Detroit vs. Everybody: Is Revenge A Bad Move?

Detroit is a city that people travel to with caution. Not only celebrities, but every day civilians certainly stay alert and keep an eye out as well. Detroit has always been known as a city to demand its respect, and take it from people when its not given to them. The motor city has bred its fair share of established artists, whether hip hop or any other genre such as Eminem, Royce Da 5'9, Big Sean, and many more. It seems Rick Ross hasn't earned the respect of the city yet, but is it possible that one song could make the city act as brash as it has been acting?

In case you haven't heard, Rick Ross was turned away from HIS OWN concert recently in Detroit. Supposedly, Ross shows up to a crowd of over 100 Detroit residents standing outside of the venue blocking his entrance. Ross had this to say on twitter about the matter: "Luv #Detroit I wuz ready to killm 2nite, heard it wuz a peace protest wit picket signs and locked gates haa." Doesn't seem to be a very disappointed man to me, but you have to question if he had already gotten paid before the actual concert occurred. It's a win/win situation if he does, not only getting paid but not having to worry about jumping around and saving your energy for a whole performance (just kidding about the jumping around part, come on, it's Rick Ross).

But I believe there is definitely more to this, if you've seen any more extended news on this, another fellow Detroit rapper Trick Trick has made a song called "No Fly Zone" featuring Royce Da 5'9. This song basically states the anger Detroit and its artists have towards artists from other areas who have not given Detroit the respect they feel it deserves. So what does this mean for the city?  What does this mean for other big time rappers?  I question this method. If you aren't making your city available or welcome to artists originating from other areas, how do you expect to get positive recognition or better the city?

This whole situation confuses me simply due to the fact that Big Sean, a known Detroit resident and representative of Detroit rap, has collaborated with Ross multiple times on his own and Ross' songs. Big Sean has also been called out on his collaborations though, most recently by Royce Da 5'9 for not calling him or showing him any love on guest verses, as Royce says in one of his latest songs "Keep It 100" off of Slaughterhouse's "House Rules" mix tape. So maybe its safe to say Sean is doing his own thing.

I've also wondered what Eminem has to do with this whole situation or if he has any say in it. We all know he is a known affiliate of Royce Da 5'9, most notably from their rap duo Bad Meets Evil. And I hope I wouldn't have to say Eminem is rather fond of Detroit. Anyways, its not in Eminem's nature to not be involved in something that includes Detroit, or really any sort of beef or diss records. Eminem built his reputation on hard hitting diss songs, but has he grown out of making them?  Or does he really just not want to be associated with the Ross incident?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Eminem or not, it seems Detroit is still laying down the law with this "No Fly Zone" policy. Trick Trick had this to say on the incident involving Ross: "All I did was teach brothers how to stand for something without being violent. What's the problem with that?  Nobody got arrested, no bloodshed, nothing wrong happened other than some people getting disappointed in not seeing what they wanted to see. For that, I apologize. But me and that man's business, is me and that man's business."

So hopefully this doesn't turn into anything bigger than what it is. Beef in hip hop has always existed, we can go back to east coast vs. west coast, Tupac vs. Biggie in that matter, but we all know how that ended. Beef can be entertaining yes, and get loads of media coverage and recognition, but Detroit is already known too well for its problems. In the long run, Detroit bettering itself and making its city available for more collaborations and things involving the community is what's going to bring this city up to its pinnacle. Its not only the artists job, but the residents, and the fans job as well to focus on the positive, and take away the possibility of any negativity directed toward it. So its safe to say we all have things we can improve on. It doesn't take being Tupac to attempt to better your area yourself, and once we realize this, we're all in for a better tomorrow.

 



           

Unreleased Music: Importance and Intrigue

So imagine this hip hop heads...you get online to do your daily music updates. Songs are in a debatable word "ehh".  You got your soulja boy here, your kevin gates there, oh lil b just came out with his 5th mixtape in 4 months? No disrespect to loyal lil b fans of course, but, well, you see a guy like me finds no interest in that. So you scroll and scroll until you believe you've lost all hope in the day until just then; BAM!  Herpes (No I'm kidding of course, Family Guy reference, sorry). But anyways, BAM!  A new (technically old) Eminem video of him at age 25 surfaces on the web and you get more excited than Royce Da 5'9 when he touches his rifle's butt.

So what brings this excitement you ask?  Well that my friends is what we are here to discuss. I can't be the only one when I say I absolutely love unreleased music, and with respect to all genres of different sizes and shapes of artists. It seems hip-hop takes the crown when we discuss unreleased material. A big reason for this possibly being the case could be the passing of arguably the 2 biggest and best to ever do it, Tupac Shakur and the literally big in his own right Notorious B.I.G. While the work ethic of both is seen differently; for example, an interview with Dr. Dre says being in the studio with Tupac is like making a whole album in one night (at least that's how I picture it, see Dre interview below starting at 3:55). Where as something new (old) from Notorious is definitely not as expected at this point, but from other's perspective might be something way more special.

Change happens in music. Sometimes its for the better and sometimes for the worse!  But nonetheless it happens. For example, the old, insane Eminem that could give the Joker a run for his money. Many people would find this Eminem more descriptive, more lyrical, and funnier in what he says (depending upon your taste in humor). Now, when we talk about the new post-Recovery Eminem, it almost seems like a different person (not saying I'm a conspiracy theorist who believes the real slim shady died many years ago and they replaced him with a clone. No really...look it up. Isn't it crazy what people can come up with?). Recovery was a good album of course, but not what fans were expecting. The opera heavy lead single "Not Afraid" to me sounds like him walking up to a church pastor on a sunday morning, snatching the mic from him, handing the church choir lyrics sheets, and just letting it all out (cue "AMEN" from the crowd).

A breath of fresh air to an old school Eminem fan could possibly be something like stumbling across a 20 year old freestyle, or an interview, enjoying the old blonde Slim Shady we all grew to know and love. These hip hop artifacts if you will, are very key pieces to seeing the growth of an artist, the struggles they go through, and who they were before they really became "somebody" as they say. The process of becoming a name in the music industry is just that; a process.

So enjoy who your favorites artists may be now, enjoy what they're currently doing, and understand that no matter how big they may get to be, they probably do deserve their come up because they worked for it, and paid their dues. Everybody loves a throwback Thursday though, and who knows what the next big release may be, or even when it drops. So, be on the look out for new Tupac 2015!!