Being a photojournalist and lover of ART, I am always compelled to partake in the latest and greatest of the beloved subculture of Art which we know as "music". Since there is nothing new under the sun, it's interesting and spectacular how truly creative, gifted artists can still find a way to make their material new and fresh for the times.
When I think back to my pops, and my grandfather, I think about how each of our respective generations view the other generations music and to a certain extent we are at ends but we still appreciate certain aspects of it.
As I become the old head I do however have to wonder what's wrong with this new generation? When did it stop being COOL to be a veteran? It seems like that is all you hear now a days from youngsters wet behind the ears disregarding those that paved the way.
I would never discredit any person that came before me, but now it seems the "new school" gets a kick out of dissing anyone older than them. How can you diss"respect" someone that paved the way for you? Its okay to be competitive and think you are the best, but where does any new school person have the right to disrespect someone older.
For example, I am a photographer, a pretty damn good one at that, but why in the world would I disrespect world reknown, sensational photographers such as Annie Leibovitz or Gordon Parks to make a name for myself?
In the past, I recall Lil Wayne saying some remarks about Jay-Z and I wondered, "um, the audacity?" Now you have Lil B The Based God & Tyler the Creator, (who??? yeah I know) apparently taking shots a Kanye West?
Seriously, this new school mentality is insanity to me. Nasir Jones would never diss Rakim, Jay-Z would not take shots at Big Daddy Kane, and 2Pac nor BIG sure would come at Ice-T or Run DMC sideways just to make a name for themselves.
The respect has been earned by these legends and pioneers of the game and should definitely be given that due respect. This respect should be given especially since these artists successfully performed in an era completely different from today's Internet based industry driven by greed more say than passion and the love of the art.
To be clear, I'm not knocking any new school artist grinding and doing their thing, but let's be honest, these new cats have a long way to go before they can box with the throne. To these new guys trying to make a name for them selves, the solution is simple. Stop talking down on pioneers that did it better and longer than you, just make great music for the next 20 years and then after that, make your comments accordingly.
To put it simple, Lil Wayne is on the drug called Charlie Sheen and is winning, period.
After signing Drake and Nicki Minaj, the two hottest talents in rap right now, F. Baby may be the next Dr. Dre of the game (finding talent, and breaking in SUPERSTARS).
In 2008, I think by continuously delaying The Carter 3 for a few years before finally dropping a Weezy F hydro-bomb for the people, Weezy basically grabbed the public's ears and never let go.
And to top off all of the other street buzz, Lil Wayne gets back to what got him to the top which is the music.
Mr. Carter has finally dropped the video for one of the hottest songs in the country right now, Six Foot Seven Foot featuring Cory Gunz (Son of Peter Gunz).
The Video takes a Matrix/Inception approach, and seeing as how the lyrics in this song are very cunning it makes perfect sense to use the reference. Are you paying attention, or looking at the fly honey's in the Red Dress!?
Anyway, check the visuals for Six Foot Seven Foot.
S/O to Xclusives Zone for the video.
See this is exactly what I am talking about. Like I said before, my New Years Resolution is to be the photographer in the studio with artists while they are creating that heat and also doing my I.$.H. Diddy Bop like yeah that's hot, but add a triangle and some more cowbell on that beat! HA! A good music video embraces the song’s lyrics and provides a visual aid for the viewer that interprets the meaning of the song, but a great music video has the viewer rewinding the video to pick up all the double meanings and hidden messages.
The brand new music video for “No Love” Eminem featuring Lil’ Wayne, premiered last Thursday night on MTV and in my eyes, the video is exactly what the doctor ordered.
However, according to lackluster online bloggers like www.idolator.com’s Becky Bain, some people are apparently just too simple minded to understand the pure genius behind this artistic view of school bullies and how some of us find ourselves playing the role of the underdog on a day-to-day basis.
The video opens with a shot of a young boy sporting a black eye and then pans over to a scene that shows him getting pegged by dodge balls as he tries to fend off his bullies by knocking the balls away from his face, since he has no chance of catching one with three attackers simultaneously launching them at him.
Next up we get a shot of the young boy’s room, his walls are covered with Lil’ Wayne and Eminem memorabilia and extra attention is focused on the motto embedded on Eminem’s “8 Mile” poster, “Every moment is another chance,” as the kid hangs his head and sits on his bean bag, contemplating life’s obstacles.
After the sample of “What Is Love” kicks in, Lil Wayne’s verse begins and the boy is shown getting dressed after gym class as the same bullies approach him. They push him around, eventually knocking the fitted cap off his head and pinning him against the lockers.
The bullies continue intimidating and demeaning the terrified youth, but even though the kid has heart, he’s seen looking down at the floor and the viewer can just tell that he’s had enough of their cowardly attacks on him.
Wayne’s verse is very dark, which fits the scenes of the boy being portrayed perfectly, as he raps memorable punch lines like:
“I think about more than I forget/ But I don’t go around fire expecting not to sweat,”
“Ok you want me up in that cage, then I’ll come out in beast mode/ I got this world stuck in the safe, combination is the G Code.”
And:
“Be good or be good at it/ fuckin’ right I got my gun, semi carter-matic” (a metaphor that he’s “strapped” with lyrical ammunition/ wisdom to deal with his foes… not an actual gun, despite popular opinion like simple minded critics such as Bain may be prone to point outJ)
Halfway through Wayne’s verse, the same kid is shown walking through the hallways at school as the lead bully purposely bumps into him, trying to scare him, but finally the victim stares back coldly and the viewer can sense that soon enough he’s going to stand up to this non sense that’s plaguing him.
While Wayne’s verse is dark and portrays the gloomy opening of the video fabulously, the last ¼ of his verse is sped up and has more of an upbeat “I’m going to strike down my enemy” feel to it.
The viewer can sense the change in the young boy’s demeanor as Wayne raps frantically about not being able to keep him down, while the boy in the video fights back for his hat in the restroom of his school as the bullies try to steal it from him. Weezy concludes his verse with:
“You can keep knocking, but won’t knock me down, no love lost, no love found.”
At the conclusion of the bathroom scene, which ends with the young boy being knocked down to the floor after he stands up for himself, Eminem begins what is arguably this year’s best verse in rap, and in my eyes, one of the greatest ever.
As Eminem is shown standing in a recording booth rapping his lyrics, the young boy goes to his house where his father is shown looking at the marks on his son’s face from the altercation and seems to be mouthing something along the lines of “do something about it,” the young boy jumps on his skateboard and heads back to the school as Em raps:
“Man get these wack c*&ksuckers off stage/ Where the f&^k is Kanye when you need him?!”
The verse is incredibly symbolic of the upcoming scene in which the boy is finally ready to make a stand against the bullies, once and for all. Em’s lyrics have an underdog vibe to them, something I haven’t really felt him convey this strong in his music since the “Marshall Mathers LP” days, his wordplay and delivery are amazing and the director of the video does an incredible job capturing the power of the verse on film. As Em spits ferocious bars such as:
“It’s an adrenaline rush you feel the bass thump all the way to the parking lot fellow/ set fire to the mic and ignite the crowd you can see the sparks from hot metal.”
And:
“Till’ I’m toppling from the top I’m not going to stop/ I’m standing on top of my Monopoly board/ That means that I’m on top of my game and it don’t stop till my hip don’t hop anymore/ When you’re so good that you can’t say it/ Because it ain’t even cool to sound cocky anymore/ People just get sick when you spit/ These fools can’t drool or dribble a drop anymore”
The young boy is shown in a separate scene fighting back against the school bullies, punching the leader of the hooligans in the face and then shoving one of his accomplices, however at the end of the video it’s revealed that the boy was just imagining physically fighting back against his foes and instead walks past them now with a new found swagger.
Instead of attacking him like the bullies had in the past, stares are exchanged and the boy continues on his way to class, his enemies are now nothing but irrelevant chumps to him, their immaturity can no longer bother him.
Much like Eminem’s film “8 Mile” the video provides a memorable depiction of the underdogs in our society and how we cope with our daily dilemmas. Overall, it’s definitely not the greatest music video ever, but it definitely was an incredible portrayal of Em and Wayne’s lyrics from the song.
And nothing is stronger within the song than Em’s final bars of his verse:
“You’ll never take my pride/ Killing the flow/ Slow venom/ And the opponent is getting no mercy/ Mark my words ain’t letting up/ relentless/ I smell blood/ I don’t give a f&^k/ Keep giving them hell/ Where was you when I fell and needed help/ You get NO LOVE”
Keep rockin’ it Em, you’ve helped “Recover” rap and for God sakes, somebody FREE WEEZY J
Watching an artist “come of age” is something somewhat new to me. At the age of 25, it seems like most, if not all of my favorite artists are years older than me and some of them have even passed away already. (Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley, and Proof from D-12… RIP) However, I’m intrigued with the fact that a select few artists who were my peers growing up are now coming of age right in front of my eyes.It was 1999 and Cash Money Records was one of many record labels trying to make theirselves a staple in the Southern Rap Scene. One of Cash Money’s many attempts at scaling the large ladder of rap music success was the formation of the group “Hot Boyz” featuring BG, Turk, Juvenile, and a 17 year old rapper by the name of Lil’ Wayne.
For some reason, Lil’ Wayne was the only member of “The Hot Boyz” I really enjoyed listening to. Juvenile, BG, and Turk were just too platinum-grilled out for me and they seemed to be more influenced by making money, buying fancy cars, and partying with beautiful women, than actually looking at the rap game from the poetic point of view, the characteristic that fascinated me so much about the genre.
There was just something different about Wayne’s verses, he was essentially rapping about the same thing the other group members were, but his delivery wasn’t monotonous like theirs’, his rhymes weren’t elementary like Juvenile’s, and there was a certain passion you could almost feel every time he jumped on the mic.
There was a fire burning in this emcee’s eyes and he wasn’t going to let anybody put it out. Wayne eventually went on to sell over 2 million with his solo debut album “The Block Is Hot” and the rest is history, Lil’ Wayne is now an icon in the rap game, one of the most feared and respected rappers, his wordplay is epic and his freestyles are masterful.
Yes, occasionally he releases a corny track or two, “Prom Queen” and “Bad Girl,” come to mind, but he also releases classic albums like “Tha Carter 3,” and is one of the most talented lyricists of all time.
I feel the same way now about Drake as I did about Lil’ Wayne in the past, I just feel like for the time being, he’s still finding himself as an artist and has so much more to offer lyrically than he’s shown to date, offerings like “Paris Morton Music,” and his new cut with Lil Wayne himself “Right Above It“ prove his capability to story tell and throw in some creative metaphors.
On the other hand, I’m not too impressed with his overplayed and audotuned out “Over,” I know it was a hit single, but I was hoping for something less monotonous.
However, I understand club hits are needed to rake in sales in this day and age. Drake definitely has shown the potential on certain tracks, yet on others, he sticks to the money, fast cars, and materialistic aspects, when there is so much more he has to offer, he’s a great story teller, and the club bangers work for singles, but come on Drake give us some more!!!!!
I know you have it in you. I can’t wait for this young upcoming artist to progress in a positive direction, either that or become the new age Nelly. Either way, check out “Right Above It,” Lil’ Wayne ft. Drake, Wayne’s verses are nasty and Drake steps his game up. Enjoy!
I guess today must be my Motivate day. I usually only do one I'm Focused song per day but with all these motivational videos being released I have to share.
Have you ever had a day when you woke up already inspired and motivated to accomplish your goals? And then things (positive AND negative) just kept happening to push you to work even harder to accomplish this goal.
When you don't have any limits or boundaries, you can do anything you set your mind to. Most times people fail because they have a subconscious voice in the back of their mind saying they really can't accomplish the goal at hand.
