Lessons In e-Thuggin’
DIGITAL NEWS By LC Weber on December 13, 2008 at 2:42 pm
The title “Blogger” sounds so primitive. I envision a Blogger as someone who stamps his keyboard with rocks in his hands and fetches food by inserting a twig in an ant hill and eating whatever surfaces. But, alas, I am a blogger, and we are the first breed of e-Thugs — separated from punishment by the electro-glow of a computer screen. The blogging e-Thug has the most responsibility in the online community and abuses his power most often. Indeed, most blogs are top-of-the-noodle blather — for goodness sake, I’ve written about cereal – but any professional writer who posts online subscribes to the same practices they use in print (i.e. notes, quotes, research, fact checking, editing, etc.) But when your office is your home, your cubical is your laptop and any half-wit can own a domain name, anonymity and comfort are at a premium conducive for blogs to become places of haphazard zings and burns.
Second of the e-Thugs is the commenter. This is the e-Bully with the most anonymity and the least responsibility who can say whatever the eff he wants to any Tom, Dick or Harry. I’ve personally been called an “insufferable faggot” and a “self-important pinhead” for “tactlessly debating something so mundane” as The Wire. But you know, fuck’m. I’m okay with criticism, especially because I am sort of a self-important pinhead. The cyber bully behind the Click.Type.Send comment box rarely thinks about how his comment affects a person, so I won’t hold it against him. But not everyone is as strong minded; lest we forget, a girl committed suicide over this buffoonery when it escalated out of control.
Now, we get into the third breed of e-Thug: the celebrity. This e-Irritant can fall under the umbrella of both the Blogger and the Commenter. The celebrity who makes himself known in the e-world puts on the air of manning up, when in reality he still cowers behind a sheath of protective computer screen armor to minimize liability and maximize self-promotion. Kanye swore off Entertainment Weekly over a not perfect review of his show, only to retract his statement. So let us turn now to our most recent installment of online hi-jinx and e-Thuggery, via the celebrity. We begin with an article printed in New York Magazine. The author, Will Leitch, interviewed Q-Tip at a New York Knicks game where Tip performed for an allegedly underwhelmed crowd…
A Tribe Called Quest’s influence is difficult to overstate. For those turned off by the supposed “gangsta” rap of the early and mid-nineties, the hip-hop pioneers were a soothing alternative: smart, funny, and socially conscious… Q-Tip’s flow on his new disc remains mellow, freewheeling, and vaguely inspirational. But it doesn’t feel relevant…
Q-Tip is friends with [Kanye] West—he credits him with turning rap around after a decade when everything “started to sound the same”… West, for his part, name-drops Tribe and Q-Tip at every opportunity. “It’s encouraging to see the respect that people like Kanye have for what we did before,” says Q-Tip… Still, it’s West who’s winning Grammys and endorsing soft drinks, while Q-Tip is trying to warm up a hostile Knicks crowd.
Some nice sentiments in there by Leitch, as well as some biting commentary. Nothing out of the ordinary for a reviewer. But this article found its way online and into the eyeballs of Mr. ATCQ himself. Tip responded — as is becoming an unfortunate trend in a lack of self-censorship among rappers — in the comments section of the above article…
damn mr. leitch!! why are u shitting on me and dick riding kanye. seems like its an assignment you didnt want to do so why do it? you should have done a DL4 assignment or better yet a ‘whatever happened to fallout shelters in a Mc Carthy era new york?’ piece!!! i’m good… you??? JADED!! yes this is qtip.
And then again one minute later…
oh i forgot… ASSHOLE.
What I fail to see is how…
A) Leitch is an asshole for this piece, especially an all-caps ASSHOLE
B) Leitch is considered a Kanye dick-rider for stating Ye’s proven salt
C) A battle-tested man like Q-Tip doesn’t have an ounce of self-restraint against a simple print piece read by a tiny fraction of his prospective demographic… until he drew attention to it by commenting.
Pic by STSU
This was a real breathe-and-count-to-10 scenario for Q-Tip, wherein he instead started clickity-clacking and ended up looking awfully childish for a man damn near 40. The fuck does he care? He knows he’s talented. He knows his impact. Why be upset? The answer is simple: Click. Type. Send. It’s just too easy.
As Gotty™ said in response to all this: “I mean did the web fuck things up? Did Miles take 3 mins to write letters to the editor every time they dissed one of his projects?” Yes, our access is now too immediate and instantly gratifying with the evolution of the innernuts — things we would only say to our friends around us before the online world existed now becomes the stuff of fodder for the world. And no, artists of yesteryear didn’t respond to every negative review with hostility, because, quite frankly, they were too busy creating art.
Sure, Leitch probably went in a little strong on Tip, but he’s a journalist who took time to report, write and edit what he said. He wasn’t falsifying information, he wasn’t e-Thuggin’. Tip, on the other hand, just became a willy nilly, commenting celebrity who lessened his credibility with online ether when he could’ve come out from behind his computer screen and made a human connection. So if you’re reading this, Q-Tip, I encourage you to put down the damn keyboard and instead stick to what you do best — create art like the greats are supposed to. Leave the e-Thuggin’ to the e-Thugs — you only validate them by becoming one of them.
“The Ballad of Q-Tip” [NYM] | Q-Tip Responds [NYM]
Posted in DIGITAL NEWS, GENERAL, MUSIC, SMOKE BREAK — Tags: e-Thug, New York Magazine, Q-Tip, The Renaissance, Will Lietch
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31 Comments
E-Beef, what a non relief.
When will this poisonous product cease?
This is another public g-mail announcement.
You can either believe it, or you can doubt it.
Because I never ever ran from the goo-glux-clan
And I shouldn’t have to run from a wack man!
“McLovin were you violating her with your Penis!?”
Great write-up. I agree with most of the points you made. I think one of the downfalls of the whole blogging / internet scene is that it just makes it a lot easier for people to argue about opinions (notice I said argue, not share), which is essentially pointless. Everyone has their own opinions and it’s natural to want to defend it. I mean, I even find myself sometimes writing paragraph long responses defending my opinion on a topic (most of the time when I’m browsing the OKP boards) and then realizing that it’s pointless and exiting the window. While it is interesting to see where other people are coming from sometimes, it almost always ends up being a battle of opinions. But again, everyone has their own opinion, something I think anyone who is in tune with hip-hop culture should be very aware of. Just look at how many people disregard and defile hip-hop / rap as a whole simply on cliches and stereotypes.
I feel like too many people put all their effort into hating what they don’t like instead of enjoying what they do.
Also, not that I doubt it, but how do we know those comments are actually Q-Tip?
I even find myself sometimes writing paragraph long responses defending my opinion on a topic (most of the time when I’m browsing the OKP boards) and then realizing that it’s pointless and exiting the window.
================
Ditto, Diz. It’s the smart way to go, most often.
As for the Tip comment…
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/12/q-tip_responds.html
As long as the source itself is reporting it, I’m rolling with it.
Add Tip to the list that includes Kanye &, as of yesterday, Clipse.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147928-clipse-road-to-till-the-casket-drops
My new video The Perfect Weekend http://www.vimeo.com/1907146
If you wanna see some hot white chicks and good music go to http://www.myspace.com/wizecrack.
@LC: ah ok, thanks for the link.
@Gotty: haha yea, I thought the fact that Clipse felt the need to respond to a Pitchfork review hilarious. Not to mention their “blog” looks like it was put up overnight. (Just for the record, I’m a huge Clipse fan, I’m just sayin…)
dude from the clipse was mad aggy about that write up.
^ I smell ghostwriting on the Clipse joint lol. Too much subj-verb agreement going on.
^ I often times wonder how does one know it is a celebrity. I figure it’s the moderator whom possibly can verify an e-mail address. I’m very suspicious of the interweb and all it’s trappings as far as someone being able to identify your true identity. I have yet to accumulate a massive amount of wealth and my credit is worse than the economy so if someone happened to steal or hack my personal info, it really wouldn’t hurt me much.
I’ve found myself typing loooong paragraphs, simply to get towards the end and realize the point I’m making is moot in the eyes of thousands whom may or may not agree. So I delete them.
The cool thing about being a commentator is the fact that there are those (and I hate to call them stalkers or leechers), whom don’t comment that get to read whatever blahzay blah I’ve typed. I doubt I’ve ever did anything in the sense to “change a mind” or “point someone in another direction” so to speak, but I think the best any commentator can do is illicit genuine laughter(not make fun in a hurtful manner) or something thought provoking.
That’s why I kinda have made TSS the place for me to make my presence felt.
It’s so FRESH. I leave comments @ Nahright every now and then, but it’s kinda a closed community of folks over there, plus TSS was created to be a place for healthy convo.
http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/?p=15576
lol, I don’t know if it was him or not but DJ Quik was none too pleased w/a few comments aimed his way. Either him or a very good impostor. Nowadays though, it’s safe to assume that celebs, stars & artists…the material you see written trickles back to them somehow, some way. Now why they choose to reply like they do? beats me.
@ Bez… I’m with you 100 percent. The best comment is the one that makes people laugh, but not in a hateful manner.
And yes, TSS is THE place for online discussion… and I think, in part, that’s because we actually have to read the piece to be a part of the debate. But it’s like sitting around a game of cards with your friends… some folks is gonna get scolded on, but it’s all in play. And every now and again, someone says something really thought provoking that makes you take pause.
Don’t e-thug me bitch-boy!!!
I’m 100% with LC (who wouldn’t want to be???!!! *wink* *wink*) on the topic of e-thuggin’. I was chillin’ with my ninjaz listening to some tunes last night and realized that I spend waaaaay too much time on the Net, as opposed to absorbing more music than I should. Muscial taste is subjective, so why get offended if your particular taste isn’t shared??? From now on I’ll just comment on what’s relevant to me, if I don’t like it then fuck it and who cares. Too much music to take in to be wasting time debating about it.
Great shit as always, LC
These artists need e-public relations people to e-check their responses. Because there’s nothing more dangerous than an egomaniac that has free reign to say whatever he or she wants to millions of people with on filter. I mean, I can say something crazy and people may not like me: but Tip? he may lose fans for some crazy shit
“I’m am artist and I’m sensitive about my sh*t” © Erykah Badu
Good read, LC
hahaha OED, I say that all the time. It’s one of my life quotes.
Good read, it’d be hilarious if tip came through in here though. In all seriousness I used to go in on message boards and such when I was younger. Now I just chill and provide short comments if I feel like it.
Man fuck gotty this articles garbage if I ever see him bet yo ass i beat him fuckin senseless man ya heaaaaaaard. blat blat blat
Jokin. Good insight into how the anonymity of these here innanets turns everybody into a drunk. Quick to say the first things that come to their minds with no insight into consequences or normal social behavior. Seeing these artists on the internet like Kanye does is like when you were a kid and you saw a NBA star and asked for their autograph and they were a complete ass. Ruins the whole dream.
Also my bad meant to check but I see that LC wrote the article.
Great stuff LC.
I’m a dope legend, worship me bloggers!!
LC is the queen of the innernuts…great writing as always shorty
(woah, how did i end up here? )
i guess i have too much free time on my hands, but i NOW understand just how easy it is to hurl venomous sentiments at people [online] and get (almost) instant gratification.
Not to sound soft or anything, but maybe the internet HAS given us too much freedom at the cost of some of our morals. Nonetheless, i never thought i’d be ”blogging”, or “e-thuggin” so-to-speak.
for the record though: “Friend or foe, yall all my muhf**kas!” -Jay-Z
Not to sound soft or anything, but maybe the internet HAS given us too much freedom at the cost of some of our morals.
————————————
^ do you mean for artists, writers or fans/readers/haters?
I don’t think it’s given anyone more freedom. I think it’s given audience to our thoughts whereas before we were strictly talking to our circle of heads @ the barbershop, school, etc.
As for writers…well maybe. But i think it’s more of the nature of the beast. Media attracts attn by the catchy headline.
Artists though, like someone said, I think they have to realize (just like everyone else) that any time you’re pissed about some shit, you have to really really hesitate to pull the trigger on whatever rebuttals you type up online. You can mean it w/sarcasm…and a aggin on the other side of the keyboard can read & interpret it in a totally diff way.
Quik – glad to see you back
I mean for all people. no matter what our titles, the web gives each individual a platform for self-expression that was pretty much non-existing before. and yes, i’ve been misconstrued in emails/comments in the past.
On the other hand, We’ve all needed the media beast’s ”double-edged” sword as artists, and everything that comes with it. There was nothing more disheartening then to see a bad write-up of my music in the Source, or XXL, because it almost always effected record sales directly.
Ma says ”when they stop writing about You, thats when you worry.”
Q
”Its given audience to our thoughts…”
Your site is dope. thanks Gotty™
^ Quik Is The Name!!
Cotdamn, We Major!!
I think Tip should probably concentrate less on his pub and more on putting out a good album, something he hasn’t done since 1993’s “Midnight Marauders.” (“Beats Rhymes and Life” was a major disappointment and “The Love Movement” is utter crap.)
Leitch should make like Wreckx-N-Effect and punch Tip in his other eye.
All Tip left out was the “I’m a man, I’m (almost) 40″ rant Mike Gundy style.
This is getting him some added attention that he would not have had otherwise, so I guess the old adage of “No such thing as bad press” may come into play?