Younger artists and fans may be more forgiving of ghostwriting in Hip Hop, but it is still viewed as a cardinal sin by the O.Gs of the game. During an appearance on Shade 45’s Sway in the Morning, the legendary Kool G Rap declared that no rapper who uses ghostwriters could be in the discussion of Hip Hop’s best MCs.
“You can’t have ghostwriters and claim to be top five or top 10,” the MC said. “You claim none of that. You’re completely out of the game ’cause you’re not creating your own material. The top fives, the top 10’s, the top anything is reserved for the cats that put in 100 percent of that work: writing, thinking of those punchlines, playing with the words, being a real wordsmith. That credit goes to those dudes that put in that work for that, not nobody that gets it done for them.”
Kool G, who penned rhymes for Roxanne Shante and Salt-N-Pepa, also explained why he cannot champion any rapper who needs the assistance of a ghostwriter. The Kool Genius of Rap said he has a high standard to uphold.
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“I only deal with dudes that gun theyself,” he said. “I don’t really support artists that get ghostwriters and all that. I got a track record for working with Nas before Nas came out, Papoose before Pap came out. That’s G Rap’s track record. These are the artists I was working with before they actually got in the game, so that’s where I stand, with the originators.”
Kool G appeared on Sway’s show to promote his upcoming albumReturn of the Don, which is scheduled to drop on June 2. The LP features appearances by fellow veterans, such as Raekwon, Freeway and Cormega, along with new artists like Shady Records’ recent signees Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn.
For more on ghostwriting, check out HipHopDX’s Breakdown on the topic below.
