So, then I’m thinking, why the interest? how bad is the other ish that arguably shouldn’t be posted? essentially, what’s difference to the 99million other kids doin the same thing?

For me the interest here is the visual aspect. Everyones got pro-tools but who’s got a 16mm camera (or knows how to use one)? It’s amazing how the visuals can create the authenicity, disguise the wackness and distract the viewer from performing the task it is meant to perform – to promote the audio. For me, despite the cliched ‘Boyz (still) in da Hood’ imagery and the uncomfortably voyeuristic, anthropological ‘look at the poor black savage’ undercurrent, there is a beauty and mystery in the organic and natural reactions of light through glass recorded on plastic that is still magical to me (even when the subject matter is so ideologically and creatively poor).

I’m glad I saw this clip, but no thanks to JayRock…

less is less but more ain’t always more.

peaCe

But imagine the 30 song/day tactic works to lure fans and that the artist actually releases 30 “keepers.” He’s now implicitly creating the impression that he’ll be able to feed fans at this rate.

In order to sustain that rate of output he’ll have to creatively tread-water, meaning stay-in-place, but technically remain moving. At this pace he’s more than likely unable to process feedback or even have time to contemplate what improvements he can make much less identify areas in which he can grow as an artist. All of which are at the root of most complaints in hip-hop listening/critical circles.

In general creating “good” music is a daunting task that is part of larger process which takes time to nurture. To willingly put yourself on an assembly line, while potentially buzzworthy, in my mind, brings diminishing returns. Especially if you’re trying to continually grow your fanbase.

At the same time I really dig the idea of “lighting several fires. [as per HERD Ad Map]“

all i can say is that freeway’s month of madness mixtape was the sole reason for me picking him back up as an artist i’m interested in: now i’m strongly considering copping that new jake one/free tape whenever it drops (on rhymesayers, which is a whole ‘nother discussion in itself: who would have ever thought that a member of the Roc/Def Jam would ever drop on Atmosphere’s in-house label??)

Maybe Jay Rock expects his good songs to float to the the top of blogs, while the garbage will be quickly forgotten.

Frustrating for bloggers, yes. But not for people who read blogs and use them to filter what they should pay attention to.

Lots to chew on…

Yeah, the Rich Boy beat-jack was pointed out to me on Twitter by Andy Hutchins (@RockabyeReview) as well. I remember hearing the original now, but it never made personal rotation and I’d forgotten all about it. I’m trying to make a deliberate attempt to overcome my east coast bias but clearly I need to further diversify my funds.

The news was a bit of a bummer because the beat does stand out as the best thing about the track. And you’re right it’s pretty odd to create a video over the beat of someone else’s single without drawing a clear line to what you’re doing.

But I think the connections between “No Mask On” and the Rich Boy videos (your #4 point) are even beyond subtle. They don’t look or feel the same at all to me. The tropes you mention – music video presenting itself as documentary, a guy rapping in the middle of a street – are such generic ideas in rap videos that they are not enough to make me thing one is referencing or taking from the other.

To me the approaches are a world apart. Rich Boy is being depicted as this ghetto superstar – he’s playing Vegas, he’s picking up fat rolls of cash. Everywhere he goes, he has a crew of fans. Jay Rock is the opposite, everywhere he goes there’s just his crew. I buy the MIA line as an arcane reference though. Nice catch.

Thanks for the remark, and an artists perspective on what music is deemed suitable for listeners ears. I think the supposed experts push that release it all approach because it feels radical to embrace the web’s big game changer: no significant barrier to cost to distributing one’s music. And it’s true the stunt does get artists on to popular blogs.

Of course, there is a cost and the cost is to one’s reputation if you don’t have 30 days of quality output. And how many unsigned artists do?

The value of being featured in the daily content cycle of popular rap blogs, even (especially?) for thirty consecutive days, is also debatable.

1) It was the musical element that most grabbed you. Who knows whether Jay Rock expects his listeners to be well-versed in minor southern hits from a few months ago, but he sure isn’t making the connection explicit, I think he said the word ‘drop’ once.

2) The fact that he made a video for it. ‘Drop’ still doesn’t have an official video, and the fact that he got someone with an aesthetic vision to make his freestyle over another rapper’s beat feel more legitimate. While I can’t think of another example off the top of my head, this feels like it’s part of a recent trend. (I know this isn’t new, but it feels different than the legitimacy of say “N 2 Deep” having the same beat as “Another Execution,” more like “Roth Boys” or something)

3) The fact that it sounds kinda like an A Millie freestyle. When “Drop” first dropped, it was criticized as being an A Millie ripoff, pretty fairly I’d say. But that criticism was about the beat and structure more than anything Rich Boy did on the mic, his flow wasn’t particularly Weezy-influenced. With Jay Rock there’s a point @2:13 where he references Wayne’s “Millie” flow, particularly that “tell the coppers ha ha ha” part. It’s this weird bypassing of his source material to reference his source material’s influence, like if someone jacked Posdnous’ flow over a Little Brother beat.

4) There are references to Rich Boy but they’re kinda subtle. The video has the washed out film stock and documentary style of Boy Looka Here, while the shot of Jay Rock standing alone in the middle of a road recalls the most memorable shot of the Throw Some Ds video. And the lyrical reference to M.I.A’s Paper Planes works as an oblique reference to Rich Boy’s work on the song’s official remix before it became every rapper’s favorite indie-club hit.