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.

 

 

This is a brand new section….Tonya of San Antonio asked if I had considered creating a section where you all could ask me questions….any question on any topic….and I must say it was ingenious…so from now on, I’ll be accepting and answering a minimum of 1 question per week (or more if it takes off) from you…so send in your questions to and I’ll pick the best question to answer….so in honor of Tonya; she gets the first question…here goes.

 

Tonya of San Antonio asked:

I am a big fan of Angela Bassett and Tyler Perry and I saw the latest
movie, Meet the Browns.I was just wondering if you thought that this was
Perry’s best movie? Is it true that the actor who played Mr. Brown and
the actress who played his daughter are married?

 

Thanks,

 

 

JohnJohnSaid:

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you if this was Tyler Perry’s best movie because I haven’t seen it…. Now before I go any further let me explain something to you….anybody who knows me will tell you that I am a self-diagnosed “movie-holic” plus its my job to be in the loop on movies…plus I’m a big Tyler Perry fan…I think I’ve seen a bootleg copy of every one of his plays and I’ve seen all of his previous movies with “Why did I get Married” being my favorite.

 

So you’re probably wondering why I didn’t see “Meet the Brown”…you asked so I’m gonna’ tell the truth…I just wasn’t in the mood…I can only watch Madea so many times plus it seems that all of Tyler Perry’s movies are sequels…its like the plot was extended from the previous movie to the new one…even though I haven’t seen “Meet the Browns” I feel like I’ve already seen it…I feel like I already know what jokes Madea’s gonna’ tell…I feel like I already know what “O…no he didn’t” moment is gonna’ occur…. and I feel like I know exactly what moral lesson will be taught towards the end of the movie….Perry has a formula that has proved successful and he sticks to it, but I just get tired of it.

 

With that being said…I had to support Tyler Perry because he is opening the doors of Hollywood for minorities….so I went to the theater on Friday and bought a ticket to “Meet the Browns” and went to see something else….I guess that’s my way of silent protest…..As for the marriage rumor regarding Mr. Brown, played by David Mann….Since I didn’t see the movie, I’m not sure who played the daughter of Mr Brown but I do know that David Mann is officially married to Tamela Mann and you can find out more about them on .

 

I think this officially completes the first of many “Ask JohnJohn” entries…so go spread the word and if anybody asks….makes sure you tell them that JohnJohnSaidIt.