Disclaimer: I want to be sure folks understand that my overview of Black Film history is extremely brief here and I do not profess to be a film history guru.  I will fully admit that many of the things stated here are generalized for the sake of brevity, and that an entire book could be written on this subject.  I simply tackled it for the big picture affect.  This idea was sparked from my last entry regarding my review of Red Tails, and the ensuing clamor I saw happening the weekend it premiered.  Enjoy.

George Lucas appeared in various places to promote Red Tails, a film paying homage to the Tuskegee Airmen. In a viral explosion, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and various other media quoted Lucas on how he couldn’t get financial backing from major studios for Red Tails because of its all Black cast. In the minds of major film studio execs, an all Black cast for any story would not generate enough sales domestically or internationally. Lucas shared the logic of the execs with blunt terms, and said that he put $58 million of his own money to distribute the film. Lucas had confirmed the racism within the Hollywood system, and it became a rally cry to support Red Tails with its dollars to disprove “the suits”. Various other Black writers and bloggers were skeptical as to why they should see the film, even using Lucas’ interracial relationship as fodder for their criticism.  Nevertheless, the primary voices seemed to shout, “We have to show Hollywood that Blacks have a voice!  If we don’t support this with our money, we can say goodbye to high budgeted, good quality films!”  It was  a call to action to prove the power of the Black audience and their desire for positive portrayals, that all black casts were just as equal to the primarily all White films distributed, as well as pay homage to these Black war heroes. If people didn’t see the film, it would prove the studios right and we would pretty much say goodbye to all Black films.  One must ask, is Black cinema truly in danger of extinction?  Through a brief look at Black film history we see that if extinction were possible, it would be less about the restrictions from major studios and more about the Black community that has diversified in many directions.

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I try to keep my site as family friendly as possible, especially since my mom likes to read it (hi mom!).   But this post, while from a bit of a  vulgar and hyper-masculine frame of mind, deals with something I think needs to be addressed.  Something that I think is actually destroying the value of entertainment.

Dickriding.  It’s at an all time high, and needs to stop.

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This past weekend I started working with a friend on his film project.  He asked me to be the Music Supervisor.  He told me how he felt somewhat jaded with the process of film-making.   He said once he became truly interested in doing film he’d run into a lot of artists who complained about not having their ideas heard. The artists have big dreams that feel priceless to them.  But once he started getting interested in the business side of film, he saw another perspective that many of the sentimental filmmakers dare not admit to themselves…

My friend said “I went to a meeting and there was an investor that said ‘I don’t care how creative your project supposedly is…is it going to make me money?  Why am I going to give you money for it?’”  The part that really hit home is when my friend stated:

“Film is a high risk stock investment.”

As I said before, art to the business person is something to be sold.  You sell as many units (i.e. tickets, CDs, downloads, etc) as possible for profit.  We all love different forms of entertainment.  We praise the creators for their creativity.  But at the end of the day, there has to be some element of it that is going to interest someone to invest their money in it.  Whether it’s the private investor contributing $100K for the marketing, or the consumer giving $10 for the album, it’s an investment.

Being that I am no expert on film, I’m very knowledgeable when it comes to music.  Seeing as a lot of labels are scared to invest in artists these days, I figured why not do my own sort of  “stock” assessment on some fairly well known artists?

This week: Rap artists!

Let’s be clear:

-Yes, this is largely matter of opinion, but I provide my argument.  It doesn’t mean you MUST agree with me.

- Some of this may be my personal taste, but I’d imagine most any other business person would use their sense of taste in things to guide their predictions.

- Anything can happen and I can be totally wrong.  *shrug* Who knows!

-I’m not just using facts and figures but ALSO the level of skill and creativity to gauge this.

So, if I use my creative sense and business sense together, who would I be willing to bet would last?  If I had a label, how would I ration out a budget?  Of course an artist can go platinum today, but if they’re forgotten about 6 months later and can barely move a unit on a 2nd album, that’s not a very successful artist to me.  In my opinion there needs to be a 4 factors: reputation, skill, fan base, and potential longevity.

LOW RISK

Common

Common has a good mix of all 4 criterion.  Fairly well known actor now with a good rep.  Has strong ties with other very respected musicians.  Started by having lukewarm success since 1994, but rose further up as he affiliated with folks like De La Soul, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu, and Kanye West.  I don’t think his film with Queen Latifah will be that great, but that won’t stop his name from being known, and his fans are dedicated.  I don’t think his last album was that great, but that won’t stop him from getting support.  I’d invest not too hefty of a sum, but I’m sure I’d get a good return because people are willing to support him. He already has longevity in the game.

Ludacris

The guy has had a stable career for almost a decade already. He’s versatile skill wise. Has respect from a lot of circles.  His last album got mixed reviews overall, but if he were to put his mind and heart in the studio he could come with a great one. I’d invest some good money betting he’d have some great singles, and with the right budget, producers, and time he’d could come with a great album.

Outkast

Solo or as a duo, these guys have a strong grasp on musicality and what it takes to make an entirely good project.  Most labels would consider them high risk because each of them, Dre and Big Boi, are willing to take creative risks.  But at this point they have pretty much proven that they can sell an album and fans will be dedicated and know off the bat, they will come with a quality product. Since 1994 too?  I’ll bet on them.

B.O.B. aka Bobby Ray

He’s been around for a few years but still considered a newcomer.  But he can play the guitar, sing, has great song writing ability, and makes his message palpable for the whole audience.  Put more money into him and his fan base will grow and grow. I see lots of potential growth here.

MEDIUM RISK

J. Cole

He’s a medium risk in my eyes.  He has been consistent throughout the blogosphere as generally getting love.  He is hungry.  He can rap well. It seems Jay-Z might be testing the product, sending him in various places to make sure he commands the performance.  But, his depth of lyricism and wit may push him more to the side of the “underground” crowd.  It’s hard to tell these days if people really respect lyricism, but I expect him to have a fairly dedicated following and overall respect like Lupe Fiasco.  Someone who can balance their lyricism with the ability to catch people.  This is a hard one to tell, but for his first debut I’d expect his sales to go fairly well.  His 2nd album is the real test of longevity.

Lauryn Hill

Lauryn has seemed to come out of her shell a bit lately and there’s a buzz on whether or not she will come back on the scene.  Well, there’s no question that she has skill and talent on all musical levels.  The question is, whether or not she gets frustrated with the process and stops altogether.  You’d probably have to invest more money in her to give her more freedom.  It’s hard to gauge how the general audience would react to her music though, if she comes with an “OK” song.  She still has adoring fans that want her back though.  If she has just 2 slamming singles, she’ll be going platinum.

Ice Cube

This dude represents the old school now.  A lot of old school artists in Hip Hop are coming back out.  But even still he has done 2 large, packed concerts in the past year and still has love.  I mean, if Cypress Hill can still put on full on concerts and rock a crowd with classic material, so can Ice Cube.  But, will his albums sell, or are people still stuck on the controversial Ice Cube of the days of old?  Controversy used to sell, now, Cube has wound down.  But he’s still rapping with more aggression than most.  Heard his new song on the radio today too.  Not bad. But may not be enough to impress the generation that doesn’t really know his legacy.

T.I.

He has a pretty dedicated fan base, but being arrested for buying automatic weapons when yo ass shouldn’t have been there?  Fail.  People might have forgotten by now, but he can’t afford to put out any tepid material.  I think he needs to come back rhyming harder, without too much sing-songyness.  There was a point where his songs started pushing toward a Pop edge.  I think if he gets back to being a raw artist, he’ll win hearts again.

HIGH RISK

Busta Rhymes

There’s no doubt that this guy can rhyme circles around probably everyone else out.  But unfortunately, he’s spent so much time making club bangers and trying to make catchy tracks that it doesn’t feel the same.  His last album didn’t do well at all (cause it was wack), and his formula of presentation has started to get predictable.  Club banger, then posse remix of the club banger.  He said he was back on his bullshit, but bullshit is not want people want to hear.

Trina

I have yet to understand where her fan base is, or if people truly care about her.  She’s affiliated herself with other big names.  But clearly she’s not that skilled.  I can’t name you the last hit she had or “club banger”.  Maybe her base is all in the South.  I think if she got her lyrics up, got a little more classy, people could feel more dedicated to her.  But, it’s fairly well reputed that women are more likely to buy music than males and support other women more than males.  So if women find something about her to latch on to, then some sales will happen.  But, I dunno where the good material will come from.

Nicki Minaj

At first she looked promising.  Then the wigs and persona became a bit ridiculous.  It was a mix of Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, and Lady Gaga. Branding her image as a Barbie doll?   Word?  Then she changes her voice like she was possessed.  It’s kinda weird.  Listen close, and you see she has the same rap style as Drake, Lil Wayne, and the rest of Young Money.  I heard her new song today where she was singing with auto-tune.  She’ll sell some but she better come out swinging and with bangers.  Otherwise, if the first reviews of her leaked album are bad, her career is done.

Drake

Dude has been on his grind for a while.  Then came So Far Gone, for the win.  Then his Blackberry freestyle with Funkmaster Flex which had people wondering “Um…Is he a real emcee or not?”  Then his video for Best I Ever Had got clowned miserably.  Just about everything he has come out with, there is a debate on whether or not he’s really good.  Then there have been plenty of those clowning his style on Twitter with #DrakePunchlines.  If the general population can mimic your style, and even come up with better lines than you, then you need to step your game up.  He needs to change his style some, get more raw on the mic.  His label has invested too much already for him to fail so they’re gonna saturate us with his songs on the radio and music video play.  He makes some good club hits, he’ll sell well out the gate.  But once the leak of his album comes, if it’s wack?  Game over.  He also needs to get a seasoned vet on his music videos.  And is it just me or does the cover of his new album ruin your eyesight?  He can’t afford anymore mistakes.

Wale

I really wanted to believe in him but I can’t anymore.  That album he put out was not good, and his videos were very weak. Last few recent songs I heard, wack. His style, predictable.  He needs to upgrade his bars, and get back to rhymin over Go-Go.  Otherwise, I don’t think he’ll be around much longer.  I think his fans have largely abandoned him

Soulja Boy

Somehow he’s still making music I guess.  But I don’t know where it’s coming from or who’s paying for it.  Where is his fan base?  I really thought his second album was going to flop, but he held on.  Kiss Me Thru the Phone was his saving grace. He’s tried to step his lyrics up, but they’re not good.  His beats bang, and his lane is to be “Swag Music”.  Stuff to get hype to.  I think he should get a ghostwriter and just make his beats. Otherwise, after his next album, I don’t know if he’ll survive at all.

Now I expect that most industry people would say my list is upside down.  The bigger names are more bankable.  In my view, a high risk artist is “trendy”, and more about image than the music.  There is very little emphasis on whether or not they will have longevity, skill, a dedicated fan base, or potential to grow further.  A lot of artists in high risks are pushing to sell as much as possible and get the greatest return back.  The thing is, if they can’t keep up their character or influence and change the trends, then they’re disposable.  And since music is easy to download before the album is supposed to drop, music is even more disposable overall. Therefore, the actual product needs to be good to ensure that the person who downloads it free will even want to support them.  The majority of people aren’t dumb, they know when a trend is worth buying into and when it’s not.  At least, I think so.

By the way, I find it quite sad that I don’t have more female artists to put in the low risk column.  I wonder why that is…

Next week: R&B artists!

I was in a Hip Hop group in high school. We finished a show we had at the Whiskey A-Go-Go opening for Aceyalone. As we were walking around Sunset, there was Krondon chillin on the street.  My homie was like “Oh, Krondon whattup!”  He shook our hand, and said wasup.  Real chill.  It felt good to see a emcee we respected be so humble.

Some years later, I’m on the hunt to find Planet Asia.  We were supposed to do an interview earlier but he was nowhere to be found. I found out later he was still in the studio.   As I’m walking back from the Jamaican spot with my jerk chicken patty, there’s Krondon chillin outside of a big truck choppin it up with a friend.

“Yo Krondon wasup!”  We shook hands and he greeted me real welcoming. Turns out he was there about to film a video with Psycho Realm.

“Yo I’m lookin for ya boy Planet Asia.  I was supposed to interview him today.”  I told him.  Krondon responded “Oh he should be here soon he’s gonna be in the video.”  I came back a few hours later with cameragirl Eve and my homegirl Dominique and got to interview everybody, including Krondon.

Some of the things he said were really surprising.  You rarely hear talk of spirituality from a hardcore emcee.  But he was being as genuine on camera as he was to me when I was in high school.

Part 1

Jesus Christ

His story

Influences

Rock music

Part 2

Spirituality

Being a grown-ass man

Where to find him and the music

Words of advice

You can catch Krondon…

On Twitter @Krondon

Of course with Strong Arm Steady at Blacksmith Music

Peep the Let Em Live Mixtape! (click the pic)

By the way…

Have you found Stoney Jackson?