So how can I as a fan of hip hop abandon one rapper whose music I happened to like because he’s engaged in a so called beef with another rapper I favor? Here’s where some of us got the game all messed up and our ignorance is so blinding it’s blissful. Lets not forget that we are on the outside looking in. We do not have any close ties to these artists whether it be known asociates, friend of a friend or family. We got exposed to them through music via radio and television. Lets not create any faux kinship to make our lives seem important.
Some of us are aspiring artists ourselves and we look up to the ones who are already making it. Because of that, we sometimes tend to live vicariously through them. But c’mon, "I hate ya dudes that get real life and rap confused". These individuals are putting their life story on the line or going above and beyond to make up some outrageous fantasy all for our entertainment. The least we can do is support them by listening to the records and not put them on mute because there’s friction between this guy and that guy. When I say listen to them, I meant the ones that you like and love.
Don’t send a rapper into exile because of industry beef. Like I said before, there aren’t any family ties so you are allowed to like two artists that are beefing. It’s not cheating on either one of them or being disloyal. You are a fan of the music, the culture and the people. Listen to the music. You can like Game and 50, Nas and Jay when it was on, Saigon and Budden or Triple C’s and Mayweather. It’s all for our entertainment, so enjoy it.
Another thing, Rappers are not R&B dudes. So why are some listeners not liking rappers because they are ugly? What I’M I hearing? This isn’t a beauty contest. It’s lyrical warfare and what guy in his left mind would say something like that? My older sister saying it is acceptable but not my little brother. What era are we living in? Has Hip Hop really changed so drastically overnight? Did we really went from gold ropes to charm bracelets with the blink of an eye? From hoodies, baggy clothes and timbs to fitted blouse, tight jeans and sandals?
I personally have no problem with a grown man’s preference in fashion. But it’s a thin line between tight jeans and tight rhymes. I don’t get too involve in an artist’s personal life because there might be a conflict of interest, so I stay in one lane, listening to their music. Yeah Budden blog too much and he’s catching a lot of flack for the Raekwon altercation with the ice pack on his face and still blogging. I’m not going to let that turn me off to his music because he’s a great lyricist peroid. DMX has flown over the cuckoo’s nest but if he was still pumping the music he was making, I’d listen to them. Why not. Mike Tyson is crazy, bankrupt and desperate. We’d still watch him fight. What I’m trying to say is simple.
Let’s not get too caught up and weave ourselves in the lives of rappers, movie stars, athletes-even though Plaxico didn’t deserve that- and porn stars. We do have our own pathetic lives to make the best of. Entertainers are a break from reality not REALITY. If a rapper is making the type of music you love to hear, embrace him even if he got into a war of words with your favorite MC. Don’t think you’re helping one to be the victor by picking sides. Let the record do the talking. All we have to do sit back and watch it all unfold.
PEACE
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first: “or Triple C’s and Mayweather” lol talking about a group of horrible rappers, and one of the worlds best fighters. tripple c’s are a joke.
second: “Don’t think you’re helping one to be the victor by picking sides”- to be fair, the “victor” pretty much claims that if they are crushing the other one in sales. So buying one dudes album and not the other, is your way of supporting your artist, or casting your vote.. think about nobody voting for the president because they thought there single vote didnt matter. And there are a lot more people who vote than buy rap albums.
You know what happens though is that these artists represent more than just artists. They represent regions and styles of thought and rhyming and the culture of their area … all the way down to the neighborhood.
Celebrities are amazing to us because they have depth. The ones that don’t never last. The ones that do, that present causes, that talk about the things they believe in, even when they’re being dicks snatching mics from little white girls, we Love because we know that in that instant what we caught was a glimpse of somebody real.
So imagine. Someone you believe in that represents your hood, your struggle, your people, even the chance for you to make it out of your own situation … they get into beef with someone you don’t even know, you don’t listen to … all you see is an aggressor and a way out.
That is not a good thing for your peace of mind, so of COURSE people get upset.
Not to say it’s right or wrong, but you know …
I think part of this stems from the fact that people think Hip Hop is dead because they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. It’s still very much a culture. Our artists are cultural icons in the truest sense of the phrase.