You’re Killin’ It: Drake
Yo YKM has a twin! Like most twins, one is good while the other is a bit more mischievous. I’m sure you know which one YKM is, and I’m sure you can guess what’s coming. You’re Killin’ It, You’re Killin’ Me’s good twin. YKI is here to save the world and point out the positive aspects of hip-hop, because believe it or not, there are a lot. Most of the time good deeds go unnoticed because they lack excitement. Nobody goes ham over another rapper donating $100,000 to charity or building a skate park for troubled youth. Nevertheless, positivity needs more shine. During the opening installment of You’re Killin’ It, we have Drake graduating high school. It might not mean much to some of us personally, but it sends a positive message to those who look up to him. We can’t hate on that. Mr. Drake, you’re killin’ it.
You’re Killin’ Me: Gucci Mane
Gucci, you’re killin’ me mane. Your thirst for drama and attention can’t be any more annoying. True, your beef with Jeezy goes way back and I’m sure you hate him, but why bring his name up right before dropping a tape? The way you constantly fill up blogs with unwarranted Jeezy disses is somewhat shameful. To make matters worse, and to get more attention, you chose to throw T.I. and Keyshia Cole’s name into the mix? Who’s next on your “people I need to name drop to get attention” list? Eminem? Like Tip would say, tweefin’ ain’t in the G code champ. Trap God, you’re a drama queen and you’re killin’ me.
15 Killer Hip-Hop Memes (Round 2)
Look, watching Gunplay get tossed and maced is hilarious. But you know what’s funnier? Captioned pics from Drake’s younger days. Now that’s how you take care of your sense of humor. Last time we went through 15 Killer Hip-Hop memes, we saw Rick Ross and Precious’ child ride the bus. This time around we have Drake ice-skating, 2 Chainz’ family picture, and several politically charged rap memes in honor of the upcoming election. L-Y-A-O after the break.
You’re Killin’ Me: Gunplay, Jeezy & Ross
How convenient for me. Last week I spoke about hip-hop’s musical image, and this week, to my writing pleasure, Gunplay decided to get wild at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. But it didn’t stop there. Mr. Gunplay went on TMZ Live on Monday and talked about wanting to snap 50 Cent’s neck. Gun’ I know you want to kill 50, but guess who you’re already killin? Me. Damn homie, in High School, you must’ve been the man, homie! I guess this is the reason teachers tell students to stay away from drugs. Drugs are bad m’kay. Gunplay, you’re killin’ me. But hold up, Gunplay’s melee with 50′s crew was only 1 of 2 fights at the BET Awards. Let me catch up, Gunplay, Jeezy, Ross, you’re killin’ me.
Tha American Idols
Nicki Minaj recently added “American Idol judge” to her resume. The look was definitely a step in the right direction for her career. American Idol will introduce Nicki to an audience that might not be very familiar with her. Nicki Minaj’s mainstream career looks brighter than ever. But what about hip-hop? Will this move take hip-hop to new heights at the mainstream level? Will this open the doors for more rappers on mainstream media? Does this mean that rappers are now “white people friendly?”
Although it might look like a win for hip-hop, it’s far from it. If anything, it hurts hip-hop. Everybody has their own definition of hip-hop and nobody has supreme authority in setting a definition. But we can all agree that Nicki doesn’t “represent” hip-hop. To an outsider, she might be a rapper, but for those on the inside, she’s just a hip-POP artist. Through American Idol, Nicki has become the ambassador for hip-hop. Is this how we want to be looked at? It distorts the general public’s view of hip-hop. I don’t see how this move opened the doors for dudes like Kendrick Lamar or Yelawolf to judge singing reality shows. If you’re a rapper and you want to get an $8 million check from Fox, you better call up Red One for some beats.
Top 10 Moments From Lil Wayne’s ‘Dedication 4′
Lil Wayne’s much-awaited Dedication 4 mixtape finally dropped. Like expected, it shut down the internet. And like anything Lil Wayne, it got people talking about the self-proclaimed best rapper alive. The Dedication mixtape series helped Wayne reach the top. Now Dedication 4 is trying to keep Wayne on top of his game after the community’s rejection of Tha Carter IV.
Wayne didn’t show any growth on D4, but he didn’t show any drastic signs of slowing down either. A lot of people put a fork in Wayne after C4, Trukfit, and guest verses filled with skateboard references. Surprisingly, this tape only featured a few Trukfit lines. Features were also very limited. Wayne is obviously trying to show us that he still has those knock-out punchlines that once put him on the best rapper alive pedestal. So the big question is, did Wayne deliver with Dedication 4? Well, it definitely delivered in the memorable moments category. Read as I list the top 10 moments from Dedication 4 after the break.
Nobody Cares Like It’s J. Cole-Diggy
Childish Gambino wasn’t lying. Nobody cared about round 1, nobody will care about round 2. At least we know why Diggy chose to name his album Unexpected Arrival. He knows how to unexpectedly arrive. This Monday, he arrived with yet another J. Cole diss. Apparently little brother is still mad at J. Cole for making a pass at his big sister. If you remember, this whole ordeal started when J. Cole allegedly spoke about Diggy’s sister on “Purple Rain” with lines like, “gave a n*gga dome while her father gave a sermon,” and “when remmy Rev called she just ignore him.” In return, Diggy hit J. Cole with his first official diss titled “What You Say To Me.” Everyone went crazy but eventually all the heat died down. Cole spoke about squashing the beef and putting this fiasco with Diggy in the past. But last week, Cole chose to put life back in this beef by throwing a few jabs at Diggy. On Monday, Diggy responded with jabs of his own. Together they took this rotten beef out of the trash and into the dinner table. Now that’s just nasty. They should’ve left that rotten beef in the trash. Nobody wants that. Cole & Diggy should’ve quit after round 1.
5 Rappers That Got Rich and Stopped Trying
There are one-hit wonders, then there are those that get rich and stop trying. Unfortunately rappers change in unison with their bank accounts. Something happens when they make it. They’re removed from the environment that made them successful and all of a sudden they have all these eyes on them. They’re now worldwide artists expected to deliver platinum with every breath. Whatever it is, something happens and they change. After the jump, I list 5 rappers that got rich and stopped trying musically.
Remembering September 11th: Jay-Z’s “Answer the Call” concert, 9/11/09
It’s been 11 years. Year after year on this day there are the “specials” (if you can even call it that) on TV. There are the articles online, in the paper, and the centerfold’s in the magazines. Every year we’re reminded of the tragic events that took place on this day. We’re reminded that on that day, Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, that we weren’t invincible. Even at a young age, a time where our biggest fears were the dark, or being socially accepted in school, we were scared. The fear in the face of our teachers, parents, the people who were supposed to be the ones to console us, showed that this was big. Real big. No matter how much we didn’t understand what was going on, it changed our lives forever. Read more
15 Killer Hip-Hop Memes
Everyone loves a good meme. But for us hip-hop’ers, there’s nothing better than a funny, clever, and sometimes cruel hip-hop meme directed at our favorite artists. It’s always fun to see our rappers in different lights where they aren’t always so damn cool. Since we don’t live with them, we clown on them through memes. Therefore, I’ve scoured the internet and compiled a list of some of the most killer hip-hop memes. All for your point-and-laugh pleasure.
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