JZ Axe’s Hip Hop Confessions

I haven’t gotten my “hip-hop journalist” on in a while. so if you don’t mind, I would like to do that now. Each morning I pack my backpack with my laptop, books, folders and whatever else I need for the day’s endeavors on campus. More important than all of those things though are my Sony headphones. From the moment I sit down on the padded blue seats on the bus that takes me to campus until I retire to my house when my classes have ended, my ears are usually hidden behind two silver circles that make up my headphones.  As I listen to the plethora of hip-hop that I have on my Iphone, a lot of thoughts run through my head. I would like to share those with you all now. As Usher would say, these are my confessions. Sorry, I’ll pause that! Hit the jump for my thoughts, and if you want to comment, please feel free. I always enjoy a good hip-hop conversation.

-Growing up in Cleveland, Chip Tha Ripper’s name would come up quite often. I never really understood his buzz though, and really thought that his popularity only stretched as far as Athens, Ohio where the students at Ohio University absolutely loved him. The song “Get It Girl,” which boasted a catchy beat and a ridiculous sample of a female saying, “Put it in my mouth,” was unfortunately the embodiment of the downhill spiral hip-hop was taking at the time, a steep decline towards mediocre lyrics about hoes, cars and money. I dismissed Chip as nothing more than a local rapper who would never make it out of Ohio. But it seems that when his good friend and fellow Clevelander Kid Cudi suddenly made it big, Chip decided it was time to step his game up. His mixtape The Cleveland Show is a prime example of the giant steps Chip has taken lyrically to become a legitimately talented emcee who now has his music being posted on major hip-hop blogs such as NahRight and 2DopeBoyz (and 5STARHIPHOP of course). No longer is Chip’s only subject matter restricted to smoking weed and women, and The Cleveland Show reflects that. His unique voice and flow add to his newly found popularity, as Chip is now co-signed by the new, and a bit more accomplished class of rappers such as Big Sean, Wale, Cudi and many others. It is always a joy to watch an emcee reach his full potential, and Chip is doing just that.

-This statement may seem like blasphemy to certain hip-hop heads, but I enjoy Bun B’s guest features much more than his work in UGK and solo efforts. I’m not sure what it is, but I feel like Bun just comes a lot harder when he has only 16 bars to showcase his talent rather than an entire album. By no means do I mean to say Bun B is wack. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. But his verses on songs such as Wale’s “Mirrors,” B.o.B.’s “I Am The Man” and Donnis’ “Country Cool” are much better than say, his recent mixtape, No Mixtape. His solo album, Ill Trill, was just average in my opinion. Find me a song with a Bun B feature on it though, and I will be bumping it in a minute.

-Maino is the exactly the type of rapper I would never find myself listening to.  Real gritty, a lot of gun/murder/bravado talk.  But I can’t lie.  For some reason when I listen to Maino I jam to it.  Maybe it’s because he is a lot more talented lyrically than a lot of the rappers that have tried to prefect the murder-rap genre over the years. Maybe it’s because I enjoy hearing that bravado rap from time to time. Or maybe it’s because his flow fits the rhythm of the songs he is on almost perfectly. All I know is his verses on Wyclef’s “You Don’t Wanna Go Outside” and Consequence’s “Down This Road” are extremely dope. I don’t want to fully admit that I like Maino. But I’m leaning towards it.

-I’m worried about the future of Kanye West. Everyone is so excited for his new album Good Ass Job, whenever that is supposed to come out. But the other day, when it was 60 degrees and sunny outside here in good old Columbia, MO, I hopped into my 2001 Nissan Sentra (Oh yes ladies, my whip game is quite impressive) and threw on Kanye’s first album, College Dropout. That CD is a classic in every sense of the word. I even remember exactly where I bought that CD. I was on my way back from France on a school trip when I was a freshman in high school, and we had an six hour layover in Philly. I found a CD store within the airport and I purchased it. Not many CDs trigger my memory like that. I remember sitting at one of the gates, watching the planes land and take off again, when “Jesus Walks” came on. I was mesmerized by that song. The way he used people’s voices as the beat. His flow is insane on that track, and I’m not even the least bit religious. As you can see, that CD had a big impact on me. But ever since 808s and Heartbreaks, I have seen a lack of hunger from Kanye. He has turned into this egotistical, narcissistic clown whose antics came to a head when he made his now infamous interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Music Video Awards. His guest verses have become just as bad as his attitude. His feature on “Run This Town” and the Clipse’s “Kinda Like A Big Deal,” are a far cry from what Kanye did on College Dropout, Late Registration and to a lesser extent, Graduation. The guy hasn’t even made a song in what seems like forever. Everyone seems to think Kanye is going to come back with a vengeance. I’m afraid he has lost that hunger that made College Dropout so great, and that his work from here on out is going to continue to reflect his state of mind, which portrays him as a 10 year old in an adult’s body.