bigted

I think a lot more people would've bought "Code Red" if this song came out instead of "Boom!..." 'cause it got such a universal appeal, it'd been the anthem of the Holidays in '93 but it's truely timeless, it's such a perfect song for this time of year....

Merry Christmas to everyone and their families!!! :2thumbs:

Well Nick Cannon doesn't really have too much of a hip-hop fanbase, I haven't really heard anybody say that they liked his 1st album, he ain't as bad as some commercial rappers but I don't think he could compete with many mcs yet, he reminds me of Nelly, I ain't really feelin' him either, he's too commercial.... Now as far as Will's credit, it depends does he want the select few people that're mature who appreciate hip-hop's history to respect him as a real mc or does he want a bunch of teenyboppers to like him so he could win Grammys like all the other commercial rappers? Grammies are nothing more than a popularity contest these days it seems, he could get another one though if he could help bring back fans who ain't teenyboppers.... I think as far as respect it's only a select few fans that actually have passion about hip-hop these days on the popular side, most are just casual teenage fans who come and go with whatever's hot now. There's still a lot of older hip-hop fans but a lot of these older hip-hop heads won't buy anything on MTV, they'll buy a lot of underground or they won't even listen to hip-hop anymore at all, if Will stays in the spotlight for hip-hop though, that might change. Older people in general think thug rap is childish, they want something to relate to. I think he could bring a lot of older fans back to buying mainstream hip-hop if he'd release the right singles, he used to have a broader audience when he released universal songs everyone could relate to like "Parents Just Don't Understand" since everyone has parents that annoy them sometimes, lol, and "Summertime" 'cause that's everyone's favorite time of year, "Just The Two Of Us" is a family oriented song, that was really his last universal single. All this "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It", "Freakin' It", and "Switch" stuff just appeals to kids, he's been dumbing down to get a younger fanbase just like Jay-Z has done but he could do his own thing by smartening up and getting a different type of fanbase, older hip-hop fans and people who wouldn't normally listen to hip-hop like he used to do in the JJFP days, he needs to release more witty storytellin' singles again too, songs that give you a picture in your mind... He needed to release "Afro Angel", "The Rain" and "Momma Knows" but it's too late for that now, it's now up to "Tell Me Why", he really needs to get this out, it could have that universal appeal... I don't think many older fans would be impressed to buy "Lost and Found" from "Switch", that's more of a teenybopper anthem but even a lot of them like 50 Cent more than Will 'cause they love gangsta rap more, while older fans want more substance than that, they might think that this is only another commercial rap gimmick from that single....And a select some heard through word of mouth that "Lost and Found" has substance and they're giving it props but a lot more would see that if only "Tell Me Why" came out... Will needs to properly release the right singles, majority of people go by what's on the radio and TV, that's why a lot of older fans think hip-hop is dead and the younger fans are too ignorant to know that there's something better than thug rap... I figure if he loves hip-hop, why not do it more often, if it's really his passion? With the right promotion and direction, he could get that credability, Columbia ruined his image, Interscope ain't doing that much better with it either, Will needs to take things more into his own hands, doing albums under Overbrook and signing mcs with substance would mean a lot to hip-hop, it'd do a lot of positive things if you think about it... Just think about the type of impact "Lost and Found" would've had if he had only performed "Tell Me Why" instead of "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" at all these promo shows he was doing with Jeff, especially Live 8, that'd been fitting to say the least.... The reason why people think his movies is better than his music 'cause they judge his music off of "Miami", "Switch", and "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" which don't display Will at his best but they see more substance in his movies, they wouldn't know that he puts substance in his music if they don't give them albums a listen, if you go to a movie theater and ask people if they heard his latest album, they'd most likely say no they haven't just what they heard on the radio... As I think about it, it's easy to throw in the towel, but Will should give it a fight most definately, this is bigger than just him, he could show kids that there is more to life than thug rap they've been spoonfed and give older fans who love hip-hop the joy to know that there's still mcs with money that actually care about the hip-hop culture, not just themselves... I actually don't care if he does albums all the time but he should perform and do freestyles for his fans that really appreciate his talents and bring more fans along that'll appreciate it too....

Don't get me wrong I didn't say it's wack but it's far from the best to me 'cause Will's got a deep catalog, other than that though it's definately a good album, it's disgusting that people don't give him more respect as an mc, there should be no debating on Will's place in the rap game if you look at his disography, most are too ignorant and brainwashed to do that though....

I have to disagree with you my brotha on a couple things, hip-hop is universal, all ages and races listen to hip-hop, even John Kerry likes hip-hop for god's sake, lol, Will performed on the White House with Bill Clinton there too! It's the most popular music genre in the world, they play songs at sporting events, it's in commercials, etc.... Why'd Eminem win an Oscar for his soundtrack song if he weren't a household name? Why is Kanye West on Barbara Walters if he ain't a household name? Also, do you also think that Will'd have #1 blockbuster hits still if he only did movies every 3-4 years? I personally don't think so, it plays a part I'd think, movies don't have limitations like hip-hop does when it comes to being popular, I could see that viewpoint.... A lot what you said made sense, maybe Will should go more into the films like Queen Latifah and whoever remembers his hip-hop career, remembers it, the hardcore hip-hop heads, maybe he's going on too long, hip-hop's more of a young man's game I guess, we probably won't ever have a 60-year old mc, what am I thinkin'? lol Only the young mcs are the ones who are popular these days, the only other mc that matters from JJFP's era in the public eye is LL Cool J, but people rarely rank him as a top mc of all time despite all the work he's put in, even though most'd say he's better than Will like I stated earlier, the problem is that a lot of the ol' school mcs never really got popular as much as today's thug rappers have, the public never really heard of Public Enemy or KRS-ONE, actually for me to say that Will'd get more recognition for touring and doing albums more often probably wouldn't work 'cause KRS releases albums every year, tours, and nobody still notices him, he might drop albums till he's 70 but people'll probably still say that the thug rappers who retired or died off long before are better than him. But I figure maybe Will could do a lil' better with right promotion but as long as thug rap dominates, he'll never do "BWS" numbers again, '97 was much more versatile than now, looking back on that time looks like the golden era compared to the trash out now, you're right people won't appreciate Will 'cause he's one of a kind, mcs who bite off of each get the most recognition and it's disgusting... Those who do the same things over and over get the most recognition, it's f***d up, if he died when "Summertime" came out, rap fans would worship him like 2Pac and Biggie 'cause JJFP did have a lot of street credability then, but after "The Chronic" came out, people started looking at JJFP differently and that's why they didn't check for "Code Red". A lot of people always talk down about all the pioneers of rap about how they should all hang up the mic while rock artists could go until they're 80 and nobody complains, what's the use of trying to change hip-hop, right? That song "Lost and Found"'ll forever describe the state of hip-hop, I mean it's popular but it's like there ain't a fair balance or a respect to the legends like you said, it probably won't last that much longer once Will stops rhyming 'cause after awile people'll get bored from it like any other music that used to be popular, Will gives hope though if he could stay popular but that might be a huge if, maybe he should move on to bigger things like you said, the rap game's too much of a mess to clean up, Jay-Z and Dr. Dre are too worried about $$$ to clean it up, nothing'll change... I think Will did get a lot of credability on "Lost and Found", he should keep working on that, I guess it shouldn't matter how long it takes for him to come out again 'cause a lot sold out on him so it ain't like he owes anybody anything, he should just do whatever makes him happy, but he says his heart's in hip-hop, he shouldn't worry about commercial fans who constantly yearn for the same thing over and over.....

It's my least favorite JJFP album, I don't have the first one though, but compared to "He's The DJ...", "Code Red", and "Homebase", it sounds weak....

and in this corner kicks born to reigns ass and you know it :word: Of course it does but it still ain't brilliant....

"And In This Corner..." is brilliant?! :paperbag: :willvspaparazzi:

That's already posted in the Big Will section, I don't like the fact that Nick Cannon gotta try to bite everything Will does in order to get himself famous, he gotta do his own thing...

I was just referring to his lyric: "Lock him in hip-hop when dude's not filming"! We don't have to wait 3 years for Jazzy to release a mixtape or for him to perform for his fans that's why he got more street credability than FP does, hell he even posts on his website for his fans, I'd love to see FP post over here once in a while, some of Jazzy's passion for hip-hop needs to rub off on FP again... "I chose to rap, but it broke my heart not to rap" don't hold much weight of a statement when you still don't do a tour for the 15th straight year! I'm upset that "Parter Starter" didn't do well since he shot another film, that loses credability to do something like that, but I guess if Interscope released it sooner, Will'd have more time, he should have more control though, I mean he's one of the greatest mcs, when he demands for something to come out, it should come out!

I think the thing is if Will could find a solid balance between the big screen and the microphone, he could have a large fanbase in both music and movies, movie fans like Max would be let down if it takes him 3 years to release a film but music fans like me are let down every time it takes 3 years for him to release an album? You can't just go from selling 200,000 3 years ago and expect to sell 5 million the next album 3 years later after not doing any music no matter how great the album is, fans don't like waiting that long, they'll find another mc to listen to instead, it's a miracle it was able to have an increase at all, you can't expect that, it mostly came from that "somethin' for Eminem" thing too, I mean if Will capitalised on that to full potential by talking trash about Em in freestyles on mixtapes, this album could've sold 4 million at this point... Why didn't he go out on a tour with Jeff and promote "Party Starter" and "Tell Me Why" before jumping into shootin' another film? That's a dissapointment for me, I'm not happy about that at all.... If I had a moment to talk to Will ever in my life, I'd make that suggestion to him that he gotta balance things out more if he wants to have fans in both music and movies...

:word: If FP takes 3 years to release another album I'll be very dissapointed, he talked all on this album that he loves hip-hop more than making films, if he doesn't do any freestyles or shows with Jeff, not just promo shows for his film with short 10-minute medleys, I'll start lookin' him as a sell out, I don't care if Jeff needs to lock FP in the studio to get this to happen, it needs to happen....

Hey now I know a way we could get a way for Will to quit acting, spend most of the time callin' "Wild Wild West" the worst film ever made! :rofl:

Another you rhyme that hasn't been released t the public is considered a freestyle, Will should goto the radio more often and do things like this, That's the thing that pisses me off about Will, that he don't do enough of these freestyles or mixtapes, he's supposed to be one of the greatest mcs, why can't he take time to drop mixtapes in between like a real mc does? Even when LL Cool J does a lot of movies he always drops freestyles, guest appearances, etc. but he don't have major roles.... That's why Will needs to take one full year off of filming, doing major roles takes too much time away from him doing hip-hop, we'd love for him to drop by the podcast and do freestyles for us too, come on Will, give us fans what we want more often!! :pony:

:word: I don't think Will should give up mc'ing anytime soon either, that'd be a punk move, sure he has some criticism but if he keeps putting out great work, it'll be hard to criticise him after a while. The way I see it: Will Smith at 70(if still living)=James Brown at 70+Morgan Freeman at 70 Now I'd like to see Will learn to properly promote albums for at least a half a year, not jump off to do a movie in the middle of promotion 'cause how silly'd that be if he recorded an album when he's supposed to do a movie, he should do freestyles/tour in his time for music, and when it's time to do a movie put music to the side for a lil' while that way full focus could be on the movie and going on shows to promote, and in between hang out with friends/family and enjoy his millions....

:word: Yeah it's nice to see an artist with such talent like her get some recognition from all the hard work, she's had a great career!

Mariah Carey Ties Elvis on Singles Chart NEW YORK - Mariah Carey's "Don't Forget About Us" rose to the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart, putting her in a tie with Elvis Presley for second place among artists with the most No. 1 singles in the rock era. Carey and Presley have 17 No. 1 hits, second only to the Beatles, who had 20. (Some music sources report Presley had 18 No. 1 hits by counting the double-sided single "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" as two hits instead of one.) "Don't Forget About Us" was Carey's second No. 1 song this year, following her ballad "We Belong Together." Both tunes are from her Grammy-nominated album, "The Emancipation of Mimi." It has taken Carey just over 15 years to accumulate the 17 hit singles. Her first was "Vision of Love" in 1990. "Don't Forget About Us," which ranked second last week, overtook Chris Brown's "Run It!" - which fell to No. 2 after five weeks at the top, Billboard said Thursday.

I don't care for Will to own a basketball team or having a sneaker line like Jay-Z but the point I was making is he could establish Overbrook to be as big if not bigger than what Jay-Z has done with Roc-a-fella, he could sign mcs that display the positive messages that other hip-hop labels wouldn't sign since they're looking for thug rappers.... Look at Stevie Wonder, he's much older than Will and he got Grammy nominations, age ain't nothin' but a number, there are probably as many musicians as there are actors over the age of 50, there's no need to stop expressing yourself. Will's not getting the respect he deserves in hip-hop 'cause he's selling himself short, like he said in interviews, doing movies so much has killed the rapper inside of him. The reason why he's better known for his movies is 'cause he put more work into doing them, he does 2 or 3 films a year almost, not necessarily that they're better than his music, "Wild Wild West" was poor quality like "Born To Reign", I don't know if any of his movies equal the greatness "Lost and Found", maybe "Ali". He doesn't put in the work that he used to as an mc, JJFP had a lot of street credability for their 5 albums but that's the past now, Will hasn't toured in over 15 years, he don't even drop freestyles on Rap City, so he shouldn't complain about not getting the proper respect he deserves, if he was really the greatest mc he'd drop freestyles and do tours .... His rap peers do respect him, they probably respect him more than they do respect those that MTV put at #1 on the charts, I think it's more teeny boppers and the media that disses him more than anything, you see those dissing him on the internet, they're probably 14 year white kids from the suburbans that're only internet thugs, if he just put in more work to get exposure, the media'd give Will his props definately.... If Will had Jay's work ethic of putting out 10 albums in 10 years even if they ain't all classic, the public'd give Will his due, I'd love to see an mc do 40 albums like James Brown has done, why not, lol? KRS might be able to do that since he don't act that's realistic for him but that might be too much to ask from Will if he still wants to do acting in between so doing 20 or so in a career is realistic, no matter what he should always have time for his family no doubt that's the most important thing in life, don't give me crap about that as an exuse, there's millions of us who have to work 40 hours a week, even when it's a holiday, I'm sure Will don't have to do 10 hour work on Christmas Eve that many have to do today, so they can't spend that much time with their family either but they get the job done...And he could still do a few movies in between like a said, but this 5 movies for 1 album won't get him respect in the media and public eye, he'll be better off just hanging up the mic 'cause people look at that as a joke, if he really wants to be mentioned when people talk about rap he needs to put more work in the studio and stage, bottomline.....

Well it does seem that Nick Cannon is following Will's footsteps by doing 5 films for every album, that's why Will was losing respect as an mc till he dropped "Lost and Found" and if he does 5 films before his next album, he'll start losing that respect again too. :jusmindyabizness: Will was on top of his game when he dropped "Willenium", if he did another classic album and went after battling Eminem instead of doing "Legend Of Bagger Vance" maybe people'd be giving more props for his mc skills right now. The difference is that Nick ain't on top of his mc game yet, who knows maybe his next album'll be dope, if he worked at it hard enough over the last couple years he could've been chasing 50 Cent for the top spot on the charts.... Will looks more like an actor/rapper these days too, music seems like that chick on the side! If Will decides to push off doing a tour again it might not ever happen, his music fans are gonna grow impatient after awhile since it seems like he's catering his movie fans more, it's ridiculous, "Fresh Prince was hot, the movies killed him", he needs to build off the momentum of "Lost and Found", a lot of ol' school mcs or any mc with a positive message would love to be in his position 'cause he still has the money and power to change the game, if I had all that money I'd work harder to save the game! Chuck D and KRS could talk all they want but they don't have that power anymore, Hieroglyphics never have power to shake mainstream, Will needs to make the rap game better for the future mcs like me, he should sign real mcs and make legendary music that could change the world, hip-hop is a great artform that needs to be restored. Honestly if Will waits another 4 years or so to drop another album or at least do something hip-hop related like sign mcs to his label and guest appearances at the very least, I might not like hip-hop that much or look at Will as a real mc like I do now 'cause he's sleeping on the power that he has. LL might not drop albums every year anymore but he always do something hip-hop related to remind people he's an mc, he don't let his movie career overshadow the fact that he's a G.O.A.T. mc, that's why I think LL's a better mc than Will in fact, he doesn't hesitate to do guest appearances, freestyles on mixtapes, etc. before his albums drop. I lost some respect for Queen Latifah too 'cause she could've shut down a lot of these slut female rappers but it's even more trashy than ever now she only does movies, I'll still listen to her albums though, don't get confused I'll still bump JJFP no matter what, but I might not defend Will so much if somebody says that he's an actor not an mc anymore, if he don't put in the work to be a top mc in the game now, he was a top mc is what I'll say though....

btw, they played "Boom! Shake The Room" at the Pacers-Cavs game I saw on ESPN just now...

Maybe he is on crack like Frenetic said or he ain't concerned with his record selling, he might be just jumping on the first offer since he wants to drop his album, he should wait longer till other labels call but basically other labels suck too, you can't win anyway, Def Jam is far superior from a hip-hop standpoint and if you ain't on there you ain't promoted that well unless u go to G Unit but they're faltering lately themselves...

Like I said he could go back to acting when he's older, there's plenty more for him to do with the rap game in the meantime, even if he dies in a few years god forbid but at least he'll be able to get out his thoughts he wanted to, I mean think if he died when he was filming a flick before he got a chance to record "Tell Me Why", that'd be devasting! You can't take things for granted in life, look at how 2Pac and Aaliyah were cut off at young ages, none of us know how long we're here... If he makes it to an older age he could go back to doing scripts, that's secondary in his life, a chick on the side he says, lol, time to prove it son... I would even rather see Will be like James Brown and tear up the stage still when he's 70 years old though when it comes down to it, lol, instead of being like Morgan Freeman at 70 years old.... Nick Cannon is more of an actor/rapper, you won't be seeing people like Chuck D and Kool Moe Dee giving him props for his mc skills anytime soon that's for sure like they do for Will...

No I think I'm going the Jim route now, I want Will to do rapping full time, he's made enough money off of acting already that he could properly promote albums, do tours, and get all the recognition he deserves in the rap game, Will had some great roles but I think it's time to move on, his heart is in hip-hop and he needs to clean it up, he has the power to do it, he could run the buisiness like Jay-Z does by having a label, maybe when he gets older he could back to acting again, music gives him more of a forum for him to properly express his thoughts, there's plenty more that he hasn't said that he could say... There could never be another Will Smith period but the young mc that has a chance to be successful like Will is Kel Spencer and the young actor who has the best chance to be successful like Will is Kel Spencer.... I don't think it's good for somebody to just try to be like one person, they should do their own routines too, I don't know if playing the same roles as Will does is gonna get Nick Cannon that much respect either, you might see me talking about KRS a lot but I'm not KRS, I'm Big Ted, there's things about me that're different from him....

Well releasing one single a year ain't gonna help improve his rapping skills, he'll never be able to hold a mic for Will, if you compare his first few years of rapping to JJFP's there's no comparison, Nick has no street credabilty yet, JJFP had a lot when they started... He's far superior as an actor at this point though with all the different roles he's done, actually more advanced than when Will started acting, this movie could make him a big time actor, like I said I wouldn't care if he exceeds Will in acting, lol.

I'm surprised that he didn't acknowledge Will as a rapper who went on "Oprah", especially since he produced "Party Starter", oh well, lol, anyway here's the article: http://www.playahata.com/ Ludacris says he gave Oprah another Crash Moment but he was censored. New York, (Playahata.com) -Although still a babe in the world of rap, Ludacris has grown. “This record is the life report of my life for past year,” he says. “It’s me learning everyday, being more educated and becoming a better rapper and entertainer. Now that Disturbing the Peace has hit the street I feel like we have really arrived but I hope the best is yet to come. But Luda admits being on The Oprah show was a big, big moment for him even if Oprah dissed him or at least tried to. Prior to Luda, Only three rappers had ever appeared on Oprah show. Kanye West to discuss his car accident, Puff and LL Cool J for Clothing and overall stardom and then himself as part of the cast of Crash. The rapper /actor appeared on HO7 97 on December 15TH Speaking with Ainge Martinez. (Excerpts and edits below) Ainge Martinez: I was watching Oprah and I saw you. I noticed Oprah was giving everybody “love” and then she came to you Ludacris and she said she has a problem with your lyrics but that you did a good in the film also but she treated you like you were 5 years old man.What was that all about? Ludacris: That’s true, I felt the same way she played me out but I came back at her strong in defense of hip hop on many things but Oprah’s people censored everything I said. “I had so many comments in my defense. In all honesty Oprah never wanted me on the show. I called my agency and was like why am I not able to come. I am on there as an actor, Chris Bridges. This can’t be about my lyrics. I am not sure if it was a hate rap thing or hate my lyrics. I had to fight to get onto Oprah. They called me the night before the show and said ok, although it was 2 months before where everybody else knew.” Oprah later pulled me into a side room, closed the door and lied to me saying that the late approval was cause I was told I could only have a few people but I was like “c’mon you are OPRAH, nobody gives you orders”. She apologized and told me this was the case; I was in the hot seat but I handled her. Unfortunately they edited me to punk me on TV, they censored a lot, like when I talked about my 150,000 Katrina contribution, they even censored that. My next album I am going to talk about it. On my next album In 2006 this will be dealt with in a positive manner . I told her we are young and we are experiencing problems and making mistakes in hip hop we are evolving. She said in the past she had skinheads on her show but some people felt like they simply having them onthey were still be given a positive platform. I think she was comparing giving rappers a platform to giving skinheads a platform. I won’t disrespect Oprah but on my next album I will air it out. Editors note: The timing of the Ludacris testimony is interesting since a recent conspiracy theory website has gained popularity and it claimed that Oprah was part of a conspiratorial powerful Black Group that was into censorship. http://www.hot97.com/multimedia/interviewP...artist=Ludacris