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REASONABLE DOUBT: a critical round- up of the hip hop headlines
Our man with the magnifying glass, curly pipe and deerstalker hat, RUSSELL MYRIE, hunts down the clues and tries to prise the truth from the fiction in another busy week in the rap rumour mills
Published: May 8, 2009
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Ross: this is just getting silly now.
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| Photo © Paul Hampartsoumian |
Let's pick up where we left off last week. Did anyone expect Clipse to respond so quickly and in the way they did? I thought they'd go underground and stay quiet until it was time to promote their new album. But what do I know? Not a lot. It's so difficult to speculate about what the video means that it's probably best not to. Some think it means the Clipse are guilty as hell and trying to do some damage control. Others are sure as hell that the vlog of the elder Thornton brother ruminating on the difference between real life and entertainment proves their innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. Either way, it was definitely a good move to get Malice rather than Pusha T to do the talking. He's always seemed the more restrained of the two. Only God knows for sure so let's sit back, relax and listen to some hip hop while the whole thing goes down.
On the same subject it seems fairly certain that T.I. associate Alfamega definitely did do some snitching way back when Biggie and Tupac were still alive and records like Naughty by Nature's Feel Me Flow and Fast Life, G Rap's collabo with Nas, were a couple of the biggest tracks out and about. After saying that, we have to take a reality check break. It's kinda like the opposite of a chronic break: it brings you closer to the real world than high above the clouds. Anyone who has seen that video of him getting into it with Shawty Lo and crew will not talk even slightly sideways about the Grand Hustle artist. He looks like he could knock out Tyson in his prime. He looks like the kind of brother who could make a young Muhammed Ali stutter (absolutely no disrespect or harm meant to anyone who suffers from Parkinson's disease - it's just Ali had those lyrics). So we at HIPHOP.COM are not trying to throw anyone under the bus. But it is newsworthy - no denying that. I wonder what T.I. will have to say on the situation, especially seeing as he's had to deny snitching about 600 million times. Barack O'Drama, still by far the best alias ever in hip hop, sensibly left it up to the HNIC to make the official statement.
Killa Cam. Killa Cam Cam. Killa Cam. Killa Cam. So, there won't be a Dipset reunion at this year's Summer Jam. That's a real shame. But so it goes. Cam'ron still had the crowd shouting out the set at his comeback concert. But that is as far as it's going. No one styles it quite like Mr Giles. That outfit was crazy fly. It's looking possible that Killa will be the overall winner in the whole Cam vs Jim thing, which is strange considering that it looked pretty good for Jim until the album dropped. Mind you, these things can change quicker than it takes Manny Pacquiao to knock Ricky Hatton the uff out, so judgement still has to be reserved. Either way, they've both got way more money/women/swagger than me so I can't really say ish. What about Juelz in all of this? He seems to be leaning towards Jim but that ain't what this is all about. Dealing strictly with music, which is what this is all about remember, What the Game's Been Missing is one of the best albums to come from a New York rapper in the last five years. He's had all the time since to record like a gazillion tunes for Born to Die, Bred to Win. And If I Can't Feel My Face ever sees the light of day, the association with the triple-platinum-selling Weezy isn't going to hurt at all. He could end up being the eventual top dog in all of this. Or, they could all make friends and make Diplomatic Immunity III the most banging-est crew album since Diplomatic Immunity. But that would be way too easy.
Ricky Ross just keeps on upsetting people. It's one thing to talk about someone's estranged baby mother, but Lupus is a serious ting people. Trick Daddy has already shown he ain't gonna stand for it. Of course this is the first time someone from Miami has become upset with Ross, so if anyone is capable of obtaining that killer inside information, it is he. Maybe Khaled can use his big dog status to call a truce.
You know that when Slim Shady gets ready to drop a new album the promotion goes crazy insane. With the industry being the way that it is, there has been speculation that the success or otherwise of Relapse will largely determine whether or not Before I Self Destruct or Detox will hit shelves. That's just one reason why the 3AM video is so splendiferous. If true, is this a shade over the top from Jimmy? You decide. Even if you are of the opinion that the ultimate shot-caller is being a bit OTT, there's no denying he's pulling out all of the stops. That's why there's a nuts new website where you stalk Em through a disused rehabilitation centre, watching him on on CCTV monitors while the body count gets higher, and even a Punisher/Eminem comic book for all you digital freaks to download. Named Kill You after the classic opening tune of his second album, we're promised "plenty of bullets, blood and betrayals." It's hard to see Eminem of all people catching a brick. If anyone has a chance of outselling Weezy it's your boy from the 8 Mile road.
If you missed last week's news, catch up HERE.
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