Lost last week in the 45-post a day, ad impression shuffle was the video for Freddie Gibbs and Pill’s “Womb 2 the Tomb,” an instant-classic from Freddie Gibbs’ instant-classic mixtape, Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzick. Directed by Skee TV go-to-director, Matt Alonzo, the almost five minute clip is a mini tour de force: a gothic, grainy, black and white blur of Gibbs and Pill stalking the badlands peripheral to downtown Los Angeles, shrouded by graffiti and conquered rivers, old aqueducts and faded tombstones. Their backpacks are bloated with drugs, and everything is swarmed by shadows. The clip derives a tremendous power from its solemn simplicity and concrete symbolism, particularly in context to Gibbs and Pill’s funereal ode to the art of hustling. Had it been released in 1994, it would’ve owned Yo! MTV Raps for months, earned terrestrial radio play, sold 250,000 cassingles, and won the duo face time in various rap magazines with a circulation hovering near half a million. It’s the sort of video that makes you remember why you loved hip-hop in the first place.
Instead, it was sandwiched between Teaser #2 for the next 48 Hours with Rick Ross and Triple C and pictures from a Sean Price video shoot, only to disappear from the home page of the major aggregators within the afternoon. Not to imply that Pill and Gibbs are exactly starving for media coverage. The New York Times and the New Yorker have devoted space to both, and I have a forthcoming feature in the LA Weekly on Gibbs. But despite the fourth estate attention, a salient problem persists–namely, how meaning and impact are perpetually blunted by the deafening babble of the Internet (and not in the good “perpetually blunted” way). It feels like very little matters, and when it does, it lasts only a news cycle. With listening patterns more diffuse than ever and even the most tin-foil hatted dissenters allowed a voice, there’s a sense of free-for-all, the atomization that Sasha Frere-Jones spoke of in his New Yorker essay, with rap fans clustering in like-minded hives, content to crown Wacka Flacka or Tanya Morgan the next to blow, depending on your acceptance or aversion to twang.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing–consensus is overrated. Plus, Gibbs and Pill are as close to universally approved as you’ll find, this year’s answer to Wale and Jay Electronica in 08. But what’s more troubling is how the contemporary environment has rendered it almost impossible for an artist to register any sort of cultural change. In my interview with Wale, he spoke about writing songs that felt like they had the ability to “move mountains,” and how disconcerting it was for someone like Lil Wayne to freestyle over “Swag Surfin’” and completely shut down the Internet the next day. Last week, Alec Henley Bemis wrote a sharp essay about former LA Times writer Robert Hillburn’s new memoir, contrasting Hilburn’s heyday with today’s dearth of “musical heroes.” The absence is particularly acute in rap, with the genre’s biggest star little more than a hyper-talented, hyperactive six year-old, and the other convinced he’s the lead guitarist of Staind.
You Can’t Spell Wacka Flocka Without the Wack
Forcing fledgling artists to feed the limitless appetite for new content and stay “hot” not only devalues their output, but diminishes their desire to do it for free. Why should they sweat feverishly while writing a “Kramer,” when a tossed off 32 bars over “Ice Cream Paint Job” will yield the identical result: get them a post today, forgotten tomorrow, and if they’re lucky, help them get a major label deal where they’ll be proscribed from writing the sort of songs that got them attention in the first place. The problem mirrors the nature of the Internet, with advertisers and content providers narcotically lured by the ad impressions of short and frequent posts. Corporations like Buzznet don’t care that Maura was one of the last remaining bloggers able to cut through the hyperbole and bullshit, they’d rather install two ciphers willing to lob Molotov cocktails to stir up message boards, fan sites, and the other detritus mucking about.
You can sanctimoniously prattle about art for art’s sake all you want, but this is a capitalist society and people have Ramen and Swishers to pay for. At a bare minimum, everyone wants a roof over their head, a 40 in the fridge, and the ability to do their thing full-time. It’s like steroids in baseball. When the guy ahead of you is juicing, you have to do what you can to keep up. The next thing you know, you’re releasing freestyles every day for a month and dating Madonna. Worse is that there’s no money at all unless you get a big advance or can somehow eke out a steady touring lifestyle (of the latter, Oddissee’s plan seems to have potential). If you ever wonder why rappers these days seem to only rap about selling drugs, it’s because that’s the best way to earn a living without working a 9 to 5. Well, that and child acting.
Radio survived as the last bastion of the monoculture for three reasons: its sense of populism based on extensive market testing and listener call-ins, its persistent regional bent, and its ability to act as a filter on a widespread scale. For all the attention given the web hype machine, if you’re looking to parse the sales of this year’s top rap debuts, you can draw a straight line from the radio burn bestowed on their lead singles: Kid Cudi’s “Day N’ Nite,” owned radio in all regions and shifted 110,000; Asher Roth’s “I Love College” was noxiously ubiquitous outside of the south and sold 60,000; Wale’s “Chillin’ was largely a non-starter and despite the critical accolades and Roc Nation co-sign, he only moved 28,000. The larger and more intractable problem is that urban radio is largely a wasteland. When I was a teenager, I remember hearing “Nuthin’ But a G Thing,” “Cool Like That,” and “Crossover” in one great primetime stretch on Power 106. Go ahead and scan their playlist now: you’d be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of songs that couldn’t be characterized as “rhythm and bullshit.” I’m not saying that every Clear Channel conglomerate needs to spin Doom all day, but there’s something terribly wrong when “Womb 2 the Tomb” or a “Trap Goin’ Ham,” can’t at least run Atlanta.
Sweatpants.
In spite of the obstacles, between them, Pill and Gibbs have released four mixtapes that are probably better than anything released on a major label all year. Pill’s 4075: The Refill is the latest in the lineage, building off its predecessor to delve deeper into the psychic complexities and environmental obstacles of the protagonist. It’s a three-dimensional portrait of an artist trapped between the block and the bigs, haunted by the death of his mother, grappling with the sorrow and savageness of street life, and the burning desire to escape. You sense the redemptive power of hip-hop, with “Music” managing to wring new life out of a tired trope (the “rappers I came up on” song.) There are tributes to both Biggie and 2Pac and it seems fitting, considering Gibbs and Pill are arguably the first gangsta rappers to come up in their wake to offer a new prototype, a triangulation of 2Pac’s searing emotional tangents and Biggie’s cold-blooded New York City lyricism–adding the palpable influence of Scarface and UGK, evident from their weary fatalism, latent spiritualism, and conflicted morality.
Casual rap fans might trivialize these efforts because they’re unofficial self-released mixtapes, but with each passing month the gap between mixtapes and albums grows wider and more heavily slanted towards the former. But as much as it’s a boon for the small community of rap obsessives who receive free often-excellent content, it’s a hindrance for the artists themselves. What would have been canonized debuts now only exist as Zshare links, devoid of packaging and tangible presence. Like everything on the Internet, they feel significantly less real. And as much respect as the tiny Internet bubble accords them, these guys’ fan bases remain modest. To put it into perspective (and granted this isn’t the ideal arbiter) Pill has less than 1,000 Twitter followers, Gibbs has just under 1,500. By contrast, Wale, Roth, and Cudi boast well over 100,000.
To ascend to the next level before their window closes, Gibbs and Pill will eventually need the marketing muscle of a major label, since the world of indie hip-hop is only built for people who fit into the Stones Throw/Def Jux/Rhymesayers/Duck Down prototypes, or the major label fallbacks that populate the Koch roster. As instinctive as it has become to put Midwestgangsta and 4075 aside when the next mixtape delivery barrels down the blog assembly line, it’s more important to pay attention and reward them with repeat listening. Poignant, smart, and stone-cold gangsta rap records are all too rare these days (and according to GQ, they don’t exist at all.) While they might not unseat Drake from his dull dominance of the radio, Pill and Gibbs are quietly re-defining the gangster paradigm for their generation. Hopefully, a label snatches them up and lets them release a retail record free from corny contrived plays for fans they probably won’t win. That would be outrageous.
Download:
ZIP: Pill- 4075: The Refill
ZIP: Pill: 4180-The Prescription
MP3: Freddie Gibbs-”The Wrong One”
MP3: Freddie Gibbs-”I’m That Nigga”
MP3: Mike Posner ft. Big Sean & Freddie Gibbs-”Bring Me Down”
MP3: Cunninglynguists ft. Freddie Gibbs-”Imperial”
MP3: Gotham Green ft. Freddie Gibbs-”Nice As I Am”
45 comments
LCR says:
November 17, 2009 at 11:07 am (UTC -7)
this is well argued, potent stuff. one thing worth noting though is that the internet allows fans to be the taste-makers not A&Rs and label execs (i think you are romanticizing radio as a filter of tase — though i do agree radio served its purpose a hell of a lot better 10-15 years ago)…all told, besides my impression that i think people are a little over excited re gibbs, i agree with most of your points and (probably b/c i fall into the small community of rap obsessives) still feel things are better now than say 1999 for the rap listener
I guess the question remains: how can we compensate these talents in a way that incentivizes them to continue to produce “substantial” music?
its Waka Flocka btw, and hes not bad
Thomas says:
November 17, 2009 at 11:07 am (UTC -7)
great writeup.
i like Wale, and bear no ill will towards Drake or Cudi, but the glee with which that “Gangsta Killers” article/blurb announces the ‘death of gangsta rap’ makes me completely sick.
“One song at a time, [Wale, Drake and Kid Cudi] built a new era in which duct-taped kilos, exotic firearms, and freaky girls are out and real life is the focus.”
really? i mean, even looking past the reductive analysis and romanticism, is this even accurate?
the mark of these guys ‘realness’ being “family drama, viscious hangovers, and regular chicks who will make good love to you, then stomp out your heart.”
sorry to rant, but the writer seems to me to know very little about gangsta rap or reality.
and LOL @ “Sweatpants.” — another of GQs markers for “keeping it real”, undoubtedly.
David says:
November 17, 2009 at 12:53 pm (UTC -7)
#yesshots #noshots i dont give a fuck but there is so much wrong w this piece i dont even know where to begin
pill & gibbs have benefited from internet noise machine as much as anyone else, certainly moreso than waka flocka flame
Disco Vietnam says:
November 17, 2009 at 12:58 pm (UTC -7)
Rafi actually had a pretty good write-up last week about something I’ve suspected for a while: it’s better to be featured on Nah Right Lite than Nah Right.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 1:04 pm (UTC -7)
@ LCR: “its Waka Flocka btw, and hes not bad
He’s not good either. I refuse to spell his name correctly, though it is extremely fun to say.
@David
I don’t even know who I’d be taking shots at. There are too many other valuable ways to spend time then taking mythological shots at Internet bogeymen. You might want to learn how to capitalize though, you aren’t E.E. Cummings.
Chef Rae says:
November 17, 2009 at 2:03 pm (UTC -7)
@David Please elaborate on all the things wrong with this piece.
Internet “buzz” is a farce and it’s something bloggers like to champion to give themselves some self worth.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 2:08 pm (UTC -7)
Internet buzz would be a farce if not for the fact that the only people who read bloggers are journalists/industry people/music obsessives, some of whom write things in real magazines/websites that normal people actually read.
Disco Vietnam says:
November 17, 2009 at 2:34 pm (UTC -7)
I don’t think Jeff means to say Gibbs and Pill haven’t benefited from the internet noise machine David but rather that there’s a point when the benefit can no longer be quantified and soon after it becomes a lose-lose situation. Pill and Gibbs are closing in.
noz says:
November 17, 2009 at 2:34 pm (UTC -7)
“Internet buzz would be a farce if not for the fact that the only people who read bloggers are journalists/industry people/music obsessives, some of whom write things in real magazines/websites that normal people actually read.”
Which then have no bearing on these artists bottom lines. How many New Yorker readers do you think became Freddie Gibbs fans? We’re all just filling space.
LK says:
November 17, 2009 at 2:41 pm (UTC -7)
I’ve liked what I’ve heard from Pill but I don’t see ANYTHING with Freddie Gibbs. Why is he more exciting than Drake, even? I find all of these dudes pretty boring. Please direct me to a song that you think is cream of the crop (other than the ones in this post… cuz I don’t hear it… ) Waka Flocka isn’t amazing but the beats on his songs make an impact, at the very least. Gibbs is like skating by on some soul sample, smoked out mood music tip that just doesn’t leave feeling anything but bored and cold.
When I hear Gibbs’ stuff and I see how popular he is, shit seems right. Wale is grossly overexposed, in my opinion. And Drake is a whole other story.
Chef Rae says:
November 17, 2009 at 2:49 pm (UTC -7)
newspaper/magazine (to the extent these still exist) “buzz” is a farce. The only exposure that will help sell a lot of records is radio airplay and/or major t.v. exposure (itunes commercial, Oprah, etc.)
Jeff, wasn’t that on of your points? I.e. Kudi selling 100k. I just added the shot at bloggers and print journalists because I’m crabby today.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 3:09 pm (UTC -7)
Probably none.
From my own experience (and this is just speaking for LA, as monitoring radio station playlists of other cities can only do so much), the only things that have translated into real fans for rappers are a scenario like the jerkin kids, where they use Myspace, YouTube and random high school word-of-mouth to build buzz. But then it’s not like it translated into album sales–New Boyz sold 10,000 copies first week.
Radio play creates a fickle fanbase that will abandon them if their next album doesn’t have a huge single. And then there is the stray case of the few Pitchfork-BNM-approved rappers who have managed to broaden their fanbase to include kids who wear cardigans.
If I had to guess, it’s probably going to be a lot more guys in the People Under the Stairs/Oddissee vein, moving 5,000 units, touring relentlessly and eking out a modest existence closer to the indie rock model. So basically, yes, we’re probably just filling space.
@LK–I’d really recommend the entire Midwestgangsta tape. Or “GI Pride” on “Miseducation.” If you don’t like that then you probably don’t like Gibbs. That’s fine–not everyone has to like the same things.
@ Chef Rae: Yes. Agreed. I guess I didn’t understand the comment. I don’t think print praise is entirely worthless–it still spreads word, but like Noz said, it really does little to impact the bottom line. Good point about movies/tv. Gray’s Anatomy, Juno, Garden State made entire band’s careers, but it’s not they’re about to put on Playboy Tre (which you would think would at least make sense on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
David says:
November 17, 2009 at 3:14 pm (UTC -7)
Real talk, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, Playboy Tre, all these dudes are getting a lot of random blogger nerd attention bcuz they’re being marketed to a lot of random bloggers. Everyone talks about Sasha’s NYer article like its a BFD but how much rap music is dude even listening to? How much is on his year end list? him saying gibbs is the next big deal in rap is being treated like some tastemaking shit. i dig the freddie gibbs album “ok” in that its a well constructed record & has some hot beats, I like when he does that midwest style like on “murda on my mind.” But for the most part i dont even come back to either of his records — “instant classic” in what universe?? — because as a rapper, hes kind of a blank slate. Not a lot of personality. Same with Pill & Playboy Tre … these dudes are not the same guys selling hundreds of thousands of cassingles back in the early 90s. These guys are just the aesthetically safe versions of gangsta rap; they’re this year’s Little Brother, except for critics who are on some “wow-Bun-B-sure-came-off-well-in-this-interview” UGK-is-actually-pretty-great instead of some Native-Tongues-are-the-best-thing-to-happen-to-rap hype that Little Brother got. Meanwhile u guys are still sleeping on actually-popular artists who’ve developed personalities & rap styles &changed the game.
& this is no shots at any of the artists involved, cuz i ‘like’ or at least ‘respect’ some of the work they do & i think a lot of them could develop in the future … but treating them as fully-formed genius rappers when they’re really super personality free is just crazy.
Meanwhile there are rappers out there not doing revivalist schtick that are just being slept on by rap writers who cant try thinking outside the marketing box … who are popular rappers! Waka Flocka has an actual regional hit & didnt have to rely on a bunch of coastal cosmopolitan rap critics to get coverage.
first thing first, pimpin let me rap with ya
(after this sack, next song i’ll be back with you)
see trap muzik like havin me in the lac with you
passin ya the dro and bustin down a hundred stacks with you
got the game sewed up if you can paint that picture
even more important cleveland gotta have ya back nigga
and never mind the thoughts of this nigga, that nigga
this bitch or that ho, if so what you rap for?
they criticized too short cuz he rap slow,
me for sellin blow & eazy e for bein hardcore
besides critics didnt live it they clueless
they followin your lead when they bumpin yo music
-T.I.
Tray says:
November 17, 2009 at 3:17 pm (UTC -7)
“Why should they sweat feverishly while writing a “Kramer,” when a tossed off 32 bars over “Ice Cream Paint Job” will yield the identical result: get them a post today, forgotten tomorrow, and if they’re lucky, help them get a major label deal where they’ll be proscribed from writing the sort of songs that got them attention in the first place”
This, the astute reader will note, is self-undermining, because ‘Kramer’ obviously HASN’T been forgotten; you’re still talking about it. And so are a lot of other folks, to the point where I’m sure everyone who read this post knew what you were talking about, including me, and I’ve only ever heard 30 seconds of the song. Now I guess the counterargument is that even though every rap blogger/rap blog commenter in the world has an opinion about The Mixtape About Nothing, we’re just an incredibly unrepresentative sample of the population. Well yes, thoughtful meditations on racism and the n-word are probably not what most of the record-buying masses are looking for in a rapper. But I don’t really see that that’s somehow a function of a limitless appetite for new content/staying hot, the internet, choices made by Clear Channel, or uniquely bad tastes in 2009; it’s not like at some point in the distant past ‘The Kramer’ was the sort of thing that, commercially speaking, could give a real spark to a young rapper’s career. Conversely, I don’t agree that there isn’t a reward for craft; there just isn’t a reward for social commentary. Wayne’s career blew up when he became a technically stunning rapper; so did Gucci Mane’s when he progressed from junk like ‘So Icy’ to really complex (formally at least) work like ‘Wonderful.’ (Also note that Wayne has had success when putting out hookless lyrical exercises like ‘Fireman’ and ‘A Milli’ as singles.) I know that you would like to blame Wale’s flop on the label or some flaw in the market, but there’s no law that said that he had to waste Nike Boots a year before his album dropped or that he had to put out junky compromised singles. As for Pill, thanks to the Internet he’s gone in about 5 months from being a guy whom no one had ever heard of to the one rapper in the world whom everyone can agree on. Surely that can only help his career?
David says:
November 17, 2009 at 3:18 pm (UTC -7)
and man, at least when it was Little Brother vs. “that mainstream garbage” u had to admit there was a stark moral difference between gangster populist shit & Native Tongues revivalism — maybe an oversimplified one, but the difference between Gibbs & Waka Flocka is purely aesthetic. Gibbs is an unrepentant g rapper, & hearing critics go on & on about him when they missed that style of rap the first time thru is mind blowing
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 3:28 pm (UTC -7)
david: i think u are a little over-sensitive about 1 innocuous wacka flocka joke. why don’t u list his 30 greatest songs of the last 13 minutes and i’ll listen to it.
as for missing that style of rap the first time it came around, u should come over, we can listen to my eazy e and above the law tapes. u can quote me t.i. lyrics all day. it will be kool.
LK says:
November 17, 2009 at 3:41 pm (UTC -7)
Quick poll, who, at one time, would list Eazy E as their favorite rapper (raising my hand here).
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 3:47 pm (UTC -7)
During the “Only If You Want It/”"Real Muthaphukkin’ G’s”/”Foe tha Love of $” days, he was definitely near the top of my list.
DV says:
November 17, 2009 at 4:05 pm (UTC -7)
I wish actual hip hop beef was as entertaining as hip hop blogger beef.
David says:
November 17, 2009 at 4:14 pm (UTC -7)
i never said waka flocka is a great rapper. or a better rapper than freddie gibbs. i also wasnt trying to pull your cred card or something. i doubt u were a part of the critical infrastructure when u started bumping eazy-e; but at the time that world had no use for him. times have changed, critics have changed, but critical outlooks havent
Renato Pagnani says:
November 17, 2009 at 4:36 pm (UTC -7)
I just want to say that “O Let’s Do It” is pretty damn fun.
DocZeus says:
November 17, 2009 at 4:45 pm (UTC -7)
All I gotta say on Wacka Flocka Flame is HOW DARE HE BESMIRCH THE GOOD NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, LEBRON RAYMONE JAMES!
Renato Pagnani says:
November 17, 2009 at 4:46 pm (UTC -7)
If you don’t give a shit about basketball, it’s easy to overlook that, Zeus.
David says:
November 17, 2009 at 5:14 pm (UTC -7)
you “i just want rappers with skillz” dudes need to read this
http://danteross.com/blogs/jzone/2009/11/17/j-zones-guilty-pleasures-great-bad-rappers/
Post-midnight Youtube filler: Generation X – Dancing With Myself (#61, June 1981) « Ich Lüge Bullets says:
November 17, 2009 at 5:21 pm (UTC -7)
[...] to make though. Right now there’s a good ol’ fashioned titlefight going on between Weiss and Noz with Deej playing the Harvey Wippleman role. Go and read it, all we’re gonna do here [...]
jordan s says:
November 17, 2009 at 5:22 pm (UTC -7)
There are tributes to both Biggie and 2Pac and it seems fitting, considering Gibbs and Pill are arguably the first gangsta rappers to come up in their wake to offer a new prototype, a triangulation of 2Pac’s searing emotional tangents and Biggie’s cold-blooded New York City lyricism
jeff, have you listened to ‘tha carter 2′ (or even just ‘hustler muzik’)? or ‘trap muzik’ or ‘king’? or any b.g. album? or chamillionaire? or the rich boy album? or…
goathair says:
November 17, 2009 at 5:26 pm (UTC -7)
The Cavs never wore orange jerseys with yellow and white trim. Waka Flocka wears fake jerseys.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 5:37 pm (UTC -7)
Nope. Never listened to this so-called Carter II.
Have you looked at the home page other than this post?
Deen says:
November 17, 2009 at 6:36 pm (UTC -7)
Who sent these people?
DANJ! says:
November 17, 2009 at 6:41 pm (UTC -7)
Both sides of this debate are entertaining, but I get the feeling that this post is part of what will soon become a groundswell of internet craze over Pill and Freddie Gibbs, only to fall upon deaf ears outside of the blog/website/message board world.
On the surface, I see the appeal, but then I don’t. There’s really very little about Pill’s music (that I’ve heard) that stands that far out from anything else. I mean, sure he can enunciate (which I always find appealing), but how great of a feat is that? And yeah, it seems like he’s saying more than the average trappin’ snappin’ rapper is, it just doesn’t seem like any kind of ‘breath of fresh air’ shit like some people have been saying.
But thanks for the links, I will be checkin’ out these mixtapes in full so maybe I can pick up on whatever I seem to not be catching.
-D!
Drewski says:
November 17, 2009 at 6:50 pm (UTC -7)
You know, back in my time, random internet screamers used to spend at least 5 minutes with a blog before they went and ranted on it, just to make sure they didn’t say anything stupid.
Kids these days.
David says:
November 17, 2009 at 7:13 pm (UTC -7)
i think his point was that the carter ii was ‘a new prototype’ much more than freddie gibbs is, but read it how u want
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 7:23 pm (UTC -7)
I was just trying to get you to recite me some lyrics again.
jordan s says:
November 17, 2009 at 8:56 pm (UTC -7)
yeah jeff, i read bradley’s ‘carter II’ essay. it was very good.
anyway
“Why should they sweat feverishly while writing a “Kramer,” when a tossed off 32 bars over “Ice Cream Paint Job” will yield the identical result: get them a post today, forgotten tomorrow, and if they’re lucky, help them get a major label deal where they’ll be proscribed from writing the sort of songs that got them attention in the first place.”
i really do not empathize with this at all. plenty of rappers— lil wayne, 50 cent, gucci mane, young jeezy— wrote their own version of “kramer” and then some & were still able to connect with audiences enough to be profitable to labels & themselves and sustain a career. and of course, the luxury of lil wayne being able to shut the internet down with his “ice cream paint job” freestyle is a product of him writing tons of free songs that happened to connect with tons of people. why it didn’t happen with wale, i’m not sure, but the cream rises, and it just didn’t happen for him.
jordan s says:
November 17, 2009 at 9:02 pm (UTC -7)
and the second part about “being proscribed from writing the sort of songs that got them attention in the first place” is just sour grapes from wale. it’s no one else’s fault that he lead off with a song as bad as “chillin,” and if he’s trying to play the “intellectual rapper in a money-drive major label machine” card he’s playing himself. neither drake nor cudi have been “proscribed” from writing the songs that made them famous in the first place, they’re just able to write pop songs that people want to hear.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 17, 2009 at 9:20 pm (UTC -7)
John Mayer, Josh Groban, will.i.am., and Bono connect with lots of people too. You act like Wale’s career is over. I pointed out flaws in the system; I didn’t pronounce him D.O.A. At the very least, he fits into the Lupe Fiasco model–who (gasp) has more Myspace Profile Views than Gucci Mane. Not like that really matters, but you’re trying to take the populist tack, not me.
I do not think that any of the artists you list have written a “Kramer.” This is my opinion. It is my blog.
jordan s says:
November 17, 2009 at 9:34 pm (UTC -7)
i haven’t heard “kramer” — what i meant by “and then some” is that 50 & wayne & gucci have put out a whole bunch mixtapes/songs as important to their fans as ‘the mixtape about nothing’ is to wale fans. i think it’s unfortunate that his album flopped but the world isn’t owed to you off one critically lauded mixtape. you need to be able to follow that up with your major debut (a la “in da club” or “go crazy” etc) or you need to have put out a mixtape song that works as a pop single (a la “wasted” or “best i ever had” or “day n nite”). i don’t think there is a flaw in the system, i think there is a flaw with wale, and that is that he hasn’t shown the ability to translate buzz over great lyrics into profitable music. lupe looked like a one hitter until he came back with “superstar”. his label didn’t forbid him from writing a style of song that made him popular in the first place.
jordan s says:
November 17, 2009 at 9:36 pm (UTC -7)
“i think there is a flaw with wale, and that is that he hasn’t shown the ability to translate buzz over great lyrics into profitable music”
& wale isn’t alone, of course. ask young dro or freeway or the clipse in 2005 etc
simon says:
November 17, 2009 at 10:28 pm (UTC -7)
searing emotional tangents:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GygEAcFFMVs
cold blooded new york lyricism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2GVOGyyFB0
Disco Vietnam says:
November 17, 2009 at 10:40 pm (UTC -7)
This comment section has devolved into an ideological maelstrom.
curt says:
November 18, 2009 at 3:41 pm (UTC -7)
these people are nuts. you are 100% right on everything here. I’ve been thinking the same thing lately about these great rappers that have no label? wtf is happening to rap. excellent post mr. weiss.
Sach says:
November 18, 2009 at 4:50 pm (UTC -7)
Talking about rap period has devolved into an ideological maelstrom. Clearly for some it’s no longer enough to like the right rappers, you have to like the right rappers in the right way for the right reasons.
Victor says:
November 18, 2009 at 8:05 pm (UTC -7)
Wale undoubtedly had a great deal of buzz around the time that each mixtape of his was about to drop. But the nature of the industry now is that they seemingly expect buzz to keep growing with time when it dies out and is extremely fickle.
For example, a few months ago Drake was on top of the world, “Best I ever Had” was everywhere. However, he has no lp to capitalise on his buzz and as a result he is going to have to manufact another hit.
Even mainstream vets such as Ludacris have struggled in recent years. The best thing for artists, such as Freddie Gibbs and also Wale, to do is to probably just identify their fanbase and attempt to make them fans for life. Someone like Murs is a good example of this, even though his major label situation did not ultimately work out he still has a fanbase to fall on.
It would be a great shame if a lot of this generations artists simply disappear and retire due to the treacherous nature of the industry today.
hook says:
November 19, 2009 at 12:55 am (UTC -7)
anybody else had enough of david from somanyshrimp? in every thing he writes this dude is like the taste police. get a life son.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 19, 2009 at 9:49 am (UTC -7)
I’ve heard if you say the name “Gucci Mane” in the mirror three times, David shows up to lecture you on your purportedly shitty taste in music.
Pathetic.