27 Apr My first true exercise in local Hip-Hop journalism (Not Safe For Work)

Baton Rouge, Louisiana will forever hold a place in my heart. It’s where I wrote my first real news story, earned my first awards, gained my political awareness and even the place where I lost my virginity. It was also where I really honed in my skills as a Hip-Hop journalist. Searching for good music stories in Baton Rouge was challenging, especially when most of the good stuff happens in New Orleans. Glad to know things have gotten better for the city.

Hell, I even had a short internship at Trill Entertainment.

One of the best stories I wrote was during the Thuggin It and Lovin It  craze that swept local and national outlets sometime after I graduated. Thuggin It and Lovin It was a “hood documentary” that exposed the underbelly of Louisiana’s capitol city in a way that was both appalling, disgusting and entertaining all the same. Once I wrote this story, it sort of caught on like wildfire in the national and Hip-Hop press. Honestly, Triggerman and company were some cool dudes who had an idea and executed it quite perfectly.

Read excerpt below:

“While the local media has criticized the DVD for what they say are scenes that glorify of guns, drugs and seemingly everything “Thug Life,” executive producer Troy “TriggerMan” Green feels differently. “I made the DVD to give people within Baton Rouge an opportunity to be known as far as rapping because I love my city,” said Green.

According to Green, the reason for the many of the controversial scenes in “Thuggin’ It and Lovin’ It” is simply because rappers are characters and the artist in the DVD are just portraying an image they want to be seen as. “ If I was doing country music, I would have guitars and horses,” said Green. “ Because most of them are gansta rappers, your going to have hood stuff.”

The idea for the DVD came to Green while he was incarcerated for what he calls “street shit” from 2004-2007. After being released from prison with the idea fresh in his mind, he called some contacts he knew from each hood represented in the DVD. “I knew somebody from every neighborhood,” said Green. After around eight months worth of filming and editing with later the release, Green says never thought that he would ever get this much publicity.

“They [the news media] took an angle of attacking the DVD,” said one of the artist on Millionaire Entertainment, Butch. “ We bridged the gap between different hoods and rivalries to do something positive.” According to Butch, if someone see’s something bad in the DVD then maybe society should be blamed. “The DVD didn’t make Baton Rouge what it is, Baton Rouge made the DVD what it is,” said Butch.”

Boy have I come a long way.