I Love This Game
By Paul Johnson Jr.
So here it goes… Jay-Z is the Michael Jordan of hip-hop and Weezy is the Skip to my Lou of rap. Are you ready to cuss me out yet? Mike was drafted in ’84, Jay in ’96. Skip was a lonely twelve-year-old out of Queens with a basketball style that stood out from any and every other ball player across the world and Weezy always had the talent. Mike left the game and returned with an encore; Jay, ditto. Skip later became king of the And 1 mix tapes. Tell me one person who wasn’t trying to skip down the court with the basketball on a yo-yo. Weezy, same thing: King of the mix tapes. From Mike’s 69 points to Jay’s Black Album; And 1 Volume One to The Drought 3: same concept, same style.
Mike started killing right away, wasted no time. He won scoring titles, defensive first-team awards, took his team to the playoffs but didn’t win the chip until ’91 where he took out Isiah and Magic; Bird as well. For him to be number one, he had to beat these guys. As he was hitting his peak, the greats were leaving so he—till this day—feels sort of empty; gypped out of his crown. Almost as if he didn’t earn it. But as any great will, he feels like there could have been something he wishes he could’ve done different; could’ve done better. The fact remains; he is, was and always will be the best. He will always be The G.O.A.T. Air Jordan sits comfortably on six championship rings, five MVPs, ten first-team all NBA selections, six Finals MVPs, nine NBA all-defensive first-team awards, ten scoring titles, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer… must we go on?
Jay-Z, Sean Carter, ‘Hova, sits on your coffee table with his first album, a hip-hop classic: Reasonable Doubt. Everybody from Compton to Maine had “Feelin’ It” bumping through their speakers whether they were on their way to work or sparking up a blunt watching a Tyson fight. Biggie and Tupac was his Magic and Bird. As soon as Jay was coming up, the two top rappers left the game. As tragic as it was, Hov’ kept spitting. Roc-A-Fella Records trumped both Death Row and Bad Boy in almost every category attainable. In 1999, Jay launched Rocawear which today has annual sales of $1 billion dollars. Since Reasonable Doubt, he’s released eleven albums including joint efforts with the rest of the Roc-A-Fella family and the ageless (no pun intended) R. Kelly. He’s retired, came back and soared back to the top of the charts, sort of like somebody else did back in ’93. State Property, New Jersey (Brooklyn) Nets, Def Jam President; you name it. The Brooklyn native—not Mike, though one—has been kickin’ ass and taking names ever since.
You may read this and say, “How could Biggie not be the Mike Jordan of rap?” Simply put, he wasn’t around long enough. It wasn’t his fault but he just wasn’t. Would Pee Wee Kirkland have been better than Jordan if he never turned down that Chicago Bulls contract, gave up the fast life and went to the league? Or if Michael Ray Richardson never would’ve got hooked on “H”? Maybe, but we’ll never know.
And 1 released a mix tape with who some consider the greatest street ball legend ever, Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston. From I.S. 8 to Rucker Park, Skip’s been breaking ankles and stealing manhood’s of all challengers with enough balls to stand adjacent to Skip during a game. Slap him across the face why don’t ‘cha? Skip’s changed the game of basketball as we know it. We’ve all gone out to our nearest park trying to put the ball around an opponent’s head, through their legs, looking for a tricky behind-the-back pass to a streaking teammate. Looking for those “seven ooh’s” as Alimoe calls it. As he reigns supreme on the blacktop, he was never the man on the NBA’s hardwood. Being shipped from the NBA to overseas, back to the L and being traded from team to team, Skip was never the next best Point-God as SLAM projected him to be coming out of Fresno State. No ‘chips, no individual accolades, no all-NBA anything’s. But you simply can’t guard him. I guarantee nobody in the L can stay in front of him, sort of like no one in the rap game can stand up to Lil’ Wayne and his slick punch lines. They are just too creative.
There’s no doubt Lil’ Wayne has changed the rap game and raised the bar lyrically. His mix tapes and features have been out of this world; almost literally. Stepped in the game at a tender age, he signed with Cash Money Records. Not quite ready to lead the gang, Juve and BG held it down while Manny Fresh claimed the ‘boards. Now, Wayne has the whole damn world awaiting The Carter III. Can we say his other albums were hot? You damn right! They were 500 degrees hot. Shit, even the white world uses “bling-bling” in their so-called educated conversations Can we say they were hip-hop classics? Probably not. Weezy’s never put out a “Ready to Die,” or a “Blueprint” for that matter. Although he claims “The Greatest Rapper Alive,” he doesn’t have the paperwork to back up his stake.
We do have to give him love for his studio addiction though. I mean, this guy is doing reggae joints with Sizzla, R & B joints with Mario and hip-hop joints with Mary J Blige, [my nigga]! His swag has officially styled on y’all. While a white-tee trooper; the diamonds, unlimited, rare denim collection, dreads and white Styrofoam cup completes his ensemble and makes him untouchable when it comes to his fashion savvy. So the image is there, his rep’ is built but he has to hit hard and heavy with this Carter III album to officially step out of Jigga’s shadow as Skip has to win a ring in Houston, not in Harlem.
