Food for thought.

[DJFANTOM]

Ok I've been thinking bout something. Given the fact that most "black owned"record labels and most sucessful rappers are ex drugdealers. Can a young black man who never sold drugs , never realy hung out in the streets. And don't have a direct connection with the " guys on the corner" make it in the buisness.

The reason I ask this is for many ex drug dealers its easier for them to start up. Ie: by having the money to cover start up costs. Learning buisness from doing buisness in the streets( which is realy the same as doing corporate buisness only on a street level) and having "fame" or noteriety being well known in the streets.

Take for example jay z . Would he dame and biggs been able to build such a successful company . And jay be such a sucessful rapper. If they wernt ex drug dealers. Already having some money street connects and a name ( that can carry over into corperate america).

So im interested . In yalll opinions.

Can a young black man who nnever sold drugs and doesn't have a name in the streets make it in the music biz?

Some of you might say 1 has nothin to do with each other . But believe me in america at least it does.

 

[berserk]

Yes i believe they can... There are lots of succesful rappers like this... For example... Diddy... We all know he's shit... But he's the exception to most rap rules... Lol... There's also bow wow & lil romeo... Also a lot of rappers that say they have done such things just use it to get on... A lot of rappers are just average people who turn all hardcore to sell records...

 

[soundboy2]

Hip Hop is street by nature, not gangsta or whatrever, but street. So I think you have to have that element with in you or have somebody on your team that does. You got to be able to go the pool halls, the hole in walls the house parties and vibe with the people to create music for them. Just my opinion. But you don't have to be no drug dealer, hell no. But you got to have a "hustle to get it "mentality, but you could be selling socks.

Some producers only have an artistic spirit, they can make the best beats but can't sell them. You have to have some huslte to go with it or team up with somebody that does to make money at it.

Of course it;s a lot easirer if you got bundle stacks to make it in anything , not just rap.

 

[DJFANTOM]

I agree with you soundboy2. And I wanna clarify that I wasn't realy asking the question for my self, as much as just in general. I mean I never sold drugs or been heavy into the streets, but I am connected to the streets . And with being a dj doing mad hood parties and such im definately got my ear to the pavement . I know what you mean by a hustler spirit. My whole family was hustlers be it legal or illegal. Shit I even sold socks white t shirts and stuff.

I was just wondering what yall thought on the issue . Can a young black man not connected to the streets realy make it in the biz.

Oh and the reason I was pressing the " drug dealer" issue was to say that by being dealers they learned certain things about buisness and dealing with people and made certain connections that can translate in to the music biz.

Im sure some of us know personaly of people who flipped there skills lessons and connections from hustling . Into sucess in the music biz.

 

[bigdmakintrax]

I think that if a Eminem can make it then anyone can (if they have an established producer like Dre LOL) not saying that he might not have the street element but there's much worse breeding conditions for producing a story or an emcee that will sell and is real and all of the other elements some look for in a REAL rapper with street credibility and that lots of people can identify with some forget that element is just as important...are you living what you are talking about.........the thing is some view hip hop lifestyle like a dream or some lavish lifestyle or its cool to listen to the music without even understanding or identifying just like a lot of people watched scarface or or goodfellas thinking maybe in some way that was glamorous....I think the Backpackers and the suburban hip hop Kids could not really connect to say a rapper like NAS or PAC to understand a lot of what they said, they might be the dreamers that identify and buy and listen to the music and therefore you have a good market right there that used to either thumb their noses to hip hop or rap until Eminem came along to have them buy into it hip hop as cool or hot and be able to blast in their systems and pull up beside you bobbin their heads like someone in the hood would do..LOL......now you got the real inner city listeners that might either live that life or be right in the middle of situations that they find themselves in that most hip hop themes tend to highlight, since I have been a hip hop listener long enuff to have seen it only have the East Coast following B4 back when DMC dropped their first Album....I really think that the world has more dreamers of what hip hop brings than those that live in the painted lyrics and themes.......so with that said I believe that the element of the streets can be important enough to add credibility, but it is not the number 1 factor to determine if you will be a successful artist because there is a larger market that will buy and listen to hip hop nowadays that don't always think of how you living, or if you sling rocks or had to do a bid or if you keeping it Real.....

 

[shadeed]

Dr Dre
Eminem
Ludacris
Nas
Biggie
Kool Moe Dee (College Grad)
LL
David Banner (College Grad)
Outkast
The Fugees
Will Smith (the biggest example, I don't even think he cuss in his old records)

None of the above mentioned , made it big without selling drugs . A lotta peeps think Biggie was "on the block", but even his closest friends say that's a joke. The fact that anybody would think that you have to be a thug/hustler to make it is just buying into the stereotypes put out there.
I know personally (I'm from Philly) that Will Smith was positive, and he took a lotta heat from street cats because of that. The funny thing about this post is that Nelly used to sell drugs but you never hear that in his music. It's up to you to choose what kind of man/woman you are. Peace.

 

[StressWon]

Put it like dis, alotta cats, (and i do mean alot!!!) signed and makin records swear they gangsta and ghetto but actually came from the suburbs. Its true, its true! lol

Hip Hop is hip hop and if you got skills then that should be enuff for yourself. We all wanna get put on at some level, but unfortunatly cats like us have too much love for the art to conform to the general public's view of "hip Hop". Street credibility is stupid and ignorant. but it is glorified among the young up and comers. Hip Hop is in a state of disillusion now. It's corporate, a business and just like any business,,,you have to be marketable to the demographic; young teens.


These kids and some adults believe the crap in these records. That these cats were hustlers and from the "Hood" and had no other way out . While for some that may be true, for most others its a bull shit man! Yeah, look at Big,,,my man went to private school!!!! Private school! You can't be that bad if you live with ya mom's in the "hood" and she sendin you to private school! (Watch the Behind the Music people!)

Yo Fantom,,,fuck what ya heard son! Do what u gotta man. If you want it bad enough you'll do it,,,fo real!!! One

 

[Shonsteez]

Very good insight stress...
If you want that shit then take it.
You just gotta be hungry enough to get it.

A perfect example of some cats that are obviously dillusional and dont know what time it is...and for that matter are never going to know what tha hell they are really even talking about on tha mic - are these ignorant up an comers right here. These poor bastards fit perfectly into tha thugywannabe mold of todays hiphop.

Check tha link and see for yourself......
Like its been said before - You cant escape it I guess cuz ignorance is bliss.



http://www.soundclick.com/thecontraband



Steeze

 

[DJFANTOM]

Thanks stresswon. But I wasn't asking for my self. Just asking in general. Maybe I should word my original post differently. I agree with all ya points and what you said is actualy what I was thinking when I originaly posted.

And actualywhen I say make it in the biz I mean as far as building a company like rocafella and murder inc. ( which we all know both were started by ex drug dealers "alledgedly" with "earned" (yall know what I mean) money.

Also like your point . It seems if you aint a "gangsta" or "lover" the major labels don't know or care to know how to market you.

 

[MarkN]

i don't think you need to conform to any stereotype to make it in hip hop its a universal movement and the pioneers for example afrika bambaata started it as a way of bring all different types of people together ! i think anyone can make it aslong as they don't go in claiming they are sumthing they are not ! tho even that does work for sum !

 

[rise9]

nowadays u jus look pretty and smile for the camera.