Diddy Aims For The Crown...King Of New York'

The crown of the King Of New York is something that was very sacred in Hip Hop back in the 90s. From the late Notorious B.I.G, to Nas, to Jay Z, to Fat Joe, to Jadakiss all claimed the crown at some point at the peak of their careers. But since Diddy never really got the crown, he is about to get it in a fictional way. The remake of the 1990 classic movie, King of New York is in the works, and Diddy is going to play the lead role.




I don't know if this is a good idea at all. That movie is a classic, and I think a remake would just ruin the legacy. I remember watching that movie as a teen and getting the chills. The end of the movie where Frank White (played by Christopher Walken) was got into a shoot out, and was shot in the belly, but walked all the way from the subway to his home before dieing is just epic. I really wish Diddy would change his mind about remaking this movie.

"Sean ["Diddy" Combs] optioned the rights to remake King of New York for two years," Grazer said, as per pagesix.com. "The film is a cult classic, and it will be great to remake it. Our version won't be exactly the same, but will have the same hardcore gangster feel. Sean wants to be in it. He was amazing in Monster's Ball, and such strong characters sit perfectly with him." (hiphopdx.com)

Retro News: Biggie and Nas Beef

The best of the best always clash, so it is not a surprise that Biggie and Nas had their feud back then. Every rapper believes he is or tries to be the best, so one way or the other, the rappers at the top would always bump heads...even if they are cool with each other, the ego always gets in the way. Nas and Biggie got into the game around the same time. Nas dropped his first verse on Main Source's Live At The Barbecue track in 1991, and the first mainstream verse from Biggie was on the remix of Mary J. Blige's Real Love single in 1992. They dropped their debut albums the same year (Illmatic and Ready To Die-1994), Biggie became a super success story with the help of Puffy, and Nas got tagged the second coming of Rakim...Hip Hop's messiah.

They were bought from New York, and at the time, the title of The King Of New York was very special. Nas had the crown for a while, but Biggie got it from him because he was more commercial successful, and more well known. Then in 1995, there was a Vibe magazine cover with biggie that read King Of New York. Nas felt slighted, and on a song off his second album in 1996 titled The Message, he had this lines- 'Now let me let y'all niggas know one thing/there's one life, one love, so there can only be one king.' Biggie got the subliminal message, and on a track (Kick in The Door) off his second album in 1997, he dropped this reply lines- 'Your reign on the top was short like leprechauns/As I crush so-called willies, thugs, and rapper-dons...This goes out for those that choose to use Disrespectful views on the King of NY...Ain't no other king in this rap thingThey siblings, nothing but my chil'ren'

Some really sick lines from Biggie right there. Big was a real wordsmith for real. It's so unfortunate that his life was caught short. Anyway, Nas spoke about the whole biggie war on 'Last Real Nigga Alive, off his Godson (2002) album. Check out some lines from the song...

"Y'all don't know about my Biggie wars
Who you thought 'Kick In The Door' was for?
But that's my heart, y'all still trippin of this Jigga shit
Real niggas listen up and I'mma tell you how the whole thing start"

Nas Comments On Kendrick Lamar's King Of New York Claim

In case you have been under a rock for the last couple of days, let me do a recap of what's buzzing right now. Like 5 days ago, Control, a Big Sean song hit the Internet which had verses from Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. On his verse, Kendrick spazzed out, putting himself in the same league as Jay Z, Nas, Eminem, and Andre 3000. He also called himself the King Of New York...and also called out some of his peers like J.Cole, Drake, Big Krit and so on, saying they were his homeboys, but his plan is to murder them (lyrically). Anyway, a lot of people have responded to Kendrick's claim to the crown of the King Of New York, and also the fact that he left out some rappers names when he mentioned some of the greatest. Joell Ortiz, Papoose, Lupe Fiasco and Cassidy have recorded responses using the Control song instrumental. Nas, was caught during a Hennessey concert, and Hot 97's Miss Info asked him what he felt about the Kendrick verse. It was clear he didn't want to speak much on it, cos all he said was...





"Wow! My reaction is wow." After further probing, he said..."I love hip-hop right now. ... Certain fans like certain eras of rap, certain fans are not up on certain eras, so they don't really remember all of them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, KRS-One, MC Shanand all the way to Busy Bee. This is what hip-hop is all about." It was clear Nas didn't want to really speak on the issue, so Miss Info redirected him to the question again, and he said..."You gotta ask him [about that line]. [Was I offended?] I'm a listener." 







follow this link to watch the interview- Miss Info Nas Interview

Talib Kweli Says Its Too Early For Kendrick Lamar To Put Himself In The Same League With The Greats

In a recent interview, Talib Kweli was asked about the Kendrick Lamar verse on Big Sean's Control song, where he put himself in the same league as Jay Z and Nas, and Talib said it was a little bit too early for Kendrick to do that-

“When I compete, I’m competing against not just who’s hot right now or who’s trendy right now, I’m competing against the whole cannon of music. Like when I think about the greats like Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, they still in my top 10. Kendrick Lamar is creeping up into my top 10. But he only put out one official, official album and a couple of mixtapes. Maybe like Kane said, in 20 years Kendrick will be in my number one. Up in the top five like a Jay Z or Nas has made it. But until then I think it’s premature. As much as I like Kendrick and respect him…I think it’s premature for anyone who knows better to be like, ‘Oh, automatically he’s number one. Yeah, he’s gunning for number one. He’s gunning for the top spot. You better watch your spot. He’s coming for it.’ But there’s a lot to be done.”

Yea, I think so too. But, it seems like the kid is really hungry for that 'top 5 dead or alive' status. I get a little pissed when I hear some bandwagon people saying he is the greatest, but I do recognise he is a super dope rapper. I have been listening to his music since 2010, and I know where he is coming from, and all the work he has put in. Way back on his version of Kanye's Monster song, he said something similar to what is causing all the commotion right now...he said he was the best rapper alive. It's good when artists have total confidence in themselves. I wish him all the best. I know his second album will solidify his greatness. 

Joell Ortiz Goes At Kendrick Lamar For Calling Himself The King Of New York

Before I write anything on this, I would like say that Kendrick Lamar is going to have a lot of shots fired his way in the next couple of weeks...or months. I hope he can handle all of it; okay, I know he can handle all of it. I guess this is what he always wanted. Okay, on to the actual news. Big Sean leaked a song off his up coming album titled Control, which features Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. And on Kendrick Lamar's verse, he spits some very controversial lines. Apart from calling himself the King Of New York (he is not even from the east), and disrespecting every rapper out there with that line, he also put himself in the same league as Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, and Andre 3000, and says that other new rappers are nothing but new rappers.




With words like that, of cos rappers will take it very personally. Okay, I missed out the part where he mentioned some of his peers (J.Cole, Big Krit, Wale, Pusha T, Meek mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electronica, Tyler, and Mac Miller), and said they were his homeboys, but that he is out to murder them all. Joell Ortiz found it disrespectful that kendrick would call himself the King Of New York when he is from the West, and also the fact that Kendrick didn't name him or his clique when he was mentioning who he considers the best, in which he puts his own name in there. Okay, before I go on and on, below are some lyrics from the Joell Ortiz response (Outta Control), and also the actual song.






"I ain't even gotta give this too much thought. Joell Oritz won every war that he ever fought/This ain't no different, I'm listening, you know the King of New York?/Lil' homie, you ain't the King of New York, you the next thing on my fork/The messenger with all those rings on that horse/Carrying kings heads until I kick you in your chest and you cough/And fall into a bottomless pit, homie, you know how many bodies that fit/When we met you said, 'It's an honor, man, the Yaowa can spit.' Maybe that's why you left me outta that sh*t/Maybe that's why the Slaughterhouse ain't get dissed/Or maybe I'm not on your radar, you feel you ain't got to acknowledge my clique"

Miss Tila Says Jay-Z Is The King Of New York

The model turned singer, Miss Tila, who recently moved to New York last month, after spending 11 years in Hollywood says she thinks Jay-Z is the King Of New York.

Read what she said below-

"I have much respect for Nas, he's done a lot for the hip-hop community but I definitely, yeah, I don't think anybody can beat Jay-Z at this point," Tila told SOHH when asked who she views as the King of New York. "Jay-Z's definitely the King of New York. I've been his fan ever since he was just running around with Foxy Brown. I grew up in Houston, Texas [and] I just watched his career grow and grow and he's just a huge mogul. It's very inspiring so I thought, 'Hey, maybe I can move out to New York and follow in his footsteps.'" (SOHH)



I don't even know what the criteria for king of new york is anymore. At some point it was about respect, or your lyrical abilities, or your respect in the streets, or your popularity. Everybody from 50 cent to P.Diddy have claimed to be the king at some point in time. But back in the mid 90s, it was between Biggie and Nas; that is where their little war stemmed from. The reason i am reporting this story is because Miss Tila brought Nas's name into the story. I think nas and jay are two different people chasing two different goals. I respect the both artist, and i think they are successful at what they are trying to achieve. Jay-Z had one goal; to be the most powerful influential rapper; to use rap to get all the things he ever wanted...power, respect, fame. Jay-Z has gotten all that and much more, so, i say he is successful. Nas on the other hand, wanted to be the best rapper, period. I can say he has also achieved his goal. I can remember watching a youtube video where Busta Rhymes brought out nas at a concert of his 2 years ago, and proclaimed nas the the best rapper ever; now, that is a bold statement for another rapper to make.

So, do i think Jay-Z is the King of New York? If it is in the context of fame, and power and control, and influence in new york; i say yes- jay is the king of new york. I think, judging from what Miss Tila said about coming to new york to learn how to be more successful by following jay's foot-steps, then i guess the criteria i sited is what she had in mind when she crowned jay-z the king of new york, and not lyrical ability.