http://www.datpiff.com/ICONOGRAPHIC_RECORDS_TONY_GRANDS_Grandzilla.m72617.html
I started rapping when I was 13. Doing little shows, making karaoke demos, & finally recording material at a legitimate studio-rapping, as opposed to freestyling with random dream chasers or writing songs instead of doing homework. I come from a generation where the ability to rap was a skill, & whatever was crafted was art. With me, never once was it a money making scheme, a "get rich or die trying" crusade, per se, but a love for words & an affinity for rhythm. It made perfect sense, too, because I've never been that good at basketball, & my nuts weren't big enough to sell drugs.
That link up top is to an album my nigga Esquire (the producer) & I recorded about 5 years ago. Please, download it & enjoy, if you haven't already. If there's something you like, great. Burn a copy for your friends. Use it as a soundtrack to a YouTube video. Or toss it in the trash bin, & accept my apologies for wasting precious time & hard drive space. I couldn't care less. Point is, getting paid for my "art" was never a part of the plan. Very similar to my writing. These things I do out of love, & if others are able to find pleasure it what I do, thats fan-fucking-tastic..
Rappers these days aren't born. There manufactured. Somewhere there's an assembly line, & a couple of times a year, the newest model of audio hustler is unveiled, & unleashed to the public, under the guise of representing an art form, a culture. No dice. These niggas are in it solely for the possibility of getting paid. No more, no less. It's a tad bit sad, depending on your vantage point.
Anybody who remotely follows the music business is fully aware of the crack pipe dreams it offers. The entertainment industry as a whole, for that matter. It's not a real job, so to speak, & while it's is possible to live off of talent, assuming you have said talent, nowadays people with such goals are adamant on becoming uber-mega-superstars, who use $50 bills as toilet tissue & eat seafood 7 days a week. That's an unrealistic minority. The majority is a somber group of people who lack the skill, knowledge &/or "it" factor to stand out, in a crowd of hundreds of thousands. & the 'Net just leveled the playing field, so good luck on your career choice.
I'm not gonna name drop specific artists who I think may be responsible for the less than noble state of Hip Hop music, but I'll blame man's fervent thirst for monetarily compensated under-achievement. & that way, the umbrella covers all parties involved. Money changes things. Fact. Once the flood gates opened on rap music being a somewhat lucrative business, with the opportunity for quick, profitable turnaround, anybody with at least a 3rd grade level of comprehension & access to a recording device decided to dive into the music game, feet first. Once that happened, the art, natural skill & prowess folks once took great pride in, was replaced by greed, gluttony, & an assload of luck. & again, the 'Net just leveled the playing field, so good luck with your career choice.
Saying that everybody wants to be a rapper is an understatement. Here I was wanting to share a "gift" with the world. Coincidentally I learned, quite some time ago, that I'm not built for such a egregious, erroneous, ass backwards, self-serving, cock sucker line of work. I tip my hat to those who have the gumption to stick it out, really though. They know who they are, & so do their fans. I'm sure if I have the opportunity to get back in the studio, I'll jump. But again, my love of words & affinity for rhythm would be the driving force. Not money, or my lack thereof.
I used to take my son to the studio with me. In fact, he's on a couple of songs I did. Albeit as a baby, but even still. Now, instead of saying "Daddy, I'm gonna be a rapper," he's says things like, "I wanna own my own store. I wanna be an astronaut. I wanna be a scientist. Then I can be the president or something, too, huh Daddy?"
Indeed...
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5 comments:
This? This shit right here? THIS is why I fux with you, Grands [ll]! I've been writing for a LONG time too, and did shows, recorded, ...blessed WHOEVER WOULD LISTEN with my "gift", all for the love of "the art" itself. I never really thought about it as a career because 1) I learned the cut-throat aspect of it far earlier, and 2) There were people doing it, who I looked up to, listened to, and was humbled by their gifts, whose talent eclipsed my own, but weren't making it as major as some who were FAR less talented. But I STILL write (well mostly free-stlye, but that's neither here nor there), and I feel like a mad-rapper when I hear these garbage ass cats who I can't allow myself to call emcees, butchering the art that I so love, AND GETTING PAID FOR IT!!! Still, stylistically, I knew that few in my region would be checking for me, so it was never a viable option to me career-wise. I still love the art, and contribute my part to it, as well as support those who I feel do the same. To those still trying to do it, good luck and much success to you, b/c the rap game is CUT-THROAT!
P.S. I listened to the mix-tape yesterday, Grands; you're a monster with the metaphors and I dug it, young man. Good stuff.
Been tryna dl your mixtape for a minute now. No dice. Fuck Dat Piff
@MDub
Thanks juice. Always appreciate the love. Yes hetero.
@Rob
Word? Sorry about that, fam. My dude uploaded it for me, so IDK, but what's the problem? Maybe we can figure it out...
Don't forget it's up on bboycult Grands.
The crazy thing is that most of these dudes in the game aren't getting paid. They're flashing that advance $ for all to see but they don't tell the story about recoups. And cut throat doesn't even begin to tell what goes on. I stay telling the homies the game ain't what they think it is.
Normally id leave some half ass comment because thats what most articles require.. this on the other hand gets my attention and i MIGHT even REALLY download the link for a change. (as if u gave a damn).
Diggin everything you wrote as if i penned it myself.. Glad to see everybody aint brainwashed about whats going on with hip hop music.
Maybe I can borrow some of that love from ya.. cause I HATE my job... which is MUSIC. I'm forced to attend to Biz 1st... sadly it does effect and influence artists creativity.
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