KEEPING IT REAL NO LONGER A BIG DEAL IN HIP HOP

Interesting article from Dr. Jay's blog. I won't lie Ross always comes out with great albums, I'm still surprised that the corrections officer situation didn't have more of an effect on his career. I guess all that matter is the music you make....

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, hip-hop was all about “keeping it real.” If you weren’t what you claimed to be on a record, you were banished from the culture. Remember female gangster rapper Bo$$? The hardcore femcee made waves with her debut album Born Gangstaz and the single “Deeper.” All was well until she revealed to the Wall Street Journal she grew up in an upper middle-class family and attended private school. Her credibility took a major blow and Def Jam subsequently shelved her sophomore album before finally dropping her from the label.It appeared being a studio gangster would not be tolerated

Fast forward to 2008 where Florida rapper Rick Ross was seeing his star burn bright after releasing two well-received albums (2006′s Port of Miami & 2008′s Trilla). Ross ripped rhymes about the dope game and being a true gangster with songs such as “Hustlin’” and “The Boss.” Everyone was buying into it and enjoyed Ross’s brand of mafioso rap.

But in July of 2008, The Smoking Gun produced overwhelming evidence linking Ross to an eighteen-month stint as a correctional officer in a Florida prison facility. With his back against the wall and his image in question, Ross denied everything. But when the photos surfaced of the large rapper in a corrections uniform, there was nothing else he could say. It looked like this would be the Bo$$ situation all over again. Rapper 50 Cent took shots at Ross in a high-profile feud, and it appeared the “Bawse” was about to don the role of “studio gangster.”

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE FROM DR. Jay's HERE