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It's on (Hua Hsu) 187 Slate Um Killa · by Rafi Kam
You’re a screen nerd, you don’t know beef from bean curd
This morning I was checking my RSS feeds and came across this Slate article plus slideshow by Hua Hsu about How YouTube is ruining the hip-hop beef.
I used to respect the work of “Bloodshed Hua”. For instance, just two days ago on the 4th of July I linked to his blog post where he had a frame from the paddling scene in Dazed and Confused. See it says “Happy Birthday America” in the photo? Did you remember that it said that on the sign during that scene? Of course you didn’t, you’re a normal fucking person like me. But Hua Hsu knew that shit so when July 4th came around he had the perfect clever photo to use. This guy is on some next level background-scanning, eagle-eye for irony, posting photos on his blog like Sasha Frere-Jones for you to mentally write the post around. These are paid writers and there’s no such thing as a freestyle. Shit I was glad to have H.H. as part of my link squad.
You used to be my homey, used to be my ace… Now I’m gonna slap the taste out yo mouth.
Where’s the Beef?
It’s on YouTube. Why that’s a problem for hip-hop.
By Hua Hsu
Posted Friday, July 6, 2007, at 7:28 AM ET
“Beefs have always brought out the best in rappers.”
Bullshit. Many great rappers weren’t cut out for beef and many beefs were snoozefests.
No need to mention that sometimes beef has also brought out the blood, guts and brain tissue in rappers! There’s a plus about YouTube beef right there.
“In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One, when his withering attacks on MC Shan effectively ended his rival’s career. The following year, a young LL Cool J established his legend by felling old-school pioneer Kool Moe Dee.”
Note that the heroes of both of these legendary beefs were hungry teenagers. See item #7 on another article I came across today from Psychology Today. Men lose their competitive drive and genius as they get older and more established. Cam’ron vs 50 cent? As exciting as watching cell phone brands battle.
“And in 2002, a beef reignited the careers of two giants, as Jay-Z and Nas clashed for the title of King of New York.”
Jay-Z’s career was actually going quite strongly even before the beef with Nas. As for my last point, yeah these two weren’t teenagers but they were still much sharper than they are five years on now that they have both settled down. You couldn’t see that battle out of them today now that they’ve been sated by Beyonce and Kelis. Score one for Psychology Today.
“For most of rap’s history, one-upmanship has been hip-hop’s engine of change. Recently, however, beefs have lost some of their creative spark, as battles have migrated from albums and mix tapes to YouTube.”
PM Dawn doesn’t seem to mind this paradigm shift.
“Today, a rapper with wounded pride is more likely to cut a made-for-YouTube video than to bother penning a vicious rhyme.”
Aha, your writer bias shows! What makes you think “penning a vicious rhyme” is such a serious time-consuming craft. It was nothing for KRS to write those rhymes back in the day. Do you really think he had to spend more than a few hours on either song? Take it from someone who has repeatedly spent multiple days on YouTube video shoots just to wait for the editing, your whole premise is fucked up.
You don’t think NYOIL’s YouTube showpiece You Should All Get Lynched was a vicious rhyme? Note, another hungry MC.
“The result: videos with laughably bad production values showcasing sloppy dis tracks (or worse, no track at all). Why waste time writing music—the vocation of a musician, in theory—when you can upload a rant? YouTube has done wonders for spreading viral hip-hop dances like the Aunt Jackie and the Chicken Noodle Soup. But it’s spoiling the beef.”
What’s a matter with Hsu? You don’t know that Aunt Jackie is the new YouTube beef? Ask Frere-Jones, he don’t want it with YouTube. No!
“Click here for a video slide show on how YouTube is ruining the hip-hop beef.”
Click here for a slideshow in which Hua Hsu blames YouTube for Timbaland and Scott Storch not rhyming like KRS-1.
“back to top”
Wait, that was the whole article? And you’re complaining about half-assed YouTube videos?
Get the fuck outta here, fucking corn!
Plus you roll with a bunch of haters.
Comments for "It's on (Hua Hsu) 187 Slate Um Killa"
LL Cool J “felled” Kool Moe Dee? And it happened in 1987? Really?
— El Keter Jul 6, 04:11 PM
haha lovin’ it. too true on too many levels. and the cover is classic.
— khal Jul 6, 04:15 PM
it’s a bunch of “freaking retards” is what it is.
— train Jul 6, 04:27 PM
Where’s the Beef?
— enigmatik Jul 6, 07:28 PM
Another “Classic Rafi Ethering”
— Robbie Jul 7, 01:44 AM
JUS ALLAH WEARS FRED PERRY SHIRTS AND USES TAG BODY SPRAY
— NOD-ONE Jul 7, 03:11 AM
His rap criticism has been worthless. Check his lame review of One For All:
...Alongside the wit and wisdom, though, the Nubian trio dropped some lyrical gaffes as well. Throughout One For All, there are plenty of unfortunate references to “hittin’ skins,” “cave-dwellin’” Caucasians, and hardcore homophobia. Despite its weaker moments, One for All is still one of the most impressive and definitive documents from hip-hop’s “conscious” era.
— eauhellzgnaw Jul 7, 06:59 AM
“wow”
— Rafi Jul 7, 09:04 AM
imma say it because somebody clearly needs to:
“built like dat”=“the bridge is over” 2007
— prof. nazty fresh Jul 7, 08:11 PM
Rafi – you missed the REST OF THE ARTICLE. You were supposed to click on the slideshow (you even reprint the line above but you obviously failed to).
Tsk tsk.
This was a surprisingly poor post from you.
— ho hum Jul 8, 07:41 PM
I can’t believe that was in Slate.
— dnA Jul 8, 11:48 PM
stupid ohword. be more funny!
— gl Jul 9, 11:32 AM
@ho hum – he did click through the slideshow. know what you speak on before you speak on it. shit, he’s the one who told ME to go through the slideshow.
— khal Jul 9, 12:44 PM
“Aha, your writer bias shows! What makes you think “penning a vicious rhyme” is such a serious time-consuming craft. It was nothing for KRS to write those rhymes back in the day. Do you really think he had to spend more than a few hours on either song? Take it from someone who has repeatedly spent multiple days on YouTube video shoots just to wait for the editing, your whole premise is fucked up.”
Cam’ron is not spending “multiple days” editing no YouTube video.
— StupidFresh Jul 9, 12:50 PM
you have too much time and not enough wit. you might want to take one of your many minutes and kill your blog dead.
— mtu Jul 9, 01:53 PM
ehh what can you do? Rap is in its Disco age.
— matthew Jul 9, 02:20 PM
Does anyone who knocked this post actually believe that YouTube is to blame for the downfall of anything in hip-hop?
— Rafi Jul 9, 08:43 PM
Hsu’s blog is filled with mistakes of content and grammar. He makes some amazingly stupid points for someone who makes their living as a music critic. And, oh, now he’s got a nice, easy job at Vassar.
So basically we have a professor from the whitest college in America serving as Slate’s hip hop critic.
Gotta love it.
— DC Jul 9, 10:18 PM
“Does anyone who knocked this post actually believe that YouTube is to blame for the downfall of anything in hip-hop?”
I personally would like to see more videos of rappers in ankle socks.
— StupidFresh Jul 10, 10:18 AM
I still remember sending him reviews for URB. Then I ended up running the same page on the mag I once submitted to. Then the genre pages got merged and now I just freelance shit. Somehow I imagined that’s what Hua was out there doing too – freelancing shit. Apparently what he’s freelancing is shit like this.
— DJ Flash Jul 11, 06:39 PM