Ski Mask Way: Rap Crimes & Hip Hop Culture

"Web Crew at ThisIs50.com Stealing Blog Posts"

Coverage at ProHipHop

Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent and the Rise of the Hip-Hop Hustler

Queens Reigns Supreme by Ethan Brown

I just got hold of a copy of Ethan Brown's Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent and the Rise of the Hip-Hop Hustler and I'm really looking forward to reading it.  I'll do some sort of follow-up once I've checked it out.

Ethan Brown blogs on related topics and is working on a book titled Snitch: Informers, Cooperators, and the Corruption of Justice.

Smoking Gun: NYPD's Rap Files & 50 Cent

The initial inspiration for Ski Mask Way was the NYPD's hip hop dossier from which The Smoking Gun posted excerpts back in '05.

Though The Smoking Gun reminded us of their contributions to hip hop history by claiming that Cam snitched, given that Cam and 50 have been going at it regarding snitching, it's surprising that they failed to mention the similar finding that 50 Cent also reported attacks to the police.

Ski Mask Way - Rap Crimes & Hip Hop Culture

50 Cent - Ski Mask Way

Ski Mask Way has been a long time coming.

Though I have many motivations for starting Ski Mask Way, I primarily hope it will be a platform for exploring the multifaceted nature of crime in the hip hop community.  Rather than walling it all off as a rap thing, I consider criminal activity to have become a key element in hip hop today, an element that permeates the lyrics and lifestyles of many contemporary artists.

However, this approach is less about attacking hip hop purists and more about opening up an opportunity to look at crime in a cultural context.  But that doesn't have to be yawn inducing, for example, check out the Ski Mask Way video that inspired the title of this blog.  Fun, huh?

I find the video disturbing but really strong.  Although one could claim it romanticizes crime, I think it has a far more realistic tone than most rap videos.

In any case, we're off.  If you want to join the fun, write me:
clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com

Update:
You know, I think I gave Ski Mask Way a catchier introduction in its previous incarnation as Criminal Arts.