PHILLIP MLYNARBarely two days after his and Beyonce's baby Blue Ivy Carter was born, Jay-Z put her on a song. “Glory” is a tribute to his new daughter, who closes the track out with a guest feature — crying.
Jay-Z may be starting his kid off young, but nepotism is standard practice among rap superstars. There's nothing proud hip-hop fathers love more than letting their kids pick up the mic for themselves — even if the outcome risks sullying Pop's legacy. So in honor of the Notorious B.I.C's debut, here are five examples of why rappers' kids should be seen and not heard.
5. Diggy Simmons
As the son of Run-DMC rapper Run, Diggy Simmons has used his dad's clout to gain access to a wealth of big-name rap stars. He's appeared on tracks with Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams, had DJ Premier host a mixtape for him, and his freestyle over Nas's “Made You Look” caused Kanye West to tweet complimentary things. But alas, all the privilege in the world couldn't propel his 2011 debut single, “Copy, Paste,” beyond number 29 on the Billboard rap charts — and we'd like to think he received a spanking from his pops for its godawful Auto-tuned hook.
4. Doughboy and O.M.G.
Gangsta rap icon turned family film actor Ice Cube has blessed littered the rap world with not one but two rapping kids. Doughboy (yup, he's named after Cube's character in Boyz 'N' The Hood) and O.M.G. (that's really gonna help your Google ranking) appeared on Cube's 2010 I Am The West album in an utterly unconvincing manner. The duo's career pinnacle to date is playing dress-up in silly purple pimp suits for the “She Couldn't Make It On Her Own” video.
3. Lil Romeo
Now that he's entered his 20s, Master P's son has ditched the “Lil” and likes posing shirtless. But back when he first hit the scene at 12, he dressed in full No Limit solider regalia and rapped like a tiny Xerox of his dad. His self-titled debut album Lil Romeo went gold, but indignity struck when he was dissed by another kiddie rapper, Lil Bow Wow.
2. Lil' Eazy-E
The best of the post-N.W.A. bunch, Eazy-E's son has managed to eek out some semblance of a rap career, having collaborated with The Game, Snoop and Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, and been embroiled in a beef with Daz Dillinger, who accused the lil' tyke of snitching. He's currently boasting about getting to play his dad in the forth-coming Ice Cube-directed N.W.A. biopic — although he'll need to work on upping the register of his voice to do justice to his father's squeaky-pitched legacy.
1. Willow Smith
Will and Jada's daughter's “Whip My Hair” has managed to clock up a stupefying 70 million YouTube views. Not bad for a song that plays like a kids' TV show rendition of hip-hop. But with her sing-songy flow and her dad's connections, Willow can likely play at rapping for as long as she wants. And being that she's down with Jay-Z's Roc Nation, a future collabo with Blue Ivy is surely in the cards.
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