Words by Khalid Strickland

In the wacky world of Hip-Hop some artists are known more for scrappin’ than for rappin’. These predators rarely drop albums — music taking a backseat to their aggressive antics — but they make the rap game a lot more colorful by keeping the pretenders in check. With their genuine street credibility, prison-yard tactics and itchy trigger-fingers, the Goonies of Hip-Hop have created an entertaining niche in the genre. Here are eight in particular who have already left their mark.

Alfamega

When you look up the word “goon” in the rap dictionary, you’ll find those now-infamous pictures of T.I.’s Grand Hustle muscle Alfamega spazzin’ out on Shawty Lo’s crew at last year’s Dirty Awards. In those photos, especially the one where he’s smiling as he tussles with an overmatched cop, you can tell that Alfamega was having a good time; he shrugged-off a blast of pepper spray to the face like it was spearmint Binaca. With a lead-fisted shot to the dome, Mega left a Shawty Lo associate snoozing on the floor during T.I. and Grand Hustle’s performance at the Awards show.

The televised incident may earn him another bid in the bing, but his commissary should be stacked for a job well done. Aspiring rappers take note: It doesn’t matter how well you rhyme, how many chicks you bag and how much jewelry you rock. Your crew isn’t complete without a ninja like Mega in the stable.

Trick Trick

What separates Detroit’s own Trick Trick from most of his contemporaries is that he actually put an album out (a decent one at that); an impressive feat for a professional goon. His latest LP, The Villain, is in stores now. But although the album features heavy-hitters like Ice Cube, Eminem and a posthumous appearance by D-12’s Proof, it’s a mere footnote in Trick Trick’s untouchable gangster resume. Read the rest of this entry »

Juelz Santana has challenged Bigg Snoop Dogg to a “beef.”

This isn’t any old rap beef, though. This is actually for real for real.

During footage from DJ Scoob Doo’s “The Three Amigos” DVD, The Skull Gang member pits his crew against the DPGs for an official all-out smoke-a-thon. Yes, you interpreted that correctly. A challenge to see who can smoke more weed in one sitting. Read the rest of this entry »

“Aggin fell for the mouse trap.”

It’s not as if I expected anything less from Budden. Read the rest of this entry »

As if I really need a reason to post a pic of A. Diva & those cute cheeks…

Fine specimen of feminity that she is, Amanda Diva apparently got into an e-skirmish recently. I’ll save you the story because Miss Info summed it up rather well. What I enjoyed most is Ms. Diva’s response was the following words in response to a commenter who that “She looks like she takes n– in her face…” Read the rest of this entry »

Words By David D.

When mentioning the best “beefs” in the post-Biggie/Pac era, people tend to point towards the Canibus/LL, Jay-Z/Nas or 50 Cent/Ja Rule altercations. One battle that is seemingly overlooked was the tooth and nail series of records between State Property and D-Block. While the tension building towards the epic Jay and Nas clash seemed to overshadow this feud, these MCs released numerous mixtape tracks and radio freestyles to one-up the competition. What resulted was one of the most high-quality, sustained beefs on wax we’ve been fortunate enough to witness.

The beef seemed to come out of nowhere. I remember reading an interview in which Jadakiss mentioned he ran Philly. Sigel was quoted in the same interview as adamantly disagreeing with Kiss’ assertion. I read the interview and thought nothing of it. That is, until Jadakiss threw a few lines Sigel’s way: “I’m a show you the reason why I’m the truth for real/ can’t fuck with Kiss, I meanie that/ had to quit eating red meat cuz I ate too many Beanie Macs.” The rest, as they say, is history. Let’s look back at all these back and forths from this underrated battle. Read the rest of this entry »

“..It’s a suicide”

Remember when things used to happen for a reason?

Now, I know The Game has an album to promote in a dying industry and would feed off fumes to fuel a beef with Mr. Carter. I am also aware that he also has crews that he’s trying to put on and a supposed retirement that he seems to realize will be a mistake. Even then, this seems like a desperately stretched reach. Read the rest of this entry »