Looking around the industry and the internet, I came across some good opinions and videos from Ebro and “Charlamange Tha God” and it got my wheels turning. Although music is selective to the persons opinion, I still feel there is some fact into any artist you speak about. I feel 3 type of artist filter into the music industry. I don’t mean just mainstream either. I’m talking about the handful of men and women across the world that make a legit living and feed their families off of their musical artwork. It’s a MAJOR difference. There are either extremely GOOD, extremely BAD or extremely interesting. Let’s dissect

Being Extremely Good: There are some rappers that no matter what you know “That person can rap”. There is not debate, there is no “he’s ok” and even the people who “aren’t fans” will at least give the respect of saying “but he snapped on that.” The power is in the lyrics. There are rappers like Biggie, Rakim, Drake, Nas and Eminem who off top captivate audiences from day one because something they said stuck and was worth another listen. In this category also are the artist who improve over time. In 1994, there wasn’t a whole lot of Jay Z fans playing “In My Lifetime” and “Can’t Get With That” but, a switch of the flow and better production and 4 years later, Viola! Jigga is considered one of the best doing it. Same could be said for Common and Lil Wayne due to their popularity increasing with time.

Being Extremely Bad: Some rappers are just not good at the actual task of rapping! Some rappers are just subpar lyrically and everybody knows it. Here’s the kicker though…Some songs are so terrible that you can’t forget them. This is where great production takes place. This is where a good portion of the hit makers lie. I doubt you have ever heard  “Man! Master P COLD! HE GOT BARS!!!!” in any rap conversation on any sector of the earth. I would think the same would hold true for Birman, Jim Jones, Lil Troy and Soulja Boy. Have they struck it big with Hit Records??? ABSOLUTELY! How many times do they come up in the conversation of Great lyricist, Story Tellers and Album Makers though? Leave your answer in the comments.

Being Extremely Interesting: Sometimes an artist will come along and you are just so gone off of their presentation that you don’t even realize how good or bad they are.  Some of these people can honestly be Dope! Then some of these people could be ULTRA, SUPER BASIC! When I was a teen, I could care less about what Lil Kim was rapping about..I just wanted to hit! She was SUPER GORGEOUS to me. Then she started flipping that “Gangsta Nasty ISH!?!?!?!” I! WENT! CRAZY! She became the most interesting person in the world to me and had all my attention. Other artist who have mastered getting peoples attention include Trinidad James, Bizarre of D-12, Waka Flocka Flame, Eminem, Kanye West, Riff Raff, 50 Cent, Rick Ross among many others. Whether it’s a look, a video a lyric or a stance on a topic you are paying attention. Something they said or did is almost requiring you get gain more information about that person. They officially have your undivided attention.

A lot of people want to “Get On” but, the problem is a lot of them are just ok. I come across a lot of rappers who are just average. They are saying the same thing Pac said in 95, they  are recycling what Rick Ross just did or they are literally biting what Drake and Jay Z are doing. It doesn’t force any extremity and they are not interesting. They don’t want to hear or read that but, they can’t tell me I’m totally wrong in my stance. A lot of artist chase radio, trying to make radio records…and they suck. Why? Because people are trying to emulate what they heard and not doing what they feel.

Who am I to say it sucks? Any industry junkie and a die hard hip-hop fan, listener and supporter….that’s who I am.

MY OPINION: If you have a project and you say you got Club Records, Radio Records, Something for the Bishes and The Ninjas….I already feel it’s TRASH! That’s before I even give it an honest listen. What about the music you made for you? What about your real inspiration to even give music a shot? I’m interested in your purpose and your message. Believe it or not, HONESTY actually makes music DOPE! Try it sometime.

Go through your CD collection [or your external hard drive, tablet, phone etc] and look at the music you have purchased. Ask yourself “why did I buy this?” Then, see how many catalogs you own. Who’s dope? Who’s terrible? Who’s just flat out interesting? Then, Let Me Know Something…

Everything you have read is my opinion. This info is not documented fact, gospel or a blueprint on what you would need to do as an artist to survive. HOWEVER! My logic holds weight! And on this topic that’s all I care about.