In this post, Kaycee Ichie Oguejiofor wants to see Nigerian hip-hop acts not suck up to anyone but be bold in their music.
‘Yo L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that…’ 14 years ago, this line sparked arguably the longest beef in hip-hop history.
In more recent times, 50 Cent and The Game‘s beef in 2005 was as a result of 50 Cent not being cool with Dre and his long time partner Jimmy Lovine‘s decision to push back 50 Cent’s The Massacre album to accommodate The Game’s The Documentary.
They had a fallout, and of course, some of us might not understand what it meant when 50 Cent refused to sit side by side in The Game’s ‘Hate it or love it’ video. Instead he sat at the back and was chauffeured by The Game.
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In Nigeria, our very own Ruggedman ascended the throne by making a major power move, riding on the success of Eedris Abdulkareem and the entire Kennis Music.
Marketing 101, always aim to promote yourself on the airtime of your competitor(s) especially when you are the ‘underdog’.
Controversy, healthy competition, beef, power and the ability to control people or things have always been key factors in hip-hop. Too many good hip-hop artistes in Nigeria will never reach the pinnacle because they are afraid.
Yes! I understand that sometimes by association you can climb the pinnacle, but if there is any lesson to learn from the last presidential election in America, Donald Trump did not suck up to no one. He knew what he wanted – POWER! He wasn’t weak – he called out people, bruised egos, lost a few battles, eventually he got what he wanted – POWER. Thereafter he is already mending the bridges.
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Over the last one year I was expecting to see people pull a Kendrick Lamar or Canibus. I expect rappers like CDQ, Zoro Swag, Ycee, a few other rappers to cause a stir and wrestle for power. But no, Zoro sucks up to Phyno, and he has accepted his second position.
Hip-hop is not just about breaking bread. Your bragging right and respect are equally important.
I’m truly afraid for this generation of MCs because if care is not taken, the only thing we will see is a bunch of kids with sagged pants and skinny jeans, who will make us wish we could go back to the ’90s when hip-hop was for the brave.
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