Drama, Cannon part II
FROM January 18, 2007
K Sanneh fleshes out the mixtape game beautifully, as usual, and Noz blogs on the topic for those already in the know. Meanwhile Shaheem Reid interviews Wayne, Duke da God, and an "anonymous DJ" for an excellent piece o'er here at eMpTyV.
Commence downloading.
[Unrelated: David Foster Wallace may have invented the footnote back in the '90s, but we must credit kris ex for refining and popularizing it.]
<< | Posted on January 18, 2007 at 10:08 AM | >>
After getting with a little of that ill-ill, I think I can now communicate on Wayne's level. What I believe he is saying is that while mixtape DJs are making money, the rappers they're featuring aren't. Rappers do mixtapes in part to beef up their street cred and generate buzz for their label [RIAA-reporting] release, and when a mixtape like Dedication II sells 100,000 copies on the street but "Tha Carter II" can't push that in a Wal-Mart, the RIAA and labels are gonna get pissed. So I think he's saying you have to play both sides--that Khaled and Clue [and Drama, for what it's worth] have to go thru the labels for a release or two for political reasons, so the labels don't fuck em over on the "unofficial." I could be totally wrong (and I have NO idea what the cash-split is between a rapper and DJ when they put out a mixtape together) but if I'm right, it still sounds like Wayne is shilling for the major labels, and / or smoking too much "strawberry cough" [word to clive owen].
jshep on at
Either way, it's illuminating: the bottom line to all this is money, and somehow the labels have convinced some artists that cooperating with their notoriously shady asses will be more lucrative than doing their own thing. The ship is sinking, fools. Get a myspace page.
jshep on at
Shep, I think you're right: I think Wayne is saying play politics. Appease your label (i.e., let them cake off your street cred with an official mixtape release) and they'll "look the other way" re: your hustle. But like you note, it's still fucked up for Wayne to be pushing this kind of math, because the bottom line is that labels and rappers both benefit from mixtapes, and Wayne knows it. And frankly, if we're talking politics, Wayne here is biting the hand that feeds him by getting waaay out in front, publicly giving the labels cover for some truly foul shit. "Smarten up"? I don't see it.
Strawberries. Word to Michael Caine.
CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND EVERYTHING
STILL
caps on at
Post a comment:
When Weezy says "Smarten up" to DJ THE FUCK DRAMA, does he mean "Smarten up and stop putting out mixtapes with me rapping over other dudes' copyrighted beats and enhancing my profile and credibility through such legendary tapes as Dedication 1 & 2, which are arguably as good or better than my actual albums"?
Is that what he means?
Paz on at