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, 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, this week, intrepid intern Paperham Lincoln and Andre Grant, since Omar Burgess is somewhere sipping Mai Tais with reckless abandon. 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.”
What exactly was the Iggy Azalea vs. Snoop Dogg Feud?
Paperham: Fighting through the noise of today’s oversaturated information deposit is more of a feat than ever, so maybe some gimmicky PR stunts aren’t such a bad idea. Snoop Dogg has been actively circulating his name around the Hip Hop scene in 2014 with his new talk show GGN and word of a new album in the works. When building publicity for one’s self, it’s never a bad idea to stunt on another artist with a big following and the lack of maturity to handle a joke without firing back. Snoop’s brand is something along the lines of invincible, so the true victor in the situation is the artist with lesser exposure. Iggy Azalea handedly played her cards as the victim, tweeting out her problems like any 24-year-old should in response to Snoop’s instagram posts about her that she found to be not-so-humorous.
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When the Instagram video of Snoop apologizing for the situation after a talk with the Grand Hustle head honcho T.I. surfaced, it all felt overly disingenuous. Trolling has definitely become a powerful marketing tool on the Internet when executed appropriately, often by a person of interest doing something unexpected or outrageous: bare witness to sarcasm evolving into its next great stage.
The real loser may be Laker, Nick Young aka Swaggy P. When your girlfriend is having a damn-near imaginary beef with a living Los Angeles legend whose favorite basketball team just so happens to be the squad you play for, have faith in your significant other to handle her business. Then again, he found his way into this discussion, and no publicity is bad publicity, right?
Andre: Snoop versus Iggy Azalea… wait, what? Some left-field things are so amazing because they actually, legitimately surprise you. Was it just Iggy getting too big for her britches and coming for an O.G.? Or was it Snoop having some fun at the young rappers expense and getting surprised at the backlash? I guess it was a little bit of both. We mean Iggy had a right to catch feelings. She’s been going through a lot with her old manager Jefe Wine out here talking he’s got a sextape he’s about to put on the market, and that he’s coming for half her funds (and let’s not forget the paparazzo she wished Ebola on). And then Snoop comes out of nowhere with the cafeteria joke and the “Fancy” star got sensitive on a Twitter reply she later deleted. Shoot, more money, more problems, right?
The saga ended just as abruptly as it began, though, with T.I. putting in the call and getting the Doggfather to apologize on Twitter. But I had such huge hopes for this (beef?) finding it’s way on to wax. We were about to see if Iggy could spit outside of a controlled setting and put her real feelings on wax! Instead, I was denied that opportunity and now I can only wonder what might have been. Possible diss tracks could have included, “Fancy For What”, “Charlie XX the Real MVP”, and the “The DoggGrandfather”. It could have been everything. Now I’ll just have to fall back on Snoop’s extensive catalog and O.G. status. Plus, after that verse he put down on FlyLo’s “Dead Man’s Tetris” I was looking forward to getting some more real emotion out of him. As for the inherent sexism, racism and otherwise emanating off this feud, I will say that Hip Hop is sometimes a funhouse mirror for our culture and this exaggerated situation was another example of such. Winner: we, the public.
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Why are artists so upset with YMCMB?
Andre: Tyga and Lil Twist came at the heads of YMCMB brass earlier this week because of what they’re calling mismanagement, but the grave of artist’s albums that have never dropped is deep in True Detective land. And, this is not the first time YMCMB’s business practices have come into question. Who they pay and who they don’t is always hotly contested. Only the Gods and their lawyers know which side is right. But, and I say this with much trepidation, is it the Empire’s entire fault? It’s easy to assume it’s true when someone says Rome is holding him hostage, but is there any truth to the claim? That’s hard to say. It’s fairly obvious that the most successful members of the brand are mostly self-contained artistic entities. I can’t imagine Drake and Nicki asking Mack Maine, Baby or Wayne for much and it shows.
Those that need more attention from the brand usually find themselves on the outside looking in. And Tyga had the Rap/Game of Throne’s Tweet of the year with “Never bite the hand that feeds you, but never starve for the hand that doesn’t.” Which is downright profound! How many people have used that quote against a black background on their Instagrams, yet? I followed that guy just for that. It doesn’t change something else that’s becoming truer and truer about the music industry these days, though. No matter who you are or where you are, you are always Indie. This is a reality that some artists will just have to accept as downloads and CD sales continue to plummet and streaming continues to rise. So is there something inherently wrong with the management at YMCMB? Who knows? We know that their coach keeps that rotation short, though, that much is true.
Paperham: Tyga’s expression of disapproval with his label isn’t unprecedented. Problems with management and label support have had Tyga feeling like a disgruntled employee for at least the last year of his Young Money stint. T-Raw was quoted on the breakfast club in 2013, “I never got a check from Young Money Cash Money,” so it’s not much of a surprise that Tyga would defend himself in Mack Maine’s accusations of “biting the hand that feeds.” The financial woes for artists under the label go as far back as Juvenile and his $11 million lawsuit against Cash Money.
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If nothing else, the ‘beef’ has brought some much-needed attention to Tyga’s new project. While he will go on representing Last Kings and the brand he built, you can’t beat the system without using it. YMCMB’s system, powered over recent years by the sweat and tears of Nicki Minaj and Drake, is a financial force to reckon with. However, maybe Tyga feels he has finessed enough off of Young Mula to no longer have to worry about their meddling in his career, but damn those pesky obligations he’ll find thoroughly detailed in the signed legal documents he finds himself bound to.
Paperham Lincoln is a product of Indiana with a slightly oxymoronic infusion of Hip Hop journalism, now interning in the editorial section at HipHopDX. Find Paper preaching all things raw and purveying truths of the new sort. Follow him on Twitter @PaperhamLincoln.
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant who’s contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Senior Features Writer for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
