Papoose Says "Nacirema Dream" Sales Dispel Myth Of A Digital-Only Marketplace

[Prince.Skeletor]

Exclusive: Papoose shuns the current mixtape scene and points to his multiple-week run on SoundScan as proof that there is still a market for physical albums.

An interesting thing happened during the first week of April 2013. After years of delays, Papoose’s The Nacirema Dream debuted. And during its first week of release, Papoose’s SoundScan numbers were higher than the likes of Maroon 5, Linkin Park, David Guetta and other major label artists. It was a validation of sorts after Papoose and Jive parted ways back in 2007. And while Pap was happy to see fans paying for his music, he doesn’t put too much stock into SoundScan numbers.

“They try to make it sound like it’s about how many records you sold, how much money you got or how much of a gangster you are,” Papoose noted. “Hip Hop is not about none of that shyt! Hip Hop is about being outspoken and being effective with letting people hear your thoughts.”

On Nacirema Dream, those thoughts covered topics such as the industrial prison complex (“Law Library”) and terminal illness (“Cure”) among others. So while a multiple-week run on Nielsen’s SoundScan sales chart may not be a hallmark for Papoose, finding his independent album that has been seven years in the making on such a list is an accomplishment. As such, the Brooklynite gave his thoughts on exactly what the numbers mean, his role in the marketplace and how he compares his mixtape hustle to what’s going on today.

And, in efforts to be transparent, we directly apologized to Papoose for not reviewing The Nacirema Dream. So any of you Pap fans with hurt feelings can kindly stop spamming up DX’s comment section and use this iTunes link to purchase another copy of the project if you’re really that hurt about us not reviewing it.

HipHopDX: I guess HipHopDX owes you an apology for not reviewing The Nacirema Dream. I was pleasantly surprised to see you on the Soundscan 200 for a few weeks in a row. What was your initial reaction when you saw the sales?

Papoose: I was happy, man. I was just happy at the fact that I could come out independently under my own label—which is Honorable Records. It was a big step for me to create my own label and get that kind of support from the people. Actually, I think I was on the Billboard chart for about three or four weeks. So to answer your question, I was ecstatic to see the people receive it the way they did.

DX: Since this album has been so long in the making, what were your expectations?

Papoose: All the shyt I’ve been through, all the people that tried to hold me back and didn’t want my work to get out there to the masses—all of that inspired me. I just came to the point where I could go nowhere but up. I experienced it all. All the butterflies and shyt that artists experience on their first album, that shyt disappeared for me. It was like there was no more they could do to me. They held me back for years, did all this fukkery and tried to fool the people into thinking I’m something that I’m not. They tried to degrade my work. And when somebody’s constantly holding you back and kicking you down, you reach a point where you’re numb to the pain.

So my expectations were, “I don’t give a fukk. I’m just ready to get this out to the people…get it out to the world.” The fans deserve it. They’ve been patient with me over the years, so my expectations were success. When you’ve been hated on so much, all you can do is succeed because it becomes inspiration.

DX: You mentioned having your own label. I noticed that even back when you and DJ KaySlay were talking with Jive, your strategy was that of an artist that had their own label anyway. Where does that business savvy come from?

Papoose: Yeah, we made a mistake when we got with a major. Like you said, we were our own movement from the door. For me, that business sense just comes from having knowledge of self. I always had that idea inside me to go out and do everything on your own and not depend on nobody. I owned property and all that before I came into the music business. So I kind of knew to stay business-minded. I made that mistake of signing with a major. If I would’ve stayed independent from the door, I could have experienced this success a long time ago.

DX: It’s interesting that you bring up Knowledge of Self and Supreme Mathematics, because normally people associate that with spirituality instead of business…

Papoose: Yeah, definitely. It keeps you disciplined, focused and family-oriented. I’m all about my family, and that’s what I live for everyday. So it plays a part in your personal life, family life and business also. It helps you all the way across the board—360 degrees. That helps me get through my day everyday.

How The Physical Album Market Helped Papoose

DX: Obviously there’s been a lot of changes since you originally planned this project. The physical market for albums pretty much disappeared. What kind of changes did you have to make as you were adjusting to all of that while still wanting to put this out.

Papoose: I try not to feed too much into the changes of today as far as the game, because none of it is a change for the better in my eyes. It all takes away from the actual art form and what this thing is actually about, so I try not to feed too much into that. At the same time, you’ve got to adapt to your environment. With the physical CD situation, I was actually able to do better with physical CDs that I was with digital downloads. I’ma be real with you—for an artist like me—CDs is still a major thing.

It just feels like a myth, and I think people are cheating themselves by thinking that shyt about everybody has to be all digital. There are still true, hardcore, dedicated Hip Hop fans that want to own an album. They want to posses that in their hands.

DX: You mentioned “Cure,” which features you rhyming in the first-person as a deadly disease. Where were you mentally when you came up with that concept?

Papoose: My grandmother—who gave me the name Papoose when I was an infant—died from cancer. She had 17 kids, and my mother was one of them. We’ve got like 90 cousins in my family. She was like the backbone of the entire family, and I watched her suffer and die a slow death. Her death actually inspired me to write the record “Cure,” because I wanted to create awareness. She had cancer for a long time and didn’t even know. And by the time she realized it, she went to the hospital, and they thought it was gallstones. When they cut her…once the air hit that cancer, it spread dramatically. Her not having that awareness cost her life. So through music, I thought, “Now that I have an audience and people are listening, I need to create some type of awareness.” Go to the doctor and get that checkup. It can save your life.”

DX: No doubt. You’ve got Erykah Badu on that song. And you also secured features from Mobb Deep and DJ Premier among others. How do you balance being a businessman and an artist as far as developing those relationships?

Papoose: Meeting some of those artists is like a dream come true to me. I came up listening to them. The balance for me is that I love doing Hip Hop, but obviously I got mouths to feed. A lot of people depend on me. So I have to generate revenue to provide for them. The importance of that is what drives my business sense. And as far as the relationships, I respect these people. I grew up on their music, so the relationship towards me is just authentic. It’s admiration, and they come back and tell me, “I respect what you’re doing,” and I let them know I learned from the best.

Papoose Says "Nacirema Dream" Sales Dispel Myth Of A Digital-Only Marketplace | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop | HipHop DX

 

[HipHopFeeling]

And during its first week of release, Papoose’s SoundScan numbers were higher than the likes of Maroon 5, Linkin Park, David Guetta and other major label artists.

lol this sounds so wrong, dude sold 5,442 albums, the others did 200K+...

 

[Jesse Pinkman]

Did we ever figure out what a papoose is?

 

[HipHopFeeling]

Did we ever figure out what a papoose is?

 

[Prince.Skeletor]

When he was born his grandma said he looked like a native American baby
So she named him papoose, after she passed away he kept that as a stage name to keep her in memory

 

[Ze Pequeno]

His real name is Shemale

 

[Capo Dei Capi]

the hate forpap is pure scust. dude is straight hip-hop an stuck at the craft without sellin out through thick an thin, shame nikkas couldn't so the sameback. Still id rather have paps fanbase than the support of yallcolinikkas

 

[Prince.Skeletor]

f the hate, pap is mad dope!!!!

check the flow!!

 

[Monoblock]

*gets lined up with fitted cap on*

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

His real name is Shemale

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

*gets lined up with fitted cap on*

HAHAHAHAH forgot about that

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

This has to be a joke. It HAS TO BE.

Cause you know Papoose fans don't use computers like that, and would really believe that shyt.

 

[the cac mamba]

Did we ever figure out what a papoose is?

 

[Ninjaz In Paris]

So he's happy in his 1st Week he barely outsold an album in its 20th week??? This nikka cannot really be *THIS* retarded...

 

[Prince.Skeletor]

So he's happy in his 1st Week he barely outsold an album in its 20th week??? This nikka cannot really be *THIS* retarded...

are you guys that retarded?

Are you fools really comparing Pap selling x numbers of copies on not an independent label BUT HIS OWN SELF FINANCED LABEL with artist on major labels with massive marketing/advertising budgets, where they receive less than 8cents per copy??????

That's like saying a snowblower is the same as one very small shovel

Damn some ppl are mad dumb