Charlamagne Tha God: Credibility Is All We Got
Hip hop may have just seen it's best week in a while, and well, that was anticlimatic.
In his new segment of "Righteous Ratchet Wisdom," Uncommon Sense host, Charlamagne Tha God explains, going in depth on the year's most hyped rap battle to date (besides the Freestyle Friday one in the Sprite Corner, of course).
Known socially as #meekmillvsdrake, the Twitter-rant-turned-diss-record episode saw two of rap's greatest hopes for next in line, Drake at Cash Money and Meek Mill at Maybach Music Group, dance and talk s**t like the prettiest of boxers, and for a moment there we figured it was going to be an all-out #takeovervsether, a return of the radio, and a victory for all the naysayers who presumed this generation isn't as hungarian as it's proclaimed to be.
But instead, Drake's quick one-two ("Charged Up" and "Back to Back") followed by the OVO Jordans and the OVO Fest didn't even seem to be in the same weight class as Meek's tweet-and-IG approach, the same approach that was then turned on him when his diss record failed to make it to Funkmaster Flex's show the first time it was supposed to.
"Credibility," said Charlamagne, "it's a basic survival tool. ... Reputations are dying this summer. Bill Cosby said he was America's dad, but America's dad was allegedly drugging and raping our grandmothers. Hulk Hogan said he was a real American hero, but he was sounding more like a real American racist. ... We believed in them, we rooted for them, but soon as we found out they weren't who we thought they were, credibility went out the window."
Meek, of course, is the underdog all around here. But his MMG bawse, in a way, side-stepped that whole "credibility" issue in his career, so did Meek really let fans down, or is there still an opportunity for him to win again? He is after all keeping the interest rate up with his stories, like that one time someone p***ed on Drake.
"Now some of you may say, 'Well, I can separate the artist from the art,' but can you really?" asked Charlamagne. "I'm the type of person that has to believe in the artist in order to enjoy their art. If I believe in you, it's easier for me to trust what you're telling me through your art."
Like that one time Drake said he'd send Charlamagne some bottles, and he actually did.
"Credibility is really all we got," Charlamange concluded.
If Meek's own album title is prophetic –– Dream[chaser]s Worth More Than Money –– this week may prove to be only an interlude. Or maybe if you're reading this, it's too late.
Watch this week's "Righteous Ratchet Wisdom" in the video below.
BET.com is your No. 1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music.
(Photo: Uncommon Sense via YouTube)
