Beans Lost

I'm sure you've heard the freestyle Beanie Sigel dropped this weekend entitled How  I Could Kill Jigga Man. Beans spits a couple of bars over Cypress Hill's classic How I Could Just Kill A Man beat. On it, Beans goes in, and no doubt spits some fiery ish. Towards the end of the track, Beans talks some more heartfelt slang, relying on his numerous usage of the word "boy" to accentuate his point. To a lesser man, this fresstyle might could have done some serious damage. Against Jay-Z, not so much.

New York Yankees Jay is so on top of the food chain as America's favorite rapper that it'll take more than a dope song (What You Talkin Bout) and the above-referenced freestyle to do him real damage. The arsenal one needs to include in their back pack before firing shots Jiggaman's way might include:

1. An event. Eveytime Jay-Z drops anything, it's an event. No matter how much any of us talk about how "Jay ain't spittin' it hot no more", you and I know when dude drops, we's all glued up on the blogs, websites, radios, tv screens and what not. If I'm lyiin', I'm dyin'. Beanie Sigel dropping a freestyle is so 2001 compared to where Jay and his career are at this day and time. Long and short, as gossip worthy as Beans going at Jay is, it's not as much of an event.

2. An epic song. Takeover was epic. Ether was epic. The Bridge Is Over, epic. Dre Day, epic. What You Talkin Bout, dope. Epic > Dope.

3. Public Sympathy. With Jay-Z being the undisputed champ of this rap thing and Beans the underdog, Sigel needs a whole gang of public sympathy on his side to sway the millions of Jay fans his way. Back when Nas and Jay had their thing, even though Jay was considered the champ, fans felt for Nas as the underdog. For many reasons. Many felt Jay snuck attacked first with Takeover (not true). Plus, Nas was going through a lotta shit, what with his mom's passing, his baby momma having been called out for her seemingly unloyal indiscretions, Nas having an image as being more on a righteous path than most his peers. Then, some of us were rooting for the underdog that was Nas. Beans no doubt is the underdog, but I'm not really sure if he has the public on the whole rooting for him to win this battle.

4. A contender of similar stature. Back when MC Shan got dusted off by KRS-One, or when Ja Rule got wiped off the face of the map by 50, the issue of stature wasn't really an issue. The nature of the attacks leveled were magnificent in themselves. Although on top, Shan and Ja were no way on the level that Jay is. Label me a Stan or whatever, but no one can argue that where Jay stands today isn't on some rap legend ish. Almost anyone going at dude would seem to be a hater. Haters seldom win. Back in 2001, even though many viewed Jay as being the top dog, many saw Nas as an equal or even a superior contender (lyrics, legacy of the flawless "Illmatic"). Beans no doubt is a beast on the mic, but as far as weight class goes, he's severely outclassed by Jay on so many different levels.

5. Self sabotage. Image is everything. Perception is reality. What killed Jay in his historic beef against Nasir Jones wasn't just the sheer force that was Ether, it was also, to some, how Jay kilt himself on how low he stooped when he fired off Super Ugly against Queens Bridge's finest. Calling out Carmen Bryant, Nas' baby momma as a slore, describing how he left condoms on Nas' daughter's baby seat was a bit too far, said song causing Jay to lose favor in many a fan's eyes. Right now, regardless as to whether we feel "Blueprint 3" is sub par or not, Jay-Z stays winning. He's at a point right now where the only thing that might work against him is himself. Something along the lines of him Chris Browning Beyonce would kill his rep, and add points to whomever was standing on the other side.

There's more factors to be added when it comes to killing Jiggaman, the ones above are just a few. But with that being said, things aren't looking too good for the Broad Street Bully at this point. Still, it's not over yet. Anything can happen. The way I look at it though, there's only one contender standing across the ring who fits comfortably in Jay-Z's weight class. That person being 50 Cent. I know, I've been going on about the possibility of an official Jay-Z/50 Cent battle for some time now. I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record.

But I ain't the only one talking this: