In hip-hop, beefs are as common as beats. At one point, these verbal altercations drove the production of new music, as responses to one artist's slander began to come in the form of "diss tracks," which would provoke even more responses in the form of hip-hop music. But with modern technological advances—the internet and the ease of which mixtapes are produced—rappers and other musicians have taken their words to the Web, gaining online followings that rival their record sales.
Here are my top three examples of hip-hop musicians who are wind merchants: those people who have used their affinity for running their mouths so well, they've built huge names for themselves—by not shutting the hell up.
3. 50 Cent
Hip-hop has never seen as many beefs from one man as from 50 Cent. It may be up for debate how high on the list of hip-hop's greatest Curtis Jackson falls, but it's doubtless that he sees eye to eye with many artists in the genre. And besides Eminem, those who Jackson does seem to be on good terms with aren't necessarily big names in hip-hop.
G-Unit's last submission, "Terminate on Sight," was a flop, selling less than 250,000 copies; Dr. Dre, who's always been a great producer, is still talking about the release of Detox; and Jackson's defense of Soulja Boy in interviews has left some people wondering about his integrity in respect to making music.
Bob Marley turns in his grave from the range of 50's "One Hate": from the East Coast (Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jadakiss and, most recently, Jay-Z), to the West (The Game), to the South (Young Jeezy, Rick Ross), to the Midwest (Kanye; remember how "Curtis" tanked in sales compared to "Graduation?"), it seems like Jackson has a problem with all rappers but himself.
50 wants to exude a tough-guy persona, but he ends up just sounding whiny. And bored: Jackson has made numerous "diss" videos, short clips that are essentially spoofs making fun of other rappers like Rick Ross and Foxy Brown. Maybe all the money he made off the sale of Vitamin Water has left 50 Cent with too much time on his hands.
2. Kanye West
If 50 Cent has a beef with all rappers, it seems to me that Kanye has a beef with the world. If not, there wouldn't be 50 million versions of the "I'ma let you finish, but _________" parody triggered by his latest outburst at the 2009 VMAs. His ego has always been a topic of discussion, whether he's channeling Michael Jackson in his clothing choices or lambasting the entire selection committee of the MTV Europe VMAs.
We all get angry sometimes, but it seems like every time Kanye does, there has to be either a camera or about 10,000 witnesses around—usually both. And with all the rumors surfacing these days—from Kanye's supposed journey to a Hindu ashram in order to re-evaluate his life, to the recently debunked story that Kanye was killed in a highway accident in Los Angeles—it's clear that he is letting his current infamy continue to spit B.S. for him.
1. Lil' Wayne
Lil' Wayne may not have as many beefs as others on this list, but he is the number one wind merchant for a reason: he does his job damn well. Lil' Wayne eats and sleeps in the recording booth. To date, Lil' Wayne has five platinum albums, two gold albums and thousands of other recordings; Wayne has more mixtapes than clothes. Search Lil' Wayne on datpiff.com—a useful resource in finding the newest hip-hop mixtapes—and you'll find somewhere around 20 pages of mixtapes, over 1,000, with at least a verse from him. Verbally speaking, the man gets around.
The worst part, though, is that when you have that much recorded, you run out of things to say. And it's safe to say this happens to Wayne: on a recent mixtape track featuring rising hip-hop artist Drake (yeah, Jimmy from Degrassi), Wayne drops a line about his getting paid by the letter—and proceeds to (in time to the beat) recite the A-B-Cs. Just like a preschooler hungry for attention.