This is a response to the criticism I received from howtotalktogirlsdialectically for using Vinnie Paz’s music in my mixtape “Music is the Weapon Vol.2 - Street Knowlege”.

First off I don’t disagree with you that Vinnie Paz is one of the most disgustingly homophobic rappers around today.  After I heard JMT’s last album I was so disappointed that I was also going to do a blog post discussing him and his (d)evolution as an artist and a human, but I guess I put it off or decided to focus on artists that are still relevant to me. 

I lived around Philly until I was fifteen so the local hip-hop like The Roots and Jedi Mind Tricks played an important part of my soundtrack growing up.  I know that in your opinion JMT’s first album was the only one with any merit but I personally don’t agree with that.  I would say that ‘Servant’s In Heaven, Kings In Hell’ back are all great hip-hop albums and i think the quality of guest appearances co-signs that. I think you’re also right that the best part of the group is Stoupe’s production but I would give him a lot more credit than just being a good imitation of early RZA production.  In my opinion he is one of the best producers at sampling classical music and making intense cinematic beats.

You say that “Keep Movin’ On” is an attempt by Paz at conscience lyricism and I agree with that as well.  I think it was also his last and worst attempt yet, but the subject matter served the purpose of my mixtape well.  He has on previous albums done a lot better job at conscious and personal lyrics, “Shadow Business“, “Trail of Lies”, “Uncommon Valor”, “Death Messiah” and “Razorblade Salvation” to name a few.  I don’t get to worked up about his credibility on issues because I form my own opinions but I do appreciate his story telling ability and some of the topics that he touches on. 

In his song “Shadow Business” he talks about the appalling conditions of sweatshop workers in Nike factories in China, which is a very serious topic to be raised in hip-hop culture since Nike sneakers have become such a huge part of the culture. Sometime after the song came out he put out a video of JMT on tour where he goes into a Nike store and buys hundreds of dollars worth of shoes from this company that he knows is doing horrible things.  Does the fact that Vinnie Paz buys Nike shoes make his song ‘Shadow Business’ any less true or important?  I don’t think so, it just shows that what he says as a rapper doesn’t always truly reflect his real life actions. 

Vinnie Paz’s homophobic lyrics are definitely disturbing but most of all they are just sad because they’re a waste of his skill and creative potential.  In the end I think he only went down that road in an attempt to gain credibility as a hardcore rapper.  Unfortunately for him it just makes him seem weaker as a man rather than stronger. If he had the confidence to keep gaining and expressing his knowledge of self he would have been a great artist because he has at times shown a lot of potential.  Unfortunately he lost his creativity when he became caught up in personifying a “hardcore” image.  I guess a good question is do you think he is being truer to himself when he is rapping about how much he loves his mom or about killing gay people? 

Personally I take his homophobic threats as seriously as I take him being a devout muslim when he talks about drinking in almost every song.  Like most humans the man is a walking contradiction and so I chose to appreciate him for the positive contributions he has made and let him deal with the karma of his ignorance. I think the Vinnie Paz verse on my mixtape deserves use because the topic of how soldiers are often conned into the military and then abandoned once they return home is no less relevant coming from a homophobic rapper.

- Mistah Rapsey

when-igo said: very well put.

howtotalktogirlsdialectically said: This is a well reasoned, plainly stated explanation of where you were coming from with your song selection, and I commend you for taking the time to provide that explanation. Keep up the great work, man!