Okay, now I bet y'all are probably thinking, why are they still talking about this, it's over and done, talk about Plaxico Burress doing a straight Cheddar Bob to himself (WHAT UP, FOXX FILES!?) But here's the thing. If you are an avid listener to the radio show that I'm on, Equilibrium Radio, then you know that me and my co-hosts are well known for going OFF on the dumbf*ckery that goes on in Hip-Hop...so why should this be any different, even if we're a week late? Plus, there hasn't been MUCH of an update to this story besides Shawty Lo's manager wanting to get him and T.I. together for a unity concert (*cough* GET MONEY! Whatcha say, uhh?! GET MONEY! *cough*) so there's no reason to keep quiet.
Secondly, I have been BEGGING, PLEADING, and THREATENING (ha,ha!) our show's co-host, DJ, and my ace brotha Priest Forever, to contribute to this blog for a minute, especially since 1) he was one of the main people behind me to launch it in the first place; and 2) he is a true emcee (YouTube "Tha Gecko Brothas")...so he needed to do an emcee blog. Anyway, let me stop rambling and give him the floor.
If you agree with anything that he says, hit the brotha up at priestforever.net and let him know what you think Crys Breezy and Priest Forever
(**NOTE**: Originally, this piece was a response to Davey D's posed question on The Dirty Awards. Had to give proper attribution, you know?)
While some people may think that [the Dirty Awards fiasco] may be a bad look for rap music, lets be real about few things here. It is the best thing that could've happened for rap music.
Now T.I. and Shawty Lo are gonna win by getting "Street Cred" for keeping it real. This is priceless to two negroes who weigh a buck five soaking wet and when alone wont throw joints but when with their people will get extremely BROLIC!
Their people all win because now they get to run around talking about how they got down for they "manz and dem" at the dirty awards. This is pretty big if you live in Atlanta and have no discernable talent other than being a hanger-on to some local rap dude.
Alfamega becomes relevant, which is something that he wasn't prior to this. His music sure didn't make him that. (To be perfectly honest I didn't know who he was, I just thought that dude looked like a bigger, fatter version of Big Tigger from Rap City).
The "Dirty Awards" or whatever the hell they call it wins because they now become Atlanta's version of The Source Awards. Let's keep it real, you couldn't pay for promotion this good. I'd never even heard of the "Dirty Awards" prior to this. Probably will never hear of it again but hey, they had a good year right?
The establishment of Atlanta wins because now they have a valid reason to not let negroes book their venues for functions involving rap music. It's not like this is a city that has a lot of love for black people or rap music anyway so its no big deal to them. It just gives them more reason to believe we don't know how to act and a specific incident to reference.
The rap journalists, the blogs and rap press all win because now they have some more "Beef" shit to write about instead of something really important. (Yourself excluded Davey) (*Ed. Note: And Crys is excluded, too!)
The Atlanta "Music Business" wins because now they get to deal with real music industry drama which will help them in their quest to be taken seriously as a "Major Music Capital".
I'd have to say that everybody wins except Barack Obama who has absolutely nothing to do with this stupidity but somehow has his name invoked into this conversation about 2 rappers and their people fighting at an awards ceremony in Atlanta Georgia.
So since we are jumping out tha window here, I'm gonna keep it even realer. Here's who I blame.
I blame the organizers of this function for not getting a grasp on the situation BEFORE the shit happened. They knew these dudes had beef but most likely, they thought it was gonna be some cute shit to invite 2 rap camps to the same function KNOWING they had issues with each other. They should've made it clear to these dudes to leave their people at home and come correct or not at all. You wouldn't have a house party and invite 2 friends who you knew didn't like each other without telling them if they couldn't behave not to come so how doe this continue to happen at Hip Hop functions? Thass nigga business right there.
I blame the so called Hip Hop press for fueling this beef by continuing to report on it and write their little silly assed stories on it. They ask these artists about each other during interviews and bait them into saying slick shit so they can put it in print to sell their magazines or get their little web hits or whatever. Then when something happens they wanna make jokes about it. They need to be held accountable for their journalistic irresponsibility. Either they boycott the artists or they take a stand against this foolishness by not writing about it.
I blame southern Hip Hop for continuing to make these dudes the face of their art form. Every time you see some country negro with an accent acting a goddamn fool like these guys did, it becomes indicative of how the stereotype of southern rap is portrayed. Look at that Vibe cover with Plies on it and look at this shit here. Looks like the same kinda cats to me. The sad thing is that there are so many brothers in the south that got shit to say and are way more talented than these dudes but they can't get heard. I keep hearing the southern artists talk about how they all stick together and how New York cats don't right? Well at what point do cats in the south step to each other about how they represent themselves?
I blame black radio for continuing to give these ignorant negroes a platform. Either change your playlists and stop taking money for spins or take a position that if these artists act ignorant and embarrass our Hip Hop then you wont play their records. I remember years ago there was a emcee from New York who went to the west coast and acted like an asshole to some radio DJs out there. You know what these DJ's did? They formed a coalition and said "No one is gonna play any records by this artist until he apologizes" and you know what? Eventually the artist had to apologize.
Now my question is, if your local mainstream "Hot / Power /Jamz" or whatever radio station that claims to be "Where Hip Hop lives" (or some dumb slogan like that) is so down with Hip Hop, then why don't you see them doing this? Oh, that's right I forgot, they really don't give a DAMN about the communities they serve or how this nonsense affects it. Just so as long as they can keep you keep listening to T.I. and Shawty Lo, they will be happy to keep spinning that bullshit.
I DO NOT blame T.I. or Shawty Lo for this in anyway whatsoever. In the words of former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, "They are who we thought they were". If you expect these cats to act like anything other than the ignorant negroes that they obviously are then you are fooling yourselves. It's kinda sad though because if they put the same effort into writing their rhymes that they put into this kinda B.S. then they might be able to rhyme worth a fuck. As it stands they cant so you can pretty much expect more of the same. I guess its all good though as long as they make a record with a "Hot Beat" right?
This kinda shit here is one of the reasons why people who consider themselves "Hip Hop" disassociate themselves from "Rap Music". Most of us don't wanna be affiliated with that nonsense.
Finally, I blame Hip Hop and all of us in it for continuing to let this shit go on. Its time for the elders of the art form to have a team meeting with the younger cats. I mean a REAL discussion, not some old bullshit conference for Benjamin Chavis and Russell Simmons to co-opt into a publicity stunt like that H.S.A.N. madness. I mean just a room full of the artists talking to each other. No managers, sidemen, flunkies, publicists or journalists allowed. There needs to be a code of conduct and collective responsibility. There also needs to be penalties involved when cats get outta order. I don't know if that's a midnight visit from Freddie Foxx and his boys but if that's what it takes then so be it.
Afrika Bambatta and Zulu Nation have squashed many beefs in Hip Hop. Why are none of these cats reaching out to him? And why are we as the Hip Hop community not up in arms about it? It seems like the only way anyone can get any attention in Hip Hop is by beefing (I can show you better than I can tell you). This shit is bigger than some country rap-posers trying to act hard. This is bigger than Hip Hop even. This is about the way our people are looked at as a race and the way our culture is perceived around the world. These brothers embarrassed themselves on more than one occasion with this nonsense but overall, it is a negative reflection on all things considered Hip hop. We can no longer afford that.
My position is that if brothers cant get right then they need to go. It would be for the good of the art form. However, if we as the so-called Hip Hop community are not gonna man up and start to taking cats to task for the bullshit they do then we are as much to blame as they are. Its time for Hip Hop to pick a side.
What are you prepared to do?
Priest Forever
Harlem's Most Dangerous Emcee
(*** If you are an artist and are interested in writing or videotaping THE EMCEE DIARIES/I AM HIP HOP blog for The Breezy Effect, hit up Crys Breezy at CrysWill121@gmail.com Thanks! ***)
Are you unhappy, that I didn't post anything after the one story? I didn't see much worthy of posting, cause it was all just trash talking from both sides. My bad though, if you thought I needed a follow up.
But Priest went pretty hard on this topic, I respect what he had to say. I do agree that it's time we do more as listeners and consumers about these wack rappers in the game. I've boycotted the radio, I think thats a start, lol.
Posted by: MinM | December 03, 2008 at 11:20 AM