The Future of Hip Hop Blogging

If you’re wondering where the future of writing and hip hop is headed, look no further than your own computer.  It’s no secret that not just hip hop, but the whole music world, has gotten much more digital in the last ten years.  In the past year alone we’ve seen huge artists like Jay-Z and Beyonce release their albums online before putting on shelves, and rappers like Kid Cudi have continued the trend with his release this year.

 But how will this new reign of digitalization impact how hip hop is written and blogged about?  Well, you don’t have to look too far, because it’s already happening.  The big hip hop kings, the magazine’s and websites that once covered not just hip hop, but all aspects of music and pop culture are beginning to be replaced with smaller, independent blogs.  Just take Rolling Stone and MTV for example.  In 2012, MTV posted losses in ratings by over 30%, and Rolling Stone readership has declined heavily throughout the 2000s, leading to Rolling Stone to instead put most of their articles and features up online for free.

 

Internet usage has experienced exponential growth since 2000, and although it’s tapering off slightly, the number of people using the internet is still projected to keep growing, and by 2015 a whopping 2.5 billion people are projected to be using the web.

And that’s where MTV’s and Rolling Stone’s faults were; they didn’t adapt to that fact soon enough.  Independent blogs like Hip Hop DX and Rap Radar popped up online and became the go to places for hip hop fans, while MTV and Rolling Stone were still focused on television and print publications. 

 With even more people projected to be using the internet, it’s paving the way for hip hop to become even more digital.  It’s now easier than ever for anyone to go online and start blogging about things, which should be viewed as a good thing because there will be a multitude of places for people to view opinions and get music reviews.  But it could have one negative impact on bloggers; lower income.  Because anyone can create a blog, more and more blogs will be popping up, leading to viewership becoming more spread out depending on what blogs readers like.  Because of this, there will be more blogs, but less views per blog, leading to less money for the hard-working writers.  They’ll get less views, which means less money from ad revenue. 

 Which is why, in the future, it’s going to be key for bloggers to get a large viewership, and that means doing something completely original, something hasn’t been seen yet, which advances in technology will allow in a couple years.  What it could it be?  That’s a tough question to tackle, because it’s hard to predict future trends, but if I had to guess it would be 3D.  Blogs that had the ability to project concerts and live shows in 3D would immediately blow up, and viewership would skyrocket.

 But for bloggers worried about money right now and in the close future, just keep following the trends.  Sure, odds are you’re not going to end up being a millionaire by creating a hip hop blog, but by doing something you know people find popular, you’re hedging your bets and at least ensuring you’ll make some money.

 Because whether we like it or not, hip hop on the internet is here to stay.

The Issue of Illegally Downloading Music

Downloading music illegally has run rampant through hip hop since technology like computers made its way into hip hop in the early 2000s.  It’s the reason why album sales have been a on a sharp decline ever and CDs have become almost obsolete.

It’s as easy for anyone to just hop on a computer and click a few links and in a couple minutes they’ll have downloaded a whole album illegally for free.  It’s so easy that most artists and musicians have come to terms with the fact that they’re album and songs are going to be illegally downloaded, and they’ve accepted it.

But one party that hasn’t accepted it is the justice system.  As of current times, the justice system is handing down punishments that in no way fit the crime of downloading music.

In 2009, a grad student in Boston was caught downloading and sharing 30 songs.  When he went to the court, the judge ordered that the man had to pay $675,000 in damages to the record label.  That is absolutely absurd.  The guy downloaded 30 songs.  That comes out about $30 if you want to put a price tag on it.  Yet he was ordered to pay more than 20,000 times that.

Even people involved in the music industry are against the absurd penalties faced when downloading music.  Michael Jackson publicly spoke out against putting people in jail for illegal downloads after the “music piracy bill” was brought up in 2003.  Under that bill, a person could face up to five years in prison for using P2P networks sites, like Napster, to download and share music.

If putting down such harsh punishments is a way for the legal system to strike fear in people and prevent them from downloading music, it’s not working.  People are still continuing to download music illegally, and now four out of five music downloads done online are illegal.

I don’t think the legal system should completely ignore the fact that people are getting their music unlawfully.  If someone is downloading hundreds of thousands of songs illegally, I think they should be punished.  But if it’s someone downloading a handful of songs, maybe even hundreds or thousands, then I think the punishment should just be to pay the price of whatever the song or album would normally cost, and pay it directly to the artist or record company.  This would result in the people who made the music getting the money they deserve, while also not completely ruining the person’s life that chose to download the music.

In the coming years, I think we’ll see a way to help limit illegal downloads, such as a hidden digital lock on songs that are online, preventing the songs from being downloaded unless paid for.  Of course, despite all this, it’s sad that the music industry has to come this point.  So if there’s an artist or album that you’re really looking forward to, go out and buy the album.  Show some support and help keep hip hop alive.

Week In Review: April 7th-13th

• Coachella wrapped up today, and featured some big hip hop performances throughout the weekend, the most noteworthy being Nas, who brought out surprise guests Jay Z and Diddy.  Stay tuned for the second section of Coachella next weekend, with many great artists tapped to perform.
• Drake was announced as the host of this year’s ESPY’s.  After Drake’s hugely successful SNL gig, this should be exciting news for everyone.  You can hear Drake talk about hosting on ESPN here.
• Mac Miller announced he has a new mixtape on the way, and also previewed several new songs live at Carnegie Mellon University.  Fans can expect a lot from Mac this year, and he claims he has already recorded enough material for four albums.
• Frank Ocean also announced that he’s nearing completion on his newest album.  It’s been almost two years since the critically-acclaimed Channel Orange was released, and the Odd Future affiliate clearly has taken his time with this project so hopefully he doesn’t fall short of the big expectations.

Looking Back At ‘Runaway’

Although it’s already been four years since it came out, “Runaway” is a perfect microcosm of Kanye West’s eclectic artistic style, by combining great music, captivating fashion, and unique design.

The short film tells the story of Griffin, played by Kanye West, who stumbles upon a half-woman, half-phoenix, played by model Selita Ebanks, and the relationship they quickly develop.

While well-known music video director Hype Williams did a solid job writing the script, there isn’t anything extremely special about the story. The real gem is the direction of the film, done by Kanye West himself.

Why Everybody Needs To Calm Down About The Drake, Jay Z “Beef”

 

 

           Quick, name the last time two people at the top of the totem pole in hip hop had a legitimate feud with each other.  Not a feud filled with slight glances and subliminal shots, but a real beef, laden with diss tracks, altercations, and scathing comments.  Jay Z and Nas in 2002?  Maybe 50 Cent and Ja Rule in 2000?  It’s been over ten years since there’s anything I would even consider legitimate beef among the legends of hip hop.  Which is why this Jay Z vs. Drake “beef” is never going to amount to anything. 

Numbers on the Board: 1st Quarter Review

With the first quarter of the year coming to a close at the end of March, I thought it’d be a good time to do a quick review on the albums that have come out in the first 3 months of 2014.  I wanted to take a look at both the sales numbers and the critic review rates to get a feel for what the hip hop community has deemed the best albums of the year thus far.  First, I’ll start with the sales numbers:

Week In Review: March 31st-April 6th

Project of the Week: XV- Elite Eight

XV’s third installment of basketball themed mixtapes, Elite Eight, takes the prize as this week’s Project of the Week.  While it’s nowhere near the level of some past XV mixtapes, like Vizzy Zone or Zero Heroes, the tape does feature some great production, goods flows, and in typical XV style, some nerdy lines.

More New Drake: Days In The East

Drake is back at it again today, releasing the heavy R&B joint “Days In The East”.  This isn’t the first time Drake has sandwiched a heavy rap song with an R&B record, as we saw him do it with “All Me” and “Hold On We’re Going Home” back in August.  The song is all about Drake talking to an ex-girlfriend, and eventually reconciling at the end of the song.  So basically, it’s about Rihanna.  Drake and Rihanna are now a public item once again after appearing together several times in Europe, and Drake references this when talking about getting back together with a girl in Amsterdam.  While the song definitely isn’t one of the strongest Drake records, it does have a chilled out and relaxed vibe, and after several listens it’s really started to grow on me.

Drake Releases New Song ‘Draft Day’

“You know I had to do it for ya.”

The line from Drake’s new song “Draft Day”, an ode to 2012 Heisman winner and OVO affiliate Johnny Manziel alongside Toronto native and Kansas basketball player Andrew Wiggins, serves as an anthem for the two athletes mentioned on the track.  The song has everything a hip hop fan could want; Drake spitting hard over a Boi-1da beat, a Lauryn Hill sample, a Chance the Rapper shout out, and, unfortunately, even a Jennifer Lawrence reference.  Drake had cryptically tweeted about the song for several weeks before dropping the track late last night.  Although I love the melodical Drake that shows the versatility to sing on songs, it’s refreshing to hear him just spit on a record, which will please hip hop purists.  With songs like this, Drizzy effectively answers his own question “How did the game turn into the Drake show?”