The New Muscle

Now I don't know whether this is a situation we're in where major pop stars are trying to show just how impactful their names are or if they just got lazy. But why is it that major acts like Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Beyonce and others just felt this year they could drop their albums without marketing them at all and they would do just fine. Well, I guess something went right because they all were successful albums. Now the typical rhetoric for an album release is promotion through single releases, then a couple prime time appearances, moving on to dropping the videos to singles that have received high praise from critics or the pockets of consumers. After this process is complete, you get the album cover, a "leaked" album track listing, followed with one final appearance, then a couple days before the official release, the album is "leaked" and available for illegal streaming over YouTube right before they're pulled down just days before the average consumer has cashed their check and can buy the official album. But the artists above and those with pull just like them didn't do that?

I ask why? I can only speculate but here are my thoughts. Their could be a sense of arrogance and ego on their behalf to show that their names are so heavy that they could literally drop a project and go platinum. Now if that's not a blatant showing to their competition of how great they are I don't know what is. This type of action proves that they are aware of the type of power they have as artists and that they know that there aren't many other artists out there that are on their level. But in a way one could argue that by not having the typical marketing campaign they were still partaking in the art of marketing. Could this have just been a campaign that was simply a "rage against the machine", with no pun intended. 

Or was this something bigger. Were these artists trying to take a stand against "the corporation", (yes I have seen the BBC and Sway In The Morning interview with Kanye West, fore I realize I do not have the answers) by saying that they didn't need their power promotion or resources anymore. That their names now were more relevant than whatever label was packaging and distributing their material. If so, could this be an unorthodox but intelligent step to ridding away with the controlling system flow of the music industry? I guess only time can tell just exactly if this is so, but I'm interested to see what you would think. Feel free to DROP YOUR BARS! 

Guerrilla Marketing

Everybody is making music these days. It's almost impossible for a day to pass without something new dropping from someone, somewhere. Whether it's mainstream or underground there is always something fresh coming out. Now some would say, why you tripping, don't you like the fact that there is always something new coming out? Don't you like feeling you're no longer sucked into figuring out when you're going to hear the latest from your favorite artist? My answer is split. Half of me is excited all the time that I know I can surf YouTube and find someone new putting out a video or trying to plug their music by lying and advertising their audio as the new Drake, Kendrick or J Cole song. Sometimes you're disappointed, but other times, rarely however, you run into someone actually with some talent and skill on their hands.

Also it is encouraging to see that everyone is trying to find ways to express themselves and get their thoughts, emotions and stories out to the world. It's compelling to see how people are trying their hardest to hone in on a craft and do something with it. However, I soon get tired of having to find that diamond in the pile of trash. Like I said before, everyone is making music and to be honest, if we all had to keep it 100, everybody can't do music as their art. With that being said, the over saturation of music, especially in the hip-hop genre is for lack of a better description, "killing" me. This is making it hard for me to appreciate the constant and overly steady flow of music coming out every day. Sometimes I wish things were back to the days of just having to wait on the artists you want to listen too, to drop their next project. At least you knew that to some extent their would be a highly probable chance it was worth the wait.

But I know you're asking what does this have to do with the subject of this blog. Well, with this over saturation in music, the competition to stay relevant is ridiculous. You have people all over the world that you're competing against to stay trending and hot. With that being said, artists have no choice but to surprisingly bombard viewers with visuals, snippets, unannounced interviews, even appear on shows that they clearly have no artistic connection with, just to stay on our mental. And after a while it starts to become real mechanical and the art of advertising is lost. However, I can only share my thoughts on the matter, but I would love to hear what you think. Feel free to DROP YOUR BARS!

Who Has The Game On Lock?

Is it fair to say that in hip-hop today, the game is super polarized when it comes to the new school of rappers. I mean it feels like Drake is obviously killing the charts in comparison to his competition between himself and other male hip-hop artists. Along with that his Young Money label mate Nicki Minaj, is definitely in a stratosphere of her own when it comes to herself and competition with other female hip-hop artists. But, I wonder if it's because they have the best music out or if they are just reaping the benefits of being constantly pushed more consistently than others they're competing against.

The nature of hip-hop is competitive. Every emcee is constantly on the prowl to prove they are the best. You constantly had to enter the battlegrounds of showing how sharp your skills were because someone was always "gunning" for your position. With that being said, are there any emcees right now that's challenging both Drake and Nicki Minaj. It's all really a subjective conversation, but when we start talking numbers, the conversation turns in the favor of these two individuals. Outside of Kendrick Lamar, no male hip-hop artists is coming close to the numbers Drake does in the same time he does it. And it looks like T.I. struck a little gold with signing Iggy Azalea because she is the only female hip-hop artist that may have Nicki looking out her rear view window for a second or two. 

I personally feel that we are just on the brink of something spontaneous and organic to happen. Hip-Hop is about to enter into an era where everyone is putting out masterpieces. There is heighten sense of aggression and passion that was lost in the art of emceeing for the past few years, but it's showing up again and as a fan I'm loving it. Still, I can't turn on a radio station and not hear a Drake or Nicki song 3 to 5 times within one hour, but I feel we're on a verge where all artists are going to make a serious bid on claiming the top spot. But for now Drake and Nicki got the game on lock, which could lead one to ask did Lil Wayne accomplish creating another Roc-A-Fella? Until next time, be on the look for the next cypher, but for this one, feel free to DROP YOUR BARS!

Blacc Hollywood Album Review

Wiz Khalifa is back to him old self on this album, which  I love dearly. I have been waiting a long time for wiz to get back to what made him great and respected during the time he was coming up. Wiz was always known for having the perfect songs for all party situations, but Wiz was also a very quiet lyrical rapper. Even though Wiz never gets credit for being a great lyricist or storyteller, on this album Wiz was very expressive about where he is in his life right now.

Unafraid on this album to share that these days his hustle is all about supporting his family. I love that Wiz being a catalyst for the rock star party lifestyle, took it upon himself to say that there is a time where a man sees that life is bigger than just partying, drugs and girls, even though there was alot of that in this album. But, Wiz surprised me in a good way on this album. He took the opportunity to explain his story once again, with a twist. He pointed out for his listeners that the media decides to paint him out as this bad boy pothead, when in fact he is a caring loving family oriented person who worked hard coming from Pittsburgh. In a city where most young boys don't make it past 25, Wiz stated that the media doesn't report this side of things. They don't tell the story of how he could be looked at as an example of how to get out of rough situations, build an enterprise for himself and all of his friends. 

With that being said Blacc Hollywood was a way for Wiz to express how he has made it for not only himself but for all of those that he cares about. With hard work Wiz believes that you should be able to overly enjoy the fruits of your labor. The production on this album is very "radio-friendly" which makes it easier for you to be hooked on to every song, but I encourage those that listen to really pay attention to Wiz words. 

Don't Blame The Artist

The hip hop industry is not ran by individuals who care about the culture. They are only involved in this genre of music to make money off of it in a greedy manner which benefits themself at the misfortune of the artist. Label Owners care nothing about your talent, passion, or creative abilities. They only care about whether or not you can sell millions of records.

Sad to say a lot of upcoming artists get taken adavantage of due to this. Most hip hop artists come from humbled beginnings which means they are looking at the industry as their only way out. When the door of opportunity comes with shackles most artists take this opportunity even thouhh it'll never live up to what their heart desired. This type of situation has led to the downfall of content in hip hop music.

Instead of artists showing a growth in the craft they are forced contractually and economically to do the music we here today that's popular on the radio. 

I write this to say as hip hop enthusiasts and listeners we are able to impact this industry machine by not buying into it. As consumers if we don't purchase the music they're giving us then we control the situation, because they will be in a position to produce what we want for our dollar. Educate others of the power that we have as consumers and then we will show we truly care about where hip hop goes from here.

Entertainment in Hip Hop: To Be or Not To Be?

The point of it all is to be as great of an emcee as possible. Your job is to liven up the party and keep it going. You are to engage the crowd into the content of your lyrics and the way you deliver your words. But has the emcee died in hip hop today? Do we know longer care about someone being able to fully be the master of ceremony at the party holding the mic and making you hold onto the edge of your seat for every word?

There are some artists today who are still emcees. They still carry the craft and heart of a true emcee, giving their all to the crowd and realizing it's their job while holding the mic to rake care of the individuals listening to them. Bot only just for that night but for the rest of their life as well, by instilling brief cultural, spiritual, and political wisdom. However we are in an age where we just want to be entertained.

Entertainment doesn't come with any set guidelines. It's simply a matter of doing whatever it takes to get the desired reaction from the crowd. It sounds harmless in definition, but today their is truly no care in the presentation anymore. However I believe that all entertainment is not bad. Sometimes you need that comical relief to make things better. But sometimes it's just not funny.

Nobody's Smiling Review

First off I would like to thank Common just for putting out an album, due to the busy acting career he has going on (sarcasm to some and a legit statement for others who follow his acting career). Nobody's Smiling was not your typical Common album. In fact the only thing typical about it, is of course, Common's lyricism and his collaboration with long time friend and Chicago super-producer No I.D. The album starts with a soft melody sung by James Fauntleroy, which is followed by a Curtis Mayfield sample from "The Other Side of Town", which I will say was sampled beautifully. Of course with this build up Common has to come on point with tenacity and precision in his words, wordplay and flow. He does exactly that over a beautifully laid foundation from No I.D.

Common's intentions with this album was to connect back with his city and target the violence and destruction of black youth in it. He did that with songs "The Neighborhood" featuring Chicago artist Lil Herb, "Nobody's Smiling" featuring Malik Yusef, and "Kingdom" featuring Vince Staples. There is only one commercial tune or possible radio tune with "Diamonds" featuring G.O.O.D Music artist Big Sean, and an argument can be made for "Speak My Piece" as a radio tune, due to the structure and rhythm of the beat. 

There were some questionable moments in the album where No I.D. seemed to derail the listener from a typical No I.D. production with songs like "No Fear", and "Blak Majik" featuring Jhene Aiko. However, as a lover of No I.D. and his production he delights listeners with his smooth sampling of classic soul tunes with "Real" featuring Elijah Blake, and "Rewind That", which was an ode to long-time friend for both Common and No I.D., J Dilla. 

As a result I think Common did a good job of being able to relate the messages to the youth and to the streets of Chicago, in a plain fashion without coming off as "politic-like" or "preachy". With that being said I hope you all enjoyed this review and with that go out and purchase Common's "Nobody's Smiling".

A Tribe Called Press Interview on Lyricism

Nas-Hip Hop Is Dead

Lyrics:

"Hip Hop Is Dead"

Nas

[DJ samples]
"Hip hop" "hip hop" "is dead"
"Hip--hip hop" "hip hop" "is dead"
"Hip--hip hop" "hip--hip hop" "is dead"
"Hip--hip hop" "hip hop" "hip hop"

[Hook - 2X]
If hip hop should die before I wake
I'll put an extended clip inside of my AK
Roll to every station, murder the DJ
Roll to every station, murder the DJ

[sample]
Hip hop just died this mornin'
And she's dead, she's dead

[Verse 1]
Yeah, niggaz smoke, laugh, party, and die in the same corner
Get cash, live fast, body their man's mama
Rich ass niggaz is ridin' with three llamas
Revenge in their eyes, Hennesy and the ganja
Word to the wise with villain state of minds
Grindin', hittin' Brazilian dimes from behind
Grindin', hittin' Brazilian dimes from behind
(Grindin', hittin' Brazilian dimes from behind)
Whenever, if ever, I roll up, it's sown up
Any ghetto will tell ya Nas helped grow us up
My face once graced promotional Sony trucks
Hundred million in billin', I helped build 'em up
Gave my nigga my right, I could have gave left
So like my girl Foxy, a nigga went Def
So nigga, who's your top ten?
Is it MC Shan? Is it MC Ren?

[Hook - 2X]

[sample]
Hip hop just died this mornin'
And she's dead, she's dead

[Verse 2]
The bigger the cap, the bigger the peelin'
Come through, something ill, missin' the ceilin'
What influenced my raps? Stick ups and killings
Kidnappings, project buildings, drug dealings
Criticize that, why is that?
Cuz Nas rap is compared to legitimized crap
Cuz we love to talk on ass we gettin'
Most intellectuals will only half listen
So you can't blame jazz musicians
Or David Stern with his NBA fashion issues
Oh I they like me--in my white tee
You can't ice me, we here for life B
On my second marriage, hip hop's my first wifey
And for that we not takin' it lightly
If hip hop should die we die together
Bodies in the morgue lie together
All together now

[Hook - 2X]

[sample]
Hip hop just died this mornin'
Hip hop just died this mornin'
Hip hop just died this mornin'
And she's dead, she's dead

[crowd chanting "Hip hop!" becomes beat]

[Verse 3]
Everybody sound the same, commercialize the game
Reminiscin' when it wasn't all business
If it got where it started
So we all gather here for the dearly departed
Hip hopper since a toddler
One homeboy became a man then a mobster
If the guys let me get my last swig of Vodka
R.I.P., we'll donate your lungs to a rasta
Went from turntables to mp3s
From "Beat Street" to commercials on Mickey D's
From gold cables to Jacobs
From plain facials to Botox and face lifts
I'm lookin' over my shoulder
It's about eighty niggaz from my hood that showed up
And they came to show love
Sold out concert and the doors are closed shut

Did it ever bother you that someone as noted and well achieved in the game of Hip-Hop as Nas, would say that the thing that he adores and loves the most is dead? Were you on the defense when he said this, if so, why? Did you see this as a radical approach to push the culture? Or did you agree that hip-hop was truly dead? Is Hip-Hop Dead today?

Getting To Know The Author