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(Lol, Bun keeps his manicure hood-rich)

Earlier today, Bun B’s Trill OG album was given a 5-Microphone rating from The Source Magazine. Heated debate ensued. Which is interesting because I don’t remember the same uproar when Lil Kim got 5-mics for an album, which you probably can’t name a song off of. (The album was called Naked Truth. Ring a bell? Nah, right?) Anyways, I don’t pretend that the magazine or the mic-ing system holds the same weight as it did back in the days when a career could be launched off of it. But I’d also would never deny the writer of that review the right to make his/her decision, which hopefully is free from any political influence (which was probably not the case with Lil Kim. I mean if anything in her cannon was a classic, Hardcore at least had the longevity of that term). Having just started listening to Trill OG, I don’t know that I would give it 5-mics over some of the UGK (group) and Bun B (solo) work that missed the internet-citizen-loudspeaker era we’re in now. But don’t act like The Departed was Marty Scorsese’s best work either.

Bun accepted the Source’s rating and acknowledged the debate it sparked in a personal letter….

When I started rapping, the highest honor a real MC could aspire to was the coveted 5 mics from Source Magazine. It was only given to the best of the best in hip hop, the cream of the crop so to speak. Those that received the honor were sometimes but not always contested, but what WAS always contested were those that DIDN’t receive the honor. If you’ve ever argued about your favorite MC on a corner, in a barbershop or on the comment section of a blog, then you know what I’m talking about….

(read the rest of his letter, after the jump)

…For every album labeled a classic, there are dozens of others that people feel deserve the honor. So I realize that people now feel they have to place my album next to others that they feel were more impactful, and argue their case. With social networking being as prevalent as it is in our society, these arguments now take place in a very public arena, which in order to be heard, you often have to be very opinionated and abrasive to stand out. So people, while having no personal hate or malice towards me, will make very loud arguments about The Source’s decision, and the loudest ones will probably get the most attention. Having been in the music industry almost 20 years, I have learned to receive my accolades with honor and respect, and hold my head high when the hate rains down. I love hip hop just as much or even more than the next person, so I understand the passion behind the argument. At the end of the day, we all want this thing we love to be as real and pure as the day we fell in love with it. Having said all this, it is with great honor and admiration that I humbly accept this esteemed declaration from the Source Magazine and it’s staff for my album Trill OG, and for those that feel they need to shit on me to argue for another artist or album, don’t worry. The Trill OG can take it! UGK for life!

Bun B