The 25 Biggest Hip-Hop Fails of 2012 (So Far)

It's that time of the year again.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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There's been enough drama over the past six months in the hip-hop world that we can't even imagine how the rest of the year is going to top it. So let's take a moment to sit back, relax, and be thankful you're not getting called out on Twitter, spilling Jay-Z's drink, or being sued for millions over a mixtape cut. Complex present the top 25 Hip-Hop Fails of 2012 (so far).

Written by Lauren Nostro (@LAURENcynthia), Max Goldberg (@goopygold), Brian Josephs (@Bklyn_Rock) and Jordan Zirm (@clevezirm)

25. Wale Spills Jay-Z's Drink at BET Awards

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Wale was so excited to celebrate at this year's BET Awards that he spilled Ace on Jay-Z's shoes. On the way to collect an award for Best Collaboration (for the Miguel-assisted "Lotus Flower Bomb") the MMG rapper dapped up Kanye, then bumped into Hov's glass of champagne. Sure, he apologized—twice—but that's still a fail.

24. Frank Ocean and Nas Collab Gets Lost

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23. Omarion Renames Himself "Maybach O"

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22. Jay-Z's 40/40 Club Shut Down for Health Code Violations

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21. Limp Bizkit Signs to Cash Money

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20. Freeway Photobomb at Jay-Z's "Made in America" Announcement

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19. Lil Wayne Denied Entry at OKC Thunder Game

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18. Beanie Sigel Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Tax Evasion

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17. Pete Rock and Lupe Fiasco Beef Over "T.R.O.Y." Beat

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16. Azealia Banks Beefs With Iggy Azalea

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15. Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee Perform "Negroes in Paris"

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It would've been all good if Samuel L. Jackson just came on stage and introduced himself as the host of the 2012 BET Awards. But in an effort to appear hip, Jackson decided to bring his pal Spike Lee along for a corny satirical performance of "Negroes in Paris." The effort was there, but between all the unfunny pop culture references and the forgotten lyrics, we can't cut them any slack. It was a lame way to start the show, but thankfully Jackson kept it classy the rest of the night.

14. Soulja Boy Claims Riff Raff Was Never on SODMG

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13. Lil Wayne on Pusha T Diss 'Ghoulish'

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12. Lauryn Hill Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

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11. Nas' Daughter Destiny Instagrams Condom Collection

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10. Lord Finesse Sues Mac Miller Over 'Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza'

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For his breakout cut "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza," Mac Miller did what so many other artists do on free mixtapes—he rapped over a classic instrumental, in this case Lord Finesse's 1995 "Hip 2 Da Game." Rostrum Records, Miller and Dat Piff—which hosted the free mixtape—refused to comply with a cease and desist letter from Finesse earlier this month. So Finesse decided to sue for $10 million.

According to the complaint: "This is a case about a teenage rapper—Mac Miller—copying the music from a song written, produced and performed by Lord Finesse, a hip hop legend, changing the title and then distributing it under his own name in order to launch his music career."

But we've got to give this Fail to Lord Finesse. According to Miller, the two spoke about the track, Finesse was cool with it, and they even planned to work together in the near future. They're also still speaking on Twitter, again and again. Most ironic of all, Miller says Lord Finesse never cleared the Oscar Peterson sample he used on the original. Long story short, the kid was paying homage. This needs to be put to rest.

Check Mac Miller's video: 

And here's Lord Finesse's:

9. Mystikal Violates Probation, Heads Back to Prison

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8. Swizz Beatz Involvement With Megaupload

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7. Game Jumps 40-Glocc and Records It

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Last week, Game and his crew jumped fellow West Coast rapper 40 Glocc in Los Angeles and recorded it all on his iPhone. Thank you, technology. The footage, which made its way straight to WorldStarHipHop, led to tweets from both sides—40 Glocc claims Game and crew pulled guns on him leaving him defenseless. 

Game summarized the attack by tweeting "Iphone in my left hand..... Mayweather'n this nigga with my right !!! " and later went on to say he didn't kill 40 Glocc "because then [he'd] get 25 to life." Apparently, the fight was a result of 40 Glocc posing as Game's oldest child on Twitter.

Either way, Game you snitched on yourself by recording the fight and bragging about it on Twitter. A grown man shouldn't aspire to have videos of himself fighting go viral on WorldStarHipHop. But if you post it, we'll watch.

6. Chris Brown Disses Drake on "I Don't Like (Remix)"

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5. Nicki Minaj's Possessed Grammy Performance

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Either you loved or hated Nicki's attention-grabbing performance at the 54th annual Grammy Awards earlier this year. If you happen to be down with The Catholic League, you hated it. Nicki's five-minute performance of "Roman Holiday" and "Roman's Revenge," featured dancing priests and an on-stage exorcism. She even walked the red carpet with a fake pope. 

Nicki says she was inspired by the 1973 movie The Exorcist, but overall, the performance was a fail. The worst part? Nicki bending backwards while an altar boy prayed between her knees. We know Nicki likes the idea of possession but with all the reports of child-abuse in the church that was downright offensive.

 


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4. Canibus Brings Notepad to Rap Battle

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3. Common and Drake Meet Face to Face at All-Star Game

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2. Havoc of Mobb Deep Disses Prodigy on Twitter, Denies It

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1. Peter Rosenberg Disses Nicki Minaj at Summer Jam

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Just five hours before Nicki was expected to take the stage as one of Summer Jam 2012's headliners, Hot 97 on-air personality Peter Rosenberg dissed Minaj's "Starships" song.

"I see the real hip-hop heads sprinkled in here. I see them. I know there are some chicks here waiting to sing 'Starships' later—I'm not talking to y'all right now. Fuck that bullshit. Bullshit. I'm here to talk about real hip-hop shit," Rosenberg said, which led Lil Wayne to pull all of Young Money out of the lineup at the last minute.

Rosenberg, who made it clear he'd never apologize for the comments, explained that he was just trying to hype up the crowd for more underground artists. Nicki went on to defend herself on Funk Flex's show the next day, leading to quite an interesting conversation as Flex tried to get to the bottom of things.

Is "Starships" a real hip-hop jam? No. But when a performer as major as Nicki is headlining your show, it's a bad look to criticize their music on stage shortly before they perform (or choose not to perform, as the case may be). Peter Rosenberg, you take the cake for the biggest fail in hip hop this year (so far). Check the full video of Rosenberg's comments below:

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