Under The Influence: Biting The Hand That Feeds

Editor’s note: Welcome to writer Fred Castano’s editorial series Under The Influence. For his first installment, he’s decided to tackle the concept of “biting the hand that feeds” in regards to Consequence’s recent BS with G.O.O.D. Music, particularly Kanye West and Pusha T. Hit the skip to read the piece and be prepared for some lively discussion in the comment section.

“Yo, you look just like this kid I seen in an old Busta Rhymes video the other night.” – Consequence, from “Spaceship” by Kanye West

Prior to the Consequence/G.O.O.D. Music blowup, did you know that Consequence had an album and mixtape coming out?  Me neither. I haven’t thought about Consequence much since Don’t Quit Your Day Job!, back when I was a college kid hustling essays for 30-racks.  Since then, he’s done the Movies on Demand and The Cons series’ and acted in a supporting role for G.O.O.D. Music via guest verses and writing for Kanye West albums, but largely staying out of the spotlight.

But like most rappers, not being in the spotlight presented a problem for Consequence, so he accused Pusha T of biting his lines and presented Kanye West as some sort of mad king/antichrist figure. Not satisfied with just pissing off his boss and labelmates, Consequence looked through his iTunes, wondered how many other bridges he could burn, and put images of Drake, Lupe Fiasco, Rhymefest, and others in that really creepy Puppet Masters video. At that point, I expected a GLC sighting, but to no avail. All eyes turned to his cousin Q-Tip, who promptly said Consequence was crazy and apologized to Sway for Consequence’s RapFix interview. All beefs have wild and entertaining claims, and Consequence delivers the goods:

Claim 1: Pusha T bit the “last supper” line

Consequence: “Cudi got the kids, Cons got the streets, Ye got the globe, so we all going to eat it’s the last supper for you muthafuckas.”

Pusha T: “The last supper for you n***** now repainted.”

I can see where Consequence is coming from, but it’s still a reach.  I eagerly await Prodigy to call out Cons for biting “My commission sit at the table like the last supper” from “Power Rap.” Hip-hop feels empty without Prodigy beefing with somebody.

The Plagiarist Society (Pusha-T Diss) by Consequence by Consequence

Claim 2: “He lyrically can’t compete.”

In a radio interview, Consequence said Pusha T isn’t as nice as him on the mic.  Consequence is nice, but Pusha is nicer, and Pusha’s response was honest: more people check for P than for Consequence. If you’re scrolling through Potholes and the doctor tells you you’ve only got one click to live and there’s a new Consequence song and a new Pusha T song, which link are you clicking?

Claim 3: Consequence was the “glue” that kept A Tribe Called Quest together.

Good job, because Tribe always looks so united. Q-Tip’s response: “GLUE??  I gave that n***** a look!”

Now that Cons has used all these newsworthy names and gotten our attention, he’d like us to know that he’s coming out with some new music.  I’d like media outlets to start a new practice: if you’re covering a beef, turn the recorder off when the rapper starts talking about the mixtape that’s about to drop. I stopped reading the conclusions on articles about rapper beef because they invariably end with the artist’s upcoming projects.

The circumstances around Consequence’s departure from G.O.O.D. have been played out many times before in professional sports. Imagine the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy morning basketball games as the NBA, and G.O.O.D. Music is a team.  Consequence is the wily veteran coming off the bench with sound fundamentals.  He’ll give you a good 20 minutes off the bench, make the occasional spot start, but he’s not making the All-Star team.  G.O.O.D. Music made a move to upgrade its roster in signing a flashy free agent in Pusha T and gave rookie Big Sean some playing time, and both moves cut into Consequence’s time.  Consequence, feeling deserving of more action, took his grievances to the press, trashed his coach and teammates, and quit the team.

Equate “playing time” with “shine and studio time with Kanye,” and there’s the basis for Consequence’s actions.  Consequence complained that he wasn’t getting enough Kanye time, but who isn’t trying to work with Kanye right now? Consequence would have a legitimate beef if Kanye was ignoring him to go be the house producer for Koch (excuse me, “E1”), but Kanye kept it to his label and others in his circle, including the man who gave him his shot, Jay-Z.  Can you imagine Kanye on the phone with Jay-Z explaining why he can’t do Watch the Throne due to his Cons TV workload? “Hello? Oh hey Hova, what’s good with you? You want me to do an album and a tour with you? Sorry, I can’t. Despite the allure of overpriced tickets that people will buy anyway and copious amounts of groupies, I’ve got a real feeling that this Consequence album will manage to go at least wood. Maybe even aluminum this time!”

In a thrilling display of self-destruction, Consequence managed to diss everyone who gave him a chance. As any rapper that didn’t blow can tell you, it’s hard to get just one chance. Consequence got TWO chances and was surrounded by talent with both Tribe and G.O.O.D. Music. Don’t Quit Your Day Job! sold about 8,000 in its first week. If MC Get Busy sold 8,000 in his first week, would he still be getting guest appearances on Kanye West albums? Would Q-Tip and Kanye be executive producing MC Get Busy’s sophomore album? Trick question, MC Get Busy wouldn’t get a sophomore album. 

For all of Beanie Sigel’s public statements about Jay-Z, he didn’t drop a “Look out for The Classic, it’s going to be that fire, boy!” at the end of them.  In his apologetic non-apology, Beans recognized that Jay-Z gave him a fair shot. Say what you will about Jay-Z, but he gave artists a fair look. For Rihanna, it worked out. For Teairra Mari, it didn’t. What complicated the Beanie Sigel/Jay-Z and Consequence/Kanye West situations is the mixing of friends and business.  Both Beans and Consequence referenced their personal friendships with their bosses as part of their frustrations, but the rap industry has always been a shining example of “ain’t no friends in this shit business.”  While Kanye does have an obligation to Consequence as a friend and artist on his label, it’s also incumbent on Consequence to generate some buzz for himself.  The mixtapes were dropping, but not one person in my large network of hip-hop-loving friends and associates have implored me to download them.  Nor have they even suggested it. Or even mumbled it, or even subliminally slipped it into a conversation.

Being able to maintain working relationships with people is a vital survival tactic, but the oversized egos that run rampant throughout the music industry make it that much more difficult.  Lessons can be learned from Joell Ortiz, who didn’t flip everyone off as he walked out the door when he got his release from Aftermath, so it wasn’t awkward when he came to Shady Records with Slaughterhouse.  On the other hand, it’s safe to say we won’t see Sandman at a Re-Up Gang reunion (remember when he said they’ll beg him to do a reunion album when he blows up?). 

The sad part is Consequence is talented. Like many hip-hop fans, I enjoyed Don’t Quit Your Day Job!. His verse on “Spaceship” is a big reason why it’s my favorite song on College Dropout. I would normally be excited about a new Cons album, but not under these circumstances.  I don’t listen to Consequence for diss tracks. I listen to Consequence for his wit, smooth delivery, and ability to relate.  Consequence using negative energy to drive his music is counter-productive; it’s like Waka Flocka basing his album’s marketing campaign around strengthening gun-control laws.  Consequence has every right to further his career, and if he felt that being associated with G.O.O.D. Music hindered his career, more power to him for leaving and doing his own thing. However, the circumstances under which he left drained a lot of goodwill that he’s built up with fans and throughout the industry, and the only way to rebound is the only thing that matters anyway: drop a hot album.  It’s show-and-prove time for Cons. The Game left G-Unit and flourished. Young Buck left and is now bankrupt. And Tony Yayo knows full well: don’t bite the hand that feeds you.