With all due respect to Two Chainz, A$AP Rocky, Drake and the majority of the rappers who have songs on the iTunes top 100, they are killing Hip-Hop. Maybe I didn’t phrase that quite right; Two Chainz, A$AP Rocky, Drake and others like them over the last 10 years have murdered Hip-Hop, slept through the funeral and are now in the process of defiling its grave. I have a lot of respect for Two Chainz (no really, I do). Anyone who can make as much money as he’s made with lyrics like his is either the luckiest man in the history of mankind or made a deal with the devil. Seriously, take a minute sometime and look up his lyrics, here’s one of my favorites: “All I want for my birthday is a big bootie hoe/ All I want for my birthday is a big bootie hoe/ When I die, bury inside the Gucci sto’/ When I die bury me in the Louie sto’/ All I want for my birthday is a big bootie hoe/ All I want for my birthday is a big bootie hoe” (“Birthday Song” by Two Chainz).
Talking about Two Chainz for too long is bad for my health, so I’ll get right to it. If Hip-Hop albums were basketball players Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers) is without a shadow of doubt Michael Freaking Jordan. Method Man was once asked in an interview what the goal of the Wu-Tang Clan was; his response was one word, “Domination.” Jordan. The main reason for the Jordan comparison is the album itself is flawless. Every beat, every verse, every hook, and every clip of dubbed-into-English- Kung-Fu movies is perfect.
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) almost never happened. RZA, GZA, and ODB––at the time: Prince Rakeem, The Genius and The Specialist–– were picked up by Biz Markie and signed to Tommy Boy records. They were all in the process of recording solo albums when the label dropped them so that they could produce the first House Of Pain album. Nothing against House Of Pain, but that move was equivalent to drafting Sam Bowie ahead Michael Jordan. Fuming after being dumped by Tommy Boy, RZA and co. began working with other rappers from Staten Island such as Ghostface Killa, Method Man and Raekwon. After the group invited a few other friends from the New York underground Hip Hop scene to join forces, the entity known as the Wu-Tang Clan was born. From the very beginning the group was different. Instead of planning in advance who would rap on what beat, they rap-battled each other for the honor. They considered themselves martial artists sparring with one another lyrically, which produced the distinct dueling verses style. Each song is meant to be a battle, and the album on the whole is meant to be a war. Who was the war against? Everyone. Including but not limited to: the critics, the one percent, the 99 percent, the people at Tommy Boy, those guys who wrote “Jump Around,” etc.
The majority of the popular rappers today are cowards. Sure, if you anger them in a club they may throw a bottle or two at you; but that’s not my definition of courage. These grave-defilers sickeningly over-produce their songs with bass so that you can’t hear what the hell they’re saying. And if you can hear the rhyme it’s 100 percent façade. It’s easy, it’s safe for their fragile egos and it makes a ton of money. Nonetheless, it is a LIE. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) had courage. The MCs of The WU share some truly personal moments, and better yet they want you to hear it. To me, that’s the spirit of Hip-Hop, rhyming something true. Take some time this week and listen to one of the greatest Hip-Hop records to grace this earth; if you’re worried about the time away from today’s ‘artists’ don’t worry, Two Chainz and Drake will have a new single about some party where they have popped bottles waiting for you when you’ve finished.
