Jay-Z’s “retirement” brought along with it the questions of who the best rapper was. Lil’ Wayne initially gave Jay respect but declared himself the best rapper and ever since the discussions and arguments have been heated.
Jay-Z’s return only poured more fuel on the fire (as seen here and here and damn near every other hip hop site).
Detroit’s Royce Da 5′9″ also threw his hat (you know - the New Era fitted with the ‘D’ on it) into the mix a while back with this track.
Royce Da 5′9″ with “Best Rapper Alive”
The “best rapper” argument is subjective but I won’t stop you from having it.
Share:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Eminem made him his partner-in-rhyme. Dr. Dre chose him as his ghost-writer. DJ Premier is on board to executive produce his album. Nas has flirted with signing him.
Even Diddy decided he could use a verse. Jay Dee, Alchemist, Pharrell, Just Blaze and Track Masters have all worked with him on more than one occasion.
Hip Hop’s elite have all co-signed Royce Da 5′9″. With the exception of Jay-Z and its not possible that Jay just hasn’t come across his music.
The Royce Da 5′9″ / Def Jam rumors have persisted for a while but Jay hasn’t come out and publicly even acknowledged that Royce exists. Could it be that Jay fears a little competiton?
Could that be a reason for so many years of bickering with Nas? Could it also be the reason why you rarely see Jay do a track with an emcee on his level? It seems that his whole career the only rapper he was willing to play second fiddle to was B.I.G. He handpicked the very mediocre Memphis Bleek to be his right-hand man (granted that he was from Marcy) out of hundreds of better New York rappers.
That’s the only explanation that makes sense to me. If you know otherwise, let a dude know.
Make that signing Jay. Put out some good hip hop, and do these artists right. You are the president now. Make Def Jam relevant again. With Primo producing the album, you can’t possibly screw this one up. Overcome that ego and prove you’re more than just a figurehead.
…
The original track, Renegade, was a Royce track featuring Eminem. This was to be on a Royce Da 5′9″ album but because Interscope didn’t want their valuable commodity (Eminem) to be all over a Tommy Boy release (Eminem was already on the “Rock City” single), they wouldn’t allow it. Since he couldn’t put it on one of his albums, Royce let Eminem have it who let Jay-Z use it for his Blueprint album.
Royce Da 5′9″ featuring Eminem - Renegade (original)
Royce Da 5′9″ - Feelin’ It (Royce’s version of Jay-Z’s classic)
Royce Da 5′9″ - A Million and One (Another redone Jay-Z classic)
Share:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Khary Kimani Turner has covered the Detroit music scene for several years now and is himself an integral part of it. A leading figure in Detroit’s Black Bottom Collective, Khary had kept his pen active in covering Detroit Hip Hop for the Metro Times like no one other.
I know he writes for several other publications nationally, but his local writings will in the future speak like an ongoing history of Detroit Hip Hop.
This is an article written 5 years ago about the Detroit Hip Hop scene entitled, “Detroit hip hop’s identity crisis”.
This piece of the article summed up Detroit’s hip hop scene well 5 yeears ago, but it also holds true today.
Detroit’s lack of a clear identity in hip hop may actually be explainable. Brother Moushetti Muhammed, manager of local artist Budda Bless, has been working to pull together local rhyme crews like Street Lordz and East Side Chedda Boyz. He notes that sense of individualism that exists among Detroit MCs.
“One thing I can say is that Detroit hip-hop culture has such an independent mentality, and it’s crying to be heard,” he says. “What really sets us apart is that everybody in Detroit has such an individualistic mentality. That’s a good thing, and it’s a bad thing.” Muhammed and Ill share similar views, in recognizing alliances that have formed among Detroit artists lately. Sometimes, the alliances exist in moral support, but for hip hop, that can be enough. The most important result of these alliances is the sense of personality that emerges. Check similarities in the styles among the Eminem-D12-Royce da 5’9”-Obie Trice set. It may not be overt, but it’s detectable. Or note the similarities in the guerilla marketing techniques of the Chedda Boyz, Rock Bottom Records or Street Lordz. Among the most distinguishable of these trends may be the production style of Jay Dee, formerly of Slum Village.
Share:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
That’s saying a lot considering the talent level of Detroit’s mc’s, but don’t take my word for it. You’d have to hear Miz Korona destroy unsuspecting mc’s on the regular at open mics and impromptu battles. You’d have to hear her unleash on one of those Lenn Swann instrumentals. You’d have to underestimate her time and time again and be proven wrong time and time again. Then you’d know.
It would be unfortunate for her legacy outside of Detroit to be known as “that female who was in 8 mile“. Detroit knows. The rest of you? Do your homework.
According to the Detroit News, the Hip Hop Summitwill be back in action in Detroit on April 14th of this year.
Let’s not lie for a moment and ask ourselves - Is this not a day-long sales-pitch by the likes of Anheuser-Busch and Chrysler Financial? Sure such an event brings positives elements, in that the event is free to attend and it brings money into the community, but what changes have been implemented by the community as a result of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network? What golden pieces of advice can “luminaries” such as G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks offer us?
Perhaps the best perspective can be given by this excerpt of an article covering the 2003 event in the Metro Times.
D12’s Obie Trice was one of the more eloquent speakers, particularly when it came to the pathetic state of radio. At one point he took the WJLB program director K.J. Holiday to task saying that station doesn’t spin enough local music. “’JLB is definitely down with Detroit,” Holiday retorted, a comment that provoked discernible boos from artists in the audience.
(Despite the author claiming Obie was a D12 member, his article makes good points)
That was four years ago. The same could be said for 2007. Besides the Network placing Obie Trice on the event panel in subsequent years, what’s changed? Which goals outlined in HSAN’s mission statement have been reached? The Hip Hop Summit is what it is. True empowerment of the community can come from within. A Detroit solution to a Detroit problem.
Share:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
The late 90’s could be considered as the renaissance of Detroit Hip Hop. A fellow named Eminem was beginning to blow up. Jay Dee already had an impressive resume and had what seemed like a whole army of young hungry emcees spitting over his beats. Proof was making himself known nationwide through the battle/freestyle circuit. Bizarre already had a deal. Slum Village was ready to pick up where A Tribe Called Quest left off and Royce Da 5′9″ was creating a lot of curiosity in the hip hop world as Eminem’s partner in rhyme.
Fast forward one decade, with the exception of Eminem, not one individual named above has gotten their due. Despite the underappreciation of some of the best talent that hip hop has to offer, Detroit has consistently put out some of the best hip hop you could hear in recent years.
But those who were considered the up and coming talent are now the hip hop vets in Detroit (and legends - R.I.P.).
The relative health of a music scene can be measured by the level of creativity that it produces as well as the development of the youth.
Enter Black Milk. A quick listen to Pressure, the free mix cd released by Fat Beats will tell you the future of Detroit Hip Hop is strong.
If you think you’re hearing BM’s name quite a bit lately - its with good reason. Black Milk is a product of the movement that J Dilla was largely responsible for. The same movement thats responsible for Slum Village and Phat Kat. No doubt.
Black Milk first made his mark with the emcee/production duo BR Gunna on the Barak Entertainment label. Now on his own, and at the age of just 23, he has the hip hop world buzzin with anticipation of his debut solo album Popular Demand.
Popular Demand has received critical acclaim in damn near every publication that has been graced with a copy. Its not only the press that buzzin. A few leaks of hot material here and there, along with continued production efforts for the likes of Canibus, Lloyd Banks, Pharoahe Monch and Sean Price (upcoming) have the masses taking notice.
If this newly released video is any indication of the fire being brought by BM, there will be a lot of happy hip hop heads on March 13th.
Black Milk featuring Guilty Simpson (another Detroiter to watch out for) - “Sound the Alarm” (2007, Fat Beats Records)
Share:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
