It Was Only A Matter Of Time...

I'm not sure how many people outside of the UK know about Abu Hamza, your respective media outlets probably have their own domestic demons to report about but in the UK the hooked cleric has become as close to public enemy number one as is possible.

He's basically an extremist trying to claim Islam as the foundation of his hate, you know like Bin Laden, except... Abu has a hook! (Sorry it makes me think that I'm trapped in a Bond movie whenever I see it mentioned.)

He's been blamed for everything in the tabloids, welfare fraud, plotting terrorist attacks, having Bin Laden round his house for tea and crumpets...

In all fairness he's a little nuts.

Anyway my point was it was only a matter of time until Hip-Hop was dragged into this witch hunt. The Sun (the biggest selling daily paper in the UK) have un-surprisingly linked the two 'evils'.

'Hook's son is MC Hamza'

Reads the headline (shockingly un-pun filled) to an article about Abu's son being an MC who they claim has performed at the Wembley Arena and also Oxford University...

Yeah that'll be the same University that banned KRS ONE from speaking on campus, so you know they're going to jump at the chance to let a convicted terrorist perform aren't they?

As with most of what is published within the pages of the Sun this story's validity is suspect but even if it is correct, what's the problem?

Do they honestly think he's going to become the next Eminem and sell millions of records the world over?

They quote one of his tracks...

'I was born to be a soldier, Kalashnikov in my shoulder, peace to Hamas and Hezbollah, that'’s the way of the lord Allah . . . we'’re Jihad through, defend my religion with the holy sword.'

I can't see many MC's feeling threatened by his lyrical prowess.

I also can't see many people being all that interested in a MC with the image of an Islamic Terrorist. I know shock tactics sell but somehow I think that might just push that idea beyond its limits.

The story itself is perfect for the Sun, it kills two birds with one stone. It brings the demon hook back into the public eye and it demonises Hip-Hop, which as we all know is going to be the downfall of civilised society.

In some what related news, Eminem is apparently the music of choice when torturing people at Guantanamo Bay.

That's either the US Government trying to indoctrinate alleged terrorists into the ways of using Hip-Hop as a medium to spread their message and therefore another way for Bush and his ilk to attack Hip-Hop or it's a damning indictment on the irritability of Marshall's music. I think it's more than likely the latter but come to your own conclusion...

Some music to round off the post...

Ghostface & MF Doom - Angeles - From a new Nature Sounds compliation and it's claimed it's from the upcoming collab album.

Six-Two - Weed & Snortin - Don't know much about this other than it's supposed to be produced by Dre and I've been told to stop singing the hook...

AWOL ONE (Feat. 2Mex & KRS ONE) - Underground Killz - From AWOL ONE's new album 'The War Of Art'.

Tags: Hip-Hop, Abu Hamza, Ghostface, MF Doom

"We rely on the streets we do battle in the hood, I was born in the G Code, embedded in my blood"

Damn have I lost a lot of respect for Busta Rhymes. I'm not even talking musically here but rather as a person and as a role model.

Now obviously hip-hop has evolved from the streets, which makes the vehement 'anti-snitching' mentality almost understandable. However, there are times when the determination to stick by some pseudo code of the streets creates more problems that it solves. Now the reason I call it a 'psuedo code' is not because it doesn't exist, but because when you're a platinum selling music artist, an actor and a role model; the fucking code shouldn't apply. Shit, nobody is denying where you came from or how far you've come, but for fucks sake live in the real world. You're not out hustling, you have millions in the bank, you make music and act, you live in a nice crib, you got kids, so get a reality check.

A man is dead and you clearly know something. Fuck the streets, fuck this no snitching shit. That man has a wife and kids who deserve to know how he died and by not co-operating, Busta is letting his killer walk around. I'm sure the standard argument will be "dude will get street justice" but fuck that. Is that how his kids should be bought up, seeing that as a way of solving problems.

Busta needs to get a fucking grip, if he knows something that is letting a killer walk around then fuck the streets, dude is a nobody. Hip-hop artists love to bring up the fact that Pac, Biggie, JMJ are all unsolved murders. The simple fact is that while this mentality survives, and incidents where a murder could possibily be solved with the co-operation of a hip-hop artist then this shit will go on.

So while I might respect Busta Rhymes as a musician, my level of respect for him as a person and as a role model to kids in the street is rapidly declining. This shit is bad for everyone involved, not least for hip-hop. Oh and Fuck Tony Yayo, if my level of respect for Busta is declining then my 'respect' for Yayo is in negative proportions because he clearly knows the dude.

If to you that means I'm not 'down' or that I don't understand street mentality or hip-hop culture, then fuck you, you're part of the problem.

Peace.


Tags - Hip Hop, Busta Rhymes

Jigga What, Jigga Who?

Carrying on the Jigga theme, the transcript for his webchat on the Roc-A-Fella website recently:

Jay-Z Transcript

Props to Spine Magazine

Tags - Hip Hop, Jay-Z

What's Beef.......

So a lot has been said about this Jigga/Nas thing, and I'm not here to go over old ground which I covered back in this post .

What I will say is that their first joint interview makes interesting reading. Now some industry heads have come out and said "I can't believe Nas bounced to Def Jam and is working for Jigga, what a stupid move, dignity, respect blah blah blah"...or words to that affect anyway. Now I just want to break this down a little bit so bear with me.

Now Nas has signed a deal which could potentially make him millions of dollars.

His name is now on everyones lips as let's face it, Jigga is like a hip-hop prophet these days and Def Jam is the place to be.

Nas get's access to Jay's unbelievable ear for beats and access to pretty much any Def Jam artist to work with.

So as far as I can see Nas has a fair idea what he's doing. Now with that out of the way, the interview certainly did make interesting reading. It's obvious that the two had/have a lot of respect for eachother and that this isn't a ploy, this beef thing is really over. Now for everyone who is fronting on this, how is this a bad thing? We got some great music in 'Takeover' and 'Ether' and now we're onto phase two, which sees two of the hottest mcs from the past decade work with eachother. I mean, for those people saying they both sold out their values; what the fuck did you want? You wanted to see them take it out to the streets and shoot shit up? You wanted to always wonder what it would be like if they could settle their differences and work together? You wanted the world to look at hip-hop and say "oh look two more walking dead men"? Get a fucking grip. Nobody has sold out so go listen to your One.Be.Lo album and rep how underground you are.

One of the most interesting things about the interview was Nas insisting that he does not have a problem with a certain Mr Curtis Jackson. Now this is surprising considering his veiled barbs on 'MC Burial', either way I think he needs to step away becuase the way to hurt Fifty is not give him even more exposure by trumped up beefs. I would say the same about Jigga and Cam considering it's a blatent attempt from Cam to generate hype for "Killa Season". However, will it harm Jigga's credibility not stepping up?

One thing I will say though, I have no interest in seeing Nas work with Dre. I don't think it will work and the prospect doesn't interest me in the slightest. Nas/Primo of course, Nas/9th Wonder definately (God's Stepson was dope), Nas/Kanye maybe but Nas/Dre won't work. Jay/Dre I would definitely be interested in, but we know it's all hype anwyay.

The union of Nas/Jay has probably asked more questions than answer them. Will Nas inherit the Cam beef and Jigga inherit Fifty? Will Nas/Primo get the chance to work on a full album now Nas is on Def Jam? Will Jigga pick the beats for said project? Will Nas's album be an overproduced hunk of crap with big name producers and not a lot else?

Who knows, but I for one am enjoying the ride....


Now just to prove Nas isn't sitting around and counting his new found wealth all day:

Nas - Jackin 4 Beats 2006

Tags - Hip Hop, Jay-Z, Nas, Def Jam

*Edit*

R.I.P Dilla

As all hip hop fans now know, J Dilla aka Jay Dee has passed away from Lupus. Various reports had been ciculating about his poor health for months and stories of him performing from a weelchair became more frequent.

Now Dilla wasn't everybody's favourite producer (although I was a big fan) but one thing hip-hop heads will not deny is that he was good for hip-hop. He injected soul and feeling into his music and provided countless artists with some sonically beautiful beats. From his work on the latter Tribe material to his work on Jaylib, he was evolving his sound and was prepared to try new and different things. Now I'm not going to sit here and convince you that Dilla was the next Primo, but the man could make some dope shit.

Regardless of all things hip-hop, the man was only 32 years old, and a loss of someone so young is always a tragic one.

I could upload a sampling of Dilla's beats but to be honest you probably have them all and you can never do someone justice at a time like this so choose you're own Dilla beats and vibe the fuck out.

R.I.P J Dilla.

Tags - Hip Hop, Jay Dee, J Dilla

Back for good.....

Shit, we know we're slack.

I have to stand up and take credit for the slackness though. Peace, Prosperity and Paper was my pet project which I've let slip away in the last few months. Every so often you get days, weeks, months where real life gets in the way and everything else has to take a back seat. However, when this happens it generally means you come back more focused and ready to blow the fuck up.

Major props have to be given to my collegues for keeping things ticking over while I've been AWOL but we back baby so we're going to be rolling again in the next couple of days.

And of course it goes without saying; R.I.P Dilla, a sad loss.

Peace.