Gin and Juice: Hip-Hoppers on steroids?

Luis PJ Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 03:38 AM EST

So the health of other is no one to care about?

RP Wed, Jan 16, 2008 at 10:32 AM EST

Katy, no one's been accused of breaking the law yet. At least they weren't in the Times-Union article. There are legitimate reasons to take steroids or human growth hormone and it is possible to get them legally. Hell, Cortaid contains a steroid! Why do you think it thins out your skin?

For all we know Mary has excema and the steroid prescription was just extra strength hydrocortisone.

There's no reason to care until someone accuses them of breaking the law or abusing the drugs they're taking. I seriously doubt that Mary, Tyler, or Wyclef fall into either group.

BPage Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 05:23 PM EST

Gary, I totally don't get your indifference. I suppose you don't care if a musician is shooting heroin, either. Look, drugs are bad for the user, bad for the kids (yeah, yeah, sorry to play the "role model" card but there's some truth to it), and usually bad for the music. I don't see how steroids are much different, and your blase attitude just bums me out.

There's something else about steroids, too: it's so... phony. It's cheating-- even when it's not associasted with sports. Something about these rappers pumping up on steroids instead of doing the hard work to bulk up for real is just pathetic. We make fun of over-botoxed celebs-- from my vantage point, 'roided up rock stars are even more pathetically vain. And your willingness to look the other way on their bad behaivor only makes things worse.

Ep Sato Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 03:55 PM EST

Pish posh, the rapper who's juiced up is LL Cool J. He disapeared one winter a skinny kid with a kangol and returned the next spring looking like a heavyweight boxer (this is when he released "mama said knock you out"). Yet he's never explained where the muscles came from. At one point he actually said to a reporter "would you believe I was born with this body"? Uhh, no.

nathan Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 03:14 PM EST

Clearly in Fiddy's case, the steroids don't improve the quality of music.

Rasha Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 02:57 PM EST

This makes no sense. Timbaland and 50...maybe? But Mary J and Tyler Perry? I can't see those two doing drugs.

Elizabeth Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 02:56 PM EST

Throw 'em all in jail, make them give their money back, erase their names from all the Billboard lists, make them give back their Grammys, look at all the aspiring kids who are using them now because they want to be successful hip-hoppers... oh, wait, its only a problem if its baseball players. (sorry, sore subject, especially with the circus going on in Washington DC today.) Meanwhile, can anyone give me a legitimate explanation of the American Gladiators' workout routines?

Katy Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 02:15 PM EST

Bad role model or not, I think the issue is breaking the law. In which case, yeah, I DO care.

Celimene Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 01:20 PM EST

Some of the comments on the Times site claimed that Mary J. Blige could have used 'roids to help her vocal cords. Her style of singing is really rough on the throat, and possibly it helped her get through touring while still keeping her sound intact. *shrug*

In any case, it's no different than Keith "I'll Outlive the Nuclear Holocaust Along with Roaches" Richards and his well-pickled insides. Sure, they're bad role models for kids... but really, how many people in Hollywood could be called good role models? More of the same. Meh.

jcarla Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 12:53 PM EST

I think we are forgetting that though some rappers want to bulk, but Mary J. Blige? Tyler Perry? Last time I saw Wyclef Jean he was very skinny. What is the paper's source?

Martha Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 12:29 PM EST

I could play the "bad role model for the kids" card, but it's not like rappers have been sterling examples of rectitude thus far. I guess, Gary, that you don't have to care about this, but if they are using steroids, the rappers themselves should care, given the cited side effects. (Organ enlargement? Eek.)

Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 11:57 AM EST

Shout out to the Albany Times Union! Woot! Woot!

Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 11:30 AM EST

Since I have no regard for hip-hoppers, then I can't have less regard if steroids are involved.