Bruh, you had one job to do.
Last night at Lincoln Center in NYC, I watched Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Missy Elliot & Lil Kim, innovative, trend-setting dynamos who’ve held down this genre up and through the golden age, get a small piece of the regcognition they’ve had coming via VH-1’s Hip-Hop Honors “All Hail The Queens” edition.
Everybody from Jada Pinkett-Smith to Betty White to Michelle Obama sent over video tributes. Busta Rhymes, Timbaland, Common and more came through to be presenters. French Montana, Monica, Ashanti, The LOX and Fat Joe came through and performed. It was a beautiful night full of love, respect and honor for some of the best the business has ever produced.
And during the Lil Kim tribute… you messed up Biggie’s verse.
Never mind that Diddy, the man who’s made a business out of being busy, showed up for Kim. Forget that Teyana Taylor and Lil Mama, folks in your age bracket managed to perform songs from the same era with no problem… and don’t get me started on the fact that Faith Evans… FAITH EVANS came out to introduce a woman who was basically her husband’s mistress and chief rival for his love and attention to the stage to be honored. With all of this happening, in the middle of N.Y.C., You managed to mess up the lyrics to a classic song, written by one of the most important and loved artist of YOUR genre while backing up his protégé.
Bruh, you had one job to do… and wearing the sweater wasn’t it.
But there was just so many things wrong with this, man… you had the opportunity to score some big points for your generation. Belonging to an age range that’s already bogged down under complaints of entitlement, lyrical laziness and an overall lack of respect for Hip-Hop and its founders is bad enough. But proving them right with stunts like this?
“I assure you that I never intended to disrespect the Memory of Biggie Smalls. I have long respected his work and his contribution to the rap game. I greatly apologize not only to Biggie Smalls, but also to all of my fans, Biggie Smalls fans and to New York. The city of New York has been nothing but good to me. I felt honored to stand on stage with artists I grew up listening to. Once on stage I had some technical difficulties and must admit I got nervous. I will forever be sorry New York, my fans, Biggie Smalls, Biggie Smalls fans, Lil Kim, and all the Hip Hop community for my performance. I hope you can accept my apology. To Lil Kim, Thank you for the opportunity.”
-Rich Homie Quan
I peeped the above apology so I’m not gonna keep hitting a dead horse. But bruh…You know how many MC’s from Brooklyn would have sworn off their Timberland tree for a chance to stand next to Kim and kick a Biggie verse on nationwide television? The same one who’d like to use those boots to stomp into mumble-mouth jelly for that screw-up. That you were picked to spit on that stage, being that you’ve been relatively quiet lately is amazing enough. That you were picked to show your face in the tribute for women in Hip-Hop despite your history of r####-rhymes should be considered a miracle of Faith-level forgiveness… or a least a reason for some poor-choosing punk to get a pink slip before Friday.
Eventually this will all blow over and you’ll be back to your bad-dancing glory days in no time flat. But in the future, just keep this in mind…
You had one job to do… next time, clock in before you clock out.
