It's obvious that all the Souljah Boys, Bow Wows and the 50 cents (yeah I said it lol) of the rap game have brutally offended REAL hip hop. Yet, contrary to Nas' belief, hip hop still aint dead. Jay-Z, T.I., Jeezy, Weezy (and the list can go on) are evidence of that. But trust me, its sufferin from a broken rib, black eye and busted lip because of all the dance crazes, and lyrically challenged rappers with no creativity, no talent, and no respect for the art. So needless to say, I'm definitely not a huge fan of popcorn rap. I must admit though, that I was pleasantly surprised when I checked out upcoming West Coast rap group YRF's myspace page this morning(http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=329950847)
Upon first listen, the songs they have featured on their page were fun to listen to. I admit, I caught myself bobbing my head and bouncing to the music. But that's just it. It was fun. Fun is only temporary. Fun has no substance. As I continued to listen to both the production as well as the lyrical content, I realized that YRF's sound is very similar to the "mainstream rap" blazing airwaves and billboard charts today. While some may wonder why that's a bad thing, it's definitely not necessarily a good thing. There is no distinction between them and the millions of other industry hopefuls striving for that hit record. There's nothing that sets them apart that tells me I should be paying attention to them. On top of that, they have (like most today), also tried their hand at the ever tiring fad of autotune that T-pain now probably wishes he had never resurrected (not created...get that shyt straight yall). Lyrically, like most commercial/mainstrean rap acts, they need work. But hey, who listens to lyrics anymore ::rolls eyes:: . Now, I'm not saying they don't have potential. The potential is there, evident in the video performances from the Key Club featured on their page. For an independent group, the stage presence was great. They were very entertaining, and seemed to have the audience eating out the palm of their hand. And any independent artist will tell you, when you're unknown, getting a strong audience response is a difficult task. However, the creativity needs to match the stage presence in order to receive and maintain longevity.
Now, of course my assessments are only based on cloudy video images of the performance. Why? Well, I happened to be invited to the Key Club performance about 2 weeks ago. The show would feature YRF and the legendary De La Soul, so you can guess that I was excited at the invite. And even more so after I was asked to blog about the performance. Unfortunately, at the last minute I was informed that I wouldn't be able to go. The reason? Because I'm unknown. You can't google my name and come up with results. WTF? Now mind you, this was the explanation given by the person in charge of YRF's PR company (who shall remain nameless), and who is also very obviously, ::drum roll:: an UNKNOWN! Talk about an ego. Smh. In my opinion, that was a wreckless move. As a PR exec, you should know and understand that any PR is good PR, whether on a local, national or international level. So to rob your group of a PR opportunity is bad management in my book. Now that's my take from a business perspective. From a personal standpoint, I felt disrespected. If you don't know me, then get to know me. Isn't that your job? To invest time into finding out who your associates are and could be? ::sighs:: People never make it with attitudes like that, anytime pride can get in the way of a SMART business decision. You can never be sure of who one might know. And in a world where success is a result of taking chances, all anyone ever needs is 1 chance. In PR, it is your job to put your artist in the position for that 1 chance....What if that chance just passed them by? Well, I guess thats why I just heard from a little birdie that YRF has already inquired about finding better PR with more established Atlanta based PR company called Starlit PR (shoutout to Starlit). Now, don't quote me, but that's a good move. Because of the potential they do possess, YRF needs a PR company that has their best interest at heart. Not one who decides through personal agendas what is and is not best for the group. Cuz at the end of the day, that one decision can make or break an artist....i'm out :)
1 comment:
ha!
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