I Call 'em Like I See 'em

While other sites and blogs, rightfully so, are involved with the stir that the Rebel INS has created with his House Nigga (Joe Budden diss), something else caught my attention today. Duck Down crew mates and unheralded hip hop mainstays, Buckshot and KRS-ONE released their video for Robot off of their impending September 13th collaborative release, Survival Skills. The Havoc produced single is being promoted as the official D.O.A. track, even the closing segments of its official video directed by Todd Angkasuwan alludes to the duo’s adamant declaration which is also obviously channeled through their lyrics. While some might see this as an unjustified jab at HOV, I tend to disagree. Let’s call a spade a spade; the discerning facts are out there. For years I have argued with people, that for better or worse, Jay-Z is one of the major reasons why this thing of ours is in dire straits, especially in NYC. Why? I will save that discussion for another date, but power or influence rather, and responsibility plays a part. Despite his own barrage of quotables, for eons Jay-Z has jacked lyrics from those before him, and often justified his actions by suggesting he’s paying homage, as Nas so eloquently put it, how much of biggies rhymes gonna come out ya fat lips? For the record fam, you are not biggin up ya brotha, who over the years you have unwarrantably claimed to surpass, First Biggie’s ya man then you got the nerve to say that you are better than Big. On the other hand, Nas owes much of his revamped career to Jay-Z for reigniting his fire if you will, Nastradamus anybody!? Surprisingly (said with sarcasm), Robot (released six weeks prior to Jigga’s D.O.A. track), is not the first time Jay-Z has released material that parallels the works of the Teacha. Before Jay’s Blueprint, Boogie Down Productions had Ghetto Music- The Blueprint of Hip-Hop, a sentiment echoed by whom else but Nas on Ether, when KRS already made an album called Blueprint. While you yougins were busy ballooning Jay-Z’s exploits on Brooklyn High, and adoring his concluding line Manhattan keeps on makin' it, Brooklyn keep on takin’ it, you probably failed to recognize that those very words were uttered by KRS-ONE on BDP’s classic, The Bridge Is Over. Now this is just one of the many examples where Jay-Z has used others words as if they were his; just type Jay-Z writer/biter in Google to see for yourself. The irony is that it was initially reported that The Blueprint 3 would in fact contain tracks of the auto-tune variety; I guess B let it be known that she would be the only one doing the singing in their relationship.