Am I A Hater?
Posted: April 18, 2016 Filed under: RAMBLE, Real Rap Talk | Tags: 21 Savage, Aubrey Drake Graham, buckshot, Cypress Hill, disliker, hater, j cole, kendrick lamar, kool g rap, Mobb deep, monday ramble, NWA, onyx, Red Opps, The Walking Dead, Tyler Perry, Wale Leave a comment
For the last two decades, the term “hater” has been one of the most overused and unfit labels for any human with a personal opinion. I feel like there are times when I don’t give a certain kind of food, or a television show, or an artist a chance because of something indescribable that just turned me off. Does that mean I’m hating on The Walking Dead if it didn’t grab me like everyone else? I believe when it comes to peanut butter, Tyler Perry programs and Wale, I may just fall into the category of being a “disliker.”
As a coach and an educator, I have the unofficial job of mentor/counselor for students. They often talk to me about social, scholastic, domestic and extracurricular issues. Then there are times when sports and music dominate the convos, and since I’m not completely out of touch, they assume I can almost relate. Last week two young ladies, one a senior in high school, and the other a sophomore, decided to share a musical selection with me and a co-worker. They didn’t only share the song, they sang these lyrics word-for-word:
“I just bought a pistol, it got 30 rounds in it,
Pull up at yo momma house and put some rounds in it,
Wet a nigga block and watch them niggas drown in it,
Hunnid round drum gun a nigga down with it,
I’m on that Slaughter Gang shit, Murder Gang shit
Slaughter Gang shit, Murder Gang shit
I’m on that Slaughter Gang shit, Murder Gang shit
Slaughter Gang shit, Murder Gang shit”
And then they spit the first verse…
“I’m on that Slaughter Gang shit
Take a nigga bitch,
Nigga yous a bitch ’cause I ran off with ya shit
I’m a real right blood and these niggas counterfeit
You don’t pull up on the ave pussy boy you get dipped
I bought a brand new drop and then I poured me up some drop
Young Savage real street nigga y’all ain’t on no block
Bitch keep your legs closed ’cause all I want is top
(At this point my boy and I stopped them to inquire if that last line about keeping legs closed and wanting top were cool with them. They laughed and said that no boy could ever say that to them, but on a song it was funny.)
I pull up and pew pew pew y’all gone call the cops
21″
The hook came back in… Read the rest of this entry »
Top Ten Reasons I Thought Biggie Was The GOAT
Posted: March 12, 2015 Filed under: Real Rap Talk | Tags: Bad Boy, Biggie, Christopher Wallace, Diddy, GOAT, Life After Death, Notorious B.I. G, Puffy, Ready to Die 1 CommentI wrote this post almost a decade ago. It’s interesting to read where my head was back then. Recently a bunch of people have been celebrating the life of Christopher Wallace and every time his birthday or death anniversary rolls around I see the posts and specials and I think about his impact. Just seeing footage of the people outside his funeral stirs my soul.
At the age of 25 this man was a legend. With two albums under his belt, The Notorious B.I.G became an icon. But was he really the best that ever did it? Was my post premature, slightly inaccurate, or maybe just incomplete?
Has enough time passed that we can further analyze the factors that I presented and find fault in them? Or was Biggie simply just a product of his time running out before he could actually fall? I reread everything I wrote and after careful analysis I can safely say that I have evolved as a listener. The ears that didn’t mind “nigga” and “bitch” and admired the tricky use of wordplay to describe murder threats and sex acts are a bit older and more aware.
With that said I had to really take a look at my current playlists and see how many of my favorite rappers are in my rotation. And then that thought got quickly tossed out as I realized that I probably don’t even have my five top rated emcees in my phone. Although I did win some One Musicfest tickets last year by having Nas’ “Life’s a Bitch” in my phone when I was out at an after work function (I deleted all of the Nas catalogue out of my phone since then). Don’t feel bad Mr. Jones, Hov got erased as well… especially that Magna Carta thing. Some new Kanye exists, along with a couple of Marshall Mathers’ songs and even Tupac’s “So Many Tears” gets some spins. So what does that say about who I believe is the greatest of all time? I still believe Biggie provided the greatest influence on this generation of rap artists. I still count all of the factors I mentioned as reasons that he ruled way beyond his passing. But I have to admit that at some point there will be a new crown holder. While Jay-Z ran the table for years, his last few efforts including the throne watching collaboration could have truly placed him in an untouchable position if those projects were outstanding.
So allow me to repost this, feel free to skim through it and in a few days I will revisit this idea and take a look at a few other candidates. Read the rest of this entry »
The Reason I Retired
Posted: May 29, 2014 Filed under: RAMBLE, Real Rap Talk | Tags: 2 chainz, Andy Cohen, Demetria Lucas, French Montana, hip-hop, Instagram, Macklemore, retired, Rick Ross, Saigon, sha stimuli 8 CommentsI get asked every once in awhile why I discontinued releasing music at the moment. My generic answer is that I need to take a step back or I’m not in love with the hip-hop genre anymore. Those answers are honest but they might be incomplete. The dream I once had as a youngster has changed. Music has changed, its popularity has reached new heights but the characteristics of a star artist with fans and respect are not the same as they were before. I don’t view any of these differences as negative.
Well maybe the lack of wordplay and substance can be described as a drop down from what was going on years ago. And possibly hip-hop’s obsession with mollies, combined with the lean-sipping sensation fused with an all-time high of auto-tuned sound alikes could be deemed as a far cry from the golden era.
But for the most part there are new artists creating waves of music that cross genres, leap over stereotypical boundaries and they redefine what rappers sound and look like.
So why did I pause my progression? The real question I have been asking myself is what was it all for? Read the rest of this entry »
Sha Stimuli Announces The New EP In The Rent Tape Series
Posted: September 24, 2012 Filed under: Real Rap Talk | Tags: monday ramble, nine to five, rent tape series, salem psalms, sha stimuli, the 925, the savior 1 Comment
Monday Ramble #64 The Reason For The Savior
Posted: September 3, 2012 Filed under: MONDAY RAMBLE, Real Rap Talk | Tags: agor, amond jackson, arsenix, cambatta, dj pain 1, i-20, illmind, imyounik, made in america, monday ramble, nas, nino bless, radio maschine, rock the bells, sha stimuli, Stimuli, the rent tape series, torae 2 CommentsMonday Ramble #64 The Reason For The Savior
The Savior
“I started writing this EP, the eighth installment in The Rent Tape Series with the feeling that I could be some sort of savior of the rap game. I listen to the radio and I hear the music that is popular and I get the feeling that there’s nothing that is thought-provoking, honest or soul-nurturing and although I can’t change the whole game, I wanted to spark a revolution.
I don’t know what that revolution would be but I imagined what Tupac would do today musically to co-exist with Rick Ross and Lil Wayne in the mainstream and started to compose an EP. Then all of a sudden I realized that I myself needed saving as I noticed my focus was on things and people I cannot control. So some songs regard myself as a savior, others admit my own need for salvage, and finally I learn acceptance and I receive what is. As confusing as that may sound, that is…The Savior.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Video: The New Me Interview…Sherod Khaalis
Posted: August 9, 2012 Filed under: Real Rap Talk, Visual ramble | Tags: Khaalis, monday ramble, sha stimuli, shastimuli.com, sherod khaalis, Stimuli, the new me, the old me, the rent tape series Leave a comment
Ramble #63 The New Me: Sherod Khaalis
Posted: July 31, 2012 Filed under: Real Rap Talk | Tags: how i met your mother, monday ramble, old me, sha stimuli, sherod khaalis, the rent tape series 7 Comments
July 31st is the date I am writing this and it also the day that I plan to release the seventh installment of The Rent Tape Series entitled The New Me: Sherod Khaalis. I say “plan” because I ran into my first real issue with the series concerning a beat I used that has now become unavailable. So I do hope I can get that resolved urgently and get the music out. I think you will be able to pre-order it sooner than later on Shastimuli.com.
A couple of people asked me about the title of the EP, and by a couple I literally mean two humans. And I think one of them was my mother. Anyway last month I dropped The Old Me: How I Met Your Baby Mother Read the rest of this entry »
Sha Stimuli – “Volume” [Video] From The Calling
Posted: June 4, 2012 Filed under: Real Rap Talk, Visual ramble | Tags: coast 2 coast, coast2coastmixtapes.com, mondayramble.com, sha stimuli, the calling, Unsung, v-lad 2 Comments
Sha Stimuli (Interview) #TheRentTapeSeries – Part 2: The Partnership
Posted: May 25, 2012 Filed under: Real Rap Talk, Visual ramble | Tags: brooklyn emcee, high impact designs, hip-hop, monday ramble, rap, rent tape series, salem psalms, sha stimuli, the partnership, will feagins 1 Comment
How Hip-Hop Died Part 4: Loud Silence
Posted: April 23, 2012 Filed under: MONDAY RAMBLE, Real Rap Talk | Tags: bad boy records, Big daddy KAne, biz markie, canibus, CMW, how hip-hop died, jadakiss, loud records, Mase, monday ramble, Puff Daddy, Rakim, the message, Wyclef, X-Clan 4 CommentsHow Hip-Hop Died Part 4: Loud Silence
Hip-hop started out in the park. Back in the days, every emcee that grabbed a mic had a different style, charisma, and objective. The “emcee” began as a party-starter and crowd warmer while the DJ manned the wheels. Although “The Message” was one of the earliest hit records, not everyone wanted to hear anything that contained food for thought. Storytelling, bravado, violence, and sex all became a part of the genre.
Rakim was one of the earliest soloists that sparked individualism and conversations about who was the best. He and Big Daddy Kane had an ongoing cold war for the crown for years.
SHA STIMULI'S MONDAY RAMBLES 