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Lloyd Banks

Lloyd Banks will be in San Diego October 8th...Lloyd Banks on Friday..History on Sunday...One good weekend

Re: Lloyd Banks

is lloyd banks the guy who sounds like he has a bag full of walnuts in his mouth when he tries to rap?




[lee.majors]

Re: Lloyd Banks

"i got more control over your life than you do"

hahahha

Re: Lloyd Banks

is lloyd banks the guy who sounds like he has a bag full of walnuts in his mouth when he tries to rap?

No I think that's Mase

Re: Lloyd Banks

**********
According to bleedyeyez ...

is lloyd banks the guy who sounds like he has a bag full of walnuts in his mouth when he tries to rap?

No I think that's Mase
**********

Mase is the one w/ NO eyebrows lol

wait wait lloyd banks is the one who is on fire? :D

Re: Lloyd Banks

lloyd banks is the craig-david-on-weight-gainer-and-attitude guy ;]

Re: Lloyd Banks

G-G-G-G G-UNiT!!! !!

Re: Lloyd Banks

The Warrior's remix is hard, I gotta say. Nate Dogg always comes sick with whatever hooks he does for a track.

Re: Lloyd Banks

hahahaa, this new skool bizness blows dawg, even new skool underground is kinda corny, oh well

Re: Lloyd Banks

what new school underground are you talking about cuz everything i've copped on vinyl is some next level material.

?

**********
According to cadava ...

hahahaa, this new skool bizness blows dawg, even new skool underground is kinda corny, oh well
**********

[ genius - 8 Sep 2004 11:59 ]

Re: Lloyd Banks

Don't get me wrong man, I love old skool sound, agreed. Some new material coming out on major or independent label is really medi-ocre, but to say all is whack? C'mon now...you just gotta dig deeper and look further into that neverending pathway, it's evolution of the art form man, keeps on continuing to progress and change. I think some material coming out is on some next level type stuff and boundaries keep getting pushed, and with that more styles are presented, gotta appreciate new, evolving sound dawg, if anything now man the beats now a days are absolutely insane, bangin and very creative with beat machines such as the MPC, or ASR-10, Reason, etc..you can do a lot more now with them, than what you could in the past, and there's some real tight lyricists puttin out good work, merely to much for me to keep up with. Peace

[ liquidsword - 8 Sep 2004 10:35 ]
[ liquidsword - 8 Sep 2004 10:33 ]

Re: Lloyd Banks

Okaaaaaaaaaay.... umm.. how about..
G-G-G-Gay Unit.... to even consider this talentless fool as bangin'?? or to talk about real hip hop with this fool as the topic of conversation..?? wtf?? obviously hip pop is what your into,,, not hip hop... man.. you fools are for getting the roots of why it's even called underground.... there's a reason it was called underground.. and not cause it's not commercial.. cause hip hop is a political movement believe it or not... you fools are on a different tip...

" in the year 3030 everybody wants to be an emcee/ in the year 3030 everyone wants to be a producer... " - Del

" record companies shake you down like mobsters " - Jeru

Re: Lloyd Banks

oh yeah he's the one that sounds like he has a dick in his mouth.. mace is the one that sounds like he has a dick up his ass.. trying to keep the pain mellow.. fawking fruit loops...

Re: Lloyd Banks

Haha, here we go with this "true underground" "hip pop" ish. Man oh man, it's all music guy. If you're gonna throw a label on it, it's either Independent or major label, underground is just a term.
....and "Independent" is my steelo, it's my heart, but some of the "mainstream" top 40 s**t that is out is hot I gotta say. Don't try to prove realness and downess. Hip Hop is hip hop, it's art, music.

..and also read up on interviews of the "underground" artists, many of them are influenced by those well known about rappers, several I should say, it was just a matter of them bringing it into their own style and creating a album how they wanted to with complete independent control, not a head honcho saying how it should be, and that's why I love independent s**t. You'd be suprised how many "underground" emcees want to or already have collaborated with top 40 rappers. Peace

Re: Lloyd Banks

i think this is where everyone gets into an argument about what's REAL and what's not, and who's legit and who's pop, and which of us were down from day 1 and who just got in the game yesterday.

its music, man. let's all enjoy it?

Re: Lloyd Banks

Word KGB, it's all noise to our ears..just good damn music.
Respect

Re: Lloyd Banks

yeah it's music to enjoy..... but if you like that booty shaking lame no substance rapping.. then by all means listen to it.. and I haven't heard any real hip hop artist say they were influenced by the commercial fools... I want to see those interviews.. give me some links... and top 40 s**t is garbage.. fools have no skill.... commercial is just another way control over minorities.. but you don't see cause I bet your white... hopefully your not.. ( nothing against white folk... but your not the minorities.. ) and down since day one NO!!! it's about knowing truth.. and the truth is.. what you see is not what really is.... I'm very political and hip hop is too... so if my opinions seem strong.. sorry.. I respect your love for art.. but sometimes art is manipulated by money and that too me is the wrong way to be and expressive artist.... but hey.. to each his own right? I still think GGG GAY UNIT!!!

Re: Lloyd Banks

" if my records are selling out then who's really selling out " - Eligh

Re: Lloyd Banks

Haha, yo kid do a search on my posts and tell me if I like top 40. Haha didn't I say the s**t put out independtly is my heart.

Haha you must not know s**t, cause you've been quoting the Legends and Del..

First off Del got a jumpstart from Ice Cube, and Cube produced I wish my brother george was here. Which was released on Elektra. Elektra records wasn't down with that style, or the style on "No need for alarm" which was from elektra too, and that's why Future Development was never distributed off Elektra, but put out couple years late on Hiero's Hiero Imperium label...and also Del is one of my favorite ever.

Secondly....The Legends are one of my favorite crews ever. Read Murs interviews, where he wants to work with E-40, and Shock G, etc....Most of them in the crew stated they have had well known about influences and like I said before that's why their so dope is because they take it into their own style, and push the boundaries. Do a search on interviews, don't be lazy.

I'm a be the coky cat I am man and tell you straight up hip hop is my heart and I know my hip hop


[ liquidsword - 8 Sep 2004 15:53 ]
[ liquidsword - 8 Sep 2004 15:50 ]

Re: Lloyd Banks

Yo it's pointless to debate with you guy. I know my "underground" s**t, trust me. Haha why would I make up stuff like that dawg?? I read up on a lot of my favorite artists, even at work during my breaks, haha.

No need to judge with race, doesn't matter if I am black, or white, or mexican, or persian, or asian. We're all homosapiens brotha.

"Black, white..we all look the same at night"

Peace.

[ liquidsword - 8 Sep 2004 16:00 ]

Re: Lloyd Banks

"is just another way control over minorities.. but you don't see cause I bet your white... hopefully your not.. ( nothing against white folk... but your not the minorities.. ) and down since day one NO!!!"
- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -

hmmm how many minorities own their own record labels now because of their "pop" success in hip hop? how many of them call their own shots, hire other minorities as staff, sign who they want to sign, budget money for their acts, tours, merchandise? SO MUCH MORE THEN even 10 years ago. How many minority artists in hip hop had their own clothing/shoe deals 10 years ago? ZERO, hell even Adidas would not acknowledge RUN DMC's contribution to their shoe selling so well in "urban communities" until like a couple of years ago. Look how Corporate America now understands that they can not simply put some cheesy ass beat on a commercial to sell their product to "minority" communities so they get The Neptunes to produce the NIKE ADs or have LUDACRIS or KAYNE WEST to sell their product and due to this people like Russell Simmons have invested in companies that cater to Advertisers (which is not a bad thing cause everyday everyone is trying to sell everyone else something). One of the top 2 Urban Labels (under one of the 5 majors) is owned partly by a black man (Russell Simmons). How many minority producers are there making hip hop, a grip from Muggs to Kayne West to Trackmasters etc.. This popularization of hip hop has even spurned the WB and UPN (even though i personally think most of the shows are garbage) to have shows which cater primarily to minorities right? Hip Hop artists are getting roles on TV shows and movies all this and more

HOW IS THIS CONTROL WHEN THERE ARE MANY MINORITIES CONTROLING THINGS IN THE BUSINESS??? Keep in mind u have to look just beyond the artist to see the affect also.

*not to even mention getting paid from Music Publishing which i do for Universal (one of the 5 majors) and i see how in positions most people don't even know about there are minorities working from the affects of hip hop! HIP HOP is the #1 genre in AMERICA, it has surpassed rock. Progression is always a must but even 5 years ago a lot of s**t wasn't going down like now and i think a lot of minorities are in controlling positions!!! Regardless of that hip hop is universal (white, black, asian, european etc.).

"i don't fuk with these sukkas / cause when i rap i get more 'ooohhhs' / then a skip-to-my-lou mooove / at the Rukkers" - llyod banks

*young buck's album is the best out of the g-unit so far*

***also many pop artists have the "underground mentality" of self sufficiency like all of the cats down South who sold albums out of their trunks for years without a major deal, early albums that flopped from artists such as Nelly, Jay Z, Snoop but u never hear about that, even artists like Jay Z getting on mixxtapes from DJs (against the wishes of their labels mind you) to spit verses to keep their credibility up etc.. to me they work off of the same principles as every underground artist has, self sufficiency~

Re: Lloyd Banks

go to 1XTRA RADIO in London (online do a google search) and listen to Talieb Kweli talk about how the circles he likes getting paid for what he does, how he runs in circles and is good friends with 50, Jay Z, Freeway, Kayne West, how Jay Z wanted to sign Blackstarr to Rocafella . . . itz all there. I have heard Mos Def speak and he said "Jay Z will eat 98% of MCs out today". Someone like Jay has content but if u just listen to his 1 radio joint u wouldn't know. Listen to the Black Album (of course this is just my opinion). Kayne West is the don though IMO (he signed COMMON to his new label, so hopefully COMMON now can appeal to more folks and get paid the money i think he deserves for his skills) . . .

Re: Lloyd Banks

Exactly...
Look at Little Brother, they done a cut with Kanye West. Look at Casual, he did a track with E-40. Look at Kurupt, he's done s**t with Planet Asia. They do got that mentality, very true.

Well said Chris.

Re: Lloyd Banks

whatever happened to these kats lol

Re: Lloyd Banks

miami love

Re: Lloyd Banks

Haha, Shaq made a new track dissing the f**k outta Kobe, ESPN said, pretty funny

[ liquidsword - 8 Sep 2004 17:10 ]

Re: Lloyd Banks

^^^ha i have it, it is on DJ VLAD's mixxtape. Shaq disses KOBE, BEN WALLACE and MC Skillz fka MAD SKILLZ! I don't know why Shaq is going after Mad Skillz cause he is going to shredd him lyrically and in a fight i would take Ben Wallace. Shaq calls Kobe a punk, calls Ben Wallace "spider webb head" and just goes off on Skillz. Funny s**t, i say John Kerry links up with DJ Clue and does a diss song over the "white lines" about GW Bush

Re: Lloyd Banks

oh damn i thought it was a new diss.

the shaq/skillz battle didnt work out too well for shaq. hahahahahah.

i love shaq but man, stick to ballin and saying funny s**t.

Re: Lloyd Banks

rap is rap...

we all have been doing it since we were kids reading dr. suess books...

Re: Lloyd Banks

yeah true that minorities have a lot of control over they're own hip hop, and they do produce and own their own independent labels... but what do most of these rappers now a days rap about.. they fuel the need to exploit drugs, money, gangs, organized crime and they degrade women constantly??? talking about how bad and how much money they have.. I'm not hating cause they have no talent..... but when mass marketed and distrubuted all over the U.S, the hoods that get this music mostly is not the High class society, but mostly the middle class lower class neighboorhoods.. true that in the past years minorities have made progress in having more of a voice, but the fact of the matter is that while the major label is making millions off of a rapper.... true the rapper is making millions but it's just a small amount to what they really generate for these companies.. i.e corporate america.. or White America, yeah russell simmons is one minority on top, along with Dre, and probably Jay-Z.... but a very few amount, very few amount..... considering the number of people putting music out.. independent or major labels... only a few have reached the top.. and another thing that I can point out.... through out this thread you've mentioned some millionare rappers..... if Jay-Z, Dre, 50, Kanye, etc... if they would donate only 1 million of they're fortune... cause come on that's how much they spend on cars and s**t... if they donated that.. how many ghettos could be cleaned up and renovated, helping the cause for minorities.... if I had that cash.. I would start institutes to help my people.. but puppeteered and controlled they put out music to advertise the ghetto as Fabulous, as grand... it's okay to sell drugs to get by.. it's okay to shoot one another if you have beef.. it's okay to f**k as many girls as possible... promoting teen pregnancy and intercourse.. come on... you and I both know that this music is influential.... and when mass marketed can be used as a control method... Maybe I think to deep into the hip hop... but a voice should be used to lead.... not to promote violence within our people... Russell Simmons owns Def Jam.. def Jam is a branch off of Interscope right?? If I'm wrong... forgive me.. but Def Jam is branch off of a major label.. not owned by a minority..... yeah I qoute the legends and Hiero cause I like those crews.. and the legends bang some bomb ass party music too... but like Grouch says.. " no body owns me.. " but peep some Jeru out.. listen to this fool talk about what's really going on.... and how ignorance is spreading.... I could careless if you know your underground s**t.. but peep on friday nights.. divine forces radio.. and you'll be listening to a politically motivated hip hop show... yes 50, and Jay - Z came from some slums.. along with everybody " in the game ".. if you include minority athletes, actors, artist, and musicians that are making millions.... they only make about probably 10% of the High Class the rest dominated obviously by Caucasians.... we're recognized only as entertainers... and when recognized for our heritage and and culutre... things like that are usually ogranized by ourselves with not so much publicity... yeah ok so black history month gets a couple of specials on t.v.... big deal... Instead of getting on the jocks of these lames... we should push them to promote something other than money, drugs and being a pimp.... Population Control!!! you don't get it then your already the sheep I'm out....

Re: Lloyd Banks

and I respect your opinions.... you learn something new everyday....

Re: Lloyd Banks

So is anyone else going to this show?

Re: Lloyd Banks

Re: Lloyd Banks

Hmmm i don't see how hip hop propagates violence more so then movies, tv shows and other mediums. What happened to "PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY"??? The arguement i think u are making "mindfree" is the same that C. Deloris Tucker and Congress tried to make against hip hop which is just plain wrong. Semi-Automatic guns are aout to be legal in the next couple of days, smoking kills more americans than guns, guns kill so many people but people are afrtaid to stand up to the NRA, but let a MC rhyme "gun" with "fun" and all of a sudden RAP is to blame, NOPE. It is not the responsibility of Mos Def, Common, 50, Ludacris, Usher, Motley Crue, Michael Jordan etc. to raise a child but the parents. If RAP is TRUELY art then shouldn't the judger of that art be able to see the difference between reality and fantasy. How is it that painters like Dali can paint pics of imaginary worlds and creatures, sculptors can make art of a Phoenix eating away at a greek demi-gods abdomen and other fictional pieces but a rapper can not rap about the fantasy of living the life of "Scarface" or The God Father" or controlling the streets. It is art which is a mixture of a persons fantasy and reality is it not. I mean does anyone really think 50 Cent is still selling drugs living in a 30 million dollar house or Dre is still riding around Compton. I think it is the personal responsibility of the individual to decipher truth from not and also not the "shoot someone" or sell yay because 50 did it or Lil Flip. There was violence in hip hop in the golden era of 1988 and in other genres such as punk, rock, blues, country etc. but why not the criticism there. Hip Hop IS influential but it should not raise a kid, be so influential that u want to shoot a kid, fuk a girl etc.. If we are looking for hip hop to raise people then society has failed!

As far as rich rappers giving money, ummm i think they do. I know for a fact Eminem gives money to battered women's shelters. 50 Cent has a youth center in his old hood, Russell Simmons did the "rock the vote" concerts (getting artists to come perform for free) to get young kids to vote. I saw him arguing with Chris Matthews on "Hardball" about the motivation of youth in America to vote this election. Also "charity" IMO is best given when u empower someone else not just give a beauracracy (ie. NAACP, UNCF) money. I would much rather Kayne West start a label, employ other minorities (producers, security guards, admin. assistants etc.) then just give a million dollars to an organization which the money has to filter itz way down. THAT is empowerment in communities!!! U would be surprised how many rappers give back to their old hoods, give guys in their old burroughs jobs at their labels, have community outreach programs etc.. And even in the face of tragedy (ie. LA Riots, 9-11 tragedy, Hurricanes in mid America) give, help out but without recognition cause that is not "sexy" for us to hear from the news.

Lastly a lot of hip hop talks about where people come from. I can not hate a Lil Flip for talking about guns if that is what he grew up around. It is all about relating. I never have been to NYC but i relate to NAS cause i like what he says, i grew up in LA but i don't relate to some artists who are from here. Take urself from ur mindset and think about if ur a Alpha (black greek) from Atlanta and grew up there, u probably like that southern 'get crunk' sound, how can i from LA (from a total different lyfestyle) tell that person that they are not listening to the "real hip hop"??? To me that is going more against the principles of "underground" mentality of "ACCEPTING OF ALL STYLES, PEOPLES, CULTURES etc" then anything else.

"i make contact for short i mc" - mos def

[ mc.xyz - 9 Sep 2004 10:48 ]

Re: Lloyd Stanks

Re: Lloyd Stanks

last response and I'll leave it at that....

yes I've read about Jay-Z going back to his hood, Feminem and his contributions and yadda yadda yadda... I'm waiting to see... the headline..
" big time rapper seen as political leader, big time rapper seen as a voice for minorites across america..." you'll never see some s**t like that... and living the fantasy of a Mobster?? your kidding me.. a life of crime and watching your goddamn back for the rest of your life.. yeah that's what I want to rap about... I want to rap about how cool it would be to push weight, or to pretend I'm firing off all kinds of shots... nothing but lies... and a lot of these fools are fonies.. they're not thugs.. " I never knew gangsters confessed on video" ..... but that's what they portray and that's not who they are.. but they're audience likes to think that... s**t real gangster rappers were N.W.A, and Ice- T, Cube....... these fools now just want to keep the f**king image going and when they started rapping it wasn't to show off how bad they were.. it was to speak about what the f**k is going on in the streets.. and their means for survival... fools now just jock.... but you can keep that s**t.. and buy all those albums that some fake fool is putting out.. I'm cool with some Legends and some Jeru... fools spitting suck vocabulistic artistic and real flows.. not some fony s**t.. sorry I don't spend money on lies....Look at Ice Cube he's made a name for himself as a respectable actor and producer.. and he's done with the Gangster thug.. want to be s**t... the only reason Westside Connect put another album out was for him, Mack-10, and WC to lay down sick westcoast cali flows... and to let people know that real thugs.. can get over that mind set and establish a real life... not a fake one.. and if you havne't heard that album.. then your missing out... well I'm out.... keep banging that Gay-Z, Feminem, Gay-Unit if you want.... s**t I want to see Grouch from the legends take on Jay.... no no... Ice Cube take on Jay-Z... and we would see who's sicker.... peace..

Re: Lloyd Banks

I wanna see mindfree battle any of those guys he talked about...this guy is comedy

Re: Lloyd Banks

serio pero, I bet Lloyd Banks and any other made it member of G-Unit would lyrically spank this far from free mind and all other haters wishin they were makin that kind of fedia in this rap game, or life as a whole.
Too busy babblin from assumed know it all skulls, to chata and listen to how to get in, chata-f**k up kids and pay attention, to the new found and ol skool pros for once yo, it certainly couldn't hurt.
Everybody wants therez from the jump but most punks don't wanna put in the work first.
They'd rather talk ish on how they see it, not knowin dick, but it could be much much worse, no question.
So I'll just keep mic blessin and duckin the statics for the most part.
When the smoke clears, we shall see who stands strong and tall with the most heart...
..
-Emcee AurakuL
1

Re: Lloyd Banks

How is Grouch going to "take on" Jay Z??? Oh u mean in freestylin', is that the start and end point of hip hop to you Mindfree? The freestyle??? Hmmm . . . i think Nas is a great (if not the best) story telling MC in hip hop out there but his freestylin' is not as great as like 90% of MCs i've heard. It doesn't matter cause for what he does he is tight. Freestylin' and battlin' is not someting that was not apparent in the South and Mid-West so i don't expect Outkast to be able to battle Living Legends, but they are still tight in their own way right???

On rappers being political leaders, who the hell wants that??? Does Metallica or The Who or Sum 41 have to be political voices on behalf of the rock nation??? Nope, so why does Jay Z need to be one or Chuck D (even though he is) or Eminem??? Why is this burden only on hip hop artists? Why would i want Jay Z who is born and raised in NY to be the political voice for me living in LA??? U2 is a voice in rock on their own choosing, so is Sting, but people into rock are not hammering 3 Doors Down or Blink 182 to do the same, the same should be afforded Lil John, Llyod Banks, Ice Cube etc.. Also politics is not everyone's shtick, some people want to make their money and be successful and live in peace and not get involved that is their right just as it is for them to host a show on Air America and give speeches across the world (as does Chuck D). Personally a problem IN the black community IMO is that there is a lack of representation politically so instead of leaders (white) going to black areas to speak and pitch ideas they just get Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson on their side and then they essentially have "the black vote". That is wack because no person can speak for an entire community of people so why would you want Nelly going before Congress to talk on ur behalf MINDFREE it is pretty apparent that works like his effect u personally to almost hate him so why would u want Nelly speaking on the House of Representatives floor on ur behalf about Welfare Reform???

On them rapping about lies, what are they lying about??? 50 Cent talks about fukkin' women, getting paid and busting shots are u saying he never did any of this cause i think he has. And even if he hasn't as an author of a book just because i have never been to Russia or the Moon should I be able to write a fictional story about myself in Russia or on the Moon??? Allusion is done all the time in music, art, poetry, but why in hip hop is it "lying"? If you say this then u limit hip hop and the artist in it. I mean did Wu Tang really belong to the Shaolin and "study the arts" and "enter the 36 Chambers" and know the mysticism behind kung-fu, no, but they were one of the most successful hip hop groups ever and they basically rode these and other premises which were all "lies" i guess. Eminem is clever with wordplay so of course he is making s**t up i mean did he really "get hit in an accord by a 4 door Ford"??? Who knows but i am not going to pick over every little thing he says to make sure it all is true and happened.

Ice-T, Cube, NWA may have been gangstas but they did rhyme about being the best on the block and holding the heat and being pimps etc.. "little did he know i had a loaded 12 gage / one nigga dead LA Times front page". I mean i gues in one sense it is talking about the situation in the hood but on the other he (Eazy E) is killing u if u fuk with him. To me it is all the same the only problem is that it is more prevelant more on radio now-a-days (plus East Coast "gangsters" were different then LA which were/are different then Houston's and New Orleans and Canadian and French). Also if u really look at the "pop" tunes today it is less violent and more focused on partying and women and money not really "blasting" people. I mean there will be a verse here and there but Fat Joe is telling us how he dances "lean back", Lil John and that whole faction is getting it "Crunk in the clubs", Kayne West is telling us about his "dough", the Neptunes are telling us about how "tight we are and how u wish u were us", even Snoop is just talking about "droppin' it like itz hot" and smoking weed.

Again it is all hip hop and it is all realtive and no one owns this music not KRS not Jay Z not Tupac not Biggie, no one is above it and none is more real then any other type.

Re: Lloyd Banks

^^ i felt a lot of what you wrote, chris. on point.

Re: Lloyd Banks

*****************************

On rappers being political leaders, who the hell wants that??? Does Metallica or The Who or Sum 41 have to be political voices on behalf of the rock nation??? Nope, so why does Jay Z need to be one or Chuck D (even though he is) or Eminem??? Why is this burden only on hip hop artists? Why would i want Jay Z who is born and raised in NY to be the political voice for me living in LA???

*****************************

as far as i'm concerned rock is dead...hip-hop is now the most influential popular music/culture in pretty much the whole world.

The state of this country and the state of american politics is completely f**ked.... the thing is no one cares

So, with that being said, why not have some political conciousness infect the youth's minds instead of all this mentally dead materialism s**t???

That's exactly what they want. They want our minds to be distracted by things that shine so we the people don't focus too much of our attention on what they're ACTUALLY doing...like a smokescreen if you will, but more like a "bling" screen now a days

I also think politics should be universal and not biased to geographic locations...i mean sure certain cities have they're issues, but those are minute. There's bigger issues at hand that concern this country on a whole and everyone living here. not just people in LA and not just people in NY but EVERYONE...

God forbid rappers influence positive free thinking...God forbid rappers question the most shady, rotten government....God forbid rappers influence the youth to learn and gain intellegence about their world and immediate surroundings....God forbid the youth to be concious...

*sigh*

this species is f**ked...

[ subvertthesystem - 22 Sep 2004 21:31 ]

Re: Lloyd Banks

**********
According to subvertthesystem ...

God forbid rappers influence positive free thinking...God forbid rappers question the most shady, rotten government....God forbid rappers influence the youth to learn and gain intellegence about their world and immediate surroundings....God forbid the youth to be concious...
**********

fair enough, but does this mean that EVERY rapper must question our government or further some profound political dialogue? wouldnt that imply that every rock group did the same, when rock was the huge voice of American youth? i'm sure i don't need to start citing examples of mindless, agenda-less rock groups who just jammed.

not ALL music has to be mental or conscious or even noteworthy. some of us actually choose to listen to absolutely substance-less music sometimes!

i plan to rock the hell out of my vote, and maybe i'll play some G-Unit Radio mixtapes on the way to do so ;-)

Re: Lloyd Banks

hmm for anyone that has followed the grouch and any of the living legends members they are not only about freestylin. their rhyme schemes are very articulate on writtens, i know this isnt a debate about their skills but from what i read it seems that you pigeon holed them just as mindfree has of his "mcs" and upground "mcs"

in the end it is what it is

its all hiphop it all came from the same place has the same mother so why are the seeds fighting over who's mother it is?

respect.




**********
According to mc.xyz ...

How is Grouch going to "take on" Jay Z??? Oh u mean in freestylin', is that the start and end point of hip hop to you Mindfree? The freestyle??? Hmmm . . . i think Nas is a great (if not the best) story telling MC in hip hop out there but his freestylin' is not as great as like 90% of MCs i've heard. It doesn't matter cause for what he does he is tight. Freestylin' and battlin' is not someting that was not apparent in the South and Mid-West so i don't expect Outkast to be able to battle Living Legends, but they are still tight in their own way right???

Re: Lloyd Banks

^^^i meant in no way to dismiss their writing skills i was just going on Mindfree's use of the example like they would "take them" (pop artists) out in a battle (which may be true), but he was making it seem as though battlin' is the end all of being good in hip hop which is not true IMO.^^^

As far as hip hop artists being socially conscious i honestly think it is up to the individual to make that choice for themselves. I have seen Nelly, Jay Z, Eminem and Russell Simmons do "ROCK THE VOTE" campaigns, i have seen Chuck D on MSNBC discussing politics, i attened a session to hear Mos Def speak at USC on politics etc.. I however think it is up to the individual. Even if u are influential you don't owe anyone anything (it would be nice to give back but it is up to the individual and i think in many cases they do, but it is not "sexy" enough for the media to cover). That is the beauty of freedom.

I DO think politics are geographic, i mean look at the states which vote hard to the right as opposed to those on the left. There is a different mentality and lifestyle in Alabama then there is in Oregon. A city like SF is very pro-gay rights whereas someplace like Boston is not. Also now that pop rappers have a lot of dough it wouldn't surprise me if they voted more conservative to protect their assets (money, copyright laws, corporations etc.) so just because it may seem they are down with the people, in private people have their own agendas. Also just because u are influential does not mean you have to champion every cause. If i was super rich and could help people i would help those in the Crenshaw district where i grew up because that is my immediate area where i saw needs help. I am sure Eminem does the same in Detroit, i know Nelly does it in his St. Louis Area, Outkast in the ATL and so on and so on. Artists are people not superheros.

I never understood why it is so hard for hip hop fans to seperate the artist from their art??? Why do we so expect them to "live the lyfestyle" they portray on wax? If they "have to" it limits the artistic abilities of rappers to talk about only which they know (and what is funny most are talking about what they know, drugs, crime, women etc.). If Tom Cruise plays a Samurai in the movie The Last Samurai, when he leaves the set he is not a samurai anymore is he??? I met 50 Cent and he is very chill, Kayne is a goofball, Pharell is so into different types of musics it is crazy, Mos Def had some of the most interesting commentary on his fans i have ever heard, they are all people at the end of the day and fans trying to determine their entire persona on 13 tracks is unfair to them. Everyone reveres ol skool Def Jam artists as pioneers, but i have videos of a young Beastie Boys concert where they made girls makeout with each other, them talking about being the "illest" on the block and them pouring 40s on girls as they danced, LL Cool J was all about being the most supreme MC, Run DMC always dissed on "suckas" an implied that a beatdown would come to any who stepped to them. But why is it easier to seperate the art from the artist in those cases, is it that it is more in ur face now?

I think Tupac Ressurrection made my love for Tupac majorly increase not because i was a super fan of his music (i liked him, always liked Biggie better in that "competition"), but it made him into a human. From him giving speeches to black panther activist groups at a young age even to his dealings with women (on one hand he would call them bitches but then in the next breath would tell young black men to cherish their sisters and mothers). I personally luv hip hop because it is like every single one of us, it lives and thrives in contradiction. I bet 99% of rappers (pop, underground) would WANT TO STOP THE VIOLENCE in urban communities if possible by a snap of their fingers. YES for some rap is an easy escape or way to make money (as is the thought of playing sports "u either selling crack rock or u got a wick'd jump shot"), but i think someone like a Jay Z, Em, 50, Ludacris, Lil John, The Roots, Slug, Thirston Howl III, Shrukn', Prefuse 73, Outkast, Common, Mos, Snoop really believes they are doing/creating an artform and who am i to tell them that they are not real hip hop.

Re: Lloyd Banks

XYZ sets it straight again..peace