LikeMiNdeD

Biggie & Jay-Z have negatively effected the rap game

2008-05-03T20:07:00.001-05:00

Note to stans: please don't have a heart attack from this title, just hear me out!

True fans of rap and hip-hop (yes, there's a difference) surely have heard and perhaps participated in the conversations suggesting that "hip-hop is dead," and that new artists are getting worse everyday. This new era of ringtone and gangsta rap has made many fans of lyricism and creativity pursue other genres.

So what has caused this steady decline of quality music? I believe that rap icons such as the Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z have contributed to this problem. How can I make such a claim? Well it comes down to one simple word: writing. Or perhaps the absence of it. Because of Biggie and Hov's well-known style of not writing their lyrics in favor of improvising in the studio, the notion of writing a great story or original concept has almost completely gone out the window. Since those icons are held with such high regard by fellow rappers and fans alike, it has become a point of pride and the norm to keep the pen and pad out of the studio.

Rappers like Lil Wayne, who many consider the best rapper alive today, and Kanye West both brag about their ability to freestyle on almost all of their tracks. Jay-Z has even been quoted as saying "if it takes you longer than 10 minutes to make a song, you're trying too hard." Such a sentiment echoes my point that the idea of sitting down and creating a song with substance and feeling has today been considered a thing of the past.

Now, in no way am I suggesting that Biggie or Jay-Z are directly responsible for the apparent downfall of a genre. That would be stupid. All I'm saying is that their infinite influence on up-and-coming rappers has shaped rap into a cookie-cutter genre. This would explain the repetitiveness of many songs today, because when you are trying to think of concepts on the fly, you tend to reproduce popular topics more often than original ideas.

I'm also by no means suggesting that no one can improvise on a song successfully. I do believe that Biggie, Jay-Z, and Kanye West (most of the time) can successfully create creative music without writing lyrics. But the problem is that many rappers see this as the status quo and therefore try to keep up with the rap giants when they really don't have the ability to freestyle. I honestly think if a lot of the rappers today decided to start writing, their music would improve drastically. However, some of them are simply not good period, and wouldn't make a good product regardless.

Let's hear what you have to think about this....

Another unfortunate incident all due to ignorance...

2008-04-24T19:34:00.006-05:00

As a life-long Chicago Cubs fan, I always love it when new players make an immediate impact on the team. This is the case with Kosuke Fukudome, one of the newest Cubs hailing from Japan. In order to honor the rising star, many Cubs fans have shown their support of him in various ways. Unfortunately, the manner in which they are "honoring" him is extremely offensive, ignorant, and racist. Below are examples of the apparel:

I realize that none of these people probably realize that what they're doing is racist and really ignorant, but that isn't a justifiable excuse at all. These aren't little kids, these are grown people mocking another race in the most stereotypical ways possible. This is equatable to people going to the game in blackface with some watermelon in support of Derrick Lee. I don't understand why people can't celebrate someone who isn't white without defining them by their race...horrible representations of their race at that. And that is coupled with the fact that Fukudome has even said that most of the signs and apparel he sees aren't even written in correct Japanese or in Japanese at all. So not only are these people being extremely ignorant, they can't even do it correctly.

Fukudome has said that he appreciates the "support" from the fans, but how could he not say that? Do you think he would be well received if he said the fans are extremely ignorant and offensive? No.

I'm getting increasingly tired of ignorance being used as an excuse to do offensive and racist things. If you don't know about someone's culture or about them as a person, then don't go and perpetuate ridiculous stereotypes about them and later say you didn't know any better. Do some research, please. As they say, ignorance is bliss. These fans are in heaven.

mass construction

2008-04-23T14:12:00.001-05:00

these be the hammers and nails

My thoughts on weddings

2008-04-16T15:29:00.002-05:00

Before I start writing this, I don't want anyone that knows me to get any ideas about anything based on this post's topic, it's just a simple observation so I don't wanna hear anything stupid!

I've been looking through some wedding magazines and banquet websites recently and was kind of disturbed at what I saw. It was not until I began to analyze these artifacts that I realized how much weddings have been turned into the bride's special day. Advertisements for banquet halls contain messages such as "we make your special day even better!" and "after all...it is all about you!", with a picture of a happy bride front and center. Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that marriage required two people. Maybe I missed something.

Now don't get me wrong, I realize that some men have no desire to be involved in the wedding process, and may even prefer to get eloped, but I know for a fact that some men want to feel involved in their own wedding. Many grooms get caught up in media portrayals of men as uninterested and even bored by wedding planning and weddings themselves, and therefore try to live up that portrayal. But for the men that aren't caught up in those portrayals, the ones who want to be involved in almost every facet of the process, where is the support for them? Instead of supporting those men, these magazines and banquet websites seem to perpetuate the stereotype that weddings are for the bride. And to top it off, once you choose a place to wed, the accommodations for the bride and groom are vastly different. One website showed a bridal suite equipped with a bed, television, vanity area, and other amenities, with room for all of the bridesmaids. The groom's room looked like a tiny lounge no bigger than a bathroom, with a few barstools and a television (to tune into ESPN I suppose). The tag line might as well have read: "Bring a few beers, and you can act like you're at a sports bar instead of your wedding!"

I'm definitely all for having a bridal suite and catering to the bride's needs, but I would also like to see that the groom's needs are being met as well. Not all men are beer-bellied cavemen who are more worried about their fantasy-baseball scores than attending their weddings. Some men feel that their wedding is one of the most special days in their lives, and may value it even more than the bride. Planning and budgeting a wedding can be extremely stressful, and it would just be nice to have support and inclusion for both the bride and groom. After all, they are both the stars of the show.

Lupe Fiasco- Paris, Tokyo

2008-04-13T20:18:00.001-05:00

I don't think I'm ok with this...

2008-04-11T22:18:00.003-05:00

This is a trailer from the upcoming movie Tropic Thunder, a comedy starring Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. In it, Downey is a critically-acclaimed actor who undergoes controversial surgery to make himself appear to be black.

I know this is a comedy, and they aren't seriously doing this to a white actor like they did to Angelina Jolie in "A Mighty Heart" when she played a biracial woman, but it still reminds of minstrel shows where performers dressed up in blackface. The fact that it's done as a comedy doesn't change the fact that it is rooted in racism in my eyes. I wish I saw it as being harmless, but from this trailer it seems that one of the main aspects of the movie is Downey performing this crazy, misguided caricature of a black man, and how hilarious it is supposed to be.

-Wick

What the French, toast?

2008-04-11T22:05:00.001-05:00

an excerpt of some lyric Bizy's workin on...*

2008-04-08T22:34:00.002-05:00

In a day where nothing is as it's seen,
Nothing is believed, nothing as it seems
Mind of the machine, Wayside regime/
I find the lure, for failure/
I see the battle raging
I read the promise of the page
The temptation of failure fights
victory's garauntees
I find the cure, I find the cure/

Like puppets on a string
Like actors on a stage
Just keep singing along
While the record plays/
Keep your smile in its box
Til the director says/ go
Keep your dreams locked up
Cuz a few said no/
Is the life you wanna have, down here,
Or does depression have you bound, down here?

I have the cure,
For failure...

Colin Munroe- I Want Those Flashing Lights

2008-04-06T23:35:00.001-05:00

Freudian Slip...?

2008-04-04T01:02:00.001-05:00

Teriyaki Boyz- ZOCK ON! (Feat. Pharrell & Busta Rhymes

2008-04-03T17:43:00.003-05:00

Dizzie and Satch

2008-04-01T21:49:00.001-05:00

much respect...

America's Problem with Hip-Hop

2008-04-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

So even though a lot of the more overt conversations about hip-hop have decreased, I wanted to write my thoughts because I still see random people taking shots at rappers and hip-hop culture in the media. This may rub a few people the wrong way, which leads me to believe it is true.

Hip-hop is no stranger to criticism; throughout its existence it has been
forced to defend itself. The most common argument against it is that the music is degrading and vulgar, and it portrays a bad image to young society. However, not only are these arguments coming from uninformed, close-minded individuals, they also do not represent the real problem America has with hip-hop. Mainstream white America could give a damn about black women and men being degraded, and they sure as hell don't care about vulgarity seeing as though the rest of the entertainment business is overflowing with it. The real concern of rap came when little Tommy and Sally came in the house rapping Jay-Z songs and emulating what they saw on television. When society saw that these messages were beginning spread to white children-and even worse, the children were listening-that's where the problems started. The fact that another culture is influencing young whites is the issue here.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't like 99% of the rap released today, nor do I support the use of the n-word or calling women of any race bitches, but that simply isn't the issue here. It seems as if many of the critics attempt to make it seem as if hip-hop was the first to degrade women or even use the n-word. But to quote Phonte of Little Brother, "like yall wasn't calling black women hoes before Rapper's Delight!" Gimme a break! And then they try to claim that rap artists have a responsibility to become role models, while taking personal responsibility away from themselves. What ever happened to being a parent to a child? What ever happened to taking personal responsibility to educate a child on what is real and what is fake? Rappers (and any entertainer for that matter) have about as much responsibility to be a role model as the actors who make violent and sexual movies and tv shows.

This is simply another attempt to force a different culture to assimilate. Simply put, "we don't approve of your influence on our children, so therefore you must change your message." That's racism at its finest, putting a culture under a microscope and attempting to "fix" the "problems" by making them more similar to dominant tastes.

Selfish Remix, better than the original? Yea or nay?

2008-04-01T21:16:00.001-05:00

Kanye West- Homecoming

2008-04-01T20:49:00.001-05:00