Even though J. Cole has named Canibus as one of his favorite rappers, Canibus is not amused. According to Canibus, Cole talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk– he might praise him and say in his interviews that Canibus is one of his favorite rappers, but when it comes down to it, Cole shows no love. “He isn’t nearly as sincere or genuine as he would like real hip hop heads to think he is,” Canibus said in a statement earlier today. Hit the jump to read what he had to say and to hear his diss track, “J. Clone.”
Some people pose the argument that Canibus is always dissing somebody and to that I reply that I have always been one to speak up if ever my values, beliefs, or what I stand for as a man in this thing called Hip Hop have ever been challenged. Throughout my 17 year music career I have never taken the easy route and I will continue to fight for what I believe in. However, on the other side of that coin, very rarely do any of these artists use the proper channels available to reach out and communicate with me. Royce uses twitter and argues with fake accounts and considers it a valid way to embolden his self. Anybody can pose as anyone else on the internet. As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to get the blue checkmark on twitter for almost two years until I just gave up. Something bigger than the captain is awry over there, believe me. As always, I’m left to use the only outlet and resource I know to state the facts and to give credence to my perspective which is all to often overlooked, and I would be lying if I said I did not resent this wholeheartedly. I use pure uncorrupted Hip Hop to respond and I will continue to do this as long as I possibly can.
Check the resume’ people. I have always taken on the hard targets in that regard, yet in the *spirit of true respect, I have always reached out to the legends, and elder statesmen in Hip Hop I came up listening to from Rakim, to Kool G Rap, K-Solo, Professor Griff, and numerous others, and showed my appreciation for their talents by asking if they’d honor me with their presence on wax through song collaborations.
*( and out of respect for hip -hop in general)
Even though no monetary figure could ever compensate them for their contributions to the art of hip-hop, I paid them out of a budget when I had a label and out of my own pocket when I didn’t have financial backing for their participation on my projects, all the while exhibiting unrivaled love, admiration, humility and humbleness as a man. As a fan, I hold an immeasurable amount respect for their forever timeless and inspirational catalogues. These are legendary artists, who sometimes may not have been occupying the public spotlight but I did what I felt to be the honorable thing and I’ve proactively offered up gestures such as compensating them for their talents as well as their contributions to my life, as a fan first, a student of hip hop 2nd, and ultimately a man of music with similar aspirations of becoming a world renown lyricist myself. Every real rappers dream. I knew they were able to feed their families and be proud of their impact on the beast from the east with the bread we broke.
Currently, new artists such as J Cole have continuously mentioned me as their favorite artist, shouted me out in articles, magazine/online interviews, and even gone as far as starting off show sets by playing some of my earlier material to warm up the audience and give off the impression that he is real hip hop and loves real lyricism. Cole might say he does this to pay homage, but in reality, by him playing my older material owned by my former label dating back to 1998, subsequently overlooking my current works and contributions which directly benefit me now, he is treating me less like an artist that has, and continues to contribute, influence, and inspire an even younger generation of MC’s coming up, and more like an artist that has physically passed on already(i.e. Tupac, B.I.G., Big L, Heavy D, Eyeda): you get the point I’m trying to make. I can’t help but to think that he is not nearly as sincere or genuine as he would like real hip hop heads to think he is because he speaks about me like I am dead. What he is doing is underhanded and disingenuous and whether it is his idea or not, I don’t agree with his tactic and I have something to say about it.
Was I so ahead of my time back in 1996 that people are currently unable to comprehend the jewels I continue to offer hip-hop NOW in 2012?
Do some real research folk. I am currently 12 albums deep, and I challenge anyone with a high school education or better to dispute the validity of the cutting edge Hip Hop music I still contribute to the art form on a yearly basis. Whether you ever wanted to collaborate on a track with me or not is your prerogative, I only ask that in your efforts to “pay homage†you don’t overlook my current offerings to this genre I still love very much and defend to the fullest.
Some might look to label me as an older head picking on a younger head who claims to have been influenced by me, but I refuse to let anyone including him stand on what we built, and pompously extract only the parts that suit them and their undermining intentions under the guise of “paying homage”. I’m sick of it. That’s fake, fraudulent, and misrepresents mine and others contributions, and significance to hip-hop music. After watching many many interviews of Clone, I mean Cole “pay homage”, I decided to pay some homage to him myself because I am still alive and well and ready to throw down for Hip Hop.
Respectfully yours,
Captain Cold Crush
