Once upon a time in a universe far, far away, HipHopDX used to host blogs. Through Meka, Brillyance, Aliya Ewing and others, readers got unfiltered opinions on the most current topics in and beyond Hip Hop. After a few years, a couple redesigns and the collective vision of three different Editors-In-Chief, blogs are back. Well, sort of. Since our blog section went the way of two-way pagers and physical mixtapes, Twitter, Instagram and Ustream have further accelerated the pace of current events in Hip Hop. Rappers beef with each other 140 characters at a time, entire mixtapes (and their associated artwork) can be released via Instagram, and sometimes these events require a rapid reaction.
As such, we’re reserving this space for a weekly reaction to Hip Hop’s current events. Or whatever else we deem worthy. And the “we” in question is me, Andre Grant and Ural Garrett. Collectively we serve as HipHopDX’s Features Staff. Aside from tackling stray topics, we may invite artists and other personalities in Hip Hop to join the conversation. Without further delay, here’s this week’s “Stray Shots.”
Could Frost Be Correct About Eazy-E?
Andre: The mystery surrounding Eazy-E’s sudden and untimely death due to the AIDS virus is one of Hip Hop’s greatest unsolved mysteries. Here, his signee Frost has a theory that will resonate with many: Eazy was murdered. The evidence is circumstantial but quick to grip the imagination. Suge once went on television talking the exact same mess. Is that a corroboration? The circumstances are so convoluted that it almost comes off like an episode of How To Get Away With Murder. As one of Hip Hop’s trail blazers, and one of its most beloved figures, the spiritual leader of West Coast Gangsta-rap changed the game in more ways than one. But to die so quickly from full blown AIDS took a lot of people by surprise, but perhaps that’s a lack of understanding of how HIV sometimes works.
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According to AIDS.gov, “signs of HIV may not appear for a decade or longer.” So perhaps this is the cultural imagination working without true, credible evidence to the contrary. Films like Philadelphia and The Band Plays On gave you a view of the arch of the virus that was slow, tedious and demanding. It is indeed that, but it can be other things. In 1983, a paper developed by C. H. Sherlock, J. D. Burton, F. J. Roberts, and B. G. Douglas reported that while AIDS patients do often die slow deaths, that sudden death by the virus due to a storm of complications is more than possible.
Still, the fervor surrounding the conspiracy related to his death rages on, and maybe there is something there. Regardless, Frost’s theory is as compelling as any other.
Ural: Finding out exactly how Eazy-E acquired AIDS will forever become a mystery without an answer. During the time of his death, the consequences of having unprotected heterosexual sex thrust to the forefront as the virus had once been seen as something only homosexuals contracted. It was one of many narratives regarding the dangerous unforeseen consequences any aspiring emcee can face when living the fast life. Then again, for many African Americans, Eazy and Magic Johnson became the poster children for a community dealing with a new evil threat that could potentially take more lives than the crack epidemic or police combined. Considering the climate of that era, it was easy to just proclaim Eazy got AIDS by messing with too many hoes. Even he believed it to be the cause in a statement released to fans near his death:
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“I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to AIDS. Like the others before me, I would like to turn my own problem into something good that will reach out to all my homeboys and their kin. Because I want to save their asses before it’s too late.”
Between the Internet generation’s need to make everything a conspiracy (The Illuminati or Obama Birthers) and the newfound pop culture interest around Eazy-E following the blockbuster success of Straight Outta Compton, once clear as day ideas end up being shifted. Guess that’s how history works right? What’s known in the present gets more context and information as time moves on regardless of if it’s true or not. Now that doesn’t mean it’s not possible to get AIDS from acupuncture needles. A Swiss acupuncturist in 2013 infected nearly 13 people with the virus. However in the states, nothing has been found on the record. The now infamous video of Suge Knight on Jimmy Kimmel could be the former Death Row founder’s being his normal antagonistic self. Like Eazy-E wanted, maybe Hip Hop as a whole should stick to teaching more responsible sexual habits.
Did Drake Do Enough To Address His Reference Tracks?
“Music at times can be a collaborative process, you know?” he says. “Who came up with this, who came up with that—for me, it’s like, I know that it takes me to execute every single thing that I’ve done up until this point. And I’m not ashamed.”
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Ural: At this point in Drake’s career, he’s impenetrable. Part of that reason is how well he’s perfected the art of deflection. To the outside world, yes, music at times can be a collaborative process. But, as DX readers know, the rules of Hip Hop are a tad bit different. Drizzy fully understands the heart of his fanbase can care less about the mechanics of his creative process. In their eyes, as long as the ends justify the means, everything else doesn’t matter. I sort of realized that yesterday while doing a behind-the-scenes video shoot in Malibu. Everyone there from the camera crew to extras was playing What A Time To Be Alive to their hearts content. Hell, they played that more than the single the music video was supposed to be for. That was an eye-opening experience. Despite the damage to OVO’s artistic integrity, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late went platinum and What A Time To Be Alive is estimated to reach gold or get it close during the first week.
There’s something else about his statement regarding the reference tracks that are telling. Is Drake concerned with the notions of Hip Hop? Maybe not. Notice how he said, “Music at times can be a collaborative process.” Not Hip Hop or rap but, music. With the quote above, he almost treats himself as the Steve Jobs of his own operation. Drizzy has a product and brand that people love. Delivering on that is all that matters. If he’s using writers and ghostwriters, Hip Hop understands that automatically removes him from the upper echelon of lyrist. Then again, what isn’t inspired by Hip Hop in contemporary pop music? Drake is the living embodiment of how much both pop and Hip Hop have become intertwined in modern music. With that in mind, he did just enough. Those concerned with more traditional methods of the culture have probably already dismissed the Toronto-native. I’m betting he knows that as well. At this point, Drizzy has ascended to pop royalty. Even when Forbes’ list made the internet rounds this week, a few people used the opportunity to take more shots at Meek Mill. In mainstream American entertainment, Drake has become king and Mill the court-jester. The allegations regarding Drake’s pen damaged his reputation in Hip Hop for sure. For the rest of the world, he’s the greatest artists this generation.
Andre: For me, it’s over. Whether Drake or not relies on reference tracks or whether or not that Quintin Miller reference track was recorded before or after Drake gave him instructions is moot. Drake beat Meek Mill in a battle with music and he beat him fair and square. It was fun to watch, too. Not the spectacle of the whole thing, but the idea that you could challenge someone in that way and be so utterly unprepared for a response is truly baffling. We’ll never know what could have happened if Meek was on his P’s & Q’s, but that’s the nature of competition, right? Somebody wins and somebody loses.
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In this case, Meek lost, and, in turn, so did the entire camp of individuals who agreed with him. That Drake is soft. That he doesn’t write his own rhymes. That he’s a culture vulture. All of those critiques now lack merit. He took the culture’s oldest artform, and he used it to demolish his opponent. Drake isn’t perfect, but on the commercial rap side of things he runs the show, right now. And he does so whether you like it or not.
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
Ural Garrett is a Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.
