FlickrĪccording to hip-hop lore, Memphis Bleek was some kid who grew up in the same Brooklyn housing project as Jay Z, who Jay mysteriously plucked from obscurity as he was recording his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt. Jay Z performing with Memphis Bleek by his side. He is the most lovable loser in hip-hop, and his reputation as Jay Z’s hapless understudy obscures his own talents. For over two decades, he has played second fiddle to Jay Z, catching flack from rap fans, his labelmates, and even Jay himself, and keeping his head held high all the way through it. Of all the sidekicks, the weed carriers, and otherwise unfairly denigrated figures in hip-hop, Memphis Bleek stands head and shoulders above the rest. There are more - Murphy Lee (sidekick to Nelly), Trife da God (sidekick to Ghostface Killah), Chevy Woods (sidekick to Wiz Khalifa) - but the point is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and good intentions cause rappers to hire their friends to sneak their weed through airport security in exchange for occasionally getting a verse on the single. When Cam’Ron and the Diplomats crew were in striking distance of taking over hip-hop, they did so with Freekey Zekey, a terrible rapper but amazing personality who I once saw walk on stage wearing a bathrobe while kissing his muscles. When Busta Rhymes - once a Tribe Called Quest hanger-on himself - became a pop star, he brought along a dude named Spliff Star. This trope lends itself nicely to hip-hop, a genre where self-mythologizing counts almost as much as mic skills, and most rappers attempting to cement themselves as superstars end up trying to prove their influence and impact by introducing the world to their protege, usually a lesser talented friend from back in the day, usually to disastrous (or at least very goofy) results. Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting has Ben Affleck.
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