So I have something new to talk about. Fifteen years ago tomorrow (well, not the day I'm writing this; but the day I'm posting it) Christopher Wallace was killed in a shooting out in LA. I'm not going to recap anything from that or even run down a list of my favorite songs by Mr. Wallace...now. I'm going to instead ask a hypothetical question.
If Wallace were still alive, would he still be rapping?
My answer? Heck no.
Why not?
Well, that's what the rest of this is about.
1. He'd have no peers.
This is obvious. Who's the best rapper out there that spits with any kind of continuity? Before you start firing off names, let's disqualify a few people on the basis of continuity.
Jay-Z: seems too rap when he wants to, a la Will Smith 15 years ago. He's probably still as good as anyone, but he's not beating down the block the way he used to. There's also the matter of his becoming a star after BIG's death with a similar style...the same way his wife did after Aaliyah's.
T.I.: can't stay out of trouble. Nuff said.
Andre 3000: has no interest in doing anything but features.
Eminem: look, he can rap. When he decides to stop worrying about Nick Cannon and put some work in, we could see something. A serious Marshall Mathers with his head on straight (creatively)? Man, look here.
Now let's get rid of some others.
Wayne: he can't rap anymore. Now, given the fact (well, it's a fact to me) that Wayne raps to the level of his competition; it's reasonable to think that maybe Wayne would have kept his rhyme game up with BIG in the middle of things. However, all we really have is "Weezy F Baby and the F is for phenomenal"...naw, bruh.
Luda: he fell off too. Unlike Wayne, though; I can't explain his fall-off. There was a point - not too long ago - when Luda was the only one on everyone's list of "best rappers who've come out since Biggie died". That consensus put him at the top of my list. Now, try to remember the last Luda song - not verse, song - that was seriously hot. I can't recall an album of his doing serious work after The Red Light District. I know Release Therapy won a Grammy. It's a good album. I have it. Thing is, BIG made stuff that was both commercially and critically successful. Luda seemingly traded. Same is somewhat true for TIP.
Jeezy and Ross: I put them together because their reason for disqualification is similar. Their 'problem' is that their presentation is better than their rapping. Now, Jeezy is a much better rapper than Ross. Matter of fact, if Jeezy focused on improving his actual craft I think he could be really good. However, his current style works for him. Ross? Well, he doesn't have the lyrical chops (which I'm sure anyone reading this knows). Ross does, though; put it down for the larger fellas in the game like no one else is doing. Don't even mention Fat Joe as comp for that. Thanks. He even raps on multiple types of records like BIG. That's where the comparison ends, though.
2. His contemporaries have moved on.
We've talked about Jay-Z already. We obviously know about Pac (who I don't think would be rapping either if he were still alive: matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Pac became a politician). Really, who else is there to even mention?
DMX: rise to fame started after BIG died...and he's moved on to acting.
Snoop: does a little bit of everything, but no one can say he has the hunger he had in the 90s...and hunger makes you record better songs. I dare someone to argue that point.
Ice Cube: went into acting and directing. The one-time hardest rapper in the world (when you take on 'the world's most dangerous rap group' and get with them all by yourself, you deserve that title) is now making comedies and kids' movies. He's Tyler Perry without the chitlins and rumors.
LL Cool J: the dirtiest hip-hop mack ever (see past entry detailing this) is everyone's contemporary, but we know how he's moved on. Shoot, he developed the blueprint...that Will Smith shattered...and everyone else went to following.
Dr. Dre: the guy who hasn't released an album since when, 1999? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Anyone associated with BIG himself: Mase left, came back, and left again. Diddy's had more name changes and TV shows than he's had hit records...oh, and he can't rap. Lil Kim can't get above water dealing with Nicki. The LOX? I mean, Jada's doing alright but Sheek and Styles aren't doing too much.
Redman and Method Man: shouldn't they be together in this? Well, both went into acting. We hear from Johnny Blaze once every blue moon and from Reggie Noble even less often than that.
Nas: Mr. Jones...sometimes he has songs like One Mic, sometimes he has utter trash like Oochie Wally (I know it was a Bravehearts track, but still). He's that dude who you know can be better than he is, but just isn't.
Busta Rhymes: he had to sign with Young Money. Game, set, match.
3. The game has changed.
This part is obvious. The last rap CD I bought was Paper Trail. Let's look at what was going on at the time. George Bush was still president (and Barack Obama had just taken the lead in the news polls over John McCain). The crash/bailout was in full effect (the reason for Obama's momentum surge). I'd just been removed from my last relationship. Wayne was still hot, although he was just about at his peak. Hardly anyone knew what Twitter was. Anyway, that was three and a half long years ago - and the downturn happened long before then.
We've had some really disposable rap since, say, 2002. I've tried to defend the stuff more than my contemporaries, but seriously: the music was plain better. Why would BIG even want any part of the game as is? Who'd he compare himself to? Degrassi Drake? Ross? The Wiz of Weed? Jay Jenkins? He may have retired out of sheer boredom and written for Lil Kim or something.
---
Do I know what BIG would have been doing? Nope. For the sake of argument, I'll take a guess and say he'd be somewhere between Jay and Cube in terms of being a versatile entertainer. He'd also be the best ghostwriter hip hop has ever seen. Diddy would've tried to have him make a rap album once every few years, but he may very well have gotten away from Bad Boy by then. He and Diddy/Bad Boy may have had a relationship similar to that of Rock and Vince/WWE. Speaking of, I'll be at WrestleMania about three weeks from now. Yay for me. The most rapping BIG might have done, though? Probably an Andre 3000 type schedule of cameos.
I'm not going to say that us fans miss him and throw in a link of...well, y'all know what song. Instead, I'll pick my favorite BIG song and use it (at least the title) to say what listening to rap has been - for the most part - since he left us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rogvlB2SP4k
No comments:
Post a Comment