Back To New Orleans

Over this past weekend I went back home to New Orleans for a quick visit. Its always great to visit because there's a 100% chance that I will be introduced to whatever is the hottest track on the street out there. But unfortunately due to my absence the music that I "discovered" is pretty much old news to my people. Yet whenever they are thrown on in "The Venue" or "The Duckoff" the club still goes crazy. The first question I usually asks is "Why haven't I heard this? I only live 7 hours away!" which is closely followed by "How come they not pushing this track harder?" The response I always get is "They made it for the city." And its true.


Before Cash Money made it worldwide, The Hot Boys made a song called "Neighborhood Superstars" in which they did the usual braggadochio but contend that they are happy just doing it big at home. That is pretty much the mentality of a lot of the local artists out there. Partners-N-Crime are legends in New Orleans for making great bounce music. Their 1996 album PNC 3 is considered a "monumental classic" in the N.O. bounce scene. They were signed to Juvenile's UTP imprint and released an album called "Club Bangaz" but due to little promo of the album it went nowhere and they parted ways with the label. I was plesantly surprised that they had a "new" single called "So Attracted" (Warning: Auto Tune is being used!)



Another "discovery" I made was a song by a rapper from our old neighborhood whose name is Mugzy. His song "Tear It Down" has made noise beyond the local confines but due to the lack of a deal, the track lives on through the club & street circuit.



Now some of yall have heard this before and some of yall haven't. I know some of you saying "Typical Southern Rap" which is a valid point. But after seeing how the club reacts to these songs proves to me that even though I've been to clubs all over the country, nobody "tears it down" like New Orleans. So feel free to defend your turf, then come on down for Essence Fest, Mardi Gras or any Super Sunday and see if you will feel the same way after.

Huh bruh!

Street Cred May Not Be Necessary

My 23-year old brother is visiting for the next few days and I sat down with him the other night and listened to Rick Ross's "Deeper Than Rap". As we got deeper into the album I found myself truly enjoying the album to which my brother says "Man, that nigga a cop". After I explained to him that many correctional officers are no longer considered law enforcement because most jails in America are now privately owned and operated by outside government agencies, he still was like"I still don't believe him".


Street credibility used to be the end all, be all in Hip-Hop. If you were discovered to be a fraud, your career was over. We've seen thousands of rappers fall victim to inflated egos and phony stories about their pasts. From Vanilla Ice to Boss to Ross (wow the irony), one inconsistency in your life story or piss off a writer doing a piece about you and your next album is dead on arrival in stores.



Over the past few years, thanks to the net, even my 10 year old son can access SouljahBoyTellem's grades in elementary school. There's also the fact that so many more rappers are coming from a pool of a much larger middle class background into receiving more respect from the street that this question may no longer be needed to be asked:

"Is Street Credibility even needed anymore?"

Now for the sake of full disclosure, I will say that I think Ross's latest album is damn near classic by southern standards. The production is great on nearly every track and at times Ross shows some flashes of good lyricism. Now with that said, can any self respecting Hip Hop fan honestly believe anything he's saying? I mean if you listened to 70% of the stuff out there now could you really believe it? Maybe the movie "CB4" has made me cynical towards alot of these rappers but there's always some truth in jest.

"Only live once and I got 2 kids/ If I need to feed them then I'll get 2 gigs

I'll shovel shit, I'll C.O. / so we can bow our heads and pray over the meatloaf"

-Rick Ross "Valley of Death"

No body's (except Eminem) has ever dissed Will Smith for his style and nonexistence of street cred because he never fronted like he moved kilos or shot anyone. So why after all these years are we getting so wrapped up into whether or not a rapper is real? Remember Wayne didn't get shot, he mistakenly shot himself, but we hold him in high regard as a street credible artist. Don't let lack of credibility hold you back from enjoying dope music.

By the way this is in no way a defense of Rick Ross because I don't believe him for a Wall Street second. I don't see nothing wrong with having a job before rap but if it comes out, man up and admit it. I'll respect you more than if you just deny it when the proof has been shown.

You gotta remember that the streets are watching more than ever. Keep ya nose clean, and keep ya rhymes honest. Hip-Hop is more open minded than ever so there's no need to front. The late MC Breed once said "There ain't no future in ya fronting" and more than a decade later it still rings true.

Well to a certain extent.....

The Statements for 6/1/09

1. Can Spencer Pratt die a miserable death! And yes you can say I'm wrong for saying it but I don't give a f***!!

2. Lebron was dead wrong for not being a good sport so I'm calling it now: CLEVELAND WILL NEVER WIN A TITLE!! Mark it down, you heard it here first!

3. I'm officially joining the unfollow Diddy movement! Don't know why but his tweets and LOCK IN is getting annoying!

4. Prepare your ears for the SUMMER OF DRAKE!! I'm listening to Country for the summer!!

5. Sorry, I got caught up in that weird Prius commercial. I feel like I just took some acid looking at that s***

6. Niggas still drinking Moet? Really? You are not balling!! I can go to the supermarket and buy that s***! It's not '92, live into now!

7. Is there nothing funnier than seeing somebody get tasered? Don't tase me bro!!

8. MTV IS SO WACK!! And who's the black British rapper in the gum commercial? What a douche!!

9. Final Statement: It's amazing how suddenly girls think Wayne is cute, must be the money!

10 Bonus Statement: Nothing would make me happier than to see Wayne & Miley Cyrus hook up and have a children! Now bow your head in prayer!

Any Questions???