Okay, we’re a little slow here at Plug One. I’ve got a full-time job (as a real journalist, mind you), and so does most of my crew. So we don’t always post the latest bloggerati crazes when they pop off. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know about them, seen?
So as I learn to post things in a timely fashion (i.e. not take over a week to write up newsy items), I look for inspiration from around the Web. Today I noticed via hiphopdx.com that Ras Kass is circulating a petition requesting his release from Priority/Capitol Records/EMI.
Who cares about Ras Kass anymore? Back in 1996 he was one of leading voices in hip-hop, banging out classics like “Nature of the Threat” and Soul on Ice. But after 1998’s Rassassination he hasn’t been able to release any material on Priority besides a few promo singles (including “Home Sweet Home,” which touched off beef when producer Alchemist subsequently re-sold the beat to Jadakiss for the hit single “We Gonna Make It”). Two slightly different promo versions of his third album, Van Gogh and Goldyn Child, circulated in 2001. Neither saw proper release.
Unlike Black Moon, whose beef with Nervous Records led to a career-stifling standoff, Ras Kass has tried to reach an agreement with Priority, but to no avail. His name has been bandied in conjunction with other imprints, primarily Aftermath (Dre’s a fan of his). Finally, he tried to sue his way off of Capitol/EMI (which bought out Priority several years ago). But it’s 2007 and, with a case dismissal, he’s still stuck.
This is a cruel and undeserved fate for the man once considered the West Coast’s finest lyricist. Yeah, he pissed off a lot of white rap fans with “Nature of the Threat’s” racialist politics. But was it worth over five years in label purgatory?
Hiphopdx.com reprinted an open letter Ras Kass sent to Capitol Records. “It seems to me and many others that since the year 2000 Capitol is either unable or unwilling to offer me an opportunity to (1) release and market my music and (2) thereby allow me to generate income for myself and the company. So the logical and fiscal thing to do would be to allow a third party capable of successfully translating my talent into profit, do just that,” he writes.
You can sign the petition, which currently has over 500 signatures, here.
www.raskass-central.com
www.myspace.com/raskass
