Crib Notes

ON THE GRIND: Only hours after being released from jail in March, Gucci Mane hit the recording studio.

DOWNLOAD Gucci’s latest mixtape, Writing On the Wall

During his latest stint in jail, Radric Davis spent much of his time contemplating how he could change his life. The veteran Atlanta rapper known as Gucci Mane had built a tremendous regional following based on his oft-autobiographical songs about partying, drug trafficking and street conflict. But the same lifestyle he rhymed about had repeatedly landed him behind bars, ironically stifling his hopes for national fame.

“I got a lot of ideas together,” he says of the six months he served for violating the terms of his probation, stemming from a 2005 incident in which he beat a promoter with a pool cue. “It was a time for me to refocus. I took it and made the best out of a bad situation.” He devoured all of the inspirational material he could get his hands on, he says, from the Bible and rap magazines to a title from the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Continue reading “Fresh from jail, Gucci Mane’s star has peaked”

(Photo by Donna Permell)

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Here it is — XXL’s Hood to Hood issue. And Atlanta’s at the forefront.

But they got the headline wrong. Should’ve named it after that classic MC Eiht song, “The Hood Took Me Under.”

So should we be happy that the Northern hip-hop media elite have finally embraced Southern swag? Or are they mere co-conspirators out to capitalize on the dumbing down of rap?

Disclaimer: Gucci’s Mane’s latest CD, Murder Was the Case, and Soulja Boy’s “Turn My Swag On” are both currently in heavy rotation in my Buick Regal.

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Earlier this week Bow Wow announced his retirement, making him the only 22-year-old American confident enough to hang it up during these recessionary times.

His recently-released New Jack City II was his last album with Sony, and he’s hinted at retirement for a while, including during this interview during the promotion of his ill-fated 2007 collaboration with Omarion, Face Off.

Still, what’s strange about the declaration is that he made it after his new album flopped. It debuted at number 16 on Billboard, moving just over 30,000 units, which puts it on track to be the worst-selling CD of the seven he’s released. Everyone knows you’re supposed to announce your retirement before your album comes out, so you can pump up sales. Announcing it afterward is basically admitting you can’t hang anymore.

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Rappers may not be scared of a woman with media might (i.e. Oprah), but they’re definitely scared of men with gavels. And if Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois has his way, Congress will hold a hearing later this month tackling rap music’s lyrical degradation of women.

But for the first time, the big boys could be taken to task here. No, not Russell Simmons and P. Diddy. Rep. Rush actually plans to hold the guys who run the record-label-owning conglomerates accountable. He was quoted in hip-hop mag XXL saying:

“I want to talk to executives at these conglomerates who’ve never taken a public position on what they produce.” Among the industry executives scheduled to attend the hearing are Philippe Dauman of Viacom, Doug Morris of Universal Music Group and Edgar Bronfman Jr. of Warner Music Group.

Sounds like the big music lobby didn’t pay its monthly tab. Read the full story in XXL magazine here.

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