Peace Fam,
It has been awhile. I have been busy. Plus my energy has been real low on commenting on what is going on in the world right now. You know writers/artists are known to be a moody bunch. So that is how the story goes. I need a muse right now. I could comment on the tenth anniversity passing of Tupac (RIP PAC), however I will leave the tribute to be covered by those so many blogs & website's out there. All Hiphop.com did a pretty decent job on the man. The other big news has been on Jay-z and his "end" of retirement. We all knew it...when an artist has a true love for this culture and in Jay's case rhyming..he will do it until his lungs collapse. So as I was flipping through Entertainment Weekly the one with Jay on the cover...the story that caught my eye was the little short on page 22 by a Magrgeux Watson called "Rhymes and Reasons" Female rappers used to grace the charts. Why are they getting sold short now?
Wow...where is the Source or XXL on this one? Anyway in the article it is quoted "R&B pop stars are stealing female rappers' thunder by embracing street smart looks and hiphop sounds." She notes four major reasons.
Well I did ask the question a while back have female emcees lost their swagger? Afterall the mesh of R&B with Hiphop (Mary J Blige-love ya Mary & thanks to Teddy Riley-who dubbed it new jack swing)have been together for a minute now. So I guess my mind did not even travel there. The music corporate business in general has not been kind to artists nevermind to female rappers. I just figured like anything with racism,sexism etc it is a constant struggle that we have to battle. So I did not go there either with my thoughts. She also measured success from a "sales" point a view...and again I did not enter that realm, when I asked about swagger. However that does not mean it is not revelant to look at it from that stance. Of course she took the normal route of that quote about who listens to rap music which Davey D revealed the truth on that a while ago. Now a days skills rarely go with record sales...as MC Lyte once said "I don't create a character when I am on the microphone." Well those days are done. There are a whole bunch of "characters" in the game now. So I wonder are the pop divas stealing their shine? I don't think so..I think marketing,promotions,it's the fans' mentality on this issue now a day and a whole load of other bullsh*t are mixed up in this.
What this article did spark for me is that I would love to see some interviews with some female emcees on this issue. Or a more in-depth article about this. I mean...we want to know more than what designer they wear.
One
Storme
The rare breed
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