CHIN CHECK By Charlamagne Tha God DEAR T.I., Peace. What’s cracking Black Man? The Original Dope Boy in the Trap, Rubberband Man, King of The South.
tell you that the rap game is bullshit right now, do I? Not just the rap game, but black culture in general. We have a black president in office and I thought that would have fueled more of our people to reach for a higher level of consciousness, but it seems like we took one step forward only to take 50 steps back.
First off, respect to you. I hope this kite finds you in good spirits, my brother. They’ve got your physical locked down, but your mental is free. I’m typing this and giving it to the world to see because the truth is that we live in a society where we don’t give our black stars enough respect. We live in a world full of negative criticism of our people and I’m guilty of dishing out a lot of it my damn self. Recently I had to ask myself, “Am I a hater or is the quality of the products being put out by these artists just that bad?” The answer is…it’s just that bad.
The reason you’re important is because you are the closest thing to Tupac that the rap game has. A lot of people are going to shit on me for that statement, but it’s true. You are street yet conscious, lyrically respected by emcees and fans from all regions, and you deliver a positive message without being preachy. Both the hood and mainstream America fuck with you, you’re not afraid to talk about God, and the ladies love you. That’s a powerful combination. Because of it, Tupac was dangerous. It also makes you dangerous.
Because most of the products out there are bad, people have every right to talk about just how bad it is. Some say that if you don’t have something nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all. I don’t subscribe to that philosophy. I believe the person who created that saying probably knew what he or she was doing was some bullshit and they didn’t want anybody to call them out on it. But I do believe that we need balance. When something is great we need to show respect to that greatness, especially while the person is still alive. Give them the flowers while they are still able to smell them. T.I.P., here are your roses from me, brother. (Pause)
I know some people say, “Well, what does ladies loving him have to do with anything?” Well Willie Lynch said, “If you break the FEMALE (mother), she will BREAK the offspring in its early years of development.” So I say if you UPLIFT the mother she will EMPOWER the offspring in its early years of development. There are no songs uplifting our women right now. There are actually a bunch of records downing our women. They need someone that they admire to say, “You are more than whores, bitches, and sluts.” We have to embrace these young girls like they belong to us, like they are our biological daughters.
Clifford Harris, you’re necessary, sir. You are in my Top Six Favorite Emcees of All Time list, which includes Ghostface, Nasir Jones, Rakim Allah, yourself, Scarface, and a man you recently signed, Killer Mike. The emcees that I love speak to me. They speak on experiences that I can relate to and put them in a way that captures the exact emotion of those experiences. Being born and raised in Moncks Corner, SC on a dirt road, I can relate to your tales of being a young man growing up in the dirty South. We did things we were not proud of but we did what we had to do at the time to get by. Now we are grown, and you are one of the few artists whose growth as a man is reflected in their music. A lot of people said that you snitched to get out of the situation that has you presently incarcerated, but I never thought that. I’m one of the few people on this planet who still believes in a higher power. I said, “Allah (God) caused that to happen because he has a greater plan for T.I.” He allowed you the opportunity to teach. I can only imagine all the youth whose lives you touched in a positive way by going out and speaking to them the way that you did; or how many you encouraged to choose the right path in life by simply sharing your experiences. That is the main reason for this letter, my man. This is to remind you that your job is not done and to encourage you to come out the same way you went in. Come out a man on a mission, inspired to change the minds of the youth because they need it now more than ever. I don’t have to
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The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was quoted as saying that rappers should teach
young girls, “Where there are no decent women, there are no decent men; for the woman is the mother of civilization.” He added, “We should teach young people to admire women and not abuse women, to respect and honor women, and not defile women.” You, T.I.P., have the power to change the way people approach the microphone and you have the ability to show people Hip Hop’s true power potential. Minister Louis Farrakhan tells all rappers, “Your potential to change reality is so great that if you learned the skill of words and how to use words, if you learned how to say what it is you want to say, but say it in a way that gains universal respect; then the rap would evolve to an art form that will never be replaced. It will evolve to be that form that will set the stage for the next phase of its evolution.” Accept the responsibility of leadership, T.I.P. Someone has to lead this evolution of Hip Hop’s consciousness. The younger generation needs direction. You said it on “Ain’t I,” “They don’t know which way to go, I’ll make it easy, follow me,” so lead them, T.I.P. People listen to those who are in the position they want to be in. All you have to do is look around at those who are being influenced negatively by the content they are taking in from other artist. I wish you well, brother. Respect. Streetfully Yours, Charlamagne Tha God Follow Me On Twitter www.twitter.com/cthagod
1. SMACKA BATCH
www.myspace.com/smackabatch With a name like Smacka Batch, you wouldn’t expect this guy to have songs named “I Just Wanna Talk 2 U,”“Bedroom Eyez,” or “Sexy Lady.” But he’s actually quite the ladies man, rapping and crooning about taking women on shopping sprees and holding hands. This only forces us to quote the legendary Pretty Tony when he told Goldie, “You ain’t no pimp…you’re a rest haven for hoes.” Oh, did we mention that he heads up a label called Southern Plantation records? As outrageous as that sounds, his crew has a song called “Blessed” on YouTube that’s really worth checking out.
2. Gaggie
http://twitter.com/chitowngaggie Not sure how or why someone would decide to name themselves Gaggie, but this Chi-town MC doesn’t seem to mind the name at all. Not much of his music is floating around on the net, but… it seems to make some people want to, eh, you get the point.
3. Swagzilla
http://www.myspace.com/lilaldagoon If Kanye’s swag is on “a hundred, thousand, trillion” then Swagzilla’s must be in the zillions, euro even. by Maurice G. Garland