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  • » Name: Amanda Bassa
  • » Location: VA
  • » Member Since: 09/21/07
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The Undisputed Truth

Should I Even Bother With a Title?


January 03, 2008 | Tags: none

Warning: this is a bitter post. I am a woman. I get bitchy. This is me being bitchy. If you don’t like it, you can leave now.

Yesterday I posted a blog that dealt with the concept of longevity, and I used Lil Wayne as a sort-of example. Now, I’ve had people miss my point with blogs before – probably more than you’d imagine. But this…I was shocked.

Now let me start this off with a little disclaimer: I know that there are a nice handful of you that faithfully read my ramblings and actually comprehend what I’m saying. I appreciate this very much. So the rest of this does not apply to any of you. Your ability to use your brain cells that are still in functioning shape is important to me. Thank you dearly.

Now for the rest of you: I think I’ve figured out what you do. See, when you talk about someone like Lil Wayne this draws an interesting crowd. You get the die-hard faithful fans of the guy, and then the people who dedicate an equal amount of time to bashing the fans and Mr. F. Baby. Now, e-thuggery is no quickly accomplished task. And the Wayne fans put in tons of work looking up the lyrics to verses with which to prove Weezy’s greatness to the comment thread of the blog that referenced his name. You see, these people must be too busy putting effort into praising/hating that they forgot to read the blog in the first place.

Or perhaps they just read selectively?

I now present to you every sentence of the last blog I wrote that has Wayne’s name or nickname in it, or the name of another well known rapper. I have in the process taken the fluff, explanations of my point, and the conclusion of my point out of what I am about to present to you. So pretend you didn’t read my blog yesterday, and then tell me what you think my point was based off of these sentences:

Second, I realized that (brace yourselves) Lil Wayne has been releasing music since like 1995.

Weezy F. Baby has been at it for thirteen years now.

Now excuse me while I go bang my head against a wall a few times to kill the brain cells that actually allowed Weezy to find his way into my longevity hall of fame.

Just look at how people like Jay-Z have evolved stylistically since they started out.

My point is that if people see Wayne’s name in a title of something and that’s the only reason they clicked on it, could it not be assumed that they read things the same way? Where they see his name, they’ll read that sentence? I mean, check this: if you read the above statements, it’d be easy to infer that I have given Lil Wayne props for being around a while, and then you may even come to the conclusion that I compared him to someone like Jay-Z (an arguable legend). If you practice selective reading, I can see why you came to this conclusion.

But here’s a lesson for that ass: READ THE WHOLE DAMN BLOG FOR ONCE. You may actually learn something.

Never once did I say that Weezy should be compared to the true pioneers and legends of the rap game. Never once did I say that he has necessarily progressed and grown, as far as talent goes, since his entrance into the music industry. Never once did I say that his alleged ghostwriter doesn’t deserve some props too. Never once did I say that longevity equals “quality or legendary status”. When it comes to Lil Wayne, the fact of the matter is this: he’s still around because he’s making money and finding success at rapping. I don’t spend money on the guy, so this is not my fault. You are complaining to the wrong person. You think he doesn’t have the talent to merit being around this long? Too bad. Somebody out there is still shelling out their hard earned loot to support him in one way, shape, or form. And as long as that’s going on, his longevity is justified by his success alone. I never once called him talented.

Actually, my final point didn’t even have a damn thing to do with Lil Wayne, really. It was about the bigger picture, which I’m beginning to realize that some people don’t care about or understand at all sometimes.

And on a very important side note, here is an announcement: Mr. ERNIE PANICCIOLI has released two limited edition books (one contains black and white drawings, and 25 copies are available, and the other contains color drawings/paintings) which are available for purchase at lulu.com. In the near future Mr. Paniccioli will be releasing a multi volume set that focuses on the five elements of hip hop, along with volumes showcasing his photography of such noteworthy figures as Frank Sinatra, JFK Jr., and Andy Warhol. He will also be releasing a book containing his collage artwork as well. I’ll keep you posted on new releases, as Ernie’s work is something that any hip hop fan should be aware of and supporting.


The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

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