what does a hip hop artist need around him/her?

  • Thread starter Thread starter james_face
  • Start date Start date
Cloneboy Studio said:
Just because I disagree with something doesn't mean I don't understand it.

I know enough to tell the difference between the talent of early hiphop versus now.

If you appreciated early hip hop you wouldnt bash sampling or lack of musical abillities

As hip hop grows older they are shedding the need to sample and many such as say the roots, moka only, beastie boys are VERY musical and play REAL instruments not just keyboards
 
Cloneboy Studio said:
If you look at the top record sales of all time you'll see Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Metallica, Michael Jackson and The Eagles. How many rap albums sell 20 million? None.

And how OLD are all of those 20million selling albums? Good god.
 
Prophet-One said:
As hip hop grows older they are shedding the need to sample and many such as say the roots, moka only, beastie boys are VERY musical and play REAL instruments not just keyboards

Trust me, I've noticed and this is a GOOD thing.

There's only so many times you can bust out Bonham or Stubblefield breakbeats. :)

I'm just jaded against rap because I record a lot of talentless G-Muny-Thugz that don't have one ounce of talent or originality. At least they have lots of money. :eek:
 
Cloneboy Studio said:
I don't see rappers able to sustain it for the long haul though. How many 10 and 20 platinum albums do rappers have?

All short money.

If you look at the top record sales of all time you'll see Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Metallica, Michael Jackson and The Eagles. How many rap albums sell 20 million? None.


MC Hammer & Biggie (10 Million records sold)are on the list...EMINEM
and 2Pac are close (9 Million) for one of their albums

and i see you tryin to prove a poin about sales..but the top record sale are all their albums together..not just on release..thats why the other groups on artists name are up there..and they have a bigger fan base..and been in the stores forever..rap/hip-hop is here to stay...and the short money they makin..well i guess they dont mind..cause its makin them comfortable and better off then they were b4..and thats all that matters to most of them..to live better then they were b4..thats all im goin to say..
 
reevolution said:
And how OLD are all of those 20million selling albums? Good god.


this is all the 20 million(+) selling albums:

28 Eagles: Their Greatest Hits
Asylum | 1976
26 Michael Jackson: Thriller
Epic | December 1982
23 Pink Floyd: The Wall
Columbia | 1979
22 Led Zeppelin: Untitled (IV)
Atlantic | 1971
21 Billy Joel: Greatest Hits Volume I & II
Columbia | 1985
 
bknot1 said:
this is all the 20 million(+) selling albums:

28 Eagles: Their Greatest Hits
Asylum | 1976
26 Michael Jackson: Thriller
Epic | December 1982
23 Pink Floyd: The Wall
Columbia | 1979
22 Led Zeppelin: Untitled (IV)
Atlantic | 1971
21 Billy Joel: Greatest Hits Volume I & II
Columbia | 1985

How about 50 Cent? Do you guys think he is short money? Hence 50 cents is what he will end his career with....
 
Last edited:
defconcepts said:
...Hip Hop IS everywhere....commercials...clothing..language....Hip Hop artists jump into movies...clothing...commercials...radio.


Yeah, and maybe it shouldn't be. I just read this little rant about hip hop. I like rap, and hip hop....well, a lot of it, but seriously what makes 50 Cent think he's a clothing designer? Why are Method Man and Red Man on Speed Stick commercials (or whatever brand it is)? I understand your point about hip hop being here to stay, but seriously I'm so fucking sick of all these rappers, and "R&B" people getting into movies and shit. Yeah they're trying to make their money, but they aren't good. Ja Rule? Seriously? He's awful. His 3 lines in The Fast and the Furious were a fucking joke. I can get behind some rappers who act. Ice Cube for example. He's funny, and he knows what' up, but when DMX is in a fucking movie with Steven Segal it's hard to tell who's the worse actor. I'd rather hear Steven Segal rap, than watch DMX act.


defconcepts said:
Kiss is probably the only other group on earth that was able to market themselves and make huge money outside of their music.....

Everyone is talking about making money. When did music turn into this thing that people only get into for the money? What happened to it being about the music? All these fucking rappers, and "R&B" singers, and whoever else are gonna lose all their fucking money because they have 1 hit single and they're on Cribs with their 4 million dollar mansion, and their $300,000 car, and all their fucking million dollar jewelry. It's ridiculous. Fuck those guys. They need to watch the Behind the Music on M.C. Hammer! If you're P. Diddy, or Master P, or anyone like that who's worth $300,000,000 cool, spend all you want on shit, but if you're fucking Lil' Whatever and the Dumbshit Crew and you've had one "club-banger" on the charts, stop being a dick and keep ahold of your money. What the fuck?


Give me rappers like Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Mos Def, MF Doom, and people like that who don't rap about stupid shit and how much bling they have, and when they're gonna ride in their Escalade next.


Hip hop is here to stay, but it needs to get away from this vapid, pretentious, money-fest, and get back to what it started as. Rock and roll too! Seriously, when is the next Nirvana gonna come along? If music continues the way it's going it's gonna implode in on itself. The record companies wanna know why they're losing money hand over fist? It's because they are putting out shitty shitty shitty music! It's not because of downloading it's because of crappy artists like Juvinille (sp?), Creed, Puddle of Mudd, Ja Rule, Lil' John, and Ciena (the 1,2,step girl?), and a shitload of others. These "artists" aren't bringing anything new to the game. Where are the Tupac's and Biggie's? Where are the Rolling Stone's and the Nirvana's? Where are the true R&B sings like Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye? They're gone for good, and they aren't going to be replaced by Chingy, or Simple Plan, or Ashanti. They just aren't. There are good poeple out there, making good music, but no one wants to hear that. Sure, Alicia Keys sells records and she's wonderful, but she's not Carol King and sure Ludacris is doing his thing, and I like him, but he's not Tupac. Something needs to change, there needs to be a revolution in music! So go out and buy something that you wouldn't normally buy, you hip hop guys go out and get an Atmosphere cd (it's good I swear), anyone into rock go pick up the new Bright Eyes cd's (Jan 25th). Come on everyone, let's bring good music back to the mainstream. It has to start somewhere, why not with us?
 
Last edited:
defconcepts said:
Seriously....you are living in the rock genre of music...AND I love all music and have a vast array of musical influences. That being said I do agree with you that not many Hip Hop artists are able to maintain long careers , with the exception of LL cool J and a few others, BUT...I'm not sure Metallica or Prince NEVER sold 800,000 copies of a record in 4 days, (50 CENT) and to my knowledge none of them ever took over as president of one of the biggest record labels in the U.S either. So there are pros and cons to both....all i was saying is that Hip Hop IS everywhere....commercials...clothing..language...It is truly an entire CULTURE like no other music has ever created. Kiss is probably the only other group on earth that was able to market themselves and make huge money outside of their music. Hip Hop artists jump into movies...clothing...commercials...radio.....AND you talk about top selling CD's of ALL TIME???...im talkin about the majority of music sold TODAY on average...what music is selling?...so just to give you an idea ...heres this weeks top ten billboard sellers.

1. green day
2.Eminem
3.lil john and the eastside boys
4.john legend
5.ludacris
6.destiny's child
7.shania twain
8.JayZ/Linkin park
9.Usher
10. kelly clarkson

By my count thats 6 1/2 for me 2 1/2 for your side of the music genre...and i was generous cause kelly clarkson did some pop/rock shit this time

Holla back :)




Hmmmm.....I'm gonna say that your figures are wrong. I'm gonna say 1 1/2 is rock, 1 is country, 4 is pop/"R&B", and 3 1/2 is rap. So it's all over the damn place. What's the point?


The majority of cd's sold today are hip hop/"R&B". What's the point? In 20 years who's gonna remember T.I.? Who's gonna remember Fat Joe? No one. They're gonna remember the artists of today who made a difference. Eminem sure, Jay-Z probably. 100 years from now, people will still be listening to The Beatles, and Zepplin because they are timeless, they won't be listening to Chingy. Come on!
 
Prophet-One said:
Have you ever listened to a BDP album?

Their first album was CRIMINAL MINDED, it was about street life, one year after the release of that record Scott La Rock was shot dead (Since your probably dont know who Scott La Rock was he was the other half of BDP)

Public Enemy was about being poor, living in the ghettos, and fighting for a better life, although positive one some levels related 100% to street life

Big Daddy Kane was all about the women, being a pimp etc

Not much in hip-hop has changed

This was a terribly misinformed post

The essense of hip hop was around when BDP were children, Akrica Bambata, Grand Master Flash, Kool Herc, parties in the parks, and you know what? It was still about street life, they had dancable songs like Sugar Hill Gang with Rappers Delight

But for instance Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five were about street life

Songs like the message and white lines about drugs, alleysways and street life

Kids were getting shot and stuck up before, after and during the block parties

Street life is a very large portion of hip hop from the very beggining whether you like it or not, it started in the projects and inner city and caught on, but its still based there and everyone needs to respect that more then look down on it

Prophet ....actually you are right to some degree and I guess I should have clarified better in my last post about hip hop, but please man don't insult me...Not know who scott la rock was?....CMON...I loved BDP's criminal minded album....im 34 years old homie...I been around hip hop a long time and truly love it. I know who the pioneers are and what hip hop has become. ALL i was tryin to say is that there is A lot more to hip hop then being "gangsta" and portraying street life. We actually had some real MC's back then, Like KRS one....these kind of MC's are a dying breed man and thats never good for Hip hop.
 
The funny thing about all this ..is we are supposed to be helpin the original poster in his ventures..but instead we turned it into a genre bitch about music..

and you have to remeber most artist are smart with their money this is why the get into other things to invest their money in to so they wont be broke..

i read all this crap about what so and so did and why so and so group isnt back together...most of the time its money...money make the world go round..and if you think most of the artist are into just for the love of the music..you need to goto the Doctor..

also last but not least (im losing my thoughts with the Bush mess on tv) i agree not to many artist out right now make good music..but that goes for everyone... i havent heard a new classic in years..and it juust dont seam like one is goin to be made...im goin to listen to my Roots CDs...peace
 
defconcepts said:
Prophet ....actually you are right to some degree and I guess I should have clarified better in my last post about hip hop, but please man don't insult me...Not know who scott la rock was?....CMON...I loved BDP's criminal minded album....im 34 years old homie...I been around hip hop a long time and truly love it. I know who the pioneers are and what hip hop has become. ALL i was tryin to say is that there is A lot more to hip hop then being "gangsta" and portraying street life. We actually had some real MC's back then, Like KRS one....these kind of MC's are a dying breed man and thats never good for Hip hop.

Well if you post BDP as not relating to street life the first thing that pops into my head is you dont know what your talking about

Theres still real emcees around so I don't really see the big fuss

Yes rap on mtv is garbage so is the rock music

So listen to underground rap, you want thoughtful raps pick up the new Sabac album A Change Gon' Come

It's insulting to me to say that hip hop isn't about street life, thats what it was birthed from, there are many aspects to it but you can't discount that aspect just because some people are currently using it to make money and not tell their story

Anyone can make hip hop and you dont nessicarly have to be hard or from the streets, but you need to keep that aspect in mind and respect it, because thats what gave birth to hip hop
 
Prophet-One said:
Well if you post BDP as not relating to street life the first thing that pops into my head is you dont know what your talking about

Theres still real emcees around so I don't really see the big fuss

Yes rap on mtv is garbage so is the rock music

So listen to underground rap, you want thoughtful raps pick up the new Sabac album A Change Gon' Come

It's insulting to me to say that hip hop isn't about street life, thats what it was birthed from, there are many aspects to it but you can't discount that aspect just because some people are currently using it to make money and not tell their story

Anyone can make hip hop and you dont nessicarly have to be hard or from the streets, but you need to keep that aspect in mind and respect it, because thats what gave birth to hip hop



Agreed...and well said I might add
 
about the original topic of this thread:
1) talent
2) somewhere to get your music recorded
3) a manager who can walk your music into radio stations (on new music day) and record companies, because even the small radio stations don't want to talk directly to the artist. if you don't have representation, then they don't take you seriously.
4) money (or weed) to get spins on said radio station(s).
5) a booking agent (can be dual role of manager) to shop your press kit and get you gigs so you can save up enough money to pay for radio play.
6) a posse of hoes that come to your shows (for free or reduced door) so that more dudes will come to your shows for full price. this will help you pay for radio spins.
7) club buzz so that you don't have to continue to pay for radio spins
8) radio spins so that more people will know who you are and come to your shows, and buy your CD after the show.
9) take the money you have left over after you pay for radio spins and get a soundscan bar code.
10) put your CD in mom and pop (harder and harder to find) local stores so that you'll be able to prove how many units you moved all by yourself when record labels finally come calling... you can negotiate a better deal if you aren't struggling.

about the direction this thread took:
there were artist like Schooly D talking sh*t way back in hip-hops early days, but the fact of the matter is that the range of topics rapped about in the "golden age" of hip-hop were more diverse. the reason they were more diverse... they were less commercial. now you've got multi-million dollar record companies shelving artist's work and making 'recommendations'.
 
crosstudio said:
the reason they were more diverse... they were less commercial. now you've got multi-million dollar record companies shelving artist's work and making 'recommendations'.

Excellent point! There is so much good music out there getting shelved because
Ashlee Simpson, or whoever, has a record coming out in a few weeks and attention is focused on convincing the sheep that it's worth $18. This plagues the industry. Any idea's of how this will change?
 
you can't change it if you don't 'control the means of production', which means it won't be easy.

in theory, selling your CDs over the internet enables the small guy (that's you and me) to be able to get a leg up on the major labels since i can sell a CD for $10 that profits me $8, whereas I'd have to sell 8 CDs (or more if i'm getting jerked) to make that same $8 if i'm on a label.

however, who is going to buy your CD from your web site if they don't know you?

so how do you get known? that's the real question.

if i can sell our EP CD to 10% of the crowd at each show, then i feel like we're hitting our mark. i don't care if its 30 people. i want to sell that CD to 3 of them.
 
bknot1 said:
well said cross..good post

I 2nd that emotion! You got business in your blood, I hope that helps you achieve your goals. Peace. :cool:
 
Back
Top