WHO'S KILLIN' IT?: THE OLD HEADS

As you can probably tell, the ongoing deterioration of hip-hop is a constant theme on this blog. It is the common opinion among old schoolers that the new class of emcees are the ones who are ruining the the art form. Whereas that believe might hold a little truth, many of these pioneers and legends must share the blame. I think much like in sports, it is hard for a veteran to watch some young buck come up and do it better than he or she did. It has to hurt a little to at one time be on top of the hip-hop world and the next day be considered irrelevant.

I apologize beforehand for the constant hip-hop and sports comparisons, but under this topic I feel they are a necessary tool to help my readers understand. Lets take baseball's Greg Maddux for example. He just finally retired last year after 22 mostly successful years in the big leagues...all as a STARTING pitcher, very little if any time spent in the bullpen. In his youth, he was untouchable. He had speed on the ball that nobody could touch. As he grew older that velocity left his pitch, and his fastball wasn't as untouchable. So what did he do? Did he blame the management for not giving him the proper tools he needed to succeed? No. Did he blame the younger pitchers in the league for ruining the game? No. Did he continue to throw the fastball even though it wasn't working for him? No. He just got smarter. He adjusted his game to be successful among the new breed in the league, and was probably more dangerous in his later years than when he burst on the scene.

That is exactly what the old school rappers who still intend on making music need to do...GET SMARTER. You are not going to appeal to teenagers and young adults like you did when you were their ages. Youngsters like music made by artists that they can relate with. Don't try and hop on a Bangladesh, Ron Browz, Timbaland, or Neptunes beat because they are what's hot right now. The beat doesn't equal success, there has to be some substance behind what you are doing. Those youngsters that adored you before are now in or reaching their 30's, and they still love you, make the music for them. Didn't it always sound silly when New Edition tried to comeback making music that sounded like B2K or Pretty Ricky? Look at Madonna trying to collaborate with every young musician that is hot today, but when people go to her shows all they want to hear is "Material Girl" or "Holiday."

Jay-Z got lost with trying to keep up with Kanye for a little bit ("Kingdom Come"...ehhh), but he soon realized just to stick to his roots and make music for his fans, not Wayne's, T.I.'s, Kanye's, or Soulja Boy's. I came up listing to hip-hop where lyrics carried the beat, and now it seems to be the complete opposite. Listeners that came up in my era appreciate gritty lyrics, so give it to us, we still want to hear it.

Thats why I love it when I hear that Ghostface is going to drop a R&B album, because he always had a soulful, R&B-esque sound to his music so I think he can pull that off. To all my other favorite old school artists, instead of being bitter and making up excuses do like D.L. Hughley and Too $hort and "come back home" and "get in where you fit in."

PERFECTION!!!

Big ups to Mark Buehrle on your perfect game today against the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes, I am a
White Sox fan. SOUTHSIDE!!!

POOF: SNOW

Wow, I bet you didn't think you would hear this name being spoke of on a platform other than a cheesy VH-1 '90's countdown show. Born under the name of Darrin O'Brien on October 30, 1969 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When he started performing, his mentor handed him the name Snow, which was an acronym for Super Notorious Outrageous Whiteboy (awesome, huh!?). MC Shan, who was still reeling from KRS-One's knock-out punch known as "The Bridge is Over", liked what he heard from the non-Caribbean reggae singer and decided to co-produce Snow's debut album. He was obviously still punch drunk. He even appeared on his first single, the heavily rotated "Informer". This song was a huge hit in the United States, being that this was the only country that it went platinum in, (no wonder our education system is lagging behind). After "Informer" ran it's welcome out on radio stations, Snow tried to drop some more shit that wasn't successful and nobody heard, blah, blah, blah... Listen the only reason I'm writing this is because I just want to know what the hell he said on "Informer", or if it was even words at all. So Snow, if you are out there and you got Google alerts, get at me with the real lyrics because all I can come up with is "Informer! Youdfhaldsfhldfdslfh;sdlfh;slghsfadl....I lick you boom boom down...ldsfhlasdfhldghlsfkgjlskgjals;dgjsdlgjslkgjsalgjlsgjal.....I lick your boom boom down!"

Snow - "Informer"

REDEEM TEAM: JUNE

Well guys and gals, June just ended and it's time for me to reflect upon who rose up from the ashes to be in this months Redeem Team.

Kobe Bryant - Kobe got redemption this month on so many levels. He finally recovered from the rape accusations from 2003, and won back the hearts of the public by winning his first Shaq-less championship. Me, personally, I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire, but I got to give credit where credit is due. Kobe did his thing in June, and finally solidified his legacy. Props.

Kanye West - Mr. Arrogance himself held a free concert in Chicago for kids, in the name of education. Real good look, Mr. West. Did that South Park episode really have a positive affect on your attitude? We'll see if there is more of this behavior in the future.

Fight Night 2009 - When this EA Sports title was introduced as Knock-Out Kings in 1998 it was hailed as the best boxing game ever (well at least since Mike Tyson's Punch-Out). But soon it seemed the engineers got too cocky with their success and tried to improve it too much, even though it was perfect as is. They changed the name to Fight Night, and complicated the controls and the world lost interest. Now its back, with a bigger roster (including "Iron" Mike Tyson") and more relaxed and less complicated controls...I like.

Now, if losing was the new winning, these people would have earned several rings last month:

Charles Hamilton - Back to back months making the list. Now you are lying about getting Dilla on your album, and pissing off Detroit. If I were you I'd fake my own death too. Detroit doesn't play, ask Yung Berg and Trick Daddy.

The Orlando Magic - First you fuck the world out of seeing a Kobe and Lebron final, then you don't even show up to play with the Lakers...thanks.

The Minnesota Timberwolves - Somehow you guys got 4 first round draft picks in this year's draft and got absolutely nothing. Rubio will not wear a T-Wolves' jersey ever...you hear me...ever!

Michael Jackson Haters - Nothing was ever proven, parents continued to send their kids to his house after the allegations so blame them. Whatever did or did not happen at Neverland Ranch, it is not our judgement to make. Let the man rest in peace. There is only one being that can make that call now, and Jacko is probably pleading his case to him as we speak. R.I.P. King of Pop.