The 37th Chamber 12.31.08: The '08 Rap-Up

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 12.31.2008

With 2008 just about gone, we review the year that was in true Skillz style, with the 2008 Rap-Up.

This is going to sound weird and completely out of nowhere, but I really don't like tattoos that run down people's arms and end up looking like sleeves of a t-shirt. If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, then you wouldn't be the first, but Joe Budden for example, has one on his right arm I think it is.

Uh, anyway, I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas, or if you don't celebrate, enjoyed the day off work. Or if you had to work, I hope you got a decent pay bonus. Me, I had Christmas lunch and dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's house, we had five different meats for lunch…and four salads, of which I touched none. In terms of presents, my parents got me Rock Band, my sister got me The Critic and Black Lagoon on DVD, both of which I haven't really had a chance to properly get in to yet.

My baby cousins, who just turned three and four this year decided to buy me a present, and bought me, bless their hearts, some tennis balls, because I mentioned last time I saw them I was trying to get back into tennis again.

The boss gave everyone two movie vouchers, which are always useful, and has been a good tradition of hers for the last three years, and my Grandpa from Queensland gave me $50, which he really shouldn't have, given his sole income is a Government pension.

In all, it's been a really pleasant week, I'm not sure what I'm doing tonight as I was meant to be heading over to a friend's place, but given the dress code has just been changed to ‘Supernatural' and my lack of anything remotely in that vein of clothing, I may head somewhere else instead.

So, without further ado, let us proceed with the final column of 2008!

Reader Feedback
(May be edited for spelling or grammar etc.)

"CUCK FENA" - Peezy

You know, I wish the WWE would give John Cena a feud OUTSIDE the title picture for once. Now, I haven't actually watched an entire episode of RAW for many months now, but every time I read a recap or PPV results, it seems he's somewhere in the title scene, usually as the champion. I know that to the WWE, Cena = Money, but I'm pretty sure that he'd still generate sales even if he isn't wrestling for the title.

It seems as if that Cena needs the title, more than the title needs him. We're often complaining that the IC title hasn't had any credible holders for a long time, same with the Tag titles, in order for us to take them seriously, but it just seems as if Cena now needs the title in order to draw a reaction from the crowd. At this stage in his career, he could certainly get away with the occasional non-title feud. Heck, just get someone to spill coffee on him.

"I have an idea for a new award. The "Please Take Me Serious Award", inspired by the Lil Bow Wow's and Plies of the world. Criteria is rappers who are obviously fake as hell, but still think the rest of us are fooled." - Travis

That is indeed a good name for an award, and if I'm still writing here come this time next year, you can be sure to see it then. In terms of who would have won it this year…you could certainly make a case for Plies. The two artists that come to mind as having released two albums in the same year are DMX and Nas, both of which are significantly better lyricists with more to talk about than goons and robbing people with said goons.

What happened to Bow Wow anyway? Remember he was everywhere in 2005 when "Let Me Hold You" came out (I actually liked Omarion's hook on that track), then in 2007 when they were buzzing about the collaboration project with Omarion, which ended up being a disappointment, then he disappeared. Well, not totally as I did hear his new single…"Marco Polo" with Soulja Boy. Turns out, Soulja Boy's inability to write a hook is infectious, as it has transferred onto Bow Wow here. Plus, the ACCOMPANYING DANCE, which is now obviously another must for Soulja Boy related tracks, is, and I quote Wikipedia: "similar to hide and seek". Yay.

"I think you're talkin about Peedi Crakk from Philly, it was rumored that he was going to call his album "Camel Face Hunting Season" and put Jay-Z on the cover, he cleared it up saying he didn't know where that came from" - Joe

Ah crap, that would have been funny, I would have bought two copies. One to laugh at constantly, and the other to store away in some archives that can be opened in 200 years time in order for people to have another laugh then. I'd love to see how hip-hop changes over 200 years. Scratch that, just 20 years even. If you think about it, Soulja Boy would be almost 40, and possibly balding.

" "If 50 leaves then Shady Records is done, who else is a hard hitter on that label? Matter of fact, WHO is still relevant on aftermath? Em and Dre is all there is. Even Busta Rhymes couldn't make a hit record with them." - yup123

what the fuck are u talking about Busta had 4 singles on The Big Bang and all of them did well "Touch It" was a big hit for him and the ‘Math not to mention the 60 remixes that followed" - Guest#1015

"Touch It" was certainly successful, and the remixes were definitely better in my opinion, but apart from "I Love My Chick", nothing else charted. Even those two singles charted at 16 and 41 respectively on the Billboard Top 100. The others made the rap charts, but even then, that was at 77 and 50.

So he did good, but not as well as he should have done. Given all the singles after "I Love My Chick" were released in July (album released in June), they could have done with better spacing out. Also, why the remix version of the track wasn't included on the album is something that constantly baffles me. EVERYBODY preferred the remix (or a remix) version to the original. I just can't take LOUD BUSTA…quiet Busta…LOUD BUSTA…quiet Busta for three and a half minutes straight.

" "A Milli" was the best beat of the year?? Come on! The entire beat is comprised of one bass drum, two snares and a sample of a guy saying "a milli" repeated ad naseum throughout the entire song with no breaks or variations. It sounds like it took all of 5 minutes to make. Just because it was the most (over)played beat of the year doesn't make it the best." - Bob

I liked it because it was ridiculously simple, yet hit hard at the same time. That low resonating bass is something that always wins me over, so I'm a bit biased in that sense. Unfortunately, we haven't had many albums (that I've been able to listen to), which have had that ‘wow' factor as Lupe and Ghost's did in 2007. Well, Rocko's had a ‘wow' factor, but at the other end of the scale.

I didn't like "A Milli" at first, but it grew on me, to the point where I'm still listening to it, which is amazing as I normally have a very short attention span for songs these days. I end up making a new CD for the car about every two or three weeks. As you can imagine, I have a lot of burned CDs in the car.

"Merry Christmas Patrick!" - Guest#1683

Thank you! And a Happy New Year to you.

"Wow 50 has a record coming out and now he's beefing with another rapper?! I've never heard of such a thing, except it happens every time he has a record coming out. Oh and he's gonna bring back the art form? He's a fucking clown." - Jeremy

"I love when 50 tries to talk like he's the voice of reason in hip-hop...the blind leading the blind." - John

That's an awesome analogy John. I'll admit, that when he first came out, I had hopes as he was attempting to crush the pop-rap empire that Ja Rule had been building (I've never liked Ja), AND he was getting Dre production, which, unless your name was Eminem, not many people were getting at the time. The first single came out, all was good, "Wanksta" was alright too…then "21 Questions" just killed it. I believe that had he not made that song, and the subsequent mess that was "Magic Stick" with Lil Kim, he would be more popular to a degree today than he currently is.

It always seems to me these days that whenever a rapper has a REALLY successful single, rather than try out different formulas, they stick with the same one repeatedly for their singles. Why fix something that isn't broken? Well, a record breaks, and 50's are starting to show cracks, experiment Mr. Cent, or perish. PERISH.

I'd love to see Lil Wayne make a completely off track like "A Milli" to diss 50. Dude wouldn't know how to respond properly. I'm surprised he isn't going after T.I. more either. It seems that he goes after whoever is flavor of the month at the time, or whoever decides to sit near them in the case of Jadakiss and Fat Joe, so maybe 50 fears T.I.P.'s abilities?

"I don't like his music but there is a place for a Soulja Boy in rap. Soulja Boy is annoying. It is the Young Jeezy's and 50 Cents that are destroying hip hop.

Everyone is beginning to see 50's beefs for what they really are, shameless publicity stunts." - rey

I agree that there is a place for Soulja Boy in hip-hop, especially if he does try to become a better role model and make music that is more ‘intelligent'. Party/dance rap is fine, but you shouldn't want to be stuck as a one-trick pony you know. I think, that if he can get a new generation into hip-hop, that's fine too, especially if they're the types to actually buy albums.

"To all the idiots out there. Testifying against the man who killed your friend is NOT snitching." - jd

Agreed 100%. Snitching to me, is wearing a wire, or dobbing your best friend in to the police for downloading music when they piss you off for some reason. Testifying so that the memory of your friend can see justice is not snitching.

"And the winner in the Softest Rapper goes to...50 cent! Stand up and throw pacifiers at him ladies and gentlemen!" - Red

I'm looking forward to Before I Self Destruct. I think that an artist's final album for their record contract can often make for a memorable listening experience, for either good or bad reasons. Good, because it might also be the final album of their career (* prays that it's 50's final album… *) and with that in mind, the artist wants to go out with a bang. Bad, because they get complacent, and you end up with Exit 13.

Either way, I'm hoping that the album is memorable for whatever reason, as it partially due to 50 that I got back into hip-hop music in 2003 after a three-year hiatus, and foray into other genres. So I guess I owe him a little.

The Rant

The '08 Rap-Up

I'm not going to rap, I try and do that enough when I've been drinking, and the results are never good, although I did supposedly make a really funny line about fish and goats once I've been told. No idea how it worked out, or how it would even rhyme either.

Anyway, because everyone's probably wanting to get on with things, and I myself will probably be called in to work AGAIN in about 20 minutes, we'll make it a quickie this week.

2008 started off for me on an odd note. I drove into the city (rather foolishly) and ended up taking 2 hours to actually get out of the city. We then watched Family Guy at a friend's house until 4am when I passed out on the lounge from fatigue.

This basically sums up the general gist of 2008 for me, unplanned and unexpected. In terms of hip-hop music, my feelings towards the genre have been much the same. For example, this time last year, I was thoroughly enjoying my Lil Wayne bashing streak. Now, I find myself actually enjoying his work, and I'll defend his ability to rap, although, not his claim for Best Rapper Alive.

I also hoped and prayed that Soulja Boy would be a one-hit wonder, and just disappear off the radar quietly. While it appears that has happened to an extent, he's still around. However, his interviews this year have shown us that he does have a brain, and I'm pleased that somebody like KRS-One took the time to talk to him about how he can influence a new generation of hip-hop fans. I think he took that more to heart when he promised to be a better role model recently too.

Just like life, we've also had slow periods for hip-hop, and insane rush moments too. Take the second half of 2008 for example. T.I., Lil Wayne, Ludacris and Kanye West all dropped albums, and those are names usually found in the top mainstream artists lists. December was shaping up to be an incredible month too, with albums from Eminem, Jay and 50, but those have all since been pushed back, as is always the story in hip-hop, to an early 2009 date.

I finally graduated from my course at University, and you could say that some rappers finally got their chance to shine on a mainstream level too. T.I. finally threw his name into the ring on a worldwide scale, Lil Wayne proved that he can release an ALBUM, instead of 400 mixtapes, and actually make an effort to rap on some of the tracks (had "Tie My Hands" been released as a single, it probably would have been on my shortlist for Best of the Year). Killer Mike released an album that was meant to just be a holdover until next year, but the buzz around that album has caused me to add that to my New Years Resolution list.

Kanye West and Common showed us that they have the testicular fortitude to do whatever the hell they want in hip-hop, and ended up producing very interesting albums in the process. Universal Mind Control is an enjoyable listen, and although 808s & Heartbreak initially put me to sleep (no figure of speech here, I fell asleep with the headphones in my ears in the car while we were in Queensland), the parts I did hear were entertaining.

Crooked I, Glasses Malone and Bishop Lamont are poised and waiting to show us in 2009 that the West Coast has more than The Game and Dr. Dre to offer. As Ramirez nailed it a couple of weeks back, they're bringing a more intelligent form of gangsta rap to the music, a throwback to the early days of its conception when N.W.A. could actually cause people to simultaneously think as they defecated themselves.

In terms of new blood elsewhere, Wale (pronounced Wah-lay if anybody was wondering) dropped The Mixtape About Nothing, which was probably the best mixtape I heard this year. B.o.B. is holding down the South, and alongside Killer Mike, 2009 is looking to be a good year for Grand Hustle. Asher Roth and Charles Hamilton are on the New Years Resolution list as well (I'll pop that up at the end this week), and I'm looking forward to checking them out. Bobby Creekwater and Ca$his too if they can survive the Aftermath/Shady curse, and actually release an album.

Meanwhile, we actually got through the first year since, get this, 1992 without a 2Pac album. If you don't believe me, just check out his Discography entry on Wikipedia. At the other end of the scale, we saw last albums from The Game and Scarface, who have both chosen to bow out of their careers for different, but nevertheless reasonable reasons.

February also saw the release of Thriller 25, a remastered version of Michael Jackson's famous album, with remixed tracks from Akon, Will.I.Am, Fergie and Kanye West. Whomever thought that was a good idea, needs to be buried alive.

On the legal side of things, R. Kelly went to trial, and actually got acquitted, much to the disappointment of many a comedian around the world. DMX upped the ante by breaking numerous traffic laws as well as domestic laws seemingly every second week. Mos Def proved that he may not be the backpacker rapper we all envisioned with rumors of numerous children by different women (and failed child support payments), as well as assaulting paparazzi along with Kanye West (but who doesn't want to do that).

Speaking of Kanye, he came into his own not only with the music this year, but his blogging with entertaining rants after a bad reception on the Glow In The Dark tour, as well as after being hounded by photographers. Sadly, someone whose blogs I always looked forward to, Phonte of Little Brother, hasn't been as active this year as last.

Finally, we lost two legends this year, in Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac.

In all, 2008 has been a great year for me, and I'd say hip-hop too. It's been great chronicling it through both my opinion pieces, and news reports this year, and I'm looking forward to taking 2009 head on, full throttle, FEEL THE PAIN etc.

Before We Go…

I hope that you've had a good 2008, and if not, I hope that 2009 brings you happiness and peace of mind. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, so here's to this time next year!

Happy New Year!