WHERE DO WE GO???

I rail on local artists at times for a reason.

I have been there.  I have not only seen my friends make the same mistakes, but I  have made those same mistakes, thinking that I could simply get by on the talent God gave me. Let’s not get it twisted. I had MAD talent back in the day. As a singer, as a writer, as a performer. What I DIDN’T have is the knowledge of the game and the work ethic needed to get to the next level.

Now the reason I rail on the local artists is because I SEE the talent. I SEE the gift. What I don’t see is the commitment to the CRAFT. I see a plethora of cats that called themselves RAPPERS, that call themselves PERFORMERS but ain’t about shit but drinking, smoking and trying to get some ass.

You know another reason I rail on artists? Because there is WAY too much hatred in this area for people running the same race. (The link takes you to an article I wrote about Haters). We don’t live in a gigantic metro area like Chicago or New York where you have a million options and never really have to cross paths with your “competition.” Hell, in Green Bay, we got TWO places.

TWO.

Studio 132 and Mixers Lounge.

These are the only two places that are CONSTANTLY showcasing Hip Hop. These are the only two places that are CONSTANTLY supporting the Hip Hop Community in this area.

And those two places seem to be battling each other.

I am not going to call anyone from either place out by name, cause I have mad respect and love for both places. BUT, rumors have been going around that last week, during the Unity Concert and Party at Mixers, people were told NOT to go to Mixers. And part of the rumor was it was folks from Studio 132 doing the talking. These are just rumors. I have no proof of anything, and to be honest, don’t care. Knowing the folks at Studio 132, I don’t believe they would be that petty.

Every rumor, however, comes from a modicum of truth. So someone somewhere said SOMETHING that would even get the rumor started. This is the kind shit that we simply can’t have. We have TWO places where we showcase our music and our culture in Green Bay. Why waste time battling each other?

Simply doesn’t make sense to me. 

UNITY CONCERT & PARTY

Willie Dubceez Jones is a legend in the world of Green Bay Hip Hop. Before most of the local artists were a twinkle in their daddy’s eye, Dub was rockin’ mics and moving asses. So when he asked ME to be the host of a show that had his name on it, I didn’t even have to think twice. Hell yeah.

The Unity Concert and Party at Mixer’s Lounge was a chance for a number of different artists to put aside the bravado and ego that comes with this genre of music (hip hop) and simply have an opportunity to perform. Not only for the energetic crowd that was there but for the other artists that were participating.

For the most part, it went exactly the way Dub wanted. Great acts doing their thing and rockin’ the mic. I was particularly impressed with TRUE SQ, and TYC, The Young C.E.O. And of course, Handz Onn NEVER disappoints when he grabs the mic. 

Of course, it couldn’t go COMPLETELY smooth. You had to have at least one act just lose their damn mind. Blak Smoke out of Chicago came in and seemed like a cool dude…til he hit the stage. First of all, his music was on his phone. Ok, I suppose with the way phones are nowadays you could probably get away with that. Obviously the DJ (who was DUB) was able to handle playing the music off his phone. But midway through his first song, he gets a PHONE CALL. Really. (I am not smart enough to make this up). Now, correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t there a way to basically shut OFF the “getting a phone call in the middle of a damn song” feature on most cell phones? Wouldn’t you think to do that, considering you are the middle of a concert and using your PHONE has your background music?

And THEN, apparently rattled by the fact that his music was interrupted by a phone call, when Dub restarted his song, he couldn’t keep up with his OWN DAMN SONG. So of course, he demanded that Dub start the song AGAIN (for a second time). At THIS point, Dub put his foot down and said no. Blak Smoke’s response? “Ain’t NOBODY touching this mic until I get to rock a song, so put on a beat for me to rock to!!!”

Yeah, bruh, that ain’t gonna happen.

Other than that, (and the fact that two brothas had on big ass dukey chains, those big, 1986 Run DMC rope gold chains) it was a good time.

But it leads me to ask a couple questions. 1). Why aren’t there MORE shows like this in this area? No egos, (for the most part) just artists that want to rock the mic and get themselves heard. 2). Where are the r&b singers? The only singer in the room was Dub. Are there no local SINGERS? Am I missing something?

I also have to give a shout out to Bernard Moore and BeMo Entertainment.

He was shooting some video of the artists (and supporting his acts TYC and Migo Tunes) and getting ready to drop his underground hip-hopmagazine. Can’t WAIT to read that and hopefully work with him down the line.

 It was a great show, and mad love to Dub, and ALL the performers.

HATERS GONNA HATE

“I am running the same race and jumping over the same hurdles as you are, so why are YOU tripping me up?”

Remember that episode of “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”? The episode where Carlton and Will pledge a black fraternity, but they won’t accept Carlton basically because he wasn’t “black” enough for them? Once Carlton finds out he hasn’t been accepted, that was the seminal question he asked. As I watched that episode recently I started to think about how it relates to music.

I can’t even count how many times I have heard rappers say they don’t want to work with this guy, or that guy. I can’t even count how many times have heard rappers say they don’t fuck with this guy or that guy. I can’t even count how many times I have heard rappers just RIP on someone’s music for no other reason than to hate on someone.

I have a couple questions about this: My first question is WHY? Why the hate for people that, just like Carlton said, “Are running the same race and jumping over the same hurdles”? The second question is why does it always seem to be people of the same race hating on someone else’s success? Especially, it seems to me, in the rap game?   

Then, I bring it to the local level. We are in APPLETON or GREEN BAY, Wisconsin. This area ain’t that big, but you are hating on someone else within the genre that you are trying to do something in. Do you realize that but hating on someone within the genre, you are also hating on the genre YOU are in? I mean seriously, if you are going to run another rapper’s MUSIC into the ground, what are you saying about your own? More than likely, the people you are talking to haven’t heard of either one of you, so if you are shitting on someone else’s music, you are also shitting on your own.

Dumb ass.

I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t just seeing things thru my sometimes cynical eyes, so I asked some of the people in the game who I respect both as artists and individuals. Mind you, I am not and NEVER will hate on someone’s MUSIC. (The way they PRESENT themselves and their music is a different story and a different blog.) And I didn’t want to sound like I was trying to place the blame on any one race or person, so the question I asked to several different artist was this:

Have you been hated on because of your MUSICAL successes? And if you have, by who? Other artists? FANS of other artists? White? Black? Other nationalities? Who are your haters?

One of the first artists I asked was Josh “HandzOnn” Russell.

Anyone that knows me knows that I have mad respect for Josh as an artist. He, in my humble opinion, is one of the few artists in this area that actually GETS it. He knows how to market himself for what he does. He knows how to RESPECT the game and the people in it.

"The most hate I see, is from the people that don't really understand me, yes hip hop started out as something from the urban community but it has branched out so much from that. Yes I'm a chubby white dude, born in WV and grew up on the streets of Green Bay,” he said. “My "rap" and I have learned to use that term loosely, is not you’re typical "in the club, chant rap". I make stories to beats. Some are party songs, some are slowed down true versions, but everything I write is ME! It comes from my heart and if I said it in a song, I've lived it in my life. People just don't get that hip hop is so vast. I have always been taught, people are afraid of what they don't know.... I guess it's the same with HICK HOP MUSIC!!!!”

MsDinero CashQueen
will fool you. You will look at her pics, see her in public and see a sweet, smiling face…until she grabs the mic and starts to drop knowledge on you and you realize you have more than likely read her COMPLETELY wrong. (Don’t believe me? Listen to “God Help Me”. You will thank me later.)

“I’ve never been one for hatred. I am very happy for the success of other and wish the best for all humanity,” she said. “Unfortunately, not everybody feels the same way as I do. I have been told by many that I will not make it because of my gender and skin color. White girls should not rap, right? Wrong! Music is a part of an expression of who we are and the journey have gone through in life. Unfortunately these days most people have a hard time being happy for other people, especially when they are successful. I have been loved and hated; I have many fans and many that dislike me. Regardless, I pray for all.”

Joe “Tha Prophet” Jones of Tha Regime is to me an OG. He has been in the game for so long that he has forgotten more about this industry than most of these young cats know. So the hate directed at him is almost laughable.

“I have been hated on mostly by family and personal acquaintances and such. I have no beef with other artists. I support everybody’s music. Most of my haters so to speak are people who know me and see me every day,” Joe said. “Most of it is done directly to me; some of it is done behind closed doors. It's a mixed crowd. Some black some white. Comes with the territory. I'm 40 trying to pursue a music career still and a lot of people don't understand my goals and dreams.”

Like Tha Prophet, RockzSolid is an OG in the rap game. Her success is unmistakable. To me, the game in Milwaukee starts and ends with artists like her. And even SHE is not immune to the hate.

“Surprisingly, I think I've been shown a lot of love from females who support my music and buy my cd's. Mostly, I face a lot of double standards from guys.... like they treat me differently than male rappers on the scene. Different Dj's, rappers and promoters like to capitalize on my image or not show love to me like male rappers who have had the same type of success or even less on the scene... & to me that's HATE,” she said. “My haters are "hip hop rejects." They're mainly the people who hate me because they don't know me or know someone who hates me but doesn't know me and then they hate me too.  A lot of hate is shown by the lack of LOVE which is crazy because I show a lot of love. In the past, I have been beyond blunt and maybe too outspoken about wack music or artists and so I have a lot of people who hate me because of that. To be honest though, the hate doesn't affect me or motivate me, I just keep doing me.”

And it is not just in the rap game. Amanda Polenz is an accomplished singer and performer, and found that hate sometimes comes from JEALOUSY more than success.

“Not by musicians at all - but by best friends that were in my life and now aren’t. People who have been in my life for over 8 years just disappeared and I have no contact with them at all. They feel I am a different person because I am successful now,” she said. “If anything I have finally grown into the person I want to be, I am doing what I want to be doing and if they don't like it, they were truly never meant to be there anyways. Real friends would never ever leave.”

Now I know there are a LOT of artists out there that have no problem with other artists. I know there are people out there that support any and ALL local artists with no other agenda other than to support local music. But there are JUST enough ratchet ass haters out there that it needs to be addressed.

Haters gonna hate.