I Used To Love Her

I wrote this essay right after the Don Imus scandal.. super old but somehow still relevant..

As a member of the hip hop generation, I have seen this movement morph from the forbidden music that denigrated women and reveled in the misery of urban black America into this universal language that is now a billion dollar industry and so it seems, back again. As a youth I grew up in the church, and I was instilled with certain precepts of hip hop music. Not only did I believe what I was force fed from the religious right regarding its content, but as a musician I thought it lacked instrumentation and musicality. But as the mc from the roots black thought once said “me and hip hop was a forced marriage.”

I remember the first time I heard Tupac “I get around” while playing Nintendo at a friend’s house. I also remember the first time I saw the video for “gin and juice” on Jukebox TV (also known as the box). I remember cutting class and listening to common “one day it will all make sense”, and the first time I heard “blueprint” riding down highway 34 and the first time I heard Talib Kweli “Reflections Eternal”. And how can I forget the day I heard “college drop out”. Now this is not a disc-ography into classic hip hop because there are so many other albums on that list, but each of these albums helped cultivate an affinity to this genre that also changed my perception of the world we live in. That’s what true hip hop gives to its listeners. Hip hop gives us an ugly truth that is not always embraceable because of its harsh presentation.

After the recent remarks of Don Imus I find myself defending this art form. Everyone wants to point a finger at hip hop as the catalyst for these remarks, mainly because Imus used hip hop lyrics as a defense for his comments. Critics are calling for the reformation of these lyrics because they view them as insensitive and misogynistic. I do not defend misogyny, but I defend the right to sale music. Women have been sex symbols throughout history and it will never change. SEX SALES!!! So will you mount a march against Maxim? Is that not objectifying women? I just want to know how can we blame hip hop for the cause of everything wrong in the community when the downfalls of the community gave birth to hip hop? Hip hop is a way to express the ills of daily life in urban America. We should not look to hip hop artist to be the moral compass of the community, but turn to these leaders of our community and ask them, where are the programs needed to combat the image of misogyny? We seek to destroy this image of thugism and sexism, yet we offer no tangible alternative. I know that the objectification of women is wrong. I know that not every black man is a thug. I also know that we can not tell a dying man how to live, but we need to offer life to that man.

They spend millions of dollars in charitable contributions to inner city causes, but how much money gets trickled down to the Englewoods, Cabrini Greens and etc. The very people that complain about hip hop’s influence are also the very ones who ride past these inner cities shaking there heads in disgust. Stop talking about what our youth need and roll your sleeves up and get your hands in the mud. Give your time to the youth so they will see a better way other what is glorified in hip hop. Where are the doctors and lawyers? In the nice suburbs living comfortable lives admiring the nest they have built for themselves, and there is nothing wrong with that. I commend traditional successful people on their hard work and determination. But do not sit on your moral high horse and question the character of others who have found alternatives ways of success. We need the black community to be a community. How can we tell people who have never had and was outcast and forgotten to watch the image they portray as success? Until we continuously show our youth successful people who were born and raised in the very same place as them, we will continue to lose this war. Not only will we lose this war but the heads of music companies, radio and tv will find another way to exploit people and still be wealthy.

Def Jam To Repackage Jay-Z's Blueprint 1 & 2 On BP3 Release Date

Well. It seems as though they would not let him just go into the night with out trying to profit in some way. That is the nature of the business. Be opportunistic and constantly react. What makes great businesses great, is the ability to be proactive, and to be lean. The ability to know what people want and be innovative in providing ways to bring it to people. I will not have that conversation just yet. but hear is the latest installment of the industry that couldn't.





Not since his debut Reasonable Doubt, has Jay-Z not released an album on a label besides Def Jam. Although Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 album will be distributed through Atlantic Records, Jay-Z's former label of 12 years intends to celebrate his September 11 release day with him.

Def Jam revealed today that they intend on re-packaging 2001's Blueprint [click to read] album, along with 2002's Blueprint 2 as one, to coincide with his Blueprint 3 release. The critically-acclaimed first installment and its multi-platinum sequel are widely considered to be among Jay-Z's most definitive work.

Retailers will display the combined album package at a reported discounted price, furthering Jay's overall catalog scans with Def Jam. The work (titled The Blueprint Collection) will also include a collector's item poster.

In the past, similar sales tactics have been employed by Death Row and Rap-A-Lot Records.


Source- http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/i...3-release-date




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Big boost for Bing in Yahoo-Microsoft pact

I found this story on CSM and thought I would share it. This is huge in the scheme of things. It leads to so many questions about Google, the future of all 3 companies now, and how will they all counter act in this huge game of chess.


SAN FRANCISCO
Two months after Bing bounced onto the Internet, Microsoft’s rebranded search engine leaped a lot closer on Wednesday morning to posing a serious challenge to the online Goliath Google.

In a deal with Yahoo, Bing will soon become its search provider, gobbling up a huge chunk of Web traffic in one bite. In exchange for letting Microsoft handle Yahoo searches, Yahoo will get 88 percent of the search-generated ad revenue from its sites in the first five years of the 10-year pact.

That could bring in as much as $500 million to the pioneering Internet company that in recent years has been struggling to reposition itself and hand Microsoft Yahoo’s 20 percent share of Internet search traffic. Still, the combination of Yahoo (the No. 2 search engine) and Microsoft (No. 3 with 8.4 percent) is a long way from reversing Google’s 65 percent share.

The deal promises to be a boon for both companies (if it’s approved by federal regulators) as Microsoft wants to pry Internet users away from Google, and Yahoo is interested in focusing on building up its media sites from finance to sports. But so far Microsoft appears to be coming out ahead of this deal connecting Silicon Valley with Redmond, Wash.

While Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz said the pact promises a “boatload of cash,” it saw shares drop 8 percent on news of the partnership. Meanwhile, software giant Microsoft saw a slight uptick in the price of its stock.

Microsoft has long had its sites set on Yahoo in its quest to get into the lucrative search business. Last year Microsoft attempted a $47.5 billion takeover of the online company. That bid was eventually withdrawn and was met with antitrust complaints from Google.

It’s unknown what sort of defense, if any, Google will mount to the Yahoo-Microsoft pact, which could build a powerful and wealthy search engine-advertising venture and chip away at Google’s dominance in the $12 billion a year search engine business.

But as Bing is elbowing its way into Google’s turf, Google has been making inroads into Microsoft’s territory, too. It’s developing a free operating system, known as Chrome, that could cost Microsoft’s Windows some market share.

How this new pact will reshape tech business is still unclear. But for the immediate future it won’t mean much for users of Yahoo or Bing because much of the combined technologies will effect behind-the-scenes operations. But it does indicate that Yahoo is getting out of the search business and Microsoft is fully committed to its new Internet business.

Whether the deal eats away at Google’s core business by stealing significant market share remains to be seen, says TechCrunch blogger Robin Wauters. “But the fact that Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo sites confirms the notion that Sunnyvale has indeed given up on search in a big way.”

Glen Beck Is an Idiot

So it came to my attention that Glen Beck referred to President Obama as a racist. We all how outrageous the right wing nuts can be, but this is too far. You question his citizenship, which was ridiculous and did not gain the traction that was really needed due to the FACTS and PROOF that he was a natural born citizen so you pull the race card? Really? It is one thing to question his policy and question whether or not its "socialism." We all know that policy is meant to be questioned and thats what makes for a democracy strong. But these erroneous accusations are meant to inflame a base that is completely uncomfortable with the idea of an African American as president in the first place. This statement was made as a divisive plea to scared base. A base scared of change that President Obama represents. A change that allowed him to speak out against an issue of racial profiling that is an issue that every single black man I know has had to deal with in there lifetime. While pundits like Beck, Limbaugh, and the lesser of the evils, O'Reily continue to divide it is my hope that they do not fan the flames of hate so much that radical nuts try to become martyrs.

Industry overveiw

I got this from a group on facebook and thought i would post it here. much love to my girl Adrienne Hill and here is a link to her group page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107267617130

As an unsigned artist, it’s important to know the role of various key players in the industry. Nothing is worse than running into someone that works for a label or is a position of stature and not knowing how to approach them or how they can potentially help you. Everyone at a label isn’t an A&R, but that doesn’t mean that they are of any less importance. Chances are they might be able to help you more than you think, if you know how to approach them.

Steps in the record label process

1. The A&R Department, or artist and repertoire is responsible for finding talent, signing talent, preparing the talent and packaging the artist. They are responsible for single selection and the overall creative process of making an album.

2. The Marketing Department creates a marketing plan that outlines the strategy for a particular release. This includes product info (price, street date), radio promo plans, sales projections, advertising commitments, online marketing and available promotional tools.

3. The Sales Department outlines sales figures for each title and decides how many records to ship to vendors that sell their product. These figures are calculated from artist's selling history, account holder feedback, similar competitor histories and marketplace trends. The sales department is also responsible for tracking album sells and wavering how much product to send out to stores.

4. The Publicity Department informs and reminds the public about an
artist through interviews, appearances and performances across all media including radio, print, television and internet.

5. The Promotions Department works to increase artist visibility in the marketplace. They target radio stations and video channels in effort to maximize video and record airplay. They are also responsible for reporting market trends and artist feedback to the label to gauge a project’s or artist’s popularity in a particular market.

There are Unknown Knowns

I was speaking to a friend about industry politics and how you must play the game to get ahead. I love playing Basketball. I LOVE playing football. I like to play softball. I do not like to play business, I like to conduct business transactions. This "game" is a hustle. You have to pick your battles carefully in this business and make moves very strategically. Not only that, ut you have to pick your freinds and enimies just as strategically. I say this because the person you feel you can brush off now, might have something you need later. There is a level of respect in which you should treat everyone regardless of how you perceive that person. Even if you don't like that person, its a way you can respect them without being fake or phony. Now I don't mind showing everybody respect and being real. I will do that but I can never alter my perception or lie to appease the next man. That is not in me. That is the politics I can not play. I can never be a yes man. With all that said I thought this clip best sums up the industry politics. To set it up, Donald Rumsfeld made a infamous speech (that cost him his job eventually)

In this ramble of nothingness, I managed to find a cohesive thought.

The Boondocks in all its greatness parodied this as well.

PS i never understood how people can watch shows like this and love it, yet completely miss the point of the skits. Never knowing what the double entendres are. I guess thats the genius of shows like boondocks and family guy. even though its a smart comedy.. even an idiot can laugh at it.

They say that Drake has achieved what no other artist in the history of the music industry has done the first time around. He did not have to drop the soap. In an industry known for being bullish treatment of artist, some how Drake managed to venture into the belly of the great beast and come out the victor. His unprecedented deal gives him 2 Million in advance and control of his own publishing. I think the his management team deserves all the credit for that deal. Gee Roberson, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua, Cortez Bryant had vision, made a plan, and executed. The LA Times reported that

"Under the unusually lucrative agreement he struck with Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money Records distributed through Universal, Drake received a $2-million advance. He retains the publishing rights to his songs and cedes only around 25% of his music sales revenues to the label as a “distribution fee,” his managers said. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of new artists sign financially restrictive “360 deals” that sap their touring and merchandise income and offer much more restrictive profit-sharing.

“The record company doesn’t have any ownership of Drake,” Bryant said. “The label does not have participation on profits. They don’t have ownership of his masters. We control his entire career. Those deals don’t happen anymore.”

Every GREAT artist Needs A GREAT team to make sure that the career is on track and exhausting every avenue possible to achieve unprecedented levels of success. To optimize every avenue, there has to be

visionaries = people who can see the around the corner before you get to the end of the block. A visionary knows the artist, his audience, and has a pulse for where music meets the market meets branding


planners = are able to strategically plot out the vision. bring quantifiable gaols and implement procedures and a process to get to the desired place

doers = people who just get things done. Some how some way after the plan has begun this person will follow through.

This could all be 1 person, it could be 2 people, 3,4,5, or how ever many. One thing is certain. that these people have to be accounted for to be successful.


This is Hip Hop Joshua and Gee Roberson