The Hate Is Strong In This One….

A lot of times, an artist comes along and just blows the eff up, gets heavy backlash, and folks are quick to label him a sell-out. Every once in a while, we then see everyone in the industry follow the same formula, only to not catch the same backlash. These are times when we need to step back and go “you know what? Our bad.” In retrospect, these artists were simply ahead of their times. They really didn’t do anything but progress the genre.

The first time I remember this happening was LL Cool J on Walking With A Panther, circa 1988-1989. He had the big jewlery and fly shit before Slick Rick. He caught mad heat from everyone from Ice T to Kool Moe Dee, but was able to resurrect his career in 1990 with the epic Mama Said Knock You Out, and in particular the album track “To Da Break Of Dawn.”

Fate re-reared its’ ugly head in 1992 or so with MC Hammer. He had the big jewlery, the Hammer pants, the 100-piece ensembles. He really wasn’t frontin on nothin but havin a party. But he came out during a very grass-roots, organic era in hip hop and was blackballed by everyone from Q-Tip (“Whatchu say, Hammer? Proper. Rap is not pop, if you call it that then stop!”) to 3rd Bass (“Gas Face”). Hammer never quite recovered, in fact going broke in the late 90’s and becoming a trivia answer. In fact, he was realer than most of the rappers that followed him in the 90’s. I mean, c’mon, dude was about dancing and praying, ain’t nothin wrong with that.

BIG started to catch some heat in the mid-90’s, particularly from fellow NYC-ers. Raekwon and Ghost dissed him for biting Nas’ album cover, BCC alligned itself with 2Pac and went hard after him. Even Nas was exchanging subliminals with the Big-man over the “King Of New York” title he gave himself. Naturally, this all went away when he passed, and BIG became an instant legend.

Nas found himself on the same end of the stick in the late 90’s as well. Lots of former colleagues were crackin jokes startin with the Pink suit he rocks in the “Street Dreams” video and on through the glitz of “Hate Me Now.” His backlash hit a peak in late 99/early 2000, when rival Jay-Z was at the top of the game, and Nas put out a string of three corny R&B-videos – all of which seemed to differentiate from his previous righteous image: “Nastradamus,” “You Owe Me,” and “Oochie Wally” (even though the latter two were particularly big hits).   Of course Nas found his way back to the top with Stillmatic in 2001, featuring the scathing “Ether,” the righteous anthem “One Mic,” and the underground sounds that had established himself in the first place.

Fate happened to hit Ja Rule in 2003 as well. Ja was an international superstar at this point, with R&B-driven radio jingles flowing in by the dozens. But the expected backlash of his own market saturation mixed with the rise to the top of his arch nemesis, 50 Cent, led to Ja’s downfall.  Of course, 50 then copied his rival’s success-pattern and led to his own backlash.

Now I’ve never been much of a Ja Rule fan.  I even passed on his debut Venni Vetti Vecci, which Ja fans tend to point to as a showcase for his lyrical and artistical strength.  But I think it’s time for us to give him a unanimous, “OK dude, our bad.” Little did we know as we were dissin Ja in 2002/2003, that people would take his formula and run it to an extreme.  Last year alone, the top 3 rappers in the game currently each had a Ja Rule-like hit single: Weezy’s “Lollipop,” TIP’s “Whatever U Like,” and all of Kanye’s album.  These guys weren’t just putting melody into their hooks like Ja was, they were singing entire songs!

Stock Check: The 10 Hottest Rappers In The Game Currently

These are always fun. In case you missed it, Ne-Yo topped our male R&B singers top 10. While Rihanna ran the female side of things. Is this a good sign for Def Jam? Probably…..Def Jam has four of the rappers in this top 10, but will they grab the #1 spot again?

10. Fabolous
I went from wondering if Fab was ever gonna get anything buzzin for this album to being caught up in it completely. The “Throw It In The Bag” remix with Drake is completely off the chain. He also has a couple songs with Ryan Leslie on the album that are sure-shot hit singles should he decide to got that way (the best being “The Fabolous Life”). The Trey Songz joint is pretty hot too. I’m not too sure that he’s going to sell what he’s used to this time, because of all the leaks. But I’m going to say he’s still quite on a hot streak at the moment, and barely cracks the top 10 over bigger names like Luda, Nas, and of course 50.

9. Lupe Fiasco
Back to show the newbies that he’s still a little better than them, Lupe has seen a lot of copycats goin after his swag. But he dropped “Shining Down” and everyone was quieted. Lupe is probably the most questionable on the list (even more than Fab), but he’s doing a fairly good job of keeping the momentum from his last album going, and I think people are starting to view the bigger names (Luda, Nas, 50) who didn’t make the list as “past their prime.” 50 was probably the hardest omission, just because he’s been going so hard on the mixtapes. But he’s got to show me something in terms of a hit single or somethin to pass Lupe.

8. Young Jeezy
Jeezy’s lost a little momentum since last year with all the singles that went straight to youtube. Especially considering that last year at this time he was riding his biggest hit single to date in “Put On.” He’s consistently releasing new videos for just about every song on the album, and hasn’t promoted a real single. He’s about to drop a new album, which should pick up some slack, but it’d sure be nice if he had a new single to test the waters.

7. Eminem
All things considered, it was a fairly quiet album release for Slim. Despite the huge numbers he did, we haven’t really heard much from him since, even as much as MTV has been trying to shove him down our throats. “Beautiful” was the only song on the album that I’ve been able to keep much attention to (sans the second single “3 AM”). And altogether it seemed like Em had a huge month or so, and then we went back to talking about Tip, Wayne, Ross, Kanye, and everyone else.

6. Jay-Z
I originally was going to place Hov higher, but he really hasn’t caught the buzz he seems to be going for. His “Death Of Autotone” has gotten almost as much backlash as praise. I expect him to heat up and fly back up the list as we get closer to his album release, but at the moment I have to have him in the bottom half of the list.

5. Rick Ross
Despite being the most discussed MC of the first half of the year, Ross only manages to clock in at number 5 with all of the talk. He’s dropped probably the best album of the year, but his beef with 50 seemed way too contrived for most. He wasn’t quite able to etch his way into that top 3 and has probably had one man pass him. I don’t think he’s quite the star that the four dudes ahead of him are. But he sure has had a successful first half of the year, all things considered.

4. Drake
If anyone is going to give our top 3 some new competition, it is probably going to be this guy. He’s the #4 on this buzz-list and he hasn’t even dropped an album yet. That’s probably because he has the urban radio song of the summer (“Best I Ever Had”) and may hip hop publications’ best song of the year so-far (“Successful”), both off of his mixtape released at the beginning of the year. Sure it helps to be Lil Wayne’s protege and have Kanye West as your executive producer. But it probably helps even more to be managed by the team that manage both of the above superstars. Whatever the case, this dude has the biggest buzz of a debut artist in years.

3. Lil Wayne
He’s got his “brother” right on his heels, and he’s still supporting his “daddy,” but Lil Wayne is still well entrenched into the current holy trio of hip hop. He’s had one of the bigger songs of the summer in “Every Girl,” and has introduced a megastar in Drake to the world. Thought it does concern me that he hasn’t quite gotten much support in terms of MTV, BET and radio for his forthcoming Rebirth project. Do you think Def Jam would let Kanye fall into that trap? Atlantic definitely wouldn’t let T.I.

2. Kanye West
Unlike the others in this top 3, Kanye has been hittin the cameo scene hard as he attempts to make his return to rapping after his autotuned-sang 808’s & Heartbreaks, which, after all was said and done, still sold 2mil+. Most notably are his appearances on Dream’s “Walking On The Moon,” Jamie Foxx’s “Digital Girl,” and Beyonce’s “Ego.” And then there he was fighting over Keri Hilson with Ne-Yo on “Knock You Down.” He’s also executive producing Drake’s album, and is scheduled to guest-star (with Rihanna) on Jay’s first official single. Not a bad “off year” for Yeezy, musically. Oh yeah, he also released the Air Yeezy’s which are the current lust of the sneaker community, and shot him up into the Diddy/Hova/50 levels in terms of the Forbes list.

1. T.I.
It’s been fairly well established that going to jail helps your street cred in hip hop. Even moreso when you are a superstar already and just released your most successful project to date. And your star can only improve if you filmed a reality series leading up to your reporting to jail. Tip has elevated himself to the top of the game. Last time he went in, he was coming off his first breakthrough project (Trap Musick, which gave him his first real hit singles in “Rubberband Man” and “Let’s Get Away”) and he saw his momentum stalled with his time in jail. This time around, he was already in the elite rapper group going into this album, before releasing his most successful LP to date. He took full advantage in using his situation to help his momentum with his reality series, two #1 singles that kept fighting amongst each other for the #1 song in the country, a memorable collaboration with three others on this list performed at the Grammys, and many successful artists. Simply put, T.I. is on top of the game, even if physically he’s behind bars.

Around The League, 1

This is the dryest part of the sports year. The months from the middle of June to the middle of September represent three months of detox after 5 straight months of non-stop action from the Super Bowl to the NBA Finals. All we have left is baseball. And it’s only halfway through the season, the playoffs don’t even begin until late September! So with that said, the basketball and football offseasons have been interesting. I’m going to begin a look at all three major sports, beginning today with football:

Off/Pre-season Power Rankings:

32. Detroit Lions

This should surprise absolutely no one. The Lions were terrible last year, and will probably be slightly less terrible this year. They do have some weapons on offense, but that defense is just garbage and it looks like Matthew Stafford is actually going to have to earn the starting QB job. But they have a solid 1-2 punch at WR with Calvin Johnson and Dennis Northcutt, and a nice RB in Kevin Smith.

31. St. Louis Rams

Well a 2-14 team just lost its’ second best player (WR Torry Holt). Marc Bulger, at this point, looks like he’s taking too many hits to ever fully reach his potential. RB Stephen Jackson looks lost, and that defense isn’t fooling anyone.

30. Denver Broncos

This is a team that isn’t fooling anyone. They have an advantage over St Louis and Detroit because they play in a division that has 2 other crappy teams in it. So they have more chances to get wins than the other two. This may come as a surprise, as they were 8-8 last year. But they lost their best player (QB Jay Cutler), and are likely to lose their second best player (WR Brandon Marshall). Both of them were Pro Bowlers. CB Champ Bailey is a year older. And this team does not look good for the immediate future.

29. Kansas City Chiefs

So you might argue that I penalized the last two teams for losing pro bowlers and KC just lost TE Tony Gonzalez from a 2-14 team. Well they also added vet LBs Zach Thomas and Mike Vrabel, as well as Pro Bowl QB Matt Cassel. I’d actually put them higher, but we have to see what these guys have left in the tank.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After a terrible collapse last season, the Bucs went into full rebuilding mode. New Coach, new QB, newness up and down both sides of the ball. While CB Ronde Barber is still there, no one else instills much fear on the D-side. And while there is some talent on the O-side, much of it is a dramatic downgrade from last season.

27. Cleveland Browns

The Browns have a ton of work to do. Their QB situation needs to be resolved, Braylon Edwards needs to come back to life, Jamal Lewis is on his last legs, they don’t have much of a pass rush, and the D as a whole looks uninspired. We’ll see how much of a “genius” Eric Mangini really is.

26. Cincinnati Bengals

I don’t necessarily buy Chad OchoCinco’s playoff predictions, but a motivated Chad goes a long way towards getting the ship corrected. They do have some pieces on offense, and the defense is starting to show signs of life. But I’ll give ‘em another year before they really make a leap.

25. Oakland Raiders

Mainly getting by because of the terrible-ness (is that a word?) of the rest of their division. The Raiders may look a little better because they get to play KC and Denver twice each. But really, it’s the same ol’ Raiders. They’ll probably make the mistake of starting JaMarcus Russel at QB over Jeff Garcia. Which will go pretty well with the rest of the team’s mistakes this decade.

24. Seattle Seahawks

My how the mighty have fallen. Jim Mora didn’t do much in Atlanta, we’ll have to see what he does in Seattle. But I’ll say one thing: they have one helluva QB in Matt Hasselbeck. And sometimes that’s all you need to stay competitive.

23. New Orleans Saints

Same ol’ saints; great O, shoddy D. Just how far can Drew Brees lead this team before they get him some help on the otherside of the ball?

22. Miami Dolphins

I’m expecting a major step back for this team. Mainly because I feel they overachieved last season and will come back to earth this year with the tougher schedule. Also because both the Jets and Patriots got better, and the ‘Fins have to play each of them twice a year. I also don’t expect Buffalo to self-destruct again. This will be a much tougher division next year.

21. Green Bay Packers

This feels about right for the pack who combine an explosive offense with a defense that shows glimpses but ultimately seems to fail. They restocked the D side through the draft, but I think it’ll be another year before they’re ready to make a real run.

20. Carolina Panthers

Carolina seems to never put two good season together in a row, and you have to wonder how his horrible Playoff game affects Jake Delhomme’s confidence. One thing they did right is keep Julius Peppers. Dude is just a straight up BEAST.

19. Philadelphia Eagles

While the best division in football got better, the Eagles sort of stayed put. Another year of experience should help DeShean Jackson, but otherwise this team has no other players that look like they’ll do better than last year. Even D-Mac is beginning to see the end.

18. Houston Texans

This is pretty much where Houston always seems to end up. They are a damned-good football team. They just happen to play in the best division in the AFC. And they happen to be not quite as good as everyone else. But this team could make the playoffs in the AFC West.

17. New York Jets

Mark Sanchez will be a difference maker at QB, but I expect him to have his ups and downs this year. Similar to Joe Flacco last year. Only Sanchez’ team isn’t quite as good around him. The D is also young and should make strides, but I think they’ll be juuuust out of the playoff picture.

16. San Francisco 49ers

I’d expect a 9-7 season out of the Niners. Things are looking bright for this young offense, to go with an already very good defense. The addition of WR Michael Crabtree was a steal. Now if they could only figure out who is going to be throwing passes to him.

15. Dallas Cowboys

For everything that TO does, he’s also a damned good player. And the ‘Boys’ two WRs currently aren’t combined as good as him. Tony Romo and the rest of the team will benefit from his drama going away, but they’ll also be worse off without the talent. Altogether I think they are about the same as last year.

14. Jacksonville Jaguars

The addition of Torry Holt finally gives the team a playmaker at WR. However I think they juuuust miss the playoffs. We’ll have to see if Jones Drew can handle the RB spot by himself, and the defense way underperformed last year.

13. Buffalo Bills

I have them as the last team out of the playoffs. While I’d expect the WR position to flourish with the addition of TO (teams won’t be able to double Lee Evans anymore), the QB is still developing and the D is still maturing.

The 12 playoff teams:(they get a picture)

12. Minnesota Vikings

With or without Bret Favre, this is a playoff team. I might be the only one, but I don’t think Favre necesarrily makes them better or worse. The team is asking him to manage games and let RBs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor do the dirty work. The RB position is definitely a plus position, but the WRs are a minus. First rounder Percy Harvin should help, but I think he’s a #2. What this team could really use is a stud WR and/or a stud TE. The TE is also a minus. The line is a plus on the left side but a minus on the right. On the defensive side, the D-Line is a plus with both Williams and Jared Allen. However the LBs are a minus with a random assortment of players. The DBs are about an even, mainly thanks to stud CB Antoine Winfield, as the rest are probably a minus. Overall the team has lots of stars in Peterson, Taylor, both Williams, Allen, and Winfield. But they lack depth and seem to have below-average role players. This is what’s keeping them out of the Divisional round of the playoffs, not the QB spot.

11. San Diego Chargers

I know that a lot of folks have them pegged for the Super bowl, but I think the Chargers are the worst AFC Playoff team. They play in a horrible division, so their record is going to be a bit bloated. But I just don’t think this team ever plays up to its’ talent level. The QB, Philip Rivers is a plus. The RB position is now a minus as there are questions galore surrounding LT and Darren Sproles. The WR is an plus with Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers. They have a plus at TE with the best in the league, Antonio Gates. The O-Line is an even, with a solid but unspectacular line. This is another team with great stars but only passable role players. Jamal Williams, Luis Castillo, Shawn Merriman, Shaun Phillips and Antonio Cromartie are all studs. The rest of the D is pretty questionable. Like the Vikes, these folks are the reason the team seems to underachieve every season.

10. Washington Redskins

These guys are like the little team that could. They always seem to fly under the radar until January, when they’re right in the playoff hunt as per normal. It helps when you have RB Clinton Portis who has been as steady and spectacular as any RB this decade. Throwing big DL Albert Haynesworth into that D-Line should open things up a lot more for DEs Phillip Daniels and, especially, Andre Carter. Look for Carter to have a career year in sacks this season. CB DeAngelo Hall fit in quite well with the defensive scheme here, and has become a big-play corner for the team. The Safety position is also a plus one with LaRon Landry and Chris Horton. Defensively this team is ready to compete for a title. The O still has some bumps in the road with QB Jason Campbell, tho the O’s main problem is they don’t have anyone to take pressure off of stud WR Santana Moss. Rather what they have are two WRs who do the same thing, but not quite as well as Moss. Get some big possession receivers, and this team could be playing for a Super Bowl.

9. New York Giants

I think the G-men take a step back this year. There’s only so long Eli can go without a go-to WR, and this year they lost they’re former #2 as well. The RB position will suffer with depth as the oft-injured bruiser Brandon Jacobs no longer has Derrick Ward behind him. However they do get DE Osi Uymenyiora back from injury. And there’s no understating his importance on the D-Line, which was already a plus. The LB’s are solid-but unspectacular behind ILB Antonio Pierce. The major concerns for the D are in the secondary, where no one on this squad is particularly scaring anyone. Yet the Giants will find a way to win the division and end up in the playoffs again.

8. Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler + dominant defense = nice playoff run. That’s the equation that the Bears are counting on, and I’d say it works out. Cutler is one of the league’s elite QBs and has to be considered the best in the NFC North immediately. He will help the team’s faulty WR-core look much better than they are. The O-Line is already solid, and RB Matt Forte proved to be very solid in his rookie season. Plus they have losts of depth at that position with Kevin Jones and the “other” Adrian Peterson backing him up. The Defense is a year older but still very good. The D-Line gets an even with Tommie Harris and Alex Brown leading the way. The LB’s are a major plus with Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. The DBs are a minor plus with elite CBs Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman. Look for this team to creep up into the second round of the playoffs this year.

7. Tennessee Titans

Last year was really a dream season for this team. But everything I’m hearing out of their camp sounds bad. RB Chris Johnson does not want to share the glory with RB LenDale White. We still don’t know who’s the best QB for this team. Nate Washington and Justin Gage are the starting WRs? Really? Plus the D just lost its’ best player. But all in all, you’d have to say this team is still one of the best teams in the AFC. And you cannot count out the emotional and spiritual journey that McNair’s death will lead this team into. Though McNair retired with the Ravens, he will always be remembered as a Titan/Oiler. Those were his glory days and the majority of his career. He was also deeply involved in the community. I don’t think they can beat any of the top 4, however, even if McNair was in his prime and starting at QB.

6. Indianapolis Colts

I think the drop off from Dungy will be greater than anyone thinks. This team relied heavily on its’ leader for spiritual and football guidance. Yes, QB Peyton Manning should be fully healthy this season, but they also lost WR Marvin Harrison. WR Reggie Wayne is still the best WR in the game, and RB Joseph Addai continues to impress. But the injury woes on the Defensive side start to worry me. When do we just consider S Bob Sanders injury-prone? Same thing with DE Robert Mathis. And without Sanders in the game, those young corners look awful ripe for the picking.

5. Arizona Cardinals

This Cardinals team is going to be very good again. They may lose WR Anquan Boldin, but his loss should be made up for with more minutes for WR Steve Breston. Plus, WR Larry Fitzgerald alone makes that position a plus. RB Beanie Wells fits the team a little better than Edge did, giving them a plus at that position, and at QB Kurt Warner looks as good as ever. The problems that will arise will come on the Defensive side of the ball. This is a team with a plus secondary, but a front 7 that normally does not create a significant amount of pressure on the QB. Ben Rothlesberger tore this unit up in the Super Bowl last season. While I think this team will be very good and prove the cynics wrong, I do not think that they will return to the Super Bowl.

4. Atlanta Falcons

While I do not think they are as good as any of the top 3 teams in the AFC, i have the Falcons as my Super Bowl pick. I think another year with Matty Ice will make this team much better. And the addition of Tony Gonzalez to the receiving core will do wonders for the team in terms of giving the chance for the WR’s to spread the field and get open. The Running game is as good as there is in the league, and the O-Line is solid. I can’t believe I’m saying this but the defense looks very solid as well from 1-11. Love the front seven led by DE John Abraham and ILB Mike Peterson. This is a team that will be right there with the big boys come January, and will steal the NFC from the heavily favored last two Conference Champions in New York and Arizona.

3. Baltimore Ravens

I think they will have another nice run, but ultimately will fall a bit short. They still have a very good Defense behind LBs Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. S Ed Reed and NT Haloti Ngata are still forces, but they have issues at CB, with a ton of second-tier players. The offense is still developing as they have pluses on the O-Line and RBs, with some of the more underrated WRs in the league in Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton, but neither of them are #1 guys. The TE is also a question after last year’s dismal performance by Todd Heap. I think Flacco will become a plus with another year under his belt as well. Overall, they are better than anyone in the NFC, but not quite as good as my predicted AFC Conference Champion matchup.

2. New England Patriots

Two years ago, the Patriots had a historically good offense. But they still lost in the Super Bowl. This year most of those same people contributing will be back healthy, finally. Tom Brady ought to be back for the full season, to team up with WRs Randy Moss and Wes Welker. And while I’m not expecting them to break their records of two years ago, I am expecting them to be VERY good again. Adding Fred Taylor gave them yet another dimension out of the backfield, of a great RB to add to Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk. I love the pickup of Leigh Bodden as the second CB, to accompany Ellis Hobbs. Ultimately though, I think that front seven starts to wear out. I don’t think they have the players to stop the running game (either the RBs or the QB moving out of the pocket to pass or run) of my favorite to win it all.

….I hesitate to write this for fear of jinxing them, but…..

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

Ultimately, a historic defense with a very good offense should beat a historic offense with a so-so defense, right? Well the Steelers are returning all of the key ingredients to their historically great defense from last season. In fact, they replaced an OLB because they felt Lawrence Timmons was going to make this D even better. That’s a scary thought. You know the basics by now, the best LB core in the league: Timmons, former Pro Bowler James Farrior, rising star/pro bowler LaMarr Woodley, and reigning Defensive Player Of The Year James Harrison. Pro Bowlers CB Ike Taylor and FS Troy Polamalu. SS Ryan Clark, who might be the hardest hitter in the league. And Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, and Brett Keisel up front. Every position on the defensive side is a major plus position. Don’t forget that this offense is loaded too. The O-Line is an even position, but everywhere else is a plus. The elite WR duo of Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. Pro Bowl TE Heath Miller, Fast Willie Parker at RB, who would’ve led the league in rushing two years ago if he didn’t get hurt. And of course there’s the ever present, QB Ben Rothlisberger. Remember that he was hurt most of last year, and the last time he was healthy he threw 32 TDs and a 104.1 Passer Rating two seasons ago.