For years now rappers have been taking up space in their songs with lyrics like "Yeah, I'm keeping it real,""On the real,""Y'all n***az want tha real." Basically lyrics like that which are trying to indicate to other rappers that they are somewhat supreme and everything they rap about is what they live.

Okay, my definition of keeping it real is speaking about your life/others lives. E.g. Tupac did live the Thug Life, he dealt with guns, drugs all that sh*t. The thing is though there are rappers who claim to be what they're not.

Keeping it real. In my mind if a rapper starts rhyming "Yo, I saw this b*tch across the road with like twenty guys, they was comin' towards me with anger in they eyes" and they don't know what they're talking about then that isn't keeping it real ie no experience purely fictional thoughts. That is not to say that it doesn't make a phat track, a lot of 'fake' tracks manage to reach the top of peoples play-lists.

Keeping it real is definitely a played out lyric. These days you hear rappers on interviews saying things like "Nah, he ain’t keepin’ it real." Which is basically meant to mean he isn’t being ‘true to the game.’+

You also hear people being described as not keeping it real because they’re being too commercial. Bullshit. Can anyone honestly say that they aren’t lusting after every dollar waved in front of their face. If a rapper is offered a huge sum of money for wearing a clothing line, advertising their material a lot or featuring in a commercial advert they are classed as being fake(which basically is the opposite of keeping it real). But, why do we penalise them for human nature ? Okay, two examples of rappers engaging in these sorts of acts;

1) LL Cool J - advertising for gap, I have heard a lot of dumb criticism on the fact that he does this. I’m sure though as previously stated if anyone of us had a multi-million dollar wage waved in front of our face we’d do that, so the criticisms are unjust.

2) (This is an example which I don’t agree with) Master P, this man sells quite a lot of records but everyone criticises him for his techniques (including me). In a lot of magazines, Master P allocates double-page spreads for adverts, these sometimes incorporate several adverts, but more times than desirable they contain an A4 advert on the left page of the double page spread and the same advert on the opposite right page, it doesn’t improve the effect it just makes people think that they’re very desperate for sales.

Okay, I am open to constructive criticisms or different opinions on the definition of 'Keeping It Real,' if you have a different opinion to let me know about, then e-mail me with it. I'd like to hear what headz have to say.

+ for those of you who don’t understand what is meant by ‘true to the game,’ the game basically is a reference to life, yourself and those around you, being true to it is obvious, not betraying, doing what you should do etc.