. "90210" is a sort of cautionary song about a girl in the Beverly Hills zip code. It's cool but not for me. I understand the idea behind "Diary" with Marsha Ambrosius but I don't think the flow and style really works.

The three downs for me on this album are "Chillin'" the lead single which is wack, "Let it Loose" featuring Pharrell which is even worse, and to a lesser extent "Contemplate" because of the gimmicky rap style. The album ends with Prescription which is a strong finish.




I honestly came in expecting the worse, an arrogant mix of Kid Cudi and Kanye at the worst. The singles had me very wary and I don't care about mixtapes when it comes time to actually do an album. Wale did come through for me however and I have to give him his props. This rating is a little stretch upwards I think but this is a really good album. It's not about gangster shit yet it's real and honest. This one is going to be in the running for album of the year next year.


Rating: 4/5