I’m not sure if AllHipHop’s report is true, but if 50 Cent is a 10% owner of Vitamin Water he may be getting around $400 million gross. Again, GROSS, he is not getting all that money, more like half because they will be taxing the &%^# out of it. So no, 50 is not worth $500 million to those that believe that.

Nonetheless, cats is making too much money, time to get on my grind. I’m willing to sell this site for a million dollars, holla at me, I will throw in some mixtapes. Also I will be selling bottled tapped water soon, it’s the new trend taking over. F vitamins, my water has lead in it to keep you healthy. I will also be starting up my rap record label, I signed Computer and Trece. The first single will be the, “What Ya Starin’ At,” remix with Amy Winehouse & Jay-Z.

Any more ideas, holla at me.

The 2007 Climate of Hip-Hop from a B-Boy Perspective
by Tarik Lawerence

Ahhh-yes, from, “The World is Yours” to, “Pop, lock, and drop it,” did anybody notice a change? The younger generation has a more care-free perspective in the world (don’t believe me? look at today’s pregnancy rate, hip-hop is not responsible for that either..shouts to Don Imus and Bill O’ Riley!!). BUT as hip-hop continues to evolve and generations change, I think we should actually, “embrace it, but not replace it”. What does this mean? Simple, “Embrace” the catchy new tunes of today, but lets not, “Replace” the rappers who are extremely lyrical as well. Metaphors, Songs with themes, messages, and storytelling seems to be fading away.

There is NO doubt the southern beats of today are hot, but most of the lyrics are simple (with the exception of Lil Wayne, T.I., UGK, Ludacris, Scarface, and a few others). We should have 2 lanes in hip-hop. Popular rap music (that sell many records) should be able to have strong content, metaphors, and show skills as a writer. Biggie and previous Jay-Z efforts are examples of what I’m saying. Biggie had wit, humor, skills, metaphors, and still made sure the song was a hit. What happened to that aspect of hip-hop? Simple lyrics of the south doesn’t necessarily mean whack though. Today’s generation wants to have fun with the music which is fine, but rappers should challenge themselves with more skills without getting too deep. There has to be a good balance between making a hit record where the lyrics are not too complicated but are not as ABC as it is right now.

-BIG TAH.