Anthony Accardo of the Disney Research group recently took to DigitalMusicNews.com to list the “Top 8 Reasons Rappers Make Better Businessmen.” Accardo covers topics like geographical loyalty of rappers and consumer product tie-ins, a la Busta Rhymes’s 2001 hit “Pass the Courvoisier,” yet maintains that the number one reason rappers prove such lucrative businessmen are the “brand alliances” come out of collaborative songs.
“One of rap’s best-selling albums of 2010 – Drake’s Thank Me Later – has more cameos than a Tarantino film,” he writes. “Guest appearances are one of the greatest positive feedback loops in music, not to mention an unparalleled artist development pathway that no other genre has fully taken advantage of…there are no less than seven platinum-selling artists and one developing artist – Nicki Minaj – on this album. Marketing literature calls this ‘brand alliances,’ and for two well-established artists, this is an easy way to share fans and cross-sell content. For a developing act, pairing with a big rapper is arguably more effective than an expensive and risky traditional radio campaign.” (DigitalMusicNews.com)
Accardo maintains that another primary reason that Hip Hop musicians have found so much success is the interconnectivity of the culture. References to artist or other elements inherent to Hip Hop music foster a sense of community in listeners and artists alike.
“When you listen to a Drake track, you hear lines from a T.I. track that has lines from a Lil Wayne track that has lines from a Jay-Z track,” he indicates. “No one’s copying here, but the analogies and references keep the culture and body of content alive. This sort of interconnectivity goes far beyond ‘I can hear a Radiohead influence in Muse…’ Instead, listeners feel ‘privy’ to the idiom and part of a community.” (DigitalMusicNews.com)
Follow this link to read the full list.
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This article’s on point, but I disagree about “brand” being prevalent in commercial success. Artsts like Drake are commericially successful because they have rotation on pop radio bought for them by their MAJOR labels, which are big enough to allocate payola to Clear Channel in return for marketplace dominance. The only reason Drake’s album had those specific guests was because they also appear as regulars on pop radio’s playlists and needed to be displayed as the defacto heads of hip hop, thereby maintaining the trust between radio and audience. I mean if Drake had someone who wasn’t that well known and could really spit, the masses would become less reliant on Z100 and would search outside of the marketplace, thereby hurting the “monopoly on talent” radio likes to portray.
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i disagree. its been proven that being a lyricist does not equal being commercially successful. most ppl dont LOVE hip hop the way many loyalist do. they just consider it enjoyment and entertainment and arent necessarily looking for that deeper meaning. even if drake did put an unknown that could spit he may get prompts for that verse but whenit comes to his own music theres no guarantee that it will be supported. i think thats what a lot of the ppl that consider themselves true hip hop heads must understand, most fans of the music arent as serious about it. it just for pleasure not change. i wish there was a place in the mainstream for both
**props not prompts…my bad