Gone are the days where we could all laugh at the Bad Boy D-dot 'Mad Rapper' interludes...
oh wait. You don't know about The Mad Rapper?
...this is exactly my damn point. Let's go back a bit.
As usual, here's my disclaimer- THIS blog is about hip-hop, more specifically Lil' Kim & Nicki Minaj. So if you don't care for neither, or more importantly if you can't respect my opinion, Fuck off.)
Ok. So their 'disagreement' is blowing up news articles and websites everywhere. However, the common idea when you read these stories is that Lil' Kim is a washed-up femcee who is angry because she has to pass the crown to the younger and seemingly on top of the world Nicki Minaj. This is bullshit. It's not that at all.
Let's face facts. The most successful femcee technically is Missy Elliott. Her 'Under Construction' album supposedly pushed 2.1 million copies while Lil' Kim's Hard Core as far I can dig up only pushed 2. (Sure, Lauryn Hill's 'The Miseducation...' went 8 times platinum, but for the last time- that was NOT a rap album.) So WHAT makes Lil' Kim SO important??
What's the thing that sets Kim aside from all the other femcees BEFORE her?
Lil' Kim has more emulators than any other femcee EVER.
Nicki Minaj hit the scene a couple years ago and according to the legend, posted her rhymes on MySpace and slowly built her fan base. Finally, she was heard by Lil' Wayne and he made her a star. This is the typical rags to riches story for this digital generation. The same generation that BELIEVES the idea that if a wack emcee sells 9 million, he's better than the black fat emcee that sells 100K. (...see what I did there? If you don't: That's a Biggie line.) This internet age. Who, by the way are only impressed with 'punchline flow' or 'hashtag rap' and tales of an emcee's bank account. These are the same children and young adults who are confused when the media makes a big deal out of this debacle. According to them, Lil' Kim has "no good shit." She's never done anything of any importance." or "She only knows how to rhyme about dicks." The only Kim they know is appearing on 'Dancing with the Stars'-Kim, 'Spit a couple mediocre bars on a guest feature'-Kim, or 'Post plastic surgery- what happened to her?'-Kim, or... 'Needs to move on from Biggie's death'-Kim.
They know nothing of the 'black Erica Kane', 'The Big Momma, Queen B'. The femcee who coined this "Barbie" trend that Nicki and her Stans seem to enjoy SO much. (which, by the way- some of you MEN ought to be ashamed of your damn selves.)
Yeah- don't think I haven't noticed.
How can this generation NOT notice that most of Lil' Kim's male fans wanted to fuck her. (even Kanye, who dropped a Dreams of fuckin' Lil' Kim track NOT TOO long ago.) While, most of Nicki's male fans want to be her.
Oh.
What this internet generation don't understand is, this is more than the 'homage' that Kim claimed it was about back when this 'beef' was subliminal. She can claim that's what it is all she wants... but I feel it's MORE about what's due, and a little bit of Kim's feelings being hurt. This generation has already proven that their attention span is small as a gnat (see: BET and VIBE's recent hottest emcee's of all time list. If you're over the age of 25 you'll be disgusted.)
Nicki Minaj is like that person who comes and blatantly takes your seat when you got up to go to the restroom, or ate half the pizza you bought yesterday and attempts to take the last slice in the morning.That's why Kim is mad. Sure, it may seem petty to all of us... especially with my spur of the moment analogies, but that's how Kim feels. And YOU'D feel the same way too. You know that feeling... 'There were three other urinals available- you came and pissed directly in mine.' Some will argue, 'Oh, there's nothing new under the sun' and 'rap/hip-hop is built on dick riding and sampling' - however this generation takes the forgiving and allowing of those sayings way. too. far.
Think I'm lying?
Remember Ja Rule? He carved a name out for himself, had his one lane in the bowling alley that is mainstream hip-hop, and then 50 Cent came along and well, did pretty much the exact same fucking thing Ja Rule was doing. Then the same people that were buying Ja's shit ALL OF A SUDDEN felt that Ja was wack, his style was garbage, and then they ran and supported 50 and his imitation of Ja. Even the NOT so obvious. Look at Drake. (*ahem* aka Wheelchair Jimmy- google it) He's greatly Joe Budden inspired, (except he sings.) Lyrically, he can't fill Budden's shoes by far, but he DEFINITELY took a page from Budden and said let me feel SUPER BAD for broads on MY mixtapes. Now he's winning Grammys for it. ...and Budden? Well...ya'll never heard of HIS troubles. Even though they have a MILLION PLUS hits on YouTube. See: Closure-Ordinary Love Shit Part 3 (Fuck it. See ALL THREE parts.) But...let this generation explain Jimmy to you, and they'll say, "Nahhh Drake's emo he has feelings. He's deep." and then a true hip-hop head like me will say, "Have you not heard MOOD MUZIK 1-4??!! The shit is called MOOD Muzik!"
*sigh*
Consider this: when Lil' Mama came out with her femcee b-boy style ya'll bashed her. Willow Smith's drops her video, which is EVERYTHING of what Lil' Mama was doing, yet instead of laughing at her also, you guys thought it was the GREATEST.
Wtf? I guess this is the travesty I'm talking about. This generation will glorify whoever sits in better graces with the media- regardless whether it's good or bad media...
If someone's talking about them= they're hot.
"There's no such thing as bad publicity..."
Nicki came out of the gates a weird amalgam of Lil' Kim/Foxy. Hands down. (Hell, she even shares Foxy's heritage.) Go look at her old videos. She soon evolved into some weird Wayne/Drake/Kim combination with a dash of Da Brat. (Yeah, Da Brat. That's where those facial expressions and animated gyrations come from. Once again, this generation doesn't remember that Hard Core, was shitted on daily by chauvinistic, insecure male rappers, conservative media, and just about EVERYONE (except hip-hop news) especially the EXACT SAME media sources that now praise Nicki Minaj. KIM was shitted on daily by parents, pastors, politicians, EVERYONE was calling her every type of crazy, tacky, clownish, whore. (Which kinda reminds me Lisa Lopez's stance on the media...) They criticized her goofy outfits, and sex-fueled maniacal antics...
But NOW the shit is cool.
This is why Kim is mad! Kim did the work, Nicki swoops in and takes the glory. This is why these kind of things never came up with fellow femcees Eve, (Kim and Eve's beef was small- they patched up quite nicely not long after.) Rah Digga, Da Brat, Left Eye, Remy Ma, (Well, they had some quick words... but really- Remy beefs with everyone. She's a battle rapper.) Trina, Mia X... none of them...only Foxy Brown. Foxy Brown another Afro-Trinidadian half breed, who like Minaj also copied Kim's blueprint, all the way down to being on the arm of a hustler BK emcee. (Jay-Z, who *sidenote* himself openly admits he bites Biggie.)
See the trend here? (Let me help you- Ride the arm of a MADE MAN. Foxy=Jay Minaj=Wayne)
Hey! Are you ignoring the pictures posted all over this blog? We could bring up Kim's body work... Oh, but Nicki got body work too. Hmm. Nicki has a British accent/another persona on some of her tracks. Oh. Ya'll don't remember Kim's Jamaican accents or her split persona/time of the month 730 mode, 'Aunt Dot'? (see: The Notorious KIM)
So now- What are left with? Is it the realization that if folk got paid for biting styles, then most beefs wouldn't exist? Maybe. (Hell, if most rappers openly admitted they bit more than just lines, but entire character imitation, then beefs probably wouldn't exist.) Kim's entire persona was shoplifted from her and at this present moment, the culprit can outrap her in the spotlight. In an industry where there never has been, nor will there ever be two of the same gimmick, Kim opened the door- and Nicki's trying to lock her out. What the fuck. I don't condone violence or anything like that in hip-hop, but I do appreciate rap beefs. A true emcee can battle. So has been proven by KRS-One, Uncle L, Chuck D, and even Jay. (I had to throw someone in that THIS generation knows) This particular beef I appreciate greatly because it reminds these children and forgetful adults that hip-hop did not start in 2005, and Lil' Wayne and Drake definitely ARE NOT in the top ten of the greatest emcees. (shame on you, BET.)
The sad part is... it's hard to see this one having a happy ending, especially after hearing on Kim's diss track, Black Friday [1] "this the type of shit the other bitch almost got killed for." Yes, Kim went to jail for perjury, but don't forget it stemmed from an incident because of her Foxy Brown beef.
(...oh. this generation forgot that too. [2] )
I have to leave you with this. My favorite femcee of all time is MC Lyte. So take that, you Minaj stans. I'm not here to blow up Lil' Kim as a blind fan. I'm telling it like it is. It's not hate, it's truth.
So Kim. ...tell 'em why you mad, son!
Random listening for this generation who have no the real idea who Lil' Kim is:
Albums:
Hard Core- Lil' Kim, 1996
Features:
Another- The Notorious B.I.G., 1997 (Life After Death)
Quiet Storm [Remix]- Mobb Deep, 1999 (Murda Muzik)
Get Money [Remix]- Junior Mafia, 1995 (Conspiracy 12")
Will They Die 4 You- Mase, 1997 (Harlem World)
The final nail in the coffin... Kim never needed ass implants.
Oh. Just in case you thought I was lying about that 'Barbie' shit...here's a pre- "The Jumpoff" mention from '99. (There was another huge mention in Essence magazine in the 90's...but I can't find it) This song by Methods of Mayhem feat. Lil' Kim, George Clinton and Fred Durst. Peep what she calls herself in her verse...
[1] Lil' Kim's Response: Black Friday (to Nicki's 'Roman's Revenge')
[2] Lil' Kim and Fox Brown beef gets out of hand
oh wait. You don't know about The Mad Rapper?
...this is exactly my damn point. Let's go back a bit.
As usual, here's my disclaimer- THIS blog is about hip-hop, more specifically Lil' Kim & Nicki Minaj. So if you don't care for neither, or more importantly if you can't respect my opinion, Fuck off.)
Ok. So their 'disagreement' is blowing up news articles and websites everywhere. However, the common idea when you read these stories is that Lil' Kim is a washed-up femcee who is angry because she has to pass the crown to the younger and seemingly on top of the world Nicki Minaj. This is bullshit. It's not that at all.
Let's face facts. The most successful femcee technically is Missy Elliott. Her 'Under Construction' album supposedly pushed 2.1 million copies while Lil' Kim's Hard Core as far I can dig up only pushed 2. (Sure, Lauryn Hill's 'The Miseducation...' went 8 times platinum, but for the last time- that was NOT a rap album.) So WHAT makes Lil' Kim SO important??
What's the thing that sets Kim aside from all the other femcees BEFORE her?
Lil' Kim has more emulators than any other femcee EVER.
Nicki Minaj hit the scene a couple years ago and according to the legend, posted her rhymes on MySpace and slowly built her fan base. Finally, she was heard by Lil' Wayne and he made her a star. This is the typical rags to riches story for this digital generation. The same generation that BELIEVES the idea that if a wack emcee sells 9 million, he's better than the black fat emcee that sells 100K. (...see what I did there? If you don't: That's a Biggie line.) This internet age. Who, by the way are only impressed with 'punchline flow' or 'hashtag rap' and tales of an emcee's bank account. These are the same children and young adults who are confused when the media makes a big deal out of this debacle. According to them, Lil' Kim has "no good shit." She's never done anything of any importance." or "She only knows how to rhyme about dicks." The only Kim they know is appearing on 'Dancing with the Stars'-Kim, 'Spit a couple mediocre bars on a guest feature'-Kim, or 'Post plastic surgery- what happened to her?'-Kim, or... 'Needs to move on from Biggie's death'-Kim.
They know nothing of the 'black Erica Kane', 'The Big Momma, Queen B'. The femcee who coined this "Barbie" trend that Nicki and her Stans seem to enjoy SO much. (which, by the way- some of you MEN ought to be ashamed of your damn selves.)Yeah- don't think I haven't noticed.
How can this generation NOT notice that most of Lil' Kim's male fans wanted to fuck her. (even Kanye, who dropped a Dreams of fuckin' Lil' Kim track NOT TOO long ago.) While, most of Nicki's male fans want to be her.
Oh.
Think I'm lying?
Remember Ja Rule? He carved a name out for himself, had his one lane in the bowling alley that is mainstream hip-hop, and then 50 Cent came along and well, did pretty much the exact same fucking thing Ja Rule was doing. Then the same people that were buying Ja's shit ALL OF A SUDDEN felt that Ja was wack, his style was garbage, and then they ran and supported 50 and his imitation of Ja. Even the NOT so obvious. Look at Drake. (*ahem* aka Wheelchair Jimmy- google it) He's greatly Joe Budden inspired, (except he sings.) Lyrically, he can't fill Budden's shoes by far, but he DEFINITELY took a page from Budden and said let me feel SUPER BAD for broads on MY mixtapes. Now he's winning Grammys for it. ...and Budden? Well...ya'll never heard of HIS troubles. Even though they have a MILLION PLUS hits on YouTube. See: Closure-Ordinary Love Shit Part 3 (Fuck it. See ALL THREE parts.) But...let this generation explain Jimmy to you, and they'll say, "Nahhh Drake's emo he has feelings. He's deep." and then a true hip-hop head like me will say, "Have you not heard MOOD MUZIK 1-4??!! The shit is called MOOD Muzik!"*sigh*
Consider this: when Lil' Mama came out with her femcee b-boy style ya'll bashed her. Willow Smith's drops her video, which is EVERYTHING of what Lil' Mama was doing, yet instead of laughing at her also, you guys thought it was the GREATEST.
Wtf? I guess this is the travesty I'm talking about. This generation will glorify whoever sits in better graces with the media- regardless whether it's good or bad media...
If someone's talking about them= they're hot.
"There's no such thing as bad publicity..."
Nicki came out of the gates a weird amalgam of Lil' Kim/Foxy. Hands down. (Hell, she even shares Foxy's heritage.) Go look at her old videos. She soon evolved into some weird Wayne/Drake/Kim combination with a dash of Da Brat. (Yeah, Da Brat. That's where those facial expressions and animated gyrations come from. Once again, this generation doesn't remember that Hard Core, was shitted on daily by chauvinistic, insecure male rappers, conservative media, and just about EVERYONE (except hip-hop news) especially the EXACT SAME media sources that now praise Nicki Minaj. KIM was shitted on daily by parents, pastors, politicians, EVERYONE was calling her every type of crazy, tacky, clownish, whore. (Which kinda reminds me Lisa Lopez's stance on the media...) They criticized her goofy outfits, and sex-fueled maniacal antics... But NOW the shit is cool.
This is why Kim is mad! Kim did the work, Nicki swoops in and takes the glory. This is why these kind of things never came up with fellow femcees Eve, (Kim and Eve's beef was small- they patched up quite nicely not long after.) Rah Digga, Da Brat, Left Eye, Remy Ma, (Well, they had some quick words... but really- Remy beefs with everyone. She's a battle rapper.) Trina, Mia X... none of them...only Foxy Brown. Foxy Brown another Afro-Trinidadian half breed, who like Minaj also copied Kim's blueprint, all the way down to being on the arm of a hustler BK emcee. (Jay-Z, who *sidenote* himself openly admits he bites Biggie.)
See the trend here? (Let me help you- Ride the arm of a MADE MAN. Foxy=Jay Minaj=Wayne)
So now- What are left with? Is it the realization that if folk got paid for biting styles, then most beefs wouldn't exist? Maybe. (Hell, if most rappers openly admitted they bit more than just lines, but entire character imitation, then beefs probably wouldn't exist.) Kim's entire persona was shoplifted from her and at this present moment, the culprit can outrap her in the spotlight. In an industry where there never has been, nor will there ever be two of the same gimmick, Kim opened the door- and Nicki's trying to lock her out. What the fuck. I don't condone violence or anything like that in hip-hop, but I do appreciate rap beefs. A true emcee can battle. So has been proven by KRS-One, Uncle L, Chuck D, and even Jay. (I had to throw someone in that THIS generation knows) This particular beef I appreciate greatly because it reminds these children and forgetful adults that hip-hop did not start in 2005, and Lil' Wayne and Drake definitely ARE NOT in the top ten of the greatest emcees. (shame on you, BET.) The sad part is... it's hard to see this one having a happy ending, especially after hearing on Kim's diss track, Black Friday [1] "this the type of shit the other bitch almost got killed for." Yes, Kim went to jail for perjury, but don't forget it stemmed from an incident because of her Foxy Brown beef.
(...oh. this generation forgot that too. [2] )
I have to leave you with this. My favorite femcee of all time is MC Lyte. So take that, you Minaj stans. I'm not here to blow up Lil' Kim as a blind fan. I'm telling it like it is. It's not hate, it's truth.
So Kim. ...tell 'em why you mad, son!
Random listening for this generation who have no the real idea who Lil' Kim is:
Hard Core- Lil' Kim, 1996
Conspiracy- Junior M.A.F.I.A., 1995
La Bella Mafia- Lil' Kim, 2003
Singles:
Money Talks- Lil' Kim feat. Timbaland, Lil' Cease, and Andrea Martin
1997 (Money Talks Soundtrack)
Singles:
Money Talks- Lil' Kim feat. Timbaland, Lil' Cease, and Andrea Martin
1997 (Money Talks Soundtrack)
Features:
Another- The Notorious B.I.G., 1997 (Life After Death)
Quiet Storm [Remix]- Mobb Deep, 1999 (Murda Muzik)
Get Money [Remix]- Junior Mafia, 1995 (Conspiracy 12")
Will They Die 4 You- Mase, 1997 (Harlem World)
The final nail in the coffin... Kim never needed ass implants.
Oh. Just in case you thought I was lying about that 'Barbie' shit...here's a pre- "The Jumpoff" mention from '99. (There was another huge mention in Essence magazine in the 90's...but I can't find it) This song by Methods of Mayhem feat. Lil' Kim, George Clinton and Fred Durst. Peep what she calls herself in her verse...
[1] Lil' Kim's Response: Black Friday (to Nicki's 'Roman's Revenge')
[2] Lil' Kim and Fox Brown beef gets out of hand
