Bars of the Week: 03/30/07

Mos Def (featuring Busta Rhymes)
"Do It Now" from the album Black on Both Sides

[Mos Def]
Hay dios mio, me and Bustarimo es peligro/
The two hottest negroes en Los Estados Unidos/
Hotter than Reno when discovered by Bugsy Siegal/
I'm black like Don Cheadle, shoutin' power to the people.

- UnFan out

The (White) Rapper Show: John Brown

How connected are the suburbs and the ghetto?

As the first article based on VH1's television show The (White) Rapper Show, I'd like to mention the two standouts of the season: John Brown and Persia. This one will be about John Brown.

An obviously white male, he started rapping young and has built up a skill and flow based on what seems to be Jay-Z. However, unlike Jay-Z, he grew up privileged and in the suburbs. He created a company called "Ghetto Revival" with his pals, and uses the phrases Hallelujah Hollaback and Ghetto Revival to get his point across. But he's also the self-proclaimed King of the 'Burbs. So, how connected are they?

Before I go on, I'd like to mention that John Brown has mentioned on several occasions that he's not a rapper, he's an entity. It'd be much easier if he just said he's a rapper. A lot of the rappers on that show said they were rappers, and they were so god-damn awful it made me want to buy an MC Hammer CD (please Hammer, hurt 'em). John Brown wants to be an entity, however, because his business (Ghetto Revival) needs to get off the ground and he's isn't "just a rapper." He wants to make money, specifically off ignorant people who will buy into his completely warped image of what hip hop is. I appreciate a good rapper as a good rapper, but Eminem came into the game being who he was. He came in with the fashion of the game, but his rhymes and presentation were who he was. That's how all respectable rappers get into the game: being themselves. Black, white, Hispanic, doesn't matter. You don't have to be what you see as profitable to be profitable, and that's why John Brown is fucking false.

When asked what the Ghetto Revival was, he constantly responded by saying that he was gonna revive the ghetto, which is not much of a description. This constant self-promotion annoyed the shit out of everybody in the house, and they all basically called him out as phony, but he continued to do his thing... all the way to the final two. His skill and his natural leadership got him there, but not without the world seeing how ridiculous it is when someone from not-the-ghetto promoting the ghetto. He looked foolish to the point where Lord Jamal and Sadat X came to the house to give some friendly advice, and Sadat called his ass out. When asked by someone who doesn't glorify the ghetto what a Ghetto Revival is, John Brown said he wants to revive it "financially... emotionally...", which is when Sadat stopped him and said "the ghetto isn't a good place to bring back. I hear that and I hear you want to bring back crackheads and run-down buildings." John Brown interrupted that he also wants to revive the ghetto "infra structurally." Talk about a stupid fucking answer. MC Serch, the host, had to intervene to stop the mental beatdown John Brown was receiving.

It's obvious John Brown has attached himself to a "black" idea for money and fame. How do you like that? Him and the rest of corporate America. The only difference is John Brown has got some lyrical skill. Corporate America just has "I'm Lovin' It." But John Brown is making his dream come true... Rolling Stone has praised him for being himself (which is what I'm saying he's not!), hip hop websites have interviewed him extensively, and he's going to be a team leader on an episode of Nick Cannon's Wild'N Out.

And he didn't even win the competition. The (White) Rapper Show was won by a rapper named $hamrock. I haven't seen him anywhere. I suppose the connection from the 'burbs to the ghetto is the loser of a reality show.

-UnFan out

Bars of the Week: 03/23/07

As a new feature, every Friday there'll be a few bars that are either amazing or just a favorite of ours for some reason or another. I was gonna start off really strong with this first one, but I'll tell you why I'm not. I chose a Beastie Boys song because 1) I messed up on the first article about the Beastie Boys when I said on the DJ Lantern mixtape New York State of Mind had a Def Squad update of the last section of "It's the New Style." They did update it, but it wasn't for the mixtape. It was a song called "Beet Drop" from Redman's album Doc's the Name 2000. 2) These bars made me laugh pretty hard, so I like it. It's not the best, as you'll see, but I liked it!

Beastie Boys
"Brr Stick 'Em" from the single Right Right Now Now:

[Mike D.]
Update my firmware and I'm good to go/
I'm like "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger, Will Robinson!"/
Coming down the block and you're like "Oooo!"/
Bionic eye with the dootdootdootdootdootdootdoot.

-UnFan out

Conscious Hip Hop

I'm updating every Wednesday from now on! These updates have appeared on Tuesdays because I'm generally an idiot and am confused on the day it is most of the time. Hopefully, it will never happen again.

I remember that I looked at Wikipedia once, and noticed that under the "conscious hip hop" category, there was a quote from Mos Def. Luckily, it's still there!

"They keep trying to slip the 'conscious rapper' thing on me...I come from Roosevelt Projects, man. The ghetto. I drank the same sugar water, ate hard candy. And they try to get me because I'm supposed to be more articulate, I'm supposed to be not like the other Negroes, to get me to say something against my brothers. I'm not going out like that, man."

Is it that bad to be labeled a conscious rapper? I'm sure there's worse he could be called.

But I guess the comparison isn't earned on some respect. When rap evolved from block parties to DJ + MC to a way to get music money from a fad to an artform that's here to stay, it eventually had to be divided into subcategories. Rock didn't stay rock. It became pop rock, punk rock, alternative, heavy metal, experimental, and so forth. However, rock's different categories come from it's sound where rap's different categories come mostly from lyrics (though production does have a part in this equation).

The main difference now seems to be "mainstream" vs everything else. The mainstream rappers know what they have to do: release a first/second single that could possibly catch on the radio/in the club, then hope for the best when it comes to people picking up the album. On the album, of course, it's possible to get a glimpse into what the mainstream rappers are about. Possibly songs about their life, their relationships, their personal beliefs, or just more songs about the money flaunted in the club where the will, no doubt, pick up a girl to fuck and run with. This will repeat itself over and over again, and while some rappers get a long shelf-life using this strategy (Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, etc.), most rappers disappear, having their music become go more towards any other sub-genre of rap music to stay in the game.

While "gangsta rap" was once mainstream, its influence is waining slowly. An influential gangsta rapper hasn't come around in a long time, while more middle of the road mainstream rappers are taking their place, with just stories about growing up in the hood, so coming across as hood has become more profitable. So why don't conscious rappers get recognition? Because while Mos Def is a product of the ghetto, he never glorifies it. He's not ashamed of where he comes from, but he's not going to tell you it's the greatest thing since sliced bread at the same time. While more of his mainstream songs, like "Ms. Fat Booty," haven't gotten the radio play music executives prefer, he and his work do show that he won't willingly make rhymes about his money being used for the new Mercedes-Benz (which I made up, I dunno if he has one or not, but I doubt it). His rhymes would rather focus on... almost anything else? Yes, almost anything else.

However, he has a point. General public accepts that anything outside of mainstream rap is just rappers who are judgmentally superior to the music, when that's not the truth. KRS-One, another "conscious rapper," started out with Criminal Minded before moving on to "Stop the Violence." Now, the line is divided between rappers who rap about what they know (which is also divided between the thug life persona of mainstream and conscious rap) and rappers who rap about the money they hope they have (which usually doesn't happen, damn record industry). No conscious rappers think they're better than mainstream rappers in general, but usually can rap lyrically at a much better rate.

Now rap is even more and more divided past mainstream and conscious/underground. There's now crunk (Lil' Jon), chopped and screwed (Mike Jones), and even beyond the spectrum that most people thought were possible, such as nerdcore (MC Frontalot) and emo (Gym Class Heroes). While these differing types of rap are now necessary on many levels, it's important to realize that one isn't better than the other anywhere beyond a single person's opinion. Sorry Mos, I think you're a conscious rapper, but I'd never think of you as a traitor to your race because you haven't told me about your latest big purchase, either. The smart hip-hop heads out there will know the difference.

-UnFan out

50 Cent

I have a problem with 50 Cent.

Not a personal one, obviously. I don't know the dude, and he could be a very nice person to be around and know. That isn't the issue.

He propelled himself to infamy with his song "How to Rob a Nigga," about himself gettin' his hustle on and stealing from various members of the hip hop community like Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Master P, Brian McKnight, Mase (or Ma$e, depending who you ask), and Big Pun. This was the beginning of what I like to call "beef fame." With a background in drug dealing and his strive to be famous, he basically made a song that targeted a bunch of famous people to see who would respond. Jay-Z responded slightly, and someone anonymous responded in a huge way by shooting him 9 times.

After this, he got back up and got discovered by the duo of Eminem and Dr. Dre and the rest is history. But is this really a good example for rappers on the come up, especially those coming from the impoverished "ghetto" regions of America? Battling has been a big and important part of rapping for a long time (I mean, early ass beefs like KRS-One vs MC Shan and LL Cool J vs Kool Moe Dee led way to even more amazing and lyrical battles later down the line such as Jay-Z vs Nas and Ice Cube vs every rapper during the early to mid 90's). Rhymefest and Eminem came up as battle rappers, but there's a difference between genuine beef and rapping against someone for respect and 50's use of beef. To me, 50 Cent uses his beef to constantly remain street in the eyes of several people, which overshadows his lyrical ability, and then uses his music to make commercially viable music like "Magic Stick" and "Candy Shop" so he can make easy money. Rappers can't touch him, however, as 50's weekly mixtapes are his weaponry to always have a song ready to start or to keep fueling any beef between him and any rapper who questions him. Nobody else can pull that off, he's using an amazing strategy, but it isn't rap. Once LL Cool J crossed over into pop-oriented music, he didn't keep establishing his street cred by making another Radio. He kept doing his thing, despite his thing not being the greatest in the world anymore. I suppose that LL saw the strategy, however. 50 Cent is executive producing LL's next album.

In my opinion, I feel that Common and Talib Kweli and Jurassic 5 are doing the right thing by having their words and music speak for them all across the board. If they have a commercial hit, then so be it. They'd rather keep making music and let the street's say whatever they want. Being yourself in rap is more important than keeping your assets in check and starting beefs to keep them up there.

- UnFan out

Beastie Boys = Hip Hop?

YES.

For the last time, yes.

MTV has, over the past three years, gathered a "brain trust" of employees who say they live and breathe hip hop to put together lists. This year, the list was of the greatest hip hop groups ever. This is how the final tally went down:

10) UGK
9) The Fugees
8) Salt-N-Pepa
7) EPMD
6) A Tribe Called Quest
5) Wu-Tang Clan
4) OutKast
3) Public Enemy
2) N.W.A.
1) Run-DMC

The Beastie Boys were at number 10 initially, but were talked out of the list due to the fact that:

1) Their audience is a mostly "rock" audience/They aren't a straight hip hop group.
2) Nobody from the "hood" has ever bumped the Beasties.
3) They can't out-rhyme anybody in the Top 10.

Let me break this down.

First off, you can't hold their audience against them. Back when they started out, when they opened for Run-DMC and then had their own License to Ill tour, their audience was open from everybody from fans of rap music to those dumb fucks that loved "Fight For Your Right." As they evolved musically, they started experimenting more and more with constant sampling and live instrumentation, and the obvious rap beats were thrown out the window. Their albums between Paul's Boutique and Hello Nasty did have a lot of more of a rock-edge to them (and flat out rock songs, such as "Sabotage" and "Gratitude"), but they never stopped rhyming. Especially over the more hard/punk rock beats, they'd throw in a sample or two and rhyme the rhyme as well as they could. That may have driven away the more "rap" audience, but fans of the music can't hold their diversity against them. Even after dipping into rock and releasing an album full of only instrumentals (The In Sounds from Way Out!), they came back with a tribute to their old school influences and roots (To the 5 Boroughs, which I know was kinda lame, but I'm making a goddamn point!). And if Chuck D (member of #3) and Run (member of #1) say that the Beasties should have been on that list, then damnit that's enough hip hop credibility for me.

Secondly, rap isn't just a "hood" thing. Most of the "hood" rappers today are selling because of their image, not because they're spectacular. And the Beasties get their due from rappers who do get listened to by the target audience. Recently, at a festival in Australia that the Beasties were headlining, Snoop Dogg came out and said he wanted to be on stage with them ("it would be an honor," spoke Tha Doggfather) when they performed their song "Paul Revere." Talib Kweli opened for the Beastie's most recent tour, and he stated that he learned new ways to rock with the crowd from those three white boys. Busta Rhymes, when he won Best Live Performer from the BET Awards, said he learned that giving a live performance has to be engaging and he learned from three acts specifically growing up: Public Enemy, Run-DMC, and the Beastie Boys. Lupe Fiasco stated that Paul's Boutique is a major influence on him. Just Blaze actively sought out the Beastie Boys for a remix of their first single "Ch-Check It Out" from To the 5 Boroughs. DJ Green Lantern made a mixtape (New York State of Mind) of classic Beastie Boys songs put to modern sounds, and the mixtape boasted updated classics by Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star ("Paul Revere"), the Def Squad (the last piece of "The New Style"), and MOP ("No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn"). And back to Chuck D, back in an early VIBE interview, said that it was known as a "dirty secret" amongst the black hip hop community that Paul's Boutique had the best beats (thanks Wikipedia!). And so on, and so forth.

And third… well, maybe the Beastie Boys actually can't out-rhyme anybody on that list. But among the finalists, 2 Live Crew was also mentioned. The brain trust agreed that the Beasties could out-rhyme them, and that we can all agree on.

One thing the MTV brain trust seems to not even covered is the plain and obvious fact that the Beastie Boys have an amazing and long career while maintaining the very essence of what a group is. They all shine individually, but you can always see them as a group. These days, groups are mostly just individual emcees who come together as a clique, but then part ways when it comes for their solo shine. Shit, every group on that top 10 has a solo project. When it comes down to it, the Beastie Boys are the most solid group in hip hop, despite any side projects or guest vocals on another track or production for another artist.

The Beastie Boys got an "honorable mention" from the brain trust (along with De La Soul and The Roots, whose exclusion is another angry tirade), but one of the brain trust members who campaigned for the Beasties put it best: When it came right down to it, it was narrow-mindedness that was the culprit for their exclusion.

At least on VH1, on their third annual Hip Hop Honors, they recognized the Beastie Boys and their legendary status, and put them up there with Rakim, The Notorious B.I.G., KRS-One, Run-DMC, and the list goes on. But is a show honoring rap music that airs on VH1, a station that refused to play "black music" until the late 90's, actual recognition enough by the rap community? I dunno, but at least I saw the red carpet part where Ice Cube and the Beasties said what up to each other. Who would've thought?

- UnFan out

The Beginning

There's no need for a real introduction to this. I wanted to start a blog with a different perspective into this culture with different opinions from strong minded people, and hopefully this will be the start of something amazing. With the downfall of The Source and MTV thinking Jay-Z is the greatest emcee of all time, there needed to be an outlet for the frustration of the acceptance of "general knowledge" from big headed critics and fakers.

I hope this will be it for everybody.

- UnFan out