I just thought this picture was funny, yet somehow made sense with the topic…

To a degree hip-hop fans are the most confused consumers in music history. Why? Cause we are forced fed a certain reality, yet commanded to understand that under any circumstance that reality can change and in some instances you must forget the previous reality happened or even existed!

Over time we have been over saturated with songs and street anthems about “how real my life is” but when the video shoot is over and something behind the scenes goes down we are supposed to believe that although this is what you described in a song…YOU WOULD NEVER DO IT….How much sense does that really make?

Tupac was a cultured arts school attendee who represented the Black Panthers and was a successful actor and writer. However a lot of his misguided fans believe that he is the undisputed definition of “Thug Life” cause he is the guy that made it famous. His range of emotion and image may quite possibly be why there are fence hoppers today.

Lil Wayne has been rapping mainstream since about 16 years old. He is a college grad with no real priors before his gun charge in his late 20’s. He is currently achieving fame on “Being a Blood” gun totting, getting high everyday and impregnating women but transitioning to being a skater…The only thing Wayne has done before the millions was have his first daughter. Not a diss…just a fact.

Chief Keef has caused a great stir in the music industry. He’s been suspected of orchestrating a murder of a rival emcee, shoots his gun totting, weed smoking videos while allegedly on house arrest yet cried like the young boy he is when faced with only 60 DAYS in a juvenile detention center.

Snoop Dogg in the early 90’s INVENTED Crip Hop. He was definitely the first guy to Gangbang on wax and get national fame and money from it. However when he was charged with murder and was in court, we were supposed to believe that he was just speaking on how it is in the streets and that he himself would NEVER do such a thing. Snoop beat that case and although he has been arrested here and there it hasn’t been for ANYTHING near as severe as this offense.

Shyne and Diddy. We all know of the story but not everyone was there. Diddy caught backlash for the line “Not Guilty but Im Filthy” on G Dep’s “Lets Get It” mostly because he just proved his innocence in a club shooting that ended up with Shyne serving 10 years in prison. Also in the world that is hip-hop speculation and gossip hip-hop conspiracy theorist have tried year in and year out to pin the deaths of both Pac and B.I.G somehow some way on Diddy, which in hindsight makes no sense. Shyne is out  of prison and wants everyone to KNOW that yes HE DOES BUST HIS GUN IN THE CLUB. He’s been deported and to some degree has struggled musically. He also claims he wants his story to be a testament on what NOT to do in this world.

Rick Ross at one time was regular guy with a government job just trying to feed his children. He became a success by taking on a persona of a real drug dealer “Freeway Ricky Ross” and denouncing his previous life to the public. For whatever reason he came clean and tried to flip it into a reason why his is gangsta and how he really is about what he says on these records…Then he does his now infamous verse on Rocko’s song and once again we are supposed to believe that IN REAL LIFE…He would NEVER do what he is saying in his raps…which to clarify is date rape

If you were confused by any of the above I understand. I am too. Let’s dissect further though. A lot of these rappers do have aliases, they do have themes to their songs or albums and a lot of them worship the character and movie Scarface which for anyone unclear NEVER HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE. Al Pacino is just a great actor.

So it does ask the question “How real can you be when you don’t even look up to a real person?”

Even kids grow out of believing in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy…why cant the majority of these grown men STOP believing in Scarface? Why do they make it a point to be “about that life” which in more cases than not is a life they have never seen. They may have heard of it but to live it first hand is probably more of a bigger deviation than the consumer. 

Present day with all the information literally at everyone’s fingertips hip-hop fans across the world have the opportunity to love you or hate you for what you have done or didn’t do and it doesn’t even have to involve anything musical. Rappers are labeled Lames, Vicks, Simps, Suckas Punks or worse due to leaked photos and hidden videos. Then when given the opportunity to speak on it they cant admit they took the L cause that damages the Street PR that they currently profit off of. 

Rappers hop the fence because they want to go platinum. They want to be a feared and notarized figure across the nation. Some rappers real lives are boring or pathetic. Most of them never had girlfriends, cars or money. Some came from broken homes or were suffering from addictions or strange activity. Some are second and third generation industry brats and are literally on because their parents made it happen. They would never tell you that on wax though. It may not sell and image is everything right? 

A lot of fans label T.I a snitch but the harsh reality is in all of his cases he is the ONLY ONE going to jail! The fall guy cant be the snitch. Tell me ONE other person who has went to jail WITH T.I for a crime committed?

It’s so many ways to feel about The Game but I will at least say this…he does own up to his past and admits he changes his mind about who he wants to be everyday. He’s even beat another rapper up on camera and will talk about any rapper he has beat up or wants to beat up on ANY media outlet…Love or hate his music but it seems like he really is living “That Life” and will tell you it may not be his life tomorrow.

I commend rappers like DMX, Jay-Z, Styles P, Maino, 50 Cent, Young Jeezy, N.O.R.E and countless others who although made early mistakes career wise they have stayed true to themselves and where they came from and let the money and the fame change their lives and their message. It’s all a process and everyone should not want to stay hood forever.

Who’s to blame? How do we stop it?

Let me be the first to say publicly that when rappers die or go to jail that ruins the game and the culture!

We the fans and consumers suffers because we are LITERALLY stuck with B-Team Artist that are trying to  “restore the feeling” that “this great rapper here” had. Everyone wants to be the “New Pac”or to call someone the New Pac…However Pac thought jail was whack and knew it wasn’t the place for a black man and he also knew the price of fame. He  knew what it was like to take the rap for a crime he didn’t commit. Pac star shined bright because he put out GREAT MUSIC…seems no one today really understands that.

Why do you feel rappers hop the fence? Do you think in the grand scheme of things it’s worth it?