Opinion: Kendrick’s Diss EP… [against Drake]

Before you are writing and even considering of publishing anything. There is something new out. The rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake continues and we are now on the ACT:4. That’s done before Drake responded to “Meet the Graham’s” which was a direct response to “The Family Matters”.

Drake is losing credibility and integrity, if he had it in the fist place. The culture of hip hop is seeing for who he is. So, before we have time to digest “The Family Matters” and “Meet the Graham’s”. That was already a big blow to Drake.

The sinister tone of “Meet the Graham’s” and the way he was advising family members of Drake. Talking to Adonis, mother and even unknown daughter. Who knows… and it is all speculation, but it is hurtful. Drake is being destroyed and being mentally targeted.

Kendrick Lamar has either an EP of diss records towards Drake. If not his creating a whole LP to show how Drake is wrong. K. Dot has already dropped “Euphoria”, “6:16 in LA” and “Meet the Graham’s”. With the release of “Not Like Us”… he has already four records and delivered an EP of Diss records.

At this moment… Drake cannot be saved by J. Prince or anyone else. He will not be respected or be one of them. Kendrick has undermined and unravelled who Drake is. If he is a culture vulture or an outsider who doesn’t respect the culture his a part of. That’s what is shown… and it is worse than some jabs.

Kendrick has gone diabolical in this battle. His already dropped breadcrumbs in every track and revealed more information in every turn. That’s why Drake shouldn’t have taunted him. Drake cannot even come with a fashionable line or an earth shattering moment. Yes, the bars are there, but they aren’t clever or wise. You cannot go back and find more meanings too it, but with K. Dot you can. That shows the difference between these artists.

“Euphoria”, “Meet the Graham’s” and now “Not Like Us” are just signs that Drake shouldn’t have gone after Kendrick. He really should have let this one slide. Let this one go and not mocked him with silly bars. No, the lies and deceptions are now caught up. Drake shouldn’t have done this and he won’t be remembered kindly over this. No, this is a real sting. In the pop crowd and the ones following Billboard. He will be fine and dandy, but in the culture he once was… he has lost it and has no credibility. That is destroyed…

In March 2024… it wouldn’t believe this would be happening, but now after a few weeks and Drake has been ambushed, attacked and humiliated on his own turf. He has been annihilated by Kendrick Lamar.

This beef has shown the difference between a K. Dot and a Drake. The difference between a pop artist in hip hop and a lyricist. There is a deep divide here and the bars shows it. The intelligence and the wit that comes with it.

No matter what Drake does now. His reputation is in tatters. OVO cannot save him now. Kendrick has solidified his destruction and if Drake responds to “Not Like Us”. Certainly, K. Dot has one more in the chamber awaiting. He has calculated it and knows the subject matter too. Which is why he could drop “Meet the Graham’s” an hour after “The Family Matters”. Seriously, the leaks and internal issues of Drake must be messed up.

This beef is like nothing we have seen… the speed and the amount of content. While everything should listen up and see the cleverness of K. Dot. He has planned this and planted the seed. Drake is just toying around and thinking he can outwit someone. If not get help by social media and new media like DJ Akademiks and Kai Cenat. However, that doesn’t hold and isn’t enough when competing with Kendrick. That is obvious… Peace.

Opinion: Drake should regret taunting Kendrick Lamar

The Canadian Superstar, Rapper and Recording Artist Aubrey Graham aka Drake should regret that he went after fellow Rapper Kendrick Lamar Duckworth aka Kendrick Lamar or K. Dot. Last month in April, Drake went after him with two diss records. These was attempts to taunt and haunt K. Dot after his guest verse on the Metro Booming hit “Like That”.

Now in end of April and early May, K. Dot has responded twice. Drake’s “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle” cannot compare to the significance of the “Euphoria” or the “6:16 in LA”. Kendrick is now softly burying the Canadian. He should reconsider his approaches and how he plays. Because, Kendrick is leaving nothing behind and is even giving Drake a lesson.

Certainly, Drake will not loose sleep over this. His recording contract is solid and his career won’t be over. Nevertheless, this hurts his pride and K. Dot is going after his character. Everything that Drake cannot buy or act like.

Drake’s gig is up. The conspiracies will now surround him. The manifestation of what his life has become. Maybe he didn’t start from the bottom, but certainly his still here. Whatever delight the meme’s and the internet culture is giving him. It isn’t bringing him leverage against K. Dot.

Kendrick is outsmarting him and even advising the fellow MC. That is disrespectful and damaging the nerves of a man. He is playing around his inner circle and OVO camp. This got to sting more than some subtle jabs, which we have heard from other rappers in the past.

The battle between Drake and Kendrick goes much further then the ones in the past. Pusha T is the ones that gets closest to Kendrick. While he revealed matters of significant importance and the hidden “family life”. Kendrick is instead focusing on his soul and the pride of Drake. Which can be a downfall of any big man.

Drake played around with foot-size and that Kendrick isn’t a big fella. That must be something that Kendrick has heard forever. It is simple ranking of a brother and he couldn’t care less. While lying about his own family is much worse. That’s why Kendrick said he could drop some relevant truths about you. This is what K. Dot has done about Drake over two diss records.

Drake and his stans should be reminded that this is what he asked for. Kendrick delivered exactly what Drake asked for. He wanted K. Dot to respond and answer his soft-ball records. Now he is getting schooled by a fellow peer. That wasn’t in the picture and he thought K. Dot would Meek Mill himself out of it.

Alas, that isn’t the case. Kendrick is solidifying himself and showing his capabilities on each record. He isn’t holding back and you have to listen several times to dissect the record to get the whole meaning. That isn’t in the game-plan or in the scope of the Drake records. They are just made for a quick fix and trying to fence K. Dot in. That it didn’t do and Kendrick has become the boogeyman and a nightmare for Aubrey.

Aubrey Graham aka Drake. You better call for a cease-fire and remind yourself of why you are here. You cannot defeat K. Dot and that’s obvious. Kendrick owns you and you got nowhere to hide. Peace.

Opinion: Will Smith went through all of that for “nothing”

As a man… I feel sorry for Will Smith right now. The way his been a punching bag and a laughing stock over the years. That surely culminated and got addressed at the Oscar’s last year, which has in turn stopped his career.

Will Smith has gone from an icon and a well established rapper into a joke. A simp or mockery of man. His wife or now ex-wife for years, Jada Pinkett Smith has used every opportunity to dismantle, destroy and humiliate him. While he has been cordial and stood by her side.

Will has been a stand up in guy in public. We never know what has happened behind closed doors. Except for the leaks and the talks around the Red Table. That social media show has unravelled a lot of things. As well as the steady releases of small tapes or videos from Jada. However, we can never say we have the whole picture.

Will Smith should be acknowledged and talked highly off. A man who came poor from Philadelphia and made himself a superstar. A rapper who sold records as Fresh Prince and his own namesake. Created an acting career and got an Oscar for it too. It’s not like Will Smith haven’t earned his currency and been good at it too.

While the ex-wife has tarnished his reputation. Haunted him with the Ghost of Tupac and done whatever possibly to muddy the waters. It is like she has so much spite and anger, because she married him and got kids by him. That’s how it seems…

However, without Will… no one and nobody would really talk about Jada. Jada’s career is based on her association with Will. As a woman and individual, that might hurt, but at this point it is a fact. No one has gone to the movies in decades to Jada star in it. Neither has any of her enterprises been vindicating either. She has been able to live of Will and that’s been her juice.

While she has used every opportunity to blow him out of the water. Now she is even tarnishing him further over the Oscar slap of Chris Rock. Like he haven’t paid enough price for that. Now it seems he did it all over nothing. It is like has a PTSD and just snapped over too much ridicule. Who knows? But something got to give.

Will Smith deserves better and Jada just earns currency on his downfall. She’s partying on his grave and hoping to revive Tupac at the same time. It is just despicable and disrespectful to the living and the dead. Jada should know better, but that’s too much to ask as well.

Will Smith to his credit has carried on in silence. He is awaiting his turn and suddenly he will come through. As the scandals unfold and the mockery continues. He should get acknowledged for his resilience and that he hasn’t acted in spite in public. Because the way Jada has done this… it’s unreal and total destruction of him.

That’s why I am on Team Will and Jada should enlighten herself for a minute. Think of the costs and the burden she has been to Will. However, the narcissist won’t do that and she’s her for the petty profits. Peace.

Opinion: Why are someone arrested for Tupac’s Murder (07.09.1996) in 2023?

“Interesting twist in the arrest and indictment of Duane Davis for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Davis didn’t pull the trigger (believed to have been Orlando Anderson), but under Nevada law, if someone aids and abets, they’re equally guilty of the crime, hence the murder charge” (Vital Vegas, 29.09.2023).

“We have been through decades of pain. They have known about this guy, who been running his mouth, for years. So why now? For us, this is not over. We want to know why, and if there were any accomplices” – Mopreme Shakur (Tupac’s Stepbrother reacting to the arrest, 29.09.2023).

Nah… shish… I am speechless. This is one of those cases that has caused agony for years. One of those unresolved murders, which went cold. It is a cold case and now suddenly Keefe D is the one arrested over it. After all these years.

Tupac Shakur was shot on the 7^th September 1996. That’s 27 years since the murder and now they suddenly did something. Even when there been tapes of Keefe D speculating and claiming he knew about the murder. That he was there and he even had Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs as the one offering a bounty of a million dollars to the ones that killed Marion “Suge” Knight and Tupac Shakur. Therefore, it isn’t news that Keefe D is implicated in all of this.

Just weird that the Police did intervene and arrest the man in 2023 of all the years after. It is suspect and a confusing time. This is case was cold for a reason and there is missing pieces. If there was solid evidence and witnesses. Then this case would have legs. If not the Police suddenly have found the use of technology or gotten proof of his direct involvement.

There been a tape from a confession from Keefe D to the ex-Detective Greg Kading of the LAPD. Which implicates him and where the stories are told of how it went down. As of motive, money and the reasons behind the murder. That was being discussed there and one piece was written about this back in 2011. Therefore, it is mysterious that it happens today and now.

We know Keefe D has been talking to DJ Vlad and others who has been “investigating” it. There been DVDs and Documentaries about this killing. However, nothing has helped the case and the Police have looked like it even cared.

I have a hard time believing this, but if there is proof and evidence backing this up. I am fine with it. Regardless of anything… the murder(s) or accomplices in the crime should be punished. It was a murder and no one has answered for it. That’s justice denied for the family and friends of Tupac. They have never known who really did what and only heard hearsay for years. Therefore, today can be a resolve, but we don’t know if that is true.

Keefe D, the gangster now have to answer for himself. His now arrested and state property.

Right now I want to see court documents and the filings, as long as they are not under seal. The Grand Jury and the Police better come correct on this one. Not only for the sake of Keefe D, but for the family of Tupac. They are the ones that lost someone and has never gotten to know who was really behind it.

If it is Keefe D than the family of Tupac can get some closure. However, it is late and too damn late to be believable. It just seems so far fetched and out of order. The longer a case stays cold the harder it is solve it. This is why I am hesitant and doesn’t understand what is going on. Peace.

Opinion: Melle Mel shouldn’t have released that diss-track…

“Like a meteor hit it well there went Melle Mel we lost his ass to roids (Damn)” – Eminem on “Realest” (2023).

There are times when silence would have been better. Yes, Eminem was salty and punching a legend when he said those things on the “Realest”. While that is true. Eminem had reasons to fire back at Grandmaster Melle Mel, as he has been sny and talking behind his back. He has downplayed and disregarded Eminem in interviews. Talking gibberish and being a salty man because of his success in hip hop.

Grandmaster Melle Mel might have his reasons. Surely he does, but he cannot in 2023 not acknowledge the contribution or the legacy of which Eminem has. That has been cemented. Just like himself and his part in the group of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, which created classics and epic music back in the 1980s. That’s a fact and “the message” will always sound vibrant and be relevant. Therefore, I don’t see a reason to knock Melle Mel either. He has played his part and created history. Just like Eminem has done in his time and still putting out tracks which causes controversy. Like his verse on the “realest” that triggered Grandmaster Melle Mel.

Though, this one should have been in the draft. It sounded like old-school crowd-pleasing and lacking of bars. Neither was there any punchlines worth mentioning. It was a tragic track or record released from a legend. A legend should have kept this on the hard-drive or the engineer should have said no to release it. Because, there is nothing redeemable about it. A moment of nostalgia, but that doesn’t save it.

Just read these few bars with me…

“Yo, check your man, come and look at your friеnd

‘Cause I think that Eminem is popping pills again!

We call ’em, Pill Clinton or either, Pill Gates

What pill did homie take to make him hate the great?

Think you are, but you ain’t

Still, you made a mistake

Hit ’em, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8” (Grandmaster Melle Mel, 2023).

This was maybe his best of the record. That is saying something. Melle Mel makes The Game and MGK look like decent rappers. Heck, their lacklustre diss records are even better made than this. There is nothing to discuss or even articulate than disappointment.

Melle Mel just shows that he hasn’t grown with the times and is stagnate. Not that he has had the need to reinvent or adapt with the times. Because his flow and beat was like the old times returned really quick. Like you where in a time machine and nothing had changed since the 1980s.

Well, Melle Mel is a legend and an icon for his time in the Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. That is something nobody can take away from him. However this response to Eminem was trash and hot garbage. There been so many good diss records and still this was a softie looney tune of a track. Which isn’t what people are aiming for… the energy and the vibe wasn’t there either.

Melle Mel, this is tarnishing your own name and I shouldn’t be the guy to say it. However, here I did. Peace.

Opinion: 21 Savage is lucky if his relevant in a decades time…

““I don’t feel like he’s relevant,” he said over the call. “I just feel like he got a loyal fan base. He still makes good music.” The comment then prompted the co-host to ask 21 to define relevance. “Mostly connected or appropriate to what’s being done to be considered,” he then said in response” (Aron A. – ‘ 21 Savage Faces Backlash After Claiming Nas Is Irrelevant’ 14.11.2022, Hotnewhiphop.com).

Today 21 Savage shows what ignorance or hubris does to a person. It isn’t the first or the last time, a younger generation is downplaying the legends. That has happened as long as we can remember. There has always been a competition between the “New School” and the “Old School”. Still, in the case of 21 Savage… it isn’t even a battle, but just plain stupidity.

21 needs to chill and reconsider himself. If it wasn’t Drake or Metro Boomin he wouldn’t even have records hitting up the charts. It isn’t like he has a track-record or such a unique catalogue of records. No, his just another one of this generation and he should reconsider his own stance. Because, the same words can be pinned on his easily.

While Nas on the other hand has made quality music since the 1990s. He has classics like Illmatic and Stillmatic in discography. While he has other albums that supreme too like God’s Son and Life is Good. So, it isn’t like he haven’t made good music over the years. Now in the 2020s he has released 4 albums, three albums in the series of Kings Disease and Magic. These 4 albums are proving his relevancy and ability to make records for the time.

While 21 himself needs to reconfigure his own status. He is the one that could easily become irrelevant. Not like he has classics or albums that are discussed in the manner of which Nas is. Neither has he the cadence or flow, which will be timeless. I remember better the J. Cole feature on his track, than his own bars. That’s how I am seeing 21 and I cannot be alone.

Nas isn’t only a legend, but his someone that can go tour and sell-out shows. He has built up his own record label – Mass Appeal and he can re-invent himself. That’s why his using Hit-Boy for the production and it works.

21 himself would be lucky if he ever gets a career or the longevity of Nas. Nas has proven his skills and dropped gems all these years. While 21 has a more troubled time and I cannot even say one of his albums are classics or supreme. His just another of them popular rappers who comes and goes. 21 will have few years in the lime-light before dimming out of nowhere. That’s just how the game goes.

While Nas will be imprinted in the art-form. He has not only built up a name and has records that shows his craft. No, Nas is what 21 Savage wishes he himself could be. 21 should aspire to have a career and dropping such prestigious projects. Instead, 21 is downplaying and disregarding Nas for what he actually does. Nas can only be here because he has a following and people enjoy the content he produces. That’s why his relevant and is in a unique place.

A place that I ever doubt the likes of 21 Savage will have in 2 decades time. 21 have only dropped official releases since 2015 and is 7 years in the game. His nowhere near or has the versatility as Nas has over the years. Yes, Nas has two decades in addition to 21 Savage. That’s why 21 Savage should aspire to emulate or even try to get where Nas is today. He should study or try to understand what Nas has done over the years.

Instead, 21 is acting like his all that and his “it”. When his on a joint album and has needed support of other artists or heavy hitting production of Metro Boomin to be banging. Therefore, 21 Savage should consider his stance. Though we know he won’t back down or do such. He won’t loose face and retract his words.

Nevertheless, 21 Savage needs a miracle to be as relevant and as big as Nas is in 2 decades time. That’s just a fact… Peace.

Opinion: DJ Akademiks is a fool for this one

“Let these words be the last to my unborn seeds

Hope to raise my young nation in this world of greed

Currency means nothin’ if you still ain’t free

Money breeds jealousy, take the game from me” – 2Pac – ‘Hold Ya Head’ 1996

Sometimes it is like the current generation thinks they are better than the previous ones. There are all these metrics and these sorts games to scale it. While not acknowledging the founders, the ones that built it and the ones that made it possible for others. There are very few that legends and a part of the legacy of an art-form. However, those that are should be respected, acknowledged and given credit too. Not being dismissed, disregarded or mocked. It isn’t like they didn’t do anything. If they didn’t grab the micks in the park or listen to DJ Kool Herc. Some of the current recording artists, producers or DJs wouldn’t have a place to perform to begin with.

Just reading these words from Livingstone Allen aka DJ Akademics. The YouTuber, Hip Hop Influencer and Hip Hop News caster in his own right. Has carved his own niche and platform on Twitch and YouTube. As he has reported and been part of the culture for a “long” time now. However, these words are disrespectful.

“DJ Akademiks is in hot water after some of his comments about hip-hop’s pioneers. While live on Twitch, Akademiks referred to the legendary rappers as ‘dusty,’ He says, “them old rappers, man. Have you seen any of these old rappers who be like, yo, they’re the foundation of Hip Hop really living good?” he said. “Them n****s be looking really dusty, I kid you not. And none of y’all try to come for me ’cause I don’t f**k with y’all n****s either, so I’m just telling y’all the truth. Every time there be like an old, old n***a talking about Hip Hop, you be like, ‘Yo, bro. You sure you invented this? ‘Cause everybody else is looking better than you.’ Facts!”” (HOT 97 – ‘DJ AKADEMIKS TRENDS AFTER HE CALLS HIP HOP PIONEERS ‘DUSTY’, LL COOL J RESPONDS’ 22.09.2022).

There has always been competition between the “old” and the “new”. There has been that since the beginning of the art-form. That’s why Kool Moe Dee battled Busy Bee at Harlem World. That’s why Nelly challenged KRS-One. We can go on-and-on about these sorts of beefs, battles and their significant values to the culture. They are all a part of Hip Hop and wouldn’t have happened. If it wasn’t a time or change of the spectrum of it.

Kool Moe Dee challenged the then “old-school” party-MC scene and went in more lyrical. Just like that things has changed the art. There are people like Red Alert, DJ Kay Slay and others who has furthered the culture. It is plenty more and should be dozens of books telling the stories of the recordings of Sugarhill Gang. The rise of Def Jam and how other record labels became a thing. Just like producers who has changed the sounds, making regional differences and even unique beats to bring a certain type of heat. All of them hasn’t been appreciated, but their time and energy should be acknowledged.

Everyone won’t know Coke La Roc, neither will everyone know who Marley Marl is. Nevertheless, these has had a say and did significant things in this here game. More people might know about MC Shan or others who hit the charts at one point. Though everyone who participated and dropped their verses on wax has made a difference. It is a reason why the old-heads at one point wasn’t nodding along to the one-note-whacky fruityloopes beats. That was because it wasn’t boom-bap and the “golden era sound”. Everything has it’s moment and sudden a fad hits. However, the art and the music will move to the next.

That’s where DJ Akademiks forgets a simple fact. The real old-school wasn’t getting labels, signed by big corporate record companies. No, they were on the trenches and performed at clubs. Certain ones never hit the charts or ever became well-known personalities. Still, their performances and their flows inspired others who in the end did. If they didn’t perform and made entertainment. Others wouldn’t have emulated or created their own path.

Just like there are plenty of legends and heroes I haven’t mentioned. Neither has I have even touched the surface. It is just the loss of ideals and deeper understanding of it. DJ Akademiks is just disrespectful. That is the general assumption I have. It’s like he doesn’t value the people before him and the ones that has made it possible. Someone had to be there before and open up the gates. At one point… no one would believe this sort of art-form would ever go outside New York. Now it’s world-wide and even the K-Pop group Blackpink has a rapper as a part of their group. So, it’s not like they didn’t change or make a difference.

What the predecessors did was to open an avenue. Use their creativity in all parts of the culture. They embraced it and showed a way. Some prospered as lyricists, others as producers, others as graffiti-artists and others as breakdancers. They all played their parts. Calling them dusty in 2022 is just wrong.

I don’t expect everyone to go back in time and check up the early recordings. Neither does everyone look up to or see into the work of the predecessors even. Nevertheless, to just speak so ill of them and not give any sort of credit. That’s just wrong by all accounts. DJ Akademiks wouldn’t have a platform or place to speak off. If it wasn’t for the culture and how it has progressed. That’s because of others before him and who also did speak on the matter.

DJ AK has clearly a jaded vision and is only about the currency. His only about the coins and fat bank-accounts. However, some of the people before him will forever be respected. Their achievements and their participation will be reflected with time. They don’t need to be in a “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” or a Star on the pavement in Hollywood. No, their craft, their flow, beats or whatever will be part of it to this day.

Everything isn’t about the money. Money doesn’t change everything and it doesn’t make everything better even. That’s why still the rawest and most consistent parts of hip-hop is the underground and their releases outside the main-stream production. This is still where you can find the purest and the hardest bars. Therefore, DJ Akademiks forget a vital part of the industry and the culture itself. Everything isn’t for the Billbords or Nielsen Soundscan. Some parts are for the streets, the “RapGodFathers” and WorldStarHipHop. There are so many avenues and means to an end.

That’s why DJ Akademiks needs to re-assess his stance. I know he will be defiant. Nevertheless, he should be a bit more humble. Who says his name will forever ring or be relevant? Who couldn’t do his job or stream Hip Hop related content on Twitch/YouTube or have a Podcast on Spotify? Not like his the only one. Jay Smooth should have even a bigger platform than him on the sense of quality and resounding arguments on current topics. However, we cannot expect that in the current time. Because the loudmouth is getting more eyes and clicks, not the wits or the wise.

This is why I even had to write this to get a piece of mind. Peace.

Opinion: My thoughts on the Jay-Z verse on ‘God Did’

There been a lot of talk and hyping up the DJ Khaled project ‘God Did’. Yet another year, another DJ Khaled compilation album filled with hooks, radio-anthems and some harder tracks for the streets. That’s how this game usually goes and this time around there been talk surrounding the DJ Khaled ft. Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, John Legend, and Fridayy.

The track is around 8 minutes and 20 seconds. That’s a lot of content and needs to be consistent to be energizing. It has to a unique and special record to be able to keep your attention for that long. The first rappers like Rick Ross and Lil Wayne gets the standard 16 bars. While Jay-Z get a four minutes long verse and about 84 bars (unofficially counted myself).

The start and the 16 bars was strong, but when you continue to beat the bullet. The bars needs to vibrant and should be interesting. In this regard the first 16 bars are actually very appealing. It’s isn’t anything out of the usual. The sort of common “luxury” rap format, which we have gotten used too. The sort of rags-to-riches in a few bars story. Where you tell one thing and tell what your doing now.

The same sort of continues and the braggadocios lines are coming steady. That’s why it’s not that brilliant. It just looses steam and the story-telling isn’t really there. It is only mentioning what he has done and did in the past. He wants to be epic, but just sounds self-glorifying.

That’s why it’s all “HOV DID” and not “GOD DID” which is very deliberate. Not shocking or surprising. Maybe because he dropped an album called “Magna Carta – Holy Grail” at one point. So, he likes this sort of magnificent over his own work.

I am a listener of Jay-Z. Done since since the early 2000s, so have several of albums on my playlists. Jay-Z is a good artist and to say otherwise is foolish. However, this is not dunking on Jay-Z, but more the hype surrounding this record.

If this had been the worse on the T.I.’s “Swagger Like Us” or the “Run This Town” where it was more flavour for your ear and competition to show excellence. Because, here Rick Ross went into safety mode and Lil Wayne autotune verse was “mediocre”. So, it wasn’t like Jay-Z needed magic or be solid. He could skate on this one and not even bother actually. Both Rick Ross and Lil Wayne has dropped better guest appearances themselves. If you have followed these too… they have and even on older DJ Khaled records as well.

I expected more from the hype, more finesse, cadence and sort of word-play. In such a way that it played a bit with your mind. Here was just a A-Typical vibe and such “humble” brags that we are accustomed too.

Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z can do more. We know that and to say otherwise is nonsense. They hyped this up to get Spotify-plays and get more eyes on the newest DJ Khaled album. That’s seems like it. This verse isn’t all of that. Initially, if it was like many said on Twitter and on Social Media. I would have been hyped and over the moon. However, after listening to Black Thought’s “Cheat Codes” project. He got better bars and better verses than this. That’s just a fact and Jay-Z doesn’t have the verse of the year. Not even close… maybe commercially and with ratings.

Nevertheless, on the down-low… we know it’s not that unique or special. It was just “another one” and that’s fitting. When he did release this verse for a DJ Khaled record. Peace.

Opinion: The Game’s “love letter” to Eminem…

“When you was pretendin’ to be the white Royce da 5’9″” – The Game – ‘Black Slim Shady’

Jayceon Terrell Taylor aka “The Game” releases his new album today called the “Drillmatic – Heart Versus Mind” and his been steady releasing music since the early 2000s. His been rapper who has been long in the game. Had such a momentum and created a name on the mixtape-circuit that he had to be picked up by a major label. That just happened to be Dr. Dre’s Aftermath. Because of easier to roll out he got also put on Shady (Eminem’s record label) and 50 Cent’s G-Unit. So, the game was practically supported by three biggest stars and having the options of countless producers to make jams, which ended up in the Documentary. Everything since then is history…

Now in 2022 and with the longevity that is rare. The Game seems like his fishing for relevancy. His going back to the program of dissing and creating beef. That’s how he prolonged his stay and harden his fan-base with “G-G-G U-Not”. We know he dropped plenty of diss tracks and mixtapes targeting the G Unit at one point. So, we know that he can drop bars and be spiteful.

However, after listening to the “Black Slim Shady” the diss track against Eminem. The ten minute long with even a skit in the middle. Whatever that was the point of it is lost. It seems more like a fan lost his way and he don’t know how to admire a living legend. That’s why he tries to copy and use part of discography against Eminem. However, it is really soft and falls flat..

That he wants to do Saweetie and uses the diss to say this. Just shows how his all over the place and not consistent on the track. He maybe wanted another “300 Bars and Running” but this isn’t it. It sounds more like admiration and giving him props, than an actual diss. Like what does NFTs and Crypto got with Eminem and The Game collecting them? Good for him I suppose, but it’s not a diss that he has a digital wallet and are registered on the blockchain.

You had to go to the Third Verse for any words of resentment, but that’s more going after Eminem’s ethnicity and his associates. That’s being Royce or D12. The saying that Eminem wanting to be White Royce. Also proclaiming Big Sean or Sean Don as the biggest rapper in Detroit. That’s just trying to dismiss Eminem. While he like others also went after his daughter. Which he did with this line: “Dear Slim, Hailie’s with me and she’s unharmed for now (Dad, I’m really scared)” (The Game, 2022).

Certainly very little said or stated in this track is memorable or even disrespectful. To be a 10 minute long track, you would think there would several of bars that made you go “wow” or “did he really say that?”. Well, there is little of that, but instead getting the vibe that The Game made an unsolicited love letter to Eminem. He shows again how much he respects him and looks up to him. In such a manner that he copies and uses tropes of the old school Slim. He even made the sounds of a chain-saw, which we know Em did as well.

The Game ended with these lines: “Your fans want a rap god, well, fuck it, I’ma give him one

I came to put Slim in a box but he already live in one” (The Game, 2022).

His trying to be smart, but his sounding a like a fan who got wronged. He sounds like a man who admires and is looking up to Eminem. Plus a few side-shows, which I already mentioned and had nothing to do with Eminem.

For a man that had all the options, the biggest backers off the industry and ensured his rise to prominence. His now going after one of them to get relevancy. This is searching for a straw and going back to dissing like in G-U-Not Days. However, does days are long gone and it shows. The name-dropping machine cannot make it so entertaining as in the past.

This will get people talking and discussing The Game. It is making people react to a The Game record in 2022, but not for the reasons he wants them too. Seemingly he has lost it already and trying to catch it again. That’s why he went back to his old ways and trying to capitalize on it. There was a reason why I mentioned “300 bars and running” which could be seen as similar to the “Black Slim Shady”. The vast difference is the pin-point and the manner of which he addressed the beef.

That’s why The Game should look into himself and maybe wonder why he does this. Because, it isn’t making him look good. He wasted time in the booth and for the listener too. Peace.

Opinion: Ma$e is a walking publicity stunt

The irrelevant rapper and former Bad Boy MC is now seeking headlines. That’s why Ma$e aka Mason Betha. The flashy and shiny suits head honcho. The famous side-kick and close associate of Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy aka P. Diddy aka Diddy. He made his career with Bad Boy records and the “Harlem World” (1997) was the project that signified him. It went four times platinum!

Mase has fallen off since then. He has dropped two more projects. The sophomore LP was released in 1999 called “Double Up”. Later in his career he became a Pastor and had a church in Atlanta, Georgia. While returning with the LP “Welcome Back” in 2004. However that didn’t give him the success and the results of the past. Both these projects only got certified as gold, which was a far away from the success of “Harlem World”.

Since he returned from his tenure of being a pastor to the rap game. He went as far as relaunching “Murda Mase” and tried to get signed to the G-Unit and 50 Cent in 2005. That was certainly to get more leverage and be part of the new powerhouse of New York. However, his former label head Diddy didn’t allow that to happen. Therefore, he was only featuring on records, but never really signed to the label. Though he followed 50 Cent around for a while.

Now in 2022 he suddenly said his in Los Angles and signed to Death Row Records. The company which was in a vicious battle with Bad Boy Records in the 1990s. That infamous battle of the most prolific MCs Notorious B.I.G of Bad Boy and Tupac Shakur of Death Row. This will always signify that era and the outcome of these records labels.

So, that the former Bad Boy rapper claims or alleges to be signed to Death Row is sort of a big deal. The Death Row today is owned by Snoop Dogg. That would be a weird start to go back in time and sign an irrelevant rapper. It isn’t like Mase has made any records worthy of the streaming era. His only talked about because of interviews and sudden outrageous acts.

The 46 year rapper and former Pastor is acting all out. It is like he has to create fuzz. Just like he did with the contract situation of Fivio Foreign lately. Now he does this and says his signed. The man who wasn’t vouched to go to G Unit. What will he do at Death Row in 2022? What value would Snoop see in Mase?

Mase would fit a tax-write off and a liability, but not a credible project. There only been two projects dropped from the new Death Row and they have both been Snoop Dogg heavy. The “Bacc on Death Row” and the Death Row Summer Album. So, in 2022 the releases and the production of music has been in the lane of the label in the past. Which Mase isn’t fitting into or sounds just outlandish really.

Ma$e just wants the vibes, to be the talk of the town and be the centre of the universe again. Surely must miss the days of “Harlem World” but those days are long gone. That is proven and his momentum is gone. Unless, he all of a sudden makes a hit independently and it’s played everywhere. However, I don’t see that coming anytime soon.

I’m just wondering if he gets anything out of it. Yes, it create headlines and little press, but not something worthwhile. Instead of trying to create proper records and tracks on wax. His just being a loudmouth.

What is striking at one point he was on the trajectory of something great within the Bad Boy era. He instead wasted that and has since then worked to get back to that. Which seems impossible and the fad has moved on. That’s why even Diddy had to reinvent himself and his record label even went poppy with the likes of Danity Kane at one point.

So, Mase should either become an record-label executive in his own rights or try to drop songs that matters. Though he doesn’t seem capable of either things. Since, the last few weeks only been a shit-show. Not a good look, but then again. We are talking about him. Peace.