Shocking Moments of 2010 2010 was the year full of Twitter beef, “swag” overuse, “the dougie” taking the nation by storm and Kanye West escaping away to exile in Hawaii.  Nicki reported record sales, Ricky Rozay got his gangster tested by the real “Freeway” Ricky Ross and Drake continued to shut it down as Wayne and T.I. served prison sentences. Eminem went triple platinum and Dre’s Detox still didn’t fully come out.  Instead he gave us the headphones and the song “Kush”. Take a look at some of the most shocking moments in Hip Hop in 2010 as we take a look at the year in review. Guru Dying So many times we hear rumors that an artist has passed, has been shot, or is locked up from a gun charge, but most of the time it is expected or reasonable to believe given an individuals previous actions.  But Guru’s passing was unexpected and unbelievable when the news came out. It rocked the Hip-Hop community to its core in April, especially with the alleged shady tactics of Solar in the wings.  The whole drama kicked off with the shady initial letter to Guru’s fans, supposedly written by Guru himself.  Then it came out that Solar wrote the letter, and was getting in between Guru and his family and friends in his last days and hours of the MC’s life, even refusing to let Premier see Guru.  The whole thing smelled of foul play.  From the F**K Solar campaign to Guru’s nephew speaking out about how Solar wouldn’t let the family see Guru, the end of Guru’s life was unfortunately marred in controversy. Initially to many, this was the end of the king of monotone, the end of carrying the torch in the underground for one of hip-hops legends.  But then at a certain point as a community we began to listen to all the Jazzmatazz projects again, “Moment of Truth” , “Mass Appeal”, “You Know My Steez”, “Above the Clouds”, “Full Clip”, “Work” and so many others. Guru will always be a part of hip hop and its legacy and will never be forgotten.  Its just unfortunate that Guru’s death was surrounded by so much controversy with Solar.  RIP GURU. TI Going Back to Jail – First question with this is shocking moment is, why T.I.?  While reportedly working with Remi Martin on a deal, building up the buzz with his Akoo Clothing line and gearing up to release his most recent project “No Mercy”, this was probably the worst time for him to get locked up. He had just been released from jail. While his damage control tactics are admirable, with charity events, TV programs about staying out of trouble and other projects to guide the youth in the right direction, its still upsetting to see the example set for young kids and the waste of talent.   As T.I. sits in his jail cell for this 11 month sentence, it brings up the question of whether or not rappers should even be considered role models.  Some maybe should be given that consideration, but with this arrest, its questionable if he should be a role model for the kids of our communities. Nas Dissing “LA” Reid In an email entitled, “Put My S### Out”, that leaked across the web, Nas put Antonio “L.A.” Reid on blast.  The Queensbridge, rapper was supposed to drop a new CD, the sequel to his album, “The Lost Tapes” on Dec. 17 but for some unknown reason Def Jam Records’ “LA” Reid didn’t want to put the album out. Angry and never one to hold his tongue, Nas went in on Twitter, and shortly thereafter, the email leaked online.   As Nas broke it down, its clear who he had in his cross-hairs. “The #1 problem with DEF JAM is pretty simple and obvious, the executives think they are the stars. You aren’t…. not even close. As a matter of fact, you wish you were, but it didn’t work out so you took a desk job,” Nas stated in an excerpt from the letter.  Its rare that an employee goes in on the boss in that way, and even more rare that its taken up in a public forum.  But hey, it leaked. Shyne Signs to Def Jam The last time we heard from Shyne, Diddy was dating J-Lo and the game was way different than it is today.  Signed by “L.A.” Reid in Belize after his recent deportation, Shyne reportedly signed a deal worth between 1 and 5 million dollars and will receive distribution for his imprint Gangland Records.  ‘It is an honor and a pleasure, not just for me but for Belize,” Shyne was quoted as saying around the time of the signing.  According to Miss Info, Def Jam won a bidding war between Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and other labels, for the rights to release Shyne’s highly anticipated album, his first since 2004.  Shyne later explained that,  “L.A Reid was there when I was locked, a few feet away from death row and the Black Panthers. L.A. was on the visit floor on Rikers Island looking at me through them blinding bars, showing me he believed in that gang boy revolutionary music I make.”  Shyne is also reportedly being managed by HipHopSince1978, the same company that manages the careers of Drake, Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne. Various Kooky Issues Ja Rule got a couple years in jail for a gun. Magnolia Shorty, a rapper once signed by Cash Money, was shot 26 times. DMX goes back to jail after testing positve for cocaine. Gucci arrested and released. Waka’s house raided and Gucci cuffed , by police. Charles Hamilton in a mental ward. At times, the news read like a police blotter and most times, we were shocked at the news.

In 2010, Rick Ross transcended. The heated beefs were in the rear view and the self-proclaimed Boss took on Sean “Diddy” Combs as his manager. Then there was the crazy Nike ‘Boom’ commercial with the ill new talking chain. Comedic skits with Chelsea Handler. A dope album in Teflon Don and a few collaborations later, Rick Ross was back on top. To put it short, Rick Ross became a brand in 2010. In homage of Rick Ross the brand, we assembled a few ways Mr. Rozay could potentially leverage his Hip-Hop identity to even greater heights. [Note: this is a satire, meant explicitly to be light and humorous fare.] RICK ROSS RESORTS Winter is here. Wouldn’t you love to get away?   TEFLON DON POTS AND PANS John Gotti may not approve if he were alive. Since he isn’t, Rick Ross may be able to make this happen. ACE OF ROZAY A liqueur? Why not! BAWSE WEAR SUITS BY HUGO BAWSE A line for big men is mandatory. Bawse. BAWSE BBQ SAUCE When it is time to chow down on steak, accept no imitations. A1, please! Bawse Sauce!