Worst of the Worst in 2006: Rap Beef

I’m done with beef. Well, not done, but I’m seriously sick of it. Hip-Hop leaves me few chances to avoid it these days, but I want to ignore this bovine bullshit that’s being masked as music.

The ridiculous amount of rap beef in 2006 led to this revelation. Though it’s become standard for somebody -- be it Hip-Hop legend or rap flavor of the month -- to promote their feud with another MC, this year saw a lot of conflict. It even spread over to the world of R&B. Hell, even The Donald and Rosie O’ Donnell have gotten in on the action.

Ras Kass sparked my moment of clarity days after his altercation with the Game. I was scheduled to interview him and in typical rap fashion, Razzy flaked on me. Waiting by the phone all day when I could have gone out and taken care of other things was not cool, but a few beers and some great college football later on that day kept me from getting too angry.

As I motioned to throw away the questions I prepared the same way Ras Kass threw out his consideration for my time, I noticed something. On that soon-to-be wilted sheet of paper was a series of questions that struck me:
What do you expect to accomplish from all this?
Don’t you think it’s all a bit pointless?
Does Hip-Hop really need more MC’s threatening each other from the comfort of a plush Southern California recording studio?

I’m glad I never got the chance to ask those questions because Ras Kass’s answers would have been just as senseless as the situation he was in. And somewhere in America (maybe in the Change of Heartland), Game would be thinking of new metaphors and analogies to give to reporters when they asked about his much more publicized fued with 50 Cent. Perhaps he’d be concocting explanations for his past run-ins with Joe Buddens, Yukmouth, Memphis Bleek, Jay-Z and the 1981 starting defensive line of the Oakland Raiders.

I’ve always thought that the animosity permeating in the Hip-Hop industry was silly, but this year was the first time that I’ve felt like a contributor to it. I’m the reason that rappers get into altercations with each other, blow things out of proportion and then act like upset sixth graders. They do it because I -- a journalist, Hip-Hop fan and consumer -- allow them to. I display interest in their quarrels and fan the flames because it sells a few more magazines and sparks debate at the barbershop. I allow them to be ignorant towards each other because nothing is more entertaining the a scathing diss track. I’m the reason for beef.

The last five or six years have featured countless meaningless feuds. But 2006 was so ridiculous that BET made an entire show dedicated to rappers arguing with each other and even people outside the realm of Hip-Hop. When I see rappers making diss tracks directed at Oprah, I start thinking maybe it's time let my ears and eyes go vegan.

But you know what really made me feel good about ’06? Nas squashing beef with Cormega. It was monumental to some when he made nice with Jay-Z, but this is much bigger to me on a personal level. I'd like to see the real Firm reconnect and make up for that album released after 'Mega left the group. It's far too early to tell if that will happen, but seeing two of my favorite MC's resolve their petty bickering makes me hope that more MC’s will get the message and focus on making good music again.