So how many of your facebook friends/people you follow on Twitter* had some version of "R.I.P Big Poppa" as their status?

I was at the Angry Dog this Friday night after a life changing show by Garrett Potter at Mokah. (Before I go on let me say a bit about Garrett Potter. I don't know if it has been the Portland air, or hanging out with Anis Mojgani, or working at the homeless shelter, but this kid came back looking and speaking like Jesus. Seriously one of the best live sets of poetry I have seen since Amir Sulaiman graced Artist Night Out back in 2006. I am mailing him $10 + shipping to get his CD. Seriously we might have to get an interview with him soon.)

While we were waiting for Hal Samples to meet this kid, Will Richey, Darius Frasure, Robert Cooper and myself got into a huge debate about Tupac and Biggie.

Basically some folks felt like Biggie ain't shit and had no substance.

Although the Tupac v Biggie debate has been hashed and rehashed a trillion times by now, I will use it as an opportunity to discuss my theory on how you can divide artists of all sorts into two sorts.

First, there are artists who create work for other people.

Second, there are artists who create work for themselves.

For my friends who were against Biggie they wanted him to be an artist with a message, a movement, an uplifting kumbayah master of verse wrapped into the hard edges of urban life and hip hop. Basically they wanted him to be Tupac.

But Biggie was an artist who created work for himself, and that allowed his unequaled lyrical skills to shine through the ancient trade of storytelling.

Unabashedly honest, "black and ugly as ever, however", as well as personal "birthdays were the worst days" what you get from Biggie is just a story of one guy who "went from ashy to classy". And it is beautiful.

Also, even though people are enamoured with prescience of Tupac, what is more clairvoyant than Biggie's song "you're nobody til somebody kills you"?

And that is the joy of writing for yourself - at the end of the day you don't have to please anyone. You can face tough, harsh issues, with an uncompromising honesty which I think is more difficult than writing in an overtly universal or anthem-lite fashion.

Because at the end of the day unswerving personal honesty and introspection does lead to the same level of transcendence, the same wellspring of human pathos, that writing for others leads to. Yet, it also gives you an opportunity to work through your own dysfunction "yah my mama got cancer in her breast, don't ask me why Im muthafuckin stressed, things done changed". A line like that doesn't invite all breast cancer survivors into the lyric, it doesn't invite families to be uplifted, but it is intensely personal and real and expresses a level of frustration and truth that you might not get in something uplifting.

This is not to say that artists who write for themselves can't have a message or be uplifting, and artists who write for others aren't personal - but it merely a description of the sum of all parts and intentions - it is not just who you are but it it is whose you are.

Okay I know you have been waiting a week for the next ipod shuffle from my oh-so-awesome collection of random music. As you know I have made the claim that I have the most diverse collection of music ever, and all I have to do to prove it is to put my ipod on shuffle (No Skips!)

Here we go:

Pale Blue Eyes by Velvet Underground
A very mellow song, very plaintive and longing. Love the guitar solo. "The fact that you are married, only proves that you are my best friend, but it is truly a sin." Linger on indeed.

Funeral by Clipse feat. Neptunes
First of all I love The Clipse. However, this track isn't their best effort. The beat is decent but the horns could have been more exuberant. The overall concept of a funeral song could have been pushed more - I think the song needed a narrative.

Lemonade by Many Days Waiting
Many Days Waiting is a local band originally from Dallas but now in Scotland led by Kim and Chad Sasser. They're most recent EP "Where Growing Happens" came out last summer and was the truth. "Solitude" was one of my favorite songs from 2007. This track is more spoken word than rock, but the phrase "ahh Texas" is amazing.

Gettin' Some by Shawnna feat. Too Short
Okay this song is dirty but you love it. And guys don't lie that you have always imagined getting some head to this song.

Green Eyes by Coldplay
Another beautiful track by Coldplay. I remember this song getting me in high school. "I came here with a load, it feels so much lighter now I met you, and honey you should know, that I could never go on without you."

Rompe by Daddy Yankee
I remember when this song came on you always wanted to find that girl you really wanted to grind with, I mean really give the business too, because this song goes on FOREVER - like seriously if you couldn't get it after this song came on - give up.

I'm Lovin It by Justin Timberlake
Okay did Justin steal this from McDonalds or vice-versa. Anyway this is an r-rated version of the phrase I mostly associate with a Big Mac.

Baby (remix) by Jay-Z
This is from a great mixtape called Rap Phenomenon III. This mixtape put classic Jay verses to other people's tracks. This is a real nice track, very laid back, very saturday night chilling somewhere really cool with a nice drink in your hand with a beautiful girl.

Cryin Out by Tripp Lee
Another local artist - Tripp Lee is a Christian rap artist whose flow kinda sounds like an early Jeezy. I know Christian rap might sound like an oxymoron but the beats are good and so are the verses. Definitely worth a listen.

P.S. I Love You by The All American Rejects
Okay - I am emo. Sue me.

The Cold Part by Modest Mouse
A track from the critically acclaimed album The Moon & Antarctica is definitely more chilled out and instrumental than what you might expect from Modest Mouse. Very lonely.

Son Of A Preacher Man by Etta James
Just a classic. Enjoy it. Think Pulp Fiction. Remember when gas was cheap. Vibe with it.

Missin You by Notorious B.I.G.
Can I just say that Biggie is amazing. The dude tells stories. Most artists can't tell stories anymore. "can't look his baby girls in the eye." "people swore we were fucking/but we were just cool." Shit is just real. "the dude lived/what my baby have to die for" Hip hop at its best.

Baby Love by Diana Ross and The Supremes
Ride out on this track. "all you do is treat me bad, break my heart and leave me sad". "instead of breaking up, lets do some kissing and making up" Okay girls never say this a dude. If your relationship is like this - get rid of the dude quick - if you don't you have issues.

Thats it for the ipod shuffle! Tune in again next week for the most eclectic randomly generated playlist on the net!