Okay, I know that my title may come across as a non-sequitur, but, in hip-hop/rap, it surely is not.

So, my post is inspired by Action Bronson's appearance on Sports Nation today. As an answer to a question of how hectic it is for rappers today, with all the continuous touring to generate income, Bronson brashly replied that he doesn't really have to rap or tour. That he has a lot of things going on: tv shows, cooking shows, etc...

Now, I don't know if some may be taken aback by this, but, I've found this to be the norm for so many rappers. Once they truly hit the big time (or something close to it), they want the whole world to know that they are so much more than just a rapper. This is USUALLY followed with a list that resembles this: clothing line, acting, alcoholic beverage, and, as of late, vape line.

Now, here's my real issue: Rap appears to be the only art form where those who are reasonably successful in it always want to distance themselves from all others in the field and, many times, the art form itself.

For example, in rock, you may have bands who dislike PARTICULAR other bands, but they won't outright, in an interview, in PROMOTION of a new album, tell you how they're "past" rock and go on to list all the other things that they're doing that they would rather be affiliated or acknowledged for.

And, what gets me is, this stance is normally held by the middle of the field rappers. I remember when Kid Cudi was bubbling off of his Day N' Nite hit, he was quoted in an article as saying that, after his first album dropped, he would probably retire and just focus on acting. Now, Cudi has had a few bit parts here and there, but I would never list him as the next Will Smith (whom all these rappers think they could be). Since that claim, his first album has been released along with 4 others, including the WZRD project.

What happened to all that retirement talk?

This kind of heresy is akin to Okafor, Towns or Russell telling a newscaster that they plan to retire after their first season and focus on rapping and acting? That's damn near career suicide. Not in hip-hop though...

Then there was a YouTube video I saw of Trinidad James in the studio where some cat was blowing him up, telling him that acting is a possible route for him. Of course this was during the buzz from All Gold Everything. I'm pretty sure James is NOT thinking about acting while trying to resurrect his career, as we speak.

And, finally, there's T.I., who spends time doing everything else but making good music.

So, here's MY THING. If you're really not interested in doing the thing that is the SOLE reason why popular culture knows who you are, why should we care about all the other things that you're doing?

In Action's case, he was a chef for years but never got a cooking show or any true fame or accolades from that. Why now is he lambasting the thing that got him fame for something that he's not truly proven at?

It's always hilarious to see cats new to the game get hyped off of the fame only to soon realize that it is VERY fleeting and, if you don't keep dropping them hits, no one gives a SHIT about your clothing or vape line and ESPECIALLY not your tv shows or acting pursuits.

Never disrespect the thing that got you here for the things that you were ALLOWED to do because of it.

Only in hip-hop...

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

Blame the Rapper-Turnt-CEO movement that most cats grew up on...

Once that shift happened in late 90s it always became the "cool" thing to talk about everything else but rap..

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

>Blame the Rapper-Turnt-CEO movement that most cats grew up
>on...

I remember the worst instance of this I've ever seen. It was on MTV and they were interviewing an R&B artist that I THINK was named Brooke Valentine. She had some cat on there who was atmospheric off of his own ego taumbout he's the CEO of whatever shit label she was signed to.

Haven't seen or heard of her or that cat since...

>Once that shift happened in late 90s it always became the
>"cool" thing to talk about everything else but rap..
>

But it's like 2015. We still on that shit?! Have we learned nothing from those that came before us.

This is like athletes STILL going broke after a few years after retirement. Does everyone just think it won't happen to them ALTHOUGH they're doing the same thing that those broke cats did?

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

where they at now? doing bullshit free mixtapes or whatever, ain't nobody checking for them.

Compare that "fuck rap" attitude to people like Nas, KRS, ATCQ, or Gangstarr who in every interview were always talking about how much they loved/love Hip Hop.

Notice the contrast in career lengths and respect from heads.

Cudi does 100k first week with no video....

He has his fanbase and when he wants to be mainstream he just does a movie..

He's good

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

>Cudi does 100k first week with no video....
>
>He has his fanbase and when he wants to be mainstream he just
>does a movie..
>
>He's good

And I didn't mention him to bunch the two into the same group other than for them both hinting at a disdain with hip hop WAY too early in their careers...

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

>where they at now? doing bullshit free mixtapes or whatever,
>ain't nobody checking for them.
>
>Compare that "fuck rap" attitude to people like Nas, KRS,
>ATCQ, or Gangstarr who in every interview were always talking
>about how much they loved/love Hip Hop.

We could even say the same of Jay. He's really successful in a lot of areas outside of rap but he's never derided rap in the public arena ALTHOUGH he is who many of these rappers wish they could be.

Nowadays, rappers make being on a reality tv show seem like it's better than actually putting out albums...

>Notice the contrast in career lengths and respect from heads.

Very true.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

these days. Especially for "new" rappers signing 360 major label deals. No one buys albums. Can't get money via streaming services. Even the tour money isn't great anymore. So they try to "diversify" their revenue streams as much as possible, hoping it will hit. Flavor Flav made more money from Flavor of Love than he ever did Public Enemy. It's possible that most youngsters don't even know that LL Cool J was ever a rapper. Dr. Dre apparently became a billionaire off of Beats By Dre. So they figure, why not them?

So if a guy like Action Bronson starts getting traction from being a celebrity "chef" or whatever, I can see him deciding to ride that out as long as he can. He probably figures it beats the road grind.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

But Drake, Kendrick & J Cole are on the Forbes list because of music.... not much else..

It's hard to make money in music.. this has always been the case...

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

>But Drake, Kendrick & J Cole are on the Forbes list because
>of music.... not much else..
>
>It's hard to make money in music.. this has always been the
>case...

It has always been hard to make money in music. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s when a GOOD rap group could go gold, there were still cats making music who couldn't give away their music.

The only difference is, nowadays, "good" is no longer going to cut it. You have to be great in at least one of the areas that make for a big selling artist.

Now, as a foreword, the remainder of this post is just me going off on a tangent and not specifically directed at double0 or any parties affiliated with double0, inc./holdings...

Drake, Kendrick and J Cole are all great lyricists, but, someone like Drake is ESPECIALLY great at making social media work for him, which allows him to sell like Hot Cakes with crack on the inside although his past two albums are as great as his first two.

He's developed that fanbase that seems damn near inalienable.

Then you have Kendrick and J Cole, both of whom make great music with substance that many times bucks the trends of commercial rap. Add to that great videos, like Kendrick's Alright, and you've got a top tier artist.

What many folks don't realize is that rap has, for the most part, become a singles game. But, it's a dangerous. For example, if you look at someone like a Young Thug. He was over PLENTY of singles this past year but his album sold pressed wood. It's because, although he may be great on a hook or for a catchy single, no one wants to listen to a WHOLE album of that.

Now here's where the dangerous part comes in: Your album sells pressed wood and now, because of that, nobody wants you for hooks anymore and your next single gets almost ignored by radio. Why? Nobody wants to be the guy that's pushing a stalled artist. Before you failed, everyone was cosigning you because they didn't want to be the guy/gal that didn't jump on the bandwagon before it "possibly" skyrocketed.

It's all just a game. Let's re-examine Chief Keef. Remember when we all feared his ascent was going to signal the end of hip hop as we know it? Wrong. Now, Chief Keef gets no features, hasn't had a hit single in FOREVER and hasn't been on mainstream radio in a minute.

It's all just a game that some excel at briefly and others figure out the long game.

Action hasn't figured out the long game yet. He's pushing this persona of this stoned, don't give a fuck rapper. He barely strings together any sensible lines, large parts of his album are just open ended skits and his videos (as much as I like them personally) are too weird for mainstream. Now, please don't get me wrong, I LIKE Action. He has the IT factor that a rapper needs to succeed. And, on releases like Well Done, he sounded hungry. Now, he literally sounds oversatiated and content.

Baby Blue SHOULD have been a Top 20 single but a lackluster video with no relation to the lyrics of the song left it dead in the water.

Gotta see the long game...

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

Baby Blue not cracking the charts is not as confusing as you think it is...

Here's the deal.... as a white rapper you either go straight to pop (radio) or lean "white enough" sonically that you can scale through AAA or rock stations.. (strictly radio)

Em mastered this with songs like Stan. Macklemore and Asher went straight to pop format.

Baby Blue (An awesome song btw) was neither and he wasn't big enough that the video (streams) propel him onto the charts..

Re: Drake.. long before his instagram was popping he had a cult like fanbase. Actually all 3 do. Drake has shown up every single time with a single or album and fans can count on a level of quality and familiar subject matter from him.

He only now is delving into merch/clothing with OVO but his bread and butter is music.

I think some people are also self conscious that they aren't visibly popping. So by dropping all the other stuff they do it's like a reassurance to fans/media that they arent broke per say.

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

>Baby Blue not cracking the charts is not as confusing as you
>think it is...
>
>Here's the deal.... as a white rapper you either go straight
>to pop (radio) or lean "white enough" sonically that you can
>scale through AAA or rock stations.. (strictly radio)
>
>Em mastered this with songs like Stan. Macklemore and Asher
>went straight to pop format.
>
>Baby Blue (An awesome song btw) was neither and he wasn't big
>enough that the video (streams) propel him onto the charts..

I can ride with this logic. But, I'm like this, everyone has to start somewhere. , i.e., their break out single. I feel like that was HIS somewhere. And, yeah, it isn't black enough for black radio and not white enough for white radio.

>Re: Drake.. long before his instagram was popping he had a
>cult like fanbase. Actually all 3 do. Drake has shown up
>every single time with a single or album and fans can count on
>a level of quality and familiar subject matter from him.

I don't know about the quality level, though. I AM a Drake fan. Been since the first time I heard the So Far Gone mixtape and was telling EVERYONE that would listen how great he was.

The quality of these last two albums is highly questionable but he's gotten to that level where, it doesn't matter what he puts out. Kind of like Em.

>He only now is delving into merch/clothing with OVO but his
>bread and butter is music.

True. And, the irony of that is, in regards to outside endeavors, with him actually having an acting background, he should have been the first rushing to act or get on a television show. Instead, all the non-acting cats are clearing him trying to get that acting money.

>I think some people are also self conscious that they aren't
>visibly popping. So by dropping all the other stuff they do
>it's like a reassurance to fans/media that they arent broke
>per say.

True, but why you gotta disrespect the main breadwinner in the process?

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

>these days. Especially for "new" rappers signing 360 major
>label deals. No one buys albums.

I'm with you somewhat, but, not on the part where cats AREN'T selling albums. There like double0 mentioned below, there are cats selling albums and it seems to be those cats who are actually putting effort into a FULL creative effort including recruiting good production, spitting tight lyrics, making great videos, putting together great performances, etc..

>Can't get money via streaming services. Even the tour money isn't great anymore.
>So they try
>to "diversify" their revenue streams as much as possible,
>hoping it will hit. Flavor Flav made more money from Flavor of
>Love than he ever did Public Enemy. It's possible that most
>youngsters don't even know that LL Cool J was ever a rapper.
>Dr. Dre apparently became a billionaire off of Beats By Dre.
>So they figure, why not them?
>
>So if a guy like Action Bronson starts getting traction from
>being a celebrity "chef" or whatever, I can see him deciding
>to ride that out as long as he can. He probably figures it
>beats the road grind.

But, my question, as I mentioned in the original post, is: why would be anyone be interested in seeing Action Bronson on a cooking show if he no longer raps? It's kind of like the cats from Jersey Shore. When the show was still running, they were getting money for all kinds of silly stuff: club/dj appearances, mobile apps, clothing lines, etc...

But what happened once the show ended? Those revenue streams dried up because no once cares about you once you no longer do what made you famous.

Get me?

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

>I'm with you somewhat, but, not on the part where cats AREN'T
>selling albums. There like double0 mentioned below, there are
>cats selling albums and it seems to be those cats who are
>actually putting effort into a FULL creative effort including
>recruiting good production, spitting tight lyrics, making
>great videos, putting together great performances, etc..

I'd say guys like Drake, Kendrick, and J. Cole are all exceptions to the rule though (and lest we forget, Drake first got into this shit as an actor). Damn near every other successful artist has some non-music related branding. Not all of them are sucessful, but they put just as much effort into them as their music.


>But, my question, as I mentioned in the original post, is: why
>would be anyone be interested in seeing Action Bronson on a
>cooking show if he no longer raps?

I guess it all depends on how successful the cooking show ends up being. Full disclosure: I don't think Bronson is going to be able to stop rapping from "cooking show on Vice" money, but there certainly have been rappers who have made the side hustle their full-time income. It's possible to own Beats By Dre headphones and never know Dre produced "Straight Out of Compton" or "The Chronic". It's possible to be a huge of NCIS and never know LL was one of the biggest rappers of the '80s. Or that Rev. Run was one of the most important pioneers in hip-hop.

It's similar to music in general. Guys like Kanye have become so successful as mega-artists that no one remember when he was producing tracks for Grav. Or that Will.I.Am started off as a dancer, etc.

Yeah, most of these side endeavors end up like Jersey Shore, but most of the rappers don't see that part, that only remember the part where Sookie and Pauly and whoever the fuck were among the biggest stars in the world.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

>I'd say guys like Drake, Kendrick, and J. Cole are all
>exceptions to the rule though (and lest we forget, Drake first
>got into this shit as an actor). Damn near every other
>successful artist has some non-music related branding. Not all
>of them are sucessful, but they put just as much effort into
>them as their music.
>

I'll give you that they are exceptions to the rule. I still don't like to count Drake's acting stint as the foundation for his rapping career. As I mentioned in another one of my replies 'round here, if that was the case, then he would have got signed from the jump and not be releasing mixtapes for like 3 years before actually getting signed.

And, let's keep it real, he wasn't some kind of astronomical star. He was on Degrassi.

>>But, my question, as I mentioned in the original post, is:
>why
>>would be anyone be interested in seeing Action Bronson on a
>>cooking show if he no longer raps?
>
>I guess it all depends on how successful the cooking show ends
>up being. Full disclosure: I don't think Bronson is going to
>be able to stop rapping from "cooking show on Vice" money, but
>there certainly have been rappers who have made the side
>hustle their full-time income. It's possible to own Beats By
>Dre headphones and never know Dre produced "Straight Out of
>Compton" or "The Chronic". It's possible to be a huge of NCIS
>and never know LL was one of the biggest rappers of the '80s.
>Or that Rev. Run was one of the most important pioneers in
>hip-hop.

Ok. I like your point, but, the people that you mentioned ALL, at some point in their career, were at the top of the game and their ventures were pretty much at the tail end of their careers. And combine that with the fact that I don't recall any of them ever speak against the rap game.

Out of all those cats, I find it hard to believe that anyone would not know that Dre used to make music. He's like Jordan. Even if you were born after he retired, you KNOW he was a baller, and quite possibly the best at that.

>It's similar to music in general. Guys like Kanye have become
>so successful as mega-artists that no one remember when he was
>producing tracks for Grav. Or that Will.I.Am started off as a
>dancer, etc.

Gray?

>Yeah, most of these side endeavors end up like Jersey Shore,
>but most of the rappers don't see that part, that only
>remember the part where Sookie and Pauly and whoever the fuck
>were among the biggest stars in the world.

Yup, they don't finish the research.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

recently


Some of y'all have heard now that Kanye caused a "star" at that British music festival Glastonbury when Ye proclaimed that he was "the greatest living rock star on the planet"

Now the lead singer of the rock band Slipknot made a video getting at Ye and the guitarist from the Who also weighed in on that

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/slipknots-corey-taylor-has-a-message-for-kanye-west-you-are-not-the-greatest-living-rock-star-10374634.html


Well, I sort of got to thinking....

back in the day...maybe not even so far back...if a rock band really seemed like they were really "rock"...like REALLY focusing on the "tradition" of rock in terms of "structure of songs" etc. then....it seemed like those type of bands WERE "rock" but........eh....

but...

if a band sort of acted like "THEY REALLY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT 'ROCK'"

like Radiohead with "Kid A"


THEN

it was like THAT'S REALLY ROCK!!!!!!!!!!

because...Rock is sort of about NOT CARING!!!!!

so....if you care so much about "rock" then...you kind of ain't "rock"


(I know there is a "middle ground" just being "wasted"/drugged up for a band is the easy way to be "rock"/not caring...(no matter what the "music" that comes out of that state of being sounds like....)


So there also was a thing for a long time where if a rapper was "live" and "wild" and over the top then that was "rock" (see NWA, Ice-T, Public Enemy).

So Ye sort of IS "rock" cause he has ATTITUDE and he DON'T CARE ABOUT "rock tradition".

but...yeah, folks like Slipknot won't like that....which kind of makes Ye even MORE "rock". Cause Slipknot........

https://youtu.be/xXJ9UoQCY5s

The Edge

Kid A being 'rock' isn't about not caring in general
it was about not following a formula and doing something that was unexpected in the name of pushing your art to new/weird places

with rappers, the 'i'm not a rapper, i'm a ____' thing isn't in the name of being progressive or breaking musical rules, its in the name of acting like they are too cool to be fully invested in their craft, and that think they are so great that they don't even have to try

>Kid A being 'rock' isn't about not caring in general
>it was about not following a formula and doing something that
>was unexpected in the name of pushing your art to new/weird
>places

I'm with you!

>with rappers, the 'i'm not a rapper, i'm a ____' thing isn't
>in the name of being progressive or breaking musical rules,
>its in the name of acting like they are too cool to be fully
>invested in their craft, and that think they are so great that
>they don't even have to try

You nailed it better than I could have expressed. But then they still expect you to support their music after straight out telling you that even THEY aren't about their music.

That's like going to a bakery and the head baker telling you that, yeah, I ain't really about making desserts or baked goods, I'm more about my music career. Would you be eager to buy their goods after hearing that? Even if you do, you're going to expect them to be subpar, at best, because dude has pretty much told you that he isn't giving this his all.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

>recently
>
>
>Some of y'all have heard now that Kanye caused a "star" at
>that British music festival Glastonbury when Ye proclaimed
>that he was "the greatest living rock star on the planet"
>
>Now the lead singer of the rock band Slipknot made a video
>getting at Ye and the guitarist from the Who also weighed in
>on that
>
>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/slipknots-corey-taylor-has-a-message-for-kanye-west-you-are-not-the-greatest-living-rock-star-10374634.html
>
>
>Well, I sort of got to thinking....
>
>back in the day...maybe not even so far back...if a rock band
>really seemed like they were really "rock"...like REALLY
>focusing on the "tradition" of rock in terms of "structure of
>songs" etc. then....it seemed like those type of bands WERE
>"rock" but........eh....
>
>but...
>
>if a band sort of acted like "THEY REALLY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT
>'ROCK'"
>
>like Radiohead with "Kid A"
>
>
>THEN
>
>it was like THAT'S REALLY ROCK!!!!!!!!!!
>
>because...Rock is sort of about NOT CARING!!!!!
>
>so....if you care so much about "rock" then...you kind of
>ain't "rock"

I get where you're going here and I like it. Like it a lot. But, here's my question, do any of them ever pull what rappers do? Like straight out say F rap, I'm more about my whatever else? DURING the promotional period for their new album?!

>(I know there is a "middle ground" just being "wasted"/drugged
>up for a band is the easy way to be "rock"/not caring...(no
>matter what the "music" that comes out of that state of being
>sounds like....)
>
>
>So there also was a thing for a long time where if a rapper
>was "live" and "wild" and over the top then that was "rock"
>(see NWA, Ice-T, Public Enemy).
>
>So Ye sort of IS "rock" cause he has ATTITUDE and he DON'T
>CARE ABOUT "rock tradition".
>
>but...yeah, folks like Slipknot won't like that....which kind
>of makes Ye even MORE "rock". Cause Slipknot........

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

>I get where you're going here and I like it. Like it a lot.
>But, here's my question, do any of them ever pull what rappers
>do? Like straight out say F rap, I'm more about my whatever
>else? DURING the promotional period for their new album?!
>


The reason I brought up Radiohead (though I should have been able to guess that somebody would say that Radiohead was trying to be "weird" on "Kid A" rather than be like "we don't care about rock") is that Radiohead particularly has gone on and on (Thom to be specific) about how much guitars are limited and how much Thom was jealous of Aphex Twin because Richard James was not stuck with guitars and how dead rock is. etc.

You really don't have to go far to read Thom Yorke's stuff against rock and guitars and how great dance music/Aphex Twin is.

If you want to limit evaluating this thing to "promotional" periods vs. "non-promotional" periods from whenever Thom makes these statements......eh......

So, that seemed to me in the general area of a rock artist literally spitting OFTEN on what he does (or more and more "used to do") sort of what you were saying about rappers downplaying the "overall process" of rapping.

>The reason I brought up Radiohead (though I should have been
>able to guess that somebody would say that Radiohead was
>trying to be "weird" on "Kid A" rather than be like "we don't
>care about rock") is that Radiohead particularly has gone on
>and on (Thom to be specific) about how much guitars are
>limited and how much Thom was jealous of Aphex Twin because
>Richard James was not stuck with guitars and how dead rock is.
>etc.
>
>You really don't have to go far to read Thom Yorke's stuff
>against rock and guitars and how great dance music/Aphex Twin
>is.
>
>If you want to limit evaluating this thing to "promotional"
>periods vs. "non-promotional" periods from whenever Thom makes
>these statements......eh......

Nah, I won't be one of those petty cats and make my argument hinge on ONE term.

>So, that seemed to me in the general area of a rock artist
>literally spitting OFTEN on what he does (or more and more
>"used to do") sort of what you were saying about rappers
>downplaying the "overall process" of rapping.

I'll ride with your point. If what you say is true, then definitely Thom has walked in those shoes of backbiting the music he initially found success in.

BUT...

Here's the difference: Thom found displeasure with the limits of rock so he started making a slightly different slant of rock. These rappers will bitch about rap and then still do the same thing they've always been doing. Nothing new. Nothing avant garde. And, in the case of these rappers, they're just deriding music on a whole for ventures outside of music.

AND, Thom is the exception in rock. Comments like those of Action have become the norm in rap.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

Rappers rap to keep the real moneymaking opportunities coming.

<--- Big Baller World Order

its always been youth focused and once you age out you are done

some people manage to stay relevant but its very hard to keep that ship afloat

I also think its hard to keep up the appearance of talking about how much money you got if they only income is from rap

***********************************************************
https://soundcloud.com/swageyph/yph-die-with-me

We always say that..

but...


the richest rappers we know are 45+ and have been at the top of the game for 15+ years.. and even though large chunks of money have come from things other than music the "rap" career is what afforded that longevity

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

>We always say that..
>
>but...
>
>
>the richest rappers we know are 45+ and have been at the top
>of the game for 15+ years.. and even though large chunks of
>money have come from things other than music the "rap" career
>is what afforded that longevity
>
>

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

>its always been youth focused and once you age out you are
>done
>
>some people manage to stay relevant but its very hard to keep
>that ship afloat
>
>I also think its hard to keep up the appearance of talking
>about how much money you got if they only income is from rap

But, most of the extracurricular stuff they get into is DIRECTLY related to their rap career. You can't just pull that rug from up under and don't expect everything else on top of it not to fall...

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
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Personality, right?

If so, yup, you're right.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

We can say personality too, I guess.




THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
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>We can say personality too, I guess.
>
>
>
>
>THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
>http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
>http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
>http://www.facebook.com/book1
>
>
>http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
>http://i60.tinypic.com/a59mp3.jpg

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

rap music being viewed at youth oriented more so than other genres. along with the thought that rap still isn't 'music' in some circles. so folks feeling like they need to 'escape' being marginalized by only rapping.

Y'all buy those labels, I was born supreme

>rap music being viewed at youth oriented more so than other
>genres. along with the thought that rap still isn't 'music' in
>some circles. so folks feeling like they need to 'escape'
>being marginalized by only rapping.

If someone like Action is so much about the culinary arts, then why didn't he stick to that?

Because rap brought more money and fame than he could have ever gotten had he stuck at just cooking alone.

Now, the rap money isn't good enough.

Then, quit rap. Let's see how long that food show lasts without rap there to hold him back...

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

>If someone like Action is so much about the culinary arts,
>then why didn't he stick to that?

>Because rap brought more money and fame than he could have
>ever gotten had he stuck at just cooking alone.
>
>Now, the rap money isn't good enough.
>
>Then, quit rap. Let's see how long that food show lasts
>without rap there to hold him back...

I don't mind folks having multiple revenue streams, but I agree that they need to respect hip hop more and quit acting like it aint the reason they're known at all.

Y'all buy those labels, I was born supreme

>>If someone like Action is so much about the culinary arts,
>>then why didn't he stick to that?
>
>>Because rap brought more money and fame than he could have
>>ever gotten had he stuck at just cooking alone.
>>
>>Now, the rap money isn't good enough.
>>
>>Then, quit rap. Let's see how long that food show lasts
>>without rap there to hold him back...
>
>I don't mind folks having multiple revenue streams, but I
>agree that they need to respect hip hop more and quit acting
>like it aint the reason they're known at all.

Trust me, I don't mind either. I say get your money however you can cause it ain't promised. But, at least show some respect and love for the art form, as you said.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

Of course there's the money side of it, any person who wants to make as much money as they can will take on different fields, you have to.

The reason they do this is to throw shade to other rappers, it's about out hustling the next man and making it look like they have more going on. That's whats popular and dude above is right, it started in the 90's. The guy who raps and produces his own music won't be doing as much acting as the guy who's doing cameos in tv and film it seems.

Somebody like Drake came in with money and already had an acting background, he had to prove he could rap. Your Kendrick's & J.Cole's are all rap, never make those kinds of comments, and have a strong fan base. Odd Future as a whole seem like they slowed down since Loiter Squad, but you again you have your J-Live's & Devin The Dude's who are respected, still work, and have their niche. Then you got your Common's, LL's, and the most diabolical of all Will Smith lol

It's just a popularity money-grab trying to make their peers look lazy, "if you only eat off of rap then you aren't hustling" type shade.

PEACE LOVE and MONEY

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>Of course there's the money side of it, any person who wants
>to make as much money as they can will take on different
>fields, you have to.

True.

>The reason they do this is to throw shade to other rappers,
>it's about out hustling the next man and making it look like
>they have more going on. That's whats popular and dude above
>is right, it started in the 90's. The guy who raps and
>produces his own music won't be doing as much acting as the
>guy who's doing cameos in tv and film it seems.

Definitely some shade throwing going on. But, who are these sucka rappers that they're always trying to show up? As far as the game goes these days, everybody's trying to be friends. So, who are these cats that they feel AREN'T doing it right?

>Somebody like Drake came in with money and already had an
>acting background, he had to prove he could rap. Your
>Kendrick's & J.Cole's are all rap, never make those kinds of
>comments, and have a strong fan base. Odd Future as a whole
>seem like they slowed down since Loiter Squad, but you again
>you have your J-Live's & Devin The Dude's who are respected,
>still work, and have their niche. Then you got your Common's,
>LL's, and the most diabolical of all Will Smith lol

That whole myth of Drake coming in with money is a myth that has been debunked. Canadian TV was paying that much back then (don't know about now) and I think his moms was struggling pretty hard even when he was on the show. A lot of cats think that Drake had this easy path into the game. Nope. Dude's first mixtape came out in 2006 and he didn't really start to get attention until 2009. And, cats on here who encountered Drake back in those early days have attested that a lot of cats weren't messing with him when he first started.

>It's just a popularity money-grab trying to make their peers
>look lazy, "if you only eat off of rap then you aren't
>hustling" type shade.

Yes. Very much so. But, it can be a double edged sword because it also makes it look like you don't care about your product because you're rather concentrated on the accoutrements of fame.

So, to go back to a post that I made about two weeks ago: Now, if someone like Action decides to use Kickstarter to finance a project, should I give him money after he has already let it be known that rap is not his primary focus but rather just another hustle?

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

I think the other rappers they refer to are just like the battle rhymes they spit that we view as subliminal, it's just generalization to throw at whoever fits the bill lol

and for Drake, I'm not saying dude was balling, but if he didn't have some money from Degrassi to throw at his rap career I'd be surprised. Not to sound racist but, dude is Jewish lol I just assume he would have a little change, a better start than most. But still, he had to prove he could rap, like you say, nobody would work with him. Never really looked into it. I always wondered how he ended up in Houston & meeting Wayne, seems like LA would have been first stop.

And fuck Action Bronson lol, but De La did the same thing, if I were to donate to a campaign like that it would depend on the group. I think you have a point though, if Action is saying he doesn't need rap money, he looks like a real hypocrite trying to start a campaign to raise dough he should have made from working in other areas.

PEACE LOVE and MONEY

https://soundcloud.com/dabeatnik/drumpf-beer

>I think the other rappers they refer to are just like the
>battle rhymes they spit that we view as subliminal, it's just
>generalization to throw at whoever fits the bill lol

True.

>and for Drake, I'm not saying dude was balling, but if he
>didn't have some money from Degrassi to throw at his rap
>career I'd be surprised. Not to sound racist but, dude is
>Jewish lol I just assume he would have a little change, a
>better start than most. But still, he had to prove he could
>rap, like you say, nobody would work with him. Never really
>looked into it. I always wondered how he ended up in Houston &
>meeting Wayne, seems like LA would have been first stop.

I'm a keep it one hunnid, it is racist, but if having dough is the stereotype that one has to contend with, it's not that bad in the pantheon of stereotypes. From what I've gleaned from songs, interviews, etc.., they actually weren't that well off. But, only those in the know really know.

>And fuck Action Bronson lol, but De La did the same thing, if
>I were to donate to a campaign like that it would depend on
>the group. I think you have a point though, if Action is
>saying he doesn't need rap money, he looks like a real
>hypocrite trying to start a campaign to raise dough he should
>have made from working in other areas.

And, just to be clear, Action is not currently running a Kickstarter campaign. It was just a hypothetical.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

Because they're hustlers that just happen to know how to rap.

>Because they're hustlers that just happen to know how to rap.

But, like Jay said in his book, there comes a point where you have to start respecting hip hop for the art form that it is or you'll be pushed out the other side of it.

I've watched cats like Jeezy, who, blatantly described rap as just another hustle, start to put out better albums at this latter stage in their career because they were smart enough to know that you can't just keep chasing trends or rehashing the same old themes without it getting superseded by the newest cat of the moment's release.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

Which is true, but Jay came in when rappers aspired to be the best rappers vs most rappers that came in post-2000's aspired to be the next Diddys and Birdmans so they view rap as gateway to that success level. Of course, the reality when the other hustles ( record labels, clothing lines, drinks) don't pan out you have to start view as a career and work on your craft and become a complete artist.

>Which is true, but Jay came in when rappers aspired to be the
>best rappers vs most rappers that came in post-2000's aspired
>to be the next Diddys and Birdmans so they view rap as gateway
>to that success level. Of course, the reality when the other
>hustles ( record labels, clothing lines, drinks) don't pan out
>you have to start view as a career and work on your craft and
>become a complete artist.

Very true. But, for most, that's normally too late. In the case of someone like Jeezy, he did that put out the album of his career, IMHO.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

Luckily his other ventures failed fast and early so that was his reality check that people only cared about his music. I think he used that hustler stuff as a gimmick because since his first album he try to establish himself as a serious artist, as far as understanding the type of artist he wanted to be, he never strayed from who he was to follow trends or fads.

>Luckily his other ventures failed fast and early so that was
>his reality check that people only cared about his music. I
>think he used that hustler stuff as a gimmick because since
>his first album he try to establish himself as a serious
>artist, as far as understanding the type of artist he wanted
>to be, he never strayed from who he was to follow trends or
>fads.

n/m

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

is cased to the side

<----

Soundcloud.com/aquil84

(HIP HOP)
http://aquil.bandcamp.com

...right and exact, and most rap/hip hop (whatever you want to call it) is garbage...long live talent.

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

making a whole albums of rap music to convince the audience how much
drugs they slanged or how much they gangbanged and set trpped

_______________________________________
When discourse of Blackness is not connected to efforts to promote collective black self determinism
it becomes simply another recourse appropriated by the colonizer

http://hardboiledbabesanddarkchocolate.tumblr.co

"Yeah, I happen to rap and I guess I'm pretty good at it...."

Idk, maybe it's related to how some folks act like it's wack to be smart or creative? Not saying all of these hustler/'I only rap to make money' cats are "intelligent", but at some point they took the time to make words rhyme along to a beat so to compensate they feel the need to distance themselves from the creative/musical endeavors and play up the "cooler" side of their activities.

__
I don't like the beat anymore because its just a loop. ALC didn't FLIP IT ENOUGH!

Flip it enough? Flip these. Flip off. Go flip some f*cking burgers.(c)Kno

Allied State of the National Electric Beat Treaty Organization (NEBTO)

>"Yeah, I happen to rap and I guess I'm pretty good at
>it...."

Action has pretty much stated the same, saying he only started rapping when he was laid up from a leg injury. I can't say he's lying, but I have to think that maybe he had rapped before but didn't start to take it serious until that point because he was laid up with nothing else to do.


>Idk, maybe it's related to how some folks act like it's wack
>to be smart or creative? Not saying all of these hustler/'I
>only rap to make money' cats are "intelligent", but at some
>point they took the time to make words rhyme along to a beat
>so to compensate they feel the need to distance themselves
>from the creative/musical endeavors and play up the "cooler"
>side of their activities.

Very concise summation of the way most rapper's possibly think. That's why I don't feel sorry when they scream broke. I'm like, you spent a whole career rapping about having more dough than me, telling me how they have or will fuck my chick, etc...

Then I'm supposed to feel sorry for you when you claim some accountant was stealing your money? Thought you was a HUSTLER with his money on his mind? And you just BLINDLY trusted a stranger with ALL of your financial matters?

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

The youth aren't standing outside their schools ciphering anymore. it's the high school dropouts that are rapping now, it's more of a hustle, it's a business.


Let my love slide in and never slip out