>say an artist like a chingy or lil zane who could really use
>that extra $$$? i dont really see 50 or snoop needing to do
>this unless they are just greedy.
>
>and all of u up here debating and philosphizing about
>violence, corporate greed and capitolism are waisting your
>time. 99% of the cats in the rap game now are there to make
>$$$ and lots of it. its not about the message, the love of the
>music, the culture, its about getting rich and getting famous
>now. most of these artists are writing rhymes with $$$$ on
>their mind so this "deal" is right up their alley...

Duke, isn't that the whole point of discussing capitalism and the effects of corporate greed on different aspects of society. As the hip-hop has become more commodified and capitalised over the past ten years or so, we have seen a growing attitude of materialism among hip-hop artists. Particularly regarding what is chosen for purposes of marketing and what kind of hip-hop does not get funded only to rot by the wayside. Capitalism works as a process just like anything else and its effects sometimes take years to manifest as the market reshapes and molds whatever enters its realm. Three years ago you used to hear debates about "what happened to the hip hop purists?", while today that question is rarely relevant even on okayplayer. The market, and capitalists who run the market, are completely responsible for this. You know, in pre-capitalist times, you would rarely find debates of why art has changed so much and so quickly. Because before there was a market system in place, art was determined by the artists rather than by potential profits. Sure there were controversies over art such as the aristocracies anger towards artists who threatened their values, but the art itself belonged to the artist, not some invisible market space.