For reference: Im proud to inform you that I have been listening to the works of MC SHAN & MARLEY MARL since August 1987, and even though we normally stay a long way away from this type of ‘beef’ crap, all the small-talk is windin me up, you dig what im saying ?
An open letter to Shawn Moltke, Marlon Williams and the rest of the hater-nation actually enjoying this crud out there. Jesus, yer a bunch of grown-ass men, cant we all just get along? Why is it fashionable or even necessary to create these kinda rants, this form of ‘beef’. Beef my arse. Shame on you Shawn. This is garbage, this is pompous, this is self-glorification of the highest order, and from where im sittin, its ugly, and none of ye’ even have a release to promote; Black Gus, you get a late pass on that.
These videos are not a good example of how technology should be harnassed, these are signs of adults acting like a bunch of children. Kids would do things in a higher-res and set cams on a shelf for a start !
Long after the glory days of the Juice Crews achievements and successes, Marley remained a progressive guy that recognised the importance of furthering himself. He continued his career in music production after his legendary Rap Attack performances behind the wheels on WBLS with Mr Magic, the Future Flavas shows, the nutty amount of remixes and productions he has created over the years and kept on pushing himself even in the face of illness, and tbh, good on him.
Kane is a great example of getting older and still enjoying the lime-light, he was wise enough to utilise what talent he’d been blessed with. Kane aint been young for a minute, and you KNOW that Kane destroys a stage when he performs, that is a perfect example of giving the audience/ consumer what they want. Shan didnt do that. I saw Shan perform at a PUMA launch a few years ago with Kane and Doug E Fresh in London, and the difference between the 2 Juice Crew members was like watching a professional and an amateur, like Shan hadnt held a mic in front of an audience before that.
Marley furthered himself by continuing his career in broadcasting, he can currently be heard on WBLS on two seperate slots, on the Midday Mix with Marley Marl and again on drive-time, and of course he still drops the Golden Era Radio show with Shante on a Friday night. As if that wasnt enough, of course, he’s been working on production of a DVD called The Vapors for a while now [when yer ready Mr Williams, take yer time there slow-poke], not forgetting his ability to create interest around unreleased gems from the back cat by working with good folk like DWG and Roots Forward. Again, Marleys morals come into question with a supposed unreleased track from 88 which was released recently by Canadian imprint Roots Forward. I dont care what anyone tells ye, that record was NOT produced in 1988, the lyrics may have been written back then but cmon sons, yeh I said it…
And furthermore…
http://wernervonwallenrod.blogspot.com/2012/01/return-of-hot-chillin.html
Alotta these cats are enjoying fame from their musical heritage but in business terms, progression is the key to success, yeh of course its great to look back, maybe make a buck or two on the side, but the most important issue is going forward, and not letting the past keep you there. Shan did not stay current, even to a throwback/ younger crowd.
Marley is like any producer from any form of music, every genre has the artists that come to the table with ideas, and its the engineers / producers that bring those ideas to life. Shan may have brought the concepts and ideas, but Marley gave them colour and definition, Shan hasnt truly comprehended that formula IMO. So feckin what if Aaron Fuchs brought a copy of Impeach the President to the studio that time…
Personally, I think Shan wants to be held in higher esteem, but this kinda school-yard shit is the last thing that is gonna offer him a new found respect, no one likes a tell-tale. Its a shame that Marley has to call out Shan on his addictions, its a shame we’ll never see a reunion, its a shame that yall are hanging yourselves collectively, as the relationships between the members have become ruinous in the scheme of things.
Remembering that Shan had records with his name on em released on NIA and MCA in 1985, as I see it, its real simple. The Juice Crew artists didnt sign any contracts during those embryonic stages cos, well, nobody was signing contracts. They wanted fame, and they were already gettin round the way fame at that point. It took a while for people to catch on to the importance of signing contracts I think. At the very start, its a bet that, as Marley explains, they just wanted success, share some of the light that was shining their direction. They wouldve got paid well off tours and shows et cetera but that only kept them sweet in the short-term.
Okay, Marley MUST HAVE known about credit at that point, and surely thats the rub, Marley chose not be transparent in terms of the business relations and the contractual minutia, or in the good faith element of it all… Instead of sharing the information with Shan and therefore sharing the royalties down the line, he as he says, shares the small percentage of the ASCAPs and according to the ‘All-Star Engineer’ they are for small amounts, because Shan had signed contracts alot later rather than sooner. How manipulative Marley was in the scheme of all this we’ll never know. Its clear that it took Shan a while for him to realise the importance of writing credits, performance and publishing rights.
I can see how Shan is bitter, what im troubled about now is not only what was Masta Ace talkin about in D-Nices video that sparked all this, but how Shan is going to respond, if he’s ‘wrong’ enough to yell at his sleeping baby girl just for giggles and shits, then how the eff is he gonna react to Marlons giggles directly squarely at him. I hope Shan doesnt suffer a heart-attack from ‘his worries about being a good father’ like Marley. Doubt it.
HOTASBALLS 