I Believe
For my first entry on Past The Margin, I feel that I should give y’all a snapshot of who I am. So here’s a list of a few things that I believe to be true. (Shouts to Scoop Jackson for the inspiration)
I Believe American Gangster is Jay-Z’s best album.
I Believe Money is both the best and worst thing to happen to Hip-Hop music.
I Believe that lyrics come FIRST.
I Believe that mainstream white America still doesn’t want to accept Hip-Hop because it still doesn’t want to accept black people.
I Believe if T.I. did what they said he did, he deserves to go to jail.
I Believe that the fans are more to blame for the downfall of Hip-Hop than the artists.
I Believe the money hungry executives are more to blame than both of them
I Believe the Rap Gods heard our cries when we lost Pun… So they gave us Joell Ortiz.
I Believe that the South isn’t the reason for the “death” of Hip-Hop, wack rappers are.
I Believe that Young Jeezy and NORE have managed to have successful careers despite not being able to write one quality rhyme worth remembering.
I Believe Joe Budden is the best rapper no one wants to pay attention to.
I Believe that Speakerboxx was overrated and wouldn’t have sold if it wasn’t for The Love Below.
I Believe mixtapes have helped artists get discovered but also hurt the quality of their albums.
I Believe that Will Smith is an important emcee and should get as much credit for helping Hip-Hop as anyone else.
I Believe that most female rappers don’t sell because they are female; they don’t sell because they aren’t that good.
I Believe Lauryn Hill is the most skilled female rapper of all time and could make a case to be on anyone’s top lyricists list (male or female).
I Believe that if you were dope in 1988, it doesn’t mean your new music is dope in 2007.
I Believe rappers should start taking responsibility for their lyrics.
I Believe Ja Rule at his best is a better rapper than 50 Cent at his best.
I Believe that Lil’ Wayne should be tested for performance enhancing drugs
I Believe that New York rappers have fallen off because they stopped being innovative.
I Believe that Nas won
I Believe album sales are down not because of downloading but because most music sucks and people do not want to risk their $15.
I Believe that if the label and/or artist is careless enough to let their album leak then you have the right to hear it for free.
I Believe that if you like that album then its your responsibility to go to the store and buy it.
I Believe that Hip-Hop can change the world (if only we can get out of our own way)
Written by JusHH
16 comments:
"I Believe that Lil’ Wayne should be tested for performance enhancing drugs"
I believe this is a great line...
"I Believe that most female rappers don’t sell because they are female; they don’t sell because they aren’t that good."
I can't agree with this more. You don't see too many guys goin to copp a female MC's album and as f***ed up as that seems, the second part only lends to justify that. If more female rappers were less interested in talkin 'bout what goes into and comes outta their cooch then maybe they would be able to contribute something to hip hop; or they'd be exposed that they can't and we'd all be better off. Props to female emcees of old like MC Lyte when she spit sh** like "Lite as a Rock" and "Paper Thin," and now Rah Digga who should consider not being thought cute enuff to talk about her p**** being wet a good thing.
parents just dont understand fresh prince and know the kids don't either.........Dj jazzy jeff had a good album this yr and people sleep on it.
Yeah, to start off where he did lyrically (I still remember that "block is hot album") to where he is now... he's on the lyrical version of whatever Barry Bonds is taking
who was the last female emcee who was not only successful but also respected? (take your time)
Eve.
She was sexy without being raunchy, had depth in her songs and she held her own lyrically w/ DMX and the Lox. She is the modern Blueprint for how a female emcee should do it.
Shouts to Jean Grae, she would be the greatest female emcee alive if only people can find her (lol)
Very well stated opinions. I believe this was an excellent way to introduce yourself. I love the part about Lauryn..(Oh, how I miss her so).. And I especially love and 100% agree with the last two sentences.
Female Mc's now a days rap about things that everyone knows they haven't done which makes them irrelevant. They all talk of selling drugs.. C'mon now.. Shawnna is one of the hardest spittin, but for her to tell me about how much weight she pushes doesnt catch my attention especially since i know her history and how she was brought up into music through her father. The problem with female rappers is they ALL try to sell sex on wax. Problem is we can't see it so hearing it is just like paying 1.99 for the first minute and >99 cents for each additional
Ahhhh JusHH, we will def hafta agree to disagree on this one. Eve?!!! I'll agree she knows how to do sexy in a classy way, so when you first see her your thought isn't "somebody put a d*** in this chicks mouth." Then she spits a "rhyme." She's like the rap version of Ashanti. I think my 3-yr-old niece was ghostwriting her rhymes from the womb. It's great that her M.O. isn't look I got a p**** and I respect THAT. But I won't be able to respect her until she shows me that she can rhyme 2 and 3 syllable words.
Yeah i definitely don't like the "gangsta b***h" raps either... that's always been my problem with Remy.
That, and Remy Ma lacks substance. Even her best attempt at being gangsta is softer than 112 in the late 90s. You know, that we won't stop ish ... eh eh, eh eh.
Oh, and word to that jazzy jeff comment... return of the magnificent had some serious tracks, especially the CL Smooth joint.
I miss Lauren Hill...
i don't know that I would agree that Lauren Hill is the best female rapper....i would argue MC Lyte....her lyrics, flow, swagger all made her the best, especially given the time period.....and i would say missy elliot is the most creative female rapper (and this is coming from someone who wasn't really feelin missy when she first came out, but can appreciate her innovative approach now).
I love how of all the s**t "I Believe" in, the hottest topic was female rappers. That just shows that this never gets discussed anywhere else. Perhaps if the industry gave a damn about this subject, lauryn wouldn't have gone crazy, ladies would keep their clothes on and we'd have some doper music!
Shouts to Bahamadia and Da Brat, two more girls that can bring it!
I believe that hip-hop HAS changed the world. It has been our most influential cultural export in the past three decades. And I think this is going to pay big dividends for fans. If you can speak Japanese, listen to りんご's "旅". That's Ken the 390, Hanabi, and El-One. Even if you can't understand a word of it, you can tell the rhyming is mature and the sound reminds me of early New York's. This group is a breath of fresh air from the majority of J-rap which sounds more like pop than it does rap. The youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiFcdCudPSg
i do agree that if we like the music (or movie), we should buy or pay for it. I won't lie and say i've never had access to something for free, but I've come to understand the value in purchasing good music and paying to see movies. we need to support and show love, and i've made a conscious effort to do that. of course, i'm fortunate that I'm not too broke to do so ;)
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