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Armchair A&Rs, Sit Down.

July 22, 2008 | Tags: none

So some cat emerged this week saying that he's stolen Rhymefest's iPod, and that he's leaking dude's upcoming album El Che track by track until the ‘Fest and the label releases a single, a video, etc. Click here to read his manifesto; props to Eskay for posting this in his Nah Right Lite sidebar.

I'm definitely eager to hear new Rhymefest material, and I can sorta respect the bootlegger's intentions, esp. with him only leaking a song per week until the album's completely out there. But it's still disheartening to see cats bootleg albums online, add a tag of the crew that ripped it, and post a sentence in a .txt file that nobody reads to encourage downloaders to buy the album. If you're gonna bootleg, at least be real about it.

First off, it's not your place to determine what's "helpful" to an artist if it's obviously something that he doesn't want to be done. You're not their parents, loved ones or career advisors, so "tough love" doesn't apply. If they don't want something leaked, it's more respectful to let them do what they want to. And to those who'd want to trap me for my support of other major blogs, remember two things: A) Most of these sites work directly with the artists and record labels more than you'd think, and B) They rarely, if ever, give a link to an entire album that's going to be sold in stores. Otherwise, if it's a story like Rick Ross getting busted as a corrections officer or an artist getting sued for sample usage, then they're actually documenting/reporting on what's happening instead of directly helping them.

IMO, some of this blame falls on 50. Record sales were always somewhat relevant, but nowhere near how they were once Curtis started using them as primary ammunition for his beefs. Now that numbers are back in the spotlight--ironically, once they're less and less relevant due to this same bootlegging--fans feel like they know enough about the music business to effectively help artists out. Don't get it twisted: a lot of these record label cats don't know what they're doing either, but these artists have entrusted their careers with these people. The last thing artists (ones that I've spoken to, anyway) need is for these armchair A&Rs to take matters into their own hands when they don't even know the artists' plans anyway. Besides, most of these cats are just using this as an excuse to boost their e-cred and spread music to their friends, anyway.

And the latter two reasons are actually half-decent justifications to bootlegging. If you just want the world to hear incredible music, then spreading links makes sense. If you want to bring more hits to your web site or be an e-god in a message board/forum, then this method is effective. Hell, even if you're doing it to get money in your pocket somehow, that's an authentic reason. I'm not here to tell people to stop bootlegging; I'm here to tell people to stop bootlegging and trying to make it seem like you're some music industry vanguard while doing it. I wonder what this guy would say if Rhymefest approached him, like, "Yo fam, I don't want to direct my career this way. Please stop leaking my album." *Update: Actually, that's essentially what Rhymefest did.* Will dude respond like, "Nah 'Fest, it's for your own good!" Riiight.

Want to help? Contact these artists/labels and ask how. When I talked to G-Unit/Talib Kweli/etc. producer Nick Speed, he asked me to spread around he and rapper Danny Brown's new album, Hot Soup (download here). Incredibly talented KOCH Records emcee Niles (formerly known as Alias, I've blogged about him before) has asked me to spread around his YouTube page to people, so I do that. Start a blog dedicated to the artist/label. Apply for an internship somewhere, so you can get a glimpse of how the industry works.

If you want to help the artist, help them legitimately. Otherwise, help yourself. Either way, just be real about it.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Nas Won.

June 12, 2008 | Tags: none

So before I get into my advance copy of (Guess which incredible south emcee's) next project and unfinished songs from OneBeLo's upcoming album, I'm listening to Nas' The Nigger Tape with Green Lantern. And this is pretty bittersweet for me.

I was pretty indifferent regarding the title, before: figured it would be an average-to-good Nas album, with him doing what he usually does. The "Nigger" title was just like "Hip Hop Is Dead": a marketing ploy to grab attention moreso than a concept that he was committed to carrying through. I've always felt that while Nas was one of the premier emcees in the genre's history, his music couldn't always keep up with his rhetoric, and that he was brilliant because of how well he did quasi-conventional rap, rather than what he actually rapped about.

But scarily enough, after listening, it looks like dude is actually serious! This is some of the most provocative music of Nas' career, both in concept and execution. "Cops Keep Firing" sees him tackling the discriminatory law enforcement and judicial system with the hunger of his youth, but the insight that comes with his age. "Legendary (Mike Tyson)" is everything that Street's Disciple's "U.B.R." should've been: an engaging narrative and ode to the boxing legend, with an Salaam Remi beat that matches its intensity, and a triumphant overtone that still ties into the "Nigger" theme. "Black President" is a great record, too. And while they aren't as potent, "Be A Nigger Too" and "N.I.G.G.E.R." both have lines that stick to the ribs. These other joints sound promising, too: "Project Roach" has him analogizing the perception of blacks in society to the perception of roaches ("We were looked at as the worst pest, and because of that treatment, some of us started to believe we were a pest, and started to act like it," he said), he rhymes as the N-word itself on "Y'all My Niggers," and him and Busta pay ode to fried chicken on, well, "Fried Chicken" (I don't mess with radio rips, sorry). It looked to be the perfect mix of metaphors and flat-out rapping, of defeatism and pride that would be necessary to execute such a concept successfully. You're rarely going to make everyone happy with a project like this, but IMO, getting discussions going and actually making an engaging, cohesive product equals success in these situations. Hence the title of this post; regardless of him not being married to Beyonce (even though Kelis is bad in her right) or his album title getting stripped, Nas won.

Still, imagine how avant-garde it would have been if he actually had a store product of that title, with a provocative piece of art that actually lives up to it with songs and an accompanying music video like this! With the aftermath of Don Imus and Michael Richards fresh in our memories, and the backdrop of the first Black presidential nominee! This could've been something-if not in quality, at least in intention and/or impact-that was mentioned in the same discussions as Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On? and Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted. Hopefully, this mixtape and the untitled LP that hits stores will jointly show that homie actually had bonafide passion behind this concept, and at least, let heads know that dude's still one of the most talented emcees in the industry, past and present.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Lil Wayne Is Who We Thought He Was! (c) Dennis Greene

May 31, 2008 | Tags: Lil Wayne, Tha Carter 3

Finally, the highest anticipated album of the year is on the streets. And guess what? It’s exactly what I thought it’d be: a dope, 4-star album, but certainly not the five-mic classic that merits “Best Rapper Alive” accolades. I think I adequately covered my theory on the homie in my first Lil Wayne Blog, but I’ve still got some messages for both the stans and the haters of Weezy.
--
Stans:
Hopefully, this shows you that your savior is mortal. Everything that you love about Weezy F. is on full display here: that unmistakable voice, the nimble delivery, swag in spades, the comical punchlines, and the moments where he goes the fuck in and murders concepts. The problem is, when given the golden stage—press everywhere from XXL to GQ, a street buzz not even closely paralleled by any of his peers, cosigns by every rapper that matters, and production from the game’s premier knob twisters—he still couldn’t make a classic LP. EDIT: I know, it's still a "classic" due to it being the "album of the summer" and all that, but he failed to make an album whose actual quality matches up to the hype. To his credit, he’s still put together a dope album, and there are definitely some potentially classic songs here. But he’s got duds, filler and formulaic T-Pain songs just like anybody else does. It’s possible that homie’s prolific output has finally caught up with him: substituting “La La,” “Got Money,” “Playin’ With Fire,” and maybe even “Nothin On Me” [1] with highlights from his torrent of mixtapes may have pushed Tha Carter III over the hump.

Haters:
Go ahead and say he’s overrated, because he is. But like I said in my last blog, Lil Wayne’s hyperbole is something that’s understandable because of all of the other elements he brings. And if Tha Carter III does anything, it’s establish the dude as a bonafide talent. Even though he doesn’t make the classic that your stannish enemies thought he would, as I said in the last segment, he’s still put together some fantastic records here: “Dr. Carter” sent chills up my spine with the way he meshed conceptual originality with the style and aesthetic that he’s trademarked, and I’ve continuously maintained that “Comfortable” would’ve been a better single choice than “Lollipop.” He knows how epic “Mr. Carter” is and he shows it by going bar for bar with almighty Hov [2], and “Tie My Hands Down” is a passionate, well-constructed record that you’d be hard-pressed to justifiably hate on. And if you weren’t so busy scrutinizing his lyrics, you’d realize how potent the "style over substance" approach can be while listening to “Let The Beat Build.” Most of you (haters) that I spoke to about the songs they’ve heard have said something to the extent of, “Wow, this isn’t even half bad!” I agree.

--
[1] Maybe it’s just me, but I thought was this joint with Juelz and Fabolous the album’s most disappointing song? Considering the previous collaborations between duos of them (Cassidy’s “6 Minutes of Death,” Juelz’ “Make It Work For Ya”), this was really forgettable. And one of Alchemist’s more disappointing beats in a while. Wasn’t a terrible song, but disappointing.
[2] Until Wayne’s last verse, that is. But hey: Lebron’s still a legend for this year’s Game 7 faceoff with Paul Pierce even though the Celtics took it, right?

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

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Speech Is My Hammer...

Armchair A&Rs, Sit Down.

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Nas Won.

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Lil Wayne Is Who We Thought He Was! (c) Dennis Greene

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