Are rappers lacking motivation?

December 7, 2009 by admin

Cult favorite coke rappers The Clipse were finally released from Jive, the R&B label antagonized for delaying the group’s long-awaited sophomore LP Hell Hath No Fury. It now has a multimillion dollar deal with Sony. Also off the The Neptunes’ Star Trak label, the Brooklyn-born Virginians will be heard over something besides Pharell’s computerized, albeit catchy beats. It sounds all good.

There’s only one thing missing now: desperation. The solid We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape and the amazing Vol. 2 dropped between 2003 and 2006, an awful, ulcer-inducing time when The Clipse sat in label purgatory. Pop in February’s much-hyped mixtape We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 3, the first release since the dark masterpiece Hell Hath No Fury finally dropped a year ago, and you’ll be hard pressed to hear the hunger, the emotion that earned them the street cred in the first place. The rhymes are tight, but good luck finding the same passion.

As the saying goes, a common enemy can galvanize a separated people. Bun B might not have grinded as hard, and pushed UGK’s name out so relentlessly, if his partner wasn’t locked up. 50 Cent was shot nine times, and subsequently dropped from Columbia, before he virtually created his own street label via mixtapes – leading him to Eminem. And The Clipse had Jive, the evil label keeping the fans from hearing its music, to make its street life rhymes even more intense. When you’re boxed in, you have to shout to be heard. Grindin’ indeed.

The problem comes when there isn’t a motivation, and sometimes rappers will go to embarrassing lengths to create one. 50 Cent, now losing momentum after a multi-year run, is blatantly looking for another “enemy” rapper to go after – list every rapper he’s had a so-called beef with and try not to get carpal tunnel.

American Gangster wouldn’t sound as sweet if it hadn’t been preceded by the “experimental” critical flop Kingdom Come, as if Jay-Z had to fail just to prove himself again. All artists need motivation, and much of rap’s origins is in looking fly-er than the next guy, whether it be a corny-ass record label, the judge sending you to jail, a shooter with nine bullets, a random chump, or perhaps even yourself.

At the end Life After Death Disc 1, during one of the best interludes ever, Biggie talks to a reporter about how his topics changed from his first album to the second. “I can’t rap about selling drugs anymore because I ain’t broke no more!” During Biggie’s time, there were few rappers who could actually evolve, overcome their original barriers or complaints and still rock the mic. There are even less today.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Author and Hip Hop head Damon Brown is a Regular Contributor to SupremeMag.com, he writes for The Source, XXL, and RapReviews.com, as well as Playboy, Spin and The New York Post. Check out his books and writing at www.damonbrown.net

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