Dear Recently Incarcerated Rappers
Shyne - Messiah
T.I. - I'm Back
(cue The Price is Right music) TI and Shyne!! Come on down!!! You guys are the next rappers to come out of jail and release sub-par tracks!!! (end The Price is Right Music) No, seriously guys. Congratulations on both of your releases from prison for charges both deserved (TIP, you know you were wrong for that one) and undeserved (truth be told, Diddy ought to be locked up). I hope your rehabilitation is going well and that both of you are in good spirits. That said, good spirits, the love of family, friends and fans, and infinite press releases can never hide what an MP3 doesn't. By releasing 'Messiah' and 'I'm Back' both of you have placed yourselves back in the ever-widening pool of MCs that now populate hip-hop. Both of you have pretty well known names in the game, so both tracks got a listen. Unfortunately, neither track got the ultimate honor by being downloaded into my iTunes. It's not that I'm not a fan of either of you guys. It's just that the tracks... well... they sucked. Shyne, you aren't the Messiah of hip-hop, no matter how much you want to claim you get villified. And TIP, entitling a song 'I'm Back' and essentially talking about nothing in the track sets you up to not be back for long.
You see, the big pitfall of being a 'gangsta' (ugh, I hate that word) rapper, is that while you can perpetuate that lifestyle, the minute you're in the hands of Johnny Law, all that goes out the window. You can't claim to tote guns 2 weeks after getting out of the pen!! That's like putting your own fingerprints in booking! As a matter of fact, I'd be hard pressed to find any songs that you can write without putting your name out there in a negative light. Not that either of you wouldn't be able to; it's just harder to make a mark like that. It's even harder considering the way hip-hop is going: from Berettas to blogs, from Pyrex to press releases, from pushing white to page views on Wordpress. Hip-hop is getting less hood by the day, though most rappers would claim otherwise. Guys, don't take my word for it, though. Go out and do you. Enjoy the free man's life and become the studio rats that you once were. Hopefully both of you get back to form. As a matter of fact, I hope the same thing for your friend Weezy F. Baby. Lord knows he might have to change his tune after his time at Rikers...