Month: January 2006

Back in the days, there was a time emcees used to rap for the lyrical beauty of it. They used to freestyle with passion and diss each other in order to win a battle. Nobody hurt nobody in real life.
Detroiters recall the days of Maurice Malone’s Hip Hop Shop and St Andrews with a nostalgic spirit. The golden age and the atmosphere of Detroit and Michigan hip hop, for instance, is truly represented in Eminem’s movie 8 Mile. Rapper Big Proof named one of his mixtapes after the hip hop shop (I Miss The Hip Hop shop).
There was a time you could rap without putting your life in danger.
It looks like the days of LL Cool J are over.
The murders of Biggie and Pac, motivated by jealousy and label rivalries started an era of danger for many emcees. Nobody, from mainstream rappers to underground rappers is excepted.
A difference of opinion, the diss of a fellow emcee or simply jealousy and street rivalries can soon put your life in jeopardy.
Soulja Slim paid the high price in New Orleans in 2003. A hitman was hired to put an end to his life and career and he was coldly murdered.
Detroit rapper Blade Icewood used to be paralyzed as a consequence of a shooting due to the rivalry that opposed the Eastside Cheddaboys and the Streetlordz. In April 2005, his life was cut short. Somebody shot him dead while he was driving his car.
While 50 Cent didn’t take Eminem’s Toy Soldiers video seriously, I do think that this video was a fair warning against the escalation of violence in hip hop.
Which essential element makes rap music particularly enjoyable? I’d say the part that enlightens an emcee’s lyrical abilities, his wordplays and punch lines. Dissing is part of the game . However, rappers should keep disses on paper and stop converting them into bloody dramas.
Yesterday, Obie Trice was shot in the head while driving on a highway with his girlfriend. Fortunately, he went to the hospital, was treated and found in good health. He even left the hospital.
Obie Trice is one of the rappers I had the chance to meet in 2003. He is a nice, down to earth guy and I was wondering who could really hate him that much to target his head and try to kill him.
I would have hated the thought of anything fatal happening to him. Fortunately, Obie is safe and my prayers for his fast recovery are with him.
Violence, bloody dramas, violent murders are certainly not the best way to handle things in hip hop. Hip hop has to be brought back to its roots, the golden age of gifted lyrical emcees whose passion lies in using words instead of guns.