Dear Charles Hamilton

Charles Hamilton - Hockey Kitty

It's always a sad day when you realize a rapper you think is (or was) good has fallen off and probably won't be back on any time soon. Charles, when I saw you and Yung Nate perform 'Stutter' in 2006, I had no clue that you'd be the quintessential Moses of hip-hop, making it to the promised land, but not making it in. With this latest track off 'The Binge Vol. 3: Charles Hamilton’s Last Mixtape,' it seems like a late, ill-fated attempt to get back into the limelight after a year and a half of PR disasters. Yes, the sample is funny, but the beat is overused in the blogosphere and you didn't spit anything vicious. It's not like this is a new thing. 'The Normalcy Project' didn't come hard enough and was essentially a bust (yeah, I'm calling that). And of course last year you got cast as a liar on wax (re: the Dilla fiasco) and were thoroughly emasculated with video evidence (I hope you're not still friends with Brianna).

It's even more messed up considering you had a damn good lead single to cap off 2009, which most new artists can't hold a candle to. Ahh well, Charles, I suppose we can all remember the good times, and the quirky Sonic- addicted music we grew to love. This is needless to say at this point, but your demise could have been prevented with a lot more good counsel and earlier intervention (that mixtape of yours was fire, by the way) in terms of your drug problem. I wish you nothing but the best, Chuck. This isn't saying goodbye to your career, because honestly you've come a hell of a long way since last year. It is, however, an admission that your career is fizzling Charles. Either you need to get on a SERIOUSLY dope feature or back on your mixtape grind HARD. Then again, with the title of your upcoming work, it will have to be the former. Good luck, Chuck...