“Everything is catching, yes everything is catching on fire, everything is catching on fire…â€
—”Fingertips”, by They Might Be Giants
In most matters, it’s safe to say that I’m an entropy buff. I didn’t coin that term, I stole it from George Carlin. What it means is that I enjoy the fact that everything in the universe slowly breaks down over time. It’s not that I wish for any harm or sorrow to come to any person in particular, but I am comforted by the thought that all institutions, movements, and trends that disturb me will eventually wither away. It’s the only way that I can cope with our government, popular music and Maury Povich.
I was just telling a co-worker of mine today that I want there to be an all-congress sex tape released, with Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Whigs, and Tories rogering each other on the Senate floor. And I want it all to be recorded on a camera phone and voiced over by the people that did the Juggernaut X-Men cartoon.
Shit like that helps systems to break down faster. When the veil is pulled away from people’s faces faster than they’re comfortable with, and they spill out in the streets full of piss and vinegar. These things makes me happy.
It doesn’t come from a nihilistic place, I’m just eager to see new systems of thought and behavior replace the boring and predictable machinations of our society. I know this reads like the sour grapes of some fossilized beatnik curmudgeon. And despite my age, that may be true. What I do know is that when you listen to as much NPR as I do, you can get really f*cking tired of what goes on in the world.
Excuse this interruption, but I work in an elementary school and one of the students just said:
“I heard some people saw James Brown at his funeral and he was sweatin’ in the casket!â€
This is a fourth grader.
There’s some poetry in there somewhere.
But back to entropy. I think the best source of disorder lately has been one Nasir Jones. Most of his Hip Hop Is Dead turbulence has faded, but during its peak, it produced some of the finer moments of hip-hop decay. Who knew such a simple declaration would draw such ire from the stonefaced posterboys of today’s commercial rap. If Nas means what I think he means by Hip Hop Is Dead, then it’s something that many hip-hop fans have been screaming since 1995. Sure they (we) were screaming it while holding snugly to their Eddie Bauer backpacks, but it’s an old thought nonetheless.
It is one hell of a pronouncement, though. I did expect to hear some offended rappers scream at the sound of it. I expected underground stalwarts like KRS-One or Sadat X to object at that kind of generalization, especially since rappers like those still see people eating and breathing the hip-hop arts daily. But the screams of the offended were not the grizzled vets or even the newer generation of hardcore lyricists. Nope. You know who was mad?
Young Jeezy.
Yup. The guy that had third graders across America wearing advertisements for cocaine trafficking was upset that Nas proclaimed the death of hip-hop. I would just as soon expect him to join 50 Cent and Jim Jones on the “Fuck Hip Hop” remix. But I guess there’s a sensitive thug in need of a hug underneath that yellow snow:
“You got Nas coming back saying hip-hop is dead. Who is he to say hip-hop is dead?” Jeezy offered. “I might as well make a comment like Lil’ Wayne then. Ya’ll gon tell me I ain’t doing hip-hop?…What you saying? I’ma respect his craft, and he ain’t gon respect mine?” Jeezy asked. “Nas ain’t no street nigga. He ain’t been in no streets. Nas ain’t did nothing he talking about, so what you saying?”
A couple weeks later they made nice, they are label-mates mind you… Might this be another case of Def Jam Brand manufactured beef?
Come to think of it, I heard Ludacris was mad, too. Three Def Jam artists, three new records…cross promotion at it’s finest…
OpenMikeEagle
Out.
