Comments on: Chart Toppers Week 8!!!

By: Quiet Money

Quiet Money — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:05:07 +0000

Dear Shalem,

One day I will be the best rapper ever. It will all culminate in approximately 2041, and I will spend the time leading up to that date perfecting my magnum opus. Hip Hop will be really mature by that point, so nobody will think it’s weird that I’m a 61 year-old releasing a debut album.

Thanks for trying to crush my dreams…

By: Rich C.

Rich C. — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:59:46 +0000

Sorry about your hair.

By: mfshalem

mfshalem — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:52:57 +0000

“in an age when record sales are down, it makes less and less sense to spend (as I did) five years making a single album that no one will buy.”

this is exactly the point that i wanted to get to. what is so great about doing the chart toppers, or “mix tape” verses in general is that it allows you to loosen up and not take it so serious. however this is only beneficial if it does indeed allow you to make more “real” songs. ultimately we as artists live and die with the material we make, the only material that REALLY benefits us is the stuff that gets SOLD. The more product we have (albums- cds, real songs we can sell digitally – not rapping over other peoples beats) the better chance we will have to support ourselves with our art.

Nobody who reads this supports himself with his art. We all have jobs… if not we are being supported by our families and friends, which is a beautiful thing… but nobody wants that. We want to make money doing what we love. We can’t do that if we treat the “game” of rap music the same way it has been treated in the past. Times have changed. NO ONE buys music. Everyone downloads shit for free. The only time people really buy music is from the artists themselves. At shows. We have to have a steady stream of new music to sell to fans. AT LEAST ONE CD PER YEAR! Is that too much to ask? Can’t we make 1 good song a month?

Back to the chart toppers, that jazzmine sullivan remix you and Rico did has great rapping. If that was over an original beat, that is a “real” song.

Haji is the only rapper i have ever worked with where i haven’t wanted to pull my hair out because they take too long to write a got-damned song. Every rapper wants to be the best rapper ever, i get it, but don’t take yourself so seriously. None of you will be the best rapper ever, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make great songs and have a good time doing it. loosen up. don’t be afraid of making a stupid song, you have to make those stupid songs to get to the good ones.

“Perhaps somewhere in between those two extremes lies the path to success…”

it’s all about that balance. Grip gets it.

By: Grip Grand

Grip Grand — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:27:41 +0000

Oh, and I bailed on Love Lockdown because I hate that song so much. My “remix” (unrecorded) never really got good enough to justify its own existence. Even with Chart Toppers, I have standards.

By: Grip Grand

Grip Grand — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:25:37 +0000

I do think it’s easier to make just about any type of song than it is to make a “real” song, because with stuff like mixtape verses or (especially) Chart Toppers, I have very little attachment to the outcome in the long run. These songs are designed to be temporary and, as such, I’m not as bothered if they don’t always represent my best work (though I do strive for excellence, even with a one-hour verse). I also find that, as a largely self-produced artist, it can be easier to write to beats that I didn’t make myself (because I’m not simultaneously analyzing them with my producer-ears). But since I tend to produce my own “real” songs, they often take longer for that reason, too. I do think I could knock out a real song every week if I set my mind to it, and if I had a healthy supply of hot beats and free time. Could I knock out Illmatic in ten weeks? Probably not. But odds are that some of the songs would be decent. You gotta record like 100 songs, then pick the best ten.

Chart Toppers has been like boot camp for rap-writing, and I am happy with the results. I agree that being able to create a song of semi-decent quality quickly is an asset we should all hope to have. When I was recently offered a paying gig to write and record two new songs in one week, I was confident that I could get them done in that time frame. Before Chart Toppers, I would have just laughed at the request.

As with many things, we strive for the balance between quality and quantity. But in an age when record sales are down, it makes less and less sense to spend (as I did) five years making a single album that no one will buy. Meanwhile, I could have recorded verses over literally hundreds of Britney Spears songs, which is…also not a good plan. Perhaps somewhere in between those two extremes lies the path to success…

By: mfshalem

mfshalem — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:00:29 +0000

big ups grip. you have skills. i was talking to rico about this a few weeks ago and i wanted your input, in a “semi” public forum (everyone who reads this already knows us). Is it easier for you to knock out these chart-toppers or make a “real” song? I know you don’t like most of the beats on these chart-toppers (they are mostly similar), does that make it easier or harder? you have proven you can knock out two 16 bar verses a week. Can you make a “real” song just as fast? rico wrote and recorded a 16 for amplive’s mixtape in 24 hours recently. i believe that if you want to “make it” in rap or just be good a rapper should be able to write and record a song in one day… not that it is best to do that ALL the time. A rapper who can edit himself and not love everything he writes is more important.

I’m glad you are making these chart toppers grip. not that they are the best songs, just that you can, AND DO is great motivation for yourself and your rapper friends. thank you.

what ever happened with the love lockdown one? you didn’t like it?

By: Al Jones

Al Jones — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:41:52 +0000

You’re fuckin bonkers.