I wrote this in the late spring/early summer of last year. Today I was surprised it was still archived and active. I took time out to re-read my position to see if my talking points were adjusted or completely changed. Other than the events that were reference during that time, I still hold true to what I wrote. However, in moments time the game is still in a evolution phase but we have new blood in this profession that NEEDS the proper schooling. If you fall in that category or a seasoned veteran, I hope this post enlightens you.
An Open Letter To ALL Hip-Hop DJs:
I choose this topic over my previous selection due to the recent comments made by one of the most active artists in the music industry today. Lil’ Wayne’s comments were sad and offensive to the art form that propelled music acts such as himself to the fame and fortune he has today.
I have been forced to respond with an open letter to all Hip-Hop DJs who create, produce, press and release Mixtapes in favor of rap artists to succeed. I encourage DJs who read this blog to listen and understand with an open mind.
Now this is not the first time an established artist such as Lil’ Wayne has expressed their discontent and utter disappointment in the Mixtape game. Can you blame him? There are some in my craft that have a paparazzi intellect when it comes to getting new music exclusives.
Playing the devil’s advocate for the moment, leaking material meant for label release without purchase or legal consistent (Licensing) is theft. It often compromises the artists release date and forces a unpremeditated plan of attack which reduced impact and offsets the predictable margin of success for the label first and artist second (message!).
Understanding this, by creating these Mixtapes for contractual/non-contractual artist and labels, you contribute absolutely nothing but redundancy and ove r saturation to the movement of the DJ. The labels and artist know your efforts are not warranted or needed.
Most artists in need of a Mixtape are in need of musical street credibility on the forefront of launching his/her career. Most DJ’s are homegrown having connections to the average listener in their neighborhood or city and those listeners take heed to what that DJ adds to his/her playlist of “exclusives”. It’s a special bond created cause the DJ is not kneeling to that of a PD (Program Director) at a radio station, the DJ IS the radio station.
A DJ who gains that unique audience knows he has to continue to raise the bar of creativity and “hot new music” with every release. A general artist signed to a contract has budgets and these budgets are released to them based on if they need that service provided. Guess where Hip-Hop Mixtapes are listed on these to-do lists? Sometimes last or null and void. I can speak with fact that most labels will not open a budget to a DJ with album funds.
Due to the RIAA lobbyists long time relationships with major recording labels. It will be a hard pill to swallow knowing the very reason the RIAA exists is to keep copyright music safe but at the same time the major labels acquire DJ’s on the payroll to duplicate the same music to the public they try so hard to instruct the RIAA to monitor.
We contribute to the piracy by not regulating our profession, setting a structure to equalize action for how the label involves you the DJ with the artists marketing campaign. We lay down to be treated in a most unfair manner. It will look mighty suspicious if a highly respectable label giving DJ funds to replicate copyrighted material without some form of kick back coming to the label.
The DJ will ultimately take the financial strain and have to deal with cut-backs, delays, and handling the potential failing of the project if another DJ gets to the market first. But, if you do a Mixtape, depending on the creativity and cash flow momentum of the particular DJ the label will permit the artist to personally contribute to the project (if you’re lucky). I
f you are not one of the “Fortunate Five” percent leaders in the Hip-Hop DJ world i.e. DJ Drama, DJ Green Lantern. Your task at hand for becoming wealthy or even gaining profits in mind doesn’t make sense. I recommend you sit down and re-think your alternatives in this industry.
Your cost of home/studio production, graphic designers, manufacturing etc. will more than likely not allow you or your investor(s) to recoup. I know my statements so far are becoming “the glass half-empty” outlook. But it needs to be done. Our community needs to wake up and stop sucking up to these artist and labels for practically pennies on the dollar sales.
To clarify the origins of the Mixtape lets focus on the definition: Mixtape – A conceptual mix of songs linked by a theme or mood, to a highly personal statement tailored to the tape’s intended recipient. In all honesty, you don’t need to be a professional DJ to create a Mixtape. You just need to have a feeling to create a list of your saddest or happiest moments connecting to a song/artist and click burn. Anyone with a P2P program and an internet connection can be one. It’s our denial and ignorance of business that keeps a majority of DJs stagnating their dream as a hobby. I see mixtapes being sold for $1.99 to $0.99 and they think that is smart business?!? Nah it’s not, little do they realize they are whoring out the craft they supposedly “love” so much.
Our position as a vital link to the audience has been reduced to that of a extra back-up dancer to the suits in the major music industry. My generation of inspirational DJs like Eric B, Terminator X, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier where the corner stone of its group or duo. It’s was likely the DJ had the initial decision of what tracks the MC should rhyme on if it wasn’t produced by them. A Mixtape will not propel you to the heights of success you expect. Your experience in music, production, song structure and respect to others professional expertise will define you.
At this point in time. I call upon all DJs and challenge them to answer the question. Where is our union? Where is our health-care/benefits? Where is our respect and dignity? We hear the statements all the time from artist that have a successful record on the radio. “If it wasn’t for the DJs, I wouldn’t be the success I am today.” Where is our just due? All we do in continuation is spin the record in hopes of another artist giving the same props.
DJ Green Lantern announced in May the “Million DJ March”. With him being a spokesperson I hope someone informs him of the strife we as an entertainment community suffer from. We need to be unionized. We have organizations like ASCAP and BMI. But do they offer packages for artists like the DJ? No. We have to conform to the needs and wants of the artist as scarcity runs rampant. It’s our job to inform the artist and their labels HOW WE WORK. We have been the decoy (See: DJ Drama Arrested By FEDS) for far too long.
Our profession under scrutiny declares us bootleggers and holds us partly responsible for the diminishing sales in the Hip-Hop/Rap genres. The labels not taking a look in the mirror and re-coursing through the past 10 years of music in our society tells a different story. All music genres will have its own black sheep as were Elvis, the Beatles, The Grateful Dead, and Pink Floyd were to Rock-N-Roll. People raged, protested, and then conformed the masses.
Our new multiple sub divisions of rap music have also poisoned our perspective. I can recall it was two types, which were rap and hip-hop. Then spawned Gangster Rap and afterwards came West Coast Rap. When OutKast debuted it wasn’t classified as Dirty South Rap in 1995. They were some niggas from Atlanta, Georgia who had a good sound. Fast-forwarding now we have we have sub-divided the music to the point we have multiple genres in one genre?!?! The music of business is money. Don’t get me wrong, I love money and I believe in evolution and without it, the world of Hip-Hop would not have been born. But it had to take the rhythm of a DJ to get a rapper to perform.
Right now, evolution comes full circle and it’s our right to organize and demand the right to earn and gain the respect we haven’t received since the conception of the art form called Hip-Hop.
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