In an era where rap beef is at a fever pitch within the zeitgeist of popular culture, the realities of what’s at stake and the irrelevance of credibility when it comes to the subject matter brings questions that some may view as rhetorical. What’s more important, the skill set or the influence? The connection or the reach? The truth or the narrative? Kanye West said it best when he said the gatekeepers prefer subpar talents that are influential over any real genius that isn’t easily controlled, specifically because subpar talents are submissive and would gladly push whatever narrative for whatever obvious agenda in exchange for success. Real genius cannot be controlled and therefore is a threat and must be eliminated. This is universal law and widely categorized as survival of the fittest.
In the world of hip hop and the streets at large, it’s simply not enough to leave it to a simple verbal jousting. It’s become customary for the ops to befriend and/or sleep with your baby’s mama or ex. Be her new confidant and shoulder to cry on and listen to her side of things and then eventually give her a voice, feeding into that attention seeking behavior, affectionately known as clout chasing. That’s where the influence comes into play: how many people can we convince not to mess with the ops and yet look upon us now holier than thou, standing on moral high ground? And to put it simply,”they are not like us.”
This is definitely not the only scenario that can lead to the devastation and humiliation associated with the airing out of someone else’s dirty laundry, but historically we’ve seen examples of this in the world of hip hop, and it’s been front page news alongside the most recent school shooting and the most current updates on the state of the world’s political climate. It’s Shakespeare meets the Opera, and it’s front and center on the world stage; toxicity and sex come together and it’s a sell out show. To be fair, it’s no different than the daytime television the majority of us grew up with, and yet perhaps there’s some correlation between the two. Over exposure to constant failed marriages and relationships, a combination of the two were actually never compatible to begin with and someone stepped out of the relationship and embarked on an infidelity. All culminating into a showdown in front of a live studio audience hosted by none other than Jerry Springer himself.
There’s a more empathetic view of course, the one that says that we are all products of our environment and suffering from generational trauma, blah, blah. Honestly it does seems applicable, but if you remember a world before social media and more to the point “insta-stalkers” who at one moment are an avatar in your story and the next standing in front of you at your job, well then it’s not a stretch that the ever changing world that we live in and the ways in which we communicate and relate to one another have had some severe effects on society. To be honest, my favorite approach to this particular topic can be summarized with the old adage that rings truer today than ever before. The more things change the more they stay the same.
In my lifetime there has always been crime and the glorification of it. “Sex, money and murder,” the phrase alone makes me nostalgic for my middle school years. Some of my earliest memories as a child are of me and my brother watching the film “Scarface” which had a massive impact on the rap community and street culture in general. I’d be remiss to not include the huge impact that the east coast / west coast rivalry had on myself as well as my friends when that whole thing was taking place. I loved both Biggie and Tupac and was extremely hurt by both of their passing. To conclude, ego and bitterness run amuck in every facet of life. Double-dealing, double-crossing, and cutting out the competition is truly the American way, the America built on the backs of immigrants who then succumb to corporate greed. So, urban culture whose voice by way of modern rap is, at least to me, akin to the folk music of the 60’s, it is the true voice of the commonwealth, and with that, rap beef and all that it entails, is part and parcel, the expression of the utmost counterculture and state of the artistic movement in history. This is the blurred line between art and reality, no artificial intelligence necessary.
Stream “The Finalist” by Joshua Nathaniel available now wherever you stream music.
