When Are Rappers Gonna Realize That Making Music With Substance Pays Off More?

[KENNY DA COOKER]

truthfully i'd rather rhyme like COMMON SENSE..but i sold 5 MILL..i ain't been rapping Common since - jay z

i dumbed down for my audience so i can DOUBLE MY DOLLARS - JAY Z

"I told BIG you wanna make money...you gotta make MUSIC for B1TCHES"- TUPAC

HOES KILLED HIP HOP...end of story

 

[Here Comes the Pain]

name a conscious rapper that touched 9figures¿
aubrey will out earn cole & k. overall off pop appeal like it or not

*

Define conscious rapper

 

[010101]

Define conscious rapper

the lyrical miracle faux deep philosophical my art is my pain ass nikkas
the preachy wanna be prophet ass nikkas
you know one when you see one

that's not to say they don't have listenable songs or make good music but they tend to believe that their music is about something deeper than profit
you know you know

*

 

[silk scarfs]

rap nikkas got all these guns and not scared of nothing killed all they opps

but they scared to sound different

 

[Way Of The Gun]

In this age, some nikkas tend to use Hip Hop as escapism from the harsh realities of this life.

Even though they listen to the rappers that have no substance rapping about hard drugs, excessive money, lavish cars, exotic bytches, parties and bullshyt they envision themselves in these artist's raps..

But when it all said and done it's all about business..and these corporate vultures will tend to find the anchor to make money, whether it's mumble or music with substance.

 

[Shadow King]

if everyone was j cole and Kendrick....lil yachty would be the one breaking records right now...and youd be even more upset

Wrong

name a conscious rapper that touched 9figures¿
aubrey will out earn cole & k. overall off pop appeal like it or not

*

How many rappers have made 9 figures period? More than half on that list are producers. But Cube was conscious though not lyrically complex. Eminem wasn't political but had substance outside of "money, clothes, hoes."

 

[LogicFirst]

Out of all the microwaveable, carbon-copied trash being shoved down our throat, Kendrick Lamar and J-Cole are at the top of the list when it comes to actually.......selling.

When it comes to people willing to go out and spend their hard earned money on music, they do it a higher pace for 2 of the rappers who make music with actual substance.

The thing that separates these 2 rappers and others like them is that they aren't afraid of being THEMSELVES. They are relatable. They aren't bigger than life. They aren't a caricature. They aren't an exaggeration. They are human.

Like Cole said on "Let Nas Down":

they just study the charts/
Me, I study the shows, the fans, I study their hearts



It trips me out when I hear a song by a new artist bragging about his whips, money and jewelry. We all know that its all . That type of content isn't relatable to most of us. It automatically places the rapper "above" us. I don't feel like Cole and Lamar is "above" me when I listen to them. One of my all-time favorite acts is Little Brother because of this. I've actually BOUGHT all of LB's/9th Wonder's projects because I wanted to support those dudes. Anybody who is a fan of LB is probably a fan because of how relatable and down to earth those cats are.

A bigger question I have is why aren't there more Lamars and Cole's in the mainstream? They are selling really well right? Whenever the topic of "rappers with substance" comes up, these are the only 2 that really come up. Wouldn't it be a smart move for labels to invest in artists with similar content and energy as these 2? The masses are literally begging for more substance by financially supporting the only rappers who provide it!!!!

Sadly, maybe I just answered my own question in the thread title.

Young, aspiring rappers see Cole and Lamar in the extreme minority as far as making it big in the rap game and copy what they see saturating the mainstream outlets, which is microwaveable, carbon-copied trash. They see waaay more Fetty Wap's and Lil Yachty's than Cole's and Lamar's.

not necessarily. who was the most recent rapper to go diamond twice?

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

Kendrick gets no play from me today. Kendrick won't get no play from me 10yrs from now either, really don't understand why he keeps getting used as the standard, his music has just as much replay value NOW as a Young Thug's will 5 years from now.

Yall stuck in the 90s nikkas acting like that music of "substance" from back then is getting play by these young kids today, well news flash, ITS NOT. Only nikkas listening to that shyt are nikkas that were listening to it then, and that cycle will repeat for the next era, and the era after that. So how isn't that music just as microwavable and for the moment? Don't answer that, its a rhetorical question.

And not to mention, whose to say what is substance and what isn't, that's WHOLLY subjective bruh.

Yall hip hop elitist are so fukking lame at times.

i think the OP already establshed this... SALES and STAYING POWER


so while dude who are considered good in their craft, from more than drugs, guns, bytches standpoint... sell a lot more.. a lot.. throw introspective sometimes drake in there too

but the microwave... quick to be hot... and also quick to be out the game in 3 years... fetty wap, yachty, all these flash in the pan nikkas wth a "hit"... they end up putting out albums thta do 40k.. and then never to be heard of again

 

[rapbeats]

Chronic 2001 gets way more play from me than The Sneak Attack from KRS.

Some album with "light substance" get lots of play (doggystyle, muddy waters, etc) just like some albums "with substance" (death certificate, lets get free, etc). Both sides have album that sell a lot, both sides have classics that still get play.

Bottom line is production, delivery and vibes (which content has a big effect on).

horrible example to refute the OP with.

your example proves his point. teh reason doggy style, muddy waters, chronic 2001 was/is still playable is due to these albums ability to be related to by the masses.

3 albums talking about people smoking weed a lot, drinking a lot. dudes getting at ladies, a bit of house partying, a bit of banging and thats about it. most of these albums are not talking about how much money they had or what super high end cars they were driving.

again people could relate to it.

 

[rapbeats]

Every musician does it for the money, what makes money nowadays is mumble rap

The beauty of living in this decade is being able to stream and find millions of artists for free, if you want substance you can look for it yourself and directly support artists

Look at Uzi, he's very self aware about how hollow his shyt is:

but mumble rat doesnt make nearly as much money as kendrick, jcole reality/relatable rap. This is the point the OP was making.

 

[rapbeats]

it's about selling the fantasy of a lifestyle
it's aspirational music
& most don't aspire to struggle and existential angst

*

the fantasy rap does not sell well. what part of that DONT you get? It's not an opinion its a REALITY.

Check the sells.

people no matter how much they want to forget about their situation. still wants truth spoken to them about their situation. thats a fact. i've told yall before. music is the soundtrack to your life. no one. i mean no one wants to turn up 24 hours a day 7 days a week. no one wants to listen pay for and listen to strip club anthems 7 days a week 24 hours a day over reality rap with a good beat.

this has always been the case.
real rap gets you shows forever, real rap gets you a life long career as a hip hop artist. these are facts not opinions.

people use to call Jay z a flashy rapper. because he had some lines or a song about that lifestyle. he wasnt actually talking down to the listener. he was talking down to other rappers that were lying about their worth (either lying about their previous street dealings making them rich, or lying about how much doe they were getting from selling records/doing shows/publishing.) he was never really down talking regular people. and most of his music was about him and his life, what he's seen in REALITY with a little embellishing here and there.

 

[rapbeats]

truthfully i'd rather rhyme like COMMON SENSE..but i sold 5 MILL..i ain't been rapping Common since - jay z

i dumbed down for my audience so i can DOUBLE MY DOLLARS - JAY Z

"I told BIG you wanna make money...you gotta make MUSIC for B1TCHES"- TUPAC

HOES KILLED HIP HOP...end of story

and this still doesnt say anything opposite of the OP. listen to those records they made to sell records. it's still more reality in those songs then most of these flash in the pan rappers of today. sorry, there is no comparison.

Oh by the way. common is still rich from rapping, still does shows on his old material. the reason he got into movies so heavy is because some white people respected his intellect on the microphone and fell in love with common the person thru his music. these flash in the pan rappers dont get that kind of love because everyone knows they aint saying nothin. its club music only.

 

[John Hull]

It only pays off if they are superior emcees with above average programming/beat making and promotion.

Plenty of rappers with substance and bars that will never see the bag K-Dot and Cole are getting.

 

[tremonthustler1]

the fantasy rap does not sell well. what part of that DONT you get? It's not an opinion its a REALITY.

Check the sells.

people no matter how much they want to forget about their situation. still wants truth spoken to them about their situation. thats a fact. i've told yall before. music is the soundtrack to your life. no one. i mean no one wants to turn up 24 hours a day 7 days a week. no one wants to listen pay for and listen to strip club anthems 7 days a week 24 hours a day over reality rap with a good beat.

this has always been the case.
real rap gets you shows forever, real rap gets you a life long career as a hip hop artist. these are facts not opinions.

people use to call Jay z a flashy rapper. because he had some lines or a song about that lifestyle. he wasnt actually talking down to the listener. he was talking down to other rappers that were lying about their worth (either lying about their previous street dealings making them rich, or lying about how much doe they were getting from selling records/doing shows/publishing.) he was never really down talking regular people. and most of his music was about him and his life, what he's seen in REALITY with a little embellishing here and there.

But reality rap with a good beat isn't played at these social settings where everyone lives on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook. The rappers that make shallow music come and go, but that scene never dies. Music is the soundtrack to your life, but if your life is one giant emo record, you might snap. If your life sounds like a grunge record, you might shoot your school up.

Truthfully speaking, most rappers don't know how to speak on reality without sounding elitist, preachy or judgmental, so people would rather live in fantasy for a few minutes. The Kendricks and J. Cole's are the break from the fukkery, but please believe people relish the fukkery.

 

[3rdWorld]

For starters Black folks don't own nothing we created, Jews and Donald Trump supporting cacs run our shyt and decide what message and imagery is suitable and appropriate for the Black masses.

Ignorance and sex sells.

Consciousness in Black music died 20 years ago. No one has bridged the generational gap in conscious music.

Plus you have to be brave and enlightened to go against the actual system..most tough guy Black rappers are afraid of white folks.