Happy New Year: What Do You Expect This Year?

After celebrating the completion of a year and escaping the apocalypse (laughs), we made it to 2013. Maybe I’m in a bubble, but unlike past years – this year doesn’t feel as welcomed or exciting like others in the past. The ushering of 2000 or even 2010 had a sense of optimism for example. The fiscal cliff looming in the background while champagne bottles were being popped open and we chugged down on chicken wings wasn’t exactly helping people to celebrate heavy on NYE you know. The fiscal cliff in essence was the apocalypse. Could we avert it and escape a category 100 explosion on our already shaky economy and smaller wallets. Fiscal cliff is deep down scary and it’s not even anything physical. It’s all-mental and in reality it’s managed to truly be the cold war fought between the government and the people.

I’m not one to bash the government. That’s not my style and I def don’t care too much for conspiracy theories and such, but I’m just saying. I feel and what I learned in social studies in the 6th grade of what the definition of what a cold war is, is what we’re in right now. But… this is not a political hub, this is a hip-hop site and we should talk hip-hop right?

Hip-Hop is somewhere else these days. I have no comment of what’s out there right now. If I spoke on it, I would sound like an old coot, but I think from the tone in this sentence… you understand how I feel. What I do miss most about hip-hop is when back in the day it was treated with respect and the gatekeepers at the top only anointed the worthy to hold the mic and continue spreading the gospel. If you were wack, you wasn’t allowed on that special stage with great emcees. The existing reality today however and it’s grown this way over several years now… there is no longer a such thing as a wack artist! I said it, get mad, but look at the facts. I understand the process of the labels to want to come through and sign every artist out today to hold rights to their records for revenue, but in the process – by signing not so talented artists and wanting them just because they have a quote on quote buzz off a hot record/mixtape, your diluting the talent pool. If the wack rapper can stand on stage with the great emcee and still get the same notoriety, what’s even the point of wanting to be a great emcee? Why want great music? We the people begin to accept what is garbage as acceptable. Hip-Hop is not dead, it will never die because this lifestyle is meant to evolve, but the great emcee is scarce. The bad emcee is the popular!

I’m not sure of what your expecting this year. Maybe a better economy, perhaps a yearning for labels to not just sign whatever – but what I’m most looking forward to this year is video game God of War Ascension. It’s the only video game series that I have in my PS3 collection that consistently delivers and never let downs. Sony and Santa Monica Studios only bring the best. I want nothing but the best in 2013. I hope you guys want that too.

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