Fast Food Hip-Hop

A co-worker at one of the offices I hustle in said yesterday that he wished Kanye West would "shut his mouth and stick to making beats." It was kind of funny because the sentiment is nothing new. It just shows that people focus more on what Kanye says outside of the booth than what he says on wax.

Then I read a comment Kanye said on MTV, where he was talking about his opposition to "fast food" hip-hop music. You know, that brand of rap that looks and smells good, but it doesn't really nourish you and too much of it makes you sick. I think it's a great metaphor to categorically break down contemporary hip-hop music. At the end of the hip-hop day, there's fast food, home cooking, and, finally, gourmet fine dining. Here, let me demonstrate.

These are a few examples. If you disagree, don't be scared . . . leave a comment about it. Genius.



FAST FOOD


50 Cent, Nelly, Bow Wow, Remy Ma



HOME COOKING


T.I., Lil' Kim, Mobb Deep, Jadakiss



GOURMET FINE DINING


Mos Def & Talib Kweli, Kanye West, Ghostface, Jay-Z, Common


So the question becomes, which category do you "eat" from the most, and who's your favorite food?


Stay tuned, Intelligentsia . . .

D12 Frontman, Proof, Shot and Killed in Detroit

Proof at the Spin magazine Superbowl after party in February.

I WAS IN GETTING DRESSED when my Sidekick started shaking like a crap game. It was a message from my homeboy I work with at The Source. "Yo, cuzzo, heard the news about Proof? Dude was shot and killed last night in Detroit." I thought to myself, "Damn, not again . . . another hip-hop soldier lost?" I jumped online, and there it was on MTV News staring me right in the face. The D12 general, Eminem's best friend and recent best man, shot dead at a Detroit nightclub. He was 30.

According to reports, police arrived at the CCC Club on East Eight Mile Road just after 5 a.m. Proof (nee DeShaun Holton) and another 35-year-old man were each found with a single gunshot wound to the head. The other man is listed in critical condition. Proof was pronounced dead on arrival.


Proof, top left, with Eminem and D12 bandmates.

That's all that's known at this time, as information about the case continues to stream in. But it's certainly another sad day in hip-hop, Intelligentsia. I remember seeing Proof on stage with Eminem at Madison Square Garden last August for the Anger Management Tour. He was vibrant, full of energy, doing what he loved doing. Now he's no longer with us. For me, the primary question right now is, will Proof's murder be logged into our hip-hop chronicles in the fashion of Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Jam Master Jay, and Big L - another killing that goes unsolved indefinitely? Where do you draw the line in the "no snitching" code when it comes to cases like these?

Eminem has unparalleled power in hip-hop. Perhaps it takes a unique hip-hop member like him with unique power to bring forth a change in unsolved rap murders. We'll see.

In the meantime, R.I.P. Proof. We're going to miss you, homeboy.


Stay tuned, Intelligentsia . . .