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

Can't wait for this "one"

Hey you...

Congrats
written by Just K

You made it, kid. Congratulations. It’s crazy, ‘cause I can remember when your favorite joints used to come on TV. You’d memorize the rhymes in no time and spit them like you wrote them yourself. And when the videos you loved didn’t come on often enough, you’d call The Box (music television you control – damn that was a long time ago) and request them yourself. Man, your mama whooped your ass for running up that phone bill, but it was worth it to you.

Then you saved up your little money from your gig at Wendy’s and bought yourself a decent microphone. You hopped on Kazaa and downloaded one of those recording programs and you had yourself a lil’ mixtape by senior year. People were bumping it a little bit, too. That joint was horrible in retrospect. Ha ha ha. You had bars all day, but that monotone talking damn near put me to sleep. The potential was there, though, and you had the high school on lock. This hip-hop thing has always been your dream, huh?

You kept working at it, man. You kept recording. You kept putting out material. You picked up a young one along the way. You definitely did the good father thing, but it didn’t slow you down. The mixtapes started getting hotter. You started slaying beats better than the pros. I mean, I guess you considered yourself a pro even though you weren’t signed. In your opinion, you were just doing what you’re supposed to do. Got a little buzz on local radio, even got booked to open gigs when the big dogs came to town. It was a matter of time before the labels got word, dude.

And of course you got picked up. A seven-album deal, but what’s seven albums when you’ve loved this your whole life? You got your advance money, hooked moms up a little something. Got little man some fresh digs and blessed the baby moms with a little bit. Yeah, you upped your wardrobe and threw on a little jewelry, but nothing too frivolous or extravagant. You’ve got some sense after all. More importantly, you’re living in the studio, cranking out the music of a lifetime. You linked up with some local producers who make monster music and you’re making gems. Then you turn in the album to your label heads.

They ask you who produced on the beats. You kick them some names and they look around at each other, whisper a bit, and keep it moving. They don’t really react much to the tracks and you’re a bit confused. Then they get to track six, this joint you did with 8-bar verses and 12-bar hooks. One of your boys made the beat, a club joint that’s heavy on the bass, and a girl is singing about waiting for you to take her shopping or some bull$h!t. You just did the joint to put on for your peoples. Besides, every album needs one club track, right? Of course you weren’t really feeling it like that - but they are. That’s their joint. That’s the one. As far as they’re concerned, that’s the best song so far and you’re wondering if they’re listening to the same album you made.

So they listen to the rest of it and outline a plan. They like three tracks on it. You’ve got about four introspective joints. They let you keep one. The joint with you rapping in double-time flow, that’s crazy. They want that one. The keeper to them is the track with shorty singing on the hook. They consider that the demo version. They want to get a big name on the hook to add hype to it and they want the beat redone by a big name producer. Furthermore, they want you to try to duplicate that song a few times. Not necessarily the young’n on the hook, but that “happy, I want to dance” sort of vibe. WTF.

So what’s it going to be kid? They want you to make the music that you used to turn from when it came on the radio or TV. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with dancing, but a bunch of tracks of the same thing? And why they gotta scrap your people from the track? How are you supposed to tell your peoples that you knew since high school that they’re off a guaranteed hit song? Or maybe you won’t tell them. And maybe you’ll stand your ground and fight for your songs. You’re a damn artist, yo. You don’t make music. You make art. You put your heart and soul into this. You made the best damn music you possibly could. Who are these suits to tell you what will sell and what won’t? Then again, if you fight, there’s a good chance whatever album you make will never see the light of day. Not to mention that advance money’s running low. Damn. Plus you’re already known locally and your songs have been on youtube, allhiphop, and you’ve been mentioned as an up and coming artist on pastthemargin. You’re an MC now, bruh. A nine to five just isn’t in the cards. Not with people being able to recognize you wherever you work. I mean, yeah, it’s art, but this is your livelihood. This is how you feed junior. This is how you live and they already told you what you have to do to live. Decisions, decisions. Hey, at least you made it though. Congratulations.

LMAO

Affion Crocket has been one of the funniest guys in Hip-Hop for a little while now. From his work on Wildn' Out with Nick Cannon, and his classic Jay-Z impersonations, Affion is building quite the reputation.

See in order to do Hip-Hop humorously, you have to be a fan first. There's no doubt that Crocket is not only a student of Hip-Hop but that it truly is a part of who he is. His jokes and spoofs are as accurate as they are silly. Who can forget him rocking the dreads for his Lil' Wayne video.

This Drake video is just the latest of some classic humor.

Through all the thugs and G'z its great to see that Hip-Hop can still smile and laugh.

New gWiz Musik Show

The gWiz Musik Show 7.21.09

I heart you.

Truly, Madly, Deeply
Written by JusHH

With the release of Eminem’s latest album, it got me in the mood where I want to listen to all of the classic albums that I own just to get that feeling that I get when I hear great music. It’s hard to know exactly when to determine that an album is classic. There are so many false alarms – you pop it in the CD changer and you instantly fall in love… only to realize that its been months since you listened to it and almost forgot you had it. But it’s important to know when that album in your collection is truly a classic. The best way that I can explain it is in the terms of a relationship. Trust me your relationship with your album is very similar to the one you have with your girl or guy. Let’s take a trip to “Makeout Lane” or “Hookup Hill” or any of those Saved by the Bell type names and fall in love with your Hip-Hop record.


The Honeymoon Phase

Most good to great albums get here. You know the feeling well. Everything is so fresh and new. All of the verses and punchlines knock your socks off and you feel like it’s the best stuff that you’ve ever heard in your life. Oh yeah, in the beginning you forget about everyone you’ve had in the past and you listen to it on repeat. You call everyone you know to talk about this new joint you picked up and you brag about all the good qualities. Those first few months feel like heaven.

Duration: Four months

Reasons for the fall off: You realized that you now skip 3 or 4 songs; you say things like, “too many features” or “not enough songs with meaning”

The Appreciation Phase

But the few that make it past the Honeymoon phase enter a new stage. It usually comes about when you start to hear other albums and realize that they aren’t as good as the one you are in love with. You may have slowed down the amount of times you listened but hearing the others makes you appreciate that album even more. You also start to pick up new stuff when you listen. “Oh snap, I never noticed he put those two rhymes together like that”, and “… wait, that was a metaphor” are things that you find yourself saying. That same old spark is still there but there’s some real substance behind it that keeps you honest and loyal.

Duration: One year

Reasons for the fall off: beats get stale; rhymes sound too dated or contrived; other albums put yours to shame very quickly.

The Commitment Phase

After some time passes, things start to slow down. You just don’t do it like you used to. You may go a few months, maybe more without having it in the rotation. But the love is still there and strong. It could have been a conversation, something you read or just a random search through the collection has you stumble upon your favorite joint. You place it in the system and boom - takes you back to day one. Your head starts rockin, your fist starts pumpin’ and everything just feels so good. It’s like falling in love all over again. You realize that this feeling will never change and you want to spend the rest of your life listening to it. Others will come and go but this joint will never ever truly leave your rotation.

Duration: 5 years

Reasons for the fall off: You slowly begin to skip on or two tracks; Album starts to feel too long; you forget some of the intros or songs on the album; you randomly come across it and forgot that you owned it.

The Golden Anniversary

Once you’ve reached this point, there’s really no more words that can express your feelings. That album becomes a part of your history – a part of who you are. You find yourself referencing it when you talk to friends. You compare every new album that comes out to your joint. You may go sometime without playing it but you repeat it in your head and sing it to yourself in the car. If the radio should play a song from it or you hear it in the club, you act like its Christmas morning and you spazz out. Hearing each song takes you to different times in the past and reminds you of great memories. There’s really nothing else like it. The music literally changed your life.

Duration: 10 years

Reasons for the fall off: None. Once you get to this level, that’s it.


Above Picture: 15 years and counting…

4 Bars- 50 Cent: Philanthropist?

50 Cent just put out a new mixtape, 2 actually, but the one of topic is “War Angel”. 50 goes back to this original GRODT style and kills approximately 348 people in his 11 songs. This does not surprise me but his outro has me torn.

He is sponsoring an event called “Family Day” where there will be a huge cook out and concert put on for free in the 40 projects of his native Queens. There will be several Queens celebrities like Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, etc, and he’s even “taking the hood to Great Adventures” the day before. WTF!!! I’m not sayin dude can’t do right by his hood but I find it ironic that he raps about constantly killing and selling drugs to people like the ones that he will feed and take to Six Flags.

Does this philanthropic act on August 31 make up for the damage that has surely been done, not solely because 50 promotes/supports it, but because he helped perpetuate it on a grand scale? This whole thing just reminds me of Nino Brown in New Jack City giving out turkeys on Thanksgiving, sponsoring AAU teams, and handing out dollars to the little kids running around as he took over buildings driving residents out of their homes and directly causing and committing violence and turning the community into an impoverished slum.

Ya’ll know my self righteous ass had to comment on this. I was truly caught off guard when I was listening to it the other day and for a second there I was like “yo, thanks Fif, finally doing something for the hood”. And he certainly is, it’s just that I remembered that for the previous hour or so I had listened to him blast, kill, and pop these same “niggas in the hood” so like I said, I’m torn. Queens Nino Brown or story teller extraordinaire?