Monday, January 30, 2006

an open letter

The following is a response to a letter that was written by a concerned sister on allhiphop.com regarding hip-hop "beef" and the state of the Black male.

My Sister,

I read the letter that you wrote to my brothers and I regarding “rap beefs” and the lack of respect that black men have for each other. I agree with you, brothers do need to have peace and respect for themselves and others. Brothers need to work it out. There has always been and will continue to be issues such as high crime rates, unemployment, gentrification, police brutality, etc. if we as black men do not learn how to deal with our problems effectively. It seems that as black men we believe that we are less masculine if we attempt to talk about our feelings instead of acting them out physically. This problem needs to be addressed because if we continue to put up this façade of false ego, we are leading ourselves, as black men, further down the path of self-destruction

Moreover, we have allowed the “gangsta” mentality to permeate the business side hip-hop. This is what happened to B.I.G. and Tupac. Not only have we let the music industry pimp us, but we continue to promote the stereotypes that have been created for us. This has caused us to let our “crews and cliques with guns”, who don’t know how to do much else, attempt to solve our problems for us.

However, I have to disagree with you on the issue of “rap beefs”. “Beef” or competition is not the problem with hip-hop. Rap music has always been about competition. Black culture has always featured “lyrical contests” involving rhymes. The Dozens, testifying, signifying and schoolyard rhymes. The object of a lot of these games was to see who could come up with the best rhyme.

Every person who has the nerve to record believes that he/she is the best at their craft and there comes a time when they have to prove that. It is the same as playing a sport or even being a student. There will always come a time when you must exercise your skills against another emcee. When someone challenges you lyrically, you have to ‘show and prove’, or you will be just another wannabe, no-name emcee.

Competition weeds out all of the wack MCs. If there were more battling, there might be fewer rappers, and t he quality and content might be a lot better instead of the watered down Hip-Hop that we hear on the radio and see on BET and EmpTV. Competition makes cats STEP THEIR RAP GAME UP! Maybe then we can be rid of these non-lyrical emcees that claim to bless the mic, but instead do more damage.

If emcees were challenged more, maybe their lyrical skills and their content would expand. Maybe we would be left with rappers who could rap about more than guns, drugs, sex, violence, and money. Maybe they would spit about who was actually the best lyricist as opposed to who has the most guns, girls, and grillz. If emcees were forced to showcase their lyrical skill, instead of their persona (real, imagined or otherwise) they couldn’t rap about nonsense.

Lyrical competition in rap encourages new and innovative ways to practice the art. The competition and conflict encourages change and innovation lyrically and musically. Without “beef”, Hip-Hop would not be what it is or where it is today. What would Hip-Hop be without Kool Moe Dee v. Busy Bee, BDP v. The Juice Crew, or L.L. v. Canibus? Do we consider these battles forms of Black on Black violence? Additionally, until brothers learn to cope effectively with our problems or “beef” (whether they are real or manufactured), I would much rather see brothers expressing their anger through rap songs than through gun shots or fisticuffs. I’d much rather have “Takeover” and “Ether”, “South Bronx” and “Kill That Noise” or “Wanksta” and “Clap Back” than read about another dead brother in the street.

Whether or not Jay responds is of no consequence. If this were conflict-resolution, it would be appropriate for Jay not to respond. This is not conflict-resolution. This is Hip-Hop. It’s not Hip-Hop to ignore a challenge. You said it yourself, Hip-Hop is just music. “Dis” records are just music. And this issue, it’s bigger than hip-hop.

Sincerely,
Akil E. Kennedy

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

81 points ain't no fluke!!!

I’m not afraid to say that I’ve never liked Kobe Bryant. I don’t know what it was, but ever since he entered the NBA, something about him rubbed me the wrong way. A renaissance man compared to the average high school to NBA story. Living in Europe and the U.S., son of a former NBA star. Kobe would have led a charmed existence had he not been a basketball player. But Kobe was good. Better than good. Maybe it was that cocky smirk that only a child of privilege could have or the constant chucking of bad shots during his first couple of seasons. Whatever it was, I had serious anti-Kobe issues.



So of course, my jaw dropped when I saw the headline on ESPN.com. 81 points? Eighty-One points!!?? Kobe went the hell off! That man is ballin’ outta control!!

He scored every way imaginable. Mid-range jump shots, driving lay ups to the basket, dunks, 3-pointers, free throws. Any way the Raptors wanted it Kobe gave it to em’. He shot 60% (28/46) from the floor, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range. Kobe also added 18 of 20 free throws. Kobe had 55 points in the second half! That’s14 more points than the entire Toronto team, who clearly began watching Kobe instead of defending him. He brought the Lakers back from a 71-53 deficit in the 3rd quarter!!

This entire season has been a coming out party for Bryant. Bryant leads the NBA in scoring at 35.9 points per game. He has scored over 40 points 13 times this season and is averaging 45.5 points for the month of January. He scored 62 points against the Mavericks on Dec 20th and sat out the entire fourth quarter!!

To put Kobe’s performance in perspective here are a few facts:
• NBA teams have been held below 81 points 99 times this season
• Spurs have been held below 81 points both times they have played the Pistons
• Michael Jordan’s highest scoring game was 69 points (in OT)
• Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s (NBA’s all time leading scorer) highest scoring game was 55 points

Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points on March 2, 1962. Wilt took 63 shots and scored 59% of his team’s points (100 of 169) that night. Kobe took 48 shots and scored 66% of his team’s points (81 of 122). If Kobe had taken the same amount of shots as Wilt, he would have scored over one hundred. Some make the argument that Kobe has the benefit of the three-point shot. I would argue that Wilt had the advantage of being 7’0 and the biggest person on the court. Kobe is a 6’7 small forward. Those hardly come a dime a dozen in the NBA. One can’t imagine how difficult it is for a wing player to score 81 points in a game considering he also has the responsibility of handling the ball and chasing his man on defense.

Maybe I’ve been too hard on Kobe. He came into the league when he was 17-years old and has been in the spotlight for most of his adult life. It’s not his fault that he’s supremely gifted.He's excelled at everything on the basketball court. Except for his few personal missteps (feud w/ Shaq, cheating on his wife, recording a rap album) Kobe has handled the glamour and glitz relatively well.



Some people would argue that Tracy McGrady and LeBron James are just as good as Kobe Bryant. Close, but I don't think so. McGrady is a scoring machine, but his defense is in need of serious improvement. LeBron has the potential to be even better, but he's not there yet. Kobe was the youngest player to reach 5,000 points (before LeBron broke the record last week). Kobe has three championship rings. Kobe has shown that he can impose his will on a game (regardless the level of competition). Was this the greatest performance I’ve ever seen? I didn’t see it. Was it the greatest performance I’ve been alive for? It most certainly was.

Shaq is still the most dominant NBA player, but last night Kobe Bryant showed us all who’s the best. It’s time for me and all of the "Kobe-haters" to stop hatin' the playa, because we love this game.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

another Vick transgression...

Dear Marcus,
Just when we thought all the madness was over with the Gator Bowl. You'd applied for the NFL Draft and everything was put behind, but you decide to pull a gun on some stupid 17-year old. And why? Because he was taunting you? I hope he called you a ni$%er or something, because if you plan to survive in the NFL you are going to need thicker skin and more self-control than that. Brandishing firearms can only make a bad situation worse. Where I'm from, you don't pull a gun on someone unless you plan on using it. That type of thing can lead to the type of trouble that you don't want. It could mean your LIFE.



And you've surely got trouble that you don't want now. They are talking three years for that nonsense. And the bad thing is, this is not the first time. Sex with a minor, underage drinking, reckless driving, marijuana possession, a speeding ticket, driving with a suspended license. Most of those things would have landed me, the average black man, in jail. And I ain't talking a small overnight stay. Because you have a god-given talent that people can profit off of you've been let off the hook numerous times. Not this time though.

I should have known better. You should have known better. Declaring for the draft does not cure the ills of a troubled past. It does not guarantee selection. Trouble with the law can only negatively affect your draft status. Ask Randy Moss. Ask one of your peers, Maurice Clarett. And we both know the type of trouble that he's in...
But you have more important things to think about right now. YOUR LIFE. As a black man in America you should know that it does not matter how fast you can run, how far you can throw a football, or who your family is. You are always being watched. Especially if you have a name.

Nothing can replace an education and common sense. No one is responsible for this situation but you. If you thought you were under pressure before....

I hope and pray that you work this out and that you can learn from this. Because IF you don't go to jail and IF you do get drafted ....

what do you think the "fans" will call you then?