When there's no crank left

I was thinking about the Souljah Boy/GZA thing. Souljah Boy is right in a way, lots of people don't know who GZA is, certainly not the people who are buying his cds. It wasn't provoked more than any ringtone rapper provokes a legend by their existence. So when GZA called out Souljah Boy he made himself look a bit bitter.

The thing is, while Souljah Boy makes money he kills hip hop. Hip hop, like any musical genre will thrive as long as it is loved and nurtured. People like GZA and others engender this kind of love. They build a following, they're creative and make exciting music. When the following is big enough it becomes a mainstream thing. The mainstream is of course pop's home ground. Pop is fine but it doesn't usually bring someone to love the genre, search for its gems and contribute back in some way. It doesn't sustain itself, more than that, hip pop makes the rest seem old, outdated and irrelevant. So the massive success of the Souljah Boys and their attitude to the GZAs means that when the pop industry has moved on to another sound there won't be an underground, finally free from commercial expectations. Hip hop will have passed away. Nas wasn't far off, hip hop is dying, bring on the melodrama.

For a taste of the real, check out Pete Rock. He has some of the most loyal fans in hip hop. If you haven't heard any of his music, you've heard beats by people who make music because of him. Check out this video for his upcoming album and hear Kanye, 9th Wonder, Timbaland, Just Blaze and others rave about him.



Check him out making a beat on a mpc2000, Straighten It Out from his days with CL Smooth and Questions from his upcoming album.