- May 15, 2003
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There's no one set up in a position of power to fight for the artist.
That was totally intentional. It's not a coincidence they went away and 360 deals came.
The Combat Jack Show Thread
- Thread in 'Music' Thread starter Started by romedadude,
- Start date
There's no one set up in a position of power to fight for the artist.
That was totally intentional. It's not a coincidence they went away and 360 deals came.
- Aug 11, 2012
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P & Coach K
- Oct 14, 2015
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I'm from Queens and hated that Murda Inc ****. Fruckouttahere. Cash Money Click Ja, VVV Ja was okay but Pop Ja FOH.
- May 15, 2003
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Yeah, Ja and Nelly were for chicks. Not that there's anything wrong with that. That wasn't my lane and what I was listening too. It's the same thing that turned me off from Mase.
And Ja was perceived as doing the mini DMX thing, but it was a more mini Tupac thing. DMX was being DMX. Ja was being Tupac with the shirt off, tatts and bandanas. The bandana thing was a New York thing he got from spending time in New York, but Tupac made it global. DMX got that at first, but DMX always came off as authentic, where as Ja Rule always seemed like he was trying to be someone else.
Look at Ja's transformations...curly Gerald Levert S curl kit, braids, baldy....
And Ja was perceived as doing the mini DMX thing, but it was a more mini Tupac thing. DMX was being DMX. Ja was being Tupac with the shirt off, tatts and bandanas. The bandana thing was a New York thing he got from spending time in New York, but Tupac made it global. DMX got that at first, but DMX always came off as authentic, where as Ja Rule always seemed like he was trying to be someone else.
Look at Ja's transformations...curly Gerald Levert S curl kit, braids, baldy....
- Apr 27, 2002
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i agree, those cats WERE pivotal in that era of the music business, that is what is cool learning about in these interviews, but those almost times required it...these days with the sheer quantity of both artists & outlets doesn't need that link for the business to run, in fact the business is probably better for it, from the perspective of those running the show it eliminate one level of middle men...
those old white men have always had the same concern for the bottom line, but when the business didn't require the puffs & irvs, they got cut loose, the money people rarely ever really understand the art, which why the they needed the people who could say this is what is cool, but now it is way easier to pull up ig, google, or use some other metric to see what is lit or moving, in real time; less development, less guesswork, less risk, equals less money out & potentially more money in...
i'm always dubious to claims of art/artist/ manipulation by labels, not that it doesn't happen, i just don't think it is to the extent & reach that is always being claimed, anyone involved in the art #punintended of commerce knows there is some amount of theater to it, if anything that is the lesson most of the new artists have learned from that generation because listening to the dames, irvs, and puff speak on that era, that is what they understood, stuff has to look & feel a certain way...for example, the reason both dame & puff didn't think dmx would work was because it wasn't what they were selling...so they couldn't see it working, it wasn't because x wasn't nice as a emcee
when an artist can make & release music with the availability of decent tools & ease of today, i don't think they feel nearly as constricted as their counterpart artists of yesteryear, they are putting out exactly what they want (or perhaps what they think people want)...the gift & the curse of the loss of some of the gatekeepers is that the art/culture is by definition less curated, there are more creators and less control, and that generation of execs were about curation & control; whereas it became much more experimental & laissez-faire in regards to the music, and for better & worse we gained a broader spectrum of artists for whom brand/image became more important...
i don't necessarily disagree that it may have been intentional, just that had the business remained as profitable or even had those guys had artists that were in that next wave, those guys probably keep their position in the music business hierarchy, 360 deals were just a realization by the music industry that if they needed another source of revenue when they are spending so much money to create an artist they should reap more of the benefit, especially as album sales were precipitously declining...
venni vett vecci is so slept on...i never thought ja & x were similar but i can sort of understand the comparison given the competitive nature that of that era...
- Mar 21, 2010
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i'm 1000% in agreeance that from a business point the roles of the Puffs/Dame/Suge's etc etc became expendable. The thing about it is that i in no way think that it was due to how music was consumed or because the music is easier to get out, because if we being real the music is still being filtered & made "cool" by people if we are talking mainstream. Sure it's much easier for an artist to gain a small fanbase in their city by themselves.
But landing those looks on those blogs, those placements on Worldstar, those features from bigger artist, spots on those spotify playlist etc etc you still have to get cosigned by people, except now instead of an Irv or Puff showing you to the masses........ It's Yesjulz or some corny personality from Complex, who covers the culture but aren't fully ingrained or birthed in it. When you hear these older guys speak even if they themselves didn't always make the right moves, you could see that they had a love & respect for the craft & the creation & really wanted to cultivate the dopest ****.
around 05-06 & going forward there was a big push in mainstream media & the rap business to push a simple version of rap to the forefront. Surely there was still talented & creative rappers seeing success, but for the first time ever dudes who were making knowingly disposable music & flash in the pan ****. Were now being propped up shoulder to shoulder with the real talented ones. It comes as no surprise that these sort of execs who prided themselves in quality control & actually building a superstar were pushed to the side in favor of "A&R's" & "cultivators" who focused on pushing a product no matter the quality.
- Apr 27, 2002
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it isn't solely that the way music was consumed had changed (thus changing the money equation), it is also that i don't think they had they same relationship to music or new artists (think about this as well, (puff & dame were both branching out beyond the music into clothing, liquor, & tv, irv was dealing with the feds, and suge had already long been somewhat irrelevant from being locked up & basically floating on archive music), so regardless of the love & respect they may have had for music, it was for a certain era/type of music and they weren't necessarily on the wave of what was cutting edge in hip-hop...they each had a certain formula that they adhered to...
kanye is one of the most influential artists to come out of that period, but listening to the various tellings of his story by kanye & others, his signing to roc-a-fella seemed more like an appeasement of the fact that he was an ill producer rather than him actually being undeniably dope as a rapper...it is an interesting what if, to think about how music might be different if kanye decided to rock with dame instead of hov, i remember him speaking on it saying he decided he could learn more from jay and that him & dame were too alike...
good point, the music is still somewhat filtered through "influencers" & "tastemakers" who have relationships with people in the music business, but i think it is pretty undeniable that more artists are getting their music heard today on their own without industry help...there has always been (& always will be) both disposable artist & art that have existed alongside important/talented artist & art, talent is almost ALWAYS overrated; commercial art in the mainstream is always about a confluence of things...and i just don't buy that a simple version of rap was pushed upon people...the sound of hip-hop did change/expand, but i don't think it can be said that the older execs like dame, diddy, & irv, we're talking about were cutting through with new artists...
there definitely is a lot of noise today in terms of not only the music being created but also the voices commenting on the music and even how music gets shared today with all of the various outlets & incarnations. you could be right in theorizing, in fact i would agree to an extent, that there is a good amount of manipulation, that behind the scenes the game is still being controlled by the same people at the top just with different players. it could be that those folks are putting the veneer of an organic movement over on music discovery but i think in the main, the reason the music changed is because what people wanted from their music changed and i think that changed because they way we consumed music changed...not to go too deep, but i mean think about how people's library of music was changing, before if you wanted to listen to any random artist you had to either commit some cash or know someone who had it, which limited what you could listen to who how much money you had &/or who you knew and while i don't think that was everyone's experience, i do think this had the affect of making people more open to different sounds in music generally...
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- Jan 2, 2010
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Get the **** outta here with Belly and Menace being overrated
- May 23, 2005
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Y’all really in here writing novels
And dudes really tryna front like nelly country grammar
And that rule 3:36 album didn’t bang
Who is raising u ******
And dudes really tryna front like nelly country grammar
And that rule 3:36 album didn’t bang
Who is raising u ******
- Apr 27, 2002
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good talk
- Jan 3, 2013
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Who tries to eat box after a train? That's not normal behavior. I can't trust you after that.
- Sep 21, 2008
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Y'all _s be writing
- Mar 8, 2004
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"Eat-Z pass" lol
- Apr 12, 2011
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These dudes are crazy. I never understood train culture but to try to eat your way in is asinine
- May 15, 2003
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I was almost in tears 
Literally trying to get in the front of the line. Pardon me I have some business to take care of. [pushes penis out the way]
I know dudes were sitting there befuddled. What do you do while that's happening, discuss the Knicks game last night
Literally trying to get in the front of the line. Pardon me I have some business to take care of. [pushes penis out the way]
I know dudes were sitting there befuddled. What do you do while that's happening, discuss the Knicks game last night
- Dec 25, 2003
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‘Yo, can you move that out the way real quick?’
A lot of weirdos out there, man.
A lot of weirdos out there, man.
- Jun 1, 2011
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- Aug 26, 2017
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That Miguel song is flames. Joe and em been outta pocket for like 2 episodes now.
Belly, Menance II Society, Boyz n the Hood will forever be classics. What movies are they comparing them to? Batman or some ish?
Mal was funny this episode though.
Belly, Menance II Society, Boyz n the Hood will forever be classics. What movies are they comparing them to? Batman or some ish?
Mal was funny this episode though.
- Sep 27, 2005
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mal a funny dude he just normally on his phone too damn much and not engaged with the topics
atleast the last couple eps before the last one
running trains was always gay as hell but putting your mouth on anything in a train is super disgusting and gay
I’ve seen dudes eat butt and p**** at strip clubs
atleast the last couple eps before the last one
running trains was always gay as hell but putting your mouth on anything in a train is super disgusting and gay
I’ve seen dudes eat butt and p**** at strip clubs
- Jan 2, 2010
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‘Yo, can you move that out the way real quick?’
A lot of weirdos out there, man.
This on Joe podcast?
- Mar 28, 2004
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been slacking on Desus and Mero podcast lately I need to get caught up
but I noticed something on the show the other day Tpain was on and they were talking about a video he did for Taylor Swift
years ago, he suddenly realized he only did the record with her to "make fun of hip hop" days later the video seems to have been scrubbed the from youtube.
The Brands is juicing like Barry Bonds
but I noticed something on the show the other day Tpain was on and they were talking about a video he did for Taylor Swift
years ago, he suddenly realized he only did the record with her to "make fun of hip hop" days later the video seems to have been scrubbed the from youtube.
The Brands is juicing like Barry Bonds
- Dec 14, 2004
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Steve Stoute on Drink Champs. I need the video for that.
I need to see the joint with Lil Flip too. I don’t think people remember how big Flip was and the numbers he was doing. Then that fall was quick. I want to hear him talk.
I need to see the joint with Lil Flip too. I don’t think people remember how big Flip was and the numbers he was doing. Then that fall was quick. I want to hear him talk.
- Jan 2, 2010
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They let Joe troll too much on this podcast. Dude acting like he don't know when it's ok to pull your **** out around a girl. Lol
And any dude that just beats his meat with a girl at his crib is strange.
And any dude that just beats his meat with a girl at his crib is strange.
- Jul 30, 2017
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Flip was that dude b4 the beef with ti..nobody cam deny that..he was the 1 from houston that was mainstream from like 2000 to 02/03
- Sep 27, 2005
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flips decline had nothing to do with ti
and everyone from houston knows ti came down here and got beat up
every rapper from houston was jealous of flip from him being labeled the freestyle king to his mainstream success...he even got shot by a certain someone
flip was the first one from houston to be mainstream since scarface
for people outside of Houston he only had a 2 album run but in houston he was one of the front runners for years
and everyone from houston knows ti came down here and got beat up
every rapper from houston was jealous of flip from him being labeled the freestyle king to his mainstream success...he even got shot by a certain someone
flip was the first one from houston to be mainstream since scarface
for people outside of Houston he only had a 2 album run but in houston he was one of the front runners for years
