Thursday, March 10, 2005
Music: When Rap Feuds Were Feuds
I miss the old days of rap. Biggie v. Tupac, Eazy v. Dre, Bad Boy v. Death Row... Those were feuds.
Now what do we have? 50 Cent v. The Game? P'shaw. I don't care that they made up. They shouldn't have been "feuding" anyway. This kind of garbage just gives more ammo to the "rap is crap" types that use any negative publicity to criticize the genre.
Rap is at its best when it's confrontational. I like the laid back stuff, too, and you can't beat kicking back at the pool on a hot summer day with the stereo playing Pac's "I get around." Come on, though; tell me that it doesn't get your blood pumping when you hear the first few bars of "Hit'em up." I'd call you a liar.
"Me against the world"? That was genius. "Dre Day"? Classic. A lot of Eminem's stuff fits the bill, too, though it's more anti-society than rivalry. And I'll even grant you that 50's anti-Ja Rule track, "Wanksta," was among the best songs on his solid debut album.
But Fitty and The Game? Yawn. This "feud" seems borne of nothing, and its shelf life rivals (pun intended) Crystal Pepsi. It's right out of the WWF -- a strategically planned farce that coincides with 50's new album release. Vince McMahon is probably already figuring out how to get 50 and The Game to make cameos at Wrestlemania.
Even if the feud was real, it was boring. Tupac, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Biggie were rap icons. 50 Cent has one mainstream album under his belt, and The Game has as much name recognition as your average NBA sixth man. These two guys need to put the gats away and quit using asinine beefs to try and sell records.
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Now what do we have? 50 Cent v. The Game? P'shaw. I don't care that they made up. They shouldn't have been "feuding" anyway. This kind of garbage just gives more ammo to the "rap is crap" types that use any negative publicity to criticize the genre.
Rap is at its best when it's confrontational. I like the laid back stuff, too, and you can't beat kicking back at the pool on a hot summer day with the stereo playing Pac's "I get around." Come on, though; tell me that it doesn't get your blood pumping when you hear the first few bars of "Hit'em up." I'd call you a liar.
"Me against the world"? That was genius. "Dre Day"? Classic. A lot of Eminem's stuff fits the bill, too, though it's more anti-society than rivalry. And I'll even grant you that 50's anti-Ja Rule track, "Wanksta," was among the best songs on his solid debut album.
But Fitty and The Game? Yawn. This "feud" seems borne of nothing, and its shelf life rivals (pun intended) Crystal Pepsi. It's right out of the WWF -- a strategically planned farce that coincides with 50's new album release. Vince McMahon is probably already figuring out how to get 50 and The Game to make cameos at Wrestlemania.
Even if the feud was real, it was boring. Tupac, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Biggie were rap icons. 50 Cent has one mainstream album under his belt, and The Game has as much name recognition as your average NBA sixth man. These two guys need to put the gats away and quit using asinine beefs to try and sell records.
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