WHICH RAPPER WOULD HOLD IT DOWN FOR 2010.

Which rapper do you think is going to hold it down for this year? We know JAY-Z had it on lock last year, and LIL WAYNE had the rap game in a chock-hold the better part of 2008, so who do you think is going to hold down the rap game this year?

Let me add that I have to recognise GUCCI MANE, even though I don’t really feel his style of rapping and I don’t know why he was so hot for a time. He started building steam around late last year (2009), and then he held it down through out, till earlier this year, before heading off to jail. But you still view his videos on MTV, every now, and then, and also video’s of other artist in which he was featured.
I still would like to know what got every body crazy that made them start putting him on their songs. It was like he was the new weezy.

Gucci could have had it good, he could have had a chance to reach the peak of his career if he had not gone off to jail, or rather gone back to jail for violating parole. I never get biased in any of my decisions or what I say, so if I say I am not feeling Gucci, and I still mention him, then you know I am just keeping it real. I have to admit though that there is a guest appearance I heard him on that blew me a way. His guest appearance on the YOUNG MONEY album; the track he did with lil wayne, “steady mobbing”, now, his verse on that song, I must confess, always gives me goose bumps when ever it comes on.

Enough of Gucci and off to the next one; I think T.I has a chance to hold the rap game down this year. Although it is march, and there is nothing new from him, and there was nothing new from him through out last year, because he was in jail for a year and a day, I think he has the right energy to pull off something before summer.
I have followed T.I since his inception; since when he had the beef with LIL FLIP (I have to say that I was riding with flip at first.), and I know the kind of energy the guy has when he wants to achieve something. He might not be the most lyrical, but I can say he is one of the most consistent rappers to date, along side JAY-Z. So, I feel T.I can be the hottest rapper for 2010.

Another mention would be YOUNG JEEZY. I have to tell you, I like his singles, and I like when he guest appears on other people’s songs, but I always find it hard to listen to a jeezy album from start to finish; maybe it is because his style never really changes. But he has managed to gather a lot of fans since his 2004/2005 debut, and he has promised to bring a lot to the table this year. Plus, Defjam as a recording label, have said they are all behind jeezy for his upcoming album; his 4th, so far.

I can’t but mention THE BOSS, RICK ROSS; the dude is one determined individual. He had one of the best rap albums of last year, DEEPER THAN RAP, behind Jay-z’s BLUEPRINT 3, and REAKWON’S ONLY BUILT FOR CUBAN LIINXS2. You would think the dude would relax and enjoy some royalties from the album, but nope, he is out and working, appearing hear and there to keep his name fresh in the media.
He is about to drop his 4th album, TEFLON DON, sometime in the summer, and he has guest appearance on DJ KHALEED’S VICTORY album, and has shot a video for one of the features.

The last, but not the least person on the list is none other than the Compton Top dog, THE GAME. He already has a street single, BIG MONEY, which is bumping on most people’s deck’s and has shot the video to the official first single, SHAKE, produced by COOL N DRE.
I tip my hat to game, as he managed to make it back with the master producer, Dr Dre, something that a lot of people thought was impossible, a couple of years back. I think with the guidance of the good doc, he could pull out a masterpiece with his upcoming album, R.E.D; which is his official fourth album.

Yep, those are all the rappers I give it to hold down the rap game for this year. What do you think of the list?

THE FUTURE OF HIPHOP.

When NAS made the statement 'HIPHOP IS DEAD', i felt his plìght, but i didn't totally agree with him. I would say rap, an element of hiphop, is dead.
I don't know what they call what they are doing now, but it's definitely not 100% rap. When i first heard of KID CUDI, i heard he was a rapper, but i am yet to really hear him rap. I heard day n nite, his first single and i didn't know what to call his style of music. Then i heard him on 'welcome to heartbreaks', a track on KANYE'S 808's n HEARTBRAKES album, and he was singing.
I think hiphop is evolving, and the college kids are taking over, with their father being kanye.
DRAKE, kid cudi, CHARLES HAMILTON, J.COLE, WALE, this are some of the young and new breed of hiphop artists.
People are tired of all the gangsta stories; the drug dealer story telling is played out. T.I, YOUNG JEEZY and the likes can only save them selves for so long. HIPHOP is definitely not ruled by the south any longer.

GANGSTERISM AND VIOLENCE IN RELATION TO RAP MUSIC. (PART 1)

It is so sad how the public seem to tag rap with negetivities like violence and gangsterism. People make the mistake of judging a good rap album by how hood or gang-related the artist is(are). Rappers now dwell on that factor and sell gangsterism. It's now about how good you can paint a gang-related/affiliated picture in your lyrics, mixed with ghetto 'rags to riches stories'. This should not be the case in judging how good a rap artist is. It should be about the lyrical content, mic skills, delivery and flow.
You have exceptional rappers like common, talib kweli, lupe fiasco, mos def, kanye west and krs 1 that don't fuse any form of gangsterism in their lyrics.
Back in 2006, after nas dropped his hiphop is dead album, southern rapper, young jeezy questioned nas's rights in making that statement. His reason was that nas had never been in a gang, he has never sold drugs or busted guns before. Now, should that be the criteria for making a statement like 'hiphop is dead'? Is that the criteria of a good rapper?