The Two Lives of Stitches: The Duality of Phillip Katsabanis

His hardcore raps would lead one to believe that he is “about that life.” In reality, Phillip “Stitches” Katsabanis fell by one precise punch to the face by Jayceon “The Game” Taylor’s manager. What this spells for the genre of ignorance and praising nonsense is the fact that when a rapper opens his mouth to lay lyrics on a song, that sensibility is in direct contrast to the actual aggression that he shows. For all the banter back and forth between Katsabanis and Taylor, what it all boiled down to the night of the fight was a right hook to Katsabanis’ mug. His big mouth kept running post the massive hit, he allowed himself to be taken into police custody.

Critics within and without the genre would be quick to say that this is the failure of egoism; that selfishness has failed. When in true fashion, scant amounts of egoism or selfishness exists within this deranged genre. Like mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey who verbally berated her opponent Holly Holm, Katsabanis disrespected Taylor and his crew. Both Katsabanis and Rousey received losses. The former with her perfect winning record demolished and the latter with whatever credibility he had. In this realm of low lifes, savages and unthinking cowards, still, the actions hold weight. All that slick talk and rough speech is nothing compared to the real behavior of the wolves in the streets. If this genre had been built upon the principles of reason and individualism instead of subjectivism and altruism.

The emotion-driven genre only perpetuates the idea of selflessness. On the surface, it would appear that the strong verbiage would prove worthy of a balanced fist-ticuffs. Katsabanis even called for a “fair fight.”. Well, it was one. He got knocked on his backside fairly. It was up to him to respond with equal force. Yet, he remained on his tail, tossing back inadequate shouts and mutterings to the “L” he just sustained. What Katsabanis and his ilk fail to realize is that empty threats and posturing lead to disastrous scenes like the one he encountered. For mouthing off and not possessing the wherewithal to protect himself and back up all his rhetoric, Katsabanis deserves every bit of criticism and increased scrutiny. His awful subject matter aside, Katsabanis represents the paper tiger. He embraces gangsterism, but upon being presented the opportunity to defend himself honorably, he comes up short. He takes that right hook and is forced to be the coward that he is. Katsabanis’ inability to match the outrageous, oafish, and destructive tales on record with how he comports when challenged is alarming. Inherent within hip hop, this notion of falsely displaying oneself drives the genre into the doldrums of mediocrity and menace. Arrogance and narcissism have run amok in Katsabanis’ case. As he struggled to gain his center of gravity after being knocked down in the street, Katsabanis kept voicing his disapproval of Taylor and his associates. What kind of punk just goes on and on after such a nasty strike? How can he face his wife and children upon eating his words?

In the aftermath of the infamous hit, Katsabanis might want to consider another profession. He might seek to gain employment of a victims of a sucker punch center. He may choose to start his own publishing company heralding books which combat the proliferation of insufficient rappers who can’t live up to their rhymes. He has other options, he could retract all of his statements about being a drug kingpin, go to college to earn his degree, and strike out as a high school counselor. He would reinforce to the students that it’s not how many times you get knocked down it’s that you keep your mouth shut while staggering regain balance.

The worst aspect of this whole debacle is that both parties will not be satisfied until the other is casket pressed. While circumstances remain dire, killings do not have to be the final arbiter. If thought is applied to this situation, both Katsabanis and Taylor might get to retire from rap with a modicum of respect and their lives. As a malcontent, Katsabanis may always t stoke the fires. Let him. For this type of behavior to persist, the other party has to feed into it. By stopping him while he’s behind, everyone ought to come out of this situation with the wisdom to capitalize on the abysmal genre of hip hop.

Katsabanis can put up a shady facade but his card has been pulled profoundly. Will he recover from such a dramatic shock? The answer lies within Katsabanis. If he wishes to squash the tension and meet his foes as a man, then maybe there’s a chance. If not, he will experience the swift justice meted out by the law. His inability to acknowledge that he took that loss might lead him into future confrontations which will be just as calamitous. His music doesn’t reflect this defeat. His overbearing assuredness on a track only exemplifies the duality of what he says and what he does. With a penchant for addressing how “real” he is and how he will “hold it down,” the irony of his one shot, one drop incident is evident.

To say that he will “put bullets in [insert established rapper name] brain” he just is posing on the song “Real Street Nigga” on his album For Drug Dealers Only. And the seemingly unceasing references to the illicit drug trade ought to prompt lawmakers to enact a bill which would decriminalize and legalize the manufacture, sale, and consumption of all drugs. This would benefit the world as rappers like Katsabanis would have to look for other topics to discuss. Additionally, this adds to the suspicion that Katsabanis even pushed Aleve in these streets. From the perspective of a Greek Cuban, one might surmise that the mix of cultures and hailing from Miami, Florida would instill in a him as a youth a sense that the world is his. But the facts remain. The single punch to the face reverses and upends any status he might have claimed to have as a thorough individual. Rather than relaxing and displaying a rational demeanor, he chose to go the route of a miscreant hell bent on the destruction of his own morality. To instigate a fight and then quickly have his clock cleaned shows a blatant disregard for principles, guidelines, and parameters. It might take some time to recover from this solo hit. One day, Katsabanis may wake up to find that his words do not show how he lives. Moves in this industry of snakes, liars, and cutthroats ought to be made with the class and assertiveness that every man ought to possess. There is no question that Katsabanis will find his way on TMZ (Thirty Mile Zone) Webpages and World Star Hip Hop video clips. What remains to be seen is whether his comeback will elicit the same emotion of those who went to his shows, listened to his mixtape and album and YouTube entries. His street was already suspect. Now, he’ll have to build up enough self-esteem to continue.