Be A Rapper Too!

Yes, this is the ShinysuitRappers blog, and though I haven't posted many things pertaining directly to that yet, or anything really worthwhile in general of late(mainly because I've had no time), I figured I'd give a little enlightenment. The first tape, yes tape, that I ever purchased was A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders. ATCQ's whole style, the whole Native Tongues click in general defined me for a while, and even still to this day. In high School before moving to NY I was the one black kid in a private school full of white over-privileged....The thing that drew me to ATCQ was that even though they came from the slums they never stayed in that mindset--they never had crime tales, just reflections on everyday living, chasing tail, mind uplifting shit in general. And even back then their wordplay was unmatched by anyone. the fact that a song like "Sucka Nigga" can both condemn and condone the use of the dreaded n-word speaks volumes on how I felt and it seemed they felt back then. Here were 3 guys in their own niche during the dominance of biggie and pac, on a completely different jawn.

Strangely, my love of ATCQ, Outkast, and The Roots gradually shifted to a pure love for the BadBoy era---I caught on to Biggie after he passed, but to this day I still bump Puff Daddy And The Family's NO WAY OUT on the regular...yes they were all about excess but they did it just in the name of fun...this was back before a street anthem had to be a beat you COULDN'T dance to. I could still flip any song off of a mase or diddy album at a club and have the pop off really POP OFF...

Basically , that diatribe all leads to this...to be a rapper nowadays you just have to fufill certain criteria...

1. Lil' or Young...you already know how I feel about that
2. "Alleged" street cred; honestly street cred is overrated because in the Real World "street cred" gets you "jail time"...actually if you're Rick Ross, it can get you a cushy C.O. job...
3. A dance that correlates to your most popular single...Crank Dat CrockyBoy FTW...
4. Spend a sizable portion of your advance on a drug or name related chain...Sean Kingston "Crayola" box and Yung Bergs Autobots chain being the most recent offenders
5. An album title that references drugs or guns...5950 Ratchet, Mail on Sunday...the list goes on...

So I guess if I were to ever take this book of rhymes I have and enter the rap game at an elderly 25 years old, my name would be Yung Nickel, my first single would be "W.H.I.T.E." and my album title would be "Snowstorm". You see what I did there? If you weren't reading this right now and heard of that rapper, song and album you wouldn't doubt it for a second. That's what hiphop has become, that's why I latch onto N.E.R.D., Lupe, Kanye, Common, Mos Def, Talib...hell even Jay-z IS the alternative nowadays.

Cot Damn, that was a spiel...well I hope that shed some light on NickelHundred A.K.A. Capitol...its bedtime and I like to listen to Young Jeezy before I sleep. Good Night and Good Luck...