Danny Brown vs Detroit vs Everybody

It's been awhile since I've did one of these rant pieces. Today's rant has to do with Danny Brown but on a deeper level Detroit's culture of Detroit vs Detroit. I'm a fan of Danny too just to be clear this isn't meant to be an attack on him, it was just something his past and recent actions inspired. Lastly, just like the last rant this may not be the most clear or even cohesive thing you've read of mine but it is my true feelings unfiltered. With that all being said, enjoy.

Read any article on Danny Brown and you'll more than likely see a reference to him as "Detroit's own" or "Detroit artist" etc. He has become synonymous with the city just like fellow Motor City artists Eminem and Big Sean. However, lately I've noticed he has not actually done a show in Detroit in quite sometime and it isn't like he hasn't had the opportunity to. Last time he took to a Detroit stage was October 10th, 2012 as a apart of A$AP Rocky's Long.Live.A$AP. tour with Schoolboy Q. Before that was in 2011 with Childish Gambino. He has since embarked on four tours the "Old & Reckless" with Kitty, "Worst of Both Worlds" with Baauer, "2 High 2 Die" with Action Bronson and now most recently starting in April "The Old Danny Brown" tour. He has been to Michigan on all of these tours, he has went to cities such as Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Rothbury and for his latest tour he'll perform in Lansing. Yet no Detroit appearances.

Now the fact that Danny Brown hasn't done a show in Detroit since 2012 isn't my main problem, I understand there may be venue issues and other behind the scene issues that has prevented him from performing. It's the fact that back in 2013 he was quick to call out Big Sean for using Detroit as a promotional tool and for not really being in the hood "like that". He also pointed out the fact that "he went to the best high school in the city, you know, he probably was real spoiled or sheltered" in his interview with FADER. In Rolling Stone he "clarified" his statements and added "My point with Big Sean is that every time you hear him in an interview and every time he do anything, he's like "Cause I'm from Detroit! I'm from Detroit!" There's ho-ass niggas from Detroit and there's gangstas in Detroit. Just being from a place doesn't dictate, doesn't mean anything. My whole point is about inspiring people to do things to get out of Detroit. Somebody like him hasn't been in Detroit forever, in years. He repping it like it's a cool place to be."

Danny is right Detroit isn't a cool place to be. You may have seen the news stories of corrupt government officials and the city's bankruptcy. Let me tell you that shit is lightweight. Detroit's problem is way deeper than mayors and money. I've had a gun pulled on me, seen a dead body and seen multiple drug deals go down by the age of 13. I don't go around bragging about being from Detroit. It isn't a good place. However I'm not ashamed of it, it's my hometown and even though it's fucked up I will always have love for it. Danny shares a similar opinion "I moved to Royal Oak, that’s where I still stay. I love Michigan. I might not like Detroit so much, but I love Michigan. Don’t get me wrong—I do love Detroit, I just know we got problems." One of the major problem is exactly what Danny did though and that's Detroit vs Detroit. We're so quick to call out another nigga for not being hood enough or not being in the hood but ask any real hood nigga if they want to be in the hood they'll tell you "No.". The thing is Danny is really from the hood so he should know this already, I can't explain why it's that way it something that just is. I'm not even going to act like I have a solution for the problem. Sadly it's just as much apart of Detroit's culture as Bettermade Chips and Faygo.

Back to my point which is Danny Brown and his claim of Sean always using Detroit or bringing it up whenever he does something, if you check out the poster or promo for his latest tour "The Old Danny Brown" you'll see a skull wearing a cap with an Old English D. Ask anyone in the United States what is the first thing they think of when they see it and 99% of people with either say the Detroit Tigers or the city of Detroit itself. Either way it's Detroit right? So I find it funny how Danny chose that as the promotional image for a tour which features no Detroit show. You might say "Well Drop, how do you know he isn't using the D for Danny"? Naaaah. I'm damn well sure it means what it always has meant  and that is Detroit. So if anything it is hypocritical of Danny. More then anything it is ironic. The rapper who has four installments of a mixtape called Detroit State of Mind, calls out another Detroit artist for using Detroit for personal gain and then turns around and does it himself.  Even more ironic is the tour's name "The Old Danny Brown" because to me he couldn't be any more different from the (old) Hybrid Danny Brown.

However, in the end I guess you can even call me a hypocrite. I mean I am another nigga from Detroit criticizing another nigga from Detroit and when I think about it, that's all Danny really did to Sean in the first place. Like I said earlier can't explain it that's just the culture of the environment. "Detroit versus everybody." Even if it means going against Detroit itself. Sad.

Update: Seems like Danny seen the tweets I sent out last night about him. He responded hostile initially but we hashed it out. I believe he thought I was questioning his "Detroit-ness" which wasn't my intention. Like I said it's all cool now but I can't help but laugh at the situation. Yet again, as I stated in this very editorial another example of Detroit vs Detroit. 

Samsung's Magna Carta Holy Fail and Music's Battle with Exclusivity

On his latest album Magna Carta Holy Grail Jay-Z spits the line "Might crash ya Internet, and I ain't even into that" lyrics from "Somewhereinamerica" that would prove prophetic. Right around midnight on July 3rd, officially the 4th, millions (literally) of Samsung owners took to Twitter to celebrate and gloat at their apparent win over iPhone users. After years of hearing the praises of the iPhone and Apple, Android users finally had their moment in the spotlight thanks to Jay-Z and Samsung's 5 million deal. Well at least that was the idea, soon as many found out, millions of people using the same app to obtain the same album at the same time would prove problematic. Samsung users all over immediately went from ecstatic to disappointed as they stared at a blank screen or an error message as many reported.

While Samsung users were cursing the company all over social networks, iPhone users sat high and mighty on top of the mobile device world once again. As Samsung was sorting out an solution, others fled to Google for streams and leak links for the newly released album. Once learning that Funk Flex of Hot 97 was running a stream of the album, I decided that was the best of a bad situation. When Flex wasn't ranting and dropping Flex bombs (or wind sound effects as they sound to some) I was quite impressed with what I heard. After about an hour I had the album available to listen to sans Flex, while my cousin who is a Samsung owner still was on a blank white screen "patiently" awaiting for his album. That got me thinking what did Samsung exactly accomplish with this deal?

Aside from the publicity from the deal Samsung did nothing to exactly change the perception of the Android vs iPhone debate, if anything it gave fuel to the latter's side. That is how it may seem on the surface but if you really read what came with the MCHG app, Samsung might've made a win out in the long haul. Before accepting the download the permission settings for it pops up to display this and while Mike gets credit for noticing I'm sure millions of others didn't even bother to read that. Now what Samsung will do with those permission settings still remains to be seen but I'd say that would be a nice consolation price to a little public embarrassment over a crashed app.

Although one of the main things that was pushed was the exclusivity of the deal and the fact that Samsung users would be the only ones with MCHG until it was released for the rest of the world on July 7th. That too got me thinking about exclusivity when it comes to music in general. We live in a day and age where albums hit the Internet faster than they hit the retail shelves, sometimes days or weeks and in rare cases months before expected release dates. While some artists choose to ignore when their album leaks others take notice, such as when Wayne decided to create a project from the leaked material off the Tha Carter 3 into a EP appropriately entitled The Leak. Some even take to their respective social media accountants to address the leak and ask fans to still support the album if they enjoyed the leak.

Now while record labels and artists still haven't found a solution to this particular problem, digital release is widely seen as the next step in the way music is released. If Samsung and Jay-Z taught us anything with their deal it's that digital release is not the solution that some have been labeling it as and if anything it comes with its own problems. Sure the album didn't technically leak as it reached its intended digital release date but it also didn't go as smooth as I'm sure Samsung thought. Many couldn't access the album and in some cases such as mine, non Samsung owners had the album before actual Samsung owners. Imagine if those same people would've paid $10.99 for that album only to not be able to access it while others who illegally downloaded it listened. While I don't think we'll ever solve the exclusivity issue in music, at least not as long as technology evolves the way it does, I do think that if done right digital release can at least quell the issue of leaks. Exclusivity on the other hand is another issue entirely on its own...and something that even a major company and Jay-Z can't solve.

Honestly Speaking...

Honesty is something of a rarity in music nowadays, hell honesty in general is rare these days. One problem that always seems to occur when discussing honesty is, is it based in truth or hate. An even bigger problem is when it applies to music. I'm sure all face this problem but it is no other genre that shows examples of this better than Hip-Hop/Rap.

We all know the story of 2DBZ Vs. Odd Future, the infamous intro of Bastard and the various other and often hilarious disses. Even though I happen to agree with Tyler and his buddies about the site (disrespect intended), 2DBZ actually did nothing wrong other than not liking Tyler's music. We have all seen hating, for example YouTube/WSHH comments. Stroll on over to a Lil' Wayne or Drake video and see just how many varieties of the word "gay" you can find. Wayne's various baby mamas and countless stories of Drake and his stripper saving ways, would prove other wise though. Those are just a few examples of hating on something with no merit. Sometimes however, actual truth can be confused for blind hate and that is where the biggest problem occurs when it comes to criticism in Hip-Hop/Rap.

As a blogger I can share countless stories of criticism gone wrong, you try to tell an artist "Hey this isn't your best" or "I've heard better from you" and you'll be lucky if you don't end up with that artist cursing you out and calling you a hater or other various inane things. I honestly can say that 8 out of 10 times I approach a artist with something another than positivity, I end up being attacked for no reason. So I tend to follow the old saying of "If you don't have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all" when it comes to dealing with artist.

Although, there are simply times when I cannot hold back my criticism. For example a short time ago, a indie rapper (who shall remain nameless) dropped a song on Twitter. I've heard said rapper a few times here and there and dude honestly can rap. So when I saw he was dropping a song I thought here is the perfect chance to check out some solo material and see what he can do on a full track rather than a guest verse. As I hit play I was immediately thrown-off by the singing vocal that was sampled. It was loud and absolutely awful but the actual verses weren't bad. Again. I didn't have a problem with the artist or his verses, it was the production that devalued the listening experience. 

I was left speechless and expressed so on Twitter i.e. (......) and I could see a few other artists shared my sentiment. After some playful joking around about the track between me and the artists, word got back to the creator of the track and his crew. Immediately feelings were hurt and things quickly got out of hand for no reason, other than me and those artist expressing how we felt about the song. I admit it wasn't the most mature way of handling it on my part but it was a criticism of the track, not of the artist and his skill but he and others couldn't see that. It was just a "Oh, you don't like my song? You a hater" type of vibe. 

To get to my point however, it's examples like that, where a fan/blogger/fellow artist can be sharing their honest opinion about an artist music and it simply becomes "hate". Am I not entitled to my opinion? It wasn't as if we didn't listen to the track, we listened and didn't like it for reasons that are completely justified. It wasn't hate it was truth. Simple as that.

If I was a rapper, I'd want to hear honest opinions about my music. I wouldn't want a bunch of yes men and friends hyping me up and allowing me to make shit music. If you don't like this article let me know. If you have a reasonable reason for disliking it, I won't curse you out or claim you to be a hater. I'll chalk it up to a learning experience of what not to do in the next editorial I write. 

If more artist could apply what fans/critics/bloggers say about their music and actually acknowledge and change or improved based upon those criticisms the Hip-Hop/Rap game would be a much better place. I'm not saying change your sound or compromise your artistic integrity for success or mass approval *cough* Wale *cough* but consider what those people are saying. However, in the end it all comes down to opinion whether it be truth or hate, it's an opinion. The Drop God Dictionary (in stores soon) defines opinion as: a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. So the next time someone doesn't like your music or gives you honest criticism, respect their opinion, whether you agree or disagree because AGAIN it's an opinion. Not a fact. Honestly speaking however, if I say you suck at rapping you probably do...just saying...

Lupe Fiasco: Friend of the People or Enemy of the State?

If you happened to be up late around 2AM and follow Digital Drop on Twitter (do that if you don't...seriously) you saw that I sent out a series of tweets rather a rant about Hip-Hop fans. It was all inspired by a retweet I saw on my TL and basically the person was saying that Lupe has become nothing more than talk. Confused I went to the person's page to see if that clarified their statement. In which they did and as I read the rest of the tweets, it was nothing more than "Lupe has officially lost his mind. He just speaks, with no message. No one can understand him. He has become some shitty revolutionary and F&L 2 is just a bland album because of that." I immediately was confused because I couldn't understand how the person in question didn't see this coming or yet saw it already happen. This than inspired another rant about Lupe's fans.

I'll get back to Lupe in a second but I just want to speak on Hip-Hop fans in general. We're a stubborn group, probably more so than any other genre of music. We've become accustomed to a sense of tradition and if anything breaks that mold we become infuriated. We simply don't know how to move on. We're stuck in our old ways. Everything after Tupac and Biggie HAS to be Tupac or Biggie or else it's trash. Every great rapper no matter what type of Hip-Hop they make gets compared to Tupac and Big. Just as every great NBA player no matter what position he plays gets compared to Michael Jordan. We as fans need to learn that it's okay for rappers to be better or worse, or frankly put not Tupac and Biggie. 

That's not the only way Hip-Hop fans are stubborn. When it comes to albums, I think we all can agree that a artist's first album is their most important. Why? Simply because it's the introduction of their "sound" to the world. So when a artist drops a great or even a classic for their first album we tend to hold them in that mold and refuse anything but that. In 1994, Nas dropped Illmatic a album in which many consider classic and by some the greatest Hip-Hop album of all time. So when it came time to drop his second album Nas had a shitload of hype and expectations to live up to. Fast forward two years, Nas released It Was Written and it was seen as a disappointment compared to his previous work. For years Nas lived in the shadow of his first album. Yeah some of his albums were bad or too commercial but even when dope albums such as Stillmatic and Hip-Hop Is Dead dropped years after Illmatic they still were compared to it. Nas' latest album Life Is Good is finally seen as an acceptable follow up for Nas and it has received much love. Why did it take 18 years for Nas to finally get out of Illmatic's shadow? Answer: the fans.

Another classic example of this is poor rapper turnt rich rapper. Say your favorite rapper drops a true classic about the street life and the struggle of being poor. That album goes on to sell millions and overnight his life changes. A couple years and millions later your favorite rapper drops his next album, the album is full of lifestyle rap about money, expensive cars and fine women. Gone is the rapper who previously spitted about the struggle and selling drugs. That same level of lyrical skill is there but the subject matter is different. Now all of a sudden that rapper is seen as "fake" and a "sell out". As a true fan you're honestly telling me that you would rather hear a rich man rap about being poor and selling drugs when he no longer is/does that? If anything that would make him "fake". Why do we as Hip-Hop fans hold on to preconceived notions of these artist?

We need to open our minds and eyes to these changes. It seems as if everyone is surprised when change comes. We tend to forget that these artist are people too, they go through things in life and experience personal growth and change. When Earl Sweatshirt first dropped EARL the internet was taken aback about how a young 16 year old could rap about killing, rape, 666 etc. One thing we all agreed on for the most part was that it somehow was dope and that's because besides all the shock value rap, Earl was genuinely a dope emcee. After being sent away to Samoa and learning about himself, Earl returned two years later at age 18. It was apparent that Earl did some growing up while away. Even revealing in interviews that he no longer can listen to his debut EARL and sometime later tweeting that he won't rap about rape anymore. Just a few minutes after that tweet Earl retweeted a "fan" who said "Stop being a pussy and start rapping about raping bitches you faggot". Why as a fan would you want your favorite artist to rap about something he no longer wanted to rap about? That would mean the passion isn't there for it any longer. Just another example of us Hip-Hop fans and our inability to let the past go.

To finally get back to Lupe and end this rant editorial (which has become a bit longer than I wanted) no artist is more of a perfect example of Hip-Hop fans gone wrong. Lupe has all three of the elements I previously spoke on, the classic album, change of subject matter and personal growth and change. In 2006, Lupe Fiasco released his debut album Food & Liquor to global acclaim, he had a Jay-Z co-sign and even won a Grammy that year for his single "Daydreamin". His 2008 sophomore album The Cool was again highly praised and even spawned a hit single in "Superstar". That's exactly what Lupe became a superstar, a conscious rapper with a little radio appeal who was here to revive Hip-Hop after it was declared dead by Nas. That is until Lasers happened.

Lasers was seen as a huge disappointment and Lupe was labeled a sell out, the rapper who vowed never to "Dumb It Down" did. What us as fans forget to realize is that Lupe HAD to make Lasers for Atlantic Records, if not there would be no more Lupe albums. Lupe even openly discussed his dislike for the album and unlike his previous two albums it wasn't tagged as Lupe Fiasco's it was simply Lasers. The most important thing we as fans really seem to forget is that we asked for Lasers, protested for it. Myself included and thousands others signed our names on the online petition to get the album released. We as fans WANTED Lasers. Personally I didn't expect F&L or The Cool Lupe, I was just excited for a new Lupe Fiasco album. The only thing Lasers is guilty of is not being a "true" Lupe Fiasco album. You give that album to a artist such as B.o.B. and it's a career best. It still sold well, had multiple charting singles, it received Grammy nominations including Best Rap Album, a category which featured Watch The Throne and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This all constitutes as a more than successful album but ask any Lupe fan what is Lupe's worst album and they'll answer Lasers. How could an album with so much going for it receive so much hate? Again. The fans. We just couldn't let go of F&L and The Cool, we couldn't understand his label situation and didn't realize that we asked for the album in the first place. 

Hip-Hop fans, no Lupe's fans are his own worst enemy. We won't let him get pass his first two albums, we refuse to listen to his third and when he finally delivers what we want F&L 2 we criticize it. From the day Lupe called "Obama the biggest terrorist" I realized that the old Lu was gone. Something happened in Lupe's life to where his views became radically different from the norm and he wanted to use his music as a lane to express himself. This is why when I heard F&L 2: The Great AMERICAN Rap Album, I already knew what to expect. 

It was going to be Lupe expressing his views on America, and when he released his album cover featuring nothing but black I knew he was trying to make a statement with the album. From the interviews I saw he continuously stated that "This is the music I would want to listen to as a fan, I made this mainly for myself" "The album discusses my views on American culture, some of it's biased some not" and "People aren't gonna like it, I already know". Again Lupe gave us as fans signs and warnings that this wasn't F&L or The Cool, he even admitted that using Food & Liquor was a marketing ploy. He knew us as fans would instantly buy and compare it to the first one, so why not label it as such. Knowledge of all of these things is what lead me to being utterly confused by the tweets I saw last night. How could someone who calls themselves a Lupe fan be so surprised when it came to the actual content of the album? Did they not have access to the internet, watch the interviews or even listen to the singles? Did they not see Lupe expressing his right not to vote on Twitter and the various arguments over American politics and society? No it's none of these, they simply where just being a Hip-Hop fan. Stuck in the past, refusing to let go and move on and accept that just like we as fans do artist change. So I guess the person was only guilty of being a fan, just like me and just like you reading this article. Funny huh?