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I don't see any of these guys as having stalled careers. They are releasing material, released music videos, toured, have a fan base, etc. Basically they are working artists. They've all released music recently and are receiving a fair amount of press. To the best of my knowledge none of them have to get jobs to support their music career at this point so I look at that as a success in itself. Now if you are talking about why they haven't taken it to another level of visibility I think that may boil down to none of them have that one signature song that either on an underground level or a mainstream level really stands out to people.
>Okay, so, can't lie, when I first heard Nipsey's Bullets >Ain't Got No Name Vol. 3, I was hyped. This was a mixtape >that was very professional sounding, the flows and beat >selections were great. And Nip had a presence. > >In my head, him getting a major label release and moving on to >rap stardom was almost AU-TO-MATIC. I then heard he got >signed to Atlantic and later on that deal fizzled. He >continues to put out mixtapes, but, he's nowhere near the >household name I expected him to become.
I never really saw Rap stardom for Nipsey. That's few and far between artists in any genre that are having that true kind of stardom success. You can usually count them on one hand (as far as new artists go not the vets).
>Same can be said of Freddie Gibbs. i LOVE Baby Face Killa and >Cold Day In Hell and "most" of the EPs he's done with Madlib. >Flow is on point (though redundant) and he makes great >choruses (as does Nip). Heard about the deal with CTE and >rejoiced (although Jeezy does not have a great track record of >handling signees very well or even getting an eventual >release). That deteriorated. > >Stalley? GREAT mixtape, IMMACULATE production. Gets signed >to MMG then AUTOMATICALLY drops Rashad as his main producer >and has been faltering ever since with no TRUE album release >date in sight > >Now, here's my first question: Where did these guys go wrong? >With Stalley, IMHO, it started with the relinquishing of the >majority of production duties from Rashad, which is more >OBVIOUS. But, with Nip and Gibbs, I have to believe there has >to be a trail of burnt bridges in their wake, but, I'm not up >on hip hop news enough to have full clarity. > >Second question: Is the day of the homegrown solo rapper >dead? I've seen too many whose skills I've enjoyed (Bobby >Creekwater, Stat Quo, Pretty Ugly, Dom Kennedy) either >disappear completely or only release material sparsely.
That's what I would be more concerned about...not releasing material on a regular basis or just completely disappearing from the scene is my definition of a stalled career. Dom Kennedy is out there, putting out music, releasing videos and receiving a lot of critical acclaim so I wouldn't include him in that mix of other artists you named. > >It makes me kind of worried for newer cats with great >potential like Chance The Rapper as they try to establish >their brand.
Chance is getting all kinds of press and positive attention so I don't think he has anything to worry about. He's got a core fan base, hipsters love him and I've even seen him recently on some significant late night shows so I feel like he's in a good space. > >Are there any clear, cut rules not to violate on the ascent so >as to avoid a premature descent?
The only rule I would suggest to any of these artists to always follow is to stay busy.
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