Tampa Calling

Swine flu

Noun Pathology:

A form of influenza caused by overly aggressive pigs (also known as law enforcement professionals) that occurs commonly after close encounters with these infectious vermin. Symptoms include nausea, despair, and a general lack of a good time.

After a successful performance at the State Theatre in St. Petersburg, I caught a flight this past Friday to rock mics with the rest of B.A.S.E. Inc at Radford University’s Quadfest 2009 in Virginia. We were all excited to play a show together for the first time on our home turf. Little did we know that we were the ones about to get played.

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In the hip-hop community, no one really wants to be labeled a hater. While I don’t hate Lil Wayne, I am far from a fan. I respect the fact that he has put out more music than any other major hip-hop artist in the last five years and probably has the best work ethic of any rapper not named Tupac Shakur. But is doing your job really worth the iconic status he seems to have achieved? I’m going to have to say no. So at the risk of earning the not-so-superlative hater label, I present to you my Top 3 reasons why a dead Biggie Smalls is better than a living Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne has been successful but is he really a worthy successor?

Coattails

Sean Combs might be the owner, but Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., is responsible for the Bad Boy Entertainment empire. The considerable wealth Combs amassed thanks to Mr. Wallace’s efforts funded his Sean John clothing line and propelled Puff Daddy to stardom. Diddy got a Grammy for his No Way Out album that featured Biggie on five songs. He also gave Lil Kim, the most popular female rapper of her time, her start.

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The concert at the Hall with Obie Trice never happened. Mr. Trice canceled on the morning of the show because supposedly his house was raided by law enforcement and he was being detained for questioning. If that smells like Motown manure to you too then congratulations! You’re not gullible either.

He didn’t get arrested. I’d love to ask him face to face the real reason why Mr. Real Name No Gimmicks decided to pull this last minute missed appearance act, but my wish to maintain a clean criminal record will probably keep me from pursuing that.

I was initially informed of the cancellation around 11am the day of the show via Myspace. I called The Mind Syndicate to find out if this was true. They assured me the show was still going on as they had heard nothing about a cancellation, but said they’d call me back after making sure. That return call came around 2PM while I was in the mall with F.a.T and Milo. That’s when I got the original excuse Obie gave them of getting arrested… Read the rest of this entry »

So you think you want to be a rapper, eh?  It’s more hard work and hustle than Hennessy and hoes. Gone is the time where you create a little buzz and then sit back and wait for a label/lottery ticket to come and rescue you from your day job. In fact, these days you might want to keep that 9 to 5 even if the majors do come calling. In order to survive, let alone thrive, as an emcee these days, you have to be more and do more than just move the crowd…

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I’ve been called a lot of different names thus far in my life: jock, nerd, fat boy, lightweight, goofball, transplant, outsider, new guy, frat boy, weirdo, and cool kid. Those were all while I was in school.

Nowadays, I pretty much just go by Infinite Skillz or Infinite for short. My mother just calls me loud. As the middle child, I’ve kind of always needed to be that way. I’d speak early and often, flexing my vocal cords to get noticed. After every loving admonishment, I’d always tell her that one day I’m going to get paid to make noise.

Officially, N.O.I.S.E. stands for the Nation of Infinite Skillz Entertainment, which is my official fan club. Making N.O.I.S.E. is the name of this blog, but it is also my motto. When asked about Hip Hop, President-Elect Barack Obama said that one of the things he admired most about rap artists is their entrepreneurial spirit. He liked the fact that many of my colleagues have started their own record labels becoming moguls instead of commodities. That’s Making N.O.I.S.E.

I too respect hustle and hard work but there is a limit to that. Are you really doing big things if your label roster consists of your hype man and your roommate? That is not Making N.O.I.S.E. That’s you and your homeys playing House: The Hip Hop Edition. Read the rest of this entry »