“The people ain’t comin’ cause you grandiose muthafukkas don’t play shit that they like.”- Shadow, Mo’ Better Blues
“Crossover ain’t nothin’ but a double-cross. Once we lose our audience, we never gonna get them back!”- JT, The Five Heartbeats
“People gotta understand, we got in this to be stars. We didn’t get in this to walk around with bookbags on our backs, talkin’ bout we hip-hop”- Nas interview on MTV
“It’s a shame, niggas in the rap game, only for the money and the fame”- Xzibit, “Paparazzi”
In the past month or so, there’s been a few things I’ve seen around the internet that prompted me to drop this entry. First, there was the mini-fallout that started from Talib Kweli‘s collaboration with Gucci Mane, which to some defied the rules of all that is right in the world. Then, there were two excellent lists of late-’90s hip-hop- Complex’s 75 Greatest Tunnel Bangers and the Bloggerhouse spin-off, Backpack Bangers. The lists in particular threw me back to that time when the “commercial” and “underground” sides of hip-hop started splitting apart further than ever.
Posted by Danj! 
