The Label’s Trying to Kill Me: Wale, Freddie Gibbs, Pill, Poochie, and Other Totally Outrageous Paradigms (Part I)
Bart: Hey, I know it wasn’t great, but what right do you have to complain?
Comic Book Guy: As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me.
Bart: What? They’re giving you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. What could they possibly owe you? I mean, if anything, you owe them!
Comic Book Guy: Worst. Episode. Ever.
A few years ago, before Lonely Island completely flipped the archetype for rap satire in the post-Weird Al age, several Hollywood executives and agents expressed interest in turning The Passion of the Weiss into an Internet Television show, something akin to The Daily Show but for music–with parodies, interviews and trips to far-flung festivals for drug binges on the corporate dime. Considering the economic crash hadn’t occurred and corporate brass were willing to throw around wads of cash at this new-fangled Internet thing, it seemed like a decent enough idea. Lame, I know, but there was a point to the phrase, “get rich or die trying,” and journalism certainly wasn’t aiding or abetting.
So with apprehension, I took a few meetings, with the goal of getting the money to turn my notion into a concept and later turn it into an idea. At first, the executives filled my head up with all the stereotypical buzz words you’d expect to get a rookie hyped: creative freedom, spontaneity, “wild and off-the wall” humor. Right. I even went ahead and filmed/recorded a few things: an interview with Ghostface where we attempted to get high before UCLA security stymied the plan, a parody rap song, and other scatter-brained ephemera that probably weren’t very funny. Somehow, the meetings progressed to the point where getting money for a pilot seemed like a reasonable leap.
Then I had a meeting at an unnamed division of an unnamed company that may or may not be owned by a conservative Australian media baron–a meeting that immediately crushed my desire to do anything of the sort. After watching the footage, the Marketing Director barraged me with a line of questions straight out of the Poochie episode of The Simpsons. How willing was I to become a caricature of myself, to mock my tastes, my quirks. Essentially, would I become a rapping surfer-dog who got bizzay, consistently and thoroughly? I was lucky. Before I had the chance to humiliate myself, I was able to exit the room with integrity and self-respect intact, my wallet completely empty.
It Was All A Dream
I relate the anecdote because I suppose I empathize with Wale and the travails that surround Attention Deficit, his compromised but still solid debut album. I’m willing to bet that when Interscope gave him his deal, they sold him a bill of goods that included promises of artistic independence, their wholehearted belief in “his vision,” and the promotional machinery essential to allow him to blow-up (Cue the Q-Tip “Check the Rhime” ad-lib). The crackers at Jive that jerked Tribe were nothing compared to today’s execs, who survived the purge in constant survival mode, clinging for survival and laughably unwilling to nurture trad-rap concept albums for prestige points to offset the Black Eyed Peas. Strictly business.
Nah Right is littered with dudes (Pac Div, BOB, Wiz Khalifa, 75 percent of Slaughterhouse, etc.) who despite years of bubbling can’t get a release datch. Scratch the surface of any major label roster and there’s dozens more in purgatory, waiting until they make that hot single that will jump-start the process. But it’s more than that–they’re waiting for them to go pop faster than you can say Cassidy. Noz wrote that “albums are now irrelevant in hip-hop.” I’m not sure if that’s true yet, but they’re certainly becoming an afterthought. Labels don’t want to put out your album. They just want to sell your single on iTunes, give you an aloof old-media publicist, and take 360 degrees of whatever you take home on tour. The only reason to sign with a major is to cross-over (while we’re on the topic, this video should be played for all aspiring MC’s, with the reminder that it was Erick and Parrish’s biggest hit to date).
But it’s not like EPMD or anyone directly inspired by them is going to break Clear Channel rotation today. The deals are going to those who have already scored cross-over dance hits (from electremo sensations Drake and Kid Cudi), to teen dance-acts (Soulja Boy, the Jerkin’ kids) to neo hip-house artists (LMFAO and Far East Movement).What was conveniently glossed over by critics of Sasha Frere-Jones’ essay on the death of hip-hop, was that Jones wasn’t really reading its eulogy, but rather pointing out that it was no longer the vanguard of the avant-garde. And as much as I’d like to, I can’t argue with that thesis. The most popular rap albums this year have been The Blueprint 3 and Relapse, disappointing efforts from veteran artists on the downward slope. While the biggest commercial debuts have been from Drake (Mase-lite), Cudi (Kanye-lite), and Asher Roth (Eminem-lite), relatively tame artists with no reluctance to play the promotional game, follow existing trends, and cultivate a fanbase of giggling 14-year old girls.
The Rise of Hamburglar Rap
Wale never fit into any of those paradigms. Yeah, he’d rap over a Justice beat, but Camp Lo (arguably the greatest, least commercially viable group in history) is his favorite group. The Pitchfork review of Attention Deficit branded him the closest thing to Black Thought, but that analogy seems ill-fitting, considering he’s already evidenced far more conceptual, thematic originality and flair than Tariq ever displayed. He’s more lyrical than Kanye, but not nearly as pop-savvy, and the Jay-Z comparisons lack substance because well, that’s imperial in its overreach.
Lacking a clear marketing precedent, it was inevitable that despite the Internet buzz, Wale was going to struggle to see an Interscope release, considering that the label has long struggled to break non-Aftermath affiliated rappers. It’s not surprising that the two choices for his first two singles (Lady Gaga and Gucci Mane) seemed more savvy bet-hedging than spontaneous collaboration. Granted, “Chillin’”actually works better in the context of the Attention Deficit, but even Wale has seemed almost apologetic about it, pointedly describing it as “for all intensive purposes, it was what it was.” While the decision to enlist Gucci Mane not only rankled the true-school 4 Lifers, it somehow managed to be one of the few singles that Radric Davis has rapped on this year that didn’t take off.
Wale didn’t sell out, but he did set himself up. On Mixtape About Nothing and 100 Miles and Running, he flashed the ability and self-awareness to subvert tropes (see the skits on the former, retitling “Nike Boots” as the “The Cliche Lil Wayne Feature” on the latter). Hell, he even devoted an entire song (”The Artistic Integrity,”) outlining his unwillingness to buy into the system. Yet over a year later, one of the first lines on Attention Deficit illustrates the new paradox: “the only thing I fear is Iovine’s shelf.” These words rattle throughout the record, from his decisions to collaborate with acts suspiciously dissimilar to those that showed up on Back to the Feature, to a song like “90210,” which is not necessarily bad as much as it is laser-targeted to appeal to a Hills demographic that Wale ostensibly would’ve lampooned.
Miss Rodeo, Tell Me Where Your Day Go
Compounding the problem is the hothouse of the Internet hype cycle. To get to the point where he could release his debut album on a major, Wale had to release half a dozen records, therein blunting the impact of hearing a vibrant new artist for the first time. As Sach O put it: “not to be a dinosaur, but rappers in 88 were dropping 15 tracks a year tops. And one of them was a house remix.” Were he an indie rock artist, Wale probably would’ve released several albums on an major indie like Merge or Matador, toured relentlessly, and cultivated a steady and loyal fanbase, allowing him to make the leap to a major with enough clout to ensure that his vision was relatively untampered. Or did you think that Capitol would’ve let The Decemberists release a prog-rock opus based on a Japanese folk tale, without having first wooed the beards and flannel set on their Kill Rock Stars jaunts.
Instead, Wale seems shackled by Interscope’s procrustean attempts to turn him into the second coming of Kanye or Jay or Pharrell. And credit Mr. Never Wear the Same Thing’s (please stop) talent that he managed to save what should’ve been a sure-fire disaster into a record that falls short of classic status, yet still reaffirms why he built his cult in the first place. His collaborations with Dave Sitek (”Triumph” and “TV in the Radio”) demonstrate the natural ability and eclectic bent he flashed effortlessly on his mixtapes. While “Shades,” provides perhaps the most insightful look into race since last year’s “The Kramer.” As for the “Pretty Girls,” and “World Tour,” they succeed in their minimal aims: fun party-rap songs that would’ve been ideal Summer BBQ jams had they not been released post-Daylight Savings.
The problem is one that’s bound to hamper most major label debuts going forward. Unless you’re a Kanye or a Jay-Z, you’re forced to comply to the whims of 13-year old white girls. All the artistic integrity in the world can’t force a guy like Jimmy Iovine to sign off on an album entirely produced by 9th Wonder (not necessarily a bad decision). As fans, we may just have to resign ourselves to the idea that rap has become beholden to the Hollywood model, where stars do one lame blockbuster pic in order to do the daring independent film for no money. It’s not a Wale thing, it’s a rap thing. How else are we supposed to explain “Compassion?“
When I greeted Wale for the interview a few days ago, I told him that I thought he did a “good job considering…” What was left out of the transcript was his reponse, “man, when I get to the level of a Kanye or a 50, I’ll really going to show people what I can do.” It was a telling admission. He’s playing the game because he has to, and unfortunately, it resulted in a lesser album. But heaping self-righteous invective on him for trying to expand his appeal isn’t the answer either. Right now, Wale seems to be in a situation identical to the Lupe Fiasco of a few years ago. Though he’s inevitably alienated a segment of his core fan base, he’s delivered a strong enough album to ensure bigger tour berths, festivals, and more fans. Whether or not, he’ll evolve into one of the greats remains anyone guess. In the meantime, it’s possible we owe him a little bit of sympathy. After all, the guy’s already provided us with a half-dozen hours of free entertainment.
Download:
ZIP: Wale-Paint a Picture Mixtape (Left-Click)
ZIP: Wale-Hate is the New Love Mixtape (Left-Click)
MP3: Wale ft. Gucci Mane-”Pretty Girls” (Left-Click)
Stumble It!
November 11th, 2009 at 4:25 am
Isn’t it possible to make a commercial single that doesnt suck?? Eminem did it with two albums back in the day. Back Like That is pretty good. Slim Thug made his best stuff with The Neptunes. Hey Ya was probably a bit of a compromise but its one of the best things Outkast did etc. And although i feel bad for Wale, i think you can somewhat blame him, i mean if he really cares about the music, he could have just released the album on an indie label, like so many do (DOOM, Black Milk, Madlib etc.), He has enough of a following from the mixtapes for it to sell decently, and he could have made a great album too.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Good analysis, it is a great shame what has happened to Wale. Unfortunately, i think he did alienate his net fanbase a fair bit with the Gucci feature (i just kept the original version of the song), which might hurt his future efforts to even drop an album.
I dont think the album has died, i just think the industry is incredibly stuck in its unwillingness to reduce cd prices. People dont want to pay 14 pounds for a cd when they can get it for free. The problem is that those who are aware of downloading are also the die-hard music fans.
That said, compared to Asher Roth (rushed forth by the corporate machine and like Apathy said the other day has not paid dues) and Kid Cudi (Kanye lite) he has far more talent and thus staying power. I think it would’ve paid him more to go independent as he already had the support of the pitchfork crowd post mixtape about nothing.
On a side note though, not sure if you meant to infer this but, Wale does still have a ways to go to reach Black Thoughts level imo. I think the dude has proven himself conceptually past and present Rising Down was testament to that, it was pretty much tied together by an overarching concept.
November 11th, 2009 at 8:28 am
@Maxipi: Sure, it’s possible to make a commercial single that doesn’t suck, but you have to do so within a very narrow confines. Right now, the sound of terrestrial radio is consumed by electro-tinged dance rap (a la Cudi, LMFAO), R&B lite rap (Drake, Ross, etc.) or your random fluke hit like “Ice Cream Paint Job.” None of these are exactly in Wale’s wheelhouse. Yes, he could’ve gone indie, but as opposed to indie rock, rappers tend to stay at that level throughout their entire career and rarely make the leap to the majors successfully (see Murs, Kweli et. al). It’s tough to tell a guy not to jump at the opportunities that avail themselves to him by being on a major (hosting the VMA’s, Hip-Hop Honors performances, tours with Jay).
Also, I suspect that when he signed his deal he didn’t realize exactly what sort of single he was going to have to make. Nearly every good artist thinks they’re different and won’t have to face those sort of commercial concerns.
@Victor: Some good points. I’m a big Black Thought fan and think he’s done a lot of classic material, but I think ?uest is at least partially responsible for much of the overarching conceptual stuff. This isn’t to knock the guy, but I don’t think he’s written a “Kramer,” or a “Perfect Plan,” or a “Shades.” The most glaring exception maybe being “Water.”
November 11th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I’ve been doing some thinking, and I’ve got some ideas to improve Wale’s record. One, Wale needs to be louder, angrier, and have access to a time machine. Two, whenever Wale’s not rhyming, all the other guest rappers should be asking “Where’s Wale”? Three…
November 11th, 2009 at 10:32 am
wale’s gotta remember his mantra
November 11th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Nailed it.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Good analysis for sure. The record is halfway there, halfway compromised. The Sitek tracks are by far the most interesting; the K’Naan collaboration has the sound and style of a major crossover hit, but we’ll see how far it’s pushed. That kinda song probably wouldn’t've happened without Interscope–TV on the Radio’s label–backing Wale.
As for the death of the hip-hop record, it’s been on the downslide for years, ever since producers became cleanup hitters and album-long consistency went out the window. Hip-hop may be better suited as a single-oriented genre anyway. Most rap concept albums are contrived.
And that model you mentioned–”the Hollywood model, where stars do one lame blockbuster pic in order to do the daring independent film for no money”–that’s nothing new. Consider Paul’s Boutique, Labcabincalifornia, Blowout Comb. Masterpieces, but problem was most of those bands didn’t have a third record in them. Considering the disappointing debuts from this year’s freshman class (Asher Roth, Cudi, Wale), the real story will be whether or not any one of them has the talent to bounce back for a second try.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:44 am
And when I say “disappointing debuts,” I mean artistically, bc I guess those albums have all sold well. To 13-year-old white girls.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I do not consider “Licensed to Ill,” “Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde” and “Reachin’ artistically disappointing debuts.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I do not consider “Licensed to Ill,” “Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde” and “Reachin’ artistically disappointing debuts.
Yeah, I think the fact that those albums were so attention-getting and (in the case of the latter two, comparatively) successful was what allowed the possibility for those artists to actually expand conceptually and change directions more readily. And, of course, the follow-up albums then wound up being the last things of note that those groups did, with the exception of the Beastie Boys, who actually followed up their risky, stylistically-divergent second album with another risky, stylistically-divergent third album that happened to succeed on a much bigger crossover level than the previous one. In any case, I think it’s telling that it was pretty clear who Wale was on his mixtapes, personality-wise, but sounds a bit scattered on the major-label debut. It’s not a bad album in the least — there’s at least three tracks I’ve got on the shortlist for my 100-song year-end playlist. It’s just that its good tracks feel like they came about not as fluke moments in an increasingly-exhausted, mixtape-saturation early-stage career, but as the remaining pieces of an actual cohesive vision that made it in spite of label expectations and meddling.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
My bad–I mixed up two separate points.
The Beasties, Pharcyde, and Digables all had brilliant debuts, but once they gained some clout, they followed up w records so vastly different that you had to wonder what happened in between. Labels backed off, let the band stick to their original vision.
Debuts from Asher Roth, Cudi, and Wale are all respectable in terms of sales, but (maybe) not what each of these artists was going for artistically. Now that they have some clout, the question is whether they’ll deliver a follow-up that proves their talent. My guess is w the exception of Wale, they won’t.
But comparing “Asleep in the Bread Aisle” to “Licensed to Ill” is wrong in all sorts of ways, so maybe this whole argument is moot.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Actually, I think Cudi’s album would’ve benefited more from real A&Ring. It seemed like he had total creative freedom and fell victim to grandiose ambitions that he wasn’t able to achieve. He had one of the two biggest songs of the year and to make money, the label had to capitalize on the buzz and put the album out while he was still hot. The fact that he hasn’t been able to score a second successful single though, speaks volumes about the album’s quality (or lack thereof).
November 11th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Right on point. I couldn’t agree more.
I don’t feel bad at all about copping the album at all. but… I want to like Attention Deficit a lot more than I actually do.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Great piece.
I think the real problem for the listeners is that it’s hard to get excited about music when the artists are so sick of dealing with it themselves. Every other thing I hear out of a rapper’s mouth during the promotional cycle is how much A) Hip-Hop today sucks B) The industry today sucks C) The fans today suck for complaining about A) and B). That’s not even counting the lines on the album about those subjects. Sure backpackers have been doing that forever but they’re naturally good at whining and it worked as a niche when Noreaga and DMX were counter balancing it.
The disillusionment and lack of enthusiasm is contagious, particularly compared to music scenes that are experiencing a boom period.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Kid Cudi’s album was great! At least the people who liked 808s should like it, and like that album, you gotta look at it just as music, and forget about what a rap album needs to have to be technically good. The beats are dope and the hooks are catchy, its a great pop album. …the lyrics do suck tho lol
November 11th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
The Kid Cudi album is not a great pop album by any means and Kanye didn’t drop 808s, which people remain divided on, until his fourth album
November 11th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Grey clouds up above manee,
Metaphor to my life manee
Sky might fall FTW
November 11th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Excellent, excellent point, Sach.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
@Sach–You said it.
I was super hyped on Cudi earlier this year. He killed it onstage w Kanye at SXSW–”Day n Night” was one of the most explosive moments of the entire festival.
Days later he “quit music.” WTF? Total buzzkill. Any artist so uncommitted to his craft deserves no commitment from his fans. Everything Cudi after that was a sleepwalk, or a death march to fulfill label obligations. Why should anyone care about a guy who takes no joy in what he’s doing? For the most part, his album reflects that joylessness.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
At the moment the indie route looks infinitely more viable for debut artists. They make money by developing a fan base and then touring. Newcomers such as Blu and Currensy have done this to some success.
I think we can safely say if a newcomer aint rich he aint retiring as it is either rap or get a normal job.
November 12th, 2009 at 5:46 am
I loved 808s but couldn’t stand Cudi’s thing.808s’ had hooks all over the place, which made Kanye’s literal-mindedness and self-absorption forgivable. Plus, Kanye’s a larger-than-life character who can pull that kind of thing off.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:57 am
“While the biggest commercial debuts have been from Drake (Mase-lite)”
I never heard the similarity before. I’ve thought of him more as a very bland Kanye/Wayne hybrid. But that’s a good comparison.
“Right now, the sound of terrestrial radio is consumed by electro-tinged dance rap (a la Cudi, LMFAO), R&B lite rap (Drake, Ross, etc.) or your random fluke hit like “Ice Cream Paint Job.””
I guess that’s so, but just a year or so ago I Get Money was a hit, and this year “Who’s Real,” which sucks but is at least trying to be a classic NY anthem type of track, was a fairly big hit. ‘A Milli’ and ‘Mr. Carter’ were big hits and mostly on the strength of their rapping; neither was R&B or electro-tinged. Maybe Wale just isn’t an interesting enough rapper for a pop audience to listen to him unless he does a track with someone they are a fan of. I don’t really buy it when you say above that EPMD-influenced rap can never chart. Sure, stuff that attempts to sound like it’s still 1988-1996 will not chart, but I don’t think that you have to do a song with Lady Gaga, Rihanna or the like (or make something that sounds like Ice Cream Paint Job) to get radio play. Nor, you know, even if it were true that that’s the only stuff that will chart, is it this impossible task to make a good song with Lady Gaga or make something danceable. It’s just something Wale isn’t good at, and that’s his failing.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:35 am
“I Get Money” and “Who’s Real” were regional hits whose appeal was largely limited to NYC and a few other East Coast cities. They got little or no airplay out here. Radio is a regional beast–for all Gucci’s popularity elsewhere, he has next to no profile in LA, and what he does is only because of the Mario and Mariah Carey songs. What I was most struck by when I was interviewing the Jerkin’ artists was how much they disliked dudes like Ross, Jeezy, Gucci, and Soulja Boy. Nothing is as uniform as our Internet generalizations would like it to be.
Wayne was a special case, he was so hot both Internet and street-wise that whatever he turned in was bound to be a huge single. Can you imagine anyone else turning something as unorthodox and amorphous as “A Milli,” into a radio single, let alone the biggest one of the year. He had true mass appeal, that Wale might lack. But I think the jury is still out–even Talib Kweli and Dilated Peoples scored big radio hits at one point, y’know.
As for the possibility that EPMD-influenced stuff may chart again one day: few things are more fickle than rap radio, but we’ve been locked into a pop phase for a while. Radio thrives on audience participation, call-ins, etc. 13-year olds are the majority of people who call radio stations. 13-year olds like dance songs. It makes sense.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I’ve mentioned this before but the inclusion of Gucci Mane on “Pretty Girls” was not a pop concession at all. It was a bid for the DC audience. For the past 18 months Gucci has been the DC underground superstar that Wale has longed to be (and often presented himself to the national media as). That he decided to throw Gucci on a Backyard Band classic is no coincidence - it was a last ditch attempt to rally his (perceived) base.
Wale’s greatest weakness is that he doesn’t know which audience he wants.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
He also doesn’t have a clear grasp on the audience he does have.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
I agree. Though I’m willing to bet the goal was to have appeal throughout the entire South too. When I said savvy bet-hedging, I meant it more as in the sense that his Back to the Feature tracklist featured Talib, the Slaughterhouse guys, Skyzoo, and beats from 9th Wonder. With the exception of the token Bun B track, nothing on it indicated any aesthetic kinship with someone like Gucci. I understand he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed, but it’s not like he had been working with Ro, Boosie, and Pill first.