bigted

:word: If Will said this we all would be applauding I bet but I don't care who says something powerful as long as people hear it to see that hip-hop does care, we ain't heartless thugs.

If you ain't part of the solution you're part of the problem that's what it comes down to, if Bush reached out to the black community that's represented through hip-hop then he could be working towards the solution but I don't see it so he's part of the problem, he ain't no great leader in my mind, just because we're the minority doesn't mean we don't count, we're humans too! Sure most people who buy hip-hop are living in the suburbs but the heart of hip-hop is the streets and the thoughts of the people from the streets, that's why conscious rap has a hard time selling since the people in the suburbs ignore it, y'all need to understand that, this needs to be presented everywhere, we can't close our eyes to the problems of the streets, if everybody hears the messages we say in hip-hop maybe something would get done about it, it's more than just music you buy and listen to.

Well Will's friends with all of them and that's a fact, he's backed them up one time or another for what they said, to quote Jay-Z: do you look at my posts or do you skim through them? Will talked about how much Biggie's albums represent the thoughts of the streets, now even though I might think Biggie is overrated, Will's right about that, Biggie did the describe his streetlife in his songs, this is not fiction, there are black people that do have to sell crack to make a living, there are many blacks in jail, and there are many blacks homeless without jobs, do you think there's no racism? When I go out with a white girl people say things about me, this is 2005 not 1965 it shouldn't be that way! I'm not repeating myself but you know what I'd rather die repeating what I believe in than die letting people push me around for the rest of my life and that's a damn fact. I don't understand how the hell you, Jim, and Max could complain about the hip-hop scene right now for meaningless songs and then turn around and criticise Kanye for saying that Bush needs to pay attention to black people, I don't care who said it I applaud anybody that stands up for what they believe in, damn y'all might as well listen to that commercial crap if y'all feel that way, this is hip-hop, music about life and that's how we express ourselves. As a fan of hip-hop I'm waiting for the day that a positive rapper could have the highest selling album of the year, it'd open the doors for more conscious rappers to come on the scene, what Kanye said hopefully increases his sales, so maybe they'll give Will Smith, Common, and Nas more of a chance too, somebody has to step and say something, hip-hop needs leadership, and if you don't believe Will wouldn't say anything, you obviously haven't listened to "Lost and Found" in a while, he ain't no Uncle Tom!

The reason why I bring Nas, Public Enemy, MC Hammer, KRS-ONE, 2Pac, Fugees up is 'cause they all share the same point of view whether you like them or not, "We're All In The Same Game", their songs have meaning to them just like Will's and Kanye's following their path so he has the right to say that Bush sucks 'cause the whole damn hip-hop community feels the same way, Will would've said the same thing if he was there too, shouldn't Bush address the hip-hop community, he's ignoring us man! :worried: Doesn't a 40% approval rating for Bush tell you that Kanye West wasn't the only one feeling the same way? When you write something you have to have many points in it, just like Will's songs, he talks about quite a few things in one song, imagine if every song on album was talking about the same thing, it'd be boring right? I make a few different points each post, I'm not repetitive, I might say one thing again 'cause you seem to ignore that part. btw, I was watching the news a lil' while ago and I see other countries are speakin' against Bush too!

I have a lot on my mind man, I feel like I could write a whole album right now, the problems in this world are ridiculous, action must be made.

If you look at this verse of "I Wish I Made That", you'd see how the media ignores Will 'cause he doesn't talk about that fake gangsta crap that other rappers do just to make money and get glory, after awhile I might be posting the whole damn album, Will could sell millions more if he robbed a bank but he'd lose his credablility and be known as a fake in the streets: "Yo, ain’t no better man for this hype track Just the veteran taking the mic back David Letterman even said he like that track man Even though he ain’t a rap fan Black radio, they won’t play though Ever since “Summertime” they ain’t liked none of mine Even though the fans went out & bought enough I guess they think Will ain’t hard enough Maybe I should just have a shoot out Run up in the bank, bustin’, grabbin’ all the loot out Whoop somebody ass, taking my boot out Right on TV so ya’ll can see me Just ignorant, attacking, actin’ rough I mean, then will I be black enough Oh wait maybe I’ll jack a truck Full of cigarettes, guns & drugs & stuff"

I don't care, I feel like locking up this stupid topic.

Another 50 Cent topic? He makes talkin' about Kanye West seem fun. There's more important things in the world right now instead of worrying about this stupid beef, I think Lil' Kim could even take care of 50 though! :lolsign:

After hearing "Lost and Found" where Will pours out his rage towards the media probably the best in his career on wax and I think that's why a lot of us think it's his best album ever, I think even my mind is swaying towards that way too now, this album needs to have as much impact as when he won the 1st rap grammy. I don't think he'd be a Uncle Tom and say nothin', he may not curse in his songs but that don't mean he's soft("Lost is when you hide behind the freedom of speech") and he does call Kanye West the truth, I always shook my head a lil' bit about that but now I know why, "Jesus Walks" is a powerful song though too that I always liked though that I think is more powerful than most commercial rappers careers, btw Frenetic is right remember 9/11's telethon, he was on stage with Muhamadd Ali and made a powerful statement, Will's one of the realest brothers in the hip-hop community, that's why he has a good chance in being the first black president if there ever is one. The streets say f*** Elvis since James Brown is our hero"Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant s*** to me", "I'm sayin' it loud 'cause I'm black and I'm proud", it pissed me off that when James Brown was diagnosed with cancer the media brought up how he went to jail for cocaine possession in '88, that's not the right time to bring that up, God Damn the man had cancer!(Thank God he's all right so he's back out there performing going unnoticed by the media.) And for the record f*** Bill O'Reilly 'cause he doesn't give a f*** about hip-hop, he dissed Ludacris who produced "Party Starter" and is good friends with Will too, I wanna watch his show tomorrow just to see how he responds to Kanye. The truth is the government needs to recognise the power of hip-hop 'cause this is the top voice of the black community and if Bush could get together with Russell Simmons, Will Smith, Kanye West, Chuck D, and KRS-ONE he'd understand why the f*** we're mad at him, I doubt he'll respond to what Kanye said though, maybe there needs to be another million man march. You need to understand that Kanye talkin' about this could open up doors for the hip-hop community and the government to work together to help clean up the streets from all the problems and there won't be a prejudice, somebody has to say something, we can't just lie down and die! If you asked anybody on the streets of New Orleans I bet they'd tell you: "F*** Bush!", it ain't just blacks hating on him right now, obviously a lot of white people are too 'cause I saw the other day on CNN that his approval is down to a low 40%, the nation is mad right now, Kanye ain't the only one, he stands for America! I could see why there's a prejudice though towards hip-hop 'cause of who gets the most airtime, 50 Cent and Mike Jones are heartless Uncle Tom rappers who do anything to just make money for themselves and don't care about what other people think about them when they do it, they make us look like stupid n****rs in society, we need better role models to be the most selling in hip-hop, we need to bring back the Fugees, MC Hammer, KRS-ONE, and Public Enemy and maybe they'll learn to take hip-hop more seriously if we brought subject matter to the airwaves("rap was smart and multilayered/we could rap without a&r's and ultimatadems, damn!"), like Hammer once said: "my hero's are rarely seen!(on in trouble)" and they are my heroes that I never see, 50 Cent and Mike Jones are a disgrace to the black community and the hip-hop community, they make us look like we're all idiots who can't read(Lost is when you're a slave to the biz/and don't care what you're saying to kids), 50 didn't go to Live 8 'cause he was too busy shootin' his movie about his fake thug life to make more money? I'm tired of lookin' at these motherf****s that make videos with no subject matter this is why we want "Lost and Found" to do so well too right? 50 Cent is only entertainment 'cause he's only a rapper, Will Smith is a way of life 'cause he's hip-hop, hip-hop needs to come back to the top 'cause this is more than entertainment, this is a movement that was cut short by when all the fake thugs came and we lost our leader 2Pac who stood for the fight always, he and Will were good friends too, he said he's a thug 'cause the media treats blacks like thugs, he was just throwin' it back the hate they gave him, that's why the streets consider him the greatest, he stood for the streets, the Malcolm X of the hip-hop generation, the media tarnished his legacy too, they just don't wanna see a strong black man on top for the whole world to see, they just focus in on the ones that're only entertaining for themselves and ignore the ones who wanna make a difference in the community, we need to break the barrier between the media and the streets. We seriously need another golden era in hip-hop again, we need to accomplish Martin's dream and live in a life where if we do something wrong and we try to do right again we all get forgiven 'cause God forgives us all for our sins but the media doesn't seem to forgive all blacks when we sin but God rules this world, not the media(I have a dream that all men should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character). Everybody with fame that don't do anything to help the average people Lord have mercy on them 'cause they might be in hell, they better enjoy their rich life now with their eyes close to reality while the popular rappers just make songs about drugs and hoes and the youth follow them're getting high all day, I know so much because I don't flood my mind with drugs like a lot my age do. Chuck D addresses that in his terrordome too about how the rappers make songs about drugs and hoes with the youth following them, even some of their older siblings too . They ignore our hero Will Smith, something needs to be done to stop this, we gotta stop poisoning our seeds and learn to think. btw, Nas made a song called "I Wanna Talk To You", this is a dedication to Bush and all the leaders who ignore hip-hop, they needs to learn to relate to the black community and get on the same page, we don't need to fight, we need to unify, I could see your point Kanye could choose to say nothin' and maybe there won't be controversey for a while but by the hip-hop logic the issue will never get addressed and we'll stay divided in the longrun, hip-hop is aggressive, we don't take s*** for granted, you might look at 50 and think otherwise from what the media might intend when they show his videos a million times but that's why we need to get his ass off the air 'cause he ain't the representative of what hip-hop is, I was tossing and turning all night thinkin' about these things, anyway here's Nas' song: [Chorus: repeat 2X] I wanna talk to the mayor, the governor, the motherf----n president I wanna talk to the FBI, and the CIA, and the motherf----n congressman [Nas] Step up to the White House let me in Whats my reason for being I'm ya next to kin And we built this motherf----- You wanna kill me because my hunger? Mr. America young black n----z want ya I wanna talk to the man understand Understand this motherf----n' G-pack in my hand Look what happened to San Fran young girl hit by policeman Twelve shots up in her dome, damn N----z thought we slept but the architect sent The Pentagon's from Egypt, government secret The 99 to 2-G computer shutdown, what now Extension on Earth, human cutdown N----z play with PlayStations, they build a spacestations On Mars plottin civilizations Dissin us discriminatin different races Tax payers pay for more jail for black, latin faces Chorus [Nas] I'm just a black man why y'all made it so hard?, Damn! N----z gotta go create their own job Mr. Mayor imagine if this was your backyard? Mr. Governor imagine if it was your kids that starved? Imagine your kids gotta sling crack to survive Swing a mack to be live, cart ack to get high It's the ghetto life yeah I celebrate it, I live it And all I got is what you left me with I'ma get it Now y'all combinin all the countries we goin do the same Combine all the cliques to make one gang It ain't all about a black and white thing It's to make the change, citizens of a higher plane [Chorus] [Nas] What y'all waitin for the world to blow up Before you hear this rewind this 4 minutes before we timeless Let y'all n----z bang my s--- before Saddam hits The Nastradamus tell us what time it is They try to buy us with doe Fake black leaders of puppets always talking bout the city budget The news got it all confused lyin to the public They eyes watchin stay wise move above it Water floods predicted hurricanes twisters Its all signs of the Armageddon three sixes People reverse the system politics verse religion Holy war muslim verse christians N-----z in high places they don't have the balls for this People in power sit back and watch them slaughter us Mr. President I assume it was negligence The streets upside down, I'm here to represent this [Chorus] - 2X [Nas] Can I talk to you Mr. President? N----z tryin to get with the computers We ain't John Henry Banging down machines and s--- Part of establishment That's what we are steppin up for This s--- is real Total Package in this n---- LES in this n--- Ill Will n--- Mr. President wanna keep us from establishment N-----z are american baby American Made

You just don't get it do you?! You don't think that if it was a black commentator, he'd be taken off the air as soon as the scandal hit the air? I mean if a black commentator just says something controversial they'll instantly throw him off the air. My man I think a lot of people in our society are blind to reality, people don't know what it feels like for me to be black if I screw up my life is ruined. It doesn't matter what happened there I don't give a f*** but he turns around to criticise rappers for doing things when he ain't no saint himself he needs to keep his damn mouth shut, if Will Smith did something like this believe me his image would be ruined, mark my word on that one! Why the hell are you debating this anyway, if Will was there he'd say the same thing too, KRS would say the same thing, hell Chuck D wrote a song about it already, the hip-hop community is applauding what Kanye's doing, this ain't about how much skills he has, it's about being a man and standing up for what you believe in, isn't this why we like Will too? I'm not saying he's on the same level as Will but in a rap industry that's full of heartless rappers just saying or doing anything to sell records I just don't expect it from any of these commercial rappers, a lot of underground rappers would say something but they can't since they ain't on TV, but Kanye surprised me and I'm gonna support him more now! btw, here's the lyrics I wrote today getting my feelings out, I usually would just post it in "Caught In The Middle" but I feel it's only appropriate for this post: Many people have lost labor from the hurricane So we ain't in no mood to celebrate labor day This is a message from mother nature that we need to change our ways We can't treat other like strangers, we don't need a president that closes his eyes like we're slaves I'm not biting my tongue, I lift my fist in a rage Like Chuck D just said “Hell No, We Ain't All Right” and like Will Smith asks, “Tell Me Why The F*** Can't Love Seem To Defeat Hate?” In this life we all got parts on the stage I wish that I was president just for this one day So things could get done the right way The gas prices are going up and I'm receiving much lower pay Like Run-Dmc I wanna lead the people to “Walk This Way” I see my mama start crying from we saw on TV today It feels like these are our relatives that're going through this state Of caious this seems more like a horror movie than a reality Living in this world of greed is like feeling like feeses That're going down a dumpster, I ain't letting them murder me “The Message” from Melle Mel is represented through me I see the broken glass everywhere, I wanna do something about it 'cause I care I'm not trying to be an a**hole I just want to make that clear It feels like we're all dying of cancer and we're all overcome with fear So this moment as I stand I wanna beat my drum loud so you could hear And for all the victims we lost I take a moment of silence and shed a tear I dedicate my fight for y'all, till I die I'm gonna do the best as I can as a citizen to make sure to help my peeps stand tall"

So what does everybody think of this, 17 views and I only replied to myself?! :stickpoke:

MC Hammer "Living In A World Like This", I just put this on since I was thinkin' about the victims from Hurricane Katrina

The thing is though more people criticize 2Pac for his thug life than they do for Eminem for all the stuff that he did so far, it's like it's ok if Eminem makes a scene in public but when 2Pac did it the media nailed him hard and still do, the East Coast-West Coast beef is the most memorable thing of Pac's career, before that he was a conscious rapper like Common that was slept on, he wasn't famous till he was shot and then couldn't control his emotions that much after that, I could understand that somebody could feel angry after they were shot it's all normal, it's like you gotta hide all your emotions when your black or else you'll get criticised, we all gotta be Uncle Toms in other words, 2Pac was a true man not no uncle time, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind. In fact the bandwagon fans ignore the songs like "Keep Ya Head Up" and "Dear Mama", it's like the way 2Pac is betrayed by the media you'd think that he was just a heartless wannable thug like 50 Cent, they don't really know the true story of his career and yet Eminem is considered a hero for talking about killing his mama and his girlfriend, you don't think if he was black he'd be criticized more? Allen Iverson made an album say fag a lot like Eminem and yet his got shelved, sure he might not have much skills but at least he should be allowed to release his album just like Eminem is when he says fag a million times, Kanye West stood up and said rappers shouldn't say fag, I bet the media might get on him about that too gradually just like they did with Will sayin' that he curses a lot in his movies when it's only a script really, it's like the ones that stand up for somethin' get criticised and the ones that pollute the airwaves get praised. 2Pac loved women and his mama too, he hated scandelous women so he called them bitches, I feel the same way too about that so shoot me too right? We gotta address problems in society and talk them out just like this instead of avoiding talking about it and just acting like everything's perfect, you say it was a bad time and place but I say it's a good time in place, when is the right time to talk about something? Bush would have less blacks hating on him if he'd talk to representives of hip-hop like Russell Simmons and Chuck D more often to understand their point of views and then find a way to do things to improve the black community, when people ignore you you get mad, people protested in Texas and yet Bush didn't acknowledge the woman and sit down to talk to her for 5 minutes, if you talk to somebody the problem could easily be solved! For a lot of blacks a lot of times we have no options but to sell crack, play ball, or rap to make a living, it's harder for us to get jobs even if we have degrees and if we ever go to jail it's even harder for us to be accepted back in society, Bush and all politicians needs to address this issue too. I graduated high school 2 years ago and yet I could only keep a job at a store for like 6 months at a time so far and sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do? I work hard too but they lay me off and don't call me back even when their buisiness picks up again so I have to go somewhere else, I wonder if things will change when I graduate college, it frustrates me sometimes, hopefully I'll still be able to afford the internet, lol, I wanna do the best I can to get by I don't wanna go down the fast lane doing somethin' I'll regret later on so I pray that I'll make it, sometimes hope isn't enough for us though, pride is all we have. Anyway, I remember hearing about the Bill O'Reilly trial just like once or twice on the news last year, they didn't focus in on it that much so if you blinked you missed it, a woman who worked on FoxNewsChannel for Bill O'Reilly's show accused him of rape, read all about it here if you want to: http://beldar.blogs.com/beldarblog/2004/10...ning_litig.html btw, Jim ain't u a MC Hammer fan? He made a song called "Brothers Hang On" where he expresses the exact mentality of how blacks are treated in society, some of these lines are my thoughts right now too, they don't even have the damn lyrics online I had to type them myself from listening to the song just now, it's retarted that positive mcs like MC Hammer get ignored, I just figured f*** it it's a deep song and it'd make a great point about what I'm sayin' here, Kanye has the right to express how we all feel, Hammer's probably proud of him!: I gotta send this out to our people being genocized 600,000 brothers in jail, brothers we got to hang on My mind is poisoned from the pictures I see(on tv) The hookers all the killers seem to look like me (black) A silly plan or super stupid plot(always gotta hustle) It's always me that rock seems to got(hooked, why me?) You let them tell it and I'm already through(He won't be nothin'!) I can't take it what am I supposed to do(What I'm a supposed to do?) And all of my heroes are rarely ever seen(only in trouble!) You killed off one just for having a dream(Long live Martin!) Everytime we get it together, the Uncle Toms break us on up We're just like crabs in a basket, nobody lets us on up(why do we kill each other?) I can't find a job with decent pay(nowhere!) I hit the neighborhood where I stay(rock stars live there!) I call on God but I don't pray I don't think I'll make it anyway, my mind's gone Hang on, brothers hang on(you got to hang on) Hang on, brothers hang on(don't let go, don't let go!) I see my homies living so large(they rollin') They pass me by with no regard(frontin') Rollin' hard, benefits of the game(yep, 'cause of the game!) Bankroll's super fat plus they got that Oaktown fame(playground legends) I try to fight it but I gotta survive(survive!, survival) You can't tell me nothin' when I'm barely alive(I got to eat my brother) I lost my woman and my self respect(What's really going on?) I think it's time I go and grab my gat(I don't know what to do?) And walk the streets and sling me some dope(sling ya dope!) I got no money and I lost all hope, I'm gone Hang on, brothers hang on(you got to hang on) Hang on, brothers hang on(don't let go, don't let go!) And now I'm sweatin' 'cause my mind is so confused(confused!) And I don't know what way I should choose(I could go either way) My mama would cry if she only knew(it'll break my mama's heart) What I think I'm about to do(I gotta do it) My gun is loaded and Joe is waiting(I'm waiting!) And in this game I could die from just faking(perpetrating) So here I go, I gotta take my chance(Life is a chance!) Drop this off and I'll make a quick grand(A quick G!) I'm scared as hell, I really don't want this life(No I don't) But I gotta do something if it's wrong or if it's right(I gotta survive!) It's not my fault that's what I keep saying(saying!) And inside my mind, help me lord right now I'm praying, I'm going Hang on, brothers hang on(you got to hang on) Hang on, brothers hang on(don't let go, don't let go!) Things have changed and I'm in deep(real deep!) 2 nines in my hand even when I'm asleep(if I sleep?!, if i sleep!) And if I sleep I don't sleep long(not too long, can't sleep) 10 blocks from mine, it's going on strong(real strong!) A lot of fly girls stay on my jock(jocking me!) You get like that when your name is just so hot(in the streets!) On top in the streets and my bank is big(real big!) And now I'm glad that I did what I did(I'm rollin') Fly suits big cars and plenty of gold(Fort knox) Jacuzzi, bath tubs, and fly silk rugs(they sportin') Enemies I got 'em(so?)but I don't care(they suckas!, don't care) It's better over here than it was over there I think Hang on, brothers hang on(you got to hang on) Hang on, brothers hang on(don't let go, don't let go!) Someone is knocking, who could that be?(who is it? who is it?) A basshead at my door but I got no sympathy(sympathy!) You smoke the pipe(last deal though) and that's your thing(that's your thing!) You try to jerk me and all you get is a bang(pow!) Someone is knocking, who could that be?(who is it? who is it?) Shots rang out, yo they shootin' at me(oh whats up?) I grab my oozie, but it's too late I'm not Tony the Tiger so I don't feel so great My blood is runnin', I could feel it on my face(on my face) And I hope somehow I could be back at my old place(my old place, chillin') I'm dying fast and I feel cold Losing my life at 20 years old I don't wanna die And I'm getting scared as I cry! I'm gonna miss my mama and my family too(I love you mama) I should've hung on but my life is through(my life is through) I pray that somebody hears my song And brothers, my brothers hang on Hang on, brothers hang on(you got to hang on) Hang on, brothers hang on(don't let go, don't let go!) Damn I did so much ranting here, I might have a career in writing one day, I think I'll save this post! :lolsign: Anyway it all Bush's fault for all this but we need some president to relate to us, it ain't like we're gonna have a black president in our lifetime either though. :stickpoke:

What's so different about Kanye West speakin' what he said to the public last night than it is when he and many other conscious rappers say the same things in their songs? I guess it's ok for a rapper to talk about it on wax with a few people listening to them but god forbid if they say something on national TV or make a music video for it, they start to jump on you for it! :shake: In that case I guess it's ok for 50's "Candy Shop" to get major rotation and Nas' "Just Another Moment"get lil' airplay huh? :stickpoke: Hip-hop is expression of the opinion of the streets, that's what's keepin' it alive, Kanye West gave me a good feeling that hip-hop is still alive in the public!

http://www.ukhh.com/reviews/nonuk/1976.html Skillz Confessions of a Ghostwriter LP Now if you think Virginia imposed itself on the hip hop map with the arrival of Missy, Timberland and the Neptunes, then you need to step off that video game you’re playing or website you’re browsing and go back to your history books. Before any of these people started making noise, there was a VA MC by the name of Mad Skillz who was dropping gems and making people stand up and think, ‘well there’s gotta be more to this hip hop thing then NY or LA’. Coming up in 94, Skillz released his first opus in 95, named ‘From Where???’, catching the attention of heads worldwide with a singular flow, catchy lines and able metaphors. The success of the album saw him become an in demand featuring MC and drop regular yearly hip hop round ups, that had strong club and comic appeal. Yet it seemed a second album was not to happen. After a false start a few years back, Skillz’ ‘Confessions of a Ghostwriter’ finally drops, albeit a bit late. With productions from some of the aforementioned Virginia golden producers as well as himself, Skillz offers tasty lyrics, treading subjects you don’t really hear about much these days and still packing in punchlines and jokes at the right times. The material hasn’t aged, but the time of release may not be the wisest. Still it gives us something different to chew on, which I for one am glad for. ‘Confessions…’ does serve up some classic Skillz moments: we’ve got ‘Suzie Q’ featuring Ceelo, a southern anthem if I ever heard one, and luckily untouched by the midget hands of Lil Jon, ‘Off the Wall’ with its trademark Timbo beat, ‘PA to VA’ another party song that is bound to work on any floor it’s dropped on and the excellent ‘Skillz vs Shaqwan’, the highlight of the album with Skillz battling himself in the shape of a hater. It’s songs like that which show Skillz’ true potential as an MC. Unfortunately, with 13 songs on there, the flow and energy that Skillz displays early on feels lost at times as the beats and styles change up. You can’t help but feel like this has indeed been rushed through slightly after being held back for so long. Tracks like ‘Imagine’ and ‘Wave Ya Hands’ feel out of place. Lyrics wise, the subjects are varied as you’d expect from this VA veteran, from party mood to serious subjects, he never follows the road of the thugs and gangsters instead opting for lyrical sceneries which are so missing from many albums today. His mom, tours, groupies and lovers all feature at some point, yet this also adds to the confused element that the album is trying to do too much instead of focusing on the things it does very well. Still this is a lovely headnodder of an LP and one which you should check if you’re unfamiliar with the man’s work. He may not be mad anymore, but he’s still got the skills, that’s for sure.

Aight man that was a typo but you're missing my point, don't you think if Will was accused of rape like Bill O'Reilly was and even was proven innocent like Bill O'Reilly was wouldn't Will's image still be ruined? :stickpoke: I mean they still talk about 2Pac being in jail 10 years later and won't let him rest in peace and yet Eminem being in jail is quickly forgotten already. :sick: It should be a double standard in society, we're not totally equal yet.

Hey now there's a lot of older folks that're outraged by this too, I know my parents are pissed, the reason I brought up Bill O'Reilly for a reference is that if it was Will Smith that was being accused with rape he'd have to live with it for the rest of his life and would lose his popularity and yet Bill O'Reilly stays on the air like nothin' happens, Michael Jackson will never sell as much as he used to but he's innocent! :shrug: Look at Eminem, he went to jail for gun charges, calls his mama a whore, and now is in rehab for drugs, now if Will Smith or Kanye West did this they'd live with it forever, Eminem's gonna have a statue of himself and be known as the most original rapper of this generation when he dies just like Elvis and his birthday will be a national holiday. It's hard for black people to get acceptance in society, you do a million good things but if you do one your image is ruined and you ain't forgiven, why do you think we're mad? Wouldn't you be mad if your race was through 200 of years of racism and yet you're still called a stupid n****r?!! Anyway why'd it take 4 days for major action to be made? The rest of the world is gonna be putting us down, we're not looking the most powerful nation right now, this Bush is making us look like idiots throughout the rest of the world! To be homeless, hungry, and thirsty in the middle of chaos is a disgrace! This is America not Afganistan damn it, if we can't handle a f***n' hurricane how could we handle terroists? people don't like hip-hop 'cause rappers have the balls to say what's on their minds more than other musicians but the most who do it go unknown, I mean they'd rather see 50 Cent and Eminem sell 5 million with meaningless songs than to have Nas or Kanye West sell that much 'cause songs with meaning is like barbershop talk to the public and they don't want that to be heard, this verse in "American Way" is exactly how the streets feel, I bet the media will make up something about Kanye's past to ruin his image: "Yeah, check it, uh Spot build-rocker, lil' papa killed Hoffa Beard lil' longer, feel strong and I'll stop ya Drill sergeant, still thorough, wheelbarrows of distilled vodka Get me real bonkers like Will Ferrell on cat tranquilizer Rap guys get bank and think they messiahs, but they liars Vote fo who now? You're red, white and blue? I'm American too, but I ain't with the president's crew What you peddlin' and who you peddlin' to? You ain't got the ghetto with you Try'na lead my sheep to the slaughterhouse Talkin 'bout +Rap the Vote+, you ain't thought about The black vote mean nathan, who you gonna elect Satan or Satan? In the hood nothin is changin, uh We ain't got no choices who to choose Ten-years ago they were tryin to stop our voices And end Hip-Hop, they some hypocrites Condoleeza Rice - I don't really get this chick Tell her if she ever really cared about poor schools About poor children, then she gotta prove that she ain't just another coon Uncle Tom fool Like these MC's, gotta give 'em the rules Lie to the youth, Uncle Tom you confused Might as well give the Hip-Hop community a noose Need a truce with the gangs and some food for the hungry On Kerry nuts, he look at you like a monkey You MC's on that old slavery path The Bushs'll look at yo' ass and laugh See, it's all about community, let's help ourselves Cops brutalize us get dealt with with shells It's our turn, it's 'bout time we win Need somebody as the hood as my councilman, uh"

You don't think Bush could've done more in 4 f****n' days? A lot of those people have nowhere to go 'cause they're poor, you can't leave if you don't have money, the gas prices are ridiculous right now. Come on now I'm sure Will feels the same way that Kanye does too since he stood up for Chuck D when he said "F*** Bush!" 15 years ago when the father was there and said that Chuck D was right in standing up the way the most of us blacks feel. There's always a few weirdos in the crowd but that doesn't mean you should stop trying to help the ones that weren't doing anything! This ain't a black or white issue, it's about all of us surviving, tell that to the media though and it's a different story. There might've been white ones shootin' too but they never show them, they only show the black people shootin', we're the thugs, but every race has thugs, they wanna make it look like blacks are the only ones, they put down Mike Tyson for being a rapist but Bill O'Reilly was charged with rape too but they don't talk about that anymore the way they do with Mike Tyson, this is a prejudice society we live in, they put down KRS-ONE for dropping out of high school and say he's ignorant 'cause of that but even Peter Jennings dropped out of high school and we didn't hear about it until his death, KRS is just as smart as Peter Jennings but they wanna make it look like he's an idiot, they act like black girls are the only ones that drop out of school and get pregnant but a lot of white girls drop out of school and get pregnant too, you don't realise all the stereotypes black people have, it's hard for us to get full acceptance in society no matter what we do, we all screw up but when a black person screws up we have to deal with it for the rest of our lives but when a white person screws up they get forgiven, it's not right, the media has too much stereotypes, it's like Elvis was a crack addict too who died of overdose but they don't talk about that the way they do when James Brown was caught with drugs almost 20 years ago, they still talk about that and only talk about Elvis is a musical genius and celebrate his birthday every damn year like a national holiday and don't give a damn about James Brown's birthday and he's still living, that's not what I call a fair society do you? :shrug:

This song "What Kinda World" by KRS-ONE demonstrates the feeling of the way the government treats us, they think it's ok for 50 Cent to make meaningless songs but when Kanye addresses what's going on with the Hurricane the media wants to put down hip-hop! : "There's no such thing as a government There's only people rulin over people People jerkin around people People lendin a hand to people.. What part of the system do you play? Who do you oppress? .. Uhh! [Chorus] What kinda world are we livin in? Yo What kinda world are we livin innnnnn? Can I get with my people? Can I sit with my people? Break bread with my people? Move ahead with my people? [Chorus] - 1/2 [KRS-One] When every day, seven thousand kids are gettin locked up When every day the justice system seems to stay stocked up When every day they cuttin 'em down 'fore they even pop up When every day you gotta duck 'fore you get shot up What kinda world are we livin in, spinnin in Winnin in, sinnin in, let us begin again Churches are ran like corporations makin me holla Corporations are ran like churches praisin the dollar There's no way out, or is it? Release your doubt and live it Teachin metaphysics don't listen to these critics hear it What kinda world are we livin in? Believe in yourself, achieve for yourself, see for yourself Speak for yourself, never weaken yourself, by deceivin yourself Believe in your wealth, c'mon! [Chorus] [KRS-One] Yo, yo, yeah What kinda world are we livin out, we move about in fear and doubt, tryin to get more clout Just check it check it out, we took the wrong route to a morality drought, basically I'm callin 'em out What kinda world are we livin in, when a song will not get on, unless it talks 'bout thongs Now where did we go wrong? We don't have long Preference all torn all worn not norm and all gone What kinda world do we live around, when we lay around Let me break it down, they shuttin us down while we play around, we fallin, stallin while God's callin, all in to fall in [Chorus] [Chorus] - 1/2 [KRS-One] When every day another unwanted pregnancy ends When every day another person is betrayed by a friend When every day it never ends, and the people pretend like the President is there cause of them, let me ask What kinda world can we really trust when the cops they can shoot at us? Bo bo! What kinda world can we really grow (ohh) when our daughters wanna be hoes (ohh) and a father that nobody knows (ohh) and a mother wearin them sexy clothes (ho) What kinda world are we livin in, yo What kinda world are we livin in, uhh [Chorus] w/ variations [KRS] Can I get with my people? Can I sit with my people? Break bread with my people? Move ahead with my people? Can I sit with my people? Can I get with my people? Break bread with my people? Move ahead with my people? Can I sit with my people? Can I get with my people? Break bread with my people? Move ahead with my people? Fresh.. for two-thousand-one.. you SU-CKAZZZZZZ!"

If he wanted to take the lead for his community, he should have addressed the hordes of young black men roaming the city, raping girls, carjacking, shooting at rescue helicopters... (rescue helicopters!), shooting at people waiting to be rescued infront of the superdome including the sick and the elderly, shooting at people while they are being rescued, shooting at law enforcement, looting gun shops... People involved in the rescue efforts have said that they are afraid for their lives and some have refused to go into the city because of the violence... There are police officers that have turned in their badges saying that they've lost their homes, they don't want to lose their lives... You want to address some issues, lets talk about all the issues... don't be myopic. ← That shouldn't have stopped them from trying to help the people, a few people shoot at you and you go away from helping? People shoot at our troops all the time in Iraq but that doesn't stop us from helping their refugess does it? If you're just gonna be a pussy and go away and not try to help anymore nothin' will get done, they could've easily gone to a spot where they weren't shootin', they were still shootin' in some areas when Bush came in too but he stayed didn't he? Kanye could've said something like that too but he didn't have all day to speak you know!

You say things when people're watching you, that's the best time to say something! :stickpoke: He only said what millions of us are feelin' right now but we don't have a microphone in our face to say it. That's why people thought NWA's "F*** The Police" was offensive but it was true, millions of blacks were being abused by police officers so we did wanna say f*** the police, the media doesn't wanna hear that side of the story, everything has to be all sugarcoated so they won't look bad when they're screwing up, sure Will doesn't curse in his songs but they have a strong meaning to them and he addresses issues that the media might not wanna talk about either.

That's why the media thinks KRS-ONE, 2Pac, and Chuck D are controversial and they didn't like it when Will stood up and said rappers shouldn't curse in their songs either for the point of just cursing unless you're saying somethin' with meaning to it but not f*** every line of your song, they want us to close our eyes and not saying anything but this is America and we have freedom of speech, we're not puppets, we react when we're feelin' hurt, put yourselfs in the victim's shoes and you'd feel the same way, have some damn sympathy, not saying Kanye is a legend like those 4 yet but obviously they've all inspired him and he could be on his way up to being one! :thumbsup:

What do you mean what he said is not true? Bush waited 4 days before he started doing s*** to help the victims when he jumps the next day to help other countries, it's f****d up, he needs to take care of us American people too not just the world, like my parents tell me you have to do your work at home 1st before you could succeed elsewhere and that's exactly what should be done here, sure we should help with the war in Iraq but we gotta help the victims in New Orleans too just as much, we ran to help the Sunumi victims in Japan on the 1st day but here we waited 4 f****n' days, exuse my language but I'm pissed, the people can't accept the truth and that's what's wrong with society right now, this is more than just an issue of the rap game, we shouldn't have voted for this idiot to be president in the 1st place, a lot of countries have turned their backs on us since he became president, they think Americans are idiots just like him, the leader represents us, he's not a good leader bottomline that's why I didn't vote for him. btw Chief, I'm 20 years old.

:word: Like I said it was a collective effort to get hip-hop to become the billion-dollar buisiness it is today, "Krush Groove" wasn't as popular as "Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" but it was a start and the success "Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" lead to LL and Queen Latifah having their own sitcoms later on too.

I rather see a lot of topics about Kanye West than about 50 Cent, we need an mc to top the charts, if "Lost and Found" or "Be" doesn't be the highest selling album this year, I hope "Late Registration" does, it doesn't matter if he doesn't have as much skills as them, he's hip-hop and we need real mcs with heart to top the charts no matter who it is, whether it's Black Eyed Peas, Will Smith, Kanye, Common, it don't matter, as long as people stop buying that Mike Jones and G Unit crap and learn to get their mind right with music for the soul, the government will have to take hip-hop more seriously once we put out popular songs with messages, so I'm gonna vote for Kanye's songs and Will's songs at the same time.