Waka Flocka's Flame Goes Out - Chris "Preach" Smith

Last Friday, a collective shout of joy went out into the air at the
news that Waka Flocka Flame was quitting the rap game via Twitter.
I'm not gonna lie, I got happy myself. Not just because it's long overdue,
but for the fact that he cites the 'fakes' in the industry and all of the
pressure as reason for him hanging up the mic. For someone who
even managed to make a bad move while quitting(he said 'quite'
instead of 'quit' on the Tweet) Waka did the smart thing. Yes, I'm
giving him props for this. Only a little. Because he knew that the
game is over.

Waka can say he doesn't care about the critics, or the blogs. He may
even be telling the truth. But that doesn't mean that he didn't even
listen. He knew that aside from a couple of other dudes who played
microphone minstrel, he was the one you might have thought of
when you thought of how much saccharine there is in hip hop these
days. He knew that there was a target on his back the size of Decatur
wherever he went. He couldn't even do shows in Charlotte, North
Carolina anymore after two shooting attempts. He'd already been
shot in a robbery attempt and ate a left hook intended for Gucci Mane,
his mentor. All of that had to weigh on a dude who probably only
wanted to smoke more, bag more women and spend more cash and
beat the 9 to 5. So Waka, in essence, decided to stop play-acting.
He said himself he wasn't a rapper. And the funny thing is, we all
bought it. We let him pretend, and make some serious bread doing
so. Even his mom, who became his manager, did. But pretending in
hip hop only goes so far. When you realize that there are bigger fakes
than you, those who've written the book on it and write your checks,
you either change your act or give it up.

I hope that Waka, if he really is done with rap, figures out whatever
it is he's supposed to be. I hope he and his mother commit to having
their bond strengthen outside of the music. And I hope he gets a
voice teacher to take the molasses out of his mouth when he talks.