Ask JohnJohn
Tunette from Texas asked:
What’s up with the rap game? Sales are at a record low. No one’s buying albums anymore… a lot of rappers aren’t even doing albums anymore… all I see are a couple of hot singles, a lot of ring tones and too many mix tapes… what do you think the problem is? Is it just bootlegging music from the internet or is there something more to it? I remember a time where people bought two copies of a Tupac CD, one to listen to in the car or in the house and one to keep sealed and stored away… are those memories that are meant to just remain in our past or what?
JohnJohnSaid:
I think you speak for at least 90% of hip-hop fans around the world. So many are asking what happened and how can we fix it. There are probably 10 major issues I can point out in regards to rap but, for the sake of time, I’m going to focus on one issue in particular. Record sales are down across all music genres, but I believe rap is struggling more than other genres because of talent or the lack thereof. Let’s be honest, rap today is probably the one art form where you can have little or no talent and still have your music played all over the world thru television, internet and radio.
A lot of artists speak about being on “the grind” and how their hustle has created their success. I’m all for hard work and sacrifice but there is something to be said about having talent. For instance you could be the hardest working person in the world but without talent you couldn’t be a top selling country singer, you couldn’t be an elite professional athlete, you couldn’t be an award winning author or dancer. But in hip-hop, not only could you make it in the industry with little or no talent; you can win awards and be considered among the best at what you do.
Think about this, we watch our favorite sporting events because professional athletes have gifts and talents that we respect and admire. We pay to see our favorite actor or actress on the big screen because he or she has gifts or talents that we enjoy and appreciate. How can I respect and admire a rapper when my nephew can rap just as well or better than the artist on the radio. There is a fundamental flaw in the hip-hop system that rewards mediocrity. There are many artists that can release a hit single with a “tight beat”, but you can’t expect people to continue to love and support an artist based on one song. An artist should be measured by his or her complete body of work.
So to answer your question, things will get worse before they get better. The good news is, just like all bad things, this cycle in hip-hop will pass. I believe that the day will come when hip-hop listeners will no longer tolerate mediocre artists, and rappers won’t be able to hide behind a “tight beat”. Only then will we see a change. But don’t worry; the storm of change is coming and you can tell everybody that JohnJohnSaidIt.
If you have a question you would like to ask me, please feel free to send it to and I will pick at least one question per week to answer.
Charlie G's comment says
On April 4, 2008 at 4:40 pmWell said homey. The game is jacked up right now. Good rappers are left on the outside looking in. I don’t know if things will eva’ be the same.
Tunette's comment says
On April 4, 2008 at 5:58 pmYea, I totally agree with that… I mean look at the movie Rudy… that boy had all the hard work it required, but he played what… 30 seconds or so? He didnt’ make it to the league… and I’m not knocking hard work because you definitely need that Rudy mentality, but we also need that Kobe mentality too. SKILL! So I think the answer is a Kobe and Rudy mix… the only problem is, everybody in the rap game ain’t reading johnjohnsaidit.com… yep, that’s the problem!
JB's comment says
On April 5, 2008 at 2:55 pmInteresting perspective. Good point. I guess the question is “How do we fix the flawed system.”
I think you might be on to something!
Tina's comment says
On April 5, 2008 at 2:58 pmSo who decides which rappers are talented. I think I’ve only heard like 3 or 4 rappers in my lifetime that I would honestly say are talented.
I’m not saying that there aren’t any, but I am saying that there aren’t many.
Tunette's comment says
On April 5, 2008 at 5:46 pmWho decides? the people do… I know it looks like this lack of talent is what people want to hear, but in all essence that’s not true. Sales are at a record low… I read a New York Times article… no one’s doing good right now. I don’t feel compelled to by a 15 dollar cd for one hit single so honestly if someone has a bootleg copy I’ll take it… everyone’s doing that and the people have spoken through numbers… it’s like Jay-Z said, “men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t.” And the numbers are letting us know something’s wrong…
And I know some good rappers too:
1. John John
2. Jay-Z
3. Kanye
4. Mr. Sylk
5. J-Rod
Hey that’s a start… gotta start somewhere!
AD's comment says
On April 7, 2008 at 6:57 amWell spoken Tunette.. “The Evidence Shows”. Soldier Boy had the number one selling hip-hop album last year with a lil more than 800,000 albums. He didn’t even go platinum. And many other artists have too many “Filler Songs” on their albums which makes you not wanna buy the whole album. I ain’t mad at anybody who bootlegs. Now, we’re getting back to the basics. We’re on an even playing field now. Make good music, and elevate the level of your performances. Become Diverse.