This is a song they did for the radio station Q93's Wild Wayne and Mic Fox's show opener. Classic New Orleans bounce music with DJ Mannie Fresh on the track. The Local 580 was basically the crew name of the early Cash Money roster : Lil Slim, Pimp Daddy, Lil Ya, Ms Tee, Tec 9, PxMxWx, and Yella Boy (other members not on this song were Kilo-G, Mr. Ivan, & B.G.'z).

Hip-Hop’s New Business Model: Major-Label Rappers Stay ‘Independent’

Wiz KhalifaPhoto: Alexis Maindrault

 

With his independently released mixtape So Far Gone, Drake went from digital dynamo (2,000 downloads in ten minutes) to Grammy nominee all before he signed on any dotted lines. Or maybe not: While a major-label bidding war supposedly raged, rumor had it that he was already signed to Young Money/Universal. Either way, the excitement around his quick, seemingly unassisted rise translated into true stardom. And today, a number of up-and-coming rappers, eager to re-create his magic, are at pains to represent themselves as boot-strapping independent artists — even when they’ve got freshly inked major-label deals.

This phenomenon existed before Drake. “I was over at Interscope when we signed Souljah Boy,” recalls Archibald Bonkers, manager of Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs and A&R for HHH Artists from 2004 to 2007. “At the first radio meeting after he was signed, [the label decided to] do nothing. They didn’t want to mess with the grassroots.” But recent examples of rappers who have secretly signed to labels while continuing to market themselves suggest that the trend’s truly taking hold among those still trying to make their break. The idea is simple: Artists market themselves gradually, via social networks and blogs, avoiding oversaturation. They make their music using low-budget production techniques. And then, once their “indie” success wins notice in the mainstream, their label backers come out from behind the curtains.

According to industry insiders, Pittsburgh’s Wiz Khalifa has been signed to Atlantic Records for close to a month now. (You may have noticed Kush and Orange Juice, the title of his most recent mixtape, trending on Twitter and Google.) Asked about the signing, Khalifa said, “Whatever people want it to be, that’s what it is. I didn’t say yes, I didn’t say no.” Either way, he released Kush independently, planning, as he told VIBE.com, the publicity behind the project himself. “The mixtape was done last month, but I really wanted to do it up and make sure something like this [buzz] would happen,” he said. “I got some more tricks up my sleeve, too.” 

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Spree Wilson recently inked a deal with Jive records without disclosing it. “They want me to market myself,” he explains. “Mixtapes, pre-projects — all before the album, [in order] to create a buzz.” (Release dates for Spree’s upcoming projects have yet to be announced.) And Warner Bros. calls Brooklynite Theophilus London — who independently released I Want You in August April and counts Solange Knowles among his fans — a "new signee," despite the fact that it's known that he was signed late last year.

These marketing plans are meant to capitalize on, and strengthen, an artist’s independently generated buzz. Practical concerns aside, this carries the always-magical whiff of rebellion. “Rebel music always does well, because kids always want to rebel against something,“ says Archibald Bonkers. It’s the new hip-hop cred: succeeding without a record label. So why sign to a major at all? “Money. That’s the only thing,” says Khalifa. Rappers “have to start rolling the weed and sweetening the lemonade.”

By: Erika Ramirez

Copyright © , New York Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 via nymag.com

 

I don’t fuck with him… and you can print that.

This guy just seems to be full of interesting press bits. When VIBE asked him if he’d be reuniting with Lil Wayne on Carter 4, Bangladesh revealed that he had yet to be paid for his work on Carter 3:

“It’s [Wayne and Baby's] responsibility to pay [me] because all the money from album sales goes to Cash Money. I get checks from Sony for Beyoncé, checks from different labels for different artists, it just comes to you. You don’t have to call them, sue them and all that junk. This is what you’re owed.”

He continues, “I don’t really give a fuck about [Wayne]. I can’t give a fuck about somebody that don’t give a fuck about my situation, I have kids. In the hood, people get killed for ten dollars. I couldn’t imagine owing someone hundreds of thousands of dollars and just walking around in front of them. I’m so confident in myself, that I don’t need Lil Wayne. There’s gonna be so many opportunities. I can create a Lil Wayne.”

He went on to say what’s on everyone’s minds.

“This is why Mannie Fresh don’t fuck with [Cash Money] because he never got any royalty money. That’s why Baby can go around flaunting this cash, because that’s everyone else’s money… It’s not even Wayne’s fault. Wayne is not getting money. He is given money, he’s not getting money. If Baby gets a million dollars he’ll buy Wayne a Phantom, but that’s in Cash Money’s name. That 14-bedroom mansion isn’t Wayne shit,” he says. “That’s why he have his own company, because he was trying to leave Cash Money and the only thing that would keep him there was [if they] gave him his own thing. But Baby still controls that. All those Young Money artists don’t even know that they not getting royalty money.”

This isn’t the first time this month we’ve heard about producers seeking out their royalties for Carter 3:

And the beat goes on. According to the New York Post, fellow Carter III producer, Jim Jonsin—responsible for Wayne’s infectious lead single, “Lollipop”—filed a $500,000 lawsuit against Wayne on April 20 for missing royalty payments. In May 2009, Dallas production duo Play-n-Skillz also mentioned to a local radio station that they were yet to reap any monetary benefits from their work on Wayne’s third single featuring, T-Pain, “Got Money.”

So Jim Jonsin asked for 500K and Bangladesh wants another half a mil, and these two guys basically made Carter 3 what it was with “Lollipop” and “A Millie.” Baby doesn’t seem to be paying the people that helped him get all that money, yet he found the time to make corny internet videos like this and this over the weekend.

Cool video that definately gets better as it goes on (though it really doesn't fit this song at all lol).

For the last few days I’ve been going back and forth in the comments section of my favorite music industry blog, Hypebot with a gentleman by the name of Jason who owns the little known label called Viper Bite Records. The post we were so passionately discussing was primarily about metrics but also rasied the question of whether or not the full length album was still a relvant business model. The conversation struck a nerve among readers and became so intense that I’ve decided to expand on these topics in a post of my own.

Here is an except from the original blog written by Alex Mann of Trendrr called, “With Mixtapes & Social Media, Is The Album So Far Gone?”.

“Drake has developed a budding musical career without the release of a full-length album and initially without the backing of a major label. He has already affiliated himself with hip-hop’s most popular stars and is making money from concerts and brand endorsements.

This brings us to a final question worth considering:

Can artists still afford to rely on the success of an album, or has Drake defined a unique marketing model for emerging musicians?”

Although Drake’s story may not be the barometer that every musicians should follow, it still offers a broader implication for today’s overall talent pool. Can a recording artist sustain themselves by selling full length albums alone? The answer in my opinion is a resounding no.

Here’s why:

• Listeners attention span is shorter than ever. Most of us won’t even read this blog post all the way through let alone listen to a full length album by an unknown artist
• Musicians are not as good as they used to be. Technology has created a laptop version of our more talented predicesors which is evident in the quality of the music being released
• Physical albums have lost their value. CD’s are no longer worth the $14 piece of plastic that they are printed on (and are also not very environmentally friendly)
• Playlists and mixtapes have replaced the full length album. If you’ve ever borrowed an iPod worth of full length albums you know what I’m talking about. Even Genius isn’t smart enough to handle that boring task.

and lastly…

• Music sales in general are way down. See chart below:

In an attempt to curb some of these strikes against recording artists today, I suggest that we lower our overhead, adjust our expectations, accelerate our learning and diversify our product offering. All of which should be outlined in a good old fashion business plan. I speak more in depth about this in a recent post on Creative Deconstruction.

Jason on the other hand feels that the love of the music is enough to sustain him.

Let’s see how long that lasts. Musicians by nature are emotionally attached to their artistry. Businesses on the other hand are devoid from emotion. In order to sustain yourself in the music business I argue that artists must find a happy medium. This of course is easier said then done…but that’s just the way it is.

(via @Bruce Hornsby)

Read the original post here.

Dear Lil Wayne Stop Promoting the Bloods

By Casey Gane-McCalla November 4, 2009 3:58 pm

http://theurbandaily.com/news/casey-gane-mccalla/dear-lil-wayne-stop-promoting-the-bloods/

Dear Lil Wayne,

My friend brought over your mixtape , No Ceilings, the other day and I gave it a listen. I have to say I was impressed. You clearly are a talented rapper with an excellent ability to ride beats, clever wordplay and smart punchlines.

Still one thing about the mixtape disturbed me. Your constant references to the Blood gang and soo woops seem like something a 15 year old kid might be saying, not a veteran rapper who has been in the game for more than 10 years.

I realize that many people in poor neighborhoods join gangs because of peer pressure, the threat of other gangs, for a way to make money and for  a sense of family. Still, you have been a professional rapper earning money since you were 14. What reason did you have for joining the Bloods? It seems that you are claiming the Bloods to increase your street credibility and help your record sales.

After the Derrion Albert beating, we see the negative effects gangs have on African American youth. Everyday, gang violence leads to teenagers in the hood getting stabbed, shot or jumped. As the “Best Rapper Alive,” when you start bigging up a gang it makes it seem cool to your young fans. These young fans who use your slang, dress like you dress and idolize you, now want to be in a gang like you.

I know you don’t think you’re a role model. Still your record label, BET and urban and pop radio are constantly marketing your music to children between the ages of 10 and 14. When they play you Lollipop single on BET, the kids who watch you buy your album and mixtapes and get to hear all your Blood gang propaganda.

Hopefully, your time in jail will give you time to reflect about your actions. Gang violence is a big problem for young black males.  In L.A. two thirds of all youth killings are gang related. Gang members are 60 times more likely to be killed than non gang members.

Being in the Bloods might be cool for you, but for the thousands of kids in the hood who join, it is a deadly choice, that far to often leads them to jail or the morgue.

Please, for the sake of your impressionable fans and the image of African Americans across the world, stop promoting the Bloods. You are a very clever young man with more power than you may know.

Sincerely

Casey Gane-McCalla

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

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I never understood why Wayne & Birdman waited til they were millionaires to start claiming Bloods 5 years ago. If that isn't a joke I don't know what is