HIP-HOP IN 2003! IT'S A RAP "ATTACK" UP!

                              by: DJ Kazzeo

Uncertain. I think that word is what can best describe my mental state at this time 12 months ago. Nes was about to take a brief leave from the site to handle personal business and I, seeing that others wanted to freeze the site until Nes returned, stepped up and took on the task of keeping everything on course. By no means was I alone though. Our team (myself, Baby C, and Hovik) put in long, long hours. I, myself can confirm that keeping all this together is a 16 - 20 hour per day process. Sleep is not a known thing in this situation. For close to 4 months this was the routine. But dedication makes up for it and as a team, we held it down. From making sure all the charts and site pages were updated on time, to promoting records via emails and voice messages to acquiring new accounts & collecting owed money from record label heads I had heard of but never actually spoke to, this was a major endeavor. It was a result of this period that we made the switch and brought in a new and vastly more talented web designer in Mike Franco. This guy completely revamped the look of the site and helped to more clearly define Nes’ vision of www.RapAttackLives.com. As I said this whole thing was major. And I have no regrets whatsoever. I would do it all again for one simple reason. FRIENDSHIP. Nes has always been there and helped me in countless ways. You know what, friendship is not the correct word for this. FAMILY is. Nes is family to me. Period. Even when he does that incredibly suspect “Camp Jim” pose in front of me, I got his back…

So 2003 was really the year that 50 Cent blew up. I mean this guy had the serious Midas Touch in 2003. His album went like 6 times platinum, G-Unit was everywhere, he completely shut down Ja-Rule, and the icing on the cake was he got busy with Vivica Fox! Damn. Suddenly getting shot nine times might be the way to go…

Jay-Z released “The Black Album” (RAF) and said it was his last. Yeah right. My money says he will put out another album before 2 years pass. See me at the end of 2005. But what does he care, he’s got Beyonce on lock down. Speaking of Beyonce, I think LL said it best. “I took your record cover straight home to the bathroom”…

Hands down, the illest thing I saw this year was a drunk girl trying to ride an ambulance in NYC. That was hilarious. Hit me up for the full story…

The Source and XXL went head to head. In all honesty, does anyone care? But speaking of the Source, isn’t it hypocritical of Benzino to blast Eminem for apparently exploiting Hip Hop when he himself makes Pop Rap records with Stagga Lee? Then Benzino and the Source dig up some horrible demo tape of Eminem where he is dissing his old girlfriend who happened to be African American by calling her a gold digger. They call him a racist. But they have no issue with him as far as his songs about killing his wife and raping his mother? I have no issue with anything he says but it’s funny that they find the gold digger comment offensive but not the killing and rape comments. So how can their claims be considered credible? Just my thought…

This year, more than any other, commercial radio continued to flood the airwaves with Crap Rap as opposed to true Hip Hop. This is a true blue horrible situation we are in as mindless metaphors are thought to be groundbreaking art. Ying Yang Twins, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz and many others have proven that , if you have a junior high education, you too can be a rapper. It’s disgusting. The lyrics they drop sound like they took 5 minutes to write. And the sad fact is, mixshow dj’s who were once well respected college radio dj’s are now followers of this brainwashing. A lot of cats seem to have gotten lobotomy’s. And I know there are some who will say that if these artists are so bad then why did they sell so well. To which I would say, are you on drugs? That ideology would mean that New Kids On The Block, Milli Vanilli, and Kris Kross were good right? C’mon…

Friendster.com and MySpace.com blew up as well. You can best believe if I am not on the phone with you I am on one of these sites. I am so addicted…

Thanks to Paris Hilton for making that video. I watch it daily. If you haven't peeped her on Fox TV's "The Simple Life" yet, WATCH IT! I’m still waiting for the Christina Aguilera sex tape not to mention the 2004 release of Paris Hilton's singing debut. She is quoted as saying it’s gonna be a mix of Pop and Hip Hop. Lord help us all…

Allow me to admit to both Rich Lawson (KSMU-Springfield, MO) & Chris Hodkins (KGNU-Denver, CO) that my Oakland Raiders pretty much have been a joke this year. Don’t get used to it homies. Just like my governor, they’ll be back…

First Mariah made “Glitter”, then J-Lo made “Gigli”. I can’t wait to see which singer is next to make a failure of a movie. My prediction is Ashanti. We’ll see…

Then of course there were some true highlights for me this year. One was getting back to NYC to politic with many of you at CMJ 2003. That trip was so necessary (Jay-Z reference). The RapAttackLives.com "Unofficial CMJ Hip-Hop Showcase #3" held at NY's club Opaline on October 23rd was the talk of the town! We got to see gracing the stage & the mic; BlackMoon, Last Emperor, PMD, El Gant, Doujah Raze, W.A.R., Splitt, Troy Walsh aka Mr. Unlikely, Phar-City, Jinx Da Juvy, Twin Hyttaz, Immortal Technique, Suspens Recordings, both DJ's Yoshi & Kuttin' Kandi on the wheels & more! What a night! Yours truly, Nes, DJ Addition, DJ EQ (WBCR-Brooklyn, NY) & Dan Shores (WHRW-Binghamton, NY) all worked overtime to make this years showcase, one you wouldn't forget!...

The other was seeing the joy that Baby Niko brought to my “lil sister”, Baby C. As I wrote above, the beginning of the year was crazy stressful on all of us from the Rap Attack team but it was greatly compounded as she also had to deal with a rough pregnancy at the same time. So the arrival of Niko was truly a “saving grace” for her. My only regret was not driving 90mph instead of 80mph so that I could of gotten to the hospital sooner and been there before his birth on May 14. Oh well…

Also, my man Jason D (KHDC #2-Salinas, CA) had another addition to his family as his daughter Milan came into the world on November 11. Nesto Acosta (WODU-Norfolk, VA), Jon? Doe (KCPR-San Luis Obispo, CA), FunkDaddy (X-104/MixTape-Seattle, WA), Danny "D-Real" Munoz (KCRH-Hayward, CA), DJ Solo (WECI-Richmond, IN), Hovik (Rap Attack's TALES FROM THE TAPEDECK/MixTape Editor) & Doug Dilly (KXCI-Tucson, AZ) all became proud new papas in 2003!...

Despite labels being closed and promoters being laid off, many records were dropped this year that kept the essence of Hip Hop alive at college radio including “5 Star Hooptie” from J-Zone, “Haters Anthem” from Jean Grae, “Holdin’ It Down” from El Gant, “Risky Business” from Murs, “Run” from Ghostface featuring Jadakiss, “Floor Wax” from DJ Zeph, “Prisoner” from Last Emperor, “Zigga Zigga” from Encore, “Insp-Her-Ation” from Da Ranjahz featuring Cee-Lo, “Omega Supreme” from Danger Mouse & Jemini, “G’s & Soldiers” from Planet Asia & Kurupt, and “Throw Heat” from Tribeca & Doujah Raze to name just a few…

In what many would say was the best independent album of the year, Little Brother hit the scene with “The Listening”. This album was solid as hell and is very worth all of it’s acclaim…

Once again, always on point veterans Gang Starr released a solid effort in “The Ownerz” that was not promoted and, for lack of a better word, un-noticed. Very sad because the album is dope as hell…

Having seen them 3 times this past year, I have to say that the Lifesavas crew get my vote as best new artist for 2003. These guys have a great stage show and released multiple, solid singles this year. Watch out for them in 2004…

Chicago was well represented this year as Daily Planet & Iomas Marad both released strong projects…

As I write this final report of 2003 I can’t help but remind those of you who knew him and those of you who knew of him that DJ Rob One would have been celebrating his 32^nd birthday on Dec 19. Rob was a great friend of both Nes and I who passed away a couple years back. He was a pioneering dj/grafitti artist in LA and the West Coast. Rob One, R.I.P. …

My guilty pleasure this year had to be the show “Cheaters”. I can’t get enough of seeing white trash act as ghetto as possible. That show rocks!…

How could I write this column and not say something in regards to Michael Jackson? I mean there are so many avenues to go with this. Granted that by law he is innocent until proven guilty. But at the same time, where there is smoke there is fire. In 1993, he paid off the kid so he wouldn’t testify. But now the law makes it mandatory for victims to testify either voluntarily or as a hostile witness. So this will be interesting…

I may be wrong but I swear that 80% of all the records I got this year came from either Alma G. @ Room Service / 7 Heads, Jessica @ Spectre, or Papa D @ Landspeed / Traffic. These soldiers were working crazy overtime with all the projects they had on their plates. It was crazy…

So Cali pretty much turned into a joke with the “Governator” taking over. For what’s it worth though, at least he repealed the car tax. That was a bigger joke than anything…

Undeniably it was truly super of Kelis to make the strip club anthem of 2003. I, for one, can confirm that her “Milkshake” brings me to the yard. LOL! On a similar note, how bout' Madonna & Britney Spears locking lips & swapping spit at this years MTV Music Awards? Yeah baby...

So the legend George Clinton just got busted for marijuana and cocaine possession. Is this a surprise? I mean if you have ever seen a Parliament Funkadelic show, you would know that to create the stage show and music they do, you have to be on some ish…

Got to shout out my homeboy ID (KTOB-CA/Heiro Imperium) who I saw a couple weeks ago at the WWE Smackdown show in San Jose, CA. Maybe you need to be an excessive fan or something but the show seemed really un-exciting.  Kind of lackluster to me. But a lot of people are into this stuff so I can’t knock them for it. It was a wild scene because while I was in the lobby getting some food, I saw a girl (maybe 20 years old or so) actually faint in front of one of the merchandise stands. That was crazy. And once inside I saw 2 guys throw down for a good minute before security ejected both of them. Gotta love it right…

Got to wish the man Ozzy Osbourne a speedy recovery from his recent accident & to Luthor Vandross who's recovering from a stroke…

In the coming year, expect the flood of independent labels to be greater than any other year. There are far too many artists now and not enough majors willing to take a chance. I see this as being a blessing in disguise. Think about. Back in the days, all of the classic records from the mid to late 80’s were on independent labels. Then majors came in and watered down a lot of the scene. Going back to basics will be the equivalent of when Rocky Balboa lost all his money and had to go back to the hood and got down and dirty to beat the hell out of Tommy Gun (not the Beat Junkie kid, the boxer)…

President Bush declared war with Iraq. We lost a lot of good people who fought for our country. Was it worth it? You can run but you can't hide. That's right as our US Troops has captured Iraq's fallen dictator, Saddam Hussein!...

That’s pretty much it for this year. Shouts to my peoples Nes, Jason D, Kutmasta Kurt, Bubba G Scotch (Keep ya head up bro, the tough times will pass), Rick Betemit (Atlantic Records), our Rap Attack Conference Call Panel ( Haze, Dialog, Kevin Sakoda, Chill Will, Tyrone Francis, Lee L'Heureux, Rich Lawson, 3rd Rail, Addition, Chris Hodkins, DJ Skee, DJ Opal, Dan Shores, Edgie Kokoski, Nesto & DJ Kristyles) & the record labels who sponsored our calls. And to Baby C, and mah “nephew” Niko...

Don’t forget that as you are reading this, Jessica Alba’s new movie “Honey” is in theaters now. Make sure to support my future wife and go check it out…

Lot’s of changes and upgrades are coming here at Rap Attack, so get ready! The all new and revamped Rap Attack DJ reporter list will be announced in early January 2004. If you get dropped, it’s business and not personal. Reporters remember, the first day to report in 2004 is on Wednesday, January 7th by 4pm West Coast time / 7pm East Coast. No exceptions.…

My final profound thought for this year is this. My life would be a lot easier if only I could find a girl as hot as and as stupid as Jessica Simpson. Her husband hit the lotto didn’t he?…

Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Feliz Navidad, and Happy New Year to all of you reading this, all my label and industry friends, and especially to the Rap Attack family…See ya in 2004!

Peace,

DJ Kazzeo

(KHDC-Salinas, CA / Rap Attack's Asst. Rap Editor)