With names like Syrup, Urple and Skittles, how is it not supposed to appeal to kids?

No one is saying it so I’m just going to go out and say it.  Maybe I’m oldschool but what ever happened to good old natural weed?

Pimp C, Big Moe, and DJ Screw are just a few rappers that died foolishly, yes I said it, foolishly. If I were to start a rapper death pool right now…Lil’ Wayne would be a safe bet, followed by Young Buck and [insert Southern rapper here]. Since it broke as news some months back that Lil’ Wayne is very obviously addicted to codeine enhanced prescription cough syrup (as well as perhaps other drugs, considering his camp has been found with cocaine, etc.) Wayne has been defensive, cocky and unappologetic at the accusations.

Now I’m not saying he needs to appologize to anyone…but he has admitted himself that perhaps the reason he’s so hard-headed is because he’s surrounded by Yes-men due to his enormous success in the music industry…and so “it’s gonna be hard to tell me I’m slippin’”, he admits.

As of 2004, 8.3% of Texas teens reported using cough syrup to get high. I can only imagine that the number has grown tremendously in recent years with the increased media attention this trend has gotten.

I remember once taking half a bottle of NyQuil when I was 15 because I was extremely sick. The result was I started to see little stars and felt mad sleepy…I had an awesome night’s rest and my cough all but dissappeared but I can only imagine the toll that continuous use would take on my body…oh that’s right…it would kill me!

Now the active ingredient in NyQuil is Dextromethorphan or DXM…but it also has other active ingredients.  Generally speaking people make “syrup” by mixing a juice or soda with cough syrups containing DXM (and only DXM) or with prescription cough syrups containing Codeine and Promethazine.

Serious Sidenote: If you decide to get high never ever use products that have active ingredients other than DXM (even apparently harmless ones such as Acetaminophen) as high doses of these other ingredients can and will lead to severe heart problems and irreversible liver damage.  As a matter of fact high doses of DXM can also kill you.

A recent VIBE Magazine feature article touches on the topic of Syrup and asks Lil’ Wayne about his “addiction”.  He admitted he went to see a doctor because he couldn’t stop using it himself and the doctor ended up giving him pills that would help with withdrawal symptoms…pills Lil’ Wayne later threw away.  Lil’ Wayne’s solution?  He now let’s his entourage pour his syrup for him (so he doesn’t overdo it).  It’s good to know he’s got supportive friends. 

In the article Wayne goes on to talk like he has a deathwish, saying things like, “I wanna be a Bob Marley.  I wanna be a Tupac - their lives mean so much when they gone.  Fuck right here.  I wanna mean so much after I’m gone.” 

When Pimp C was found dead with a bottle of prescription cough syrup on the counter next to his bed it was reported that he actually had a prescription for the syrup and did not get it on the black market as many others do. Pimp C was obviously using syrup for years.  What I want to know is who the fuck is his doctor and why the Hell is he still practicing medicine?  As for Wayne and his delusions of martyrdom…ain’t shit glamorous about dying with Robitussin coming out your nose.

With all that said…who ever died from weed?  I mean…Ah fuck it, excuse me while I pour this purple drank.

I thought all 12 year-olds loved Soulja Boy

It was reported yesterday that a 12 year-old boy from Illinois was arrested for throwing a rock through the windshield of Soulja Boy’s tour bus.

When asked by police why he did it the boy replied, “I hate Soulja Boy”.

I, for one, find this hilarious!…I thought that 12 year-olds were Soulja Boy’s biggest fans…guess not. I mean…that hate must’ve been held deep in that kid’s soul….haha!

…and how would you feel if you were Soulja Boy and a 12 year-old couldn’t even stand you??  Wooow.

How were Puffy (Diddy) and Biggie not aware of Tupac’s ‘94 shooting?

I must admit to being a big Pac fan before I say this, but isn’t it obvious to everyone that Puffy (Diddy) was clearly aware of the 2pac assault back in ‘94 (at the first floor of his studio)?

I mean like they say, if you’re so big in your city (Puffy and Biggie) stuff like that would not go down inside your studio building without you at least being aware of it (I’m not even saying that they put the request in, necessarily).

In the latest Chuck Phillips article in the L.A. Times things get even deeper.

Apparently a mysterious mob-related cat named James Sabatino was behind a lot of extortion scams in NY during this time…eventhough, get this, he was only 18 or so at the time. Jimmy “Henchman” and Randy “Stretch” Walker were also discovered to likely have been aware of the setup that left Tupac shot 5 times in ‘94, one day before he was due for sentencing in his sexual assault case.

Chuck Phillips says his research is corroborated by official FBI documents as well as interviews with actual participants involved in the assault and shooting of Tupac. One guy even offered to sell Phillips 2pac’s stolen medallion!

The story suggests that Puffy and Biggie were slighted by Tupac when he rejected an offer by Puffy to sign him to Bad Boy. This was all before Tupac signed with Death Row Records less than a year later.

Because of Tupac’s “disrespect” there somehow apparently developed a conspiracy to rob Shakur and teach him some “discipline”. Puffy and Biggie were made well aware of this and eventhough Biggie was helped largely by Tupac in his early career they in some ways seemingly “allowed” the plot…no evidence suggests that they knew he would be shot, however. 

It has also been reported that, though Tupac was correct about most of the people he accused of involvement (Haitian Jack, Randy “Stretch” Walker, etc…) he was not correct about “King Tut’s” involvement (now dead) as everyone interviewed independently excluded his participation.

Of course, the day of the shooting it is reported that Tupac reached for the two guns he had strapped to his back but instead of holding off the attackers for a few seconds while Tupac shot them (as he had done those 2 crooked cops before), his “friend” Randy “Stretch” Walker quickly got on the floor and spread them…leaving the 4 assailants to wrestle with Tupac causing him to shoot himself once and get shot 4 other times before they took some of his jewelery. Tupac reported then taking the elevator up to Puffy’s studio and described Puffy and Biggie looking at him “like a ghost” when he first saw him.  Tupac then proceeded to sit on a couch and roll a joint while a music executive in the building called 911.

I know some people are still skeptical to this story given his previously controversial story a few years ago about Biggie being being extorted into financing Tupac’s murder. In my country (Peru) they have a saying, “behind every large fortune lies a small crime.” I think there’s more than a small crime lying behind Diddy’s wealth.

This story seems to get deeper and deeper every year.  Have any of you read Chuck Phillips’ L.A. Times article yet? Any thoughts?

Is Missy Elliot Relevant?

I’m tired of the overuse of the word “relevant” among hip-hop heads lately.  It seems like the biggest diss cats can come up with now about rappers they dislike is…”they’re not relevant”.  What is that supposed to mean exactly?  That they haven’t kept up with the latest trends? That they’re not shuckin’ and jivin’ on TV?

Nevertheless, I get it.  Some people like LL Cool J just aren’t relevant anymore and neither is Coolio…though they have both made serious contributions to hip-hop (yes I said Coolio…I still listen to “Geto Highlites”).

Anyway this brings me to the subject of Missy Elliot.  I can’t say that I’ve ever been impressed with her lyrics but her flow has worked in the past and Timbaland consistently held it down. Maybe it was around the time she started referring to herself as “slim in the waist” that I did a double-take.

My question is:  Is her teenie-bopper appeal played out?  What the hell is she actually talking about in her new single Ching a ling? Do lyrics even matter anymore? 

I’m all for catering to your audience but what happened to maintaining some integrity? I clearly see the lack of substance in hip-hop nowadays to be a reflection of corporate manipulation and artists being more and more greedy and jaded.  But is Missy Elliot still hot?  When I go to the club…I gotta say…I’ve gotten busy to some Missy and might even do so this weekend.  What do you all think?  Is Missy Elliot irrelevant or still hot?

TSOHH blog officially launches…

Eventhought the first blog post was posted last month…the TSOHH blog was officially linked to thestateofhiphop.com a couple of days ago and it’s here to stay.

Here’s where I’ll be commenting on the news of the week and hope to get all of our visitors’ comments on them as well.  You’ll also find a lot of random thoughts on the latest events in hip hop and the music world as a whole.

Thanks to all of our visitors new and old and we hope this new stage in the life of TSOHH keeps us moving in the direction that we’ve been steadily headed in since our launch.  We’re up to about 600 visitors a day…There’s going to be a lot of new updates in the coming weeks so I hope to hear from you all soon.

The Big Bang!

What’s up fellow hip hop heads…for those that don’t know me this is Carlos from TheStateofHipHop.com and this is TSOHH’s first official blog post!  I’m amped up about 2008 because the site is going through some exciting changes and is going to be partnering up with my man J. River on a lot of new projects to help out aspiring MC’s and producers.

I’m also going to get a couple of new artist interviews up soon as well as release a couple of audio tracks myself just to shake things up a bit and bring something new to the fans of the site. 

As you may have noticed we just added 100 lyrics to the rap lyrics section and there’s a lot more on the way.  Be sure to subscribe the this blog and leave your comments.  I look forward to hearing from everyone who’s been supporting the site for the past 3 years! (time flies…)

Peace out for now all…I gotta catch American Idol with the misses.