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.
