Stop the Violence (Self-Construction)

Grammy Weekend in LA is so heavy that you can actually stumble into an all-star studio session. Case in point, when I lucked up and got invited to drop bars on the KRS-One sponsored "Self-Construction". We were at the LA Recording School in Hollywood working on our new single "Juicy Juice", when Amp ran into Rakaa from Dilated Peoples. Rakaa suggested that I come contribute to the project, as there would be hella MC's adding on. I was going to show up at the studio a little later, but when Amp dropped that on me, I told him to come pick me up pronto.
When I arrived, there were about 10 cats slipping and sliding in and out of the studio. The pounds ensued as they hipped me to the game. The song was called "Self-Construction" as an ode to the hip hop classic "Self-Destruction". Yeah, I'm with that. I went back over to our studio to check the mix, and got caught up. I'd have to return tomorrow to complete the mission.
The next day (Saturday), I came back to the spot where an even larger crowd had formed. This time I had come prepared. My verse was ready, albeit only 4 bars...let's go! I peeked into the control room to witness the somber mugs of studio rats. Heads bobbed to the chunky knock dripping from the monitors. An anonymous MC spit rhymes in the mic room as I eyed my opportunity to get on. I stepped to the producer and hollered, "What up fam? I'm ready." "Aite, go head", he responded pointing to the now empty booth. I jumped at the chance because something inside was telling me to get it in quickly before the heavy hitters showed up. As I steadied myself before the mic, the engineer told me that he needed a few minutes. All good. The next thing I knew, the producer was thumbing me out of the booth. Damn! Moments like this suck. I wondered to myself, "what's the problem now?" As I walked back into the studio, I saw what the commotion was about. Producer dude was snuggled up tight next to Nelly as I opened the door. Nonetheless, Nelly turned and greeted me like I was the old school homey. At least he was cool. But, now I was back into the same position I had just left. As I surveyed the scene, the Game and his entourage flooded the room, eight deep. Seconds later, about six more folks crashed into the shrinking studio to absorb the spectacle. From my position behind the door I counted heads, and tried to figure out how long this would take. I guess "star" power goes a long way.
I bided my time as bodies went in and out of the vocal booth. One dude took about 30 minutes as he fumbled thru a freestyled verse. Somehow, I maintained my game-face despite feeling slightly dissed. When the Game finished, and half the room walked out with him, I knew it was now or never. Within 5 minutes I had dropped my four bars. Whew! Finally got that off, now I could chill.
In the studio lobby, a massive assembly of artists, interviewers, and well wishers chilled together. It was dope to holla at folks, as everyone was juiced by all the illustrious talent in the building. I ran thru a gamut of interviews where folks seemed to be genuine about supporting the Stop the Violence Movement. Honestly, it was refreshing to see Hip Hop rallied around something uplifting. It was cool to see a dude like Nelly lay his beef with KRS to the side, in the name of unification.
With all the negative publicity that Hip Hop gets, this day was a prime example of how the media simply refuses to cover positive events within the culture. This is the type of jump off that needs to be seen on the nightly news. What better message to send to the youth? Even with all the different types of MC's in the house, when it comes down to it, even the most hardcore gangsta knows that peace is not the word to play. Its a beautiful message that we need right now. It really helped me to reconnect with the true potential that we have as the Hip Hop massive. To all the good people that came out to rep...much respect! Stop the violence..