Anger, frustration, irritation… those are just a few terms to describe being mad or pissed off (in extreme measures). It happens to us all usually on a daily basis whether it's that idiot cutting you off in traffic on your way to work, finding out you have to retake that Sociology class again for the third time, or that your favorite artist's album has been pushed back for the (insert ridiculous number here) time. Some people choose silence as a way of dealing with their anger while others rant their issues via Twitter. Personally I prefer the latter but 140 characters aren't enough to speak my mind. Here's where issues meet article, "
Truthfully Speaking" to be exact. Every week at about this time find out what's fcuking up SBK's patience or needs some attention. Welcome to the world of The Madd Writer.
Back off hiatus from last week that saw me to celebrate my birthday at the Drake concert in Miami only to fall ill the following day. Regardless of my previous condition I'm back and feeling better than ever just in time for another topic that's been on my mind for some time now. In a time where social networks make the world go 'round, Facebook and Twitter dominate as the two leading services. By now everybody and their Momma has an account on one or both sites that's filled with daily tweets and statuses about any and everything from what they just ate for lunch, real time reaction to the new "Jersey Shore" episode, and Twitter beef. Yeah you read right, Twitter Beef!
Those who had the pleasure can recall classic beefs that defined the genre of Hip-Hop/Rap such as East Coast v. West Coast, Jay-Z v. Nas, The Notorious B.I.G. v. 2Pac, Ice Cube v. N.W.A., BDP v. Juice Crew, Kool Moe Dee v. Busy Bee, and Canibus v. LL Cool J. These were battles that captured the attention of listeners in true essence of the concept of rap battles with classic songs ("
Takeover", "
Ether", "
Hit 'Em Up", "
No Vaseline", "
2nd Round K.O.", "
4,3,2,1") resulting from the various feuds. After Jay and Nas resolved their differences in 2006, there hasn't been any beef in Hip-Hop of a similar magnitude since. During a time where all personal gripes between two artists were contested with rhymes by means of "putting it on wax", we now see artists airing out their problems in 140 characters or less via Twitter.
Most recently we have seen examples of this new age beef with the likes of Fabolous v. Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, Just Blaze v. B!nk, and Fabolous v. Bow Wow. The recent "beef" between Fabolous and Soulja Boy stemming from SB's ordeal with Kat Stacks and the infamous "coke" exposure with Fab creating a #SouljasCokeHabit hashtag to further push the issue. Questioning the authenticity of Fabolous' tweets as really having issues with Soulja Boy or a publicity stunt to draw attention for his recent release "There's No Competition 2: The Grieving Music Mixtape", the fact of the matter is the whole thing never should have happened in the first place.
With Twitter being a social network of over 100 million users worldwide, it's the ultimate marketing and promotional tool for artists in reaching their fan base from a central location. When it comes to artists using Twitter for the likes of releasing free music, reporting up to the minute information, or creating more personal relationships with their fans that's all well and encouraged cause that's using Twitter for its purpose of reaching the masses. But when Twitter becomes the alternative for rappers to air their beef and dirty laundry for the amusement of public eyes that's when it becomes silly and corny. From Fab and Soulja speaking about one's drug indulgence while the other makes verbal threats to Just and B!nk having issues over who stole whose production style, when it comes down to it just GET BACK TO THE MUSIC!!
When Kanye and a select few other rappers are the only ones releasing music satisfying listeners' ears it's time to shift the focus back to creating good music and leave the tweets alone for a while. To twist Jay's lyrics in this instance, "Get back to rap, you niggas tweeting' too much". The Hip-Hop/Rap community doesn't need "Twitter Beef" to become the new thing to do as a replacement for the authentic battles and beef that are a treasured tradition in the culture's history. Just the same as how people don't need to air their personal issues on Twitter and Facebook for a world of followers and friends to read (something else that really needs to stop), rappers and producers need to keep their personal grievances private and settle them outside the eyes of others… Everything is not meant for the world to see.
