Thursday, January 14, 2010

Villain Wanted

Wanted: the proverbial bad guy-a "villain", to assume all the responsibilities of Hip Hop's requisite antagonist, and fill position of necessary cultural scapegoat. Must be arrogant, ignorant, smug, materialistic, slightly psychotic with glimmers of brilliance and remorse. Must have a violent and/or criminal background (preferably authentic) and suffer from one (1) or more mental illnesses-ideally some form of post traumatic stress disorder. Must be goal-oriented, and possess at least a basic concept of song writing ability and melody recognition. Ability to harmonize optional. Sexual preference will be privatized, unless otherwise suspected by bloggers, paparazzi, etc., in which case, you assume full responsibility of damage control. Apply at your own risk...


Now that 50's been counted out of the runnings, for the most part, Hip Hop is a need of a new nigga we love to hate. Or, hate to love, depending on your vantage point. A bad guy. Thanks to Rick Ross, Clipse, Raekwon, Killa Cam, Ghostface, and a handful of other hot spitters, 2009 saw the reemergence of Cocaine rap, with a vengeance. Well, if you count the brief 'Trap Rap' phenom, it never went anywhere, but I'm just saying. Even still, there's a galaxy's difference between a hustler and a gangster. Granted, the two can occupy the same space simultaneously, but ultimately you're one or the other. Where as hustler's talk slick and attempt to keep their noses clean-no pun intended, gangster's talk loud, and have dirty nails. Which brings us back to the role of the bad guy, a part 50 played so well that by the end of his stint with Interscope, he'd taken shots at both Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Gotta love it.


Who can we look to now, for extreme nigganometry and self righteous egotism, in between making the hoes dance and niggas wanna clap something? Who's voice is strong enough to fill the shoes? This is a necessary balance needed, lest we allow Drake and Kanye West to be in charge of the dispersement of aggression in rap music. No dice. So far the emo-rap community's street cred includes slapping Canadians, slapping paparazzi cameras, & getting slapped by abortion-having, scorned ex-girlfriends. Kid Cudi did get pulled over by the LAPD, but in his defense, cops in my city are so dumb they still haven't caught the dude(s) who killed Christopher Wallace. They sure as fuck caught O.J. pretty quick though, but I digress. Plus, the only person who can wear tight pants & be a bad motherfucker, simultaneously, is dead. Long live Rick James. Plenty of dudes on the rap radar have the ability to deliver grimy stories and gritty tales of street life, but that doesn't necessarily qualify them to be in charge of an entire sub-genre of a culture.


In the movie 'Matrix', how many of you can say that, not only were you rooting for Agent Smith, but you were extra hyped when he returned in the sequel, with upgrades? I knew that the future of the free world was dependent of Neo's victory, but in the interim, I needed to see him get his ass kicked by the bad guy. If it was just Neo flying around & having copious amounts of sex with that chick that looked like a little boy, that movie would've sucked. How important was Superman without Lex Luthor? Scores of bad guys could cross Clark's path, but Lex was the yang to his yin. Really though, cats had equal the amount of super abilities, sometimes even more so, & this little bald headed Jewish guy could eff up Superman's day faster than he could wax his dome piece. Now, rap needs a new yin, or something to that effect, to give us the overstanding of the underview, to balance all the emotional rollercoasters that we're bombarded with on a daily basis.


Without a bad guy, there's just "the good guy," & that's no fun at all.


Otherwise, rest assured, in no less than 5 years, Hip Hop will look like 'Revenge of the Nerds'-the musical. Will we be following Booger, or Ogre?

15 comments:

LC said...

You make a really good point.
I think Kanye has aspects of the villain, but hes also never drank a 40 ounce or been shot or heard gun shots for that matter. And he apologizes, wtf? He has some of the qualifications though.

The Game? He has the street qualifications, but is too emotional and everyone hates him for the wrong reasons.

I just looked through my iTunes library, really can't think of anyone else.

ThaKemizt2012 said...

Co-sign LC, Kanye's more of an asshole- not really a villain. And Game's bi-polarism is a little to severe. I just can't call it. There really is no substitute for that good, ol' fashioned, drankin-smokin-fightin-shootin Hood Shit.

Tony Grands said...

I see what you're saying LC, but 'Ye's more like an evil genius than a bad guy. More Riddler, less Joker.

& Game, that dude is stuck in limbo...he's an emo-thug. Too much emotion & aggression = antidepression medication, word to some of my relatives. Pac was an emo-thug too, except he was a good entertainer. Y'all ever seen Game "act" in a movie. Yikes.

Cats these days are either too comical, like the latter part of 50's tyranny, or lack the insight to create that persona & broadcast it.

Like, when Wu first hit, mid 90's, them niggas were Hip Hop's bad guys. Covering their faces, hoding machetes in videos, spitting & shit, & it was authentic.

Hell, maybe the influx of "keeping it real" has saturated the market so much that a dude can't even portray that anymore, without it being unappreciated & swept away. Cats forget that Hip Hop is entertainment. They'd rather it be the History Channel. So, yeah.

Anonymous said...

Fuck you LC

LC said...

haha wtf? Random hate? It was probably Kanye....

Chilly Willy said...

The first paragraph is nobody else but Saigon. Plus, how would a name that remind them the war make old people react in the news if he got successful.

Problem is, Sai can't make an album to save his life. But, to me, he has the most potential. Even more than Game.

Mostly because, you know, name-dropping and sleeping next to Eazy-E's momified ballsack ain't a prerequisite.

The Sykotic Don McCaine said...

GUNPLAY

Think about it...already has a publicized loss, just like Fif...just looking at him causes hate...

BLESSD1 said...

Grands...I'm going to stage an intervention right now; you are stanning TOO HARD for Fif! LOL! He had his day in the sun. He's done! He did it to himself! He still gets to ride off into the sunset, wiping his ass w/more than I've made in 10 years! Don't worry...we'll find a Lex Luthor soon...but uh...who, exactly, is Superman at this point? Rick Ross? Nah...

Tony Grands said...

^^^Nah, MDub.

It wasn't my point to focus on him, I thought I kept his name @ a respectable minimum, lol.

My point was that, we need a new dude to hate.

But, I'm done speaking on him. For now...

BLESSD1 said...

You know what? You DID keep his name to a minimum, so I'm putting a halt to the order for your stay at a rehab center. Besides, you'd prah'li have a room too near mine, as I'm a Phonte/Jay Electronica/Immortal Technique Stan, and I wouldn't wanna hear your BISD playing all day! Lol. Still, if we're searching for a Lex, who's Superman? Batman? Nicki Minaj CAN NOT be Wonder Woman! Or can she?

P.S. Hi. My name is M-Dub, and I'm a Fanboy

Detroit P said...

Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa.....Trap rap was brief and never went anywhere?.....really?....have you heard of T.I., young Jeezy and Gucci Mane..and the myriad of other Trap rappers that dominate radio rap?..not to mention the UGK era MC's before them that rapped about Trap shit...and Dipset was always basically trap rap unlike the scarface style coke raps of the clipse, Raekwon and rick ross...Trap rap is over 10 years strong and counting...I'm calling southern bias on this one

Detroit P said...

Also: If it was just Neo flying around & having copious amounts of sex with that chick that looked like a little boy
^^^
LOL

But maybe Wale, since being a bad guy didnt work out too well. For some reason, people already think he's a douche..idk why but he needs to take that and run with it.

Tony Grands said...

^^^Detroit!

Nothing personal, I just don't hear cats talking about "it" like I used to. I guess I got so waterlogged with TI & Jeezy that once I stopped hearing them get major spins, I overlooked the others.

Touche.

Detroit P said...

Actually now that you mention it...other than Gucci Mane, trap rap seems to be kinda teetering off...I dont even think Jeezy can breathe life into it..its moreso becoming underground now that the Drakes, Kid cudi's, and Kanyes are dominating...and lil wayne was never really trap rap...In the sense that JayZ was never really a coke rapper in the same vein as raekwon...moreso a collection of drugdealer-isms and tough guy-isms covered with flossing...so yea...it did have its run tho...did yo window shopper alarm go off when i posted this?lol

Unknown said...

Damn I miss Pimp C. dOesnt fit the villian mold but he could be like a villian to the bullshit. Pimp always spoke his mind and was on the vurge of putting some peoples shit on blast before his passing. What hiphop needs is a truth speaker. Someone who tells it like it really is and pulls no punches. Only problem is that all the previous people who fit that mold are no longer with us (Pac, ODB) Wait I just thought of somebody David Banner. Banner will keep it real (real life real not rap real) with you all day.