bigted

The Game feat. Kanye West "Wouldn't Get Far"

Well SonyBMG is starting to dismantle now, I found this over on allhiphop.com today, the music industry is gonna start to crumble, now really to answer what Tim asked, I believe that with all this technology that TV and Radio are becoming irrelevant, people could just basically choose what they want to listen to now, if they don't like what MTV and radio plays they don't have to listen, it ain't like the old days where TV and Radio is the only way you could discover music anymore, everybody could go on the computer and choose what they want to listen to instead of watching TV or turn on the radio, videos are watched on YouTube, music is listened to on ITunes/online radio stations where you could choose your own preference more than people watching MTV or listening to the radio, that's becoming the past now, if MTV and radio want higher ratings after awhile they have to have better programming, anyway here's the article: Sony Urban To Be Dismantled By Roman Wolfe Date: 11/27/2006 9:30 am According to reports, SonyBMG is planning to dismantle it's Sony Urban Music division, with layoffs at the label coming just before the holiday season. Layoffs at the label are scheduled to start some time this week. According to the New York Post some of Sony Urban's 70 employees will be reassigned to other labels within SonyBMG starting on or around December 1. The conglomerate has an interest in a number of ventures, including Arista Records, Epic Records, Columbia Records, J Records, RCA Records, RCA Records and others. Artists on Sony Urban, which include DMX, Three Six Mafia, Beyonce, Bow Wow, Omarion, John Legend, Amerie and others, will be reassigned to the Epic and Columbia labels. Layoffs at SonyBMG started last week in the classical music division.

I feel you on what you said there, they're human like any of us so really if the album's good it's good if it's not then it's not, it ain't the end of the world if it ain't good, I already know LL ain't perfect, Will ain't perfect, nobody's perfect, LL has some weak songs on his last few albums but did you buy them? You got "Born To Reign" in your CD collection but if Will does an album with 50 you wouldn't buy it? I couldn't imagine it being worse than "Born To Reign" though seriously, lol Just 'cause 50's on the tracklisting you're gonna delay? Just wait until you listen to the album before you jump to conclusions, you never know that Eminem might actually come with a better verse than Big Daddy Kane, nothing's impossible, and another thing man stop talking about G-Unit like they're devils or something, it ain't like LL's god and 50 Cent's satan, please, lol... Really the way I see it it's just like how like everyone thought Hammer sold out when he was rolling with Snoop and 2Pac and they stopped buying his music, Hammer was tired of everyone calling him soft too so he made "Funky Headhunter" and had west coast gangsta rap production on it but he was still a positive rapper, it was a great album too, probably one of his better albums but ignorant people didn't listen, of course that could be the consequence of LL's career, maybe he might receive so much backlash he might fade away like Hammer did, especially now since G-Unit don't even have close to the credability that Snoop and 2Pac did LL's album could fail miserably, basically everything that G-Unit affiliated is being avoided like bacteria lately so I really don't know if LL's gonna go more than gold here, hopefully that don't happen for his sake, maybe Hammer should give him a talk about that, lol

Well I don't know hip-hop's too commercial now, basically everybody's selling out at this point so really what the hell why not, Will should just take advantage of every media connection he has to promote the albums he does that way more and more people will get to hear a legendary mc spitting rhymes, everybody in hip-hop still loves Jay-Z even though he does beer commercials, his new album might go platinum in the first week, of course everybody's shopping now for the holidays so that's why too, maybe Will should release an album around the holiday too when everybody's shopping, btw who knows maybe if "L&F" was released the same week as "Hitch" it might've went gold in the 1st week instead of taking months to go gold, that's why TI was the only platinum rapper this year until Jay-Z now, his movie and album came out together, people just ain't buying music that much anymore so that's why rappers need another way to promote besides MTV and BET now to sell records, maybe when the JJFP album drops it should drop the same week as one of FP's movies and they do a performance during the Super Bowl, that should equal multiplatinum success, lol

There's nothing wrong with being commercial and having people buying your albums, as long as it's quality music who cares like I said before, LL's trying to bring unity to hip-hop here by bringing rappers together, that should be applauded, but I guess it seems people want to see rappers beef more with each other than unify, it's like how some people called Nas a sellout for signing to Jay-Z 'cause it seems that they want them to beef forever

Exactly, why'd LL put them on his album if he was only worrying about selling records? Honestly I think a lot of people are just gonna be turned off seeing G-Unit listed on a couple songs on the tracklist and they won't even give the album a listen, well **** them really, they'll be missing out on some great music, as long as LL delivers what does it matter who else is there? Was "Willenium" just a commercialised money making album? If this album is really just about catchy beats and hooks then it wouldn't be that much different LL's last few albums, that's what they were about really, they weren't classic LL albums.... I'm hopeful that this is more like LL's "G.O.A.T." album, there was a lot of guest appearances but it was an aggressive album

Well you said that LL's just doing this for money 'cause he has G-Unit on his album, but how could that be when G-Unit albums are flopping now? LL's upset that his last album didn't sell as much as before but he's even more upset that his music is getting called soft, he knows he needs to be more aggressive on this album, having Dr. Dre and Premo producing is a good start really for him to be able to have the proper tracks to rip over, the G-Unit rhyming has been suspect lately but they always choose aggressive beats to rap over, I think that's why LL wants to have 50 executive produce it

It might do a lil' bit better than "Ali", probably $30 million first week, $80 million total

LL should sport a hoodie on the album cover and I think he still got love for the game, I don't think he's only in it for the money, he's in it for the love really, I think it hurts him to see his music getting criticised, that's why I think he's gonna put out a more aggressive album, he got his head to the streets and knows that he's being dissed for being soft so he needs to step up here, and I think Will sees that there's not much challenge in the rap game for him anymore, he got a lot of credability for "Lost and Found" so he's working on getting that Oscar award in filming, he puts his heart into whatever he does too, he wants to do credible things

Yeah and that's why Will signs up to do 5 films instead of doing albums with Jazzy 'cause he needs more money too at least he doesnt care about album sales and money when it comes to somethin, which is all about himself, get what i'm saying? but just like i said, lets wait and see how LLs albums going to be... Will does care about record sales even though he said he don't, let's be real if "Lost and Found" sold 5 million he'd be working on another album right now, maybe turn down a couple film roles, but it only went gold so he's not releasing any albums and he's back to filming more often, if Will didn't care so much about record sales he'd spend 2 weeks with Jazzy soon and do an album for the real rap fans if he really thinks filming is a chick on the side, get what I'm saying? I think every artist cares about money and record sales a lil' bit, let's be real, there's nothing wrong with that to an extent as long as they work hard... btw "Bump This" is cool but LL could come stronger than that I agree AJ, he needs to dig deep and do some real aggressive stuff to let all these ignorant rap fans know that he's still a lyrical beast, the fans and critics been calling him out and saying that he's washed up lately, that's why he needs to be more aggressive with his lyrics, he needs to slow down on that ladies loving image, if LL's doing anything like his last few albums then maybe he should be the one taking time off to do more films, he'll probably end up making more money doing that anyway, I really hope he delivers here so he could shut up all the critics once again and all the fans will be back on his bandwagon....

I dont really agree with that.. Off course everybody wanna make more money.. And when they are desperate then they do thing that you call a "sell out" would do.. But that's life.. Peace It should be about artists making better music if they want to make more money and if an artist just stops making music just 'cause they don't make enough money then they don't have passion for their music, it's like ball players who liked playing ball in the park all day but when they get to the major leagues they get fat off their contract and they lose the love for the game, that shouldn't happen, but in sports though the ones who work the hardest are the ones that have the most success, I'd like to see the music industry be like that, the artists that put their heart into their music the most should be the ones on top

Yeah and that's why Will signs up to do 5 films instead of doing albums with Jazzy 'cause he needs more money too

I'd rather have a JJFP album

Yeah I think this album's gonna be an improvement from really the last few albums, LL seemed too relaxed, he needs to be more aggressive here, as long as LL delivers the classic album that I know he's still capable of then it won't really matter who else is on it

1-No 50 ain't an all time great mc simple and plain, never has been, never will be, he ain't the worst but nowhere near the best 2-AJ asked that question basically in a thread when "Hate It Or Love It" came out and 50 gave props to Rakim I remember, 50 just can't be on Rakim's level no matter how hard he tries to be, few can really, I really think that mcs like Rakim rapped on such a phenomenal level when they came into the game that it's really hard to equal or top that level of talent for the future generation of rappers, there's some good hip-hop out in between but really there's not much classic hip-hop anymore, like Chuck D said in his terrordome there's not really many albums out that a lot of people could name more than 5 non video songs off the top of their head over the last 5-10 years, it's really love/hate type of hip-hop now, not much essential music that's a must to have, basically fans talk more about tabloids than they do the content of albums, it's not really there anymore 3-Well who knows maybe I will regret it but I don't want to see my favorite rappers hang it up yet, as long as they come strong it don't really matter who else they work with, I buy their albums to hear them 4-Yeah it won't happen, Will's a grown ass man, he won't downgrade himself like that at this point in his career, he worked too hard then to just lower himself down like that into silly beefs 5-Don't forget Public Enemy and KRS, I think Public Enemy's at 9 as well, KRS is at 13 at the moment...

I don't know man it's really up to Will at this point, Jazzy's said many times that he's willing to do something with Will but it comes down to when and if he wants to do it, if he really loves hip-hop as much as he said he does and if he's "potnas" with Jazzy then I think it'll be a matter of when it's gonna happen, actions speak louder than words, it'd be sad if Will didn't celebrate the milestone album number 10 by spending 2 weeks in the lab with Jazzy but Will knows what's up when the time's right I think he'll do it, let's be patient guys, I really think it'll happen sooner or later, Will's came this far already I'm sure he'll wanna do his 10th album with Jazzy at the minimum before he hangs up the mic, leave on a proper note, maybe JJFP should go to G.O.O.D. Music which is Kanye's imprint, Kanye's a big fan of JJFP, he'd welcome them with open arms, you could say what you want about Kanye's personality but he's probably the only one of few that keeps quality rap alive on a mainstream level, it'd be a good fit

I don't care if an artist is underground or mainstream, music is music, some's good and some's bad, now I try to focus more on the good than the bad though, I rather talk about who's the best than who's the worst, like I don't really give a damn about who's the worst, don't wanna know really, lol, and now if you only like LL 'cause of the artists that he works with then you ain't a fan, as long as LL don't come out sounding like a studio gangsta, I'm gonna support him, he's been about quality for 20+ years, I don't think that's gonna change now, he don't need anybody to sell records, he's one of the most popular rappers of all time already, he's one of the original ballers of this rap game, rappers ask to work with him since he's one of the most respected, 50 and G-Unit are fans of his, they want to work with him, 50 said he probably won't be able to make it as far as LL, he knows what's up, all of LL's albums are platinum except his last one but nobody buys records as much as they used to, gold is the new platinum now really

I don't really respect G-Unit that much either but if they put out a hot album I'm not gonna front on it just 'cause they're mainstream like most underground fans do, that's what I'm saying, they hate on an artist just when they become popular, and now just 'cause 50's last album was weak doesn't mean that his whole career is garbage, that's like saying Will's career is garbage in 2002 when he released "Born To Reign", Rakim's career is garbage 'cause of his last album, or LL's career is garbage 'cause of his recent music, everybody has their ups and downs, you can't be perfect everytime out, 50's not really much to brag about either way though, he ain't really that great but he ain't the worst either, 50 does receive a bit more criticism now though and deserving so now since he criticised Ja Rule for doing love songs when he then turned out to do the same thing, LL never criticised other rappers for being soft so he never deserves to be dissed for doing love songs, he just has fun with the music really

Ice Cube released his album himself and he went gold, if JJFP release their album independently they'll probably go gold too which is like the platinum for today, nobody sells records the way they used to, most of those who bought "L&F" and the underground hip-hop fans will be anticipating the JJFP record, they got a larger fanbase than most rap artists of today do

LL and Rakim never criticised other rappers for cursing in their rhymes the way that FP does so I don't really see nothing wrong with them doing albums with a PA sticker but with FP it'd be a totally different story if he did an album with PA he'd receive a hell lot of criticism, LL did say in an interview when he released "Todd Smith" that at the moment he wasn't in the mood to curse in his rhymes but if that moment comes one day where he's in that mood then he will, the music reflects the type of mood that he's in, maybe if he's relaxed he won't curse but maybe he has stuff to get off his chest so he might be in the mood to curse now, cursing or not, through 12 albums I don't really think of any more consistant mc, probably only KRS-ONE would come to mind, Rakim hasn't done **** that was dope in quite a while now, LL and KRS could still bring it though, 50 and G-Unit do make some songs with substance, it ain't 50's fault they only played his dumbed down records, but songs like "Many Men" and "Hate Or Love It" had substance, that's like saying all Will's raps are like "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" and "Switch", the most substance records don't play on the radio though, now I'm not saying they're even close to being the greatest but they ain't really the worst rappers either, some people talk like all popular rappers are garbage but they had to work just as hard as any credible underground rapper did to get into the game, really the worst rappers are the ones who never get signed, if you wanna hear a real garbage rap just listen to some internet thugs posting on myspace that make 50 Cent sound like Rakim I swear to God, lol....

I know he use to rap with PA's. I've got them, but he said he was done with that. You mention Kel Spencer, but Kel Spencer can spit some of the hardest verses without one curse. Yes, the G-Unit camp really is THAT bad to me. I hate the idea of giving them any money for their wack elementary school rhymes. I love the fact that there will be songs (but just 2) with Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, and 3000- and I'll prove that with a couple iTunes downloads. I'm not afraid of change. What I don't like is great rappers like LL playing with crap rappers like 50 Cent just to ball higher on the sales charts. Unless of course LL really thinks 50 displays some worthy skills... God help us all. God Blessa! Heavy D and Rakim also come to mind with mcs making great rhymes without having a PA sticker, it ain't necessary to curse to be a great mc, it's really about skills, now listen to one of 50's early mixtapes and tell me that he don't have skills, maybe not on Rakim level but really few do have that ability, 50 could be good at times, I don't even know if I'd put Kel on Rakim's level respectfully speaking... I only named Kel because you did. Lyrically, I'd probably put Rakim above everyone mentioned in this thread. I've heard some of 50's early stuff and I'm still not seeing what makes him so great. Even his cancelled album stuff (just check the video, he's got like 40 idiots in the background looking like idiots for the camera). God Blessa! I mentioned Kel 'cause I was talking currently how him and FP are the only ones currently that rap without PA since basically rappers like Rakim and Heavy D haven't released an album in this millenium yet, and well you might be dissapointed about LL working with G-Unit but Rakim's working on his next album with Dipset so he'll probably have a PA sticker on his next album too, and now with G-Unit, they were highly respected underground rap crew for years, some of the most credible mcs wanted to work with them, it ain't just now 'cause they're selling millions that people wanna work with them

I know he use to rap with PA's. I've got them, but he said he was done with that. You mention Kel Spencer, but Kel Spencer can spit some of the hardest verses without one curse. Yes, the G-Unit camp really is THAT bad to me. I hate the idea of giving them any money for their wack elementary school rhymes. I love the fact that there will be songs (but just 2) with Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, and 3000- and I'll prove that with a couple iTunes downloads. I'm not afraid of change. What I don't like is great rappers like LL playing with crap rappers like 50 Cent just to ball higher on the sales charts. Unless of course LL really thinks 50 displays some worthy skills... God help us all. God Blessa! Heavy D and Rakim also come to mind with mcs making great rhymes without having a PA sticker, Hammer's more of an entertainer than a lyricist on his albums without a PA sticker, he's probably another rapper that sold millions without PA stickers on his album, it ain't necessary to curse to be a great mc, it's really about skills, now listen to one of 50's early mixtapes and tell me that he don't have skills, maybe not on Rakim level but really few do have that ability, 50 could be good at times, I don't even know if I'd put Kel on Rakim's level respectfully speaking...

Who said that JJFP don't matter anymore? Most of those comments I read shows that they seem to know that JJ+FP are still vital to the rap game, if they do another album I think it'll do well too 'cause real music is needed right now

Yeah you either got it or you don't, 50 don't got it, he was never better than average, I remember seeing AJ make a comment about why doesn't 50 rap like Rakim if he claimed to have grown up saying that he loved listening to Rakim check his melody but the truth is that he don't have the skills to do so, even if he wanted to try harder, hey I loved watching Michael Jordan play basketball but that don't mean I could play like him, 50 just don't have the talent even though he wish he did... Now this ain't the first time Will/LL have rapped with rappers that ain't on their level, they're just trying to be team players, not everyone on the team's a superstar but that don't mean you quit the team, I'd rather see them work with 50 than see them retire, you make the best with what you have when you're in the game, and how do you know that 50 didn't want to work with them? After all millions of people in 50's generation grew up on these great rappers like FP and LL, I think that as long as it's a respectful collaboration it's all good with me and it's good for hip-hop to see ol' school and new school come together but if 50 trys to gets FP and LL involved in his silly beefs then it wouldn't be good... Really though if Will comes out and calls 50 Cent garbage is that really good for hip-hop? I don't think so, Will's gonna be snooping to 50's level, he'd be going into a foolish beef, rappers need to evolve beyond beefing, it's played out, if it's in good fun on the mic then that's cool but it ain't that way nomore, "Lost and found" was done in a tasteful way just a call for all rappers to step their game up, come up with your own style, Will's telling rappers to be themselves, rap with your soul and don't just do what the record label tells you to do to sell records,and Will's shown that he loves hip-hop more than most rappers, could you name me how many rappers have done 9 albums or more? It's a very short list, Will lives and breathes hip-hop, he is hip-hop, actions speak louder than words...

"Ali" only grossed 57 million total? Is that Will's lowest grossing movie? I had no idea it was that low of a total, that was released around Christmas too, but hey who really cares about how much it gross, if it gets Will another Oscar nod and it's a quality film then I'll take that over 200 million at the boxoffice anytime, that's like I'd rather see Will get 5 mic ratings for his albums rather than sell 10 million, credability is much better at the end of the day