A trend in recent years has been for famous rappers enforcers to drop albums. These “rappers,” in the post-50 Cent era, must hope that their street cred will overshadow their lack of actual song-writing skills and lead to sales because every single one of them is garbage. Let’s take a look at the players: 50 Cent has Tony Yayo, Cam’Ron has Hell Rell, Lil’ Kim has Maino (?), and now Eminem has Trick Trick. Trick Trick must be a force to be reckoned with out in Detroit, because that serious place to do dirt, as evidenced when top 40 rapper Yung Berg recently made a trip to the Motor City.
The problem I have with Trick Trick is that he is not satisfied with just having high hopes for his album, only to have his five best friends buy it and then fade back into obscurity. No instead, he has used the release of his album to spit vitriol against the gay community:
“I’ma go on the record right now with this. Homosexuals are probably not gonna like this album,” Trick revealed to AllHipHop.com. “I don’t want your f**got money any goddamn way. I don’t like it [homosexuality]. Carry that s**t somewhere else.”
This man actually has songs that go on the offensive against known gays like Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres (see the self-titled song, Trick Trick). This is far beyond the childish “no homo” utterings of annoying Dipset fans. This is straight up unabashed homophobia!
The problem with hip hop, and music in general, is that being talented musically does not translate to actual intelligence, but many artists still use their art as a platform to convey their often ignorant views. Even rappers considered conscious have homophobic, misogynist and even racist views. Sure, we can say that these men are simply products of their environment and are simply one symptom of a larger problem, but at what point do we say enough is enough? At what point do we say that we are not satisfied with ignorance as the status quo?
As a fan of hip hop, I have rolled with the punches. Some of my favorite rappers are guilty of reciting some very ignorant lyrics. Does that make me homophobic/misogynist/racist? That’s all relative to a person’s individual opinion. I love rap music, but I wish that rappers would be responsible with their lyrics.
I guess, in maybe 40-50 years time, hip hop will be lumped in with the likes of shows such as Amos and Andy, products of a time long past, looked down upon but still admired in a way because they are a reminder of how the way things used to be.
