Mobb Deep-Infinite (Coming 10/10) Official Thread

[dubsmith_nz]

This is all cool.

But it's like Premier said not too long ago, "Fans gotta stop acting like they work at record labels." Where albums chart and how much they sell, is still the kinda sh*t that only the actual artists and labels should be discussing. On the fan side, the important thing to do if you really f*ck with the music, is to go spend bread on these albums. Support them monetarily.

I can't even imagine in '94, sitting around with my people as kids talking about, "Yo! You heard that new Nas joint? I heard the album moved 60,000 units first week". HAHA! WTF? JID just said recently that the most annoying thing for him, is seeing fans talk about sales and chart positions. And I get it. Because none of it matters. It definitely shouldn't for fans. What matters most is the quality of these projects, and really, just the fact that these legends are still making music.

The only reason I'm interested in it, is as a barometer of what other music we might get in future.

For example if we see Mobb selling, then chances are we might get more legacy acts motivated to put out products, do similar press etc. which is exciting.

If this album is successful there is more reason for Hav to go on a producer run because he knows the demand is there.

 

[Ish Gibor]

Anybody got a download of all the originals to this album that are available?

https://www.whosampled.com/album/Mobb-Deep/Infinite/

 

[REAL6]

 

[Ziggiy]

 

[L $ C]

at least it charted

 

[Rapmastermind]

This is all cool.

But it's like Premier said not too long ago, "Fans gotta stop acting like they work at record labels." Where albums chart and how much they sell, is still the kinda sh*t that only the actual artists and labels should be discussing. On the fan side, the important thing to do if you really f*ck with the music, is to go spend bread on these albums. Support them monetarily.

I can't even imagine in '94, sitting around with my people as kids talking about, "Yo! You heard that new Nas joint? I heard the album moved 60,000 units first week". HAHA! WTF? JID just said recently that the most annoying thing for him, is seeing fans talk about sales and chart positions. And I get it. Because none of it matters. It definitely shouldn't for fans. What matters most is the quality of these projects, and really, just the fact that these legends are still making music.

Sales are just data points and can show you if something is moving or not commercially. Streaming has complicated things. Hip Hop has never been truly governed by Sales, Charts or the Grammy's. Perfect example is Vanilla Ice. Barely anyone can name another song off the album but "Ice, Ice, Baby" yet it sold 7 Million copies. Does that make "II The Extreme" a Classic album? It may have been successful but was it quality? Now as I said, I brought "Juvenile Hell" at the store in 93. The album flopped and Mobb got dropped from the label due to low sales. It didn't even chart. I enjoyed the album but understand why it didn't hit.

That could have been the end of Mobb Deep before it started due to poor sales. Luckily they got another shot with Loud and there next three LP's sold over 3 Million. So to your point yes in Hip Hop the charts and sales don't determine what's hot per say. But it's still the music business at the end of the day. The biggest issues is some Fans go overboard with it using Sales to measure quality which doesn't work all the time when talking Hip Hop. But there are plenty of Quality rap albums that sold. "Murda Muzik" went Platinum and that album was fire top to bottom.

 

[Piff Perkins]

My interest in sales numbers for Mobb largely focuses on it being evidence that a media infrastructure is finally being built that benefits veteran rappers. A lot of the media right now is heavily skewed to promoting older rappers. Budden, Jada/Joe, Hot 97....they've virtually rejected new rap shyt and primarily skew to older rappers. Whether that's Drake/Cole/Kendrick, all of whom are in their late 30s, or veteran rappers like Nas. So if vets want to come out and play, they have a blueprint to get media attention. Havoc and Alc did a shiiiit ton of media and it all came out BEFORE the album dropped. Flip side Rae didn't do any promo until after the album dropped, and Ghost's was rather mixed (some before, a lot after album release).

Does this mean De La will do 12k too if they do a shyt ton of press as well? No. It's not going to work the same way every time. But there's a clear blueprint for our veterans to get the press they need to activate their fanbases. Whether that results in selling more concert tickets or albums, it's going to benefit them.

One final thing...think about the infrastructure that's in place for aging rock stars to sell their new albums or sell concert tickets. They do morning show interviews. They go on popular podcasts. They get fawning New York Times profiles. And traditionally this stuff has not been available to many vet rappers. So I'm glad we now have pieces in place to do this.

 

[L $ C]

My interest in sales numbers for Mobb largely focuses on it being evidence that a media infrastructure is finally being built that benefits veteran rappers. A lot of the media right now is heavily skewed to promoting older rappers. Budden, Jada/Joe, Hot 97....they've virtually rejected new rap shyt and primarily skew to older rappers. Whether that's Drake/Cole/Kendrick, all of whom are in their late 30s, or veteran rappers like Nas. So if vets want to come out and play, they have a blueprint to get media attention. Havoc and Alc did a shiiiit ton of media and it all came out BEFORE the album dropped. Flip side Rae didn't do any promo until after the album dropped, and Ghost's was rather mixed (some before, a lot after album release).

Does this mean De La will do 12k too if they do a shyt ton of press as well? No. It's not going to work the same way every time. But there's a clear blueprint for our veterans to get the press they need to activate their fanbases. Whether that results in selling more concert tickets or albums, it's going to benefit them.

One final thing...think about the infrastructure that's in place for aging rock stars to sell their new albums or sell concert tickets. They do morning show interviews. They go on popular podcasts. They get fawning New York Times profiles. And traditionally this stuff has not been available to many vet rappers. So I'm glad we now have pieces in place to do this.

its the flip side of the negative which is there is no young tallent for stars

 

[Ziggiy]

My interest in sales numbers for Mobb largely focuses on it being evidence that a media infrastructure is finally being built that benefits veteran rappers. A lot of the media right now is heavily skewed to promoting older rappers. Budden, Jada/Joe, Hot 97....they've virtually rejected new rap shyt and primarily skew to older rappers. Whether that's Drake/Cole/Kendrick, all of whom are in their late 30s, or veteran rappers like Nas. So if vets want to come out and play, they have a blueprint to get media attention. Havoc and Alc did a shiiiit ton of media and it all came out BEFORE the album dropped. Flip side Rae didn't do any promo until after the album dropped, and Ghost's was rather mixed (some before, a lot after album release).

Does this mean De La will do 12k too if they do a shyt ton of press as well? No. It's not going to work the same way every time. But there's a clear blueprint for our veterans to get the press they need to activate their fanbases. Whether that results in selling more concert tickets or albums, it's going to benefit them.

One final thing...think about the infrastructure that's in place for aging rock stars to sell their new albums or sell concert tickets. They do morning show interviews. They go on popular podcasts. They get fawning New York Times profiles. And traditionally this stuff has not been available to many vet rappers. So I'm glad we now have pieces in place to do this.

Also physical media availability for legacy artists is key. Slick Rick, Rae, and Ghost didn’t have physicals ready to ship the week of release while Mobb Deep did. I got my Infinite vinyl three days after the album dropped while i’m STILL waiting for my Ghostface Supreme Clientele 2 vinyl to even ship. I wouldn’t be shocked if Vinyl/merch bundles made up the bulk of the “sales” that allowed them to chart.