Will Smith Gets Nick Cannon's Fists Flying

[bigted]

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....

Edited December 24, 2005 by bigted

[MaxFly]

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,

I don't think it's about the money, and he has never said anything or behaved in a way to indicate that he acts simply to get paid. It appears that he genuinely enjoys acting, or there'd be no way one could explain the amount of work he put in on Ali or some of the things I've heard from Pursuit of Happiness; there's no way to explain why he works so hard at it. I can't logically expect a man who will be 40 soon to devote his life to the rap industry now when he has other talents and other passions.

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...

I really don't see Will trying to be like Jay-Z. All Jay really has is his rap industry influence and assorted businesses, but Will is far more talented in an array of different things. Trying to be like Jay-Z, as crazy as it sounds, would be a waste for him. He's too old to start trying to emulate others. He needs to make his own way, do his own thing.

Also, I think Will can make more of an impact on the culture by going even beyond just music. A black man who is talented and successful, is married, loves his wife and his kids, makes time for them inspite of his busy schedule, and is just an all around nice person is a powerful symbol, someone you can root for. There aren't many men like that around, period. He's not going to get that exposure and he's not going to make the contacts he has now by foresaking his other ventures. If he diversifies, he can maximize his impact, not just on black culture or hip hop, but on culture in general.

Hip hop needs him, yes... but the task of saving hip hop shouldn't rest on Will Smith's shoulders. It's too much to ask of someone who's given so much but has been credited with so little. It's going to take those with the influence... The Jay-Zs and the Dres of the industry to get rid of the garbage MCs and to change the messages that hip hop generally puts forward.

[bigted]

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.....

Edited December 24, 2005 by bigted

[Trey]

I agree! He'll be Morgan Freemans age and still chasing down aliens!

:word: :lolsign:

It will sure be a while before he retires.....but what about rapping? :hmm:

[bigted]

: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....

[Trey]

: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:

[bigted]

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...

Edited December 24, 2005 by bigted

[MaxFly]

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.

I don't think Will has ever meant that doing movies has killed the rapper inside of him. He has tried to express that he feels as if he has gotten away from music and practicing his skills, but the rapper is a live and well, or we wouldn't have gotten quality albums in Willenium or Lost and Found... Heck, if the desire weren't there, we wouldn't have even gotten a Born 2 Reign. Unless the rapper is dying and resurrecting every three years... no.

Also, the point about age isn't so much that Will can't produce good music at a ripe age... it's that he is at a prime age to do other things, to break into other fields. He is talented enough to do it and has the desire to do it. Forsaking everything else would be a waste of opportunity and talent. Will Smith is not Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder was never and will never be a top draw at the box office... he doesn't have the acting chops. We're talking about a guy that was nominated for an Oscar, and given time, will eventually win multiple Oscars. It doesn't make sense to completely walk away from the business, lose your contacts, and then try to start over when you're older and not so much of a hot commodity.

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 ....

The reason he's known for his movies is because movies have universal draw, as opposed to rap music. Rap has a specific audience and one's popularity as a rapper is generally limited to your audience or those who have some sort of contact with your music or with you. There are a few exceptions in music... Brittney Spears and others... But though is may seem like it, Jay-Z isn't a household name. Tupac isn't a household name. Nas nor Biggie are not household names. Will Smith is a household name because more people have seem him act than have heard any of the MCs I listed above rap.

Also, I'm not too high on this "Will needs to tour... he needs to be on rap city" thing. If those are the things you need to do to get credit in the industry, we're in more trouble than I thought. Before, it was more than enough to drop a tight album with tracks that are hot to get credit. If you have to foresake everything else to get credit in hip hop now, it's not worth it. Will doesn't need that type of credit.

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?

If the only way to get the public to give its due is to put out 10 albums in 10 years, you might as well sell your soul and get a discount in the process. Will deserves credit for what he's done now, not when he shows that he can inundate the rap market like everyone else and that he's just like everyone else. Problem is that he isn't like everyone else. He is talented in other things and he has other interests.

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.....

Again, if the only way to get people to respect your work is to be in music all the time, I doubt that's the kind of respect Will wants... that's not respect... that's conditioning. People have gotten used to you, and it seems that you're working hard, so they give you props. That's not real. It shouldn't matter how hard you've worked if something you put out is fire. It's the quality of work that is judged, not the process one went through to get it done. Will was away from hip hop, he stepped back in and dropped Lost and Found. The album doesn't deserve any less acclaim simply because Will wasn't in music continuously. Incidentally, for someone who is one of the trailblazers of hip hop, Will gets no credit, period. He and Jeff were in the music and were releasing album after album, doing tours... yet they are often overlooked because they were percieved as bubblegum, not because they weren't working hard.

: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....

I don't think Will should give up rhyming either, but I also don't think that he should give up film and his other ventures. As with everything, moderation.

[bigted]

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.....

Edited December 25, 2005 by bigted

[JumpinJack AJ]

I love Nick Cannon. People can hate all they want. His album is one of my fav Hip-Hop records dropped since the late 90's. Whether u like him not...his music is more on point than any of the other commercial artists out there. I can't say i'm excited about his movies 2 much, but i've liked the ones i've seen. I'm just holding out 4 this new album.

[bigted]

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....

Edited December 25, 2005 by bigted

[Typhoon20]

It's like KOBE follows Michael Jordan's footsteps, he wants to be like him etc.

That ain't gonna happen, ever.

Same with nick cannon IMO.

Edited December 25, 2005 by Typhoon20

[MaxFly]

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!

Lol, ask John Kerry or Bill Clinton who KRS One is, then ask them who Will Smith is. Rap doesn't have the reach that film does. Pop music has that draw because those sort of artists are everywhere, but ask Bill Gates who Foxy Brown is versus Will Smith, and you're going to get different answers.

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?

Pop music is the most popular music genre in the US and the world I think. Lol, that's why it's called popular. Regardless of how much they play rap or how many commercials it has, it still has a ways to go. More people listen to Brittney Spears, N'Sync, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson... and I could keep going...

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....

If Will weren't so involved in movies, he wouldn't have #1 blockbuster hits because he wouldn't be getting the parts that he does now. Will is consulted for parts, but he doesn't have ultimate control... the director does, and his popularity in the field certainly helps. If Will came out with an album every year, I'm sure people would be feeling him more... The problem is that we want people to feel Will for his music, not because people see him all the time. Remember, there was a time Will and Jeff were strictly about hip hop, yet even then they still didn't get the recognition they deserved. I'd love for Will to get the recognition, but it's not right that he would have to put everything else away to get it. If you have to be only about hip hop to make a contribution, the industry is in a crisis.

I heard a lot of people making the arguments against Lost and Found when came out. "He's only dabbling in hip hop. He's not real." My response was "Is Lost and Found hot?" That's all that really matters. Will's not asking for recognition because he's stayed in hip hop or because he has been completely dedicated. He's asking for recognition for the work he has put in.

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...

I think Lost and Found could have done better with more promotion too, but for the most part, people will like what they are conditioned to like, and right now, that's the thug or pimp image. All of it is a concoction by the media. If Will wants to take over, he's going to have to wipe out BET and Hot 97.7. I have no aversion to that, but it wouldn't be easy.

[bigted]

Hip-hop is more like hip-pop these days though, 50 Cent outsold everyone this year in music.... Check out this article here talking about how hip-hop is the most popular music genre, it's an old article that's still relevant today, merry christmas, lol: http://www.csupomona.edu/~rrreese/HIPHOP.HTML

Everytime you turn on MTV you're more likely to see a rap video than an other video, whether you're in the streets or the suburbs, you see hip-hop.... I think Outkast outsold Britney Spears on their last album too.... A lot of people in mainstream society do know hip-pop artists like 50 Cent, Kanye West, Outkast, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z, they grace the covers of Rolling Stones as much as any pop artists do now, they wouldn't know who KRS-ONE is of course, only underground hip-hop heads who really know hip-hop would, not the casual fan, they wouldn't know certain people like him or Nas, they never really appealed to large audiences... A lot of people in society do know JJFP, but they like gangsta rap more these days, especially the kids but even some adults like it too, they buy it for their kids in the first place, lol, some of them felt alienated when Will dissed gangsta rap too 'cause a lot of people love people like Eminem and Dr. Dre much more than JJFP, if Jay-Z dissed gangsta rap like Will did, he'd lose all of his fanbase, Will took a risk that not many hip-poppers would... Conservatives only see the hip-pop side so that's why they diss hip-hop in general, they think all rappers are thugs, but that's not true, they're ignorant of mcs with heart like Nas and KRS, that's partly their fault though 'cause they don't try to get more recognition but that's why there's no balance, the overpromotion of thug rappers force real mcs to not get the fame.... Like I said earlier, Will has to release more universal tracks in order to get the respect in mainstream society, "Switch" ain't gonna do it, we need tracks like "Tell Me Why" to be released, he's more than just a club rapper, it wouldn't matter if you're from the streets or Hollywood, that song'll touch everyone 'cause everyone felt affected from 9/11, that track would've gotten "Lost and Found" nominated for album of the year at the Grammy awards if he performed it at Live 8 and released it soon after... Releasing "Pump Ya Brakes" would show people that Will doesn't hate all gangsta rappers either since it's a collab with Snoop, people're ignorant of that, Will has problems with the industry, not the artists like some'd believe.... Will got some recognition though, he beat out 50 Cent for best male pop artist at the AMAs, didn't he? If hip-hop wasn't popular, how come 2 hip-hop artists got nominated with one pop rocker? Why is Kanye nomiated for best album with Paul Mccartney and Mariah Carey if he ain't a pop rapper?

Edited December 25, 2005 by bigted

[Ali]

True,Nick Cannon did star in Men in Black 2 with Will.He's done a couple more ones like "Drum Line","The Underclassman",and "Love Don't Cost A Thing".