for those who care....news on the 50 cent vs Game shooting....
03-02-05 | 01:40 PM
#26
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From what I read 50 and Game were in trouble from the start. 50 was mad at Dre for spending so much time on the Game cd. What is funny is 50 is going to make more off of the game cd than the game. Oh well gotta love the drama.
03-02-05 | 01:47 PM
#27
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From: WAS looking for My Own Private Stuckeyville, but stuck in Liberty City (while missing Vice City)
re: neo247's reply
Well, ya see, it's like this.
Coming into a "serious" thread about a Rap "musician"'s new album or an "appreciation" thread and
all over it, I wouldn't do. Though I did comment in an Eminem thread [about his new disc] that his "I hate my moms/Kim/[Insert name of current Pop music "flavor of the month"]" schtick was getting tiresome. But, otherwise, this wannabe gangster shit is ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as 50 or a record company exec using the fact he was shot NINE times [ooh!] as a selling point.
This, of course, is only my opinion.
Coming into a "serious" thread about a Rap "musician"'s new album or an "appreciation" thread and
all over it, I wouldn't do. Though I did comment in an Eminem thread [about his new disc] that his "I hate my moms/Kim/[Insert name of current Pop music "flavor of the month"]" schtick was getting tiresome. But, otherwise, this wannabe gangster shit is ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as 50 or a record company exec using the fact he was shot NINE times [ooh!] as a selling point. This, of course, is only my opinion.
03-02-05 | 02:27 PM
#28
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Originally Posted by neo247
Funny how the majority of people that "try" to bash on rap always post replys in rap threads and always say that they dont care about it. If you guys dont care then why do you waste your the time sitting here and reading this stuff. Why dont you just go and listen to your "so called talented" musicians. there are a lot of loyal rap fans like me that follow stuff like this and find news like this usefull.
edited:* just had to add another sentence*
edited:* just had to add another sentence*
03-02-05 | 03:05 PM
#30
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Originally Posted by neo247
Funny how the majority of people that "try" to bash on rap always post replys in rap threads and always say that they dont care about it. If you guys dont care then why do you waste your the time sitting here and reading this stuff. Why dont you just go and listen to your "so called talented" musicians. there are a lot of loyal rap fans like me that follow stuff like this and find news like this usefull.
Why is "try" in quotes? Personally I read about everything and everyone. It isn't exclusive to my listening tastes. Add to the fact at one point in my life I somewhat enjoyed this genre. I was just pointing out the humor in trying to read a serious article about a shooting. The author can't be professional and check the ebonics at the door? Just because it is about rappers doesn't mean it has to read like it was written by one.
03-02-05 | 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Rogue588
Almost as ridiculous as 50 or a record company exec using the fact he was shot NINE times [ooh!] as a selling point.
I read these threads for the same reason someone else said, I like to keep up with current music events, regardless of genre or artistic merit. Plus my friends are into this.
So yeah, sorry if it seems like i'm bashing the music or your musical tastes, it's just the artists and how they sell themselves that bothers me.
03-02-05 | 03:55 PM
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From: Cali
The reason why its presented like that is cause of the places where these guys were raised and what they say in the music they make. It would sound pretty stupid if you try to promote lets say a U2 cd the same way as a 50 Cent cd. You have to remember most of these guys are between the ages of 20-30 and had never even left there state yet alone there city until they started making music. Thats were all the jealousy comes from, money. Im sure if they all lived in suburbs and had white picket fences around there houses they wouldn't act or sing about the stuff they do.
03-02-05 | 04:12 PM
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It's just that now that they're rich, they continue the thuggery instead of maturing. Only in rap is there two artists that insult each other through song and then are involved in shootings (of course there are terrible people in other genres, i'm just speaking about the majority). Also, just because they were brought up around guns nd drugs, doesn't mean that has to be the theme to every CD.
Are there many rappers out there that aren't like this? Maybe it's just these ones get pushes into the mainstream and there are some actual cool guys out there rapping about other things. I'm just trying to understand.
Are there many rappers out there that aren't like this? Maybe it's just these ones get pushes into the mainstream and there are some actual cool guys out there rapping about other things. I'm just trying to understand.
03-02-05 | 04:56 PM
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From: NYC
Originally Posted by The Ferret
Are there many rappers out there that aren't like this? Maybe it's just these ones get pushes into the mainstream and there are some actual cool guys out there rapping about other things. I'm just trying to understand.
but if you're interested definitely check out Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, K-Os to start with.....once you start digging you'll find a whole other world out there...
03-09-05 | 10:25 AM
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From: Cali
Here's an update on the situation
MTV:50 Cent publicly severed ties with the Game last week, but on Wednesday (March 9) the two are apparently going to squash their beef in front of the world with the hope of setting an example for hip-hop.
At 2 p.m. in New York's Harlem neighborhood, 50 and Game will be holding a press conference about their differences and will also pledge donations to charity.
"I'm launching a new foundation, the G-Unity Foundation, Inc., to help people overcome obstacles and make a change for the better in their lives ... to help them overcome their situations," 50 Cent said in a statement. "I realized that if I'm going to be effective at that, I have to overcome some of my own. Game and I need to set an example in the community."
"I see this as a real opportunity to show the power of our community," Game said in his own statement. "50 and I are proving that real situations and real problems can be solved with real talk. This can also be seen as a big step for my organization, Black Wall Street, in terms of making a difference. Maybe we can help save some lives ... the way rap music saved mine."
The well-publicized split between Game and 50 occurred last week when 50 appeared on New York radio twice in one day denouncing the Compton, California, native, calling him treacherous and jealous. 50's tirade ended when he was abruptly escorted from Hot 97 in the midst of his interview with Funkmaster Flex. Game and his crew came up to Hot 97 when 50 was on the air but were denied entrance to the building. A 24-year-old man, also from Compton, was shot when Game's crew got into a confrontation with another faction outside the building (see "50 Drops Game From G-Unit; Shots Fired At Radio Station").
In the wake of the shooting, 50 has appeared on television twice and downplayed the incident
MTV:50 Cent publicly severed ties with the Game last week, but on Wednesday (March 9) the two are apparently going to squash their beef in front of the world with the hope of setting an example for hip-hop.
At 2 p.m. in New York's Harlem neighborhood, 50 and Game will be holding a press conference about their differences and will also pledge donations to charity.
"I'm launching a new foundation, the G-Unity Foundation, Inc., to help people overcome obstacles and make a change for the better in their lives ... to help them overcome their situations," 50 Cent said in a statement. "I realized that if I'm going to be effective at that, I have to overcome some of my own. Game and I need to set an example in the community."
"I see this as a real opportunity to show the power of our community," Game said in his own statement. "50 and I are proving that real situations and real problems can be solved with real talk. This can also be seen as a big step for my organization, Black Wall Street, in terms of making a difference. Maybe we can help save some lives ... the way rap music saved mine."
The well-publicized split between Game and 50 occurred last week when 50 appeared on New York radio twice in one day denouncing the Compton, California, native, calling him treacherous and jealous. 50's tirade ended when he was abruptly escorted from Hot 97 in the midst of his interview with Funkmaster Flex. Game and his crew came up to Hot 97 when 50 was on the air but were denied entrance to the building. A 24-year-old man, also from Compton, was shot when Game's crew got into a confrontation with another faction outside the building (see "50 Drops Game From G-Unit; Shots Fired At Radio Station").
In the wake of the shooting, 50 has appeared on television twice and downplayed the incident
03-09-05 | 11:16 AM
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From: WAS looking for My Own Private Stuckeyville, but stuck in Liberty City (while missing Vice City)
What a difference having your album drop makes, no? Can't buy publicity like this..This was from Sunday's NY Daily News:
The Game fires back at 50 Cent
The rap war that exploded in gunfire last week heated up again yesterday when The Game taunted rival 50 Cent at a concert - and dared him to take his best shot.
With cops in riot gear massed outside The Vault 350 in Long Beach, Calif., The Game stripped off his bulletproof vest on the club's stage and threw down a challenge for 50 Cent.
"Come get me, you little bitch!" he snarled. "I ain't scared."
Investigators here have been stymied in their attempts to question The Game about last week's shooting outside the headquarters of the Hot 97 studios in Manhattan.
But the rapper spoke freely about the gunplay that left one member of his entourage wounded, and his inflammatory comments jeopardized any hopes of a truce with 50 Cent.
"He was on the radio hating me. I was outside with my n----s. Rolled up to the station. They didn't want to let us in," he told the crowd.
"[50 Cent's] security hit my boy, Peanut. They'll be cowards forever. They envy me."
The Game, a former drug pusher from gang-infested Compton, Calif., whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, ridiculed 50 Cent for staying on the air while the bullets flew.
"We've been gangbanging for so long, we know you fight your own battles," he said. "You don't send security to fight them like a little bitch."
The Game used vulgar terms to mock 50 Cent, his G-Unit crew, his just-released album "The Massacre," his No. 1 single "Candy Shop" - and even New York City.
He also insisted that 50 Cent had not contributed much to his acclaimed debut album "The Documentary" - which is No.4 on the Billboard charts and has already gone platinum - and denied he was not thrown out of G-Unit, claiming he quit.
The tough talk turned into a pity party during his last song early yesterday when the 25-year-old started to cry while talking about how people had turned against him.
"I'm not hiding up at the station. I'm real from the streets. I'm a real person," The Game said. "If you don't like me, then kill me. I ain't afraid."
50 Cent, a former drug dealer from Queens named Curtis Jackson who likes to brag about his bullet scars, had no immediate comment on the barrage of insults yesterday.
But in interviews to promote his new album, expected to hit No.1 this week, the 28-year-old has tried to distance himself from the shooting and downplay the threat of more violence.
Fans, meanwhile, have worried the bad blood could escalate into an all-out rap war like the one that put Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. in coffins.
The feud between 50 Cent and his ex-protégé has led the NYPD to ratchet up security at hip-hop hot spots around the city to keep the peace between the camps.
The Game and 50 Cent wereclose collaborators, brought together by top producer Dr. Dre, but had a falling out in recent weeks. The Game pooh-poohed 50 Cent's beefs with other big-name rappers, including Nas and Jadakiss, and 50 Cent announced on Hot 97 that he was kicking him out of G-Unit.
While he was still on the air, the confrontation on Hudson St. broke out between his posse and The Game's crew, known as Black Wall Street.
At least two gunmen fired, and one of The Game's flunkies, Kevin Reed, 23, a parolee from Compton, was shot in the buttocks, police said.
The NYPD wants to speak to The Game about the incident, his lawyer said.
"I have been in touch with the police and I have forwarded their concerns and requests to The Game," lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said.
The rap war that exploded in gunfire last week heated up again yesterday when The Game taunted rival 50 Cent at a concert - and dared him to take his best shot.
With cops in riot gear massed outside The Vault 350 in Long Beach, Calif., The Game stripped off his bulletproof vest on the club's stage and threw down a challenge for 50 Cent.
"Come get me, you little bitch!" he snarled. "I ain't scared."
Investigators here have been stymied in their attempts to question The Game about last week's shooting outside the headquarters of the Hot 97 studios in Manhattan.
But the rapper spoke freely about the gunplay that left one member of his entourage wounded, and his inflammatory comments jeopardized any hopes of a truce with 50 Cent.
"He was on the radio hating me. I was outside with my n----s. Rolled up to the station. They didn't want to let us in," he told the crowd.
"[50 Cent's] security hit my boy, Peanut. They'll be cowards forever. They envy me."
The Game, a former drug pusher from gang-infested Compton, Calif., whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, ridiculed 50 Cent for staying on the air while the bullets flew.
"We've been gangbanging for so long, we know you fight your own battles," he said. "You don't send security to fight them like a little bitch."
The Game used vulgar terms to mock 50 Cent, his G-Unit crew, his just-released album "The Massacre," his No. 1 single "Candy Shop" - and even New York City.
He also insisted that 50 Cent had not contributed much to his acclaimed debut album "The Documentary" - which is No.4 on the Billboard charts and has already gone platinum - and denied he was not thrown out of G-Unit, claiming he quit.
The tough talk turned into a pity party during his last song early yesterday when the 25-year-old started to cry while talking about how people had turned against him.
"I'm not hiding up at the station. I'm real from the streets. I'm a real person," The Game said. "If you don't like me, then kill me. I ain't afraid."
50 Cent, a former drug dealer from Queens named Curtis Jackson who likes to brag about his bullet scars, had no immediate comment on the barrage of insults yesterday.
But in interviews to promote his new album, expected to hit No.1 this week, the 28-year-old has tried to distance himself from the shooting and downplay the threat of more violence.
Fans, meanwhile, have worried the bad blood could escalate into an all-out rap war like the one that put Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. in coffins.
The feud between 50 Cent and his ex-protégé has led the NYPD to ratchet up security at hip-hop hot spots around the city to keep the peace between the camps.
The Game and 50 Cent wereclose collaborators, brought together by top producer Dr. Dre, but had a falling out in recent weeks. The Game pooh-poohed 50 Cent's beefs with other big-name rappers, including Nas and Jadakiss, and 50 Cent announced on Hot 97 that he was kicking him out of G-Unit.
While he was still on the air, the confrontation on Hudson St. broke out between his posse and The Game's crew, known as Black Wall Street.
At least two gunmen fired, and one of The Game's flunkies, Kevin Reed, 23, a parolee from Compton, was shot in the buttocks, police said.
The NYPD wants to speak to The Game about the incident, his lawyer said.
"I have been in touch with the police and I have forwarded their concerns and requests to The Game," lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said.
Choir may bring rappers harmony
Who better to reunite 50 Cent and his estranged protege The Game than the Boys Choir of Harlem?
Lowdown hears that the feuding rappers - who've spent the past week trading barbs while their posses traded bullets - are tentatively scheduled to make peace this afternoon at a Harlem press conference with the famed inner-city chorus.
While details were still up in the air yesterday, word is that 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, will present the choir with a $150,000 check from his brand-new G-Unity Foundation.
The Game, aka Jayceon Taylor, is expected to kick in an additional $100,000.
Pretty generous for a couple of guys who have 16 gunshot wounds between them.
A Lowdown spy close to the event reports: "It's a way for them to show that they can set aside differences for a good cause. The Boys Choir is pretty destitute - they had to lay off the bulk of their touring staff, and now people have to volunteer.
"And Fitty [50 Cent] heard about their plight and decided, since he's starting his foundation, that he wants to be the first to step up from the New York community. He's going to challenge all the rap stars to match and surpass him."
Reps for Interscope, the rappers' record label, steadfastly refused to comment yesterday, and choir officials were similarly mum.
But the Rev. Al Sharpton - who has been urging a general boycott of warring rappers - told Lowdown: "If it happens, I salute them.
I'm happy to see that this particular feud has been dealt with in a proper way. But we've seen the deaths of Tupac and Biggie Smalls, and both are unresolved. I think we need to have an institutional mechanism to make sure that if you engage in violence, you will suffer in terms of your airplay and your career."
Amen to that.
Who better to reunite 50 Cent and his estranged protege The Game than the Boys Choir of Harlem?
Lowdown hears that the feuding rappers - who've spent the past week trading barbs while their posses traded bullets - are tentatively scheduled to make peace this afternoon at a Harlem press conference with the famed inner-city chorus.
While details were still up in the air yesterday, word is that 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, will present the choir with a $150,000 check from his brand-new G-Unity Foundation.
The Game, aka Jayceon Taylor, is expected to kick in an additional $100,000.
Pretty generous for a couple of guys who have 16 gunshot wounds between them.
A Lowdown spy close to the event reports: "It's a way for them to show that they can set aside differences for a good cause. The Boys Choir is pretty destitute - they had to lay off the bulk of their touring staff, and now people have to volunteer.
"And Fitty [50 Cent] heard about their plight and decided, since he's starting his foundation, that he wants to be the first to step up from the New York community. He's going to challenge all the rap stars to match and surpass him."
Reps for Interscope, the rappers' record label, steadfastly refused to comment yesterday, and choir officials were similarly mum.
But the Rev. Al Sharpton - who has been urging a general boycott of warring rappers - told Lowdown: "If it happens, I salute them.
I'm happy to see that this particular feud has been dealt with in a proper way. But we've seen the deaths of Tupac and Biggie Smalls, and both are unresolved. I think we need to have an institutional mechanism to make sure that if you engage in violence, you will suffer in terms of your airplay and your career."
Amen to that.
03-09-05 | 12:34 PM
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On the anniversary of Biggie's death, it's good to see them work it out, even if it has seemed like a fake beef since day one. I'm sure 50 and The Game will be laughing all the way to the bank over this one as 50 appears to have sold 1,000,000 copies in 4 days while the Game saw increased sales as well.
03-09-05 | 01:17 PM
#38
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Originally Posted by Daryl
On the anniversary of Biggie's death, it's good to see them work it out, even if it has seemed like a fake beef since day one. I'm sure 50 and The Game will be laughing all the way to the bank over this one as 50 appears to have sold 1,000,000 copies in 4 days while the Game saw increased sales as well.
03-10-05 | 01:06 PM
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From: WAS looking for My Own Private Stuckeyville, but stuck in Liberty City (while missing Vice City)
Thug Radio - Beef and bullets in rap's corporate ratings war
The crime scene out front didn't cool Hot 97's "blazing hip-hop and r&b" last week—or mute the station's intense coverage of the on-air beef between 50 Cent and the Game that ended in bloodshed on its sidewalk. Sure, morning host Miss Jones initially promised not to exploit the February 28 shooting. But before noon on March 1, her broadcast crew was telling us "how it all began."
First, we heard the tape of Game's earlier appearance with host Funkmaster Flex, in which he disavowed any beefs with some of 50 Cent's top rivals. That meant, Jones told listeners, that "[Game] was never friends with 50." Then there was the audio of 50 Cent on Flex's show the day of the shooting, boasting that "every record [Game]'s selling is based on me being on his record with him," and announcing that Game was no longer a member of 50's G-Unit crew. Finally, listeners heard the call from Jadakiss to Hot 97 host DJ Clue right after midnight on March 1. "Who is he?" Jadakiss is heard saying of 50. Somewhere amid those clips was the confrontation on Hudson Street between backers of "Half a Dollar"and Game that sent one guy to the hospital.
It wasn't the first time the station had been in the background of a violent hip-hop incident. Last week, a federal perjury case opened against rapper Lil' Kim related to a February 2001 shooting near Hot 97. In 2003, Funkmaster Flex pled guilty to a harassment charge resulting from an altercation in September 2002 with rival DJ Steph Lova. And in September 2003, 50 Cent was fired upon in New Jersey in an incident that might have been triggered by his appearance hours earlier on Hot.
Well, it's a violent world, right? So someone shot a guy in a high-rent district of Manhattan last week, "so what?" rap impresario Russell Simmons tells the Voice. "There was a shooting in Brooklyn last night," and that's not big news, he says. Game was shot before, but the gunplay didn't make headlines then.
True. But those other shootings did not involve the entourages of young millionaires or result from on-air disses broadcast to millions on federally regulated, corporate-owned radio. While not excusing the triggermen in each case, some hip-hop heavyweights say the corporate ownership deserves blame for hyping hip-hop beefs, some of which turn bloody, and all of which undercut the true power of the music.
"They just throw it out there and they fester it," says hip-hop legend Chuck D. "They're just trying to get ears." Hence the airtime Hot 97 has devoted to the dispute between Benzino and Eminem, or Jay-Z versus Nas, and now 50 dissing Game—to name a few. Critics of Hot 97 who held a rally in frigid Union Square Park last Friday are part of a burgeoning opposition to corporate control of hip-hop radio. After all, these beefs don't just get aired to the five boroughs: Around the country last week, Hot 97's material was getting play, according to DJ and hip-hop journalist Mr. Davey D from Los Angeles. "Now people all over the world, radio stations out here are playing the clip of 50 and Game," he tells the Voice. "So their brand is out there."
Hot 97's brand was already out there. Its owner, Emmis Communications, calls it "the premier hip-hop radio station in America," and pegs its market revenue at $808.2 million. Emmis is an Indianapolis-based firm that owns a handful of small magazines, TV stations in several cities, and radio licenses in a few more. The firm's reputation is apparently good enough that "socially responsible" investment funds, like the California Public Employees Retirement System and Domini Social Investments, hold thousands of shares.
Owners like Emmis and Clear Channel are the corporate muscle beneath hip-hop's skin; their hip-hop stations are notably dubbed "urban radio," which Chuck D says is "a perfect term because it actually escapes the notion of black ownership." The term first originated when black stations wanted to bring in white advertising, says hip-hop journalist Jeff Chang. Now, he says, it's been donned by white stations "using black music and culture to get street cred and in turn to drive the rest of the music industry."
Hip-hop is an industry—whatever personal stuff was rolled into last week's shooting, the disputes cannot be separated from the money that makes the music possible. "Now artists are companies, they're not just individuals," says Davey D. "Fat Joe's success or failure impacts a whole lot of people who are associated with the brand." So when you get dissed on air, you've got to respond.
"Radio and the media in that aspect can play a really, really irresponsible role in terms of blowing out these beefs to a whole other level," says Chang. "Everybody makes money off of that: The magazine makes money off of that, the radio station makes money off of that, and the rapper makes money off of that."
Alex Dudley, a spokesperson for Hot 97, denies that the station exploits hip-hop rivalries, telling the Voice, "The beefs are no question a large part of the music as you can understand by picking up an album. So when an artist comes to talk about his album it naturally comes up."
Since the disputes are part of the lyrical form of gangsta rap, are the beefs, in fact, genuine? Despite rumors circulating for weeks about a tiff between 50 Cent and Game, 50 only brought the issue into the open the week of his new album's release.
Simmons rejects the idea that the disputes are a marketing ploy. "This is the mind-set," he says. "If they were two hustlers—and they are—and they have a beef—which they do—and that beef got interfered with, this is how they'd handle it." Todd Lynn, the comedian who was fired from Hot 97 over a song that used a racial slur and mocked tsunami victims, calls the station management "jackasses," but insists, "I honestly don't believe that they have anything to do with creating these beefs," or with hyping them.
Regardless of where the beefs start or if they are real, DJs are the ones who decide the kind of play they get. And it's not a painless choice. "I don't think any on-air personality starts the beef. I think artists make that decision all by themselves," says MTV VJ and syndicated Wake Up Show host Sway. But once a beef breaks out, Sway says, "You put the radio personality in a catch-22 because I don't think anyone wants to amplify that—or to some people, glamorize that—but if you don't the man across the street might."
So DJs are under big pressure to talk about these beefs. But, adds Sway, "how you talk about it and how you deal with it is important." The DJs could warn listeners that the beef might be just a record-selling ploy—not deadly serious. Or they could talk about more important beefs, like the Iraq war or police brutality. Too often, however, they obsess over the stress between the stars. "They laugh about it, but these are people's lives," says Rosa Clemente, a member of a coalition organizing protests against Hot 97 after the station aired the offensive song about tsunami victims. "This is very serious, what's happening, and it's very sad that Hot 97 will do anything for ratings at this point."
Hot 97 isn't the only station that plays the game. In an interview with 50 Cent on February 28 before the rapper appeared on Hot 97, Power 105's Ed Lover promised at the start to talk about the "negative energy" in 50's life. "We have to," Lover said. Asked why the station had to discuss rap grudges, Power 105.1 program director Michael Saunders said in a statement, "As media professionals we have to ask artists questions about disputes. However, we try to downplay rivalries as much as possible because we are aware of our role in the hip- hop community. We realize the importance of not putting any fuel in the fire that might ignite individuals who surround the artists on a daily basis."
But during his interview, Lover devoted several minutes of airtime to 50's feuds with Fat Joe, Jadakiss, and Nas. He wanted 50 to reveal "what's your beef with each one of them individually." Then another several minutes were spent on the dispute with Game. At one point, Lover asked, "So where does he stand with G-Unit?" to which 50 answered, "He's not in my camp." At the end of the show, Young Buck called in, offering to "take care of" Game. 50 declined.
It isn't news that sensational news sells. There was proof in the coverage of the Hot 97 shooting itself: The Daily News decorated the top of its March 2 cover with bullet holes and the headline "Rap Wars," and the next day a Post story was slugged "Fan day KO'd by gritty 'Fitty' bang-bang." Nor is it earth-shattering analysis that corporate control has, according to some fans, tainted a form of entertainment. The distinction is that in this case, the media conglomerate template is being laid over a subgenre of music—gangsta rap—that often celebrates bloodshed.
"It's not like the guys in the corporation really know who the Game is or give a fuck about 50 Cent. There'll be another," says Sway. "Whatever records by whatever artists work the best." And when a dispute between rappers erupts, Sway says, "it's not about Hot 97 or [L.A. station] Power 106. It's not about any radio station in particular. It's just about radio in general. If you're going to be on the air, you're going to have to be ready to compete at all times."
Hot 97 spokesman Dudley says blaming the station lets the triggerman off the hook. But radio's impact can be destructive. Davey D recalls that when local stations in San Francisco divided up the market into black and Latino audiences, high school fans almost resorted to violence to pledge their allegiance. Political commentary, once at hip-hop's heart, has disappeared. And Simmons tells the Voice that he believes "that Biggie and Tupac's deaths were fueled by the media," although he blames the media at large, not just a few radio stations.
"I can't judge the radio station for having the dialogue that the kids are interested in," he says. The trick is to teach the listeners there is a better way, he says. Sometimes radio stations have done that—banning artists who get violent, brokering truces among rival stars. Hot 97 itself has shown restraint at times: stopping Nas from doing a mock lynching at Summer Jam, banning Capone from its air after the 2001 shooting outside the station. But other times, Simmons says, the people in charge of media outlets "don't say these things and can't teach these things because they don't necessarily know it. A lot of times we have these people in charge and their job is to exploit." That's true, he notes, of all industry.
Friday's rally against Hot 97 attracted only a few hundred people. But Chang sees the Union Square gathering as part of a "popular kind of uprising against what we're getting on urban radio" that has broken out in San Francisco, Atlanta, and elsewhere. And while earlier crusades against rap radio were led by people who disliked the music, this one is run by people who love hip-hop but feel it has been polluted by cash. Rejecting the charge that Hot 97 has failed to reflect its community's values, Dudley points to the station's long-standing ranking as No. 1 among 18- to 34-year-olds. "I think that's a pretty accurate reflection of the community we serve," he says.
Oddly enough, those same market forces are also the best weapon for reform. The outrage over the "Tsunami Song" spurred real action by Emmis only after Hot 97 began losing sponsors. "That is their lifeline," the rapper Immortal Technique told the Voice by e-mail. "Threaten that and they will listen."
Indeed, Hot's DJs themselves hint at a thirst for something better. The morning after last week's shooting, before they dug into the beef between 50 and Game, the crew at Hot 97 was actually on the same page as their critics. Their talk was about newspapers' failing to put Jamie Foxx, winner of the Oscar for Best Actor, on their covers. One of Miss Jones's on-air colleagues was skeptical that people of color could unify to fight that sort of thing—they paid too much attention to distractions like the "unfortunate incident" the night before. "Yeah, but can't we mobilize for other issues?" Jones asked. Her colleague replied, "I wish."
The crime scene out front didn't cool Hot 97's "blazing hip-hop and r&b" last week—or mute the station's intense coverage of the on-air beef between 50 Cent and the Game that ended in bloodshed on its sidewalk. Sure, morning host Miss Jones initially promised not to exploit the February 28 shooting. But before noon on March 1, her broadcast crew was telling us "how it all began."
First, we heard the tape of Game's earlier appearance with host Funkmaster Flex, in which he disavowed any beefs with some of 50 Cent's top rivals. That meant, Jones told listeners, that "[Game] was never friends with 50." Then there was the audio of 50 Cent on Flex's show the day of the shooting, boasting that "every record [Game]'s selling is based on me being on his record with him," and announcing that Game was no longer a member of 50's G-Unit crew. Finally, listeners heard the call from Jadakiss to Hot 97 host DJ Clue right after midnight on March 1. "Who is he?" Jadakiss is heard saying of 50. Somewhere amid those clips was the confrontation on Hudson Street between backers of "Half a Dollar"and Game that sent one guy to the hospital.
It wasn't the first time the station had been in the background of a violent hip-hop incident. Last week, a federal perjury case opened against rapper Lil' Kim related to a February 2001 shooting near Hot 97. In 2003, Funkmaster Flex pled guilty to a harassment charge resulting from an altercation in September 2002 with rival DJ Steph Lova. And in September 2003, 50 Cent was fired upon in New Jersey in an incident that might have been triggered by his appearance hours earlier on Hot.
Well, it's a violent world, right? So someone shot a guy in a high-rent district of Manhattan last week, "so what?" rap impresario Russell Simmons tells the Voice. "There was a shooting in Brooklyn last night," and that's not big news, he says. Game was shot before, but the gunplay didn't make headlines then.
True. But those other shootings did not involve the entourages of young millionaires or result from on-air disses broadcast to millions on federally regulated, corporate-owned radio. While not excusing the triggermen in each case, some hip-hop heavyweights say the corporate ownership deserves blame for hyping hip-hop beefs, some of which turn bloody, and all of which undercut the true power of the music.
"They just throw it out there and they fester it," says hip-hop legend Chuck D. "They're just trying to get ears." Hence the airtime Hot 97 has devoted to the dispute between Benzino and Eminem, or Jay-Z versus Nas, and now 50 dissing Game—to name a few. Critics of Hot 97 who held a rally in frigid Union Square Park last Friday are part of a burgeoning opposition to corporate control of hip-hop radio. After all, these beefs don't just get aired to the five boroughs: Around the country last week, Hot 97's material was getting play, according to DJ and hip-hop journalist Mr. Davey D from Los Angeles. "Now people all over the world, radio stations out here are playing the clip of 50 and Game," he tells the Voice. "So their brand is out there."
Hot 97's brand was already out there. Its owner, Emmis Communications, calls it "the premier hip-hop radio station in America," and pegs its market revenue at $808.2 million. Emmis is an Indianapolis-based firm that owns a handful of small magazines, TV stations in several cities, and radio licenses in a few more. The firm's reputation is apparently good enough that "socially responsible" investment funds, like the California Public Employees Retirement System and Domini Social Investments, hold thousands of shares.
Owners like Emmis and Clear Channel are the corporate muscle beneath hip-hop's skin; their hip-hop stations are notably dubbed "urban radio," which Chuck D says is "a perfect term because it actually escapes the notion of black ownership." The term first originated when black stations wanted to bring in white advertising, says hip-hop journalist Jeff Chang. Now, he says, it's been donned by white stations "using black music and culture to get street cred and in turn to drive the rest of the music industry."
Hip-hop is an industry—whatever personal stuff was rolled into last week's shooting, the disputes cannot be separated from the money that makes the music possible. "Now artists are companies, they're not just individuals," says Davey D. "Fat Joe's success or failure impacts a whole lot of people who are associated with the brand." So when you get dissed on air, you've got to respond.
"Radio and the media in that aspect can play a really, really irresponsible role in terms of blowing out these beefs to a whole other level," says Chang. "Everybody makes money off of that: The magazine makes money off of that, the radio station makes money off of that, and the rapper makes money off of that."
Alex Dudley, a spokesperson for Hot 97, denies that the station exploits hip-hop rivalries, telling the Voice, "The beefs are no question a large part of the music as you can understand by picking up an album. So when an artist comes to talk about his album it naturally comes up."
Since the disputes are part of the lyrical form of gangsta rap, are the beefs, in fact, genuine? Despite rumors circulating for weeks about a tiff between 50 Cent and Game, 50 only brought the issue into the open the week of his new album's release.
Simmons rejects the idea that the disputes are a marketing ploy. "This is the mind-set," he says. "If they were two hustlers—and they are—and they have a beef—which they do—and that beef got interfered with, this is how they'd handle it." Todd Lynn, the comedian who was fired from Hot 97 over a song that used a racial slur and mocked tsunami victims, calls the station management "jackasses," but insists, "I honestly don't believe that they have anything to do with creating these beefs," or with hyping them.
Regardless of where the beefs start or if they are real, DJs are the ones who decide the kind of play they get. And it's not a painless choice. "I don't think any on-air personality starts the beef. I think artists make that decision all by themselves," says MTV VJ and syndicated Wake Up Show host Sway. But once a beef breaks out, Sway says, "You put the radio personality in a catch-22 because I don't think anyone wants to amplify that—or to some people, glamorize that—but if you don't the man across the street might."
So DJs are under big pressure to talk about these beefs. But, adds Sway, "how you talk about it and how you deal with it is important." The DJs could warn listeners that the beef might be just a record-selling ploy—not deadly serious. Or they could talk about more important beefs, like the Iraq war or police brutality. Too often, however, they obsess over the stress between the stars. "They laugh about it, but these are people's lives," says Rosa Clemente, a member of a coalition organizing protests against Hot 97 after the station aired the offensive song about tsunami victims. "This is very serious, what's happening, and it's very sad that Hot 97 will do anything for ratings at this point."
Hot 97 isn't the only station that plays the game. In an interview with 50 Cent on February 28 before the rapper appeared on Hot 97, Power 105's Ed Lover promised at the start to talk about the "negative energy" in 50's life. "We have to," Lover said. Asked why the station had to discuss rap grudges, Power 105.1 program director Michael Saunders said in a statement, "As media professionals we have to ask artists questions about disputes. However, we try to downplay rivalries as much as possible because we are aware of our role in the hip- hop community. We realize the importance of not putting any fuel in the fire that might ignite individuals who surround the artists on a daily basis."
But during his interview, Lover devoted several minutes of airtime to 50's feuds with Fat Joe, Jadakiss, and Nas. He wanted 50 to reveal "what's your beef with each one of them individually." Then another several minutes were spent on the dispute with Game. At one point, Lover asked, "So where does he stand with G-Unit?" to which 50 answered, "He's not in my camp." At the end of the show, Young Buck called in, offering to "take care of" Game. 50 declined.
It isn't news that sensational news sells. There was proof in the coverage of the Hot 97 shooting itself: The Daily News decorated the top of its March 2 cover with bullet holes and the headline "Rap Wars," and the next day a Post story was slugged "Fan day KO'd by gritty 'Fitty' bang-bang." Nor is it earth-shattering analysis that corporate control has, according to some fans, tainted a form of entertainment. The distinction is that in this case, the media conglomerate template is being laid over a subgenre of music—gangsta rap—that often celebrates bloodshed.
"It's not like the guys in the corporation really know who the Game is or give a fuck about 50 Cent. There'll be another," says Sway. "Whatever records by whatever artists work the best." And when a dispute between rappers erupts, Sway says, "it's not about Hot 97 or [L.A. station] Power 106. It's not about any radio station in particular. It's just about radio in general. If you're going to be on the air, you're going to have to be ready to compete at all times."
Hot 97 spokesman Dudley says blaming the station lets the triggerman off the hook. But radio's impact can be destructive. Davey D recalls that when local stations in San Francisco divided up the market into black and Latino audiences, high school fans almost resorted to violence to pledge their allegiance. Political commentary, once at hip-hop's heart, has disappeared. And Simmons tells the Voice that he believes "that Biggie and Tupac's deaths were fueled by the media," although he blames the media at large, not just a few radio stations.
"I can't judge the radio station for having the dialogue that the kids are interested in," he says. The trick is to teach the listeners there is a better way, he says. Sometimes radio stations have done that—banning artists who get violent, brokering truces among rival stars. Hot 97 itself has shown restraint at times: stopping Nas from doing a mock lynching at Summer Jam, banning Capone from its air after the 2001 shooting outside the station. But other times, Simmons says, the people in charge of media outlets "don't say these things and can't teach these things because they don't necessarily know it. A lot of times we have these people in charge and their job is to exploit." That's true, he notes, of all industry.
Friday's rally against Hot 97 attracted only a few hundred people. But Chang sees the Union Square gathering as part of a "popular kind of uprising against what we're getting on urban radio" that has broken out in San Francisco, Atlanta, and elsewhere. And while earlier crusades against rap radio were led by people who disliked the music, this one is run by people who love hip-hop but feel it has been polluted by cash. Rejecting the charge that Hot 97 has failed to reflect its community's values, Dudley points to the station's long-standing ranking as No. 1 among 18- to 34-year-olds. "I think that's a pretty accurate reflection of the community we serve," he says.
Oddly enough, those same market forces are also the best weapon for reform. The outrage over the "Tsunami Song" spurred real action by Emmis only after Hot 97 began losing sponsors. "That is their lifeline," the rapper Immortal Technique told the Voice by e-mail. "Threaten that and they will listen."
Indeed, Hot's DJs themselves hint at a thirst for something better. The morning after last week's shooting, before they dug into the beef between 50 and Game, the crew at Hot 97 was actually on the same page as their critics. Their talk was about newspapers' failing to put Jamie Foxx, winner of the Oscar for Best Actor, on their covers. One of Miss Jones's on-air colleagues was skeptical that people of color could unify to fight that sort of thing—they paid too much attention to distractions like the "unfortunate incident" the night before. "Yeah, but can't we mobilize for other issues?" Jones asked. Her colleague replied, "I wish."
03-12-05 | 11:51 AM
#40
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From: Surrounded by idiots...
I could not care less about these assclowns - I don't even know who Game is.
Do people really care about how 2 thugs act in an effort to create controversy (and then sales)? It's nothing new in the rap world, it's just something that exists solely in it.
I would be so much more interested if it was Faith Hill's posse shooting up Shania Twain.
Do people really care about how 2 thugs act in an effort to create controversy (and then sales)? It's nothing new in the rap world, it's just something that exists solely in it.
I would be so much more interested if it was Faith Hill's posse shooting up Shania Twain.
03-12-05 | 12:12 PM
#41
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From: Culver City, CA, USA
Originally Posted by Toad
I could not care less about these assclowns - I don't even know who Game is.
Is this what it's come to now? Can I just go into any thread on the movie board and say this kind of crap? "I could not care less about this Tarantino assclown - I don't even know who The Bride is" would get me banned, but people who hate hip-hop can spew their trash anywhere they see fit.
03-13-05 | 06:58 PM
#44
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by RMSpuhler
Is this what it's come to now? Can I just go into any thread on the movie board and say this kind of crap? "I could not care less about this Tarantino assclown
03-14-05 | 02:08 PM
#46
Mod Emeritus
Toad, the thread title clearly states that it is aimed at "those who care". Your initial post was undoubtedly a threadcrap and ill-advised.
You've already seen what I think of your little spat and now I've seen what you think when a moderator publicly addresses a silly argument in the manner it deserves....
.... please feel free to carry on in that vein and see what happens.
Benedict
Moderator, Music Talk
You've already seen what I think of your little spat and now I've seen what you think when a moderator publicly addresses a silly argument in the manner it deserves....
.... please feel free to carry on in that vein and see what happens.
Benedict
Moderator, Music Talk
03-14-05 | 02:22 PM
#47
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From: Surrounded by idiots...
Excuse me, but you called me a "lady" -- had you not thrown that jab in there, I would have never said a word. And what I said was a joke, clearly.
Now you're making a threat?
Wow.
Now you're making a threat?
Wow.
03-14-05 | 03:46 PM
#48
Enormous Genitals
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: a small cottage on a cul de sac in the lower pits of hell.
Originally Posted by Toad
I would be so much more interested if it was Faith Hill's posse shooting up Shania Twain.
Now that's something I'd pay to see.
03-14-05 | 03:59 PM
#49
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by Toad
I would be so much more interested if it was Faith Hill's posse shooting up Shania Twain.