A rap artist's credibility comes from many different places, but it mostly comes from his or her music -- of course. What does it take to make it big in the music industry, to become the newest hip-hop sensation, to make it in america?
Yesterday (Feb 14th), a kid who I had gone to high school with, Darrell, released his second mixtape, "It's a Love Story". (Listen) Like Chris had mentioned in class the other day, a rapper very commonly writes his or her lyrics according to the listeners' response and reaction to his or her previous album. Yet, in order for this method of lyricism to be successful, the previous album must first be a hit -- or at least somewhat memorable. For an upcoming artist, this is nearly impossible. With a risk of sounding cliché, probably the most important impression a rapper can make is his or her first mixtape/album.
The reason I'm sharing Darrell's new mixtape is not write a review, but to show the difficulty of getting noticed among the massive amount of good amateur music being produced that goes unnoticed by the general population and how it inhibits the potential of success. There are so many artist struggling to get attention from anyone. Why is it that artists like Nicki Minaj, with her far from profound lyrics, rise so quickly to fame when there is an uncountable amount of superior rappers that can't find any way into a record label?
I think the criteria for gaining fame today involves producing catchy music that can be played at parties and clubs. The vast-majority of popular music today is party music. This isn't a good or bad thing. It's just what the majority of listeners can relate to.
ReplyDeleteIn this sense, its becomes nearly impossible for profound lyricists to have their big break. For example, the most recent rappers to take off (Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Flo Rida, Wiz Khalifa etc) are by no means exceptional lyricists. They merely produce catchy music over great beats, which again is not a bad thing.
Another factor that contributes to an artist's "big break" is having connections. The support of a major rapper can make or break a young up-and-comer's career