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Hiphop Moratoriums

Loosie tells rappers how to act.

by B.D. | 2002.10.19

Singing emcees:

Blame Lauryn Hill. When the talented ex-Fugee sold zillions of records and won trillions of Grammys by singing instead of spitting, she set a dangerous precedent. Now we find artists like Mos Def, Ja Rule, Cee-Lo Green and Q-Tip sidestepping the cipher with increasing frequency.

It's hard to knock creative evolution, but it's a little frightening to think that these guys believe they have accomplished all there is accomplish within the parameters of hiphop. Since these fuckers are originally hiphop artists, perhaps it could be argued that their new projects are expanding the definition of said genre. Then again, isn't blurring the lines between hiphop and R&B what Puffy was soundly lambasted for?

One of the most unsettling aspects of this transition is the undercurrent of an "I'm too talented for hiphop" mentality that seems to be lurking beneath the crooning. After all, isn't Q-Tip the same fellow who proclaimed hiphop "dead"? Bottom line, stop singing and make some rap songs.

Tupac Revisionism:

We all know Tupac was an influential artist. Integral hiphop trends such as bandanas, belly tattoos and hypocrisy never would have reached their current popularity without the guiding hand of Mr. Shakur. Within months of his death, rappers began the wholesale adoption of his delivery, vocal intonations and doubled-up vocal reverb effects.

Recently, we've seen a new brand of Pacism - unadulterated revisionism. Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love Ya" was surely a great song, but the image of Jigga pointing to the sky and rapping "ladies love me long time, like Tupac's soul" was, well, odd. Not only was the line awkward, it was also coming from a guy who Tupac despised.

In an even more ludicrous rewriting of the past, Nas dressed up as Tupac in the video for "Got Yourself a Gun" and play-acted out the evening of 'Pac's tragic demise. Nas, like Herr Hovito, was also soundly dissed by Shakur on Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.

But the most absurd example of Pac-riding trend can be found on the latest Murder Inc. track "The Pledge". In a fit of Death Row-induced insanity, Ja Rule details how he and Tupac would have "ridden" together had the Pacster not been felled in a hail of bullets. In the future, let's keep the fantastical conjecture to a minimum, gentlemen.

Recycling Nineties Beats:

We know it looks like we're just trying to shit on Murder Inc. We swear it's a complete coincidence that Irv and his comrades are being fingered as violators of these moratoriums. Really, we swear. Granted, the crew's ransacking of the Badboy catalogue resulted in the rape of "One More Chance", "Flava In Ya Ear" and "Crush On You" -- but they're not the only jackers.

Over the summer, Cam'ron yoked up 'Pac's "Ambitionz Az A Ridah" and Master P's "Bout It Bout It". Eve and Chali Baltimore are allegedly stealing the beat from "Brooklyn's Finest" for a track inventively entitled "Philly's Finest".

It was one thing when fuckers were stealing beats from the eighties. At least Puff was ganking disco hits -- the latest trend borders on dancehall riddim sharing. Perhaps all the mixtape exclusive verses are to blame - cats have gotten so accustomed to rhyming over other people's tracks that making songs in the same fashion now seems to make sense. While the mixtape appearances are cool, riding another artist's recent material to commercial success is lame. It's not there's any shortage of producers out there. Shit, make a song that someone else will steal in seven years and you can sue the shit out of them when you're washed up and working as a bar-back at Club Cheetah.

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