Stages, Lights and Awards - Chris "Preach" Smith

Rick Ross and Young Jeezy.


By now, we’ve all heard about the brawl between Rick Ross and Young
Jeezy at this year’s BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. And we also got to see
the resulting mayhem in the parking lot between Gunplay, a member of Ross’
Maybach Music Group and 50 Cent and other members of G-Unit. Of course,
once the mace cleared, this incident is just another on the long list of beefs
and incidents that has taken place at awards shows. Like my man Julian said
to me via Twitter, ‘It’s the new Source Awards!!!’ And he’s right, to some
degree.

There’s some that ask why stuff like this goes down only at events that
are related to hip hop. Others that use incidents like this to further solidify
the stereotype that the entire culture of hip hop is a composition of bling,
overt swagger and nuanced thuggery. Truth be told, if you understand the
culture, this is inevitable. Hip hop is partly about appreciating and respecting
the MC with the greatest presence. Flat out. It used to be all about lyrics, then
the exterior. In today’s money-driven landscape though, the biggest baller is
usually deemed the best, never mind their skills. With that being the case,
you can look at the main people involved and see that this is nothing but a
drama play gone awry.

First off, Young Jeezy and Rick Ross have been at odds ever since Ross did
the track ‘Blowing Money Fast’. Claiming to be like Big Meech of the BMF, a
known dude on the streets is something altogether different when EVERYONE
knows that you used to be a correctional officer. And this is while you have
named yourself after another infamous drug dealer, ‘Freeway’ Ricky Ross who
has basically called you a cornball on record. So Rick Ross was bound to get
into it with Jeezy, who now alternates between claiming ties to Big Meech and
defending himself against claims that HE’S a fraud. All this after being called
out by the late, great Pimp C of UGK. Then you have Gunplay, who really could
be rap’s version of Pig Pen from Charles Schultz’s ‘Peanuts’. It seems that all
that blow he’s doing(and before you refute that, check his antics in Colombia
during a video shoot)has damaged his judgement. Nothing else explains why
he would approach 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and other G-Unit heads by HIMSELF.
And all that blow couldn’t save him from catching a semi-stomping. As for 50?
He’s probably the most authentic out of the quartet, and the man with the longest
tenure in the game. So it all seems like a nuisance to him.

What went on in Atlanta is basically nothing more than a couple of cats
believing their own hype a little too much and letting it get out of hand.
And in the process, it adds an extra level of publicity to BET’s product.
Which all means more money for its parent company, Viacom. It shouldn’t
be a coincidence that all this went down and different videos began to
get out. Controlled mayhem is lucrative. If you don’t believe me, let me
ask you what you watch on weekends from September to February. I know
a good deal of you will say, ‘football’. I referenced the Source Awards earlier.
After they had their issues, it was no longer televised. Big difference here
is that the Source Awards were on a non-affiliated network. Different stigma,
different rules. All of this ruckus can go down on cable and it might snag
the producers some Emmys. Look at Vh1’s primetime lineup on Mondays.
Don’t be surprised if something else goes down next year. Even studio
gangsters need their spotlight like everyone else.