Why do cats like Jay Z still make commercial pop singles?

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

So monumental that hardly anyone has heard and/or cares about?

Who, besides CrimsonTider, listens to rap and hasn't even heard of those albums?

THATS THE ONLY WAY HE GETS MONEY U DUMB fakkitS

Jay has the Nets, that Budweiser shyt he just did and a whole lot of other ventures. Plus 1% on half a billy is 5 million dollars. I am pretty sure rap is NOT dude's main source of income, which makes is scrambling for pop appeal that much more confusing

 

[DontEemTry]

Lesbian honest brehs,

The real reason nikkas want Hov to put out a Nas-like album is so that he can do Nas-like numbers and nikkas can clown and say he's irrevant now.

Basically they want him to play in Nas' bracket.

But my nikka like

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Jay could take a shyt in a CD cover and go plat in a month

Numbers are not an issue

 

[Gravity]

Who, besides CrimsonTider, listens to rap and hasn't even heard of those albums?



Jay has the Nets, that Budweiser shyt he just did and a whole lot of other ventures. Plus 1% on half a billy is 5 million dollars. I am pretty sure rap is NOT dude's main source of income, which makes is scrambling for pop appeal that much more confusing

Not confusing if you have common sense. All of Jay Z's business ventures and so forth came about on the strength of his brand, being a music icon. If he stops being the platinum plus sold out world wide touring artist that he currently is then those business ventures slow down. You hear him rapping about the 150 million dollar deal that's about to expire and how he's trying to re-up for almost twice as much right? You don't fulfill those kind of deals without being concerned about selling records and maintaining your popularity. Seems simple enough to me, don't get why its so hard to understand for some of you.

 

[Ineedmoney504]

Who, besides CrimsonTider, listens to rap and hasn't even heard of those albums?



Jay has the Nets, that Budweiser shyt he just did and a whole lot of other ventures. Plus 1% on half a billy is 5 million dollars. I am pretty sure rap is NOT dude's main source of income, which makes is scrambling for pop appeal that much more confusing

a bunch of people never heard them, and yes, touring is jay largest source of income

 

[Ukbrotha]

He's just doing what he's good at doing.

 

[Gifted one]

Name these commercial pop singles? Only one I can say off the top of my is "run this town" and "forever young" Jay has been on and off though to me, sometimes he'd spit some godly shyt like his verse on no church in the wild, thank you,already home, murder to excellence, then he'd have times he would spit some watered down trash like 3 kings, reminder, ghetto techno, or his verse on I do it for hip-hop.

 

[mikishere]

WIth all his gazillions, you'd think would stop pandering to the charts and make monumental music.

That's why is

Before Life Is Good, it was Distant Relatives and Untitled. That's an artist pushing boundaries.

but both albums were garbage though...

 

[tremonthustler1]

WIth all his gazillions, you'd think would stop pandering to the charts and make monumental music.

That's why is

Before Life Is Good, it was Distant Relatives and Untitled. That's an artist pushing boundaries.

Nas recording Distant Relatives isn't something that's that far out of what Nas does.

Nas stepping out of his comfort zone was doing songs like You Owe Me.

 

[homiedontplaydat]

the most successful dudes are usually the ones never satisfied. They're empty inside and need power, fame, money, sex, etc. to make them feel better but once they reach a level they think they'll be happy with, it doesn't satisfy them cause the whole point of the chase was a way to ignore the reasons why they're empty, so they go for more.

basically Jay Z is hustling hard to avoid an emotional breakdown. He looks at "regular" cats and is frightened of becoming one again so he needs to do more and more so he can increase and solidify being viewed as special and unique by more people

 

[Drew Wonder]

Nas on the other hand, while certainly very successful and wealthy still doesn't have the capital that Jay possesses yet acts as if he doesn't give a fukk if his album sells one copy based on the singles he routinely releases.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50n6TBEMCLU]Nas - Summer On Smash (ft. Miguel & Swizz Beatz) [Life Is Good Album] - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Cloud McFly]

Nas - Summer On Smash (ft. Miguel & Swizz Beatz) [Life Is Good Album] - YouTube

Nas - Hero ft. Keri Hilson - YouTube

Nas - Make The World Go Round ft. Chris Brown, The Game - YouTube

Because those songs weren't any good, and did not do well commercially, they tend to get swept under the rug, and a blind eye is turned to them. Still doesn't mean they didn't happen.

Jay-Z is actually good at those type of songs, and his do well commercially, so he is shytted on for them. Impossible to figure out why though.

 

[Drew Wonder]

Because those songs weren't any good, and did not do well commercially, they tend to get swept under the rug, and a blind eye is turned to them. Still doesn't mean they didn't happen.

Jay-Z is actually good at those type of songs, and his do well commercially, so he is shytted on for them. Impossible to figure out why though.

I actually liked Hero and thought it fit in well with the overall theme of Untitled

but We Make the World Go Round and Summer on Smash...

making quality commercial records is an underrated skill in hip hop. and its ironic because most of the same people who hate Jay's commercial records also hate it when he tries to be "conscious"(since that's not really his comfort zone)

But I'll take Nyggas in Paris over Minority Report any day

 

[LucaBrasi]

Besides the few other valid reason people have said I know that clearly Jay-Z wants to be remembered as the most commercially successful artist ever, dude has 11 #1 albums only act ahead of nicca is The Beatles, with 16 or some shyt.

 

[OG Talk]

Because when your image is built on getting paper and selling records the moment that slows down you realize you're left with little that separates you from everyone else...

Its why female entertainers that sell sex get plastic surgery well into their forties..

His brand is success.. Hes not gonna do art that would put that brand in jeopardy... He explained this all on The Black Album...