Biting: Does Anybody Really Care?

Biting is probably the one cardinal sin in Hip-Hop historically. As you know, as we go along, the recollection of history fades into the deepest recesses of (most of) our minds.

Biting is nothing new though, to Hip-Hop or art in general. 

For those that don't know, biting is the act of copying or stealing a creative person's style or material. It was apparently a metaphor for somebody nibbling like a rat or mouse from another person's work and keeping some for themselves. 

Recently, there have been bold accusations of biting. Consequence has accused Pusha T of swiping a line from him in a record. When I first heard the mere notion, I had assumed that there was this massive, egregious infraction. Basically, I thought - based on Consequences furor - that Pusha had swiped 6-16 bars from his rap book and put it down. 

But, does it all matter in the year 2011? 

Of course it matters, but do we care? 

I'm not sure that I do. I definitely don't want rappers to go on a biting spree like there's not such thing as trademarking and copywriting. But, the vast majority of rappers aren't putting out material worth the bit, so to speak. Secondly, there are so many rappers in the world, there are destined to be redundancies. Do you know how many people have tweeked the phrase "life's a b***h?" It has reached epic proportions. I'm sick of "life's a b***h" metaphors. 

Consequence probably has some other matters on his mind, rather than worrying about Pusha saying, "Its the last supper for you n***as" in a very similar way that she said on another song. Or, maybe he's real with it. And, if he is, that makes him a very, very, very old school MC that may want to reconsider the rules of engagement in the year 2011.

That line wasn't even that hot - real talk.

And that's not a diss. But it is a call for cats to start actually making rhymes worth biting or, even better, worth leaving alone. Or even better...inspiring somebody to top the bar they just heard. 




Article By Houston Williams


Material gathered through AHH.com