ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!
Maybe this new EVP will assist existing artists on the label push their facet of hip-hop instead of shoving his “hovey-hov, jigga-n*gga, cameo-pushing, so-called retired but having a concert at the Garden every 3 months” self.
Maybe he’ll pay to reissue and remarket the Roots best album ever {GAME THEORY – if you didn’t know, but based on album sales, you probably didn’t know} instead of robbing fools’ blind while chilling in the Tropics or St. Tropez with his b**tch.
Maybe this new EVP {who according to Sohh.com has help garner the acquisition of Jeezy and Rick Ross} will actually keep his face out of the limelight, head in the boardroom, and ears on the streets.
Wait a minute – maybe this new EVP will actually work. Hmm, that’s a thought.
It looks like he might… He’s not a rapper, he’s not an artist, he’s been with DJ since 2002, playing the corporate role – in the background… He’s college educated from Morehouse not the school of hard knocks. He’s come up in the world of music by playing his position – not biting off everything Biggie did, claiming its his own. Nah, we got a possible real talent here.
I think Def Jam finally figured out that it probably costs less to promote from within than to acquire from abroad. I think that’s why it took so long – their accounting had to be accounted for. Now tax season is out of way, they can regroup. Def Jam probably felt they needed a big name to help roster some talent over at the label – so since Jigga was {some call} hot at that time, who better.
But where they failed, is where all you rappers and artists need to learn from… If you are going to go corporate and behind the scenes-play your Maggie-Frocking position. If you don’t have it in you to stay behind the limelight, pass the fly tracks to your artists, leave your scouting and artist development to your A&R {last I checked, a paid position}, than you have no CEO or EVP in you. If you want to replicate your own image because you are so goddamn cocky -DIDDY- not everyone wants to memorize and regurgitate the same old lyrics with different faces – JIGGA, I mean Memph Bleek.
Speaking about Cock-a-fella, was Dame or Jay successful at any of their roster besides JAY-Z. Shouldn’t that be a prerequisite before awarding such an astute position to an artist. I dunno, maybe its just me. But I don’t see Clive Davis running into the studios, do you???
Last I remember, LA REID was part of an R&B group left his group to form LaFace Records. They successfully put out artists like Toni, TLC, USHER, PINK, Avril Lavigne etc…. LA Reid went on to CEO of Arista because Babyface was trying to reclaim his mojo with that whack hit with the Neptunes “There she goes…” You didn’t see Reid saying let me do a drop on that.
Basically, what I’m saying is when an artist is gifted enough to allow fellow artists bloom and grow within the realms of the label than they have successfully transitioned to corporate. When the artist knows that retirement truly means tired of my day job and now need a new gig, then they can transcend. But if they can’t and they have their greedy paws all over the money, all over the tracks, all over the industry – you are a suffocating the audience and the other artists.
To the new EVP – Shakir Stewart: allow the world of hip-hop to breathe again. On January 1st 2008, we all woke up from the matrix {we already know the verdict on Diddy’s Titanic}. We’ve been waiting to exhale and on our next pull, we want to inhale real hip-hop….
SIDE BAR: Peace to Busta Rhymes – ur new joint is tactful, burning myself. Holla at the Roots – Rising Down, Can’t wait for that new NAS N*gga… I know you going to drop the insight…
