The Mad Rapper

Caught off NahRight. It would be easy to chalk this up as some "has been" complaining why he never blew up or blaming his lack of success on the people who succeeded, but I think it does a disservice to much of what Skillz is saying. He makes MANY salient points about why hip hop is in the state it's in today. His assertion is compelling: The present-day gatekeepers of the industry--the Diddy's, Jay-Z's, etc.--are preventing the future Diddy's and Jay-Z's from reaching the point that they themselves have reached (and, perhaps, surpassing it). He doesn't go so far as to say why, but if Animal Planet has taught me anything, it's that when a male is king, the ones most likely to dethrone him are kicked out or killed. That's not to say Puff and Jay are out murdering niggas, but ego will make a man act like a biotch by preventing up-and-comers access to the resources they themselves had when they were in that position. (Too many antecedents in that sentence; hope it makes sense.)

I agree with much, if not all, Skillz had to say. I always found Jay to be a little shady when it came to other good rappers and I don't think it's a coincidence that Making The Band maintains Diddy's celebrity (and his bank account) without actually advancing the careers of the artists it claims to be profiling. It's more an exercise in self-promotion than anything else. (Did Donny get a cut from the sale of SeanJohn's No Bitch-Assness t-shirts?) Food for thought. It's the new face of selling out, when the oppressed becomes the oppressor.

"I do this for my culture"? Nigga please.