Hip Hop Spy

This article is not about the female rapper that was hot for a 2-3 year period; it is not about the hottest female rapper right now; it is not about a female rapper that was a pioneer in the game, but it is about one who can be called the greatest female rapper of all time. I see a lot of people naming rappers as the greatest that they don’t even know two songs from. A lot of the general public just echo what they have heard being said by one person or the other, but they probably don’t own an album of that person they are giving the title to.

By Mofo Hari

If you were around in the 90′s and early 2000′s, you may remember a time when artists favored specific music sites such as SoundClick (followed by MySpace) to share their work on. They jumped online with anticipation knowing that traditionally on a certain day of the week, new tracks would be uploaded on the site that day. It was an enjoyable ritual to check out and support each others’ work. People networked for collaborations..they connected..they gave feedback good and bad..they communicated..they shared the music of other artists they appreciated! If they heard something they liked and the artist was not in their immediate circle, they often made an effort to connect two or more good artists to see what they would create together.

I wrote this awhile ago but I will republish it to help some new Indie artists out or some old indie artists that don’t pay attention.

This is a difficult list to put together because indie music artists make so many mistakes. I hope this short list helps some unknown indie artist avoid these mistakes in their quest to make it. The top five mistakes indie music artists make are.

1.Waiting for a Record Label to discover you- Not gonna happen most labels do not even have A&R departments anymore. The days of A&Rs going out and listening to live shows and actually listening to demo’s are long gone.

2.Not Performing Live – Live shows are the best way to make new fans and to move merchandise and actually make some money selling your music. If you think you are going to sell your music online think again. You should take every opportunity to perform live. And never ever pay a promoter to open for a Major artist. And never pay a promoter to perform at any showcase, these showcase’s are scams to make the promoters money.  This is a way promoters make money and it does nothing for the indie artist because the fans came to see the Major artist not you.

3.Not Hiring a Manager- Not hiring a manager is a big mistake by indie artists. There is just too much to do to jump start a music career, a artist cannot do it all. A manager can take the load off your back and let a artist concentrate on their music. A good manager will work for free until you make some good money then they will get compensated.

4.Not making a Name for yourself in your Hometown – Labels and distributors will investigate a indie artists hometown to see if they have a local fan base. Indie artists that are mentioned by there hometown DJs and promoters will get a labels attention. You cannot conquer the nation if you cannot even conquer your hometown. If you are not a big deal in your home town then you are not working hard enough. Labels want artists to promo themselves these days and once a artist gets a huge buzz then the label will find them.

5.Networking Too Much – It might seem like the right thing to do, but it is a big mistake most indie artists make. If you are always available for anyone and everyone who wants to collaborate with you, then the general public will view you as nothing special. You must be hard to get a hold of. You must create a I am already a star persona. You do not want to have 3 other unknown artists on your songs with you. You do not want to collab with everybody. You want to collaborate with those artists that are at a higher level then you. You do not want to rub elbows with your fans.

Written by DJ Fade

In the early days of Hip Hop, most notably around the last fifteen years of the 20th century, there had always been an underlying, but often vocal, opposition to popular American music, or “pop” music. The idea was always that, by surrendering the people’s music, designed for the downtrodden inner-city, to corporate America, Hip Hop contradicted everything it stood for. However, that which the soothsayers of rap feared has come true, and those cunning profiteers, who take control of every potential cash-crop they detect, have commandeered the music so seamlessly that the glory days of yesteryear and the code under which they operated, are all but forgotten.

Back then, the unwritten code implied that an artist must “pay dues”, such as battling other MC’s in the streets or hosting parties held in city parks or apartments, before they can be respected as a true rap artist. This code was enforced musically and collectively by those already anointed, rather effectively destroying the fragile careers of artists who had bypassed these rites of passage and crossed over into the mainstream by way of a marketing strategy.

The two most notable causalities were MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, both of whom won Grammy Awards, at a time when such honors was considered a scarlet letter in the music’s culture. Such brutal attacks proved that the music was, indeed, larger than any man, and no feelings would be spared to safeguard the musical frontier which had refused to join the empire

Today, we see events like the annual Hip Hop Honors, which decided to commemorate The Dirty South for their “dominance” in rap music over the last decade, a dominance measured by sales, not talent, and is clearly a result of the over-exposure that comes from squeezing a successful product for everything it’s worth. The landscape has been mangled. Artists that were previously banished are now celebrated, like the actor-turned-rapper and exemplar of pop star, Drake, who has shrewdly conformed to the south’s unique interpretation of rap music and has seamlessly integrated with its clique, despite the fact that he hails from Canada, thousands of miles away.

In 2010, Drake, the canuck, who has outrun a sure exile by about fifteen years, wears his mainstream accolades with pride and is adored by fans, which are appearing more and more like the crowd at the Mickey Mouse Club and less like a classic “park jam”. Just like Ice, who was harshly vilified and torn from grace, he has bypassed the code and has been inserted into the chain-wearing, campaign-popping world of dancing floozies and big rims. Most certainly under a team of business advisers, he masquerades as a tried and true member of the Dirty South and whistles “Dixie” all the way to the Canadian bank.

It is truly a sad state of affairs, and the real victims are the abandoned artists who are still out there. Much like the Samurai of the far east, whose ideals were smothered by their countries’ desire to join the industrial surge of the west in the 19th century, they remain on the fringe and never receive what’s rightfully theirs. These forgotten souls, remnants of the original colonies and second-generation frontiersman, like Slum Village, Guilty Simpson, Aesop Rock, Madlib, Oh-No, MF Doom, Kool Keith and Del the Funky Homosapien press on, following the original commandments of hip hop, equipped with the technology of the day and a skill set that’s 30 years evolved.

They receive no support from major radio stations, which are in the pocket of the evil syndicate and only serve as a promotional tool for the mainstream acts, and they certainly are not honored with an award show honoring their “dominance”. They aren’t even invited. Their fan base consists of hip hop romantics, and their work fits the description of cult classic. Like most of our distorted perceptions of history, the present time period will be remembered as the era of the Dirty South and artists such as Drake, while those who has taken the art where it should be melt into obscurity.

So, if you enjoy the new breed, understand that you are perfectly normal. Many have adopted the music that was hijacked and taken from the ghetto by the same people who use all of their interests to control them. However, just know that when you claim to be a fan of hip hop, the music you enjoy is not in it’s pure state but rather, is a deformed mutation of it.

To the rest of the fans, keep it real.

View the original article on blogcritics.org

There is no argument from anyone on, who has the most elite Mixtape Site in the world. That title belongs to Icecreamtapes.com they burst on to the scene 2 months ago and are climbing at a alarming rate. Embraced by the Labels and all the Real Big name  OG DJs we have to agree it is the best mixtape site to have ever done it.   Recent tapes posted by IceCreamTapes are below.

Looks like Rihanna won’t be getting a Grammy do-over.

Despite rumors that she’d perform at this year’s awards show, Rihanna told Carson Daly on his Amp Radio show last night that she will attend the show, but wont be allowed to perform. “We messed their show up pretty bad last year,” she said. “They might be a little mad at me.”

Better Days

Rihanna is referring to the Grammy morning beatdown by her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown that caused both of them to miss their scheduled performances, and left the Grammy producers scrambling at the last minute to fill the time.

Nothing in the trunk

Rihanna is still nominated twice for “Run This Town,” her collaboration with Jay-Z and Kanye West. They’ll vie for the Best Rap/Sung Category (the same category that earned Rihanna her first Grammy for “Umbrella”) and Best Rap Song.