Shaq dissing Kobe on the MIC!

[Quickerblade]

Spot on

you know the artist make most of the $$ off ringtones, but they get 0 from cd sales, so they just find a catchy beat with a dumb chorus, its trash but the 16 yrolds will buy it.

[Jeffro]

Yup youre right
Some bad examples along with Souljah Boy:Dem Franchize Boyz, D4L, Unk, MIMS,etc.  Its all garbage   But youre right, kids are just eating this shit up.  Ive lost interest in most rap today

[Quickerblade]

Yup youre right
Some bad examples along with Souljah Boy:Dem Franchize Boyz, D4L, Unk, MIMS,etc.  Its all garbage   But youre right, kids are just eating this shit up.  Ive lost interest in most rap today

You know What man, u cant be mad at the soulja boys and MIMS etc, even though that shit has fuck all substance, its made em millioniares (Maybe) but its like me or you doing a drug deal, we deal it, get the cash and run, thats all there doing, in and out, they wont be relevant in 3 months.

 50 cent, Nelly, etc commercial rappers but they been in the game 6-7 yrs and still selling, Nelly may have dropped a bit cause lately his singles have sucked. Everyones like Nas is better, and all that comparision shit, Nas is a better lyricist then all of them but doesnt have the fan base nelly and 50 has, so what im trying to say is that if you market yourself well u can survive..but that soulja boy "superman" shit will make u money but kill ur career..same goes for Flo-rida

[Jeffro]

You know What man, u cant be mad at the soulja boys and MIMS etc, even though that shit has fuck all substance, its made em millioniares (Maybe) but its like me or you doing a drug deal, we deal it, get the cash and run, thats all there doing, in and out, they wont be relevant in 3 months.

 50 cent, Nelly, etc commercial rappers but they been in the game 6-7 yrs and still selling, Nelly may have dropped a bit cause lately his singles have sucked. Everyones like Nas is better, and all that comparision shit, Nas is a better lyricist then all of them but doesnt have the fan base nelly and 50 has, so what im trying to say is that if you market yourself well u can survive..but that soulja boy "superman" shit will make u money but kill ur career..same goes for Flo-rida

Yea its just sad that this is what rap has become, but i cant hate because anyone is going to take advantage of something if the money is there

[Parker]

Yea its just sad that this is what rap has become, but i cant hate because anyone is going to take advantage of something if the money is there

What the rap game has really come to is the commercial marketing of "Urban America". That 's what it boils down to, whether it be music, a look, or a stereotype, the higher ups have seen to it, that they will market, what "they" see as Urban (and it is thru a small prism of reality). A lot of these idiots going around claiming they are hard or Thugs, like  (Lil' Wayne) are the polar opposite...they are told and marketed that way. 

[body88]

What the rap game has really come to is the commercial marketing of "Urban America". That 's what it boils down to, whether it be music, a look, or a stereotype, the higher ups have seen to it, that they will market, what "they" see as Urban (and it is thru a small prism of reality). A lot of these idiots going around claiming they are hard or Thugs, like  (Lil' Wayne) are the polar opposite...they are told and marketed that way. 

Gen y ( hip hop fans ) spends hundreds of billions annually, and they will surpass baby boomes soon. Gen y actually spends their money, while other generations have a large portion that save it. Anyone who has not seen this, or refuses to accept this fact - will be left in the dust. Hip hop reaches every type of consumer out there in the 12 - 34 demo, and they will soon be the most powerful spending force on the earth.

You can make fun of rappers, but you cannot deny the power their audience has in the market place.

[Quickerblade]

You can make fun of rappers, but you cannot deny the power their audience has in the market place.

Exactly, 50cent, jay z and diddy = Forbes...
Nelly and Usher part own NBA teams
Will smith, well his not a product of this era, but he opened up other avenues for these guys.

[body88]

Exactly, 50cent, jay z and diddy = Forbes...
Nelly and Usher part own NBA teams
Will smith, well his not a product of this era, but he opened up other avenues for these guys.

Hip hop is the rock n roll of our era, and the spending power the fans posses is gigantic....think about it, the spending power of young adults in America. Savvy tycoons and investors picked up on this years ago. Chrysler did it with the 300, and now all the tanking car brands - (Pontiac), are trying to follow suit. The only problem is, they are trying to hard. Hip hop, and effective hip hop marketing - is promoting the lifestyle, not the brand.

All the most successful brands are doing it. Coke, Pepsi, Mcdonalds, Apple - you name it. Aside from marketing 101 - (giving consumers their wants and needs), you need to connect with them on a personnel level. You need to have a great product, and back it up with smart marketing. I'm not saying the companys that shoot for the older demo should use hip hop culture - ( that would be foolish), but the real money is in the youth of today, and THAT is why hip hop is so valuable. Anyone who sas otherwsie is a baffon, hip hop (and country, haha) generate gigantic dollars.

Apple is a perfect example of this.... They are by far the most powerful company when it comes to 1.) brand loyalty, and 2.) effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. While they don't have all their dollars tied up in hip hop, the culture and the genre is a huge part of there vibe.

If you don't buy into hip hop, you are behind in the times, period..

[Quickerblade]

If you don't buy into hip hop, you are behind in the times, period..

I need to buy Sunglasses and hit a Nightclub

[candidizzle]

I need to buy Sunglasses and hit a Nightclub

quicker, TELL ME HOW MY ASS TASTE 

[Parker]

Yup youre right
Some bad examples along with Souljah Boy:Dem Franchize Boyz, D4L, Unk, MIMS,etc.  Its all garbage   But youre right, kids are just eating this shit up.  Ive lost interest in most rap today

A blog on the Soulja Boy/Ice T Beef


http://blogs.theroot.com/blogs/thehardline/archive/2008/06/23/ice-t-vs-soulja-boy-the-war-for-rap-music-s-relevancy.aspx