Suge & Dre's dirty little secret

Y'all remember Michel'le (Toissaint)?

She was kind of famous in the late '80's for doing some R&B work with Dr. Dre, on Ruthless Records, the then-home to NWA, D.O.C., Eazy-E, Above The Law, & eventually Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony. If I'm not mistaken, her biggest hit was "No More Lies". & she was a part of the "All In The Same Game" song, singing the hook. In fact, I suggest you google her. The Net is much more informative than me on a Tuesday morning.

So, she's recently filed a child support lawsuit against former husband/former owner of Death Row records Marion "Suge" Knight. There isn't anything strange about that. Black women are notorious for laying down for nothing more than a bag of sunflower seeds, then blaming the sperm donor for all of their life problems. It happens everyday.

See, I'm one of those guys who uses equations for everything. Statistics, ratios, grade curves, the whole shabang. & it's mathematically impossible for every single dude who has seeds out in the world to be the most horrible bedfellows ever. Every man doesn't drop his load then get dressed laughing, with no intentions of being a father to his child. Life isn't so dramatic. In other words, let's stop candy-coating & pussy-footing for the sake of political correctness. These broads are just as, if not more so, shameful than a lot of guys. Ever seen Maury Povich? I love when he says "you are NOT the father!". It's vindication of sorts.

I read about this Marion/Michel'le situation, & the first thought I had was, "Damn, Marion is a brick catching mofo.". The second thought I had was, "Women be on some bullsh!t!". The third thought I had was, "Wait, doesn't she have a kid with Dr. Dre, former employee of Death Row records?".

Yes, she surely does.

So, what does this situation tell you about her? Was she a singer who got gang-raped after a studio session with 20 guys? Or was she a groupie who just happened to know how to sing? I have a babymomma (ugh...), & the last thing that any of my remaining friends would do is A) get her pregnant-sloppy seconds impregnation is just plain humiliating & B) marry her. I can't speak for those dudes, but my manhood has several inhibitors & governors which prevent me from doing something so ridiculous to myself. The drunken guys-night-out jokes would be unbearable.

Come to think about it, is that why Dre left Death Row? Because his babymom's was getting pinned up by the boss on his desk while Dre's knocking on the office door asking for the rest of his paycheck?

It's a curious situation, to say the least.

I think that, when us father's have the "sex" talk with our daughters, we need to drive home certain points. One being that you don't pass around the twat to numerous dudes in the same crew. Especially now, in the insta-video era, that type of lascivious behavior is throwing one's self under the bus with a million people watching, pointing & laughing. In the good old days, when parents forced adoptions & families were hush-hush about uncle's getting their niece's pregnant, that kind of behavior was tolerated. But not anymore. Oh, & we should warn them about unwanted babies & AIDS also.

Now, Suge & Dre's beef makes a little more sense. But, where did Tupac fit it, calling Dre "gay" & such? He probably hit that too. He did have a lot of songs about boning girls. She may want to call Maury & have the show DNA test his mom.

The Rick Ross Effect

Yes, I'm still on my hip hop kick.

I'll admit, I bought Rick Ross' album strictly off of the strength of his "beef" with Curtis Jackson (50 Cent). The closest I'd gotten to him before that was "Hustlin'", & that song was on a mix CD that my brother owned. So, never was it part of my plan to purchase/download any of his material purposely.

Then, he starts up with 50 over some feminine nonsense & I became intrigued. So, a year & some months later, I went out on the day it was released & bought "Deeper Than Rap", his third album. I like it.

I've found out quite a bit of information on Ross (legal name William Leonard Roberts), thanks to 50's relentless attempts at ruining his life. The majority of it is so unimportant that it's no wonder that regardless of all the commotion caused, Ross' CD still debuted at #1 on somebody's charts. What I did learn to be of interest, though, was the fact that his present day incarnation (not incarceration) isn't his first. He had been rapping before he blew up as the biggest coke dealing rapper in Florida.

In the late 90's, he rhymed under the moniker Tephlon Da Don. Upon further, um, research, I learned he had worked with quite of few artists that were, at the time, were pretty relevant to the industry, such as producer Erick Sermon of EPMD. Apparently that direction had been met with mediocre reviews, because his music was, well, mediocre. He has a song on some soundtrack to some movie also under that Tephlon name. Google it, because I'm being lazy right now.

So, when he did decide to make his "comeback" to the game, he was a changed man. Literally & physically. Gone were the throwback jerseys with matching, yet atrocious, headgear. Now, the man who once resembled B.I.G.'s less fortunate second cousin, was draped in linens & silks & massive amounts of jewelry. His body now covered in tattoos. He even has pictures of George Washington & Benjamin Franklin on his breasts, respectively. Did you know that Ben Franklin is the only non-president to appear on money?

& along with the change in his appearance & image, his content received a face lift as well. Coke rap is the appropriate term to label his music. 99% of his rhymes consist of tales that revolve around a lifestyle rich in cocaine dealings, only rivaled by the movie "Scarface". He does pull off the imagery of such a living, although at times it's obvious he's not telling the truth, & we all know that rappers don't lie.

If I were ever to meet this Rick Ross, I'd ask him "Why?". Did he think that he'd have a better shot at making doe if he acted as if he's selling pies (no fat joke/food references; those are legitimate slang words)? The skeleton of his word play is definitely void of any real thrilling skill, so one can only imagine how good he'd be at rap if it weren't for his fantastic voyages down Cocaine Alley. It doesn't bother me personally, because I've never even used the phrase "keep it real" until like two days ago.

He's not the only MC to surface & be met with less than admirable response. Jay-Z, Tupac, even Ice Cube all started their musical careers then swiftly pulled a 180 degree turn. What began as "for the love of the art" quickly transformed into "for the love of money". Now, I'm not complaining, I'm just saying.

It's only right that one seek financial retribution for their skill, but at what cost? Leaving behind what's concrete in your heart? Is it possible to have a healthy mix of the two & still become & remain successful. Apparently it is. There's dozens, if not hundreds, of rappers who have a stable fan base & have avoided crime or manual labor employment for the fact that people pay them for their craft. Now, those same dudes may not be pushing $250,000 cars or flying to countries with names I can't pronounce, but they would still be able to eat & provide for their families.

Smells like some people are a little greedy, no?

When it's all said & done, I couldn't care less. Give me good music, & you can have your fancy automobiles, cigars, drugs or whatever else your heart(s) desires.