BadSeed Blog

Finally, we get some girl-on-girl action, as Foxy Brown and Jacki O. get in a fight in a Miami studio:

Foxy Brown has found herself at the center of more trouble, after getting into a fight with fellow rapper Jacki O.

According to Jacki O, the altercation ensued after she invited Brown into the plush Circle House studios in Miami, Fla., on Sunday.

Jacki O tells AllHipHop.com, "I was all for the idea of having her join us in the studio. That shows how much respect I had for her."

Jacki O says she overheard Brown speaking about her behind her back, so she returned to the studio where words were exchanged and a physical altercation broke out between the two women.

She adds, "This was not the way I wanted it to go down. I was looking forward to working with her on a song. We are two women in hip-hop and should be able to come to the table together. She forced me to show her who is the madam of Miami."

Brown, a longtime arch-rival of Lil' Kim, recently pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault and attempted assault charges after allegedly fighting with beauticians over a bad manicure.

[Update] Apparently, Foxy Brown is disputing this widely-circulated story:

"This story is the most erroneous story I've heard in my entire life. I am waiting for a check from that independent label because I have given that girl the most promotions she's ever received, ever. Had we been talking about a reputable artist like Lauryn Hill, or Lil' Kim or Trina or someone...We are talking about someone who has never sold a record in their life."

Lotsa MCs like to get on the mic and brag and boast, talk shit about how they they baddest, they the pimpest, they the hardest. I heard it all before, man. To me, rap is a voice for innovation, for resistance to the mainstream, and for protest. That is why I get so excited when I hear MCs get down to the real nitty gritty. Here's a few lines from an underground track from legendary MC Immortal Technique, on a track title'd Bin Laden, Part 2:

I pledge no allegiance
F--- the president's speeches
What the industry did to 'Pac, they did to Jesus ...
Calling abortion 'murder' in a hospital building
But don't give a f--- about bombing Iraqi children

The lines ring true. They are brutal. That is real hip hop.

Hip hop is commercial. They days of hip hop being 'counter-culture' are long gone, as the vast reach and popularity of the art and culture of hip hop has transformed the music from protest music to packaged product. It's true: rap music and hip hop imagery is used ot sell everything on the face of the earth, from watches to cars, from jeans to deodorant, from fast food to cell phones.

This is not a lament, just an observation of the impact of hip hop, and the fact that it has become a victim of it's own success. The rise of the Bling Bling Culture is a both a product of and a response to commercialism.

Of course, hip hop is more than gangsta rap and baggy jerseys. Graffiti, as you know, is one of the four pillars of hip hop. So I found this article in the New York Times fascinating, as it demonstrates that even the truly underground art of tagging has transformed in stature and form into 'high culture'.

The power of hip hop is amazing, and I believe that the recognition of the art is overdue. Just please, don't make graffiti go Bling Bling, too.