The Rap Trap

You say Hip Hop is a culture but I ask you where’s the language

Please don’t respond with answers like Ebonics or Splanglish

Praising Rap demigods who perform conniving theatricals

With formulaic rhymes, it’s nowhere close to being magical

Public relation experts twist ill reps to dizzying effects

Numbing the minds of the audience left with no reflex

Those deciphering the truth not permitted in the inner circle

Remaining underground deemed dead though the minds are fertile

Some might climb industry gates to be accepted in certain camps

Filled with gratitude and thanks until their ankles get clamped

Plus political prisoners, don’t get the attention they deserve

Their causes unheard while ‘rap’ sheets of rappers’ get preserved

Since the Beast promotes capitalism at any cost like selling our souls

As a whole we can make progress but as individuals we create holes

Since too many mongrels utilize Rap to advance in corrupt society

With no sobriety, drunk off the allure of sex, money and notoriety

Platinum and diamonds chains sparkle in the eyes of despised men

Misguiding young minds towards wrong paths thru false advertisement

Youths sent to prison thinking it’s a “rite of passage” to reach manhood

Only to have their manhood taken in prisons packed tighter than can goods

Warped beliefs from hard headed individuals who refuse to link to real roots

Concrete walls trap strong minds from discovering the concealed truths

Any chance for redemption falls on deaf ears due to fallacious rhetoric

As glorification of thuggery and carnalities breed nothing but degenerates

So our ancestors cry out for us to return to our first thoughts

Embedded deep in our hearts to restore the lost arts

Secrets confined and designed, encoded in our genetic blueprint

For generational improvement that can lead to our spiritual attuning

Success is learning from those who came before to teach those who come after

Failure is conforming to mediocrity like idol worship of Ceremonial Masters

So don’t get caught in the aspect of Hip Hop we convey our thoughts in

Since Hip Hop should be our generation’s way to prevent from getting boxed in

Death of a Popstar

“Money can’t soothe your soul. I was making a lot of money but something didn’t feel right spiritually for me. I just said I wanted to do something different.”

Rattling words, and in the music industry in todays decade it's rare to have this frame of mind.

How does one impact the world from standing on couch cushions and drinking alcohol, nightly.

As I've witnessed first hand many get lost in the lime light that this industry offers. Some of the best

intended individuals will loose themselves, even get lost on their own path.

Lavell "David Banner" Crump in my opinion is greatly under appreciated for his charity efforts.

2004: Banner personally funded his own scholarship contest which rewarded five students each $10,000

2005: Banners work in the Hurricane Katrina Relief alone raised upwards of 500,000 to help the hurricane survivors.

During the length of Banners Career he has supported the following charities to name a few, Stewpot Neighborhood Children's Program, Activism efforts for Haiti Hip-Hop Caucus, RedCross, Heal the Hood Foundation, California Disabled Veteran Business Alliance

He's mindblowing, pay attention to this man. Try and keep up. Beautiful mind, with more to share with the world. Under-rated music, and efforts put aside. Applaud the man.

*clap clap* for Mr. Amazing.

I can only hope that some others, will appreciate the good merit of this man, and follow along his footsteps and make a difference aswell.

You don't have to be a Rap star to make a change in society or to help the world.

Small steps, turn into big steps.

Big steps turn into leaps.

The Coolest: Lupe Michael Young History

Michael Young History/"My cool young history" (AKA "the Cool") – A young kid with no father, a mother, & a young sister. No father figure in his life has caused him to fall to temptations in life in order to be accpeted & in order to be "cool". He is pictured as having a right hand of all bones, right hand meaning he has lost his righteousness. Michael Young History is 1s

t recognized in He Say, She Say and ends in The Cool.

The Streets – A woman personified as temptation & deception. The streets is a charector who is married to "The Game". She is represented as having a locket, with the key who she only hands out to a few. This key represents "The key to the streets." AKA – Money, fame, popularity.

The Game – Married to the Streets. The Game is a character personified as the hustlers game, the pimps game, etc. He is the skill & the brain behind certain "cool success". He is designed as a skull head, with dice eyes, & inhales/exhales crack smoke.

A pic. of all 3 below from "The cool" Album art.

The Cool" is played by Kadeem Hardison.

Plot -

Michael Young History (aka "The Cool") grows up with a tough life. He is abandoned by his father at a young age & struggles with life & school. The fact he has no father in his life is what hurts the most, despite having a young sister who cares for him & a hard working mother. Fed up with the struggles he is going through in life, he turns to "The Streets" & "The Game." The streets is personified as the lure & deception that is what the streets are, while her husband, the Game, personifies what is a hustle & a job. Such as, a pimps game, a hustlers game, an entrepreneurs game. In this case, The Game is the brain behind drug dealing. Both of these charectors take the place of guidance in Michael Young Historys life & he is now a drug dealer.

Over time, The Cool & The streets begin a love connection. She has a key to her, which is a key to the streets. The fortune, the fame, the glamour… The "Cool". She has given the key to some in the past, but gives it to him now.

Amongst all this success that The Streets & The Game have brought to The Cool, he once again goes through trouble.

The Game & The Cool are coming back from a club one night & stop so The Game can use the bathroom. While The cool is in the car (listening to the song The Cool), He is shot & killed.

It’s never revealed who killed The Cool. But, with the love affair going on between The Cool & The Streets, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was The Game. Especially since the song following The Cools death (The Die) is Put You on Game.

Michael Young History then is later buried & breaks free in The Cool. He journeys back (with a right hand of just bones because he has lost all righteousness) & goes back to where he was shot. The reason he is not dead in the 1st place & the reaosn for his quote at the ending of the song The Cool is basically because he was rejected by Heaven & to bad for Hell.

Songs for reference

• Real recognize real( The introduction of "the streets and "The Game.)
• He say She say( The cool’s childhood)"He’s starting to harbor cool and food for thought"
• Put You on Game(self explanatory)<—-unintentional double Entendre on my part
• The die(The Game And The Cool’s convo before the death of The Cool)
• The Cool (The Cool’s ressurection)
• The Coolest (The Cool and The Streets relationship)

I also believe "Streets on Fire" has something to do with the story, but that song is also A story within itself. "The Cool" and "The streets" also appear in the "Superstar" video more than once.

KanYe's G.O.O.D Fridays: G.O.O.D. Idea Or Bad?

KanYe's G.O.O.D. Friday started a few months back and fans went ecstatic over new Kanye West music that would lead all the way up to the release of his upcoming album. As the weeks rolled on Yeezy never disappointed, dropping a track every Friday, or early Saturday, as promised. Then something odd happened, the tracklist for Yeezy's upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy leaked, sporting 13 tracks, more than half of those tracks were used for G.O.O.D Friday. And when you add in the actual leaks of songs like Lost In The World, Hell Of A Life & a snippet of All Of The Lights, that leaves a total of 3 songs I haven't heard from the album and it doesn't drop for 3 more weeks. So you can see why some people might be bothered by such a decision to 'leak' your own music, but I believe this is one of the better things for Hip Hop.

The biggest downside when a song or album has leaked, is that the leak will take away from the lure of the final product, like the final version of a song, or it takes away from an album as a whole. To counter that, artists put out singles to promote their album, but as everybody knows albums aren't moving units these days. Did KanYe find the perfect counter? By leaking your own music you can dictate what's heard and when. You also can cut-down on others leaking your music because YOU supply the streets with the final product.

Some will say, why should they go out and buy an album when more than half of the songs were given away by the artist for free a full month before the release of the album? It's a fact the album would've leaked two weeks before it hit shelves anyway, so the fact you get some songs early due to the artist should only help you decide if you want to purchase the album, not give you the indication you shouldn't buy the album because it was given to you for "free".

Now I will ask the community, are you gonna go out and buy Yeezy's album even though he leaked most of the tracks and will the leaks take away from the final project when it finally drops?

Who's Real?

" Tainted love in the music business

People they lose thet brain just to get up in this

Let's be a star for day, everything in life is just ok

People say things they don't really wanna say

Hey but it's ok cause your a star for the day

People a smile at you when they really wanna frown

Well a that's just the way tainted folk get down "

- Slum Village -

I'm beginning to notice a pattern here. The fake, "decepticons", the misleaders, the gamers, liars. Why is it so complicated to be real to one's self.

The Lime-Light

The Front.

Everyone's popping bottles in the club, who's paying rent?

Seriously... If I find another chain wearing, bottle popping, groupie fucking, escalade driving broke as a joke dude, I'm going to die of laughter.

Pay some bills. Buy some groceries.

( at the end of the day, all they have is what's on their person & not much more )

The music industry, portrays an image of glitz and glam.

Reality is not a music video, and 90% of the people whom appear to have it all, truly have nothing compared to the rest of the world.

Spare me, all that glitters ain't gold.

With all the Ghost Writers, Leased vehicles, loans, fake chains, phony posse's, paid off models, and comp'ed bottles...it's surprising people keep acting so surprised when they find out the object/person in question is in fact fraud. Really though?!?! Come on people, you think Rick Ross is the first to rock something less than authentic? Truth is, rappers bonuses aren't as big as you picture them. We're almost expecting too much. Or is that the industries blame, for originally portraying that image?

From my personal experiences, I've even found out that many of the Highest-Paid in the industry are sporting fake chains. & Their wifey's have the grade A knock off's aswell.
Part of it is hilarious, part is actually saddening. They wouldn't do it if they didn't have something to prove.

"He's phony, she's fake that's the type of people I hate"

We've now got a "Fake it till you make it" Policy in action.

You're not touring, selling albums, giving speeches, producing, modeling, and you don't own any parts of your company. But some how you expect me to believe that you drive a lamborghini, and own a penthouse? Riggghhhhttttt. Sure buddy!

I know rich, I know wealthy, I know people with so much fucking money they don't even have to think for themselves. & You, Sir or Madam are not one of them, so why don't you save your funds, and give up that rental lambo, and year leased condo in soho.

I'm retouching this subject because I see more and more of the front daily, and no one really ends up saying... "It's okay, you don't have to be like that"

Personally I just want to hear good music again

At the end of the day, these rappers, athletes, actors, go home to the same things that most of us possess, if not less. They have their bored moments, and become adjusted to their lives, just as we have.

Spending all their money to just front the appearance of having money.

Selling themselves to the mainstreams wants and needs. Since when has being an artist lost the creative aspect. No one's making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals.

And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together. Art isn't meant to be mass produced. A lot of artists have turned into puppets of these major labels. Act this way, do this, wear that, go here, date them.

"But you have to be creative on how you sell yourself and market yourself."

-Talib Kweli-

Even those who're trying to be "different" end up being the "same" at the end of the day. They're all trying to achieve one thing. "Success"! But what is you're definition of Success. It is when our vision of what make's us truly successful changes. Is wealth you're definition? Wasn't your first dream to share your music & art with the world? But not it's turned into the love for money, no longer the love for music.

"She want that old thing back, she want those heroin tracks"

Is it too much to just ask that you invest your time into your music instead of impressing us with glitz and glam. I could give 10 less fucks what you drive, or wear. I can't see that in the music I hear.

Maybe then you'll stop writing lyrics about materialism.

Dear Hip Hop,
Give me something deeper to think about. I miss the old day's... now you're so vain.

Sincerely ,

Mish Goddess

xoxo

MM4: A Turn For The Worst

Internet Soldiers! Even though we have yet to be given the constantly delayed album, Joe Budden still finds a way to please fans with the forth installment in his highly praised Mood Muzik series. Mood Muzik 4: A Turn For The Worst gives us another twisted view into the mind that is Joey. I must admit I have been waiting for this since I heard it would be a bit lighter in topic content, I wondered how exactly he would do that and stay true to the theme of the mixtape series. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mouse gives us just what most fans have been craving a solid project. How is it that Joe continues to shoot down haters from all sides? It's easy to see that he is driven by the constant need to prove himself and MM4 is no exception!

Production – 8

Joey’s achilles heel as far as I am concerned is his beat selection. There are times where he makes good on a project, but for the most part I don’t always like his choices. The good thing is, he could rap over elevator music and his words would take over. For Mood Muzik 4 he does a better job of picking beats, but I have to belittle this part of the tape, if anything. J. Cardim produced the majority of the tracks and surprisingly the two have great chemistry together, but it’s just a shame that he didn’t do the entire thing. A few times the beat just seems like something that gets in the way of Budden’s story and there is nothing worse then wanting to change the track just because of the annoying samples and weak drums. Even with that said, the tape still does a great job of giving listeners something they can bump and vibe out to while driving or just relaxing around the crib.

Lyrics – 9

Is it the Shoes? Hah… nah but in all seriousness, this is why one listens to this dude. His ability to paint a picture with words is like only a few in the game. I find myself having to listen a few times just so I can catch all the double meanings and similes that are thrown around. Ranging from topics that we can all relate to, Joey is just real and bares it all. This has become a staple for him as a rapper, when listing you get a sense that he’s giving you everything he has on every track in every line and that is comforting. Don’t get me wrong, there are those times where I think to myself, “what the fuck is wrong with dude and why can’t he rap about something happier.” I like how his content is a bit more uplifting then previous Mood Muzik installments, but he stays true to himself and his series. This isn’t your dumb down’d type rap shit, so if you don’t have at least a bit of intelligence this along with the majority of Mouse’s music isn't for you.

Songs – 8.5

I have to admit that besides Halfway House or MM2, this might be my favorite collection of songs that Joe put together. I like the lack of features, and could have even done without Royce on Remember the Titans. It was a good track without him and his flow doesn’t fit in for me. Crook kills on Sober Up, and has a song stealing verse. Role Reversal, Welcome Real Life and If All Else Fails are just some of my favorite tracks on the tape. Having said all that,Come Alone, 1000 Faces and Inseparable just didn’t do it for me. I know the latter two are good tracks and demonstrate just how personal Mouse can get on a track, but to me all these were fillers and a 14 song track list would have pushed this up a bit higher. Another standout part of the tape was Emanny, fans have grown familiar of the R&B singer song writer who I hope continues to work with Joe to create even more amazing music.

Overall – 8.5

Now before you Internet soldiers get all hot and bothered by the lack of slobbering, remember that this is just a mixtape and Joey still owes us The Great Escape As a fan of Hip Hop, I am constantly asking for new music and never satisfied. This mixtape has quality music and plays out better then most albums. Skits and all, not more can be asked for. If you have to nit pick again the only thing I could not get over were the beats. Some might say forget the beat his word play is so good it out weighs the production, however to be extremely honest isn’t that why Joe isn’t on a major now? Anyway, I look forward to seeing some visuals from this project, and to see when I finally take it would of my CD changer. To be a Joe Budden fan, one has to have an acquired taste, he's not for everyone, and if you're one of the lucky ones that it actually is your mood, it can not get any better.