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Victorious? Triumph Signs With Murder Inc. In the latest escalation of rap artist feuding, Murder Inc. Records, home of such chart-toppers as Ja Rule and Ashanti, has signed Late Night with Conan O'Brien's popular mainstay, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Kind words have been scarce between thug crooner, Ja Rule, and rap wunderkind Eminem ever since Eminem's recent signing of odd-man-out rapper 50 Cent. "Did y'all see how that talking dog backed that fake-ass, blonde nigga down? That shit was gangsta; that's the thug firepower Murder Inc.'s bringing you in 2003!" said Irv Gotti, CEO of Murder Inc., referring to Eminem's brief face-off with Robert Smigel's comedic dog-puppet at last week's MTV Video Music Awards. "Triumph's a thoroughbred and we're glad to have him in hip-hop's most dangerous family." Murder Inc.'s signing of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is seen as the latest salvo in Ja Rule's burgeoning feud with the controversial Eminem, stemming from his newest affiliation with hardcore rapper 50 Cent. 50 Cent is known for his appearances on promotional hip-hop mixed tapes around the city, but struck notoriety many years earlier for his song "How To Rob." "How To Rob" name checked many popular rap artists as being precarious victims of 50 Cent's celebrity-mugging high jinks. Many of the high-profile rap luminaries mentioned, such as Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, and Kirk Franklin, sought vengeance by way of threats recorded for albums or passing references in songs, while Ja Rule confronted 50 Cent for some various comments face-to-face, leading to some physical altercations. "When we set Triumph on (Eminem's and 50 Cent's) ass, it's gonna be murdaaaah!" Ja Rule bellowed while waiting for his spouse's permanent eyeliner tatooing. Irv Gotti has apparently set his goals high, explaining that the next Murder Inc. group effort will be a re-imagining of the Jacksons' "Victory" album. "Ja's definitely the Michael of the group and Nas is the deep thinking Tito of the squad but we throwin' Ashanti, Triumph, and Caddilac Tah up in the mix to round it out -- 'Victory' was great on its own, nah mean, but MJ an'em only had Mick Jagger as a guest, we got a talking dog in our crew for life," explained Gotti. "Yeah, the album redoes the 'Victory' album almost exactly the same, but we spiced it up -- kinda like that new version of 'Psycho' a few years back. I may have to drop 'Gotti' and call myself Irv Van Sant," added the exuberant CEO. One of the demo versions of the first single is a reworking of A Tribe Called Quest's "Award Tour" entitled "Victory Tour." This early version is without Triumph's vocal contribution, but Robert Smigel is pretty nonchalant about his possible contribution. "Yeah, it should be kind of fun having one of my characters on an album. 'The Simpsons Sing the Blues' did wonders for that show," says Smigel. Smigel's Triumph is no stranger to unusual feuds. The dot-com bust Pets.com attempted to sue the raunchy, rubbery puppet with laughable results. "The funny thing," Smigel adds,"is that I think that Irv Gotti guy thinks Triumph is really a talking dog." Read more articles in Arts » |
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