My Philosophy: Dame Dash

The Internets went wild when a photo of Jay Z and Dame Dash together surfaced back in August. Reunited and it felt so good. Though the relationship between the former Roc-A-Fella partners went sour after years of rumored personal differences, Dame assures his bank account is what kept him from beefing. "Because people part ways in business doesn't mean they should be considered enemies. That's just some hype that the press sold," he tells VIBE. "Anytime I ran into Jay, it was what it was going to be. I made too much money to be mad at him." For the final installment of My Philosophy, Dame Dash also speaks on his loyalty to Cam'ron and Jim Jones and his strong belief in karma. "My thing is to make everyone around me rich, not to say be responsible for that, [but] because I'm always secure with the friends that I love are alright," Dame adds. "We used to live by that code called the Circle of Success." Watch him discuss the happiness of success and why he pays the bad press no mind above.

Kanye West on Juan Epstein!!

KANYE WEST INTERVIEW SHORT VERSION

KANYE WEST INTERVIEW SHORT VERSION

These are selected clips from an interview with Kanye West conducted by Tomas Koolhaas in October 2013 for his film 'REM' -a documentary about his father, the architect Rem Koolhaas.
 

CONTEXT:In May 2012 OMA (Rem Koolhaas's architecture firm) designed a temporary pavillion for Kanye West at the Cannes film festival. The purpose of the pavilion was to screen a film purpose-made by Kanye West that was shot using seven cameras recording simultaneously from different angles. The pavilion housed seven separate screens, each one showing a separate camera angle. Despite the innovative nature of the film and the pavilion itself the entire endeavor received only a limited amount of coverage in the mainstream media. 

Stop making

Some hard 2 digest wisdom courtesy of: Bob Lefsetz
Thanks Nate @ tumblr

"The album is dying in front of our very eyes.

In other words, what kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where Katy Perry’s new album “Prism” only sells 287,000 copies in its debut?

One in which everybody’s interested in the single, and no one’s got time to sit and hear your hour plus statement.

This is not emotion, this is statistics. The shelf life of news is shorter than ever. The shelf life of art… You blink and it’s done.

I’m fine with you preaching to the choir, making an album for your fans. You gotta go where you wanna go, do what you wanna do, with whomever…

But if your plan is to increase your audience, spread the word and make money, suddenly the album just isn’t working. The youngsters are streaming singles and the oldsters are staying home. How do I know? Elton’s album isn’t even in the Top Fifty and McCartney’s album barely broke 20,000 this week, and there wasn’t a better oldster hype than for these two projects. People just don’t want ‘em.

So what’s the industry to do?

Have a rethink.

In other words, hype doesn’t work.

No one had more hype than Miley Cyrus, but “Bangerz” didn’t even sell 45,000 copies this week. She can go on SNL, tweet her life away, but it’s not moving the needle. Lorde is selling as much as her without the benefit of scorched earth, proving that quality music is as good as hype, but…she’s not burning up the chart either.

We’ve turned into a nation of grazers. And the artist’s job is to constantly be at the smorgasbord. Not to deliver one big meal that is picked at and thrown away, but a constant presence in the public’s face.

Media cannot be limited to the album release date. It must be a 24/7, 365 day a year effort. Same with creativity. If your track gets traction, more power to you. If it doesn’t, go back in the studio and make more.

In other words, if you’re sitting at home bitching that you’re not making any money because the Internet stole your business you’re RIGHT! There are so many diversions that no one’s got time for mediocre anymore. They just want superior. As for piracy… If you think “Prism“‘s sales are low then you believe people are leaving AT&T Wireless because of Skype.

Yes, AT&T’s subscriber numbers are declining. Oh, they’ve got some new iPad accounts, but contract subscribers are moving on to the cheaper T-Mobile and the better Verizon. Castigate me all you want, but the statistics don’t lie.

Just like these album numbers.

If you’ve got a concept album, go ahead and record it. If you’re only interested in selling a little, be my guest. But if you want to penetrate the consciousness of a large group of people and grow the pie, an album isn’t working. Hell, it’s not even working as a revenue model!

Labels are no longer in the record business, they’re in the star business. How to maximize the revenue of an individual or band in as many media as possible, in as many ways as possible. Yes, while you were bitching about piracy your whole business model disappeared.

If music were the government it’d need a new hit. What I mean is the debt ceiling debate is history, the government needs a new hit single to stay in the public eye. But if it was run by musicians, they’d keep imploring people to read about the debt ceiling debate and the government shutdown. But the public has moved on.

You put out these albums and in almost every case, the public moves on in a matter of WEEKS! A few bought it, they heard it, and they’re satisfied, and left waiting for years until you grace them with a new release. The rest of the public is just waiting for a hit single to burble, and if it does, they’ll tap their toes and snap their fingers and ask WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU GOT?

And what you’ve got had better be just as good as the hit.

No one wants album tracks anymore. Not unless they’re every bit as satisfying as the hit.

So it’s not only classic rock acts who are no longer putting out albums, soon no one will do it. Oh, it won’t be soon, because artists think making albums is part of their DNA, going into the studio and making a ten track “statement.”

But that’s like saying typewriters have to be an office fixture. And you can’t post online unless you write in multiple paragraphs. And texting must be abandoned because it’s not in depth enough.

The goal of a musician is to be AHEAD of the audience.

Right now everybody’s behind.”

Kanye West Unreleased 2002 Interview With MTV

Major Vs Minor Leagues- Ebro talks to The Combat Jack Show

Steve Stoute: How Did I Get Here?

Click on image to enlarge.

Mike Dean’s Dirty South

B.Dot On NY Times Popcast

http://rapradar.com/2013/01/12/b-dot-on-ny-times-popcast/#comments

The Blackout: Fat Joe Vs. Jay-Z At The Rucker

The legendary Rucker Park experienced its most exciting summer in 2003, when hip-hop mogul Jay-Z bought his team of NBA superstars to dethrone the reigning champs, Terror Squad, lead by rapper and CEO Fat Joe. The stories from that summer still are talked about till this day but the one question everyone always asks is if the Blackout didn't happen who would've won?

Swizz Beatz Talks Meek Mill vs Cassidy Battle, and Talks Cassidy/ Freeway Battle (Video)

Swizz Beatz reveals who he picks in a battle between Cassidy and Meek Mill, and explains his decision. Swizz also talks about Cassidy's infamous battle with Freeway, and how he was an integral part of putting everything into power.

25 Things Everyone Thinks About Hip-Hop (But Nobody Will Say).

25. Personality matters more than "skills."

"If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli." Jay-Z's lyric makes nominal sense, at best—not that Kweli wasn't a skilled rapper, but Jay was always a more dexterous one, even when he "dumbed down" to double his dollars.

But in a larger sense, this statement points to why "skills" are such a bizarrely irrelevant factor in 99% of conversations about hip-hop. For most critics, the term "skills" applies to a very narrow range of possible talents. Songwriting, charisma, the possibility of surprise—anything that describes a well-rounded artist, or results in an enjoyable piece of music—are all subservient to the rapper's technique.

If there's one dominant thing in the rapper's control, it's their personality. Personality is, admittedly, more abstract, but that's what has made the biggest impact for every classic rapper.

Jay-Z isn't just dope because he's skilled. He's dope because those skills help form a better picture of a nonchalant rap star, whose nonchalance perfectly conveys his jaded persona. Skills are only a means to an end.

22. Explicitly political rap music will never change the world.

If you have strident political opinions and you want to make change happen, music might not be the best medium to address your cause. Yes, there are scattered examples in hip-hop history that show music's political potential, its ability to convey powerful messages, with Public Enemy being the most obvious and most successful. But these are rare.

An artist's ability to create meaningful change is also dependent on being heard by an audience that might act upon what they've learned. A lot of times, a political message gains power from being personal; rather than hectoring. Some of the best rappers would lead by example. (Think 2Pac's "Keep Your Head Up," rather than the condescending "Brenda's Got a Baby.")

This isn't an argument that music can or should disregard moral purpose; quite the opposite. Instead, artists should simply recognize that by labeling oneself as a "conscious" or "political" artist, a rapper is setting up himself or herself to merely preach to the choir. All too often, their decision to be "political" is more about branding than it is about creating real positive change.

20. If you don't make a music video for your song, it doesn't exist.

It's 2012, which means that, for most rap artists, there's no more passing around your demo tape with a phone number penciled on the side. No matter what level of success your song attains, the video is a necessity. Any attempt to pretend otherwise is just plain dumb.

Getting our music via the Internet means we experience everything visually as much as we do aurally. Swag matters. You think Kreayshawn would have a record deal without her video? "Gucci Gucci" was a catchy song, but it was the entire lifestyle conveyed through a four-minute clip that really made her career take off.

The same holds true for A$AP Rocky, Chief Keef, and Trinidad James. Videos have always been important for breaking artists; they convey a sensibility and identity. They've also never been as affordable as they are now. An army of videographers awaits your call.

http://www.complex.com/music/2012/11/25-things-everyone-thinks-about-hip-hop-but-nobody-will-say/

Big Fun in the Big Town