Why Rappers Need Bloggers (& Vice Versa)
Simply put; the rap game done changed. This is obvious to all participants, but outsiders may not agree. All they hear are the raps, & all they see are the pseudo-super rap stars doing what they’ve been collectively doing for the last 40 years: rap. That face, or façade, is cosmetic. It will always be. But the back door, behind-the-scenes play is what determines who gets what shine where & when. Even before “talent” is considered or dismissed by the public, certain things must first take place. Things like promotion.
Without promotion, whatever it is that you do is useless, pointless, & a veritable waste of time. (Talent has absolutely nothing to do with preparation & assertion.) That’s not just for rapping, either. Any talent-churning ability – that one wants to earn monies for doing – needs to be promoted. Today, the computer ‘Net is the promoters tool of choice. Thus, Hip Hop blogs & rap websites have officially taken the place of traditional radio format, word to Combat Jack. Oddly, however, it’s still hard to put a finger on whether this is good or bad. In the case of today’s rapper, though, this is a good thing.
For the most part, the current rap blogs maintain a certain ebb & flow that allows for just about anybody to get their name “out there,” whatever that means. I talk to my real-world friends about online things, months before they are real world things, & I always wonder what would happen if there was no bridge between the 2. Just to broaden the example a bit, would the Rick Ross/50 Cent beef have been such a big deal if the ‘Net wasn’t there to cover it?
Bloggers are literally & figuratively the new DJ, & speaking of which, I need a rapper to brag about, who’ll hold me down, & vice versa. (Hold that thought, though.)
Rap magazines blogs are like Hip Hop plankton. You may not know we’re here, may even choose to ignore us, but if it weren’t for us, the surrounding rap life would cease to exist. How else would people in New York know about Dom Kennedy & Schoolboy Q? It ticks me off when I see “rappers” – who are just as unpopular as the blog they solicit – putting down the cats whose opinions got them there to begin with. Keep in mind that without “you,” the blogger would essentially have no blog. Aside from that, it’s true that any publicity is good publicity, & if you disagree, you’re absolutely in the wrong business. But, I digress.
I’ve seen actual arguments unfold on Twitter behind songs. Songs, people. One blogger does something a rapper doesn’t like – behind a song leak or premiere – & before you know it, there’s a weed carrier’s call to collective arms, & all baggage handling hell is breaking loose. The way I see it, as long as we scratch each other’s backs, the less we need a middle man. I’m no business man per se, but I’m smart enough to see that rap doesn’t necessarily required a physical “record industry” to thrive. If you doubt, take a look around – in cyberspace as well as the meatworld – & see it as it unfolds.
So up & coming rappers – as a neutral spokesperson of sorts – I not only offer an olive branch to your integrity, but also ask that you respect us with the same velocity. As an aside of sorts, the fact that most of us don’t charge you money to promote your product shows that there’s room for everyone. We just want the same shout outs & nods we give, in return. Really though, we need each other.
hell and yes, i refuse to listen to radio and don’t even click new cats stuff on major hip hop sites (been burnt too many times with the next big thing) so bloggers are the only cats whose opinion matters to me on trying something new. too much garbage out there and my day is only so long, so a blogger i can dig , is an opinion i can trust too a degree. might not like it but i am more willing to try something new.
PS most stuff i listen to is golden era or peeps who came from that era, so it takes me some prodding to try the newer rappers.
Lol @ “hell and yes”
I think this post might be the first time I’ve ever (respectfully) disagreed with you Grands. Rappers need the internet for sure. Bloggers? I’m not so convinced. I see a lot of music blogs proclaim themselves to be “tastemakers” and “the new DJs” and while it’s true that some blogs do in fact help break artists I don’t think they’re irreplaceable or “hip hop plankton”. There’s too many other outlets on the internet that rappers can utilize beyond just blogs. Odd Future was pretty much shut out by all the major blogs until they reached a point where the blogs were looking dumb for not fuckin with them. Juicy J kept himself relevant by shooting video after video and posting to YouTube for the past few years and only in the past 6 months have most of the major blogs started to pick up on them. In the Bay there’s several artists who get virtually no blog love (I’m thinking specifically of Livewire Records who OWN the streets out here right now) but have fan bases and tour up and down the West Coast and places like Denver, Hawaii, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Kansas City, Akron, etc. They might not be blowing up like XXL’s Freshmen Class (who are mostly picked based on blogs, true) but I’ve personally witnessed their rise from locking down the streets to reaching out on the Internet mainly through YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook to develop a real name and point where their videos are getting hundreds and thousands of hits and even rotation on MTV2 (for whatever that’s worth). Basically I think there’s too many lanes in the internet for artists to exploit for any one platform such as blogs to be considered crucial to the point where nothing else would exist without em.
Perhaps plankton was a bit ambitious. But I hear you.
I see a lot of music blogs proclaim themselves to be “tastemakers”
^ thus the reason sykoticfiles.wordpress.com & bboycult.com exists…bboy chats it up with the homies, and the “files” just posts music to reflect the bboycult convos…no pressure to keep up with the status quo, and both are existing quite well too.
Add this site to your list and you get an enthusiastic co-sign (yes, hetero)
why of course
I remember writing a blog entry about Kevin Nottingham a few years ago similar to this blog because he began charging new artists for album reviews. I can’t say I’ve been best of friends with with blogs/bloggers. I don’t a lot of them understand this concept of us needing each other.
^I’ve never reviewed an album. I don’t think true tastemakers should voice opinions. You’re here to introduce the new thing to me, not give me opinions.
Kevin wouldve been better off selling weed to those artists for an extra couple of bucks.
Exactly. He really felt justified about that though. I understand bloggers to an extent have to make money from the blog but to charge people that help bring content to the site is crazy. I don’t think he does it anymore though.
^^
*rigamortis* @ plankton being ambitious.
This is all true though. To a certain point. While artists can keep themselves relevant without blog love, still the majority of us need the blogs to get our name out, just because our personal circle may not be that huge, or possess that “tastemaker” quality.
Great post! Definitely agree with you on this…
“You may not know we’re here, may even choose to ignore us, but if it weren’t for us, the surrounding rap life would cease to exist.”
This statement alone demonstrates a particular arrogance that dominates the blogger community. Sure blogs assist just like any other form of media but never make the mistake of believing that a blog makes or breaks a career and they definitely don’t control Hip Hop culture. Unfortunately, individuals who have gained fame (15 minutes worth) from writing blogs would like us all to believe that we can’t do without them.
Let’s be honest, the bloggers are drinking the Kool-Aid as much as the rappers themselves. How many of you are scrambling to write an “insightful” review of the new Jay Z and kanye West release right now. The blog post is being written in an attempt to stay relevant, drive traffic, look cool and in the know or whatever, but the fact remains the blogger needs the rapper way more than the rapper needs the blogger. Plus the majority of music blogs are merely copycats of the top 10. In some instances bloggers are worst than the DJ who only plays what’s on the radio.
I’ve ceded to plankton being a bit of an overstatement, but touché nonetheless.
& the closest I’ve gotten to writing about Otis was the first sentence of a post today, which was about bow wow & yungberg.
I don’t think all blogs/bloggers are the same, but the functionality of hip hop blogs (which are essentially mini-sites) is public relations. As the migration to all digital everything continues, combined with a money-less music industry, the ‘net will be go-to for awhile. The blogs themselves, especially the ones that aggregate, are interchangeable & disposable. But the service they provide is underrated. & I don’t mean the supposed “taste makers” but the cats who cOntribute to the movement of the music.