How To Get F**cked

The Day Report: 360 Deals Are Today’s “Record Deals”

Thursday, February 04, 2010 6:46 PM


By, Wendy Day from Rap Coalition (www.WendyDay.com)

ShareThisGet Alerts I gotta state right upfront that I am biased against 360 Deals. I understand WHY they exist, I just find them unfairly oppressive in the label’s favor in an industry with a draconic history of jerking artists out of money. I stopped negotiating deals for artists in 2005 because I refuse to do a 360 Deal for any artist! How strongly do you have to hate something to stop your own income over it?



In the early 2000s, the music industry went through a severe change. Music sales plummeted, the importance of the internet reigned supreme, and there was an influx of artists into the industry causing an over saturation never seen before. It’s gotten worse, not better, for the major record labels.





Once used to a healthy profit margin that afforded grand lifestyles for those at the top of the food chain, the major labels became disgruntled as sales dropped while they missed the boat on less profitable digital sales. Taking on the role of dinosaurs fighting for survival, they tried everything from stopping the new digital revolution, to fighting it, to suing it, to band wagon jumping too late. Nothing worked for them. And they still haven’t learned from their mistakes—they still continue to fight the ways the consumers want to receive their music.





So to justify their continuing existence, they decided to take an even larger share of the pie from the ONLY aspect of the equation that they controlled—the artist (or the “content” provided for digital download). Back in the day, labels took roughly 87% of the pie while giving the artists 12% of the money AFTER the artist paid back everything spent on them from that 12% share. This means that if the artist sold $500,000 worth of CDs, and it cost $50,000 to market and promote that CD (a very low example), the artist share of $60,000 (12% of $500k) would be divided between paying the label back that $50,000 and a check for the remaining $10,000. The label would receive $490,000 for its investment and belief in that artist while the artist made $10,000. In exchange for giving up the lion’s share of the sales, the labels always told the artists that they’d make 100% of the touring. Any show money, was the artist’s to keep!





When the s**thit the fan financially for the labels, they decided to tap into the show money, and all other streams of income for the artists, as well. After all, if your profit margin is made smaller, you need to eat more of everyone’s income to keep the fat cats at the top, and the stock holders, happy. Most 360 Deals share in endorsement income (15% to 30% depending on the artist), performance income (10% to 30% depending on the artist), merchandising income (20% to 50%) and Film/TV money (15% to 40%). Before I go any further, I have to thank Bob Celestin (Law Offices of Robert A Celestin www.raclawfirm.com) for supplying me a 360 Deal contract for an indie label and the good folks at Warner Bros Records for leaking me a major label contract for an artist’s 360 Deal. This enabled me to write about REAL contracts instead of just what I’d heard from lawyers, artists, and label folks.


How do labels justify taking an even BIGGER share of the pie from artists? They complain that they are doing all of the developing, investing, marketing, and promoting. Their argument is that they believe in the artist when the artist has nothing, and they feel that assuming the lion’s share of the risk should result in sharing in a lion’s share of the profit. If the label is developing and building the artist to a level of super stardom, they feel they have the right to share in a percentage of everything that super stardom affords the artist. So if they drive the artist platinum, they feel they should get a piece of the tour that came from the fame the label helped the artist build, and a piece of the endorsement deal or film income that came from the fame that the label helped build. I guess I could see this argument better, if I actually agreed that the labels did their jobs well of building artists.



I have a different vantage point of record labels. I see major labels based in tall glass buildings in NY and L.A. that have little interaction with the streets, fans, or the artists. I see them sign artists that have already started to build a buzz or sell music themselves, and then I see them sit back and let the artists’ teams continue to do much of the work themselves. I don’t see major labels taking much risk with their artists, but do continue to put them through a system that is almost an outdated cookie cutter version of how to sell CDs. The labels rarely interact with the fans and are quite out of touch about what the fans want or are willing to buy. They seem to create this assembly line of artists who all sound similar and fit a certain format at radio. They seem to throw a lot of music into the marketplace and work whatever catches on quickly and easily. Most labels do what’s best and easiest for the label, not what’s in the best interest of the artist. Now, in a way, it’s very unfair of me to make this sweeping generalization, because there are some amazing people who work inside of major labels and really go all out for the artists. But I find these people to be the exception, not the norm, and I also find them to be frustrated most of the time because they constantly have to fight with their bosses and the status quo to succeed on a project.



I also find that competitor labels usually hire the best people away from the labels who are experiencing some success, thereby breaking up the synergy within a team once they all learn to work well together. This is why a label like Def Jam or Universal could be so strong in the late 90s and yet be struggling to succeed today. I find that artists rarely look at the teams working at labels and just fiend for a record deal no matter the success of the label or who’s at the label (staff or other artists).




So labels got further away from the fans, the staffs got lazier or more frustrated (perhaps more work for less pay?), the artists took less risk because there were more of them and they were just happy to have a record deal, and the fans started expecting music for free because they could just download it if they didn’t feel like paying for it. Major labels continued reducing spending, slashing budgets, cutting pay, and signing “sure things” (whatever that means). And to justify the spending they were still doing, they decided to offer deals that cut into more of the artists’ income. The argument was that out of 50 artists signed to their label, only one was successful and funding the 49 losses. No other business on earth has such a backwards business model. Imagine if Ford built cars and accepted the fact that every model but the Taurus was meant to be a loss leader, and that the Taurus sales had to make up the loss of every other brand under their umbrella. Huh?





Or imagine if banks lent money for mortgages expecting 99% of the mortgages to default, and 1% of the mortgages were expected to make up the bank’s profits that year. Further imagine if each homeowner paying back their mortgage didn’t actually get to keep ownership of the house after their mortgage was paid back! The bank’s argument would be that they took all the risk on the house, so they should get to retain ownership. The people that lived in the house would still have to pay for all the repairs and upkeep, but the bank would own the house. That’s how the music industry is built. And the folks at the top with the most to lose are the ones fighting to keep this backwards system alive.





People ask me all the time what I think is wrong with the music business. I would like to blame our troubles on the greed of major labels, the proliferation of bad music that the fans don’t seem to want, or the free downloading of (stolen) music. But the truth is that if the artists didn’t agree to these incredibly bad deals, there would not be incredibly bad deals. If a bank existed that kept ownership of your house after you paid back your mortgage, you would never do business with that bank. Yet all day, every day, there is a long line of artists willing to sign their lives away to record labels because they don’t understand, or possibly don’t know about, the consequences. Or maybe they just don’t care. Maybe the need for fame overpowers the need for money…until they realize they aren’t making money but someone else is. I find that it takes artists 3 to 5 years to realize they are getting jerked. In that time, a lot of money is lost and one or two things happens: either the artist is replaced with a new artist willing to make less money, or the artist has enough value to renegotiate their deal and share a larger piece of the pie. Sometimes, they even start their own labels and repeat this onerous process with their own new, unknowing artist! They got jerked, so they turn around and jerk someone else.



But back to 360 Deals. This new model will exist until artists are willing to say “no!” and I don’t see any signs of that happening. What I do see happening are artists becoming more entrepreneurial, and instead of signing to major labels, I see them finding their own investors and building their own teams who can help them succeed. There are enough laid off employees of record labels who’ve experienced some success out here to hire to run and work at indie labels. There’s a huge void in the marketplace to deliver the kinds of music fans want…and that’s not just one kind of music.



What I learned from both the buzzes of Drake (lyrical mainstream artist who’ll succeed at radio) and Gucci Mane (not-so-lyrical street artist with gutter stories and experiences to share) is that fans still want music. Major labels are still slow to respond to the needs of the streets and the internet is only speeding up and splintering demand further. There’s still a market for good music that the fans want. Our job is to give it to them. And if we do so with a fair and equitable split of the profits, the artists can build lifetime careers and we can all make money!


I hear the artists who sign 360 Deals say that they feel they have to sign these deals because the label won’t work their projects if they don’t give up a bigger split. I hear the artists say they want the labels to help them land endorsement deals, major tours, and TV Shows and film roles—but I’ve yet to see a major label do this. Let’s be realistic, these major opportunities go to the biggest stars and the ones who apply themselves directly in those alternate areas. If you hire a film agent, and take acting lessons, you may get increased roles in film and TV. If you increase your fame through music sales, your endorsement opportunities increase. Beyonce landed a Revlon contract because she was a star, Revlon did not make her a star. How many new artists are the major labels building to be stars? In 2009, it was Taylor Swift and Susan Boyle out of all of the releases that came and went. And neither of them were developed by the major label system—one was a product of an indie label and the other a product of a TV show. The majors had access because they did deals with middlemen and then applied their systems behind those movements that were already happening. Maybe that really is the job of a major label in today’s environment.


In my opinion, a 360 Deal is an excuse for a major label to take a bigger piece of the pie without doing any additional work. It’s insurance on their part. If the artist does blow up by chance, it gives them more opportunity to make a bigger cut. And that’s just smart business. I guess if they called it what it really is, I’d be less annoyed by it: the price of doing business with a major label. If they played a bigger role in building overall success, I’d be happy to see them share in a bigger piece of the pie at the end of the day.


Example of a “360 Deal” Artist (this is not an actual artist example):


Male rapper based in Atlanta with a strong following. He has his own team of inexperienced friends and family around him and a very strong street following. The DJs, fans, other artists and industry are supporting him and propelling him forward. With no real single or CD in the marketplace, demand is high—he’s getting $30,000 a show and performing three or four times a week for the past few months. This will last about 6 months, approximately. He’s put out a series of mixed CDs, for free, over the past year. The label signed him a year ago to a 360 Deal but hadn’t begun to promote him yet because their roster was full. The artist got tired of waiting and began putting out a new mixed CD every month to build his buzz.



Advance: $75,000



Album Budget once popularity increased: $350,000



Recoupable Marketing and Promotions: $750,000



Monthly Show Income: $420,000



Endorsement Deal: $50,000



Album comes out and sells a total of 350,000 copies (it was a very commercial album but the artist had been very street, almost gutter, up to the point of his album release so fans didn’t really embrace the album as expected).


Album income for label: $3.5 million



Artists’ Share after Recouping: negative balance of $405,000



$750,000 + $75,000 = $825,000



12% of $3.5 mill = $420,000



$825,000 - $420,000 = $405,000



Artist’s endorsement Deal Share: $37,500



75% of $50,000



Artists Share of Touring Income: $1,764,000



70% of $420,000 x 6 months



Artists Share of Publishing Income (50%): $100,000 (estimate of mechanicals and ASCAP/BMI royalties)



Income for Label: $4,773,500 gross income on an investment of $825,000



$3,500,000 sales



$405,000 recoupment



$12,500 endorsement income



$756,000 tour/show income



+ $100,000 publishing income

$4,773,500 gross income



Less Staff costs



Less Day to Day operating expenses



Less Taxes




Income For Artist: $1,122,375 income



$37,500 endorsement income



$1,764,000 tour income



+$100,000 publishing income



$1,901,500 sub total



-$405,000 recoupment

$1,496,500 gross income



Less 20% management fee



Less 5% Business Manager fee (Accountant)



Less Tour costs/legal costs/tour manager/DJ/Operating expenses/taxes





Let’s compare gross incomes…



Artist made 1.5 million while label made 4.7 million



Artist share: 24%



Label share: 76%


Let’s compare Net incomes before taxes…



Artist made approximately $1 million while the label made approximately $4.5 million



Artist share: 18%



Label share: 82%



If the label is taking all of the risk (they are not), putting up all of the money in all of the right places (they are not), devoting all of their attention to this one artist (they are not), and doing most of the work (they are not), then this business model makes sense for everyone involved. But if the artist is doing the bulk of the work, risking their career in the hands of the label, and coming out of their own pocket for many expenses, then this business model is hugely skewed in favor of the major label.


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Damn that's tough. Destroy & Rebuild people... Shout out to the author of this editorial Wendy Day. Catch more of her stuff at http://www.wendyday.com/ (as stated previously)

Gone!
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Tell Em That The Future's Back Delorean Ridin Down The Block

Shoutout to Lupe .
Dope Video, ilL Song
Goooone!

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WorkinOnit!

 YOU KNOW!


I still get lost in my music zone out n just lose it. Not a temper or


tantrum this how my center gets pampered that's like my soul you know

the word chi? That's what I achieve a zone all alone that's home to

inner peace. At least for me and that's the least of what I ask for. I

don't try to get there no lessons more like a crash course. Centered

around my interest its my sport. Filling the voids left from being

annoyed by outsiders. The game never changes just rearranges players

to fill in the shoes that used to belong to you. Except for me

exceptionally especially abused bruised by these untruth's. Why even

ask if its true. Master hiatus' I had to fly the coop. Not just the

net my house and phones too. Connect back with myself until I feel

that I'm cool return to the world disconnected on a wireless

connection. Death I can't mess with double back hit reset. When a

shoulder is needed I'm somewhere feeling defeated and neglected. A

little depressed knowing the elected few went unprotected. Looking for

answers won't find em but your guess is as good as mine is. But I'm

stuck trying to remind myself that no person is timeless. Get a wake

up call from a call waking you up telling you today is when his time

is. Damn where the time went? That's always the next thought. I was

just with them the other day...
 
*Is there more (c'mon son)? and does it even matter?*

Dilla's rivaled by who? Gone (n peace)!
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Webster who?

hate  /heɪt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [heyt] Show IPA verb, hat⋅ed, hat⋅ing, noun


Use hate in a Sentence

See web results for hate

See images of hate

–verb (used with object) 1. to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest: to hate the enemy; to hate bigotry.

2. to be unwilling; dislike: I hate to do it.



–verb (used without object) 3. to feel intense dislike, or extreme aversion or hostility.



–noun 4. intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility.

5. the object of extreme aversion or hostility.





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Origin:

bef. 900; ME hat(i)en, OE hatian (v.); c. D haten, ON hata, Goth hatan, G hassen



Related forms:



hater, noun





Synonyms:

1. loathe, execrate; despise. Hate, abhor, detest, abominate imply feeling intense dislike or aversion toward something. Hate, the simple and general word, suggests passionate dislike and a feeling of enmity: to hate autocracy. Abhor expresses a deep-rooted horror and a sense of repugnance or complete rejection: to abhor cruelty; Nature abhors a vacuum. Detest implies intense, even vehement, dislike and antipathy, besides a sense of disdain: to detest a combination of ignorance and arrogance. Abominate expresses a strong feeling of disgust and repulsion toward something thought of as unworthy, unlucky, or the like: to abominate treachery.

Antonyms:


1. love.

Gone (n peace)!






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Let me break it down for all you wild slow ******

This blog was set up specifically based around my love for hip hop music. It's grown into an outlet for my thoughts, imagination, and fantasies but still remains rooted in music. Everything done on here is done that specific way for a specific reason. Right down to the Charles Hamilton d*ck suckers that google his name just to see what blogs are talking about him so they can go there and talk sh*t. Let's not forget the shoutmix folks either. Nice work. *These niggaz is haters! (c) Hov*

YEEEES I know how to spell, use spellcheck, and I'm anal about things being spelled correctly. Think about that.   Anyway The links on here all lead to what I would say is useful information guiding you to the best latest music/phone-computer tech/hip hop blog/movie-tv-anime-video game-comic book/ sites available. So its funny to me (not annoying just humorous) when I get questions for help about music.

Don't get me wrong the fact that someone would want me to help them with their music is humbling and ill and the same time. It's just STILL surprising lol. With all that said, there are some specific music web sites I left off the list because I don't endorse getting the music that way, and this was supposed to be for Squishy to find out what those sites were, but then a sense of responsibility kicked in.

Change of plans (sorry), I think I've said enough for now still so much more to touch on though. HATEerz on deck! Gone(n peace)!
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Your Attention Please. Your Attention I Need It!

Apparently some people weren't too happy with the last post.. I mean I don't really know why, but its something to note don't u think? I don't hear any complaints when I'm dropping names on some happy- to-know-ya- love-ya-laugh with you sh*t (mind you when I do that those are all honest feelings every time).

That's completely ignoring the fact I wasn't malicious with my words in the least bit (and damn if I can't whip up some sharp sentences that are proven lethal when heard/read). I'm definitely not mad though! How could I be? If someone has a problem with this their reading and isn't that the idea in the first place? Lol and IF they're reading YES IT IS THE POINT (I know how easily confused you get...)!

What do you do when the audience you perform to expects you to lose? (That sounds like an excerpt of some sh*t I wrote) I guess you have to ask yourself if you really want to win or just look good losing? My conclusion was the former. Ahhhh welcome to the place you go when you know you've made mistakes learned from them and don't want to make the same one's again.

Redemption Hall or something like that, pretty much where I've been decorating sense my series of self induced 'Fails'. To my credit a lot of it while it could've been avoided WAS out of my hands. Kicked my feet up and got quite comfortable until I decided it was time for some REdecorating dig?

Since my sense is having some much needed additions added to it, I figured I'd clear some more things up. This space is mine, unless I lend it to one of you lucky people. I'm bout to tip the glass and let it spill over.

I have nothing to lose revealing myself cause I'm true to myself all day. So yeah I'm gonna come back to facebook, back to myspace, back to twitter and enjoy being everywhere that is accessible to the public. At least the public with an internet connections lol.

Anyway people that know me know what it is. Still the same nerdy (more nerdy actually) dude laid back to the max wondering where or who is gonna come sweep me off my 2 feet, who just happens to be extremely talented at that round ball sport. So yeah n*ggas laugh it up and you b*tches ladies zip it up cause its obviously not for you. So why hate?

There's Law to keep Order and I'm creating my own law and order here, and everywhere else in my life cause when I wait for it to come to me (sweep sweep) I find myself waiting waiting and waiting some more. So choke on that. Rebel2Society@gmail.com UgotIT!Gone!

*So much more to say*


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Hey Hey Hey...

So more friends gone to start off 2010. Its a whatever type deal to me right now, I mean I know I could have given more of myself to build/strengthen/salvage the relationship(s) but I'm spreading myself thin as it is. That's not to say I didn't WANT to do those things, just I'm trying to be focused on my lil dudes my game my life, family, and friends. The problem is it comes in that order. I can admit I need to work on that and I plan to, sorry, I AM working on that (Gamble on me eehhh?). However, this is moreso to say good bye to Megherz (insert peace smiley emoticon here) the quirky yet funny, sometimes spaced out, independent, master of the see-saw 24 hour fitness employee. Unfortunately my one time acquaintance who became a short time friend is now once again becoming an even more formal acquaintance... So I'm going back in the past while moving forward in the future (Quick?) and it makes it DOES make sense!

No malicious intent here, it just didn't work out there kid. But any mention of 'using' dead that sh*t.
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*Resisting the cliche Jay-Z (insert song title here) phrase*

Those 5 things are all important and necessary priorities for me to have, I just need to work on reordering their order of importance AND still give the same amount of energy to each area. honestly all that was trumped by anything basketball and or electronic/manga/cinema/related activities available at the time YOU KNOW! Lol this is kind of fun... I recognize that nothing worth working for will happen overnight, so I'm taking it a few steps at a time. People may actually get some things they've been waiting for...


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My intent wasn't to embarass or put anybody on blast, but this is me right here. If you were offended I'm sorry. Enjoy this more intimate look your getting today, cause I don't know how I feel about it.

Maybe next time Squishy *Kanye Shrug*

Gone! (n peace)
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2009 HATE 2010 (prelude)

Why everyone wanna send me happy new years dumb early? Its not new years for me yet ya'll! I still appreciate the love though. Hope everybody gets what they are looking for and sets some mean goals to achieve. I'm trying to eliminate hate of any and all kinds in 2010.

Simple right? I'm going to get MORE into this IN 2010 lol but for now that's the goal. Paying attention to those clues? hmmmmmmm...

Let me say welcome back Charles Hamilton! I'm going to retract statements made in my blog entitled '*sighs*' real quick. The new music is fire my dude! The 'Normalcy EP' you dropped? BANANAS B (no homo lmao)

Let me take this time out to big up ALL my fav. hip hop artists (Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, Charles Hamilton, Lupe, Kanye, Slaughterhouse, Blu, 50 Cent, Mos Def, Slum Village, & Elzhi)... They all came with some type of project or just flat out had good music for me to listen to.

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A lot of these dudes had a lot to prove too (to my ears lol) and they did (thankfully) so big ups n*ggas!

Now I have to deal with the one who likes Charles Hamilton not (HATES him more like it.. Kobe too smh) and try to be as happy as can be. Alex where the hell you at? stop playing before I go craaaaazy (lol she's never seen crazy *rolls eyes*) All love baby!

*what I REALLY want and how I REALLY feel*



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... 'If I had it I'd give it only to regenerate it in a minute'... true story (Michelle)
Everybody (if you don't know who you are by now goodluck) I love ya'll!! gone (n peace)!





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Context Clues 5

Let me chill... BUT WHAT!?

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HIStory coming soon...
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Random Observation

So I'm in my house looking for a specific dress shirt and I came


across some old trophies of mine. There were 2 that stood out to me

because they were clear. See-through men perched on top of the trophy

(pause pause... 1 football dude and a basketball guy).



These trophies don't really stand out that much. Aside from them being

clear they are probably some of the lamest ones I still have in the

house.



The point? Well I'm looking and I'm like how many times am I gonna see

these short ass shorts and when am I gonna see someone with a fade, or

some braids, dreads, sh*t I'd take spiked hair too.

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smh...

How long is it going to be before trophy manufacturers put an end to

such a blatant disregard to racial equality? I've never bought a

trophy in my life, so its not like my boycotting would have a major

impact but I'm about ready to get rid of all of these...

Or knock the body's off the mantle. At least that way when my kids

start talking sh*t I'll still have my proof, and when they ask what

the trophies actually looked like I'll go grab one of theirs and say

'not much has changed'... Or something along those lines.

Ok I'm done with this, but do you all agree? Or am I just over (as

usual) thinking? Gone!

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Context Clues 4

Gone (& Forgotten?).
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Context Clues 3

Marijuana's everywhere where were you brought up? (c)Eminem

Be careful who you chiefin with you never know they mighta added in secret incredients. (c) Talib Kweli





Gone(& Forgotten?).
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Context Clues 2

Peace by piece... Gone (& Forgotten?)
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Context Clues

R.I.P. to the Fallen. Gone (& Forgotten?).

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SINGLE FOR TONIGHT!!!

I'm lying I'm lying I'm single EVERY NIGHT if anyone even cares! (apparently no one does trust me I've asked). Nah I just got a thing for that song at the moment (shout out to Weezy) and that's really what this blog is about. I don't know what's happening to me, but I think I actually am starting to like wack sh*t.

Either that or Lil Wayne's singing is actuuuuaaallyy....? good? I gotta be overthinking this. Either way everything sounds so lame to me lately, yeah even Chuck (aside from 2 tracks I heard off the new tape them sh*ts was fire!).

Let's see. 50's new album was actually really good... Until I realized he was talkin about the same thing he's been yapping about on his 1st 3 albums. Truth be told though, 50 stepped his rap game up big time. Congrats, sort of, cause I guess I'm kind of dissing his boring music too huh?

Hola Hovitooo! No. That album banged for the 1st 3 weeks now I hardly even listen to it. Blueprint 3 is a solid effort I can't even hate on dude. It's just not holding my attention really, and I blame that on the subject matter. Nobody loves Jay more than Jay and he definitely let's you know throughout the entire f*cking album lol.

Nah I'm tripping really I know exactly why I'm not feeling shit any rapper dude gotta say right now (2 reasons really). Eminem & Lupe Fiasco straight up & down.

Ever since Em dropped Relapse I been singing all kinds of praise for the man. He quitliterally on a different level when it co to rhyming them words. That guest spot on 'Forever' yeaa killed Drake, Kanye, AND Wayne scary thing is it wasn't even close. His BET cypher? Same story. Dude is a monster but falls under the same category as Hov and 50 cause his subject matter sucks but when you can be as skillful as he is it doesn't matter what your talking about.

ANNNNNND if you don't believe me check out Lil Wayne's new track (off his still unreleased Rebirth album)featuring Em and tell me who YOU think came out on top.

Lupe Fiasco. I can honestly say this n*gga making me fall in love with hip hop all over again. Cop his tape Enemy of the State: A love story and try to catch what he's saying. Dude is just on another planet with his concepts and rhymes.


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*TANGENT*

Anyway those 2 got me feeling like 'why listen to anything else?' (that's not the case I'm listening to a lot) but then again like I said everything else is sounding kind of good now. Lol I need to slap some soulja boy,If I like that sh*t I'll know there's really something wrong with me.SMH. Gone!

P.S. F*ck the typos

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A**hole Publications

I didn't write this I just wholeheartedly agree with what is being said. Check it out. (without pictures or captions sorry.) props to the author

If he's black, he must rap


R. Kelly. Bobby Brown. Ray J. Estelle. Sisqo. Russell Simmons. Shaggy. Damon Dash. M.I.A. Santigold. Kelis. T-Pain. Akon. All of these people have two things in common: 1) At one point, they were referred to by the New York Post as "rappers," and 2) None of them are. You see how some of these might confuse people: how the sing-songy styles of M.I.A. and Akon could be mistaken as rapping for the uninitiated and hard-of-hearing, old white people who write the Post. T-Pain is a "rappa ternt sanga," so that explains that. Bobby Brown has rapped (I mean, has a couplet finer than "Too hot to handle, too cold to hold / They called the Ghostbusters in they're in control" since been spat?), Kelis, R. Kelly and Santigold have kind of, as well, I guess. Russell and Damon have worked around rap, so I guess they're rappers by association?

The fact of the matter is that even if the case can be made that a few of these people could possibly write "rapper" on their resume, a more accurate title could be applied to any of them. (Someone like Kid Rock apparently is one of the few of the multi-hyphenate elite. Guess why!) I do not know for sure why they are called "rappers," but I can make a few guesses. The Post still fetishizes rappers as the bad boys of the entertainment industry. The vast majority of its hip-hop coverage -- I'd say just from the informal survey that I took to find the above examples of faulty labeling, 80 percent of it involves the rappers involved in some sort of crime. As silly as it is, the word "rapper," still has sensationalistic value at the Post that "R&B star" or "dancehall artist" or "mogul," just doesn't. (Shit, they called Barbie a rapper, even though she was actually, Rappin' and Rockin'.) Also, these people who have no idea what they're talking about regarding pop culture, may hear about a (usually male) black recording artist and just assume that he is a rapper. I'm not saying that these people are racist (although, if they work for the Post, I'm not saying they're not racist, either), but I am saying they're lazy, ignorant and prone to stereotyping. That's all!

The reason that I bring this up is that in Tuesday's paper there was an item labeling Ne-Yo a rapper, which is the most egregious error of this sort yet. I think I've rapped more than Ne-Yo has. He's a fucking crooner, you know? A singing, songwriting crooner. (I discovered through my research that this isn't even the first time the Post has done that.) Seriously, Post, who's next? Stevie Wonder? Miles Davis? Lenny Kravitz is part-black, so he must be part-rapper, too, right? And look, I understand factual errors. I make them often. I understand meaning one thing and typing another. But I don't understand working at a national media outlet and just assuming in the place of fact-checking. That's nonsense.

It's not just the Post that does this, of course. Come, let's laugh at the mistakes of what we can presume are stupid white people:



The L.A. Times is almost as bad as the Post, having referred to Marques Houston, John fucking Legend and Chris Brown as rappers.




At least they know how to retract.

Rolling Stone called Omarion a rapper. So much for music-industry authority.

Fucking Jet called Jodeci a "rap group," once again proving that if you can fit a periodical in your back pocket, you should not trust it. (Sorry, Reader's Digest.)

This one's really, really bad: the New York Times referred to Mary J. Blige as a rapper. Granted, they were talking about the use of "411" as slang, and she does rap on the title track of What's the 411? On virtually every other track on that album and since (except for "Enough Cryin'"), she sings, though. It's just what she's built her career on. No biggie.

Ginuwine "keeps rap Ginuwine" according to the New York Daily News.




Oh, and I've mentioned R. Kelly, but it seems particularly fucked up that a Chicago publication like the Sun-Times would be referring to him as a rapper. Let me guess: house music is a form of country and western? It's not even house music, in fact, it's barn music.

The photo houses are really, really bad, too. WireImage says Mario...



...Keyshia Cole...



...and Lyfe Jennings...




...are all rappers (the Lyfe example is from Life magazine, but since WireImage did the shot, its fair to assume that the frequently erroneous company is responsible for the caption as well). Yeah, that's not a guitar Lyfe plays -- it's a stringed turntable.

Getty, on the other hand, lists Anthony Hamilton...




...Trey Songz...




...and fucking Jamie Foxx...




...as rappers. You wonder if these people have ever heard any popular music ever. Isn't there a nation of young, unemployed, pop-culture savvy graduates who would shit themselves for the opportunity to write even the most basic copy for an organization half as reputable as Getty?

But my favorite, favorite, favorite of all of these examples is this one about Usher:



That's gorgeous, as irony goes. Really, really solid work, everyone. Oh, and since it's from the Newswire, it's basically a press release, so if you need a more reputable journalistic source for Usher's status as a rapper, the Post has it covered, too. Good, old Post!

So basically the point is that just about every single male R&B singer of the past 10 years (and quite a few females) has been labeled a "rapper," by sources that are more or less trusted. When in doubt, though, I think you should use your sense of hearing. It's a much, much better source.

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May not mean much to those that are far removed from the world of stereotypes but for me, this is parallel to much of the discrimination I've faced in my life. There's no reason for it, and ignorance like that does nothing to help us advance as a 'society' (hmmm I guess that's why I'm rebelling).

props to http://fourfour.typepad.com/fourfour/2009/11/if-hes-black-he-must-rap.html (you can go there to view the article in its entirety with pictures & captions)

Ahh real blogging lol

Gone!

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o/Rebel2Society\-v(**)

Don't ask me...

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Where my head is at or what I'm doing. I'm trying to make people look stupid. Honestly, that's it. As confusing as it may sound its not out of spite or anything negative I swear. Even though I feel like people aint had me like they said they would, and I've been facing more than enough on my own, this is for me. THIS IS FOR ME. ME. ME. ME. ME. ME. ME.



Gone!

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o/Rebel2Society\-v(**)

remind yourself

Word to someone's away message with my own twist of course. Be quick to judge me I'm showing you what I choose to crazy motivated with screws loose lol yea... Don't worry about who's not with you. You gon get there young man. That's MY WORD!

Gone!
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-/Rebel2Society\-v(**)