“Whats good? I was sitting
down in my office, sipping my coffee, and I
pulled up allhiphop like usual, check the
news, check the rumors, and I see myself
getting blasted for having a jay-z verse on
my chest. I’m far from stan, but Jay to me,
is the God Mc, the greatest rapper alive,
and I’ve been listening to him since day 1,
1995-1996 Reasonable Doubt days.
The verse
on my chest is from "Where have you been?"
off the Dynasty album. Beanie and Jay are
rapping about growing up without their pops
being in their lives, and listening to that
song, and also being able to relate to that,
inspired me, and helped me realize that I
was not the only one going through that, and
that you can make the best out of a bad
situation. So I saw you were clowning me on
the site, but I’m a real dude, and it’s
true, I’m white, but to me were all the same
color underneath. I love the site, keep up
the good work. The Roc, Dynasty continues”
The Bronx was violent and dangerous when
Grandmaster Flash grew up there. But that
didn’t preclude him from having something
meaningful to say. In fact, he spoke of the
ills of his environment for the sake of
change and improvement, not so you could
come along and name yourself after a piece
of change.
Marvin Gaye sang Let’s Get it On…but he also
sang What’s Going On. He balanced Sexual
Healing with Save the Children.
50 Cent too has expressed what’s in his
heart with such “classic” selections as,
Magic Stick, Power of the Dollar, I Smell
P****, Fat B****, High All the Time, Gunz
Come Out, Ski Mask Way, etc.
In quantifiable terms, of the 6 albums and
more than 80 titles listed in 50 Cent’s
discography, there is not one socially
redemptive song to his credit thus far in
his career.
“If artists have collective bargaining
rights so will anyone they choose to work with. Artists
would be placed on equal footing with the Universal or
Warner. If artists have rights, they can exercise their
creative rights to speak up for the community and not
for their bosses owning their masters. If artists have
rights, that means a change of what goes on in the music
videos and on radio. In reality, it's good justice for
any employee or artist to have these rights. In reality,
collective bargaining through unions is good justice for
any artist. Artists are supposed to have healthcare,
artists should not be confined to a record label for an
indefinite amount of years, and artists should not be
forced to choose whether to make money and disrespect
his/her community or be broke but, full of integrity.
It's the right thing to do. If Hip-Hop is going to
change, it must begin with changing the current
situation of artists.”
