The 10 Best Subliminals of 2011 (So Far) #6 - #3

And it don’t stop. Today, our countdown of the best shots of the year continues with #6 - #3. The latest batch features sneaky hostility from legends, as well as fiery shots from rap’s hottest young stars.

Hit the jump for the preamble from the first entry (which you can catch up on here), and #6 - #3.



Amidst all of this excellence, there has been the typical tension among rappers. It’s a competitive game, one where you’re trying to get as high as you can, while simultaneously attempting to stop your peers from doing so. However, this might be the least true it’s ever been, this year. It’s a world of cosigns and Pro Tools-enabled features, where a collaboration is just one click away. It’s all about visibility, about being accessible, so guys reach across subgenres and regional styles to try to find as many listeners as possible. Competition might actually be dying out. But it’s still got legs. This year, its biggest source has been two guys who decided to coronate themselves at the end of 2010 and in doing so pissed off a lot of people. This maneuver is responsible for a lot of the entries on our Top 10 list. 


It’s not a perfect list, because no list is. I’m sure you’ll disagree with it, and I’m also sure you’ll let me know how much you disagree with it. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. At KWT, we love creating discussion.  The Top 10 have been broken up, and the list will be unveiled over the next few days. Read along. It’ll be an enjoyable ride







Perpetrator: Jay-Z on “Mr. Nice Watch”

Victim: Lil Wayne

Crime: “Y'all niggas ball half-time, y'all niggas like the Gator band, y'all niggas need a time out, who got these niggas all wound up? Cocksucker, I'm 7:30, y'all know where y'all niggas gonna wind up?”

&

Meaning y'all better not waste my time when y'all ready I take you all to war,”

Reasoning: OG Tactics

Cole had to wait for a Hov verse, which is still mind-boggling to me, but it was certainly worth it. Jay came through at the last minute, to grace young Jermaine’s banger with a venomous verse. It’s absolutely vicious, and in the battle between him and Wayne, it’s strategically sound. Why you ask? Well, motherfuckers took shots at his wife, so he wasn’t going to look bitch-made and make us all wait for a reply. Plus he came with some absolute fire. But the best part is he didn’t completely engage Wayne. Basically, he brushed off the shot by not directly replying, but still showed he’s not to be fucked with. The ball is back in Weezy’s court. Let’s see what he does with it.





Perpetrator: Drake on “Dreams Money Can Buy”

Victim: The Throne

Crime: “My favorite rappers either lost it, or they ain’t alive,”


Reasoning: “I’m a Cash Money soldier.”

Imagine this with me. Imagine a world where Drake and J. Cole rule. Kings with their own dynasties. That OVO vs the Dreamvillains. Drizzy, a moody pop God, with albums that go platinum in those short 7 days from Tuesday to Tuesday. Cole, a dispensary of classics, the soulful underground king who made it to the mainstream. There will be other royalty, certainly. KRIT. Sean. Khalifa. Diggy, maybe. A new era of dons, a new era of icons that young rappers aspire to.

Imagine now Drake on his penthouse balcony, Missoni sweater fighting the Toronto breeze. His beard is thick, so thick 40’s started calling him Rawse behind his back. His face is older than we’re used to. There are lines around his eyes, eyes that harbor the sadness of an older man. Too many lonely nights spent throwing ones. Too many women that will never make it to the altar. Too much jealousy from those who will never make it to his heights.  He stares south, where thousands of miles away, J. Cole is at the Rucker. Shooting. He’s in a zone, living out the old dream. Cole elevates, the ball slides off his fingertips. His hand snaps like a wet rag. The ball slices through the net. A group of young men exclaim respectfully. They are much like Cole at that age, all hoping they will find fame through their relationship with an established legend. A young rapper from Miami with a vicious flow rebounds the ball. Cole hits another one, and another one. He imagines himself in the Garden, wetting jumpers. He could probably pay to do it, but it would never be the same. It couldn't be. He catches on the three, once between the legs, a dribble around the back, and fires a 15-footer. It clangs off the back rim, bouncing away to the baseline. The rapper from Miami chases after the rebound. Cole exhales, his breath swirling in front of him, and for a reason he can’t explain, he finds himself staring off into the distance. He can't be sure, but he imagines it’s where north would be. The sound of the bouncing balls fade. Buildings are rising up before him, but he doesn't see them. So many sleepless nights that brought him here, to this moment. So many hours spent in the studio. Shows in every corner of the globe. Albums that have been revered, enshrined as essential to the rap canon. But still… he feels a twist in his stomach. Somewhere out there, an old friend plots his demise. Their hatred for each other a by-product of old allegiances. No one remembers exactly what was said. No one remembers, but it doesn't matter much anymore. There isn't room enough for the both of them. There can only be one king.





Perpetrator: Pusha T on “Don’t Fuck With Me”

Victim: Drake

Crime: "Like a ghetto girl with the good weave sewn in, she walk like it's her's but the whole world knowing,"

&

"The swag don’t match the sweaters,"

Reasoning: G.O.O.D Music is a family.

Maybe Consequence’s message about defending your boss got through to Pusha, or maybe this is just straight up loyalty. Yeezy doesn’t need to respond, his boys will. Malice’s brother drops some ferocious, clowning bars, referencing a certain someone’s propensity for sweaters, and guys "on their sophmores, acting like boss lords." No shots Push? Really? Pusha Ton hopped on Drake’s record, and skied all over that bitch. “The lowest form of a thief is a cat burglar, tiptoe-in’ but the whole while clonin’.” Drizzy took Big Sean’s flow, and got big off a sound he got from Yeezy. Pusha is having none of it.

Perpetrator: B.o.B on “No Future”

Victim: Odd Future


Crime: “Keep fucking with me and you ain’t gone have no future”

OR

Just the entire song.

Reasoning: Y’all forget how nice I am?

Holy. Shit. That was my response when I heard this. For people still bumping to "Airplanes" and "Magic", this was the wake-up call. To anybody who thought B.o.B lost it, this was the reminder. The elastic, pounding flow, and utterly vile disrespect. Every artist alive has seemingly been happy to cosign Odd Future, in the hope of getting some of that youthful coolness to shine on them. B.o.B firmly established where he stands. And to me, that was dope as fuck. You were really going to call him a faggot on your song and think you’d get away with it? Think the Wayne cosign, the Kanye Tweet and Mos Def yelling in a camera was going to save you? B.o.B went to work on the OF clan, spitting the most blatant subliminal you will find on this list. An entire song dedicated to shitting on the young’ns, a song that teeters very close to not being a subliminal at all. But no names were used, and in classic fashion, B.o.B denied it was a diss. Tyler’s response? A soft ass Tweet that was supposed to come across as condescending. Win for those Grand Hustle boys.

Thanks for following along, KWTers. The end is near. Keep checking out KWT, as the final entry is on the way. Plus, who do you think will be number one? And what do you think of the list so far?

Previous: The 10 Best Subliminals of 2011 (So Far) #10 - #7
UPDATED: The 10 Best Subliminals of 2011 (So Far) #2 & #1

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