Farewell...

Dear Hip-Hop,


It’s me, JusHH again. I really wanted to thank you for everything that you’ve given me over the past 27 years. I am part of the first generation of people that were born not knowing a world before Hip-Hop music and culture so in a way I feel like you're apart of my DNA.

You have given me a sense of pride that nothing else has seemed to match. You gave credibility to the way that I walked, the way that I talked and even what I wore out the house everyday. You may not even know it but you helped turn what many saw as “street” and “thug” into “cool” and “trendy”. Now people all over the world are following our lead when it comes to what we wear and how we act.

For as long as I can remember I’ve always tried my very best to give back to you as well. Standing up for you whenever someone tried to sully your name or impact on this world. People try to hold you to a different set of standards and I just won’t let that happen around me. I consider you the only culture that I identify with so I protect you with the same passion that a Parisian or Rasta would his or her own cultures.

In November of 2007, gWiz and I had a conversation about starting a blog because we felt that no sites that we looked at gave you your just due when it came to journalism and intellectual writing. Now we didn’t want to report the news but we wanted to take what was out there and create thought provoking pieces that would give people something to discuss. We also wanted to give some light to artists and arguments that are ignored in the mainstream. Lastly, we wanted to remind those that there is a rich history to your music and artistry. You would think based on some people’s attitudes that you started with Young Jeezy and ringtones.

People loved Past the Margin. For many it was a nicely kept secret – a place to escape to when the buffoonery and ignorance just pissed you off (lol). And we’ve had some great writers come through. K.T. aka K. Billy was one of the originals and he would blow people away with his lyrical exercises. Hell, I remember waiting anxiously Thursday mornings to see what he would come up with next. He kept me on top of my game. D.O.T and Doesn’t Matt R contributed some great pieces coming from completely different places. The PTM team got even stronger when Just K hopped on board. He replaced K. Billy as the “damn is he gonna beat me this week?” His combination of depth and humor made each week so entertaining. And how can I forget my main man Four Bars. There since day one, he was the “x” factor. Our only southern representative, you never knew what he was going to write about but you knew you was going to have something to say about it. Whether it was IAN’s, BET Uncut or how Outkast is the greatest ever, it was always a great way to start the weekend. Last but not least the RZA, Black Lion or whatever you want to call him, Wiz had the vision. He knew just how to put everything together each day from the logo to the “video of the week”.

PTM was a great place for your fans to voice their opinion and we’ve had some great people write awesome comments. They brought a flavor to the site that made it really easy to write each week. Of course it would have been great to have a million hits each day and 400 comments like others but I guess its kinda poetic this way. You have always kept your best away from the most attention. When Hammer was taking over the world, ATCQ was putting out timeless music and while everyone is doing the Stanky Leg, people like J. Cole keep me in awe. So in a way I’m happy with our place and role – its like a badge of honor that I will wear proudly.

So thank you Hip-Hop for everything and I hope that for the past 18 months or so I made you proud as JusHH. (not sure how well I did during my rap career though lol) I don’t know what I’m going to do next but you can be sure that you won’t be far away from my playlist, closet or anything else that I’m apart of.

And thanks to everyone reading this who supported PTM. I hope you enjoyed yourselves, I know I loved every moment.

Peace

Justin a.k.a JusHH