I'm gon' know it when I play it
Yesterday I received the following MySpace bulletin from M1 of Dead Prez:
Given the fact that Dead Prez apparently had no idea that 50 Cent ripped them off on his new track "The Bomb," I think it's pretty remarkable that M1 is so calm about it. Well, mad props to M1 for finding the bright side in this bull shit. Personally, I don' think ripping off and trashing a classic has much of a bright side, and Sam and I have put our heads together to address this abomination one violation at a time:
1. First and foremost, taking something beautiful and wiping shit all over it. This must be how a constitutional lawyer/historian—someone who has spent his/her life dedicated to the US Constitution—feels when he/she reads the headline, "Secret NSA Wiretapping Program Reveled." It's a slap in the face. A rose by any other name smells as sweet, unless you wipe ball-sweat on it.
2. This is the worst rapping we've ever heard. Sam raps better than this! 50 sounds out of breath by the end of his first sentence. It sounds like he doesnt even give a shit what's coming out of his mouth. Did he just wake up from a long night of huffing paint thinner? That would be the only excuse for his low-energy, half asleep, mumbled 'flowing.' Let's remember that G-Unit and 50 Cent were supposedly discovered in the underground scene of New York, where they gained notoriety for exemplary, crowd pleaseing rapping. This was a story, so they say, of talent more than marketability. Clearly.
3. Okay, so 50 says one semi-interesting thing on the track: "Man Puffy knows who hit that nigga, man, that nigga saw." But wait… Did he? Intriguing theory, but 50 has even less evidence to support his claim than Mos in his most recent conspiracy-theory hook. When Mos says "Bush knocked down the Towers," he's not necessarily claiming that Bush personally orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. He's talking about how Bush (and others) provoked the attacks and failed to read between the lines to prevent them. When 50 Cent says Puffy knows who killed Biggy, he's pulling a New York Daily News--that is--sensationalizing, probably just so the track gets noticed and discussed. To infer that Puffy knows who shot Biggie because "that nigga saw" is like saying Jackie-O knew who shot JFK because she was in the car. But Puffy wasn't even in the same car as Biggy! Besides, the most common theories are that Shug Knight offed Biggy because he's a fucking maniac, the Crips did it because Biggy owed them money, or a combination of the two. The one other theory involves possible police involvement, but only insofar as the cops would have assisted the hit rather than ordering it. Does Puffy suck? Yes. But come on, 50. You gotta do better than that. Plus (and I'll be the last one to feel sorry for the pelt pushing P-Diddy), it's kinda harsh to accuse a dude of killing his best friend so you can sell more records, don't you think? Shows his character, at least (as if we didn't see it already).
4. G-unit is a lot of things, but they're not hip-hop. Not in the proverbial sense, which is what Dead Prez meant, nor in the musical sense, which is what 50 implies. Musically, G-Unit just sucks. Their tracks are the ones Dre and Emenem won't use for themselves. The lyrics? Well, take a look for yourself. Here's the first stanza from 50's most popular song, In da Club:
You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub
Look mommy I got the X if you into takin' drugs
I'm into havin sex I aint into makin' love
So come give me a hug if you into getting rubbed.
Even Jay-Z is guilty of many unfavorable things by Dead Prez' standards, but at least the brother has talent!
Worse, G-Unit and 50 Cent perpetuate the culture Dead Prez so eloquently criticizes and so adamantly hates. I mean, 50 even has product placement in his songs for God's sake! ("Go shory / It's your birthday / We don' party like it's your birthday / We gun' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday...") G-Unit involves themselves in bullshit feuds with other rappers like the ones that, one could argue, ultimately led to the deaths of Biggy and TuPac. In the immortal words of WuTang Clan, "Shame on a nigga who try to run game on a nigga."
To Dead Prez, hip hop is a movement. Rather, it's the musical/cultural expression of a movement--one against the culture that 50 both embodies and perpetuates. Hip-hop is about freedom from 50's consumeristic "hip-hop."
You have these young brothers out there who think they are getting something
They're gonna make a living with.
They is getting something they can buy a car with.
The white people have cars, why can't I have a car?
They getting something they can get a piece of gold,
White people have gold, why can't I have gold?
They getting something to get a house,
White people have a house, why can't I have a house?
And they actually think that there's something that's bringing resources to them,
But they're killing themselves…and they're slowly dying without knowing it.
That's what's happening to the community.
That's exactly and precisely what's happening to the community.
Given the fact that Dead Prez apparently had no idea that 50 Cent ripped them off on his new track "The Bomb," I think it's pretty remarkable that M1 is so calm about it. Well, mad props to M1 for finding the bright side in this bull shit. Personally, I don' think ripping off and trashing a classic has much of a bright side, and Sam and I have put our heads together to address this abomination one violation at a time:
1. First and foremost, taking something beautiful and wiping shit all over it. This must be how a constitutional lawyer/historian—someone who has spent his/her life dedicated to the US Constitution—feels when he/she reads the headline, "Secret NSA Wiretapping Program Reveled." It's a slap in the face. A rose by any other name smells as sweet, unless you wipe ball-sweat on it.
2. This is the worst rapping we've ever heard. Sam raps better than this! 50 sounds out of breath by the end of his first sentence. It sounds like he doesnt even give a shit what's coming out of his mouth. Did he just wake up from a long night of huffing paint thinner? That would be the only excuse for his low-energy, half asleep, mumbled 'flowing.' Let's remember that G-Unit and 50 Cent were supposedly discovered in the underground scene of New York, where they gained notoriety for exemplary, crowd pleaseing rapping. This was a story, so they say, of talent more than marketability. Clearly.
3. Okay, so 50 says one semi-interesting thing on the track: "Man Puffy knows who hit that nigga, man, that nigga saw." But wait… Did he? Intriguing theory, but 50 has even less evidence to support his claim than Mos in his most recent conspiracy-theory hook. When Mos says "Bush knocked down the Towers," he's not necessarily claiming that Bush personally orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. He's talking about how Bush (and others) provoked the attacks and failed to read between the lines to prevent them. When 50 Cent says Puffy knows who killed Biggy, he's pulling a New York Daily News--that is--sensationalizing, probably just so the track gets noticed and discussed. To infer that Puffy knows who shot Biggie because "that nigga saw" is like saying Jackie-O knew who shot JFK because she was in the car. But Puffy wasn't even in the same car as Biggy! Besides, the most common theories are that Shug Knight offed Biggy because he's a fucking maniac, the Crips did it because Biggy owed them money, or a combination of the two. The one other theory involves possible police involvement, but only insofar as the cops would have assisted the hit rather than ordering it. Does Puffy suck? Yes. But come on, 50. You gotta do better than that. Plus (and I'll be the last one to feel sorry for the pelt pushing P-Diddy), it's kinda harsh to accuse a dude of killing his best friend so you can sell more records, don't you think? Shows his character, at least (as if we didn't see it already).
4. G-unit is a lot of things, but they're not hip-hop. Not in the proverbial sense, which is what Dead Prez meant, nor in the musical sense, which is what 50 implies. Musically, G-Unit just sucks. Their tracks are the ones Dre and Emenem won't use for themselves. The lyrics? Well, take a look for yourself. Here's the first stanza from 50's most popular song, In da Club:
You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub
Look mommy I got the X if you into takin' drugs
I'm into havin sex I aint into makin' love
So come give me a hug if you into getting rubbed.
Even Jay-Z is guilty of many unfavorable things by Dead Prez' standards, but at least the brother has talent!
Worse, G-Unit and 50 Cent perpetuate the culture Dead Prez so eloquently criticizes and so adamantly hates. I mean, 50 even has product placement in his songs for God's sake! ("Go shory / It's your birthday / We don' party like it's your birthday / We gun' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday...") G-Unit involves themselves in bullshit feuds with other rappers like the ones that, one could argue, ultimately led to the deaths of Biggy and TuPac. In the immortal words of WuTang Clan, "Shame on a nigga who try to run game on a nigga."
To Dead Prez, hip hop is a movement. Rather, it's the musical/cultural expression of a movement--one against the culture that 50 both embodies and perpetuates. Hip-hop is about freedom from 50's consumeristic "hip-hop."
You have these young brothers out there who think they are getting something
They're gonna make a living with.
They is getting something they can buy a car with.
The white people have cars, why can't I have a car?
They getting something they can get a piece of gold,
White people have gold, why can't I have gold?
They getting something to get a house,
White people have a house, why can't I have a house?
And they actually think that there's something that's bringing resources to them,
But they're killing themselves…and they're slowly dying without knowing it.
That's what's happening to the community.
That's exactly and precisely what's happening to the community.
posted by B S Goldsmith at 9/12/2006 08:56:00 AM
3 Comments:
5. Isn't it ironic to trash Diddy while trashing a classic?
I am way out of my element here, so educate me: Surely, Dead Prez are getting royalties if this song if playing on the radio. Furthermore, 50 had to get clearance to use the sample, so either Dead Prez gave it the go ahead or they need to switch to a label that won't lo-ball their music. (And if they care, young kids will figure out where the samples come from)
And yeah it sucks that 50 sucks and all, but this is not the first or the last time some untalanted douche is going to jack some awesome sample.
Not necessarily getting royalties--it depends on who owns the track. They might have paid someone to use the track, in which case that person gets the royalties. Or the record company owns the track and they get the royalties. Yes, someone had to authorize the use, and somebody got paid, but if that was the two members of dead prez or not is hard to say.
Take this example, for example...
The Byrds had a number one hit in 1965--Mr. Tambourine Man--written, of course, Bob Dylan. Both Dylan and the Byrds were produced by Columbia Records, so the Byrds didnt have to pay a dime, and Dylan didnt earn a dime. Dylan didnt even have to authorize it. Columbia Records was the sole decider and the primary profiter. The Byrds only profited indirectly in that Columbia gave them more money.
You do make a good point. This is not the first or last time a perfectly good track was stolen by an inferior artist. Where would Vanilla Ice be without the changes he made to David Bowie's Under Pressure?
Probably dead.
Remember when Vanilla Ice got beat up by straight edgers when he played after Earth Crisis at the Tower? Classic.
Anyway, all is fair in love and sampling. But I imagine I would be really pissed too if I made an awesome track only to have it tainted by any association with 50.
All time worst sampling: "Come with Me" by Puff Daddy.
you said to trust you
you'd never hurt me
now i'm disgusted
just been adjusted
certainly it fooled me
ridiculed me
left me hangin with my shit
boomerangin right back at ya
pistol range
narrow-minded
left me blinded
i consigned it
shit backfired
not many would bear the pressure
you comprehend me
you want to end me
you offend me
its trauma
feel the trauma
come with me...
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