culturebox
columns
- Aliens Are Overrated
The best X-Files episodes weren't about extraterrestrials.
Juliet Lapidos
posted July 24, 2008 - Situation Normal
What Generation Kill gets right about the invasion of Iraq.
Peter Maass
posted July 18, 2008 - Folioed Again!
Why Shakespeare is the world's worst stolen treasure.
Paul Collins
posted July 17, 2008 - Last Night a Beat Box Saved My Life
Pitch Perfect and the strange allure of a cappella.
Nina Shen Rastogi
posted July 15, 2008 - ; (
Has modern life killed the semicolon?
Paul Collins
posted June 20, 2008 - Search for more culturebox articles
- Subscribe to the culturebox RSS feed
- View our complete culturebox archive
Where's the Beef?It's on YouTube. Why that's a problem for hip-hop.
By Hua HsuPosted Friday, July 6, 2007, at 7:28 AM ET
Click the launch module to the left for a video slide show on how YouTube is ruining the hip-hop beef.
Beefs have always brought out the best in rappers. In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One, when his withering attacks on MC Shan effectively ended his rival's career. The following year, a young LL Cool J established his legend by felling old-school pioneer Kool Moe Dee. And in 2002, a beef reignited the careers of two giants, as Jay-Z and Nas clashed for the title of King of New York.
For most of rap's history, one-upmanship has been hip-hop's engine of change. Recently, however, beefs have lost some of their creative spark, as battles have migrated from albums and mix tapes to YouTube. Today, a rapper with wounded pride is more likely to cut a made-for-YouTube video than to bother penning a vicious rhyme. The result: videos with laughably bad production values showcasing sloppy dis tracks (or worse, no track at all). Why waste time writing music—the vocation of a musician, in theory—when you can upload a rant? YouTube has done wonders for spreading viral hip-hop dances like the Aunt Jackie and the Chicken Noodle Soup. But it's spoiling the beef.
Click here for a video slide show on how YouTube is ruining the hip-hop beef.
feedback | about us | help | advertise | newsletters | mobile
User Agreement and Privacy Policy | All rights reserved
- Today's Headlines
- Can't Go Wrong With A Cheeseburger, Area Man Reports
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:00:21 -0400 - Courageous E-mail To Boss In Drafts Folder Since December
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:00:05 -0400 - Novak Hits Pedestrian With Corvette
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:00:45 -0400 - » More from the Onion
| Pundits and diplomats respond.
Robinson: Sunshine in BerlinToles: Obama the UniterTelnaes: Meanwhile, McCain
- Froomkin: How to Get Away With Torture
- Milbank: (Not an) Impeachment Hearing
- Achenblog: My Bias Against Media Bias
- Krauthammer: Maliki Votes for Obama
- Today's Headlines
- Poll: Hispanic Voters Back Obama by Wide Margins
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:04:26 GMT - Opinion: Germans See Themselves in Obama
Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:53:52 GMT - How the Mosley Orgy Ruling Could Affect U.K. Media
Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:34:59 GMT - » More from Newsweek
- Today's Headlines
- Over the Rainbow: Angie and Jo
Tue, 22 July 2008 16:21:23 GMT - The New Tavis Smiley, Beware!
Tue, 22 July 2008 16:27:58 GMT - Go for the Bronze
Fri, 25 July 2008 4:18:27 GMT - » More from The Root

culturebox









