News: Nino Bless Calls It Quits....

The man who was instrumental in the formation of Slaughterhouse and whom I've written about as one of the strongest rising young talents in the game, Nino Bless, announced yesterday via his Myspace page that he would be calling it quits from the rap game and walking away to pursue other things.

In a letter to his fans and friends Bless outlines the foreshadowing that led him up to this point, detailing how he has quickly become disillusioned with an industry steeped in disingenuous behavior and that is rapidly evolving into something that he no longer cares for musically.

Looks like the current horrid state of Hip-Hop has claimed yet another promising young career....SMH...I don't like it, but I wish him the best in whatever he chooses to do in the future.

-BIG D O




Nino Bless::

Peace to all of you. I don’t know if this will be my last blog, but this will explain to all of you why I will be leaving the Rap game prematurely. I am leaving with my head up high and accomplishing in such a short time more than I ever thought I would. In a short time, I managed to captivate some of my favorite MC’s of all time with my own words. Artists such as Kool G Rap, Ras Kass & Chino XL managed to acknowledge my skills.

Kool G Rap told me in conversation “right now I feel as though you can hang with ANYONE on the mic, whether they have a bigger name than you or not you on that level right now.” G told me this not too long ago and seriously I got chills just getting that respect from him. If anybody knows G Rap, he doesn’t say shit just to say it. Pharoahe Monch hit me on Myspace out of no where. I never spoke to the dude 1 time in my life, and he hit me with a Myspace message after I leaked the Bone Thugs Tribute and said “yo dog that Bone Tribute is fire and I peeped the rest of your shit on Myspace and you the sickest new artist to me.” Pun and Biggie could come back and tell me that, and it wouldn’t mean more to me than that. (Real Talk). Monch is literally my idol as an MC along, with Scarface, G Rap and Andre 3000.

I never got into Rap to make millions of dollars. Call me stupid, but that wasn’t my goal. Fame wasn’t my goal either. I love the art of putting words together. I’m fortunate to have certain gift’s other MC’s don’t have, which makes me a minority. I was blessed (no pun intended) with a ability to put words together in a way that mostly other rappers who sat and tried to do what I do could appreciate. Very few understood what I was doing with each multi-syllable rhyme scheme. The one’s that did appreciated it. The one’s that didn’t moved on ’cause it didn’t catch what they were looking for. Frankly, I’m a differently breed than some of these people in my realm. I hate the lights, cameras, and etc. That is not my shit. I do shit for the art and that is something that is slowly been taken away. This industry is way too over-saturated, and at the same has shifted into another direction where everything is more important than the music. I hate to sound like a old head here and be all cliche, but that’s not how I got to fall in love with this – not to mention everything that goes with the music like interviews, marketing, networking, and etc is not my shit either. This Rap shit ain’t me, to say the least. I love rapping, but I don’t like everything else that comes with it.

To some, I may sound bitter. If a major label offered me a million dollars tomorrow, I don’t know if I’d be happy, to be honest. If Jay-Z called me and told me he wanted to sign me, I don’t know if my life would be going where I want it to go, ’cause honestly this shit just ain’t in me like that. Everyone measures success in different ways. I don’t use fame, money, accolades, or any of that to measure success. I measure success with self-satisfaction. Are you happy with yourself? I’m happy, then I’m successful. That sounds emo, but it’s the real deal. What the fuck is 40 mil in your bank account worth if you aren’t happy? You’ll run out of things to buy eventually. I wake up everyday and see my peers and those around me stuck in this black hole where they have to do whatever they can for exposure. They have to do things they don’t want to do to, thinking they are fulfilling a dream. But who’s dream is it? Even a better question; what is that dream?

I intend of having a family one day. A father should not be out to 5am on a Wednesday and it be okay. That shit is not reality. Let me explain to you further of what this is black hole is. This is a place where most of the celebrated folks in this don’t miss shows, interviews, or studio sessions with other artist but can’t name you three of their kid’s friends in school. I know there’s some good dudes in this, so I’m not generalizing, but I’ve seen this more often than not. This is a place where if you beat a dude up you are now much realler than him and hold more credibility than the other person, regardless of what that person has done. So let’s say you are a great father, husband, brother and you are the most dependable person anybody could know if you lose that fight, throw all of that out the window. This guy who beat you up could have choked a female out, never gave two shits about his kid, but that doesn’t matter. He beats you, therefore he is now praised and regarded as “realler” person than you. Oh yeah, if you hold down a famous rapper in the streets and bust your gun and/or have been to jail you are too have some credibility. It doesn’t matter what else you do in life, often, you are praised in this black hole as well. Success is measured by how much sales or how much superficial material you have here as well. If you have money, you are doing well; if you don’t, well then you are not a success. I like to think every individual can determine their own level of success with their own goals. Not all of young goals require making a few million dollars. If that was my goal, I’d rap in a completely different tone. My goal is to motivate the young cats coming today the same way Rakim, G Rap, Pun, and Nas motivated me. There’s not much here today I feel is a good representation of what I like, so it’s a thrill for me to get a message on Myspace telling me I’ve inspired someone to write.

In closing, I want every one who’s infactuated with this black hole to know this shit is not reality. This lifestyle isn’t for everybody, nor is it as appealing as you think. There’s a lot of ignorance trapped in this bullshit and for whatever reason, will still be glorifed for years and years to come. Rappers are not heroes. They aren’t special omnipotent human beings who know everything and can school the youth. Unfortunately, they help guide the youth, but somebody needs to stand up and tell you the other side. Rapper’s don’t do 90% of what they say on records. They aren’t outside dealing, still in the streets, shooting, saving ghettos, treating women like queens, involved in their kids’ lives the way they should be and etc. for the MOST part. This shit is an act. Tupac was a rapper – a man blessed with charisma and putting words together. No different from most of these dudes now. There’s nothing to praise from these folks other than they can make good music. There are certain reasons to be appealed by how an MC may think or what he may say but I hate to break it to you most of the times its just for “show.” This entire shit is a farce and frankly the deep aspects of this game will turn you into a cornball before you know it. So for you youngin’s who want in, let me tell you, be careful or you will become just like some of the lames you idololized. A man who puts the “game” in front of his family and true values in life. I won’t and can’t allow that to happen to me. This is my reason and if you don’t agree with it then I feel sorry for you ignorance. Reality is this shit ain’t reality. Its a joke in which I don’t find amusing anymore. Take care, y’all