New York and the Dream Team of Hip-Hop

He also went on to trash boogie down productions; two sins I am willing to forgive on the count of his youthful naivete. His next error, however, is beyond redemption.

"Brooklyn got way better rappers than that! We got fab--"

At this I had to interject.

"of all the emcees you could have mentioned, you choose fab?!"

It's not that Fabolous is whack. Far from it! But in a history that has given Biggie, Jay , Big Daddy Kane, mos def, among others, you choose fab?

This would be like asking a laker fan why their team is so great and them mentioning robert horry. Horry has contributed to the legacy but is no cornerstone.

The debate soon settled and both brothers changed trains. As I continued my ride home I reflected on three things:

If Willie Lynch were here, would he smile as these brothers' discord gave evidence of self hatred's compound interest?

Would those who died in the fight against injustice, echo Aaron Mccgruder's portrayal of Dr. King and ask, "is this what I took all those ass whoopings for?"

And I realized their argument proved many of my southern brothers and sisters right when they talk about why and how New York fell off.

Their argument illustrated the infighting that many southern emcees associate with the New York scene. Instead of reflecting on each borough's distinctions as yet another reason why the city is The City, energy is wasted in a futile debate that is based on who can outshout the other more than the facts.

This isn't unique to NY, fighting over territory occurs all over the world and throughout history. Sadly, we forget how much we need each other and waste time belaboring our inadequacies.

The greatest tragedy is when this happens to a successful group. The focus on the whole, becomes too much for the part (think David Ruffin) and they assume the success will continue just because they are there.

I believe this happened to the USA Olympic basketball team. Winning against other nations came naturally in '92 and '96. You didn't check the score to see if they won but to see how badly they crushed the other team.

The team was lackluster in Sydney and by 04, as the league was at it's lowest point in the post-Jordan era, it's performance was woeful.

Players expected to win the gold medal by birthright and even the best players didn't have what it took to be the best team.

The difference in 08? Jerry Colangelo and Coach K got the best players in the league to buy into their system and prove they were the best team in the world. Rather than relying on their reputation, they built it.

I think the New York sound, and therefore hip hop en masse, has a lot to learn from the dream team. You're only winning until you're not and the motivation should be geared toward sustaining power rather than abusing it.

To borrow language from the world of international relations, NY should maintain hegemony through the liberal concept of restraint instead of the neo-con ideal of conquest. In truth the latter is achieved through the former; run your race, and continue to push yourself to higher heights and no one will doubt your ability. You will destroy your opponents without force, win wars without spilling a drop of blood. (Sun Tzu would be pleased)

This cannot be achieved without a recommitment to love that prioritizes music over the business. If monetary spoils make the music a means to an end then the culture suffers.

Newer emcees should make art that converses with the music that came before them. What would happen if they were in actual dialogue with legends? Are there mentors in hip-hop? (We all see what Jay's relationship has done for Kanye.)

If I could create a dream team of emcees who would mentor up and coming rappers, it would look like this:

Who would be on your squad? Let the comments begin...

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