The Hip Hop Watch

As you all have probably heard, hip hop’s biggest liar is now staring down the barrell of a 20 year jail sentence.  A Manhattan jury of her peers–and no, they weren’t wearing Chanel or Gucci–came to their senses and convicted the loud-mouthed star of perjury and conspiracy but let her go on the obstruction charge.  I was hesitant to post this morning since I knew that people would be weighing in on this ever so important issue in world news. 

People’s reaction to this conviction are amazing.  Fans outside the courthouse were brought to tears and others were blaming a racist criminal justice system for this travesty.   Well, Kim’s supporters need to rethink their position.  This decision not only reinforces the fairness of the American jurisprudence system but also is a much needed slap in the face for the hip hop community. 

The Lil’ Kim circus is one of the first, in recent memory, publically covered and exploited perjury cases.  The results tell us a few things.  First, a mature and sane society will not stand for blatant and offensive lies at any level.  Lil’ Kim thought her money, Grammies and fake breasts would get her over.  But the people of New York City deflated her ego and showed her that no, she is not above the law.  Furthermore, rappers now must start living within the laws that dictate polite society.  Publicists and magazine editors alike have aided and abetted these lies and deceipt for many years now.  Maybe the Manhattan DA’s office should consider sweeping indictments for the staffs of XXL, Vibe and The Source for perjury.  They’ve lied about the quality of albums and conspired with labels to get us to buy drivel that fills up our CD cases and are never listened to.

But, the lies will never end.  Vibe will tell you that Mobb Deep is still hardcore when they don fur coats with 112 in videos and sound particularly sweet.  The Source will continue to promote Made Men is the greatest group to ever record an album.  And of course, Elliott Wilson and his XXL ilk will continue to talk their endless shit about how great their magazine is even though he, as an educated individual, told the New York Times that he "ghettoizes" his articles.  But don’t worry folks, The Hip Hop Watch has its sites set on magazines next.

Anyway, take your kids outside and get some fresh air.  Ride a bike, take a stroll on the beach.  The streets are much safer now that Lil’ Kim is headed to the big house.      

This entry was posted on Friday, March 18th, 2005 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.