Name Some Rappers Whose Career Never Took Off Because They Couldn’t Write A Hit To Save Their Life

[Awesome Wells]

wale

Now THIS is another good pick.

 

[Deltron]

Yeah, I see what you mean.

I think it's all based on perspective. I saw people saying State Property didn't take off or Cory Gunz, etc. But I'm pretty sure those dudes would tell you that they did take off and were successful. LOL! I kinda look at it more with how dudes were positioned and whether or not they met those expectations.

You don’t want to be a Top 5 draft pick in the NBA draft, go to a huge market and have 2-3 decent seasons and then start going unmentioned, lol. You want to get a few chips under your belt and be one of the greats. To me, in music, that would be undisputed classic albums and a run where you were killing shyt nonstop. I think a lot of the dudes mentioned in this thread haven't had that.

yeah it does make for an interesting discussion

 

[Kliq_Souf]

Are hits being based off chart position or recognizable songs?
Bleek and Remy Ma have singles that are at least recognizable or got spins on Rap City/MTV2
U can play Conceited or Whateva and people will recognize it

 

[spliz]

Fab sadly.

Think his career would have been something completely different if he had skills at crafting hooks

Horrible choice. Fab has hits.

 

[spliz]

he had a pretty good mainstream career....wtf are you talking about?

who saw him as just a mixtape rapper...if anything peeps wanted him MORE on tapes. You don't remember mad people saying he did too many lady/radio tracks?

This was the biggest issue he has throughout his career and this nikka in here talkin bout he ain’t have hits. nikkas live in a fukkin box man. No offense to dude. But that was a ridiculous statement.

 

[spliz]

Nah Dave East is done. He has the look but can't write a song to save his life. His career was bungled. I get why Def Jam wanted him to pal around with Nas to give him cred with "real rap" fans or whatever, but they should have also paired him with an A&R and songwriter. Writing bars is whatever...nobody really cares. You need to know how to write a hook. A bridge. Find a catchy pocket in a beat. He can't do any of that in an era where melody rules.

Real talk NY fell off a cliff once throwing an r&b chick on the hook stopped being successful. Once NY had to compete with southern rappers on hooks it was over.

Horrible take. Damn near everything u said is objectively inaccurate when it comes to his career. My problem ain’t even with u saying u don’t fukk wit him or he not gonna blow up. But u can’t be dishonest.

 

[spliz]

Memph was a victim of having bigger artists on his singles. "Round Here" and "Is That Your Chick" were hits even if minor and "Is That Your Chick" is classic, but it's moreso a Jay Z song than a Memph song.

Memph Bleek had a decent gold album career. He also had shyt like Memph Bleek Is. What U Think Of That?, Do My, etc etc.

 

[Kliq_Souf]

wale

Lotus Flower Bomb?
Bad?
That Way?
On Chill?
Matrimony?

 

[NZA]

Lotus Flower Bomb?
Bad?
That Way?
On Chill?
Matrimony?

how did those songs really perform on the charts and in sales, though? dude is a non factor to any mainstream music listener even though he has talent and industry connections. he is most visible with collaborations, but i dont see casual listeners clamoring for some wale

 

[Kliq_Souf]

how did those songs really perform on the charts and in sales, though? dude is a non factor to any mainstream music listener even though he has talent and industry connections. he is most visible with collaborations, but i dont see casual listeners clamoring for some wale

Very well lmao
Bad, the OG and Rihanna remix was a radio hit
That Way was a radio hit
Lotus Flower Bomb same
I wanna say all songs I named are Plat or Gold singles

EDIT:
Bad is 3x plat
Lotus is 2x plat
On Chill is 2x Plat

 

[Deltron]

you did.

lotus is i think 2x plat

 

[JustCKing]

Wale would've definitely fit this thread back in 2009-2010 when he dropped his debut. He had a single with Lady Gaga and it flopped. He got with MMG and his career took off.

 

[Breh Obama]

Fab sadly.

Think his career would have been something completely different if he had skills at crafting hooks

This gotta the dumbest fukking post all year

 

[Breh Obama]

Jay did everything he possibly could to get Memphis to blow but that one hit just never came.

Bleek had hits. It's his personality that held him back.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Very well lmao
Bad, the OG and Rihanna remix was a radio hit
That Way was a radio hit
Lotus Flower Bomb same
I wanna say all songs I named are Plat or Gold singles

EDIT:
Bad is 3x plat
Lotus is 2x plat
On Chill is 2x Plat

This is streaming. Which is a weird way to call something a hit, these days. The RIAA had to come up with new ways to certify what's gold and platinum. So what this means now is that the songs were played a lot on the streaming services, though people aren't actually buying these singles. So if you check the actual charts, they don’t have the same success. That's where it really counts. The actual platinum, is what sells, not streamed. Cole is a good example. He's selling records and being streamed heavily. So his album is a Top 10 album, across all genres. And had 4 tracks in the Top 10. Those are hits. He and Wayne are the only MC's to ever do that.

So for Wale, he's heavily streamed, but the songs aren't selling. So they're not charting that high. Before, you were platinum if you SOLD 1,000,000 pieces of your album or single. Now, if you stream 100,000,000 million times for free, they'll throw you a certification. When artists have Top 10 hits on the charts, that's counting actual sales and everything else. Those are actual hits.