While browsing the internet the other day I came across an article titled “5 Reasons Why Slaughterhouse “Failed.” For those who didn’t know, Slaughterhouse is the newly formed hip-hop group featuring normally solo artists Joelle Ortiz, Joe Budden, Crooked I and Royce 5’9.”

The foundation of this article centered on the Slaughterhouse album sales (or lack thereof) and the author’s reasons as to why and how it relates to hip-hop’s future. Most of the reasons were associated with the actions of the artists and some about the record label but only minimal information related to fans. Some of the points that were made were that artists are not touring enough; poor promotions and other reasons. Then the million dollar question was asked:

Is America so fucking stupid that good hip hop cannot survive?

I immediately experienced a bit of déjà vu after I read this question, thus the reason for this response. As broad as the question is, I understand where the author is coming from. For those who have followed my work, I’ve written a few essays related to this subject. The composition that really seems to answer this question is the one I wrote titled “Real Hip-Hop: Why Don’t The Majority of Blacks Support It?” Though my piece was more focused on why blacks don’t support real hip-hop, some of the information in this essay can answer this author’s question as well.

Here are some of my reasons why hip-hop is failing, with reasons not just limited to artists and record labels, but fans and some other factors as well (and in no particular order):

1. Lazy Artists

Though many artists now represent themselves due to the power and the resources of the internet, this same method to advancement is causing some artists to get lazy in other areas. You can easily record your album, design it, and put it online for sale but if there is no promotion, fan interaction, music videos, touring and basically trying new things to get the word out about your album, your sales will crumble before they even have the chance to take off. Unless you are an act signed to a major label (and even some of these artists have to self promote), you must do the footwork that the marketing and promotions team of these companies do yourself. That means coming up with your own promotions plan, calculating your moves, studying your competition and checking out the footprints of similar and relevant hot artists.

One good example: Blogs. Over the past 9-10 years blogs have given the voice to the voiceless and any John Doe can implement one. The majority of large publications such as Vibe, XXL, The Source and others have gone (or planning to) from print media to just a website, most of them based on blogs. For the independent artist, there is a massive amount of blogs that review and promote music.

2. Record Labels

I have read many horror stories about record labels over the years, from artists being signed to contracts where their newly recorded album was shelved for years, to other acts getting huge advance checks to record an album to only being poorly promoted when the album dropped. At this day and age, the power is in the hands of the artists and there are many resources available to create, control and distribute music without being a slave to a record label for the rest of your career. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good record labels and good contracts out there, but most artists don’t read the fine print to see if they are presented with a good contract or not. These are the artists that eventually get shafted in the end, turn their back on their career and that’s the last we hear of them. Some of these artists end up going back to a day job, changing religions and those artists with criminal backgrounds fall back into these lifestyles. I was told that the key to surviving a relationship with a record label is having good legal representation, understanding your contract(s) and having thick skin.

3. Corporate America Media

Corporate America media – simply put: radio, television, etc. Those with the power and the money are the ones who control what we see and hear. This is the reason why some songs are played several times in one day, and it’s the same for music videos. To corporate America, there is only one type of hip-hop that matters, and that’s the type that makes money, a lot of money. People are turning their backs on hip-hop because they only see what corporate America shows them. Let’s face it, the average listener is lazy. As stated in my other essay, most people listen to what’s on the radio, and buy their music based on what’s played on the radio (if they buy any music at all). So if you hear Lil Wayne all day and then just so happen to be in Best Buy that evening looking for a new album to buy, its safe to say there is a 50/50 chance you will buy a Lil Wayne album. I call it “The Art of Conditioning.”

4. Too Much Music – Lack of Filters

It’s evident that everyone is making music, on various levels; from the majors all the way to the dude who only performs for his friends at the local open-mic spot. What’s killing the industry is the fact that anyone can make music and everyone thinks they can have a career at it. On top of that there are some websites and blogs that do a poor job of filtering the bad music from the hot music. Some of these websites post everything they are sent. Most of the time the artist or music is not categorized. From a fan perspective, if my favorite rapper is Jay Z, I would love to be able to click on a link to see artists with similar styles. On the same token, if I hate Jay Z, I want the option to see those artists that don’t sound like him. CD Baby, an independent music distributor, is the best example of a website that filters the music they distribute using artist comparison. Back in the day, it was the A&R’s job to filter; filter what the record label hears, what the record label signs and what the record label invests in. Now the A&R isn’t seen as much as artists are self-represented. Blogs are the equivalent of A&R’s today and most internet savvy musicians use them to expand and promote their music.

5. Fans

Fans, some you can’t live with, others you can’t live without – if you don’t have any, well your SOL. Fans come as your friends, family, people you have never met and fellow musicians. Then you have those who claim to be fans. These are the people who download your entire album illegally to “preview it” but then they never buy it. These are the people who share their input on your artistry but never support it. These are the people who feel that because they bought one of your albums, you now owe them something in return. (Isn’t the music what’s owed?) Fans and the latter tend to raise the bar on their favorite artists so high that the artist can’t even top themselves when they create music. Those who set these expectations are the same individuals who refuse to grow with the artist they support. At times, fans can get comfortable, complacent – and condemn artists for stepping out of their comfort zone. True fans adapt to the changes their favorite artists’ experience. Dedicated fans financially support their favorite artist whether it is buying their new album, purchasing a ticket to their next show or something along those lines. Change and growth is the fuel to good music. You are not a fan if you simply listen to the music or if you buy one album – a fan is faithful and provides legitimate long term support.

6. Critics

Behold the high and mighty holders of the golden pen – the critics. Critics fall parallel to fans, you can’t live with them, cant live without them and you are damned if you don’t get some good reviews every now and then. Where critics pose a problem is when they become complacent as well; when their favorite artist has embraced a different direction and the critic doesn’t want the artist to follow their calling. As discussed in my other essay, critics are also fans and occasionally they can review an artist with an unspoken bias that causes a good record to get reviewed badly. Then it’s the showcase of words where critics are more concerned with how intellectual they sound in their review than simply giving a good, solid take on whether or not the reader should buy the album.  Good critics are those who can put aside their biasness and review albums based on the quality, innovation and creativity of the music presented. Some of the best albums I have heard recently received bad reviews.

7. The Internet

As great as the internet has been for artists and record labels, it’s also the same reason why the music industry, not just hip-hop, is failing. With file sharing, peer-to-peer and other ways to pirate music, it’s hard to move units. Most independent artists rely on the internet to reach their listeners and these are the same people who will more than likely find a way to download their music for free. This is the reason why independent artists’ tour more often than those considered mainstream, because more money can be made from touring. This is the same reason why some artists get burned out in the industry, because they must be consistently on the road to make their money with no time for a personal life. The internet is truly a double edged sword.

8. Elitists

We have them on every level in the industry: from the fans, artists, record labels, and critics – there are elitist in all of these categories. These are the individuals who stick together to only promote and help out the artists who they feel are worthy of the support, regardless if the artist is worth the listen or not. To these people, everyone else is considered peasants in the game. It’s like being in high school and watching all the girls flock to the basketball players at lunch, even though most of the team sucks and you beat them in pick-up game a week ago. This behavior is common, get used to it.

9. Coons

Yep…coons. No need for a long drawn out explanation for this one. These are the artists who have no soul and who do whatever it takes to gain fame and fortune. No need for a nationwide search to find these guys, you know them when you see them. “Yessah boss!”

10. Follow Thru

I played basketball for a handful of years when I was younger and the one thing I heard my coaches say more than anything else is “follow thru!” when shooting. I heard this so much that I have applied it to my personal life. Its not easy, often in life things will hit you so hard you find yourself saying “fuck it!” I think a lot of artists and some others in the industry have said “fuck hip-hop” and have given up on it. In order for hip-hop to continue to grow, we must follow thru, transcend and move forward. Improve our music, our messages, and our approach and strive to define and achieve our purpose. We must support artists who are not only making good music, but those making a difference as well. These are easy words to read, but hard actions to execute; you will get gray hairs doing it but the rewards are beautiful.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 7:12 pm and is filed under essays/articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.