Rap is Suffering? Well No Black Owned labels.

[Marlo Barksdale]

Put some respect on CMG

The Hardest Working Label In Hip-Hop: Inside the Rise of Yo Gotti and Collective Music Group

For Yo Gotti, CMG's relentlessly driven leader, the label’s rise has been brick-by-brick, and nearly two decades in the making.

www.billboard.com

 

[Awesome Wells]

The music industry as a whole in this country was based on fukking over the artist no matter what.

Even in a digital age, the powers that be have found away to extract wealth off the backs of the artist.

This right here.

There's only a couple of viable black-owned labels, and even those rely on majors to distribute. People should understand by now what the music business was built and based on. And none of it was intended to make artists rich. Famous and popular, maybe. But the entire system is built to keep the talent in debt, and the company rolling in profit. Problem is, most artists are so desperate for a bag today, that they're willing to bet on their career by owing these companies mad bread, even into the millions.

So with that kind of power structure, these labels are never going to have to worry about compromising. None of these artists come into the game with enough money, so they don’t have to borrow. And culturally, a lot of these rappers want to look successful, so they're doing and signing whatever to make sure they can fit the image they set for themselves.

 

[Space Cowboy]

"We set the trends."

A big part of a negative aspect of black culture is trend chasing. People jump on all types of stuff, just because it's cool. I don't recall anyone using the word "cap" for lie until a few years ago and now you can't stop hearing it. Same thing with "standing on business". This factors into consumption habits. The "artists" are just chasing the latest trend.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Put some respect on CMG

The Hardest Working Label In Hip-Hop: Inside the Rise of Yo Gotti and Collective Music Group

For Yo Gotti, CMG's relentlessly driven leader, the label’s rise has been brick-by-brick, and nearly two decades in the making.

www.billboard.com

Universal owns 51% of CMG, and has Gotti under a $100M loan to "expand and develop" the company under the parent company's guidance.

It's another situation where the parent company is fronting a small label money, and telling them they need it all back with interest before the boutique label can turn a profit. So everything until then is rented and borrowed. Which is what happens when you rely on these majors to fund your operation, and then hope you can somehow recoup an amount that is damn near impossible, if you're not Taylor Swift or Beyonce or some sh*t.

 

[Rekkapryde]

Labels are useless.

What OP should be saying is there’s no black owned distribution

this.

but even back then did we have distribution?

Def Jam started out being distributed by Columbia/CBS records
Priority, Relativity was the distrubutor for a lot of black labels too.

South did have a ton of truly independent labels tho

 

[Khadafi1982]

When I look at young rappers, I don't see people who really love Hip-Hop: they are there for the fame, the fast money and because being a rapper is 'lit'.

I was listening to the 2010 Ghostface album, there is track with Black Thought where they rap about their early first steps in hip hop culture from the breaking, DJs, parties. It is an incredible testimony. I was also listening to some old Stretch and Bob from 1994, during the live phone calls, ODB calls in and among other things he say how much he loves hip hop culture.

I know things and eras change but this era is just too different

 

[Mac Ten]

Gucci still owns 1017

Yo Gotti owns CMG

Currensy owns Jet Life Recordings

The younger cats need to take advantage of the internet and stop letting these cacs eat off em.

 

[Mac Ten]

The thing is the young generation does not love Hip-Hop like that. The pool the labels had to pick from is dwindling.

Drill is Hip Hop to these cats nowadays....


They never heard a Brand Nubian or Dead Prez album that made u appreciate being a black person.

Dey grew up in the era of Chief Keef and Gucci Mane.

Mom was probably twerkin her big ol Chocolate behind to some Future while conceiving em.

The Youngs Thots were breeding babies off Boosie, Webbie, and Plies.

 

[REAL6]

Labels are a dying breed.

 

[010101]

..........*

 

[Yagirlcheatinonus]

None of those labels you mentioned were black owned OP. Those are called imprints they partner with distributors normally Universal. Nevertheless none of those guys really owned anything.

 

[King Poetic]

Universal owns 51% of CMG, and has Gotti under a $100M loan to "expand and develop" the company under the parent company's guidance.

It's another situation where the parent company is fronting a small label money, and telling them they need it all back with interest before the boutique label can turn a profit. So everything until then is rented and borrowed. Which is what happens when you rely on these majors to fund your operation, and then hope you can somehow recoup an amount that is dam near impossible, if you're not Taylor Swift or Beyonce or some sh*t.

Thanks for the info

I thought he actually own majority like P and Slim/birdman