(J)ournal (O)f (K)1ng (E)ljay – “The Common Thing To Do”

I Cannot Tell A Lie…

I wanted this beef to happen since it was rumored with Pusha T. I was the idiot who said, “Yo, but what if Common dissed Drake?” Of course, people laughed and threw stones at me, but I’m used to Lasers trying to catch a body over Lupe Fiasco, so this was a welcome change of scenery. With that being said, I had no idea it would actually happen. I figured that Drake would respect Common’s legacy enough to not mention him, and that Common wouldn’t put himself in a position to become ridiculed by so-called “Hip-Hop purists” and others who don’t understand that the nature of Hip-Hop is competitive…

That was too heavy for the opening paragraph. Apologies.

So imagine my surprise as the situation develops into a media dream. In all honesty, it seems like a situation where the media tried to make a song (Common’s “Sweet”) into an attack on someone else, and Common just kind of let it happen. That turns into the digital wet dream aka perfect marketing scheme for Rick Ross and Drake, and “Stay Schemin’” spawns a wide variety of responses (although French Montana’s verse was underwhelming).

The best part? When Common took that same beat (what?), added a Destiny’s Child acapella (WHAT?), and returned fire immediately, mentioning Drake (bruh, WHAT?!) by name and disrespecting the brand of Canada Dry, all in one sitting. Now it’s to the point where all eyes are (again) on Drake to respond and accept the challenge.

He’s Canada Dry… Get it?

That being said, it is throwing me off at how many people don’t actually understand the concept of Hip-Hop beef. This isn’t spilling over to violence, and this isn’t disrespecting anyone’s parents Father Mother, so I think it’s all good. Hip-Hop’s a competitive culture at the heart, so the fact that rappers can still tap into that side isn’t a bad thing to me at all.

Everyone doesn’t share my views, however. Suddenly, there seems to be this divide between two different types of Hip-Hop fans. On one end, you have the Hip-Hop heads (which side I lean to more often than others) that say if someone says they’re the best, they need to be prepared to protect their claim. If you’re in a competitive ring, you can’t be surprised when someone finally pulls your card to see what you’re made of. On the other end, you have the people who are YMCMB/OVOXO/YOLO fanatics who think that Nicki Minaj is still a beast lyrically and that Tyga and Gudda Gudda can go head to head with any two rappers in the world.

I’m not even exaggerating…

*facepalm*

Then there’s the middle ground where more people fall that think it’s stupid. Common’s too old, Drake’s popular, and they’re both soft as a baby pillow, so obviously Com’s beefing to sell records, right? It’s too much to fathom that Common just may not LIKE Drake, especially since their connections are united in(side?) Serena Williams, lol. People take situations and twist them to fit what they want to believe, when in all actuality, it’s just a part of Hip-Hop.

What sparked these two to speak on it, though?

Drake’s somewhat of an emotional rapper, so that explains him voicing his opinion on Common. I mean, he does things like THIS, so there’s your proof. YOLO?

On the coin flip, Common’s from Chicago, and they don’t breed the type of people that hold their tongue. Kanye West, Twista (who had a newspaper column with the Chicago Tribune for a while), and even Lupe Fiasco (who expresses himself way too much, but still) are all the same way in their own right, and if they have issues with someone or something, they voice it. To be fair, it’s the common thing to do to expect someone who’s as honest as them to eventually voice their displeasure, even when it’s misguided or misplaced.

It’s also the common thing to do for rappers to leave that displeasure on wax. Common just so happened to do it first. I mean, Drake did tell him to speak up on “Stay Schemin’”, so how can fans get upset at Common for accepting the invitation?

All in all, it’s Hip-Hop. Things like this happen all the time. As long as it doesn’t turn violent, I’m perfectly cool with watching this one and seeing how it plays out. I’m not even picking a side on it; I’m just going to chill and enjoy it. Besides, it may be a precursor to something much, much bigger.  Word to the homie Fr3sh…

Later.

K1ng Eljay

(P.S: As a sidenote, for someone to say that Common is envious of Drake’s position is inaccurate and borderline retarded. Let’s not forget that music is ONE of Common’s hustle… not his main one.)

• K1ngEljay.com on Facebook