Brotherly Love and The Black Wall Street
Split
By : M Dogg
Welcome
back to "The Junkyard," with the Eddie Guerrero of Hip-Hop online journalism.
I am in my new home here at dubcnn.com, it’s been a long time coming but I am
glad to be back. There is very little people can say that will make me go
away. So call me the best dress like I’m Kanye West, ‘cause the kid in the
Moss jersey don’t take no mess.
This is the Junkyard here in my new home, dubcnn, and it’s been a long time
coming. For those who don’t remember, I used to write for WC Killaz, back when
Trauma wasn’t a crazy Republican and when B-Please was, well B-Please is still
one of the coolest m*thaph*kkaz out there. Anyway, I’m still M Dogg, and I’m
still putting it down for the west, although I currently reside in Minnesota.
Hey, Arnold put a smack down on education jobs. Enough of that, allow me to
get to the meat of what I have to address.
I know that many Westcoast artists out there read dubcnn and they check out
the message board since we have the largest and most respected Westcoast
community on the internet. So I hope that the people this editorial involves;
Big Fase 100 and The Game, are reading this. As you may or may not be aware
The Game and Big Fase 100 are paternal blood brothers and recently publicly
declared the split of their company The Black Wall Street into two separate
entities, The Black Wall Street and The Real Black Wall Street citing varies
issues including money. *Please note some sections of this article are
written with quotes from both sides and would need reading at source to
understand*
As a Latino who grew up with his grandma in the Inland Empire in Southern
California, I was raised that there is nothing more important that family. No
matter how mad you are at them, family is still there for you in the end, and
nothing should ever come between that. Remember, Big warned about this, even
though he was referring to Crack this rule applies to life in general. Rule 7
of the "Ten Crack Commandments," “This rule is so underrated, Keep your
family and business completely separated/ Money and blood don't mix like two
dicks and no bitch, Find yourself in serious shit.” How true this rule is,
even though Fase and Game had what looked to be a great formula, I think in
the end mixing family and business was not that great an idea. I still hope
they can come together, though it’s proving to be a difficult situation to
follow.
Let’s start from the beginning, and see how in the world this scenario could
have arisen. First you have Big Fase 100, a legit O.G. from Compton, and
someone that people respect on the street. Fase had a little brother named
Game, and I’m sorry Chuck Taylor but you never open the door when you are
alone and you got money in the house. Fase’s rule seemed to be a very common
sense one, as the drug game is a crooked business with people always waiting
to get there hands on you. After all, Biggie stated in rule number 5:
"Never sell no crack where you rest at/ I don't care if they want a ounce,
tell em bounce." So with that, Game had his moment that got him a spot in
G-Unit, and that’s getting shot, and giving him a story to tell.
In the hospital, Game as we all know, listen to every Hip-Hop classic that his
brother would buy him. From 2001 on, he listen to Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas, 2Pac,
Eazy E and Ice Cube, and he was able to reproduce other artist’s style and
flows, which he used when he did "300 Bars." Game though, I think took
everything in to much and dropped names like no one I’ve ever heard before.
Game basically became the Ultimate Hip-Hop head, but it paid off as the
Underground began to take notice. What Fase was thinking then, we don’t quite
know, but if it was on the rap business I doubt he’d let Game get f*cked by JT
the Bigga Figga. Still, Dr. Dre got his ear to Game’s music, and that was
enough to sign the young Compton native to an Aftermath contract.
Now on Aftermath, and working with Dr. Dre, Game was living a dream, no pun
intended, as the long time Eazy E fan finally got to work with Mr. Wright’s
NWA partner and early producer. Things were going good for the Game, though
Interscope Records believed The Game would be a fit better in G-Unit. After
all, his image was in essence the same as 50 Cent, both riddled with bullet
scars and hood stories, the Game would be seen as the Westcoast extension of
the growing label. So with some help from 50 Cent, who would be heavily
featured on the singles off the CD, Game was ready to take the world by storm.
Releasing songs on mixtape's in New York thanks to his G-Unit connection,
allowed Game to be heard on both coasts, taking out 50 Cent’s lightweight
beefs like Joe Budden's expanded his fan base, and with beats from Dr. Dre,
Game caught the attention of press worldwide. Then Game dropped "The
Documentary," and the talk is true, he did bring the westcoast back. I
personally thought Xzibit would with his growing fan base from Pimp My Ride,
but instead it was Game, with help from G-Unit.
Shortly after this though, G-Unit members appeared to become jealous, and 50
Cent would kick Game out of G-Unit. This would spark a huge feud of WWE
standards. The young kid comes out and almost does better than the veteran
wrestler, so the veteran turns on the kid and tries to destroy him before he
gets started. Game didn’t care; he was trying to bring up The Black Wall
Street with his partner and brother, Big Fase 100. Yet Game was at war, and
being at war and at the same time building an empire doesn’t work. In rap, it
seems that’s the way to build an empire, but your empire is not secure and in
the end inevitably crumbles and falls. Ask Death Row who had to live off beef,
from Ruthless to the eastcoast-westcoast feud to beefing with their former
stars that brought them up, or many rappers who lost popularity during their
beefs like Canibus. So Black Wall Street was not off to the right start in
aiming to support a respectable label.
What happened in the background, I can only go off what I’ve seen and heard.
And from what I’ve seen, I can only say that business should have never split
a family, especially two brothers who seem so close. I do think others got in
the way and for their greed, they came between the two. But with blood you
take out those that separate you from your family, and you build an even
stronger bond knowing that it’s two brothers against the world. Big Fase and
The Game have a winning formula to take Black Wall Street to higher levels,
and with help from Dr. Dre to get needed nationwide airplay, I would hope Big
Fase realizes that the smartest business move is to stick with his brother.
If they want to continue business after their holiday arguing, I wish them
luck. It is time for them to stop with this internet beef and come together as
a family. Black Wall Street could have a great formula if they continue to be
together. It appears that Game is much better in terms of the artist direction
of BWS while we know Big Fase can handle business. But first, they need to put
money aside and talk things out like two grown men, and for the betterment of
the Westcoast, they need to talk as brothers, and as family.
If the Game wants to continue bringing back the west he needs to realize the
west can’t be built off beef, but instead a foundation that is expressive,
that’s hard hitting, and most importantly united. NWA was united and that
allowed for a solid foundation. It was Death Row’s willingness to beef that
lead to their downfall. Ice Cube for most of his career didn’t have much beef,
except his split from NWA, and keeping his beef low allowed for him to build
his career. 2Pac went years without any Hip-Hop beef and he build his career
off that, and it was his careless behavior and untouchable mentality after his
release from jail that lead to his untimely death. Dr. Dre didn’t even bother
responding to Death Row in the late 90’s, early 2000’s, and now who is on top
the rap world. If Game is the resurrection of the Westcoast, he needs to
understand that the westcoast needs him to lead BWS to bigger and better
things, not a civil war that can end a revolution before it even begins. The
resurrection of the westcoast needs to be with people in California coming
together, and with two brothers like the Game and Big Fase, that would be a
sign that we are united. Think of it like this, if Eazy E beefed with Dr. Dre
before NWA's Straight Outta Compton, there would be no west. Think about it.
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