I’m sick of bitches shakin’ asses
I’m sick of talkin’ about blunts,
Sick of Versace glasses,
Sick of slang,
Sick of half-ass awards shows,
Sick of name brand clothes.
Sick of R&B bitches over bullshit tracks,
Cocaine and crack
Which brings sickness to blacks,
Sick of swoll’ head rappers
With their sicker-than raps
Clappers and gats
Makin’ the whole sick world collapse
The facts are gettin’ sick
Even sicker perhaps
Stickabush to make a bundle to escape this synapse

We, the listeners, need to reevaluate “this rap shit”. Two weeks ago, after months of participating as an active member in the Hip-Hop blogosphere, I found myself stricken by the number of times that the words “money” and “bitch/es” appeared in the tracks and videos leaked to the internet that day. This was of course nothing new, but that day it was just too much to get past so I stepped away from the computer for a bit.

Later on, I stumbled on the Murs interview now posted below, in which he so simply states: Hip-Hop is not a positive environment for a woman. I would want my daughter 50 miles away from this place, honestly. You can’t expect a woman to be comfortable being in an art form that’s just so… degrading. It’s an awful music if you’re a woman and you have any type of self-respect.

So the question becomes: Where is Hip-Hop going? The answer, of course, is: Straight to the bank. Consumers worldwide are supporting the steady rise of a genre that has forgotten its roots and its purpose. In popular Hip-Hop today, we are lucky to hear a song on the radio that doesn’t encourage either violence, egotism, the degradation of women, or the thoughtless waste of money. Where are the verses about enjoying yourself and being yourself? Where are the hooks about actual love and appreciation? Where are the songs that draw attention to the real issues and injustices of modern life and politics? Where are the beats that .. sound good?

There’s nothing wrong with making music about violence and mistreatment of women if that’s the music you feel you need to make – some of the best Hip-Hop records of all time have been about those subjects. But today those subjects seem to be more important in making a hit record than the music is, and there’s something very wrong with that.

I never thought I’d be speaking this way about music before middle age, but there it is. This is a call for listeners and enjoyers of Hip-Hop to wake up and start respecting their eardrums. Let’s bring back real, quality, soul-speaking music.

From this point on, 2XN is discontinued until further notice. Thanks to everyone who checked in every day.

Yo, it’s about love for cars, love for funds
Loving to love mad sex, loving to love guns
Love for opposite, love for fame and wealth
Love for the fact of no longer loving yourself, kid
We living in them days of the man-made ways
Where every aspect is vivid,
these brothers no longer talk shit
Hey yo, these niggas live it

- Ro

Ten-Four.

- Ro

No, it’s not a new single, but it is a fresh cut from the vault. Most likely from the Heroes in the City of Dope sessions.

DOWNLOAD | Zion I & The Grouch – Soul Searchin’