Once again hip-hop has done its thing. I must applaud all parties involved. They have truly made this fall very interesting. Whether it’s Jigga or Nas does not matter. It seems as if hip-hop has new life, new blood. It’s not because of some big time marketing scheme, or some pre-planned event. Nature ran it’s course in the showdown of the big dogs, and everybody benefited, even those not involved.
It was unreal how the whole thing played out on Hot 97 last week. With Nas’ Ether and Jay’s Super Ugly, the most powerful hip-hop station in the country left it up to the people. Thousands of emails, faxes, and calls were made to the station supporting one or the other. After the announcement of Nas’ victory, Hova himself walks into the studio, breaks the entire situation down, and now the industry can move forward.
Because of this quarrel, many have benefited. My boys on the 41st side of things released the crusher, “Infamy.” This album is one of Mobb Deeps best. It seems as if the beef had instilled a new hunger. Yeah, they are talking the same, ‘shoot dat n*gga’ shit, but at least this time we know who they are referring to. As far as the tracks are concerned, beat wise it’s a winner. Honestly, I only skip joints cause I’m not in the mood; the entire album is fire. So, I got a give my dogs their respect. Although they are no match for the Jigga man, they proved they are in it to win it, and the streets respect that.
As for Nas, I’ve always been a fan. Illmatic, It Was Written, the Nastrodomus bootleg; all classics in my book. Truth be told, I’m not mad at Stillmatic. Nas is his own artist, and has always been. OK, he veered off the straight and narrow several times over the years, but he still had his respect. Once “The Takeover” hit the streets, I thought it was a wrap for him. I could not possibly conceive how he could bounce back after a blow like that, but he did. Nas handled himself with a great deal of class. That’s something we don’t see too much of in hip-hop today, especially in that type of situation. The subject matter was getting a tad bit personal, but he kept it cool. It’s too early to know whether this man is Stillmatic or not, but one things for sure, he’s got balls.
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Now, with all that going on, it’s easy to loose focus. There’s a lot of shit going down. First let’s talk about that man Joey Crack the Don. Don’t hate, this cats album is hot. Fat Joe has taken the TS on his shoulders in the absence of Pun. The clubs love it, and the streets love it. That’s all you need, everything in between falls into place. That man Luda is keeping things crunk in the dirty south, as well as Outkast and The Dungeon Family. Killa Cam is blazing freestyles left and right, letting the streets know that now that he’s with the Roc, there isn’t nothing that can stop him. And I can’t forget about the Wu. These boys are still doing thing the Wu way, you gotta love it.
