by Philip dos Santos
“You mad cuz I’m stylin on you…” – Nyckz
Unquestionably, one of the most memorable quotes from a street battle ever, it’s a line that was shortly followed up by a sucker punch to Nyckz’ left cheek from rap opponent “EnJ”. Although the line was clearly hilarious and could be deemed as somewhat insulting, was that the real reason EnJ decided to suckerpunch Nyckz during their battle? Gun references throughout the lyrical bout are cited as the main reason, but they (gun references) are so common in battles nowadays that it is almost expected.
My opinion: EnJ was mad that Nyckz was stylin’ on him.
That is a prime example of how the game has changed so much, Fashion has become the 5th element of hip-hop. Although, I received an email last year stating that there are now over a dozen elements, I am still unfamiliar with the sender and I will have to verify the “New” 8 elements another day.
Why fashion though? In 2007, MCs are hard to come by, but rappers? You can find one on every block, in every crew, from every background and situation. I am not going to turn KRS(-ONE) on y’all, but one difference in the modern day rapper is that lyrical content is dull and a lot of them need to rely on swag (Fashion) for an upper hand. As an 80’s baby, I always relied on my abilities and hustle to get me where Im going, but with the state of music & culture the way it is, I’ve been forced to change things up a little.