MTV Blows
2003-02-26 3:20 p.m.
I've got a beef with MTV this week.Had a friend in town for the MC battle at MTV. If you're a watcher (which i'm not), you know there's a $25k battle that was looming.
So my boy comes to town on a grayhound. 18 hours of rhyme writing dealing with well.. grayhound.
He's been a professional MC for over 5 years now. By that I mean he's putting out his 4th album this year. You probably haven't heard it if you're not from Chicago, as Chicago heads don't get signed.
they distribute their stuff themselves. Not necessarily out of the trunk. They call the distributors themselves, and promote their own records. Waiting to get signed is just another dream that less beneficial than it seems.
So this man, a hungry MC with a following, who just handed me his latest 12" which reinspires me to dust off the decks, goes and waits outside MTV studios for 13 hours.
He avoids battles as his primary concern is getting in the door. He already knows hes gonna make it to the finals as he should. He ended up flying a couple heads while in line, as unavoidably, cats were stepping to each other, trying to prove whatever it was they were trying to prove. He was doing his best to refrain as not to allow his competition to consider weakness.
Besides, what is there to prove when the battle is merely a business maneuver? A lot of these kids think that 25k and one 12" from def jam will make them the next JZ / Eminem, not considering the fact that it's hardly even a step in the door.
So now you have about 400 hungry arrogant mc's waiting in 25 degree weather behind MTV for 13 hours, and you're swinging a $25000 slab of meat in front of them. You would up the security, no?
No. Of course not. You get 2 lil blond chicks keeping the crowd in order. Holding the gate.
The two go in to get more bracelets, the hungry mob, sees an opportunity to get in the door. A "riot" begins, which was hardly a riot, just a bunch of dudes trying to get in.
The battle is called off, the news states some nasty riot, which was more resembling a minor scuffle..
My boy meets up with 3 distributors and gets his record on more shelves and goes home sans a chance at 25k.
Make your own judgements. I say it was staged. I say it was bullshit.
My primary beef is not so much the seeming setup. It was more the fact that they treated these guys like unprofessional children. No organization, nothing. Just rabid dogs with a steak in front of them. Just plain bullshit.
Well regardless, I'm still broke, but re-inspired as one of the guys i stood next to for years on the walls and in the parties is still making things happen. He brought news of more of the same.
Good to know.
Rockin Goapele and then Ras Kass this afternoon.