Usually the much overused statement of moving forward after a tragedy takes our minds to a better place, thus using time to tuck whatever event it was further into the back of the mind. But in this case, and at this time, we have great reason to stop and pause at what is swirling around us in the name of rap music and hip hop right now, as we head into 2003.

With Eminem's 8 Mile setting all types of attendance records for a hip hop movie, around the same time of JAMMASTER JAY'S murder, the culture of hip hop has reached a crossroads that resembles a crossed skull with bones. I looked around and peeped my career from 1987-2002, and what I saw was a bookend of two significant DJ killings with a whole lotta death, murder and misinterpretation in between. My first year it was the Bronx murder of BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTION'S SCOTT LAROCK, all the way up to JAY two weeks ago. The commonality in these cases was that the murderers were not apprehended. This climate as I mentioned in past articles could be the glaring signs of modern day good ol amerikkkan COINTELPRO. The problem is that the hip hop nation continues to be in denial thus refuses to even lift a mirror to examine the facts.

ELVISIFICATION anybody? EMINEM is the new ELVIS but before you go running off to the headline races, peep it. In his movie, which is literally ROCKY 6, what is shown is his hard working climb to the top. I've said for years now that EMINEM was gonna win out with the skill of wit, tongue and vocabulary as well as being a white man in amerikkka. Many successful rappers other than the JAY Zs and NASIRs have shunned this basic artillery. Today we literally have rappers who simply cannot speak, much less have a limited vocabulary of 50-100 words. In the past we accepted this as regional slang and accent, whereas a rapper chose to not use the king's English, as opposed to not knowing it entirely. Right now some cats have rejected the notion of using wit and words which in 'rap' certainly leads to an oxymoron. At the recent press conference for the 'fundraiser' for JMJ DEF JAM's FOXY BROWN was ushered up to speak on behalf of the youth, and then tells the press she's not good at speaking. ???? I was wondering the reason that we were seeing a lot of FOXY BROWN, again the air stunk with yet another brewing marketing campaign at a most inappropriate time. With this in mind EMINEM has gained the throne of hip hop consciousness if you can call it that, by default. The hip hop nation slides into settling for 'dumbassification' while the opinion, wit, and words come from a white kid from the suburbs of DETROIT. Nothing wrong with EM being brilliant, the kid is like a rap ROY JONES Jr. Did yall hear the BENZINO answer? It's just that his black peers have settled for not working as hard on the elements or skills of rap and hip hop, choosing to dwell on dumbsh*t. This is ELVISIFICATION in a different manner than what happened with rock and roll. Rhythm and blues pros would still understand the obligation of great artistry to the roots of the matter. Here in rap the tenants treat the 'condo like the projects'. Giving it away in the sloppy process of it all.

IN RAP THE TENANTS TREAT THE 'CONDO LIKE THE PROJECTS'.

Yes, I repeat in rap the tenants treat the 'condo like the projects'. Project and ghetto mentality has a badge with a price tag attached to it. This is different than any other time before, whereas through modern technology, and the mirror of culture black folks have accepted 'masslavementality'. A syndrome which results in an importance of a people, place, or thing being measured by its quantity as opposed to its quality. The numbers sold in a capitalistic society is its paramount rule. When this philosophy reaches the measurement of people, it reflects the soul of a corporation, which in essence is a living machine. Nigga-izm is booming in amerikkka to the point that if STEPIN FETCHIT was living today he'd be a well praised, super promoted billionaire. The sad fact is that because of our disconnect with our history, both in real terms and in culture, 98% of cats wouldn't know who the hell I'm talking about. Yes... the numbers game has festered this ignorance by any means necessary in the rap game.

THE GAME OF MONEY In the numbers game, the game of money has eclipsed the rap game, the music game, the film and TV game and even the games in sports. Every time you open a sports page it's more about how someone is getting paid as opposed to how well they've played. It's the same in the business of the arts but is magnified in hip hop to an unreality. With the prevelance of this hustler attitude it's no surprise that the music game has allowed 'a criminal element' to participate in the hip hop business. Perhaps these execs were skurred or punked into doing business of the culture over a shady card table like that.

Again at the JMJ 'fundraiser' I tried not to be inappropriate in front of JAY's wife who was still in shock from it all. The fundraiser was supposed to raise money for JAY'S mortgage for his $250,000.00 home in QUEENS and to settle with the feds a combined tax figure of about $230,000. The amerikkkan feds threatened to seize JAY'S estate. This was the reason for the 'fundraiser'! Many peeps at the conference thought that it was to raise funds for whoever would give info on the killer. The previous figure was a paltry award of $10,000. No one would give their life finger pointing a killer for that amount. You can spend that on a limited SEAN JOHN wardrobe alone.

Really when you have an inner circle of SIMMONS, COHEN, RUN, DMC and JMJ, you would expect that all of the individuals involved would be taken care of for life and not be in financial urgency. Not when the individuals who sold DEF JAM, a label that JMJ and RUN-DMC endorsed and built, market and brag to the world HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MADE. HOW THEY EACH GOT at least $50 MILLION SITTIN IN THE BANK FROM IT, AND GOT ADJACENT COMPANIES WORTH $250 MILLION, AND ARE BREAKING OFF CATS MULTI MILLIONS IN NEW BIDDING WAR DEALS. No, a 'fundraiser' is unacceptable when all it takes is two so called men walking into a room and coming out with a check. (Which apparently ended up happening after all, and this is a good thing. I applaud them for doing the right thing in this matter for JMJ it's just the right thing to do, nuff said.)

EVERYBODY DIES BROKE So in the super process of this paper chase, whether its LIONEL HAMPTON or JMJ, certain media types, as well as the public, are alarmed with the financial status revealed in the press. This has also sent a signal to the artistic community of 'getting paid by whatever means necessary'. Even if it means to sacrifice your 'souls'. Yes on paper there's more money in the so-called black community, thanks to the illusion of a working credit system, but how much is it galvanizing society from a control aspect? Little and none. Thus the soul of the black community has been sold and traded like MANHATTAN ISLAND for the lure of mere trinkets. Today artists refuse to die broke, but are dying young in the process. Since you cannot take anything to the mystery of the hereafterS everybody really dies broke. Peeps are leaving their bills and estates for their families to squander amidst the chaos. And we defend it as long as it makes money, because it's the god of amerikkka. It reminds me of the BIGGIE disclaimer in the hit JUICY where he was only hustling drugs so that his daughter could eat. Uh, yeah so she could grow up in a climate well fed to be victimized ultimately by cats who do the same thing??? Still, I've been saying for years that this sickness is traceable.

TRACING THE BREAD CRUMBS TO THE BIG BAD WOLF; THE WHITE MALE EXEC HIRES THE NEGRO TO CREATE, PROMOTE, FINANCE, AND PROTECT NIGGAISM.

I'm so tired of cats who have opinions on proven scientific studies that are based on little data, research, readings, or facts. The studies of new technologies using images were predicted when I was studying it in college 20 years ago. Maybe that's the damn problem. I'm clear enough to know its documented science, and have read NOAM CHOMSKY, MARSHALL McCLUHAN, subliminal advertising effects, etc. Now, through the super-media uses of music, film and high tech gadgets it is possible to blur the lines between fantasy and reality. I wrote DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE on this premise. Challenging information. But the problem comes from peeps who have no inkling, but still have the turd of an opinion passing along. Why should I even entertain a challenging theory from some music cat who barely knows the business that they're in?

Again, at the 'fundraiser' I challenged all of us in hip hop to take it back by the horns as men and women, look at ourselves in the mirror and hope to balance the stereotypical imagery that can fester and cultivate the climate. Yes, I connected hip hop's imagery to contributing to the 'thug climate' that eventually again claimed one of ours. Immediately I was sort of wisked away. A disclaimer was ushered after me about how hip hop is not connected to the violence. At all. This is bullsh*t.

When I was a kid WATCHING a great football game would send us in the streets afterwards trying to replay what we just saw. BRUCE LEE movies had us kids kicking coke machines in the theater afterwards. A love song made you call your girl. Now how the hell can a negative image NOT do the same, especially when that adult stereotype looks so familiar? Yes, amerikkka loves the 'NIGGRO' niggers created from hired negroes and my rebellious self is clear on tracing these crumbs to the big, bad, wolves who duck the accountability of all of this. The JIMMY IOVINES, TED FIELDS, TOMMY MOTTOLAS, DOUG MORRISSES. Big head honcho white men who hire negroes to cultivate the climate of 'niggativity'.

But why should these white men be accountable for upholding this imbalance projected to where black people live? The negroes they hire don't live in the hood either. JMJ was killed in the hood, where some of them used to live. The press conference during the 'fundraiser' was soooo detatched from the understandings of today's youth and the neighborhoods they struggle in. What we have is a host of 25-40 year old fraud negroes polishing up and packaging 'ghetto fabulous mentality and lifestyle' for the masses, while buckdancing weak ass excuses when something goes terribly wrong. As in this case. I say we the community start identifying these 'culture bandits'.

TURN ON THE LIGHTS AND CALL THE LAW All of this still 'keep it real' talk is a bs excuse. In sports old, current and next come together in all star weekends and Hall of Fame celebrations. Shit, even in other forms of entertainment they get together on joyous notes and occasions. In the rap world we get together at the yearly funeral, not from natural causes but murder is the case. Ball players come from the same environment, but thanks to coaches, their agents, rules and regulations and officials a certain LAW keeps them all in check, for the sake of the preservation of the game. In hip hop it's the wil, wil westS logic is not common . Instead, its comparable to people racing to a table gobbling food with their bare unwashed hands.

SO, WHEN I SPOKE AT MY LECTURE AT THE PLANET HIP HOP SEMINAR IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY the point was simple and clear. It takes those in the rapgame to protect and preserve the integrity of the art above and beyond the call of duty at all costs. Ernie Paniciolli, Afrika Bambaataa and Kevin Powell brought it with an informative lecture and panel discussions. It was not just laced with many speakers and domestic and international hip hop artists, but well attended at the NJPAC New Jersey Performing Arts Center. A beautiful occasion also spearheaded by April Silver a sister who's a mover and shaker in raptivist activity for the hood. Of course the NY POST was there and they just misquoted me terribly in printing that I said JAY-Z and Ja-Rule were the cats I was calling gangsters. This is inaccurate. When I lecture I name a bunch of names but attach them to their respective issues. Of course the press hears the crowd go nuts and immediately match them with the only names they recognize. Still it was fire. But while I got you here...

First of all, when I speak I don't MINCE my words. I'm sharp and clear and I DON'T stutter. I made NO mention at all about JAY-Z BEING A GANGSTER. He's the best, smartest and most skilled... love him for that. BUT, if I made any mention at all it was about him using his power to the best advantage for the people. I was CLEAR about that... and if it's a challenge... so be it.

NUMBER TWO, I made NO mention of JA RULE in the first person, instead I blasted how silly BET looked in dedicating the day to JMJ and then showing the number 6 video where JA RULE was doing his 'murdah' thing in front of a MURDER INC sign. Not his fault. He had nothing to do with that. Inappropriate and stupid on BETs part.

NUMBER THREE, If I said anything it was about the transformation of IRV GOTTI from a nice college cat into 'the skrewface exec'. He's too smart for posing and promoting that like its natural. If I said anything about DEF JAM it was to BE in charge, put DMX and JA to 'BOX' IN Madison Square Garden like MEN and raise money for the youth, or some real shit instead of hiring more security at DEF JAM.

NUMBER FOUR, I did blast the record biz for ALLOWING the criminal element into the GAME. THE GAME OF MONEY eclipsing the game of rap... but they never mentioned the DAVISES, IOVINES, AND OTHER white execs I scathed. Those are examples who I said don't know a bank note from a musical note. I DIDN'T name music cats like JAY-Z or JA-RULE who need to stick to music and great rhymes as well as entertaining young kids watching them and buying their music.

Devils advocate synopsis.... I SAID DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE 14 YEARS AGO... BUT STILL THE NEW YORK POST IS GONNA BE THE POST who I've blasted before. STILL.... if somebody did say those things and the POST COVERED IT LIKE THEY DID.... what defense does the rap world have????????

OPERATION TAXIDRIVER OK my resolution is to keep working on the positive and synergize the efforts of cats who wanna say and do the right thing. THAT'S REAL. I'm not paying attention to suburban murder music. It gets real wack when these kids can't even draw references to the names they spit. FRANK NITTI wouldn't give a black cat a piece of a minute. So Terrordomes in 2003 are gonna accent upon the good.

So, soon peep the RED ALERT BDAY PARTY, my visits to two schools, the VH1 JMJ RUN-DMC tribute, F.A.M. photo session. OPERATION TAXIDRIVER with BOB LAW and the gathering of organizations across the land. What I think about the JA RULE - B BROWN video, my two day spin in LONDON, the ant gang rally in L.I. and the writing gigs as well as the re-tooling of www.rapstation.com which has merged with a few areas.

My anger is focused on taking our culture back and at least watering the seeds with the nutrients rather than insanity. Out.

mistachuck@rapstati on.com