bigted

Yo AJ since when does good music have to do with sales and airplay? So Mike Jones, Ying Yang Twins, G-Unit, Nelly, etc. make the best music like Bow Wow according to that statement right? Not saying that Lil' Romeo's a good artist but it's obvious that people wanna hear his song 'cause 700,000 people streamed it on Yahoo, I wished that the same amount of people signed the petition for "Tell Me Why", if Master P could sue Columbia why can't Will sue Interscope for not releasing "Tell Me Why"? It's a shame so many people would like either Bow Wow or Romeo 'cause they're both wack, it's obvious if that many people are listening to the song then you figure the radio would pick up the airplay along with the other wack songs on the radio that I don't bother to listen to much, it wouldn't surprise me if Bow Wow did something like that 'cause he doesn't seem to be mature, that's kinda low in my opinion if he'd be scared of Romeo getting airplay, lol, if he's scared of Romeo dissin' him then he might as well quit rapping forever since he'll never get respect in the rap game by any rap fan over 18 years old, it's sad to see that the rap industry is dictated by what lil' girls like to listen to instead of what real hip-hop heads like...

Happy Birthday AJ, we appreciate your contributions to the board :rockon:

I find it insulting that Will's not being embraced as representin' for hip-hop on the Time article, but the matter is though society respects Will more than they do any other artist in hip-hop, Will's a household name, and now to question whether Will's a hip-hop artist is idiotic, how many rappers released 9 albums in 20 years, his last album went platinum last year that means he's still relevant as a hip-hop artist in the music industry now.... Of course his music ain't as popular as his movies, but basically there's more people going to see Will's movies than they are gonna buy any rap album and that's why other rap artists of today like Bow Wow, 50 Cent, and Ludacris are trying to get into film 'cause they know that movies are more popular than rap is, Will brought hip-hop to Hollywood, you wouldn't see Kanye West on the red carpet with Tom Cruise if Will didn't help rappers get accepted in mainstream, now if I don't call that influential than what is? Whoever wrote that article should be fired: "They thought I was wack/When I wanted to act/Now every brother and his mother in rap being trying to do that"... http://rap.about.com/b/a/257668.htm Time 100 Greatest People - No Hip-Hop? Not that this is the first time it's happened, but I found Time Magazine's non-inclusion of relevant hip-hop artists (emphasis on relevant) in their recent Top 100 as a ridiculous oversight. Who said hip-hop hasn't shaped the world in the last 25 years or so? What magazine have these guys been reading? What radio station are they listening to? And, no...Will Smith doesn't count, since the jury's still out on whether he'is to be considered a hip-hop artist or not. In fact, Will's inclusion was based solely on his acting roles. Sean Combs, who Time found worthy of inclusion, is a pioneer in his own right, but Jay-Z has done more for hip-hop than Diddy. Jay has set countless cultural trends that altered urban America as a whole. Add that to the fact that he swiftly transported the game from the streets to the corporate office. Well, what about Public Enemy? Hell, even a Kanye West inclusion will do. Yeah right. Who am I kidding? Kanye hasn't earned that stripe yet, but you get my drift. If country music is represented by the Dixie Chicks; pop music by Bono, and if Daddy Yankee (of all people) is flying the latin music flag, then who's representing hip-hop on that list? What do you think? What hip-hop artists should have made Time's 100?

Check this out, this is some funny ****, I hope he wins the lawsuit so that wack label that screwed Will over could die off ... :kekeke: Master P Claims Sony Exec's Blocking Lil' Romeo, Filing $500 Million Lawsuit By EbenGregory Date: 5/5/2006 6:40 pm Hip-Hop mogul Master P said he is filing a $500 million lawsuit against Sony Music, alleging that its executives are trying to keep Lil' Romeo's, "U Can't Shine Like Me" from getting played on radio. The song, which responds to Bow Wow's "Fresh Azimiz," began playing on Los Angeles radio station KKBT in February. Apparently the beef between the young stars started when Lil' Romeo took offense to the track, "Fresh Azimiz," which the Miller's considered a shot in their direction. In "U Can't Shine Like Me," Romeo responds by saying he could take Bow Wow's "chick," and the video features a woman resembling Ciara, the pop star Bow Wow dated until recently. Since debuting several weeks ago, it has been streamed more than 700,000 times on Yahoo! Music. The record is not enjoying the same success on the radio stations in the United States. According to monitoring charts, only three stations in the U.S. have added the song to rotation - KKBT, WQUE in New Orleans, and WEMX in Baton Rogue. According to Master P, unnamed Sony Music executives have been calling radio stations, demanding that Lil Romeo's record not be played. "How can Sony Music executives call radio stations and tell them not to play the Romeo record "U Can't Shine Like Me?" an inquisitive Master P asked AllHipHop.com. "Los Angeles was the first city to play it. Usually, if you get played in Hollywood, the world will follow. Every station that played the Bow Wow song should have at least tested the record once or twice or played it on their 'Hit or Dis' show by now." "I had a distribution deal on the table with Jive Records that fell through the crack - hint. Sony BMG," Master P continued. "I wonder why. Jive is a Sony BMG label. Sony BMG is the parent label for Bow Wow's label, Columbia Records. "There is no beef with us and Bow," Master P explained. "We got love for the little dude. He just doesn't know when to shut his mouth. His arrogance and cockiness are turning fans and their parents off." According to Master P, Romeo's upcoming LP, God's Gift is scheduled for an August 22 release with or without major label distribution. Lil' Romeo will also tour to support the album. Representatives for Sony Music were not available as of press time. For more information on Romeo's new album, log on to http://www.guttarmusic.com.

Hey Wes, I know the feeling man, I'm still waiting till the end of the month for starting work so I really don't have any money to buy much albums, not really anything coming out I'm looking forward to anyway...

Will shouldn't really have anything to prove, I think he's clean image is the reason why some fans have hated on Will over the years 'cause he clearly has more skills than most rappers, for example I like Snoop Dogg but Will has a better album catalog than Snoop does but the reason why people like Snoop more than Will is 'cause of image, lyrical content, if Will wasn't a clean cut rapper I bet he'd have less criticism than he had to endure, that's what he was referring to in "I Wish I Made That", Will clearly has as much talent if not more talent than Jay, Dr. Dre, Snoop, and 50 Cent but the reason why people like him less is 'cause he don't make hustlin' music, but good things come to those who wait I guess, fans are coming around, if people learn to appreciate artists for their skills and not for being the most thugged out than maybe Will's gonna get more credit, their needs to be more than kids from the suburbs listening to rap, that's why it's hard to find credability on what gets played on the radio 'cause there's no variety to gain other types of audiences besides kids, that's what it comes down to, it's really about people waking up, Will shouldn't have to do anything anymore unless he desires to, he shouldn't have to make albums until he's 70 years old until people appreciate him, he should get these props now, I mean 2Pac's dead and people still praise him, we shouldn't forget about the legends that pass on but why can't people appreciate the artists that're living and still doing it big?

Well it looks like Will was able to have a nice comeback off of releasing "Lost and Found", going platinum, winning an AMA award, and solidifying himself as one of the greatest mcs ever amoung hip-hop heads after Columbia tainted his image for a lil' while, Columbia wishing they probably never released him, lol, I knew it was gonna happen when even a lot of us were doubting and I actually predicted that with Kanye's success that some contemporary fans would open up to Will and that did happen actually, not all commercial rappers are hardcore like it was a few years ago... Will lost his popularity 'cause there was a lot of popular gangsta rappers and he didn't fit in with that image, "Code Red" didn't sell much then even though it was one of JJFP's best albums, there was worse quality albums in '02 that outsold "Born To Reign", gangsta rap was popular then too, people got tired of Will's clean image and wanted some G ****, but people're came around later on and they're coming around again now too, that's why people gave Will a chance, people get tired of hearing everybody make songs about guns and drugs, like he said: "When them other rappers are done getting you to jump/I give you what you really want", they want an alternative and it was perfect timing for Will, everything happens for a reason, it's nice to know that his career's still alive, the label that he sign to Interscope could've pushed it better and it would've been the highest selling album last year but they didn't water down his image and that's the most important thing, now the hit single that blew up "Switch" was a party track but all the people who heard his albums over the years know that he's a great lyricist, you don't need a song on the radio to tell you that, most rappers don't release their most lyrical tracks as singles, 2Pac and LL released a lot of party singles too, there ain't nothing wrong with party tracks, hip-hop started with nothing but party jams, hip-hop needs to have more fun music again, too much beefing, Will could do serious songs but he still needs to make club jams that rock the dancefloors and arenas, he's great at that as the "Party Starter", lol... If you're a fan of rap you buy albums and the album's content tells you if it's a dope artist or not, some mcs just have dope singles and wack albums too(most rappers out now, well even their singles suck for that matter sometimes, lol), Will basically raps about more things than 99% of the rap industry, most rappers make a million songs about drug dealing but Will raps about issues in the community and in his life, he's a real mc, and with LL and his new album now "Control Myself" is probably his least lyrical song on there even though it's mad popular, people who listen to radio don't listen for lyrics most of the time, maybe 15-20 years ago but the last 5 years that changed especially, what's the most popular song in rap since 2000, "In Da Club", is that really more lyrical than "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It"? lol.... That's why some of the best lyricists of all time don't even have that many hits, Kool G Rap could probably rip 99% of the chart rappers today even though he didn't have many hits, that's why "Party Starter" didn't have much radio success but rap fans loved it though, a lot of people on rap boards loved it, I brought this topic back to rub it in the doubters face, I told you so, can't count Will out!!!

yeah probably most who consider "lost and found" the best album are probably bandwagon fans 'cause it's his recent album, probably most who said "He's The DJ" or "Code Red" are the regular ones who post here, I said "He's The DJ..."

Hell yeah I would sinceWill's my favorite artist, there's no question I'd buy anything that he releases if I could afford it that is, I'm usually picky one what I usually buy other than my favorite artists, so I give support to my favorite artists the most,I got the Sony's release of Will's greatest hits even though there wasn't nothing new on it, I bought LL Cool J's "10" just for the song with J-Lo, I bought the 10-year anniversary edition of Nas' "Illmatic", I only had Boyz II Men albums on tape back in the '90s but I got all them on CD,I support my favorite artists like that, probably if it's somebody I like less I'll just download or tape off the radio when it comes to the bonus songs,that'd be dope if that happened with "L&F", unless Will wants to get out of his contract there then maybe that'd be a possibility, it seems highly unlikely though, most re-releases are from artists that I don't even like that much to even buy their album right away...

Yeah not many artists period in music history, not just in rap have had the success that Will has had in his 20 year career, I mean how many artists that were popular 20 years ago have a platinum album out now? It's amazing consistancy, it takes a real artist to be popular over time like that, so many artists come and go...

Tim's giving the worldwide sales I think, Will's sold over 30 million worldwide but in the US it's probably about 20 or a lil' less than that, "Lost and Found" actually shipped platinum(selling about 687,000) in the US and certified platinum worldwide, "Born To Reign" shipped gold(it only sold like 230,000 in the US), maybe certified gold worldwide altogether, "Big Willie Style" sold about 9 million US/ 12 million worldwide, "Willenium" sold 2 million US/3 million worldwide...

I remember there was a lot of people defending Will when Eminem dissed him 6 years ago too, a lot of hip-hop heads liked "Willenium" back then, they were like why is this new rapper coming out dissing somebody as established as Will Smith? Will always had respect in the rap game, basically the only people that have hated on Will are just suburban kids anyway, who don't even appreciate hip-hop's history to begin with, it's been the popular thing has been to diss Will as a rapper but I mean somebody had to buy all those albums he's sold, they probably all have at least one of his albums in their album collection or danced to Will's songs at a club, lol, plenty love Will and they've been scared to say it, anybody who's aware of hip-hop's history has respect for Will and Jazzy...

50 was planning on dropping an album this year but Eminem's telling him not to, he probably knows that 50's losing respect and he needs more time to work on it 'cause if he rushes out another wack album, it's gonna flop hard, Eminem's probably gonna do the same thing, they need a makeover, lol, and of course to make the point of 50's career dying, LL's recent film with Queen Latifah "Last Holiday" outgrossed 50's "Get Rich Or Die Trying" film, so 50 going into the film industry won't be a success for him to save his career, LL has success in music and film, 50'll never have LL's career...

Yeah LL has a better chance of going platinum with his new album than Mobb Deep does, Tony Yayo didn't go platinum or gold for that matter, Will actually outsold him last year, the "Get Rich Or Die Tryin Soundtrack" barely went platinum and 50 was all over that album, LL don't need anybody to save his career, he has more platinum albums than anybody in the rap game, this'll be his 12th straight, over 20 million sold in his career is more than the whole G-Unit will ever do, with Game they had a chance but not now, since Game left their popularity is dying, they haven't had a hit all year since the soundtrack songs, Mobb Deep new single's flopping, Olivia's singles are flopping, Mase is on hold, they need LL, he has a top 10 single right now in "Control Myself", "Freeze" is gonna be moving up soon probably, it seems like every LL single is a hit, this single with LL might rejuvinate them...

Yeah the thing that's turned 50 Cent off from a lot of people is that he started hating on everybody so I guess it's hard to feel sorry for him if he gets hate if he does the same, maybe if he does less hating he'll be respected, but good music would help 'cause he was hating rappers coming into the game but he put out good music, and I don't think many would admit to losing battles, Eminem took balls to do that, 'cause hip-hop is about ego, Kool Moe Dee thinks he beat LL still, he won't admit that he lost either....

Yeah you figure it'd happen sooner or later since they've always talked about wanting to do another JJFP, it has always been schedule inconviences, nice to know it's happening sooner than later though...

I don't feel that way either, I didn't like when people turned on Will when he released "Born To Reign", he's a legend and he's made a lot of music that people have enjoyed and they shouldn't forget that just 'cause he dropped one bad album, people should look at your whole career not just your last album, 50 Cent is talented too, he ain't a legend yet but he's not as bad as people make him out to be 'cause I know that they were bumpin' his mixtapes and his first album, people need to stop hating...

Well I think the thing is you're only as good as your last album, the reason why people hate on G-Unit or 50 Cent specifically is 'cause what they've done lately has been wack but if they dropped something hot again like when they came out then I think more of us would like them, I mean it's just like when people were saying that Will should just stick to movies when he released "Born To Reign" but now more are feeling him again, fans are like that, it's like what have you done for me lately, and btw I think a lot of those collabs are surprisingly good with LL even though those artists ain't on the same level as him to most people, as long it's good music, who cares who's on it with him, but I was just making the point that there's other artists that more people would desire LL to work with, I personally don't care who he works with as long as he keeps it quality and he is, so it's all good with me, btw I heard 50 Cent produced that beat for this song, I gotta say I'm impressed, he's stepping it up...

By releasing "Lost and Found" Will made it a lot easier for himself as far as his image in hip-hop is concerned, a lot of people were counting him out after he dropped "Born To Reign", he silenced the critics and at this point there's not much left to prove in my opinion, he just needs to just dropping solid albums whenever he releases them but there's no more pressure now, as long as he never does another "Born To Reign" the legacy for Will is set as one of the greatest mcs..

well people still respect rakim and he hasn't released anything for a decade, people should respect will no matter how frequent he releases music, i think people did respect will before, the only way he'll lose respect in my opinion is if he rushes and puts out another "born to reign", that's why people looked at him as weak 'cause if they look at "Born To Reign" they'll be like oh "He's old and washed up and should stick to movies", I could understand why, you're only as good as your last album, if he takes his time and drops classics like "lost and found", the respect'll remain, now i wouldn't like will to take a lot of years to release music but i'd take it over him rushing out another "born to reign", will needs to be continually consistant for people to respect him and if he never records again he'd be going out on top, maybe the reception going into "lost and found" would've been better if "born to reign" never came out 'cause it'd been the followup to the classic "willenium" in the minds of hip-hop heads, butoh well, it's all good now, "born to reign" set him back a lil' bit in my opinion but he restored himself....

I don't think TI refers to himself as a gangsta though, music is music in my opinion, I hate all these stupid labels people put on it, now I know some of the rappers I like that talk about how much they keep it gangsta don't really live like that, I mean for example I don't think Snoop Dogg is going out bustin' gats and pimpin' women 'cause he's a married man with kids in real life, that don't make him a fool though, he's an entertainer, I just take it as entertainment, like watching a movie, they're more like actors that make songs about somebody else, some do it better than others, and this shooting had nothing to do with music I don't think, violence happens, that's all I'm gonna say in this thread 'cause I already see where it's heading, RIP to TI's assistant and everyone that died today...

LL needs to seriously learn to start saying no when some artists ask to collab with him, I mean it's clear to most people that people like J-Lo, Puffy, Amil,Tiarra Mari, Freeway, Juelz, and now 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks deserve to be nowhere near the same track as LL, he's just being too humble, he could work with whoever he wants to but come on now, he could do less collabs with those type of people and do something with people on his level like Will, Slick Rick, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Nas, etc. once in a while, I'm sure that's something that more people would like to see...

Hey AJ, here's the link man, I think Da Brakes could do a better job on a song with LL than Banks too, he needs to blow up so that could happen, lol: http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=1469 Well 50's "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" was a hot album, basically on the same level as Banks' 1st album, I mean the latest G Unit stuff has been kinda weak but workin' with artists like LL might motivate them to make better music...

Jamie Foxx gives great live shows, gotta give it up to him, he got his own band, he's a great entertainer, it's nice to know that him and LL squahed the beef that they had during the "Any Given Sunday" times, I'm looking forward to their collabs, they need to hook up with Will too, they could do songs and movies together, I think that LL and Jamie should shoot a video for "Best Dress" off of "Todd Smith", that's a great song they did together, and since I didn't get Jamie's album yet I'm gonna wait till it's re-released now, I was thinkin' about gettin' it soon, good thing they mentioned the re-release now I'm gonna wait for it, lol...

I found this on the IC at allhiphop.com, it shows LL, 50, and Lupe chillin'...