DrewBreez
Mehhhh. Peter Rosenberg has been expanding his britches by the minute as the only fattening fish in a shrinking talent pool at NY’s Hot 97. After accusing hip hop wise man Chuck D of being a “troll” on Twitter, and then flippantly dismissing Chuck’s invitation to discuss their respective places in the culture, here’s Rosenberg saying a limp sorry. Video after the jump.
This apology is stubbornly brief. While he does acknowledge the relative rank of his career versus Chuck D’s, and pays respect to Public Enemy for their upheaval music, Rosenberg also continues to justify his hot-headed ranting, his own tenacious trolling.
The Hot 97 bandwagon continues to empty, and the most popular voices on it now hold the keys to carrying on the legacy of remaining legends, like Mister Cee, Flex and the now-defected Angie Martinez. Rosenberg’s hip hop knowledge and investments are no secret. He’s a head. Curiously, he’s criticized the power of corporate monopoly re-shaping what’s hot in rap, but has also engaged in the same baiting and agitating that has made Hot 97 the center of media-stoked drama in years past. Much like the rap scene in New York, the station is a bastion of strong voices struggling from the ills of disunity and press tinkering. This is a critical moment for Hot 97, a chance for it to retain credibility as the ratings flag.
But these delayed apologies, inflating the personas more than the artists they play, and resting comfortably on shriveling laurels, is making them look washed out. When one of your beloved voices leaves for your rival, and the wounds are still fresh, the best strategy is to endear all of the DJs to the audience. Rosenberg arrogantly bit back at his audience (for the second time since his big Nicki Minaj beef), putting his taste above theirs and putting his foot all the way in his stomach. The morning show host has been operating on a soon-to-expire G pass, and instead of filing papers for renewal, he’s calling attention to his lack of ID. This apology is at once well-intentioned and completely prompted by station producers, grasping on to the nostalgia of greatness while berating others for being unfit to join their crumbling kingdom. Ebro may be pulling the strings here, and if that’s true, Rosenberg might want to seriously evaluate how much he needs this outlet and how much more they probably need him.
