Ghostface Speaks on Grown Man Sh*t vs. the People’s Choice
Picked up Ghostface’s latest yesterday; he’s one of the few artists I can by an album from, off the shelf, without hearing a single song beforehand. I know it’s guaranteed flames.
Outside the store’s entrance there was a Jay-Z American Gangster banner stretched across the doorway.. “a conceptual collection of songs” I have to laugh every time I see that. Don’t get it twisted, the album is fire: lyrically, musically, one of the best albums out right now- and much better/easier to listen to than Kingdom Come.
But this whole concept thing is really a disclaimer he has to use as an excuse to take a step back from the proudly 30+ Shawn Carter that takes million dollar vacations overseas, a little helicopter ride to Martha’s Vineyard for a meeting with Bill Gates, partial owner of a basketball team, slash etc. etc. - you know his new life. Calling American Gangster a concept album allowed him to talk about selling drugs and hustling, while simultaneously satisfying those that want to hear the old Jay-Z and avoiding frowns from his new associates. You like that, Jay? He claims not to have many real friends anymore, just associates. Not sure if he used that word, but he can have it for freebies. It’s in the dictionary. 😉
In any case, Ghostface is in The Village Voice this week, talking about “The Inescapable Allure of Grown-Man Shit.” The slamming Jay-Z got over Kingdom Come‘s mature sound came up in the conversation. Ghostface said people don’t want rappers to grow up..
“The people want you to stay a certain way for the rest of your life. People don’t want change, man. But you’re becoming a grown man. You can’t be 45 years old talking about how many bricks, how many kilos you turned over, how many you sold, at 45. People have to start talkin’ grown-man shit. I respected Jay-Z on that shit, you know what I mean?”
The people he’s speaking of don’t get this far in the story, so let’s preach to the choir.
“You gotta start talkin’ about more adult things. You talkin’ about kilos all day, it’s like, ‘C’mon, man.’ I gotta start talkin’ about - help savin’ the babies, man. And getting these women to be a real mother to they child, and getting these guys to start fuckin’ lovin’, respectin’ my women. You gotta grow - development. And your fans’ll get mad at you and shit, but they gotta understand too, man. That this is your life, man; this ain’t they life. I done gave you what I could give you when we was all livin’ in that world, but we ain’t doin’ that no more.”
☼ What's Your Opinion? ☼
this is probably one of the best statements to come from the rap game this year…it definitely is time for artists to grow up and stop talkin about the usual…
but at the same time i think the best way to do that is not to rely so much on what they think the record industry is telling us the people want. of course that would mean millions of dollars would stop flowing so easily toward these artists, but it seems like everyone is so afraid to turn from the norm…they can’t even imagine what it would be like in the aftermath….
trust me the world would not stop turning because of conscious rap.
A-NAT, GREAT POINTS THE ONLY THING IS THAT WE CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. THE WORLD WOULD NOT END BUT THEY COULD LOSE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. SO THEY HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE, BE GANGSTER OR LOSE THE MONEY. UNFORTUNATELY EVERYONE CAN’T BE LL COOL J OR WILL SMITH. A LOT OF THEM ARE STUCK BEING GANGSTER. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THAT THESE ARE RAP SONGS NOT A WAY OF LIFE. THAT FALLS ON THE PARENTS.
I’m not speaking to Ghostface until I get an apology for “Fish Scale.”
But good points made in this article…
I agree with A-nat. But I’m convinced that most of these rappers are just as immature and juvenile as the music that they’re putting out. And at the end of the day most of them really don’t care about anyone but themselves.
Is the picture with the female in the nurses outfit degrading?
hell naw, she ok with it so its cool
If you had/have a daughter could that be her in that picture if she was OK with it?