Everyone Must Buy Kanye West's New Album 9/11/07!!!

[Colossal Spoons]

Oh, well that reasonable. It's not like you're buying T-Pain's cd.

Don't joke like that

 

[Manic]

Hows about we don't by neithers album (after all this is just publicity for each of them to sell obscene amount of records) and end ignorant, coperate rap all together. Besides, this is just the popular music of the decade. Once the 2010's come, rap will pretty much whither away on the popular music charts for new, crappier music to take its place. That's how the cycle goes.

Weren't they saying rap would be dead in ten years... back in the 1980s? Rap is here to stay. It's just going to keep changing and changing. Like rock music (1950s and still going). If we luck out, some of it'll be good in 2010.

Nah. Jay-Z, Ludacris and Eminem are must buys for me. They don't put out CDs often enough for me to really notice how much cash I'm losing.

With the exception of the 3-year "retirement", Jay-Z released an album every year from 1996-2003 like clockwork. Hell, it reached the point where I couldn't keep track of which singles belonged to which albums.
"Is this his latest single from Blueprint?"
"No, this is his first single from Blueprint 2."

 

[nosebleed.]

You people must be crazy if you think 50 is going to uphold some crap statement he said about Kanye. Its just smack talk.

And I'll never buy another Kanye album...I don't support ***holes.

I'll buy the new Common and Mos Def albums instead.

 

[Manic]

I demand the reunion of Black Star!

Also, where are Red & Meth? I need a good laugh combined with an ill flow.

 

[nosebleed.]

Black Star had a new track from the Chappelle's block party...and it was nice. Other than that I haven't heard anything...and that's a shame.

 

[ang_hulk]

for **** sake

 

[Colossal Spoons]

With the exception of the 3-year "retirement", Jay-Z released an album every year from 1996-2003 like clockwork. Hell, it reached the point where I couldn't keep track of which singles belonged to which albums.
"Is this his latest single from Blueprint?"
"No, this is his first single from Blueprint 2."

Well Jay's my main dude. I'd buy an album of his every 6 months if he put 'em out that often.

 

[Cmill216]

If 50 is ready to own up to this foolisness WHEN it does in fact go down that way, then that would actually be the most impressive thing he's ever done in his career.

And as far as comparing the two goes, it's no contest. Kanye's ego is overbearing, yes, but the man puts out good s***. Period. A top notch producer and, at times, very clever lyricist.

I know it's past visiting hours
But can I please give her these flowers?
The doctor dont wanna take procedures
He claimed her heart can't take the anesthesia
It'll send her body into a seizure
The little thing by the hospital bed, it'll stop beeping,
Hey chick, I'm at a loss for words
What do you say at this time?
Remember when I was nine?
Tell her everything gone be fine?
But I'd be lying, the family crying
They want her to live, and she trying
I'm arguing like what kind of doctor can we fly in
You know the best medicine go to people thats paid,
If Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS
And all the broke mutha****ers past away
You tellin me if my grandma's in the N.B.A.
Right now she'd be ok?
But since she was just a secretary
Working for the church
For thirty five years
Things sposed to stop right here
My grandfather tryin to pull it together, he strong,
Thats where I get my confidence from
I asked the nurse "did you do the research?"
She ask me, "can you sign some t-shirts?"
***** Is you smokin reefer?
You dont see that we hurt
But still...

And honestly, I get a kick out of any time a thread related to hip hop appears and all of our resident Hypesters drop in with the same tired ass ignorant generalizations about the genre. Please leave your mindless, "Hip hopsz the dumbz" comments for the Guns and Roses Appreciation thread.

Thanks and have a great day.

 

[nosebleed.]

And honestly, I get a kick out of any time a thread related to hip hop appears and all of our resident Hypesters drop in with the same tired ass ignorant generalizations about the genre. Please leave your mindless, "Hip hopsz the dumbz" comments for the Guns and Roses Appreciation thread.

Thanks and have a great day.

haha! what kind of Hype would this be if they didn't chime in. its so predictable that its funny.

on the side...I just copped the new Common and Mos Def albums...and they will both stay on my playlists for quite a while

 

[Cmill216]

on the side...I just copped the new Common and Mos Def albums...and they will both stay on my playlists for quite a while

I might get stoned for this, but I haven't listened to either.

I'm picking them up next week.

 

[Mac_Hine]

How about I just don't buy any of their albums.

 

[nosebleed.]

How about I just don't buy any of their albums.

I'm sure they'll mourn the loss of your dollar.

 

[Assassin]

I buy CDs from 4 or 5 artists out of support.

thats how I am, but i usually buy mix tapes or local stuff. I'll buy the new She wants revenge cd becaus ei bought their first cd and went to their concert, and they were cool as hell, gave me a gutar pic, and a drum stick, signed and talked to every fan at the concert. I went to the following show 2 months later because of that.

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

haha! what kind of Hype would this be if they didn't chime in. its so predictable that its funny.

on the side...I just copped the new Common and Mos Def albums...and they will both stay on my playlists for quite a while

man, your ass belongs in the soul glo lounge.

 

[gap5ewl]

Weren't they saying rap would be dead in ten years... back in the 1980s? Rap is here to stay. It's just going to keep changing and changing. Like rock music (1950s and still going). If we luck out, some of it'll be good in 2010.

Rap was just starting out then and although it was popular, it wasn't huge. And it wasn't like what rock music was back in the fifties, at least to the general public. Even then though it had meaning to it and was something new and edgy. Now it's basically become mindless, nonsense corperate music and rarely is there any rap music with artisitic meaning to it. It's gonna get old and the record companies will eventually drop it for a new genre a music. Not to mention sales for rap music has been steadily decling. This article discusses this:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2007-06-14-rap-decline_N.htm

Unless rap cleans its act up and isnt just some mindles entertainment form of rhe decade, then it will fade away.

 

[Ash J. Williams]

You can't tell me what to do!

 

[Tangled Web]

I've already started spreading the word on myspace. This is going to happen maaaaaaan. I've got high hopes.

 

[Zero_Vault]

Hip Hop is dead.

Everything on the mainstream, that is.

 

[Hotwire]

Why must I buy Kanye West's album?? I hate hip-hop music.

 

[Yurka]

Kanye is a little b***h.

 

[MakeMineMarvel]

Yes.

Well, not anymore, as I just quit, and yesterday was my last day.

But, save for a break of about a year, I've been working at a record store since 2001.

I'm not anti-downloading. I am anti-downloading in lue of buying a CD.

It's more than just working at a record store, as well. It's also being a fan of music. Downloading has destroyed music. Music doesn't sell anymore. The record companies, needing to juice as much as they can out of record sales, now instead go for "safe bets", and artists never go outside the box anymore and do their own thing. They all stick with the same formula that will get them on MTV, and get them whatever sales they can get.

Downloading has not destroyed music. That is the corporate line because the industry has failed to see the movement of trend. When Napster first hit the industry could have partnered up and jumped all over figuring solid ways to monetize the industry. Instead they fought with them and put themselves in a position where they've fought the future tooth and nail. There are too many outlets, too many ways for good artists to get their stuff heard, and if the conglomerate monoliths that now own the record companies don't want to evolve, they will die - and are in the midst of doing so. They've hung their hat and the financial hat of the artist on disc sales when they should have been looking at digital downloads.

No, downloading hasn't destroyed music, it's just proliferated the opportunity for the consumer to spend their time with good music. If you want to spend $30 on music, you're no longer limited to (maybe) two artists worth - you can buy the music of 30 artists if you so choose and actually end up with more tracks also. The majors and their artists need to get on the ball and that's why you're seeing things like the emergence of ring tones being big, as well as places like Starbucks step in with an attempt at a business model for moving CD's.

It used to be all about the release. Remember when kids waited outside the store for the new New Kids On The Block release (as lame as that was?) Now we live in a world of iPods, iPhones, Zunes, Limewire and a society of consumers that frankly don't care if your album is in Best Buy this Tuesday. That just means they'll be able to download the 3 tracks they want either that night or off a bootlegged version before then. More than likely, the artist they like has gained fame through MySpace or YouTube and there album isn't available at the giant franchise store anyway. You can't blame the consumer. This is the other side of capitalism - the side that always gets left behind in the argument for communism or socialism - this is the side where the freedom to innovate and the dictation from demand of the consumer force the big companies to either grow or die, but either way the people are better for it.

Sorry, paying $10 more dollars so I can read your liner notes thanking E-Ball, Two-Tone and a bunch of other people I could care less about as well as having to absorb 8 other songs that sound like a coin was flipped to determine if they'd even be on the album is not something I'm interested in.

 

[imdaly]

Here's how I think the record label should evolve:

No more "albums".

At least not initially, anyway.

Don't do 10 songs and release them all at one time on a disc. More times than not, the disc is 20% good worthwhile songs and 80% songs you couldn't care less about.

Instead of having the pressure of getting 10 songs out by such-and-such date, thus making you focus on 2-3 good songs and just throwing the rest in there to make a full CD, just release one single at a time on the internet. This way you can focus on one song at a time instead of a CD.

Make the industry more like how the comics industry is now: Release a "single" every month, let that play out, then release another the next month. And every once in a while group those all together into one big collection and sell that as a full CD.

 

[rdh007]

What's with all the hate for Kanye? He's alright.

 

[Manic]

Here's how I think the record label should evolve:

No more "albums".

At least not initially, anyway.

Don't do 10 songs and release them all at one time on a disc. More times than not, the disc is 20% good worthwhile songs and 80% songs you couldn't care less about.

Instead of having the pressure of getting 10 songs out by such-and-such date, thus making you focus on 2-3 good songs and just throwing the rest in there to make a full CD, just release one single at a time on the internet. This way you can focus on one song at a time instead of a CD.

Make the industry more like how the comics industry is now: Release a "single" every month, let that play out, then release another the next month. And every once in a while group those all together into one big collection and sell that as a full CD.

Ooooh. I like the way you think. The fact that there's a chance every song an artist releases could end up on the radio will motivate them to make them all good, rather than just a few. Listeners will be able to sort the genuinely good from the "one hit wonders" within 2 months without having to drop $14.99.

 

[imdaly]

Well the results are in, and even though I didn't buy either (...thank god...), it looks like Kanye kicked 50's ass.

Kanye poised for victory over 50 Cent
September 18, 2007

It's not like Kanye West needed an ego boost, but here it comes: His "Graduation" album trounced 50 Cent's "Curtis" in the much-hyped rap sales showdown with nearly 1 million copies sold the first week, the best debut of the year for the struggling music industry.

West has sold about 957,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures posted by the industry Web site Billboard.com on Tuesday night. It was his best first-week sales ever and topped the year's previous first-week champ, Linkin Park, which sold 623,000 of "Minutes to Midnight" when it debuted in May. In comparison, 50 sold 691,000 copies of "Curtis."

Despite his victory, West was hardly rubbing it in 50's face. In fact, he said he was humbled by the win.

"It feels overwhelming," West told The Associated Press, as he walked to Def Jam's offices on Tuesday afternoon. "Everyone is coming up to me and telling me how proud they are of me."

"We're not gloating," Def Jam President Jay-Z told AP. "He's celebrating his win. ... in his mind, he believed he could win the whole time."

Though selling almost 700,000 copies in the first week was a sterling achievement, it was still a considerable letdown for 50 Cent. His last album, 2005's "The Massacre," sold 1.1 million in its first week. In fact, West's "Graduation" the only other album to come close to those sales since.

Last month, 50 didn't think of West as much of a competitor: "It's great marketing on Def Jam's part, by putting us out there at the same time and make like we can actually be compared on some level," he told the AP. In another interview, he said he would retire if West outsold him.

50, who is planning a world tour for his album, was conciliatory in defeat. In a statement to the AP, which didn't address whether he planned to make good on his threat to retire, he said: "I am very excited to have participated in one of the biggest album release weeks in the last two years. Collectively, we have sold hundreds of thousands of units in our debut week. This marks a great moment for hip hop music, one that will go down in history."

(Indeed, Billboard.com reported that the top four-selling albums, including "High School Musical 2," sold 2.2 million copies, more than the top 200 albums had sold in the previous week combined.)

But while West is enjoying a No. 2 position on the charts with his hit "Stronger," 50 has struggled to connect with radio. None of his songs has matched past smashes like "In Da Club"; even his single "Ayo Technology," featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, is languishing at No. 19.

50's album was originally scheduled to be released in June on Interscope Records, a division of Universal Music Group, but was pushed back to Sept. 11. Soon after, Kanye West, whose album was supposed to come out sometime in late summer, pushed his date to Sept. 11 as well. But Antonio "L.A." Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam, also a division of Universal, says it wasn't initially intended to be a jab at 50.

"The decision was really driven by the (MTV Video Music Awards), because the VMAs were on Sept. 9 ... we wanted to use it as a launching pad again for this album," he said.

West said it was his idea to go directly against 50.

"I was the underdog because I sold less records in the past, so it was a win-win for me," he said. "If I lost, everyone would be happy that I even went up against him. People have this perception of me being arrogant, but would an arrogant person risk the chance of coming in the second spot just to be a part of history? To me, it's more about fans and the entertainment value and good music."

It ended up the music industry version of Ali-Frazier, with the avalanche of pre-fight hype to match. 50 routinely trash-talked West, but it seemed to be in good fun: The pair appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards and BET's "106 & Park" together, and on the cover or Rolling Stone. Both admitted the battle was a great marketing tool.

"The rivalry helped both of them," Jay-Z said. "It was definitely one of those moments in the game that was exciting, everybody could pick a side and weigh in on and have an opinion ... it garnered a lot of attention."

West said the quality of his music was the key reason he prevailed: "I think my music is really inspirational and I really made it for the people. I really understood that in this Internet age people are their own superstars ... the best bet that we had was to make a soundtrack to their own lives."

West said he was especially touched that he had such a groundswell of support given some of the negative media attention he's gotten of late; namely, his meltdown at the VMAs after being shut out (though he poked fun at himself during Sunday's Emmy Awards).

"With all the negativity that the press tries to put on me, this perception that they try to create of me being a really bad person. For so many fans to go out and say, 'We still want to buy Kanye's album,' means a lot to me," he says. "This is a really pivotal moment for me emotionally."

While it was unclear whether 50 would indeed retire, Reid said he hoped he wouldn't: "I'd like to see him making music for the next 25 years, he's that talented."

Jay-Z, who is featured on a new 50 Cent remix of his hit "I Get Money," said this setback could actually benefit 50 in the long run.

"The worst thing about success is it makes you complacent. I think when you face any type of adversity it makes you dig deep ... everyone goes through it, all the greats go through it," he said. "In his music, he hadn't gone through any type of adversity. ... he'll come back and make great music."

Source

Now...let's see if Fuddy Cent holds up his end of the deal.

Though to be honest...are ANY rap CDs "solo" albums? I mean really, it's like they are REQUIRED to do all their songs with at least one other act holding their hands...



And that is the last that I dedicate any of my posts to Kanye or Fifty....


<goes to take a shower....>