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Another Thought
Process Edition:
Crew Love
Written by: Jay Howard
Rapindustry.com
Disclaimer: This article is strictly
based on MY opinion. I realize that this may not be the feelings of you, the
reader. You are entitled to your opinion on this subject matter.
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Crew
Love
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There
is an old saying that states “the apple doesn’t fall far from the
tree.” Most of the time this phrase is used to compare one individual
or group to its predecessor. The comparison can be positive or negative. For
example: “Oh Shelly has such good hair, just like her mother.” “Well,
the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree you know.”
In the rap game, there are often more bad apples then we’d like to admit.
Many rappers feel obligated that when they are successful, they have to give
an opportunity to their friends to try to duplicate their success. This situation
often leads to mixed results. Thus, when the apple falls very far from a good
tree, it can be a very bad thing. In 2008, rappers are literally obtaining
record deals everyday. With such avenues as myspace blowing up rappers, Making
the Band, and every rapper that is even halfway successful owning an independent
label, the market is becoming very, very crowded. On the contrary, the same
rapper who gives a chance to their buddies could give an equal opportunity
to a relatively unknown act that could reach superstar status.
In truth, rappers have been lending a hand to other rappers for years and
it often turns into a cycle or hence an “apple tree“. The “Godfather
of West Coast Rap”, Dr. Dre , provides us a perfect example of this tree.
Dre begins his career with the World Class Wreckin’ Crew then he hooks
up with Cube, Ren Yella, and Eazy E to form N.W.A.. Dr. Dre departs N.W.A.
and links up with Death Row records, where he discovers Snoop Dogg. Dr. Dre
leaves Death Row and starts his own label Aftermath Records where he introduces
the world to Eminem and The Game. Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Game release their
own acts, the Dogg Pound D12, and Black Wall Street respectively, (not to
mention 50 Cent, G-Unit, and others) and the “tree” goes on and
on. There is certainly nothing wrong with sharing the wealth and providing
opportunities to deserving talent or “homies” that you came up with
,however, many times when an established rapper rolls the dice and takes a
gamble the results aren’t pretty. If we think about the worst case scenario,
groups like Young Jeezy’s USDA, Nas’s Bravehearts, and Mobb Deep’s
Infamous Mobb, etc. are examples of rappers who release groups that falter
commercially and artistically. The problem is that most of these rappers who
put out groups like these release them because they are trying to stay loyal
to their homies and/or make “questionable” talent choices.
Sometimes the results are mixed, as the crew can falter but one rapper can
shine, and eventually make their own imprint in the game. Beanie Siegel’s
State Property group hasn’t lived up to expectations, but group member,
Freeway, is a respected legitimate rapper and has put out one of the best
albums of 2007, Free at Last. Busta Rhyme’s Flipmode Squad didn’t
measure up to a fraction of the success of the Dungeon Dragon, but group member
Rah Digga established herself as one of the best female rappers in the game,
while the rest of the members have basically faded off into the background.
The list goes on and on.
On the flipside, many promising potential superstars still linger out in the
underground because they haven’t caught that “big break” or
don’t have a best friend who happens to be a superstar rapper. So one
of the questions that remains is, “Would the game be better if rappers
actually looked for talent instead of just giving their boys a break?”
In truth, the game might be better if rappers followed this route. There would
be less of a “crowded scene”, more talent throughout, and more independent
artists getting breaks. Of course independent/underground artists still catch
breaks and in turn, the game prospers. As aforementioned, Nas released his
Bravehearts crew which didn’t put much of a dent in the game, but he
also introduced us to the fluid, underrated lyricist AZ, on his classic debut
Illmatic. The game prospers even more when artists often travel outside their
geographic area and usual creative spectrum to release an act. The Godfather
of G-funk and West Coast tyrant, Dr. Dre, found the white, Midwestern, lyrical
rhyme slinging Eminem, who lyrically sounds nothing like Dr. Dre. Another
one of the forefathers of gangster rap Eazy E introduced the world to the
rapid fire sing- song flow of Cleveland natives Bone Thugs N -Harmony.
So what is really wrong with the bad apples in the bunch? Many times the artists
don’t have much talent to begin with. Other times they might feel like
they don’t have to work as hard as a more traditional “new”
artist because their boy is already on. Many times the label will release
the first single with the established artist and the protégé‘,
and that will be the only single worthwhile song on the album. Maybe the artist
was actually a part of the established artist entourage and just “graduated”
to artist status. Sometimes the protégé’ even comes with
a sound that is too similar to the established artist and they come off as
sounding generic, I.e. Infamous Mobb sounding like Mobb Deep. Sometimes when
an artist releases a group it only makes the established artist sound/look
better when compared to his lackeys. Who knows?
I’m not trying to come off as a hater, but what is the point of having
hundreds of rappers in the game, when half of them don’t put out consistent
quality material? Take about half of these hundred rappers and attach about
2 or 3 group members to them and you got even more rappers that crowd up the
game , and what is the result? You have an oversaturated market and ultimately
fans that get tired of buying “wack shit”. More wack shit that is
released soaks up money from record companies and/or discourages fans and
other potential buyers from buying music, which is a really big problem.
Meanwhile, you have a potential Redman or Eminem grinding away in the middle
of nowhere frustrated at the game.
I think that before rappers feel like they want to put their boys on, they
should first see how the public likes them in shows first, and then let them
get on a few features here and there for their album. If people are still
feelin’ them, they should let the artist(s) release some mixtapes, (solo,
not with the established artist) to test the market, and then if they have
the green light from the label and the public likes them, then they should
release a full length album. I’m sure many labels and artists probably
go through a process similar to this already, but I’m also pretty sure
many don’t, which is why many problems arise.
Personally, if I was an established successful artist and some of my friends
wanted me to take them under my wing I would guide them through this process
before I’d spend my own money or the label’s. However, many artists
just want to be loyal or they truly, believe that their buddies have talent,
when in reality they don’t. I’m sure there is a problem similar
to this in other genres of music, but as far as hip hop music, it’s rampant.
Occasionally, you have that magical moment where a guy like 50 Cent gives
a guy like Young Buck a chance and he shines. However, sometimes you have
that same guy give a chance to a rapper like Tony Yayo and if he is even halfway
successful, (maybe 200-300,000 sales) he just might release a solo artist
or a group himself. All of this goes on while a talented guy named _______
(insert MC here) from _______ (insert town here) breaks his neck every night
going to open mic shows with no record deal yet. Then the cycle goes on and
on and on and on……
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