To Ras Kass, Game and you (the reader),
Over the past few days, people have been going crazy about
the fight between you two. Who knows the real story of what happened. Out of
respect for both of you as artists I wouldn’t side with either of you.
Both of you have your sides and nobody
knows the truth about the situation but you and those surrounding. But the real issue about the situation is
this…
HIP HOP DOES NOT NEED ANOTHER BODY TRAPPED IN THE CASKET!
As the editor of one of the many sites that put out Ras’
response to The Game, I feel partially responsible if something were to happen
which is why I personally pulled the video (thanks in major part to Davey D).
While ripping and running I never fully grasped the magnitude of this situation
and after reframing this beef as a human being and not an editor I personally cannot
condone anymore violence in Hip Hop.
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Beef on wax should be just that. But violence and threats
involving gangs can obviously get more dangerous not only for you two but for
the families and friends close to you. Nobody wants to see a stray bullet from
estranged fans end up hitting someone else because of this. You both know how
serious people NOT associated with Pac or BIG took their beef and both of you
have heavy influence in this culture and your respective communities. Not to mention that this conflict happened
during the week of the 10th anniversary of Tupac Shakur’s death. You
two are pillars in this industry. Ras Kass as the criminally underrated emcee who should
have gotten the credit he deserved long ago and Game who is making a profound
impact in the industry today. The worst
thing about the situation is that the only people who stand to make a profit
off of this are those in the industry that never really cared about either of
you two as human beings.
This industry is looking to chew up and swallow artists like
you for being self destructive individuals. The praise you deserve from them
doesn’t stem from Ras’ ridiculous double and triple entendres and jaw dropping
punchlines or Game’s raw lyricism and gruff narratives. The attention they give
you will stem from conflict and our own self destruction. You both know that
this industry feeds off of that. We have to make a point to denounce violent
acts in Hip Hop and teach our children (and those with child-like minds ) that
violence is not the answer.
You two both watched as Jay-Z and Nas hurled personal
insults at one another but never threw a single punch. I’m not saying you two
need to make up and be friends but this beef needs to be removed from Hip Hop
because we cannot stand to lose anyone else in our community. “They” have never
really cared about “us” and damn sure don’t mind if another one of “us” bites
the dust. It would only confirm their belief about our culture and the snickers
behind our collective backs will only continue.
So what I am doing is reaching out to both of you and the
community of readers to quote Davey D “Man up and be proactive” and please put
a stop to the violence. I don’t need to see another one of us as a scrolling
marquee on a BET video show. We don’t need to be remembered as a culture of
self destructive hate. We do need to demand our respect and buck this
unforgiving system and take control our own destinies. We cannot do the song
and dance for their entertainment any longer. Hopefully both of you understand
this (as well as everyone reading) and will make an attempt to end violence in
our community.
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Peace,
Andreas Hale
HipHopDX.com’s Editor-In-Chief
