What’s the real reason?

Why hasn't Cipha Sounds received 1/100th of the criticism Don Imus did when he proved he's just as ignorant, if not more, than the cowboy hat-wearing loser? In no way is this an attempt to excuse the "nappy headed hoes" comment made by Imus because I think he's a piece of shit just like you do. Just to refresh you, Cipha Sounds, in a poor attempt at humor, claimed that he's been able to avoid HIV by not sleeping with Haitian women. Wow. For some people, humor doesn't come easily and because of this, they often try even harder to make people laugh, when all they're really doing is putting their shortcomings under a magnifying glass. We all know  that guy too. We work with him. We went to school with him. He's the guy who's just good enough at sports or good enough at something to where you can't totally dismiss him. The next best option is to tolerate him. That means every time he makes a joke, you have to give him a half-laugh an not tell him he's a jackass who should never talk. That's what Peter Rosenberg and Hot 97 need to tell Cipha. "Stop talking and mix some mf'ing records." Cipha Sounds, you proved you are that guy that other people have to tolerate.

I think it's amazing though that there's really been no anti-Cipha Sounds movement in hip-hop the way there was with Imus. Imus said some horribly racist things, but he never claimed that every woman from a country that's been through enough in the past year has AIDS. That's just foul. And yet there's hardly a stir. Cipha Sounds will serve out his suspension, which was really just a light slap on the wrist, and then continue on like nothing happened. Hip-hop will excuse his slur as a little mistake and move on, which does nothing but send a message that it's okay for someone to be stupid as long as they have name value, because whatever skills they bring to the table far outweigh whatever poison they want to spread to the public. But if Imus would have said what Cipha Sounds said, not only would everyone (regardless of race) be calling for his head, his head would be delivered on a silver platter. That should have happened with Imus over his spiteful comment and it should have happened with Cipha Sounds to send a message that racism, no matter where it's coming from is not going to tolerated .

Also, it’s a lot easier to forgive or excuse somebody from doing something horrible when you know you can benefit from them in the future. There’s a lot of artists out there who are probably disgusted but won’t say anything because they know how Hot97 does it. Remember when Saigon punched Prodigy at that concert over three years ago? That was a Hot97 event. The fallout from that? Saigon’s “Come On Baby (Remix)” featuring Jay-Z, which had dropped days earlier, was pulled from rotation, Atlantic didn’t think the project could survive without radio support, the album never came out and Saigon was dropped.

Truthfully, I expected more from Wyclef about this. If he wants to be president of Haiti someday, isn’t this a good time to take up for your people, even if means sacrificing some spins when whatever album you’re working on is eventually released to lukewarm response? It’s time for artists to stop being scared about not getting support they need and stand up for themselves and the communities they represent. A comment like Cipha Sounds’ is not one to be taken lightly or as a joke because of how much damage it can do. That’s a poisonous, poisonous comment that only reaffirms or introduces false stereotypes for ignorant people.

As long as we're talking AIDS, you know you've made it when MediaTakeOut claims you've got it. By the way, nice job being discreet saying you can't  tell who it is but the image is black and yellow. Black and yellow, black and yellow...Hmm...

I saw Rick Ross just released a new mixtape. Are fans still buying into his false image or do they just not care anymore?

PSA to all rappers: Please stop rapping like Nicki Minaj, who right now sounds like the bastard offspring of Lil' Wayne and Busta Rhymes. Nicki, you were dope before you bit Lil' Kim and then dissed her. Not as controversial, but definitely more enjoyable to listen to. By the way, will Ja Rule and  Lil' Kim ever get the props they deserve for what they accomplished in hip-hop? Sure, they're easy punchlines right now, but a lot of artists, especially 50 for Ja and Nicki for Kim, took their best parts without citing their sources.

Who can we talk to about getting Juelz Santana's mug on a milk carton?

I know I might catch some heat for this, but Diggy definitely did his thing on his mixtape Past Presents Future. He took some pretty challenging beats and hung in there, which is something you don't see the young bucks even attempting today. He didn’t body everything he touched, but it really wasn’t bad. I give the kid props for attempting and pulling off a challenging project that he really didn't have to do.

Should hip-hop grant Redman a do-over for the abomination known as Redman as Reggie Noble? I love Redman's music but not this album. There's a few sub-par almost-bangers on there like "Tigerstyle," but not enough to make it worth the three year hiatus Redman took from Reggie. I had a feeling we were in trouble when I interviewed Rah Digga and she said that Redman's advice to her was to keep it simple so it would be accessible to everyone. That's the beauty of Redman's older music. It's not accessible to everyone. It's only accessible to fans of dirty funk and low budget house parties. Redman as Reggie Noble, in an attempt to be accessible to everyone, is accessed by no one.

The reason I’m not wack is because I don’t say stupid shit like Cipha Sounds.