bigted

That's a good read, good to see Jay humbling down now, that's funny how he talks about he was nervous when he 1st met LL, sorta how Eminem felt when he first met Will, lol. I don't he'll get involved with the 50 Cent beef now though since he's saying "F*** Beef", 50's career gonna start slowing down and I'm sure he's aware of that already, LL's probably giving him some advice... I remember Wyclef also said something about 50 Cent on "Low Income": "Low income I stay so hungry/So if 50 Cent came to rob me he'd be a part of my charity", basically responding to what 50 Cent said on "How To Rob", he disses basically every famous rapper in the game in the late 90s, it's a funny song though, sorta like Eminem's "My Name Is", he was rolling with Nas and the Bravehearts at that time too who actually helped ghostwrite some of the tracks that were supposed to be on 50's "Power Of A Dollar" that was supposed to drop on Columbia before 50 got shot(that's why Jada said:"Bravehearts made you" when he dissed 50), so maybe that's how the Jay-Z/Nas beef came along, Jay-Z might've heard that Nas wrote the diss song for 50 that dissed Jay in it: btw, why did Jay-Z say: "Volume 3 still spittin' the real s***/Sold more records than Will Smith", was that a diss towards Will?

"Jesus Walks" wasn't even Kanye's song, the hip-hop community protested that he got nominated to win a Grammy for that 'cause he didn't write or produce the track, Rhymefest did, and he's supposed to be the greatest huh? :hmm: :willvspaparazzi:

Wyclef and Busta were on J Records a couple years ago, they didn't get promoted that well...

Melle Mel is real tight with the Sugar Hill Gang so maybe that's why he dissed KRS-ONE recently in that interview 'cause he probably heard the audio of that speech, that'd be fun to see them battle each other, lol, maybe Melle Mel might like Nelly too since he said in an interview that Melle Mel's one of his favorites, his original name used to be Nelly Nel, he shortened it to Nelly. Imagine if Will ghostwrote a gangsta rap song for Snoop, it's possible since they're friends and Snoop uses ghostwriters too, he had R. Kelly write a couple songs on "Paid Da Cost To Be Da Boss", anything's possible, lol.

Well even it was a real CD Talib wouldn't move that much units on Koch 'cause he didn't even move that much on Geffen and that's a bigger label, Talib don't have that type of money to promote himself on Koch if Boyz II Men don't have the money and they sold over 100 million albums, Will going on Def Jam would be a better idea, it's too much of a risk for him to go to Koch, especially this late in his career...

I'd love to see Will mc'ing over Swizz Beatz production, I like the production he's done for Ruff Ryders

Well AJ you're a big MC Hammer fan and they say the same thing about him that they say about Diddy when they call his music 'party pop' and for using jacked beats on his hits like "U Can't Touch This", but Hammer actually writes his lyrics unlike Diddy who just writes checks not rhymes, lol, I think Hammer has a lil' more subject matter on his songs too, they weren't all party songs. Diddy actually says that Hammer was one of his inspirations though and he's one of the few rappers who always defend Hammer when people call him wack, Diddy did production on LL's "Phenomenon" album so LL must respect his production not to mention that he was on "After School" with him, LL got love for Diddy. Kanye said that Diddy inspired his production, you could see some similarities in the production, I guess that's why he sounds so commercial, lol. You could say what you want about Biggie's content, but FP always passionately talks about all the great things Biggie would say on his first album("I feel like N.W.A's first album and Biggie's first album should be used in psychology classes-they're such accurate, powerful depictions of the lifestyle. Such brilliant well thought out, well-defined, well-rounded albums. For my taste, I need records like those. They just have some intellectual base to it...") if you met him personally he'd tell you the same thing, that's your opinion if you don't like them but a lot of your favorite artists in the industry respect them for a fact.

Well I heard that Nas is gonna be doing some ghostwriting on Diddy's new album, so you're gonna feel the same way I do :kekeke: The reason why I said that KRS must be getting paid from Dre is 'cause he usually criticises rappers for not writing their rhymes and we all know that Dre don't write his rhymes so why wouldn't he get dissed then?

No it wasn't it was only a couple lines, just 'cause they were from New Jersey instead of the Bronx doesn't mean they ain't hip-hop! I think KRS might get paid to ghostwrite for Dr. Dre that's probably why he gives him props :kekeke:

I think Del's the cousin of Ice Cube...

I read on another hip-hop message board that Melle Mel was on "Rap City" on BET today, too bad I missed it! :hmm: Yeah people might say Slick Rick and Will Smith were the original storyteller but Melle Mel used to incorporate a lot of it into his rhymes, so did the SugarHill Gang, they should be on this list too, just 'cause they said a line from what Grandmaster Caz said in "Rapper's Delight" doesn't mean that they ain't hip-hop, I don't understand why KRS had to diss them so hard for that when he was making his speech in the UK, especially since he gives props to Dr. Dre now who uses ghostwriters. A lot of so called mcs today don't write their rhymes anyway, they were probably just biggin' him up since they were representin' for hip-hop the way that Jay-Z uses one or 2 lines from Biggie in between, it's all love... It's a surprise that JJFP fans wouldn't know Melle Mel or Grandmaster Caz if they remember "Live At Union Square": "I have to pay respect to Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, and DJ Red Alert..."

Kanye uses catchy "Big Willie Style" type beats, that's why he's so popular, it's kinda ironic though that critics praise Kanye for it but call it "lightweight" when Will used those type of beats...

If Will decides to go to Def Jam he could back to being officially called Fresh Prince again on the album cover, it'd be only fitting, keep in mind that Russell Simmons was JJFP's manager when they 1st came in the rap game, they were under RushTown Management, too bad it was RushTown/Jive instead of RushTown/Def Jam, lol

I'd love it if that Jazzy Jeff remix to the I Wish I made That came out on a disc...

Remember that Dre's good friends with Snoop, Ice Cube, Jay-Z, and even KRS-ONE, not to even mention that he got Busta and Eve on Aftermath so 50 and his wack army of rappers'll be finished :willvspaparazzi:

Hollywood Has Dismal Year at Box Office By DAVID GERMAIN AP Movie Writer LOS ANGELES - A box-office jolt from the magic kingdoms of Kong, Narnia and Hogwarts will close Hollywood's year with some holiday cheer, though not enough to offset the biggest decline in movie attendance in 20 years. Domestic revenues at movie theaters may fall below $9 billion for the first time since 2001 after averaging $9.3 billion over the last three years. Factoring in higher admission prices, the number of tickets sold is expected to finish at about 1.4 billion, the lowest since 1997. Before Thanksgiving, attendance had been running 8 percent behind 2004's. Huge crowds for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the fourth installment of the boy conjurer's adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, helped to whittle that deficit down to 7.3 percent by early December, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. Even with the last-minute surge from two other fantasy epics, "King Kong" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," movie attendance likely will be down 6 percent or more for the year. That marks the largest drop since admissions fell 12 percent in 1985. Some studio executives and Hollywood analysts say 2005 just brought a generally weaker lineup of films. Others insist movie-goers are abandoning ship in favor of home theaters with big screens and booming sound, where fans can watch films on DVD only a few months after their theatrical release. Driving to a multiplex, finding a parking spot, fighting for a seat and putting up with high concessions prices and other cinema hassles makes the comfort of home sound ever more appealing. "One thing we sometimes overlook, especially people in the business, is the quality of the moviegoing experience," said Richard Roeper, a Chicago Sun-Times critic and Roger Ebert's co-host on TV's "Ebert & Roeper and the Movies." "If someone's waiting through 20 minutes of commercials, you've got people behind you kicking your seat and talking on cell phones, do you think a lot of people might say, `You know what? I've got a great sound system, I've got a 50-inch plasma screen. I'm just going to wait three months until the DVD comes out'?" In an Associated Press-AOL News poll last summer, 73 percent of adults said they preferred watching movies at home on DVD, videotape or pay-per-view than going to theaters. And if the 2005 lineup of films truly looked less appealing, it's no wonder so many people stayed home. "I think it's all of the above, really. There's certainly a lot of competition for those entertainment dollars," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, which scored an early 2005 hit with "Hitch" but delivered such flops as "XXX: State of the Union," "Stealth," "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo" and "Rent." "I hate to sound Pollyanna about it, but I do believe that this is an anomaly," Bruer said. "Business will bounce back and over a period of time it'll fight its way back." While studio honchos say it's premature to predict audiences will keep dwindling, 2005 marks the third-straight year attendance has fallen and the fifth year out of the last seven that theater crowds have shrunk. But those declines came amid a broader upswing in movie attendance since the mid 1980s, with the number of tickets sold rising from just over 1 billion in 1986 to a modern high of 1.6 billion in 2002. "When you look back over a long period of time, you find dips that are due to content," said Jeff Goldstein, general sales manager for Warner Bros., which released the "Harry Potter" and "Batman Begins" blockbusters but also the 2005 duds "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" and "House of Wax." "To have the type of growth we've had, it's not realistic for that to continue. You're going to have some good years and some bad." This past year started well with early hits that produced a box-office upswing before a prolonged slump began in February. Most weekends since, revenues have been down compared to the corresponding period in 2004, with the downturn stretching to a modern record of 19 weekends in a row during one stretch. Some Hollywood apologists note that 2004 had an expected $370 million infusion from "The Passion of the Christ," which lured millions of conservative Christians who ordinarily do not go to movies. Discount 2004's grosses by that amount and 2005 is right on par, they say. On the other hand, the "Passion" bonus that padded 2004 revenues may have disguised the fact that the box-office slump actually started then and has now lingered almost two years. That would be a clearer signal that audiences could be growing tired of movie theaters - for good. "I think it's too early to make that call. We'll have to wait and see the quality of the product for next year," said Wayne Lewellen, head of distribution for Paramount, which scored with "War of the Worlds" and "The Longest Yard" but struck out with "The Honeymooners" and "The Bad News Bears." "At least on paper, it looks like a strong kickoff next summer." To be sure, early summer 2006 seems to have a lot more muscle than the weak lineup that preceded "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," the season's first major hit. Early May 2005 presented such uncharacteristically mute fare as "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Kicking & Screaming," a far cry from the popcorn flicks like "The Mummy" movies that typically open in that time frame to kick off summer. Next May starts with Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible III" and "Poseidon," a remake of the disaster flick "The Poseidon Adventure," with Tom Hanks' "The Da Vinci Code," the superhero sequel "X-Men 3" and the animated tales "Cars" and "Over the Hedge" quickly following. And with "King Kong" and "Chronicles of Narnia" likely to carry strong business over into January, the industry could be on a much better footing through the first half of 2006. Some critics have said "King Kong" could be the next "Titanic," the modern box-office champ with $600 million domestically and $1.8 billion worldwide. "The attention devoted to box office this year has been negative, so I think it'll be a psychological boost for Hollywood to end the year on a positive note with `Kong' and `Narnia,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations. "Also, the audience tends to follow the money, so if these movies really do well, they tend to get excited and want to go back to the theater."

Well when you're in the game for awhile you have ups and downs, not all LL's stuff is perfect either and he's the best, it's like Biggie would've had some weak moments too if he were still living, so I think Fat Joe's one of the best too, him and Big Pun were a great duo. Anyway Kool Moe Dee's last hit was when he was featured on "Wild Wild West" with Will ironically, which also got nominated for a Grammy like Kool Moe Dee's original :kekeke:

Well Kanye ain't the only one that has to pay for samples, Will went to court over paying samples too but we didn't hear a word out of him for that, he just put out the money for it that's all, Kanye should hire an accountant...

I don't care for Will working with Kanye, his production is just as commercial as Trackmasters and his flow's boring, plus he's an arrogant punk saying he's the greatest now when that ain't true

Yes Dr. Dre has ruined the rap game, you can't blame "The Chronic" for ruining the rap game 'cause that was an artistic masterpiece but "Chronic 2001" was the album that really made the rap game get polluted, 90% sex/drugs/$$$$$ with very lil' substance/commercial beats just like all 50 Cent albums out now, think about it if "Chronic 2001" never blown up, "Marshall Mathers LP" wouldn't have sold 2 million in the first week, "Forgot About Dre" took the Eminem hype to an all time high. Dre signed Eminem who signed 50 Cent and drops Rakim in that same year who hasn't found a label since, until Dre does something creative again and puts real mcs like Big Daddy Kane on his albums I could care less about him, he's really the older version of 50 Cent right now, Pac would destroy all these clowns if he were still alive, that's why he beefed with Dre 'cause he saw that Dre was becoming fake, even Snoop isn't as dope he was 10 years ago...

You know if Will spends all of his money to promote an album on Koch and it flops then we might not get anymore albums from him, he might have to go to acting full time just to stay out of debt, that sounds like a fantasy if he could make an independent label popular, but there's too much risk... btw, KRS had problems with Koch in 2003 when they released his "kristyles" album prematurely with less tracks than what he wanted so is there really creative freedom? Not to mention how is Talib Kweli's new album doing, didn't even know it came out? Exactly! It won't work, face it. :paperbag: Will should go to Def Jam, he should've started his career there in the first place and they probably wouldn't drop him even when "Code Red" flopped 'cause they didn't drop LL when "14 Shots..." flopped...

Dr. Dre got so much power in the rap game, once him(or his ghostproducers, lol) stop producing for 50 and G Unit the rap game'll improve! :kekeke:

I'm bumpin' this thread when Slick Rick's releases another classic album that goes platinum next year! :paparazziupinthespot:

Fat Joe's dope, "Represent" is one of the best NY hip-hop albums of the mid-90s that's very underrated in my opinion and should be in the same sentence as "Illmatic" and "Reasonable Doubt", real street s***, so what he does commercial stuff now, it ain't like Nas and Jay-Z don't do anything commercial either? If you discredit him 'cause of his recent stuff then you'd have to discredit Nas for doing "Nastradamous". Longevity might hurt Slick Rick since he hasn't really done much lately but neither has Rakim or Queen Latifah.

That's the point, I don't like his music so it's hard to accept his ego, he ain't the greatest so for him to say he's the greatest is just ridiculous to my opinion at least, but if Will said he's the greatest on TV, I'd agree with him 'cause I like his music, people don't like him say that's ridiculous too, so I think I have the right to my opinion as much as they do when they diss Will, maybe if Kanye put out something that I'd like maybe I'd agree with him, as long as other artists are ok with that I guess it's ok overall... I think that Kanye's in debt 'cause he pays too many artists to be on the record with him, I'm thinkin' that he's doing it as hype to get those artists' fans to buy the album but maybe he does want to help his friends gets some shine, hopefully he don't end up like Hammer though...