So, I watched BET’s Top 10 Rappers of the 21^st Century travesty show.

I’m so appalled.

The initial nominees were based on BET digital followers, bloggers, and other “social influencers.”  Blah.  Anyway in order to qualify, the rapper had to have “blown up” starting in 1999 i.e. their first album had to have dropped no earlier than 1999.   After the initial votes, here is how the nominee list played out:

-Lil Wayne: Great pick.  From 2006 to now, no rapper has had more influence or been as popular as Weezy.  However, he was not as respected lyrically until he switched his flow up starting with the Squad Up mixtapes.

-50 Cent: 50 Cent, along with Wayne, changed the mixtape game forever by using it as a promotional tool and building a strong following at the grass roots level.  In less than 5 years, 50 became one of the top hip hop moguls, and established himself along the likes of Diddy and Jay-Z.

-Ludacris: One word can describe Luda over the last 10 years: consistent.  He never fails to deliver a banger although his flow hasn’t switched up much since he first came on the scene.

-Rick Ross: This year has been Ross’ year.  That’s the only way I can see him even being on this list.

-Eminem: Based on BET’s criteria, Eminem shouldn’t even be on this list because his first album was Infinite, which dropped in 1996.  Besides, Eminem is Biggie/Tupac/Jay-Z/Nas status at this point.

-T.I.: T.I., like Luda, has been consistent since he first came on the scene.  Unlike Luda though, T.I. has managed to show more versatility with his flow, along with more crossover success.

-Kanye West: Kanye West is the most popular rapper out today.  Period.  He changed the game with College Dropout, and has been trailblazing ever since.

-The Game: Good rapper, but not great rapper.  He made noise for the West when it seemed they didn’t have a popular, relevant voice, but he has not made a huge impact.

-Jadakiss: Consistent.  Great rapper.  Impact is questionable.   See Game.

-Eve: One of female emcees who ran the first part of the 2000’s.  She won Grammy’s, had crossover appeal, and made hits.  She could hold her own on a song with any male rapper.  Good pick.

-Gucci Mane: Whoever nominated him should be slapped… with baby powder in the hand.

-Fabolous: The 2^nd coming of Mase, but went harder.  He definitely deserves to be on the list.  Fab could drop a hot freestyle, R&B collabo, or street banger, and not miss a beat.

-Young Jeezy: Jeezy deserves to be on the list due to his run from 2005-2008.  He’s the precursor for the ATL trapboy/dopeboy rappers we have in the game today… whether good or bad.

-Drake: He hasn’t been out long enough to be nominated.  See Gucci Mane.

-Nelly: (sigh)… Even though Nelly isn’t an emcee in the truest sense, he made club bangers, sold tens of millions of records, had cultural impact, and battled KRS-One… and actually won that battle.

Once the nominees were named, the list was cut down to the final 10 based on flow, lyrics, subject matter, cultural impact, money, and digital skills (web presence).  Here is how the final 10 played out (in order):

1.    Eminem

2.    Lil Wayne

3.    Kanye West

4.    50 Cent

5.    T.I.

6.    Ludacris

7.    Drake

8.    Young Jeezy

9.    Jadakiss

10. Rick Ross

Epic fail.

What are your thoughts on this list?  How would you rank it?  Was there anyone who was left off the list or from being nominated(*cough Ja Rule *cough)?  Who should be removed?

I don’t really eff with BET, but the hip hop awards was last night… and I effs with hip hop!

Today’s post isn’t about the actual awards show.  It’s about the actual ciphers.  There were 3 segments in the show where BET took a mix of known and unknown MC’s and just let them freestyle.  This year had some of the bigger names than in year’s past.  The following is a review and ranking of each MC:

Segment #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihg0lIte8Bw

Nikki Minaj – Yeah her body may be made of more plastic than Angel Lola Luv, but she actually held her own… and she went first in the cipher.  You can tell she’s been hanging out with Lil Wayne a lot b/c her lines were metaphor and punchline heavy. 

Buckshot - He wasn’t on my radar before hearing him, but he held is own.  He had a chance to shine, but came off as decent and mediocre. 

Crown Royyal – This dude has a nice delivery.  He was different.  But it’s sad when Nikki Minaj is still in the lead after these two guys.

Joe Budden – He went in!  He killed it!  Hands down, Budden spit the best out of all the MC’s on the segments.  If you listen to end of his verse, he was going at Jay and possibly Wayne. 

Segment #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzexmttYxhM

Wale - Wale aka MC Mediocre aka The Rap M.Knight.Shyamalan quite possibly had the worst flow/freestyle out of all the MC’s… in all segments.  I think he rhymes in iambic pentameter.  Flow was lackluster, lazy, and I think the African cat who spit after him made more sense than he did.

Nipsey Hustle – He had a solid freestyle.  He brought that good West Coast flavor.  And he was waaaay better than Wale.  Dude looks like Snoop’s long lost son.

GSan - He spit in native African tongue… and he made more sense than Wale.

KRS-One – KRS actually freestyled… and you could tell it!  I think he had the 3rd best freestyle, but that’s not taking anything away from him.  He killed it too!

Segment #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJS2P2B7dsE

Mos Def – Mos held it down.  Flow was nice, but you just knew Eminem was lurking waiting to kill it. 

Black Thought – I expected more from Black Thought.  He got a little off-beat at times, and Mos was still winning after Thought was done.

Eminem – Seeing how Em just recently re-emerged on the scene, I know a lot of people were eager to see if he still had it… and the white boy still has it!  His flow was crazy.  At first listen, it would seem like he was just stringing word together to rhyme… On second listen, he was going in! 

My rankings are as follows:

1st place – Joe Budden

2nd place – Eminem

3rd place – KRS-One

4th place – Nikki Minaj (sad, I had to put her over Mos)

5th place – Mos Def

Everyone else was… Ehh!

What say you?  Which MC had the best “freestyle” (Let’s face it… we all know most of them had pre-written rhymes)???  Who disappointed?  Who went hard?

Well your nerds have decided to do their own version of Black in America (shouts out to Soledad O’Brien)…

Our first entry basically aims to dispel some of the lies that black people have told themselves since the days we sang (yes I said sang) Negro spirituals outside the church.

1.  In the words of Ced from The Barbershop,  “OJ did it”.  Yeah I said it.  If you’ll beat a woman, you’ll kill a woman.  I can’t believe this fool broke the law again after all we’ve done to stand behind him.

2.  We are more racist than white people.  (later on this week we will talk about whether or not black people can be racist).  So let me say it like this, we sterotype more than other races.   We do it a lot when it come to our own race.

3.  For the young people being hood is neither cool or the norm.  I don’t know about you, but for half my childhood I grew up in the hood.   Then we move “out there ’round them white peoples” and trust me the hood is not better.  I like a clean neighborhood without crime.   And in the words of one of my favorite rapper’s 607… “you ain’t real cause you grew up po’ (poor)”.

4.  Being hated on is not a good thing.  I mean don’t get me wrong you are going to have haters.  And it is probably a sign you are doing something good.  But don’t relish in the fact you have haters.  Make it your mission to better mankind so people don’t hate on each other.   I listen to rappers today and they act like it’s a good thing other people want to KILL them.  That is insane!  I don’t want people to kill me because I’m doing well.  That’s nothing to be proud of.

5. We like buffoonery.  That is the only way shows like Flavor, New York, Real and Chance, Cupid and all those other love shows stay on the air.  And for a special pungent brew let me throw in a dash of BET and some Georgia Peaches from the Real House wives of Atlanta.