Well, another rap mag has bit the dust, but I gotta say, this one stings a little. SCRATCH Magazine was one of the few Hip Hop mags left that actually talked about well, Hip Hop. It focused on producers, DJs and other behind-the-scenes people who actually make the music happen. I've written a few pieces for them and I really enjoyed working with them. We all know that controversy sells, but it was kinda refreshing to see a mag talking about music itself, instead of why the rap game is like the dope game and who's beefing with who.
From what I remember, they were the only mag to do a feature actually breaking down how many songs sampled old James Brown tracks when he died. They might have gave Kanye West his first cover. They gave the severly overlooked DJ Toomp his first multi-page feature [shameless plug]. And sheid, they were my first placement back when I was doing PR for Shondrae "Bangladesh" Crawford.
"Purists" started complaining when the mag started straying away from putting producers on the cover by themselves and pairing them with popular artists. I thought the idea was dope myself, but what do I know?
The staff was very cool, knowledgable, open-minded and fair. Rap nerds to the fullest. I don't know who is going to be the cover subject for the final issue, but I have a piece in there on producer M-16 who did the beat for Playaz Circle's "Duffle Bag Boy" featuring Lil' Wayne. Check it out when it hits the newsstands.
UPDATE: Here is the cover of the last issue. Shouts out to B.Fred
Ever since the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, they've been unofficially dubbed America's Team. The underdog Patriots, in all of their Red, White and Blue splendor took to the field as a team instead of individuals and beat the heavily favored Rams in the first Super Bowl after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Their rousing victory was accented by a memorable performance by U2 at halftime and a dramatic closing-seconds field goal to end and win the game. Five years and two more Super Bowl trophies later, their "America's Team" tag is as appropriate now as it was then.
This past Sunday in a game against the New York J-E-T-S, NFL officials consfiscated a camera from a Patriots employee on the sidelines. The NFL does not allow teams to have cameras on the field during games in fear of stealing the other teams signals, i.e. cheating. And that's exactly what the Patriots were doing, cheating. In fact, its came out that this may not have been the first time they did this.
With steroids running rampant in the MLB and referees betting on games in the NBA, I can't even say this comes as any surprise. When you think about it, the Patriots are simply living up to their namesake. Winning at any cost is a American way of life. We don't lose! Ask our President. That losing shit is for, well, non-winners. On top of that, when you think about the make-up of the Patriots organization, you'll see why they deserve to be called America's Team.
Quarterback: Tom Brady
Tom Brady is second only to Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning in the America's Favortie White Guy catagory. But Manning has a squeky clean image. Brady did too until a few months ago. Brady was dating actress Bridget Moynahan from '04 to about late '06 when he decided to run the option and start seeing model Gisele Bündchen. But, a couple months later it came out that Brady not only dumped Moynahan, but dumped in her before he left(gross, I know, sorry, I couldn't help myself). So, three months into his new relationship, he got a baby-mama running to newspapers saying she is carrying Brady's baby. The baby was born a couple weeks ago and Brady, like a good father, was present. Brady ain't really sweating this shit though. He got enough money to take care of the child and he is still dating Bündchen who according to Guiness World Records, is the richest supermodel in the world. So, basically, Brady got one chick pregnant and left her for a broad with mo' cash. Not only is that American, that's nigga shit! Guess now Brady isn't gonna be liked in that Manning kind of way...but more like that Bill Clinton kind of way.
Wide Reciever: Randy Moss
Speaking of nigga shit, it don't more American than Randy Moss. Growing up in West Virginia, Moss was THE SHIT in four sports, setting records and winning trophies in football, basketball (he won state championship with NBA point guard Jason Williams), track and baseball. He was signed on to go to Notre Dame, but got in a fight, making ND retract their offer. He transferred to Florida State, but got caught with weed, making FSU kick him off the team. Eventually he went to Marshall, wrecked shop for 2 years and got drafted in the NFL in '98. Dude was becoming the next Jerry Rice until he started doing shit like walking off the field during games, saying shit like "I play when I want to play," hitting police officers with his car and again, getting caught smokin' dat dank. After falling out with the Vikings and Raiders, the Patriots did the American thing and gave a troubled, talented, money-generating young brotha another chance at getting back on the right track. He had a great first game with them this past Sunday, hopefully he can keep it up.
Safety: Rodney Harrison
Strong safety Rodney Harrison got suspended for 4-games this season after admitting to taking Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is a banned substance in the NFL. He said he was taking HGH to heal faster from the injuries that he's accrued over the last couple of seasons. Really, I can't be mad at dude for doing what he did. At least he admitted to it straight up. And said that he was taking it so that he could heal and get back on the field to earn his money, not to get an competitive edge. But still, only in America can you apologize for some shit that you MEANT to do, and say "It Was A Mistake." I feel you Rodney, I do that shit all the time.
Head Coach: Bill Belichick
This is the ring leader of the fuggery. This man stops at no means to win games. Not only does he condone signal stealing, but he even lies on injury reports to conceal team weaknesses from oppenents. But for some reason, when Belichick cheats, its called "crafty" or "wise." He comes from the Bill Parcells school of coaching and got his name on the map back when he was supposed to succeed Parcells as the head coach of the Jets. However, at his introductory press conference ol' Billy went to the podium and virtually said "you can take this job and shove it" and signed with those good ol' Patriots the next day. Legally, he was still under contract with the Jets, so instead of being left high and dry, the Pats had to give up a draft pick to get Billy. Ironically, years later one of Belichick's coordinators, Eric Mangini, left the Pats to take a head coaching job with the Jets. When the Jets beat the Pats that following season, Belichick refused to shake Mangini's hand. Now, thats some classic American shit. When someone does something you don't like, act like you don't know their ass the next time you see them.
The list goes on for things the Patriots have done that prove just how American they are. For instance, last year, America's Team taunted the San Diego Chargers after beating them in the Playoffs. They are also known to have forced former player Ted Johnson to perform in full-length practices, even after suffering a concussion.
And oh yeah, they don't like to pay the brothas! WR Troy Brown decided to stay loyal and take a pay cut to stay with the team. On the other hand, former Patriot Deion Branch, who rightfully demanded a pay raise after helping them win Super Bowl XXXIX, did his American thing and got the hell up out of dodge and went to the highest bidder.
For all of their winning, cheating and everything in between, congrats are in order to the New England Patriots for representing this country the right way!
Good thing these folks don't listen to Ganksta NIP, or else we would have had another out-of-touch White person blaming Hip Hop for their behavior. But seriously, what possesses a person to want to do something like this. I used clown that something must be in the water in West Virginia because almost everyfootballplayer that set ground there was getting in trouble, but damn. Its gonna be interesting to see how this story plays out in the media. It can't end up like the like Duke Lacrosse fiasco because unlike that one, the sista ain't a stripper and the suspects pretty much got caught in the act. However, it could easily wind up getting overlooked like the Jena 6. We'll have to see.
But in addition to that, the homie Wally Sparks put me up on another tragedy.
Its almost the same exact thing, but in reverse. The suspects have been caught and will be sentenced soon. White nationalist groups are complaining about a "Media Blackout" of this story and others like it. Claiming that because the victims are White, the crimes aren't registered as hate crimes and aren't given the same attention as when the same thing happens to Blacks. Well, I don't know what news channels they are watching because I rarely see White-On-Black hate crimes get blown up either.
I mean, shied, hate crimes on both ends of the spectrum get swept under the rug, especially when the stories have to compete with Britney Spears cutting her hair off. But in all honestly, I can't be mad at them. They have as much a right to cry foul as we do when shit like this happens.
I just hope that these incidents don't mess around and brew a race war, because it easily could. What do you think?
Killer Mike has a new internet television show up, and I will be loyaly watching. Mike is one of the last rappers out there who doesn't take his mic time for granted, new school Ice Cube for real. A while ago he teased Myspacer's by saying he was gonna start blogging, but it never materialized. Then he popped up on XXL's Audio Blogs and dropped a couple gems. Now he has a new video show up at SuperDeluxe.com.
Here are a couple clips...they are a little dated, but like his music, its still relevant and entertaining.
I just realized, that I really don't give a hot damn about who sells the most records between the Teddy Bear and the Gorilla tomorrow. Well actually I kinda hinted on how I felt last month. But still, I don't care. People are acting like this is the biggest day in Hip Hop history. WRONG!
I can think of a betterdayfrom9-yearsago. Now that my friend is a day that was indeed Hip Hop History. You had one group putting in their bid for Greatest Rap Group of All Time, another guy beginning his 5-year chokehold on the game, another group bowing out, a female rapper repping for a gender, region, city, clique and sound and lastly, a group proving that when you're dope it doesn't matter how old you are.
And oh, how could I forget, 1998 was smack dab in the middle of the No Limit era, so you know Master P dropped something too. [side note: that CD contained one of the fiest UGK songs EVER!]
Hell, even on a more personal note I can think of two handfuls more that meant something to me.
I guess I was compelled to say all of this because I listed to both the Teddy Bear and Gorilla's albums last week, and um, I wasn't really impressed by neither one. The Teddy Bear named his album Graduation, but really, that shit should be called 5th Year Senior or Still Waiting On Financial Aid, after all, he did say "wait 'til I get my money right." I've already been called crazy for not christening this album, so you may have to come up with a new word after you read this.
Sure, the Teddy Bear's album is good. But, when did we start having to applaud people for doing what the fuck they supposed to do? Are folks liking the album simply because he ain't snapping, trapping, cranking, beefing? Aight, let me stop hating. Basically, I guess I just find the Teddy Bear annoying as hell. He reminds me of that kid from 3rd grade, who's parents had money, so he could afford to bring something new to Show and Tell, all the time. While rest of our snotty asses was bringing the same damn G.I. Joe man every week. Or, remember this? Bring a Transformer, in car form one week, and then bringing it back in robot form the next week, talking about its new.
Back to the CD. I almost got caught in the hype, but then I listened to it while driving, and realized, that, that shit really ain't just bumping like that. This is one of those industry albums that everybody wants to like because no one wants to be the sore thumb that says "its just okay." Hopefully, I'll feel differently a couple weeks from now. Or better yet, a couple years from now. Because thats the true test to see if an album is tight or not. Will it make you want to randomly pick it up one morning while you're getting dressed a couple years from now.
Now, as for that Curtis shit. Maaaaaaan... He's one publicity stunt away from joining his boss in the "damn, dude done fell off" category. Listening to Curtis was the most uneventful 60-or-so minutes I've spent all year. The whole time I was listening to it, I was getting mad thinking about all of the other things I could have been doing instead of listening to it. See, I don't really get mad when 50 taunts broke people, brags about his money, or gives one of his trademarked rants at the end of his diss records. That's what I'd expect from him, his filthy fuggin rich, BIOTCH! But, he lost me as soon as the CD started with him shouting "NIGGA MY GUN GO OFF!" No it don't. I'll bet that its quite rusty these days. If you still in a position where you have to shoot people, then, well, you ain't as smart as I thought you were 50.
Forget both of them fools. Buck the establishment and buy B5 and/or The Cupid Shuffle on September 11th. And if you really want to support an emcee, buy Young Bleed's new one.
People like to complain about folks being on CP Time. Well, there is something worse, RP (Rap People) Time. For all the money some of these rap cats spend on time pieces, they're never on time.
Prime example, I was scheduled to interview Big Kuntry King the other day. He was late hell, 2 hours late. It came out later that he was uninformed about our appointment, and had to pick up his kids from school, so I guess thats a good reason.
But the 2 hour wait wasn't an excruciating one. I got a chance to go in the studio with fellow PSC member Macboney. I'm telling you now, if he comes out with the 15-20 songs he let me hear, his album will either be a certified or slept-on classic.
Anyone that's been listening to T.I. and PSC from day one knows that Mac and Kuntry were probably the two members that were capable of holding their own, consistently. But Mac's voice always made him standout even more. Looking back, I wish I would have done some sneaky shit like cut on my recorder while he was playing the music, because it was that dope.
The album isn't scheduled to drop until next year, meaning that it probably won't see the light of day until 2009. Even if that happens, dude created some timeless music that will stand the test of time. Wide-ranging production, witty concepts, relevant content, it was all there. Don't get me wrong, I'm not praising him for doing what the fugg he's supposed to be doing. I mean, it ain't like this man hasn't been exposed to enough through traveling the world with one of the best rapper's in the game right now, so above average music should be the starting block for him anyway.
He said that its up to his bosses to pick what songs are going on the album, and I hope they pick what I heard. Boney let me hear some of his new mixtape stuff, which was.....okay. Perhaps I got spoiled by the album. UPDATE: I picked up his RICO ACT mixtape today and the shit is hard as hell!
But yeah, ya'll look out for Boney if you haven't been already.
p.s. The Kuntry album is riding too. Look out for a song called "Afraid of Heights."
Every Suspect's Probably Negro is reporting that the 50 pitbulls seized at Michael Vick's home are going to be euthanized if no one claims them by August 25. Why are they being put down? Simple. They are deadly dogs who were raised to be killers and aren't deemed suitable for domestic living. And, its safe to say that they are as good as dead because no one in Virginia, or any of the other states Vick is accused of dogfighting in, is going to come and say "dude! that's my dog!"
This leads one to ask, if the government can come in and decide to kill some dogs because they are dangerous, why is Vick being crucified? Granted electrocuting, hanging and drowning dogs is kinda sick, but wasn't he pretty much doing the same thing? He was killing the dogs because they were underperforming, meaning that they weren't fairing well against other dogs. But the fact remains that they were still attack dogs, meaning that he can't just put them up for adoption or give them away to a family in the suburbs, because shid...while they might not be able to fight against dogs, they are still very much capable of biting the hell out of any child or adult that gets too close to them at the wrong time.
The city of Atlanta and its behavior towards Vick, especially the media got me thinking about some other tragedies associated with the sports teams here. Does anyone remember this guy:
Dany Heatley was a upcoming star for the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. I'm not a big hockey watcher, but dude was the business, almost unstoppable on the ice. In 2003 he injured himself and killed his best friend and teammate Dan Snyder in a violent car crash. Now, I don't claim to have the best memory, but I could have swore that the wreck was caused because Heatley was driving fast--and drunk. At least that's what I remember in the initial news reports. But now years later, the stories say that he was driving fast, with alcohol in his system, but not enough to declare him inebriated. For punishment, Heatley got 3 years probation (2 years after the incident) and he was granted a trade from Atlanta to Ottawa to help him leave the tragic story behind him. Luckily for him, he didn't recieve as much backlash as Vick, who killed a dog, not a human. Heatley's only backlash was being removed from the cover of the EA Sports NHL '04 video game. However, you could still buy his jerseys and hockey cards.
While we're at it, does anyone remember this guy:
Former Atlanta Falcon Patrick Kerney must own a pretty big house. Earlier this year a houseguest, who is female, claimed that she was raped by two men she met at a club, inside Kerney's home. It happened in March, 3 months after the football season was over. Meaning that Kerney was home, upstairs, sleep, but didn't hear anything going on...so he says. The reason why some of you didn't hear about this is because if you weren't watching the news the night this story was talked about, well, you just didn't see it. I for one don't remember it being mentioned again. Really, who wants to report on women getting raped inside football player's homes while they are upstairs asleep? That's not news. And how convenient is it that just like Heatley, he doesn't play for Atlanta anymore, he's now with the Seatlle Seahawks.
This shit reminds me of that song they used to sing on Sesame Street:
One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn't belong, Can you tell which thing is not like the others By the time I finish my song? Did you guess which thing was not like the others? Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong? If you guessed this one is not like the others, Then you're absolutely...right!
Its, official. Snitching is as American as apple pie and drive-thru liquor stores.
Jason Giambi was my favorite player for a hot sec when he was playing for the A's. But I stopped rooting for him when sold out to the Evil Empire. I guess wearing the pinstripes gets you some sort of executive privilege because Giambi, who admitted to using steroids, will not be punished for doing so. No suspension, no banishment, no nothing. I'd also like to mention that besides a couple kids tearing his poster off the wall, he didn't experience alot ridicule either.
This is a foul ball by all means. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said that he's not going to punish Giambi because his case was a "special circumstance, mainly because he's been doing charity work and helping steroid investigators. This is the same Bud Selig who when he witnessed Barry Bonds tie the all-time home run record, had to be prompted to stand up and acknowledge the feat. On top of that, he didn't even bother to clap, he just stood there with his hands in his pocket with a blank stare. I know Bud is 73 years old, and probably isn't completely aware of what his face does anymore, but damn, he could have at least smiled or something. Don't forget that he didn't bother to show up to the game where Barry actually broke the record.
Instead he sent out an ambiguous statement:
"Congratulations to Barry Bonds as he ties Major League Baseball's home run record. No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable."
I wonder if Barry would have come out and admitted to steroid use, would he be treated as a "special circumstance." Probably not, hell, Selig was ready to suspend Bonds based off a book by two meddlesome San Fransisco reporters who clearly had an agenda against Bonds.
Like I said, pinstripes must get you some sort of executive privilege. Anyone else who admits to cheating usually has to suffer consequences, charity or not.
To all the black ‘so called leaders’. Al, Oprah, Jesse, etc, etc, etc… I’m saddened by your current direction and current ‘pet projects’ you guys have taken under your wing at the expense of Young Black America. As an urban professional living in this crazy world, I dare ask, who are you leading? I listen to what you say, I hear you complain about the youth, and about the direction of our lives, the kids, and where Black America is going and yet I still ask – who are you guys leading? And most importantly, where are we going? Do we know the goal we are trying to reach before we get there? Have we identified our end before articulating our means to an end! Who are you REALLY reaching? Why do you feel the need to attack the young generation for the things we are doing? "WHO DID WE LEARN THESE THINGS FROM? We are trying to have fun in the midst of our traumatic circumstances. People are trying to make a living by any means necessary, people are voicing their experiences, people are speaking the truth about situations and honestly the truth hurts and sometimes it’s ugly. If music/hip hop/ rappers are wrong with the language they use, the images they portray in their videos – then come talk to us – I use the term ‘us’ as a collective because I’m defending what I have a passion for so this also involves me. Pull us to the side and say “hey kids, that’s not the way to go” and then we can say “change what we see daily so we cansing and rap about the roses and not about the bullets”. We will say, help give us better situations to create better verbal material”. Don’t just go running off to the media to air the dirty laundry of the family and not expect us to fight back in some kind of way. What you are doing is wrong and it’s pissing off a lot of people with less money and camera
time! Young Black America’s problem is not Hip Hop or the music, Young Black America’s problem is Old White America. In the young black community, there is a growing level of resentment toward the ‘so called leaders’ because you guys DON’T WANT TO REALLY FIX OUR PROBLEMS. You guys don’t really want to be on our side fighting for better school systems, more after school programs, more money for college funding! Where areyou leaders at when there’s a need to break down to freshman in college on how not to get caught up with credit cards by singing up for an MBNA card, with high interest rates that eventually screw up your credit and makes it that much harder for you to become a homeowner after you graduate college pending you can find a job in your field after you’ve spent all this money in student loans! Where are those seminars? Dubois had it right when he spoke of the Talented Tenth! Rally around us to help teach us about THIS life! It’s not our fault that the world is messed up and filled with debauchery. It’s not our fault that our communities are screwed! The problems in our community should not fall on our lap. And if you begin to hold us accountable for simply our words – then I will begin to hold you accountable for your actions; or lack there of. Right is right and wrong is wrong. You as our leaders should have taken a better approach to gaining the attention of those that you are dissatisfied with and had a conversation with them. You don’t scold your child in public without fair warning!
Al Sharpton: You run around towns and cities speaking words of wanting to better our community by cleaning up the airwaves. You hold rallies in front of radio stations saying turn off the music and clean the airwaves. You want to shut down local stations that are playing urban music when most of these local stations house and employ the same people in your community – the black community. When you visit any station in any city (big or small) playing urban/rap music, the staff is generally black. Now if those stations were to ever shut down – where do those employees go? Al, if you are for the people, where was your rally when the 3 college students were executed in New Jersey by black men. Where is the rally atfor those families and that neighborhood??? I don’t see you out there asking for justice yet that incident happened in a black community. If someone was to rap about “how f**** up black on black crime is and how even if you go to college you aren’t safe on the streets and nigga’s aint’ s---” – that kind of tone is offensive to you and you want to stop that! If that’s the truth, then why are you censoring it? No, you need to stop the crime before it happens so that there is no gangster song about a gangster situation.
Oprah: You recently you held a town hall meeting dedicating 2 days of talk to have an open forum about the “Nappy Headed Ho” comment from Imus. Everyone had their 2cents to say and yet the people that needed to REALLY be there were not at all on your panel of ‘experts’. The questions all were about “why use the word ho or b**** or nigga etc” yet the rappers in question ala Nelly, Snoop, Ludacris weren’t anywhere present on your panel. In my eyes you had all the wrong people on there representing and speaking on behalf of other people. Common is great but he’s not gangsta. If you had a problem with the true content of rap songs then where were those that do that kind of rap
100%? You want to talk about change, and about having us not call women in rap songs “bitches” and “hoes” but one thing I noted, you had all men on your panel of executives. Russell is wonderful but he’s not the Zenith when it comes to new school rappers or their new school mentality. Kevin Liles is great but what happened to Sylvia Rhone the head of the label that Nelly is signed to, or Kathy Hughes the head of Radio One or Deborah Lee the head of BET. If the problem really was about women and the “bitch, ho” term being used, where were those ladies to speak on their stance on this issue! They are the ones with the ultimate say pulling all the strings and yet they weren’t dully noted as absent from your panel! Oprah you are suppose to protect us, I can find more harm being done to the black community by the movies and sponsors you promote than any rap song.
Just like your son or daughter, niece or nephew… rappers are just kids growing into their own. They aren’t always right, but they aren’t always wrong either. If our path is misguided, then help us get back on the right road. I’m young, I’m black, and I’m a hard worker. I’m from the hood where mother’s leave their kids in the hands of strangers and never look back, I’ve been with killers, dope dealers, b******, church folk, grandparents, bad parenting from good parents, pushers, junkies, robbers, middleclass workers, but that’s the life I’vebeen around. Gunshots and church hymns usually go hand in hand in most neighborhoods. The grim reality for a lot of kids out there living alone is that life is harsh and cold; kids grow up faster than they want to because they are forced too! Kids are growing up in situations that are f***** up. So the songs we listen to mirror the things we see, the things we dream about and the fantasies we have! Don’t change the songs I listen to, change the circumstance from which it comes from---then the situation will be better!
Growing up in this world of hip hop it’s disheartening to see our ‘so called leaders’ leave us out to dry. Fine you don’t like what we say. Fine disagree with our choice of topics; however, the things we talk about aren’t new. We didn’t invent the term pimps, pushers, hoes, tricks, doobies, nigga’s and gangsta’s. Hip Hop didn’t create that. Those words were left here for us to use by you guys, your generation. This life we are continuing to live was handed to us by the people before us who didn’t do much to clean it up. There may never be a time that we agree on anything, but there is always room for change. As a family – we will agree to disagree but it’s the synergy in which we do it. If you are on one extreme tangent, and I’m on another, we will never meet eye to eye. At the same time, I will not allow you to bash, yell, condemn, and have a condescending tone on my source of refugee and happiness. As you leaders call out the hip hop community saying that we are wrong for what we do and how we do it, I am CALLING EACH OF YOU OUT saying you are wrong for what you are doing to us. How dare you guys not call Nelly, Snoop, Lil Wayne, David Banner, Jim Jones, Akon, Rick Ross, Fabulous, 50 cent, Young Buck, Bun B, Too Short and say lets talk this through. Do you even know who ANY of these people are??????? You are so disconnected from us that we don’t even look at you for guidance. If you really want to change something, start by changing your dialogue. Don’t talk at us, talk to us!
[*my creation, so if you've seen it on myspace, you know the source.]
I don't know if I'm sharing the gift of laughter or spreading the virus of ignorance with this post, but, I had to do something with this:
I don't who these guys are or what they call themselves, but they have a minor YouTube hit on their hands. "Bitch You Ride The MARTA Bus," as stupid as it is, is some straight up A-Town shit, as much as I hate to say it. Not one Atlanta rapper has made a song that shows Atlanta in all its public transportation splendor quite like this one. Yeah, T.I. had "In Da A," B.O.B. had "Atlanta, GA" and JD & Luda had "Welcome to Atlanta" (T.I.'s song pretty much sums up how real ATLiens felt about that track), but none of these guys shouted out the MARTA bus. Only times I remember a A-Town rapper giving props to the big white limo was when Backbone had one in his video for "5, Duce, 4, Tre". Or when Dre 3000 "was trying to find that hook-up".
It could be because people are embarassed of MARTA. As shown in the video above, its not the most flattering form of transportation. Unlike bigger cities like NYC, or even Chicago and DC, the train and/or bus is not the look. The way Atlanta is built, you either have to have a car or great determination to get to where you gotta go. There's nothing convineint about having to take an hour-plus ride to get somewhere that's 15 minutes away by car. While other major cities have intricate rail systems, Atlanta's is pretty simple. The shit just goes Up-Down-Left-Right.
What's sadder is that the system really sucks in the communities that need it most. They up the price every few years to accomodate rich folks who only use it to go party downtown or catch Falcons and Braves games. Poor people who depend on it to get to work still end up being late all the time and end-up getting fired.
But, this video, for what its worth brought back memories of catching the #8 to Open Campus High School my senior year. That shit was rowdy as hell. They used to shoot dice and smoke cigarettes in the back like it was their personal limo service.
The video also brought me back to a theory that me and a close friend kinda came up with a while back. We were talking about the possibility that people from the Southwest part of town were smarter than the people on the Eastside. Of course, I took slight offense to this, I thought that I was a living example that Eastsiders are intelligent. Me, my brother and a few friends at least. But then, I messed around and had to catch MARTA from Cascade to Decatur one time because of car trouble. It was an enlightening experience.
When I was on Cascade (not the rich side, but the other side) I had to listen to people talk loud as usual. But I didn't mind completely, because they wasn't just straight up talking that yang-yang. They was talking about government conspiracies to kill Farrakhan, Ralph Emerson's Invisible Man, how stupid President Bush is (but not in the typical "Bush sucks" type way and other random subjects that required thought.
Then I got to West End station which is closer to downtown and the conversation changed just a little bit, but not drastically. Now, the conversations were about where to get cell phones and Jordan's for the low-low, why selling drugs off Ashby is safer than fighting in Iraq and how "deez crackas are taking Atlanta back ova!" (proper term: gentrification).
After that I transferred at Five Points and started heading eastwards, and that's when things started changing. The closer and closer I got home, the more and more BS I heard. I heard women arguing over 75 cents like it was a life or death situation (maybe it was), then I heard dudes YELLING over the phone about how "they got that work, and its on me right now!" Then I just heard random spurts of ignance about everything from broke baby daddies sleeping with best friends to youngsters bragging about dropping out of school.
I ain't saying that that kind of stuff doesn't happen everywhere, it just seemed to be amplified on the way home. All of that got me thinking about how since Atlanta is the hot bed for rap music right now, that outsiders may be noticing.
I remember visiting family in Pittsburgh when I was in school. They all used to ask me "do you know Outkast, do you live next to Goodie Mob?" And I'd be like, no, I live in Decatur. And they'd ask:
Don't get me wrong, I fux with GM, Kizzy and Poncho all day! GM helped put that G-shit on the map while Kizzy and Poncho was running the bass game. But, damn, you can't really compare them to 'Kast (East Point, SW Atlanta), can you?
For a minute, the only thing we had was Dre's mention of "catching the 86 Lithonia headed to Decatur." Big Duke from Boyz N Da Hood was on Suave House, but hardly anyone knew him. KB was making classics with Devin the Dude, but hardly anyone knew him either.
Then we had the Eastside Boys (the guys behind Lil' Jon). No comment.
Then, we had Baby D. He cool, but shit, he got showed up on his own song by a Westside cat.
Then we was crunk when Youngbloodz dropped. The shit was jammin', and they had the world doing the Eastside Stomp but can you put their stuff up against Goodie Mob (College Park/East Point).
Then, when we started coming out with what people would call "real MC's" like Da Backwudz and Young Noah, T.I. (Bankhead, Westside) caught fire. And eventhough it wasn't considered "real Hip Hop" that Snap music had the Westside on fire.
Right now, the Dec and the Eastside is riding the back of B.O.B., Gucci Mane and Montana Da Mac. B.O.B. is the shit, I've said that before. Gucci Mane knows how to make catchy songs, and Montana is actually decent (don't let that "Rock On" be the only chance you give him, he has good stuff). Oh yeah, Block is repping the Eastiside, running a succesful ship with his record label.
All of the vets from the South Side are getting up in age, the Westside still got T.I. and Killer Mike, but not much after. So I guess the DEC got next.
But still, don't let "Bitch You Ride The Marta Bus" serve as representation for us out here on the Eastside. I'm sure we are better than we may seem. Maybe that enlightening trip from Cascade to Candler was taken on the wrong day. Decatur is indeed, where its greater. We dress the freshest and we got the baddest females. And to the folks out there still on the Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta system, don't be ashamed, either. Even Dre 3000 had to "roll the MARTA through the hood."
EASTSIDE HOE! [*old photo i took of honorary Eastsider Bohagon at Five Points MARTA station, from my rolling out days. He's, uh, technically throwing up the wrong sign, but we still love him.]
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