Big Question About Rapping ..

[DrRapid]

If I'm answering the first question which I'm meant to ignore, nope, I'm not jealours, never been. Why do I not like them? It's because their type of music does not attract me or satisfy me and that's it.

Then the big question. I would never want to give myself away and be a rich rapper especially because I would care more about what people think about my skills than the actual money I'm making. But, I wouldn't exactly be comfortable with barely making a living off myself so I would like to be in between. A good rapper who's making the money to support himself and his family with maybe a little bit extra but is not rich as fuck and can maintain his musical respect.

[Jiskefet]

I am sure everyone here saying they would rather make their own music than going commercial would think this over again when they are getting an offer from Def Jam or Aftermath or whatever to join the label.

When you get the offer you think "wow, I finally got the chance to show my music to the world". When you singed the contract they start to limit your ways to express yourself creatively, just for commercial purposes.

Im not saying I dont believe that is what you all really want, it is just the way things work most of the time.

[Tornado]

Lol, NO ONE makes aqnd major money through album sales or any Music, it's in Concerts, Endorsements and Merchandise, so before some sony A&R promises ou you'll be internationally known and loved, they feed you a false image and you sign, not knowing what you got into, and not even getting a lawyer to check the deal cos if you understood the language in a contract, you'd be appalled at what they're offering. Lol, 12% from record sales, fuck off. Let's not even dicuss Author/Composer/Writer Fees in Publishing. Your PRS will be so small (unless you write your own lyrics and music also) and you have no final say in your product. Worst off all, the periods, where you get paid advances to record, will usually go to lawyers. You gotta pay for record with what's left usually, and THEY own the copyright in the sound recording. The worst thing is, when a period ends, and you ahnd in your work, THEY alone can decide to wait for a number of months to see whether your record will be put out. And to top it off, ONLY they can terminate the contract.

So to summarise, no i don't need millions to survive, i'm survivng now and combine that with a awesome rap skill then i'm satisfied. Trust me, i'd rather be poor and loved, i ain't looking to seen sen by papparazzi when i do every single thing of my life, i just want to rap and carry on my buisness. To put my feelings into a line..



"I take a piss on a devolpment deal from sony/ or def Jam/ cos you're like all the rest man"- Immortal Technique Obnoxious

[Kez]

To be honest Scott, i don't think it's worth replying, because everyone who says they'd rather make less money and be skilled than the other way around you will probably come back and say that it's not true and that you don't believe it.

But anyone who knows me knows i'm a very principled person, and i would not hesitate at all to stick to my morals even when offered vast amounts of cash.

[Kez]

See, you prove my point.

Why make debate threads only to constantly disagree and try and correct people everytime someone replies with a view that opposes yours?

[AbramIsaac]

i'm sure things would change if a representative of a record company was standing in your room right now with a contract. promising you millions.

I think it's a fairly honest thing to say that an A&R's promises can be regarded like an Armed Forces recruiter's promises can be regarded: as partial bullshit at best.

Chances are, you're not going to get all that rich. Even if they sign you, the money you get is a loan. You have to pay that money back in album sales. One would make very little from album sales alone, and everything else is in the details of the contract.

I remember reading a story about how Obie Trice couldn't even buy the fuckin' TV he wanted without having to go back and get his mother to co-sign on it for him. That was when he was still signed to Shady Records, and it was after Cheers had already been out from what I remember. Obie Trice's success would be nice to accomplish, and look at where it got him.

Independent artists can make more if they are able to correctly find a target audience, produce the material that appeals to them, and then make fans out of them. Major labels stick to a set type of target audience in rap; but there are more than just those audiences. Sort of like Immortal Technique said, there's a market for skat fetish videos: the market is out there for those that can do it. He doesn't even have to sell nearly as much as a major label artist to get the same kind of cash.

[GoodGirlsGetGutted]

I would be true to me, because that's more important than money.

[Noeezy]

If i had a choice to be Soulja Boy, a one hit wonder with one generation of fans (teen girls)
OR
Somebody like Nas, Immortal, Rakim who can keep making music and love what they're doing for the artistic value they put into it that speaks to any generation no matter what the fad is...

Guess which one i'd take?

[Emadyville]

I honestly just hate how it's dumbed down and made to make radio singles and sell ringtones, it takes away from what I believe hip-hop was made to be. Same reason eminem making poppy singles I hate even if I did like the song.

[J Roc]

Not gonna read posts after page 2*

I Like Drake ... Soulja Boy & Kid Cudi Suck tho. I don't Hate them because they Make money , Em do, Jay Do, Kanye Do .. They All In My Top 10 .... I Dislike their music cuz it's not nice.

Uhh ... Yea Fuckkit. I'd Sell Out lol . Getting Crowded In The Mall Ain't So Bad ... You'd Probably get some Pussy out of it lol. And if ur stoned ... it's not that annoying lol. I'd Cross Over And Make Some Real Music Tho ... After Writing For 2 Year's i got Enough Material For 2-3 Album's. Atleast.

I Wouldn't Like Dating Though ..... You can't tell when a girl's gonna marry u for fame, then divorce u for the money .. or if she really likes you.

[Satire]

I'm not gonna bother reading all these fucking pages so if I'm irrelevant then ignore me.

For the first question (I know you asked not to answer it, but I will anyways. Skip it if you don't care): Drake, Kid Cudi, All of them I don't really have a problem with. Most people hate on them because it's cool to hate on them lately. It's cool to be underground if you're into rap these days. It's cool to be a rebel, like always. People like to be able to hate on the majority of people's taste in music whenever someone starts talking about Hip Hop. I know so many people who listen to like 1 song on Youtube by Immortal Technique, (Dance With the Devil, which is so popular now I cringe whenever somebody calls it) and are suddenly like "Immortal Technique would destroy Eminem or Nas dawg. u need to listen to more underground u kno wut i am saying rite bro huh". Underground has become a bandwagon, like it or not. I'm not hating on underground or immortal, but it pisses me off when people who don't listen to underground tell me that they're into it.

But then there's Soulja Boy, who's just flat out fucking wack man. I'm not hating on him because he's rich. I'm hating on him because he fucking sucks. It gets depressing and makes you not wanna rap anymore when you see that this faggot gets millions sold for simple shit on FL while real artists struggle for rent and shit. I'm not even jealous, because I'd actually hate to be in his position. He isn't like "Lil Wayne" or "Drake" where his albums sell millions, he has a very strong mainstream fanbase, and critics rate his shit 4-5 out of 5 stars on technicalities even though we don't like them, because it isn't like that. Everyone who listens to Hip hop considers him this generation's Vanilla Ice. He's ruined Rap's image (This is why the Metalheads hate us by the way), every real rapper hates him, every real critic hates him, and like Nas said "Oh You Went Platinum? Yeah that's nice....Now Let me see you do the same thing twice".

For the Second Question (Finally): Personally, I would sell out and simplify my lyrics a bit. I've grown up around money struggle, and am still in one. If there is ever a chance to get out of that shit, I'll take it the second its in front of me. Would I rather have a great lyrics, while talking to myself, or good lyrics, while keep my name in people's mouth? I'll take the latter, because I can talk to myself anytime along the way. I would never dumb down my lyrics to Soulja Boy/Kid Cudi level. I would just make them easier for the white kids to understand, frankly . It is possible to have good lyrics and still sell (Nas, Eminem, Lupe, Pun, Pac). But you still gotta look who you talking to. Eminem is a money hog with some of his life stories, half of the time he's not really venting. He knows who he's talking to, and knows what would make them listen to the song over and over and over. "Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself, if they were brown, Shady lose, Shady
Sits on the shelf, but Shady's cute, Shady knew, Shady's dimple's would help, make ladies swoon
Baby, (ooh baby), look at my sales,". 2pac and Nas and even Biggie told the tales of the life in the street, the projects, and the inside of a dealer's mind. In the 90s, everyone who liked rap/hip-hop was black. Everyone related to that shit. Everyone felt that shit.

[AliJack]

For the first question (I know you asked not to answer it, but I will anyways. Skip it if you don't care): Drake, Kid Cudi, All of them I don't really have a problem with. Most people hate on them because it's cool to hate on them lately. It's cool to be underground if you're into rap these days. It's cool to be a rebel, like always. People like to be able to hate on the majority of people's taste in music whenever someone starts talking about Hip Hop. I know so many people who listen to like 1 song on Youtube by Immortal Technique, (Dance With the Devil, which is so popular now I cringe whenever somebody calls it) and are suddenly like "Immortal Technique would destroy Eminem or Nas dawg. u need to listen to more underground u kno wut i am saying rite bro huh". Underground has become a bandwagon, like it or not. I'm not hating on underground or immortal, but it pisses me off when people who don't listen to underground tell me that they're into it.

Fuckin' word up to that, more than anythin you said son

[Xray]

The key is to make the best tracks you can, and get payed off that. You just need a strong team to work with to get your point across. Pop rappers take the quick rich scheme simply because they suck, and they know they can't do proper rap so they have no choice but to turn into a pop star. Drake was an actor before he decided to do mainstream rap, hint hint AN ACTOR. And that's what he will always be, you can buy his acting skills on a track, but I'm not. Take the proper route and whatever happens, happens, it would be nice being rich, BUT that's not even my priority. It's about proving to the rap world how good you are. That's the main point. And then you get rewarded.

[Wic Kid]

The key is to make the best tracks you can, and get payed off that. You just need a strong team to work with to get your point across. Pop rappers take the quick rich scheme simply because they suck, and they know they can't do proper rap so they have no choice but to turn into a pop star. Drake was an actor before he decided to do mainstream rap, hint hint AN ACTOR. And that's what he will always be, you can buy his acting skills on a track, but I'm not. Take the proper route and whatever happens, happens, it would be nice being rich, BUT that's not even my priority. It's about proving to the rap world how good you are. That's the main point. And then you get rewarded.

[Relapse.LP]

I would probably do something of a middle-ground.

Some rappers purposely stay underground and not sell to prove their point that they would never be mainstream, which I find somewhat idiotic at times.

Some rappers purposely sell-out and as long they get the cash, rims, and hos, it's all good, which I find even dumber. Respect is almost everything in hip-hop.

You gotta do what the people want. To be perfectly honest, artists who do what they want to do are plainly selfish and lying. They base the majority of their tracks off what people ask for.

It's possible to make classics and still make lots of cash. There is tons of evidence of this. Ready to Die, The Blueprint, ect. Many rappers can retain respect and top charts. A.K.A. Hova.