Blog: Stereogum

Rap music generally depends heavily on status and confidence: The best guys are the guys who mange to convince us of their complete dominance, and who assemble teams of like-minded guys behind them. More than just about every other genre, rap is built around stars, around rappers who have successfully asserted their will on the world. And sometimes we don't pay enough attention to the character actors and sixth men who stand behind those stars, happy to get whatever share of the spotlight comes their way. Consider the case of Beanie Sigel, one of my favorite rappers of all time [...]