Article On Time 100 List That Mentions Will

[bigted]

I find it insulting that Will's not being embraced as representin' for hip-hop on the Time article, but the matter is though society respects Will more than they do any other artist in hip-hop, Will's a household name, and now to question whether Will's a hip-hop artist is idiotic, how many rappers released 9 albums in 20 years, his last album went platinum last year that means he's still relevant as a hip-hop artist in the music industry now.... Of course his music ain't as popular as his movies, but basically there's more people going to see Will's movies than they are gonna buy any rap album and that's why other rap artists of today like Bow Wow, 50 Cent, and Ludacris are trying to get into film 'cause they know that movies are more popular than rap is, Will brought hip-hop to Hollywood, you wouldn't see Kanye West on the red carpet with Tom Cruise if Will didn't help rappers get accepted in mainstream, now if I don't call that influential than what is? Whoever wrote that article should be fired: "They thought I was wack/When I wanted to act/Now every brother and his mother in rap being trying to do that"...

http://rap.about.com/b/a/257668.htm

Time 100 Greatest People - No Hip-Hop?

Not that this is the first time it's happened, but I found Time Magazine's non-inclusion of relevant hip-hop artists (emphasis on relevant) in their recent Top 100 as a ridiculous oversight. Who said hip-hop hasn't shaped the world in the last 25 years or so? What magazine have these guys been reading? What radio station are they listening to? And, no...Will Smith doesn't count, since the jury's still out on whether he'is to be considered a hip-hop artist or not. In fact, Will's inclusion was based solely on his acting roles.

Sean Combs, who Time found worthy of inclusion, is a pioneer in his own right, but Jay-Z has done more for hip-hop than Diddy. Jay has set countless cultural trends that altered urban America as a whole. Add that to the fact that he swiftly transported the game from the streets to the corporate office. Well, what about Public Enemy? Hell, even a Kanye West inclusion will do.

Yeah right. Who am I kidding? Kanye hasn't earned that stripe yet, but you get my drift. If country music is represented by the Dixie Chicks; pop music by Bono, and if Daddy Yankee (of all people) is flying the latin music flag, then who's representing hip-hop on that list?

What do you think? What hip-hop artists should have made Time's 100?

Edited May 6, 2006 by bigted

[bigted]

I got the author to respond to my rant I made in the response area, if Time magazine decided to take out Will 'cause he ain't the most talented rapper then they'd have to take out George Bush since he ain't the smartest man in America, lol, just 'cause you're popular doesn't mean you're better than everybody else, but that just means that you influence more people, basically that's what was implying there:

"As for Will, nobody said he's trash. Like you said, he's on that list as a representative of artists that walk the fine line between rapping and acting, and that's what i pointed out. Go read the Time synopsis on Will, and you'll see that he's not there on a hip-hop level.

And, I'm sorry to break it to you, but I NEVER NEVER EVER evaluate the strength of an artist based on how many platinum plaques he owns. There are so many underground artists that are much more creative and artistic than your beloved platinum-plaque careers like Will Smith, but that doesn't make them any weaker."

Then I responded back just now:

"Well I don’t measure talent by record sales either but you figure that Time magazine wouldn’t talk about an underground rapper that only die hard rap heads ever heard of, you have to be a household name like Will Smith and have an influence on popular culture,

Will Smith has a lot of talent though as an mc, the thing that got me pissed off is that you said that Will doesn’t count as a hip-hop artist and that’s wrong ’cause he’s respected as a hip-hop artist too,you mention Public Enemy in your article, Chuck D respects Will as a rapper and respects his performance, Will battled underground rappers in Philly when he came into the game and for him to have this kinda success now is amazing, it should be celebrated by the hip-hop community not put down, many hip-hop artists have short careers while Will has manifested, his hard work and dedication should be an inspiration to the hip-hop community, a lot of artists just do it for money but Will puts heart and soul into his work

I understand your points of not talent equaling sales that’s why it’s a list of the most influential people in the world, there’s quite a bit of underground rappers that could go toe to toe with Jay-Z as well, but this list isn’t about who’s the most talented, it’s about who’s the most popular that influence many, so people like Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Will Smith, and LL Cool J are the only names in hip-hop that have both popularity and influence on popular culture in my eyes, even though they might not be the most talented"

Btw, he responded to me again:

"There you go. That’s exactly what i was trying to say - the list doesn’t reflect the influential people within our community.

By the way, if you’ve been frequenting this site, you’ll notice that one of Will’s song is mentioned among the greatest hip-hop songs ever. He just kind off changed direction in the 90’s, and I’m not a fan of that."

Then I responded back again:

"Well the sad thing is that a lot of the most talented artists in the hip-hop game never get the fame and attention in the mainstream as they should, but Will is representin’ for hip-hop on the Time 100 list, you can’t say he’s just an actor, he’s a rapper/actor, Time should’ve talked a lil’ bit more about his music than they did but he’s more popular in acting than rapping at the moment, the list is for this year and Will’s not as popular in 2006 as he was in 1996, maybe if he was the highest selling rapper and had a hit movie out at the same time then they would mention more about his music, I could understand why they didn’t mention much about that and more hip-hop artists should be mentioned of course, thanks for replying to me, I appreciate it "

Edited May 6, 2006 by bigted

[Hero1]

nice work ted! :rockon: :wickedwisdom:

[Jin]

Great work buddy!

[bigted]

Thanks guys, yeah it feels good that now that writer does respect Will after all as a hip-hop artist :1-cool:

[Jazzy Julie]

yeah great job!

[BamF]

Awesome :wickedwisdom:

[Angel Amor]

yeah great job!

Ditto..great job there bigted :2thumbs: :yeah:

[Turntable]

Thats cool. Nice done Ted.

[4MD1]

I tell people that will is/was your favorite rappers favorite rapper.

[PeaceAngel]

Nice job Ted! :2thumbs:

[viber_91]

Nice Job"

[Sandy]

:2thumbs: