Hip-hop

I guess, the rap JFK found his Jacqueline Onassis.

It has been confirmed by family and close friends that on April 4, long time couple Jay-Z and Beyonce finally jumped the broom and were married.

So to celebrate I thought I’d chronicle their many, many….many collaborations. Congrats guys. Maybe this will be the spark that leads to the further maturing of the culture.

’03 Bonnie & Clyde

Crazy In Love

Déjà vu

Upgrade U

Hollywood

Pray

Forty years ago today, America awoke from a dream and opened its eyes to fire.

This country had long believed its black population to be subservient and submissive, restrained and resigned; no more of a threat than the spirit-broken animal confined and conditioned to reside in a cage.

All of that changed with the crack of a gun.

In 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., cities around the nation descended into frustrated and frightened chaos. It was as if a bullet had pierced the paper-thin, dividing wall between the black double consciousnesses that separates the community’s public face and its hidden angst, resentment and boiling rage. It was from this opening that fiery, hot anger spewed forth, igniting black financial and cultural epicenters across the nation. Violence, like a cloud of rising, blistering steam, hung heavy over the country for days, laying ruin to cities such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Chicago.

It was forty years ago to the day that black anger turned in on itself. And out of God-barren hopelessness, a people, in a fit of frantic desperation, collectively put a gun to their own heads and pulled the trigger.

In Washington, D.C., it was U Street. The once vibrant hotbed of financial and political influence of the capital’s black community was burned to the ground. It would be left in ashes for decades, a constant reminder of the price of true submission.

This is not a day to remember Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream. No, that should be his birthday. Today, the day of his death, should be remembered as the day that we, his people, cast aside the hopes of his dreams for a feral and visceral misplaced sense of reciprocity.

Forty years ago today, the flag of violence was draped over the casket of a soldier for peace and a nation awoke to the realization of its own troubled and violent potential.

THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In the early to mid 90’s there were two rap super crews that changed the landscape of Hip hop: the Wu Tang Clan and the Dungeon Family.

Both crews were integral in laying the groundwork that would later wrestle radio control from the West, and parse it out to the East Coast and South Side. Both crews were incredibly influential to the culture as a whole: the Wu would lay the blueprint for grimy, hardcore early 90’s Hip hop and, not to be outdone, the Dungeon Family would (almost single-handedly) legitimize southern rap.

Both crews had nearly the same number of members, and both are considered MONSTROUS ™ lyrically. So who would win in a head-to-head emcee battle? Firstly, there would have to be the same number of members on each side. Second, neither Wu affiliates nor the Dungeon Family’s 2nd generation would be allowed to participate. And lastly, the battle would have to be held at a neutral spot.

So which crew would conquer the other on the mic?

THE WU-TANG CLAN

VS.

THE DUNGEON FAMILY

==============================

THE BREAKDOWNS

The Wu, for this match will consist of the GZA, Ghostface, Raekwon, Method Man, RZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa. The majority of emcees on this roster are the closest thing to lyrical gods Hip hop has ever known. Most sane emcees wouldn’t dare test them, on the mic or otherwise.

Now for a lot of East Coast Hip hop purists, this fact alone would seem to make the clan the easy choice for the win, but let’s keep things in perspective, not all of the Wu’s members are nice on the aggressive tip. Although members like GZA, RZA, Raekwon and Ghostface are considered lyrical masters, U-God and Masta Killa may hold the clan back as a whole. Still, it could be safe to say that with members like Method Man and Inspectah Deck in the wing, the crew is never too far out of any match.

Another downside may be the crew’s penchant for free-association rhyming. As nasty as he is on the mic, how effective would Ghostface really be in a battle, in front of a crowd…that’s NOT New York? Would his punches make sense? Would they be effective? The same could possibly go for Raekwon. This coupled with the crew’s rampant use of Chinese mythology and often times fabricated slang could cost them.

Protect Ya Neck

(Rebel INS, Reakwon, Method Man, U-God, ODB, Ghostface, RZA, GZA)

C.R.E.A.M.

(Method Man, Raekwon, Rebel INS

Ice Cream

(Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Cappadonna)

Triumph

(ODB, Rebel INS, Method Man, Cappadonna, U-God, RZA, GZA, Masta Killa, Ghostface, Raekwon)

==============================

The Dungeon Family, for this battle we’ll only include the crew’s original and most noteworthy members, such as Andre 3000, Big Boi, Cee-Lo Green, Big Gipp, Khujo Goodie, T-Mo, Witchdoctor and Cool Breeze. Similar to the Wu, the DF is seen by their down south followers as a collection of untouchable icons. Hell, the crew coined the phrase “Dirty South.” Along with deft usage of free-association and poetry, the DF is known as one of the most talented collection of emcees the south’s produced.

Nonetheless, they too have their weaknesses. For one, Witchdoctor, for all his contextual dexterity, isn’t the best lyricist. Cool Breeze, is slightly more structured, but sometimes falls in the same category.

What’s interesting is that, also similar to the Wu, DF has several members whose free-association style may hurt more than help in battle. Khujo and T-Mo would be perfect matches for Rae and Ghost. The lyricists of the group – Andre, Big Boi, Cee-Lo and Gipp – should have no trouble with their parts.

Dirty South

(Big Gipp, Cool Breeze and Big Boi)

Watch For The Hook – by Cool Breeze

(featuring, Andre, Witchdoctor, Cee-Lo, Khujo, Gipp, Big Boi and T-Mo)

Trans DF Express

(featuring Cee-Lo, Andre, Gipp, Backbone and Big Boi)

Black Ice – by Gipp

(featuring Big Boi and Andre)

==============================

NOW YOU VOTE!

So who do you think would win? You don’t have to listen to what I’ve said, use your own criteria. Just rep your pick by responding to this blog and explaining who you think would rip the other and why? (You don’t have to register to respond.) In a week, when the next blog is put up, the results will be displayed a winner will be decided.

Don’t be mad if your boys lose and you didn’t vote.