Wassup folks! This is my first official blog, and I'm excited about it! I've been forming alot of opinions as of late, and here is where I can express said opinions. Topics are gonna range from music to sports to relationships to whatever else I have an opinion on. Today's opinion stems from my opinion on the music industry, mainly the hip-hop music industry.

I'm a hip-hop head. Been that way since I first heard "Rapper's Delight" out of my mother's boyfriend's boombox back in 1979. I've seen the music go from the parks, block parties, and community centers to clubs, arenas, and stadiums. I was there when Grandmaster Flash got busy on a 12" called "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel", and I've witnessed parties where my Philly brethren DJ Jazzy Jeff & DJ Ca$h Money (yea, I spelled it with a dollar sign) tore spots down while their MC counterparts (Will "The Fresh Prince" Smith and Marvelous Marv) hyped the crowd up. From the Sugar Hill and Enjoy singles of the early 1980s to the Young Money and Aftermath tracks today, I've been there. I've enjoyed the ride for the most part, with some aspects of the music and the culture that I could've done without.

All that being said, here's what gets me: artists who are highly regarded by both fans and their peers, but can't sell 2 copies if they pressed a double album (shout out 2 Marshall Mathers). Look, I read XXL and The Source. I go onto HipHopDX.com and AllHipHop.com. I read the reviews. Artists release a new album, it gets reviewed, gets either 4 or 5 mics (The Source), a XL or XXL (XXL), or 5 Xs (HipHopDX.com). The reviewer has nothing but raves about said album, and on the websites, you'll have each person who read the review give that artist all kinds of props and how "we need to support real hip-hop". Six months later, that album is stallin' out at 100,000 copies and we're onto the next review.

This happens all the time. Take some of my favorites for example. Jadakiss, Bun B, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Styles P. For the past 10 years, these 5 artists have put out some damn good material. Raekwon, for example, had a rebirth and gave us 2 good bangers (Cuban Linx 2 and Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang). He may have 500,000 sold between both releases. Same for his Wu-Tang brother Ghostface Killah, as he's had 5 good releases (Supreme Clientele, Bulletproof Wallets, Fishscale, The Big Doe Rehab & Apollo Kids). More than likely, Ghost's seen probably close to a million sold between those 5 releases.
Funny how in Ghost's case, he's backed by a major label (Island Def Jam), and they fail go give him and other artists like him any real push. Think I'm lying? How many actual singles do u think IDJ actually released from any of Ghost's releases?


Another part that kills me is all the bullshit that's said on the websites. "This cat is top 5, dead or alive", "he's the GOAT", or "y'all better get out there and cop that when it drops". Half of the people who post this shit probably downloaded the albums illegally, burnt a copy from their friend's CD, or waitin' on some asshole on YouTube to upload each track individually. Personally, I don't wanna hear shit from anybody unless they're out there LEGALLY coppin' the albums, either thru retail or outlets like iTunes or Zune.