September 11th. Since 2001, this date serves as a terrible reminder of a catastrophe that we all wish would have never happened. So before we get into our topic, let us send our thoughts and prayers to all those who lost love ones on that day.
Interestingly enough on that very day Jay-Z released (what many folks regard as his best album) The Blueprint. Fast forward to 2007 as we approach that day again, there is a reason to actually look forward to it. 2 of Hip Hop's biggest stars, the humble Kanye West and the equally humble 50 Cent, will release their albums (the 3rd solo Album for each artist) on September 11th. I've been reading MANY opinions on line about who will sell more. This competition does bring some real excitement to the world of Hip Hop (and oh how we love excitement!). 50 has actually claimed that if Kanye sold more than 50 the first week, 50 would never release another solo album ( yeah...ok). Kanye, to his credit, took the high road and spoke about what a great day 9/11/07 would be for Hip Hop to have to giants of the industry go head to head. We at GFHH agree with that. For one, they are both highly respected artists, who are very different on many levels. Both of their debut and sophomore albums were very successful. And they are both outspoken individuals who seemed to get interviewed twice a week (BTW - For all the hate I see 50 and G-Unit get, if homeboy sneezes too hard it's a headline not only on Bossip.com, but Page 6 as well). These and other reasons gives a good shot of energy that is needed in this game right now. A battle without the beef, so to speak. So after that day comes and goes; and we have purchased one or the other (or both), and the final numbers come in…..a question comes to my mind. When did we, as fans, start caring about how much an artist sells in the first week or overall? Why is that even important to us? It's not like any of these artist are cutting checks written out to me, no matter how big a fan I am of their music. We also know that sales never really determine who was the better MC or rapper (as always, there is a difference). In that case Hammer, Vanilla Ice or Eminem would be known as the greatest of all time (BTW - I know there are some huge and loyal Em fans out there, but he's no where near the greatest of all time). We at Grown Folks Hip Hop can't seem to remember what made record sales so important to the fans, but it's starting to cloud folks perception of a solid album. For example, I don't think Nas' Hip Hop is Dead or Game's The Documentary have sold over a million copies, but both of those MCs are 2 of the best doing it right now. Same will apply to Common, and the same did apply to Busta (whose album was crazy). Does this make them wack? Does that make them lesser artists than a Yung Joc or a Mike Jones (both of whom sold over a million copies of their debut albums)? Would you say T.I. was a better MC than Pharoahe Monch? As Amy Winehouse would ask, "What kind of Fu*k#ry is this?" Sales NEVER determined whether I liked an artist or bought their music. It wasn't even something I thought about when buying music. But things have changed. This is a new generation and it is their turn to determine what's hot and what's not using their own criteria. While that criteria is probably different from those folks over the age of 30, we should still respect it, like we wanted our parent's generation to respect what we thought and expressed. That's cool and all, but we were trying to UNDERSTAND why sales have become so important and the art form that is MCing seems to have been pushed to the back. Respect is one thing, but understanding is another. Get at us!!!!
Interestingly enough on that very day Jay-Z released (what many folks regard as his best album) The Blueprint. Fast forward to 2007 as we approach that day again, there is a reason to actually look forward to it. 2 of Hip Hop's biggest stars, the humble Kanye West and the equally humble 50 Cent, will release their albums (the 3rd solo Album for each artist) on September 11th. I've been reading MANY opinions on line about who will sell more. This competition does bring some real excitement to the world of Hip Hop (and oh how we love excitement!). 50 has actually claimed that if Kanye sold more than 50 the first week, 50 would never release another solo album ( yeah...ok). Kanye, to his credit, took the high road and spoke about what a great day 9/11/07 would be for Hip Hop to have to giants of the industry go head to head. We at GFHH agree with that. For one, they are both highly respected artists, who are very different on many levels. Both of their debut and sophomore albums were very successful. And they are both outspoken individuals who seemed to get interviewed twice a week (BTW - For all the hate I see 50 and G-Unit get, if homeboy sneezes too hard it's a headline not only on Bossip.com, but Page 6 as well). These and other reasons gives a good shot of energy that is needed in this game right now. A battle without the beef, so to speak. So after that day comes and goes; and we have purchased one or the other (or both), and the final numbers come in…..a question comes to my mind. When did we, as fans, start caring about how much an artist sells in the first week or overall? Why is that even important to us? It's not like any of these artist are cutting checks written out to me, no matter how big a fan I am of their music. We also know that sales never really determine who was the better MC or rapper (as always, there is a difference). In that case Hammer, Vanilla Ice or Eminem would be known as the greatest of all time (BTW - I know there are some huge and loyal Em fans out there, but he's no where near the greatest of all time). We at Grown Folks Hip Hop can't seem to remember what made record sales so important to the fans, but it's starting to cloud folks perception of a solid album. For example, I don't think Nas' Hip Hop is Dead or Game's The Documentary have sold over a million copies, but both of those MCs are 2 of the best doing it right now. Same will apply to Common, and the same did apply to Busta (whose album was crazy). Does this make them wack? Does that make them lesser artists than a Yung Joc or a Mike Jones (both of whom sold over a million copies of their debut albums)? Would you say T.I. was a better MC than Pharoahe Monch? As Amy Winehouse would ask, "What kind of Fu*k#ry is this?" Sales NEVER determined whether I liked an artist or bought their music. It wasn't even something I thought about when buying music. But things have changed. This is a new generation and it is their turn to determine what's hot and what's not using their own criteria. While that criteria is probably different from those folks over the age of 30, we should still respect it, like we wanted our parent's generation to respect what we thought and expressed. That's cool and all, but we were trying to UNDERSTAND why sales have become so important and the art form that is MCing seems to have been pushed to the back. Respect is one thing, but understanding is another. Get at us!!!!
