As a lifelong fan of hip-hop, it pisses me off to no end when we as a community can’t get our shit together. The BET Hip-Hop Awards-hell, hip-hop awards shows in general-have become well known for being epicenters of funky shit going down. The infamous East Coast/West Coast beef more or less began at the Source Awards, there was the Dr. Dre/Young Buck stabbing incident at the Vibe Awards, and who can forget the T.I. bust right before he was scheduled to perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards?
This time, apparently the camps of Southern rappers Young Jeezy and Rick Ross got into a confrontation backstage. Allegedly, there were fisticuffs and shots fired. It’s been alleged that controversy magnet 50 Cent got into it with a rapper at the same event. Seriously, y’all. There are people like me who wave the flag every day for hip-hop, and ignorant motherfuckers like these guys (and their entourages) make it harder for everyone else. We need to stop glorifying the criminal element in our music (someone give me an example of one Ross or Jeezy song that’s worth a damn,) stop allowing all of our ex-con homies to go to award shows with us, and generally stop behaving like fools. People, we got to do better. Period. You don’t hear about Kenny Chesney’s squad and Tim McGraw’s friends getting into brawls at the Country Music Awards. Luther never bitch-slapped Freddie Jackson at the Soul Train Awards. Get it together!
Speaking of bitchiness, Jack White apparently caught some feelings during a show over the weekend at Radio City Music Hall. His headlining set was only 45 minutes long. Jack did not return for an encore, but he apparently got into it with some folks taking pictures (or recording on their cameras) during the show and also chided the crowd for not being as into the show as he would like, accusing the audience of behaving like they were at an “NPR convention.” Regardless of how Jack may have been feeling, I’m pretty sure those tickets weren’t cheap. You don’t dick around with people who pay good money to see you perform. If an artist that I liked only played a 45 minute set, and I paid for tickets to the show, I’d be pissed. Sounds like Jack needs to take a lesson from Justin Bieber, who opened his latest tour, threw up twice during his set, and still finished his performance. You go, kiddo.
Finally, is this the end for Foo Fighters? The Grammy-winning fivesome led by Dave Grohl performed at the Global Citizen Festival in New York this weekend. During their set, Grohl said “Without making a big deal out of it, we don’t have any shows after this. This is it, man. Honestly, I don’t know when we’re gonna do it again.” At best, this points to a lengthy hiatus for the guys, who released Wasting Light to solid sales and critical acclaim last year. I figure if there’s no official announcement, there’s a good chance that the break won’t be permanent, but man, if Grohl is taking a vacation from the Foo Fighters, who’s gonna carry the torch for good old rock ‘n roll into the next decade or so?