Artist Spotlight: T.O.G. Skinny

The street rap in hip-hop is not as relevant as it once was back in the 90’s.  Nowadays artists are more concerned with popularity and this is hurting the culture which once thrived on the art of storytelling.  T.O.G Skinny comes to us from the Westside of Cincinnati, Ohio with his first solo project “The Leak.”  As you listen to “The Leak” Skinny expresses his pain and the experiences he has overcame.  Skinny began taking music seriously when was in prison, stating he felt that it was time for a change and that he had the talent to stay out of the streets. On his journey in music, he was apart of an influential group in the city of Cincinnati, “ALL IN.”

Listen below to T.O.G Skinny’s full story:

Rappers Speaking on Social Issues

Recently, there has been a trend of cops using excessive force on African Americans.  Many people are speaking on the topic and using the hash tag #blacklivesmatter to bring awareness to the issue.  While the community has been playing a huge role to get justice in these cases, they have also called out rappers and artists of the black race as well.  Minister Louis Farrakhan did an interview with a popular radio station encouraging artists to use their voice as a tool.  He stated that now the artists are the ones with the most power due to their social media influence and it is up to them to make a change.  People in the black community are beginning to question the artists for not speaking on these sensitive issues and calling them out.

I have personally seen artists accept the challenge and bring the substance back in their music.  Specifically, the rappers Scarface and Rick Ross have stepped up to the challenge. 

Scarface released his new album “Deeply Rooted” which touches on the social issues and goes beyond glorifying money and women.  One of the more powerful songs on the album was “Mental Exorcism” (below), which is a heartfelt song that touches directly on the issues going on.  Rick Ross recently released a mixtape entitled “Black Dollar.”  Throughout the course of the mixtape, Rick Ross references the issues going on and encourages listeners to invest their money in more than just material things.  Although Ross still has the songs about women, I feel it was important that he touched on the issues going on. 

I recently had a conversation with one of my colleagues expressing my disappointment in rappers, specifically older ones.  I can understand the younger artists rapping with less substance due to their lack of experience in the world.  I do not agree with artists in their mid thirties following that trend.  Artists try too hard to stay true to their core fan base, which is not a problem.  I feel that they should continue to, but make the fan base grow with them.  Fans live through music or their favorite artists, give them positive hope and let them know what you truly feel instead of a fabricated lifestyle through music.  Let them know you truly care about the community and you are affected just as they are.

Hip-hop has its biggest influence ever.  It is time to get back to the essence and speak for the black community again.

The Pressure of a Radio Single

Over the past few years, fans of music have seen artists take charge of the release of their music.  Beyoncé started the trend selling over 800,000 copies in three days with her unexpected album and many artists followed suit.  The old album campaign is slowly fading away, although it is not completely dead.  Usually when artists are about to release an album, huge promotional tactics are used, one usually being a single for the radio.  Now artist are doing it the other way around, putting out music and letting the fans decide the hit records.  It has shown to be very effective and has produced quality music.  I recently came across an article,  “Are We Witnessing the Decaying Relevance of the Radio Single?” that inspired this post.  In the article, it highlighted J. Cole and Lupe Fiasco and discussed how they struggled making a radio single.  Both artists were pressured by their labels to put out a catchy song for the radio.  J. Cole was quoted saying that in attempt to make a radio hit “I was making some of the worst uninspired music of my life.” Lupe Fiasco felt the same struggle, the President of Atlantic insisted that he make a pop song or no album would be released.  J. Cole’s last album 2014 Forest Hills Drive had no features or radio singles and went platinum. 

We are living in a time where radio singles should not be mandatory to release an album.  It takes away from the creativity and it takes away from the fan enjoying good music.  Instead of being fed watered down music chosen by the labels, why not allow the fans to choose? As a fan of music, I have noticed that the music that last always has a message.  Not saying catchy “radio songs” are not an effective way to market, but at what expense is it to the artists’ craft.  This same issue affected Prince in the early 90’s.  He felt that he did not have creative control and it caused his work to be sub-par due to him being forced to make certain songs.  Most fans gravitate to artist because they are authentic and feel that they can relate.  The “radio songs” are only usually successful for party or for feel good moments, but why should the radio portray that small portion of life all the time?  We are seeing a shift in the music industry.  Artists are now becoming business people.  It is necessary, and this is why we see the record companies looking into other avenues to generate revenue. 

Below is a promotional tactic used by Jay-Z for his album Magna Carta Holy Grail.  He released the commercial during the NBA Finals with no prior singles.  Jay-Z struck a deal with Samsung and sold 1 million records when the album released. 

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