Yung Berg is an Idiot & 50 Cent is Toxic
And that's what's up!
Yung Berg: "50 Told Me To Move Bow Wow Out The Game, Period!"
Via Fake Shore Drive.
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Headlines to Your Site or Blog: Widgetbox MuseStorm Widget ProHipHop Network |
Hip-Hop News Plus Tupac Shakur Info |
And that's what's up!
Yung Berg: "50 Told Me To Move Bow Wow Out The Game, Period!"
Via Fake Shore Drive.
A bit of nastiness has emerged in the hip hop blogosphere as it intersects with the LA Times via an ill-fated experiment called the LAT Beatbox. Brandon Soderberg gives his insider's account and it appears to link to everything I've seen and much more so you can evaluate this odd tale for yourself.
Not a good look at the moment for Slav Kandyba who has contributed to ProHipHop in the past.
And a bad look for the LA Times who can't seem to get a handle on hip hop [or blogging] despite being smack dab in the middle of the first major hip hop center to emerge after its birth in NYC.
I was checking out Kanye West's blog, to which you can find a link here, and it's so full of material taken from other blogs and websites without links or attribution it's not even funny.
If you guys like that stuff so much why don't you credit the folks that turned you on to it?
Lame-ass jackers.
Wu-Tang drops the first video for Take It Back off 8 Diagrams at least three months after the first reviews appeared. But maybe that's a good way to revive interest with more tour dates ahead.
It just feels like the buzz came and went on this one already especially with all the video interviews and financial disagreements that happened last year.
On a related note, HP is apparently sponsoring a parody YouTube channel including a front page ad placement yesterday (not sure how long that was up) featuring the Killa Cam parody ad that dropped almost a year ago.
But the handmodels channel does have another video! Yes, two videos!!
You know what? Video is not a reanimation tool.
A not-so-interesting new video may be better than a resuscitated corpse but you've got to catch the wave before it crests and these efforts have already reached shore.
First "Verizon Honors Super Producer Timbaland as the First Ever 'Mobile Producer in Residence' For V CAST":
"Timbaland plans to start production of his mobile album at the beginning of March, collaborating with a new guest artist on one track each month and creating the track from the fully-equipped Verizon Mobile Recording Studio Bus. As the bus stops in various cities, fans will get access to recording sessions and get a glimpse into Timbaland's creative process -- in person or through their mobile phones."
Then Timbaland melts down at the Verizon/People magazine party:
"With a blinged-out cross dangling from his neck, a sweaty Timbaland addressed the crowd at Los Angeles' Avalon Club just after finishing a high energy set with longtime muse Missy Elliott...
"Next time I have one of my homeboys in line, let that (expletive) in!" Timbaland shouted as the event winded down after 2 a.m., adding that he was a "peoples person." "I don't like to see my people turned around for some (expletive) magazine ... (expletive) y'all!"
After his tirade ended, he walked off stage with music blasting. The party was effectively over."
Leading to Miss Info's lesson for Corporate America:
"But that’s the problem, corporate suits. You want to be cool in the red carpet photos, but hip hop stars aren’t like wedding singers. You’re not just booking them...you throwing a party with them...or even for them. So, if you don’t want their people at your party...then better just find some socialite deejaying-son-of-an actor to play their hit hip hop songs instead."
ProHipHop's Take:
Can you say 'roid rage? Hey, anybody heard the latest on Britney?
D12 Offers Guest Verse for $750
Miss Info accurrately characterize this video of D12's Bizarre offering guest verses for $750 as "Tragic Hilarity" only I can't get past the tragic part.
I bet this will be down in a week if not before.
I wasn't going to write about Kanye West's God post, not because I thought people would object, but because I had this fantasy of getting on Kanye's blogroll!
Letting fantasies f*ck with your editorial is very bad and I want to be very good so let's leave that fantasy aside and look at how Team Kanye feeds fan worship.
I call it the God post because after lots of posts with no interaction with the readers, Kanye, or one of his operatives (I think a lot of this has to be an assistant), reprinted a comment as a blog post that asked Kanye if he was reading the comments.
It was ambiguous enough as to why it was there, because there's no additional commentary, that the commenters either puzzled over it like some obscure religious document or used it as another opportunity to profess their love.
Celeb blogging's cool because it gives one a much clearer picture of how famous people feel they should communicate with their followers after other media entities have been removed from the picture.
I despise one way communications and pretend efforts at showing one's love to one's fans and I'm getting kind of tired of seeing what they cherry pick from the best design blogs. I've got better sources for that stuff so, when the personal edge is removed, I'm just reading this thing to get occasional tidbits that might help my bottom line.
And that's good cause fantasies of being Kanye's friend, like these nutty fans, or on Kanye's blogroll, like nutty Clyde, are fantasies, and I've got better things to imagine.
So Ice Cube and DJ Pooh founded an Internet video site and all ProHipHop could say was Hip Hop @ CES: Ice Cube & DJ Pooh Promote UVNTV.com without any mention of ownership?
I make it a point not to harass publicists unduly but when one of the top pr firms in the hip hop game puts out a press release that manages to bury what I consider a major story, I think it's worth pointing out. And, yes, this is partly annoyance at getting scooped by other bloggers after I'd already posted.
Check this UVNTV.com press release headline:
Hip Hop Icon and Entertainment Mogul, Ice Cube and Legendary DJ Pooh Leverage Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 to Launch the Web's First Real-Time Television Network UVNTV.com
The headline is ambiguous. We know these guys aren't programmers and we regularly see releases with headlines like Chuck D and DMC Launch Beyond.fm that do not refer in any way to company ownership or executive status. It's not a good headline for other reasons as well but the details should be cleared up in the first few lines of the release.
But the press release for UVNTV.com's only line relevant to ownership is the first line:
Hip hop icon, entertainment mogul Ice Cube and legendary DJ Pooh announced today the launch of the world's first real-time streaming television network online, UVNTV.com (U View Network Television).
That's it. No direct statement that they are the founders, no backstory or founding tale and no information about who else might be involved in the company. Not a good look.
But USA Today got the full story. Guess they skipped the press release.
On the plus side, this is a nice boost for Microsoft's Silverlight product.
I was writing about the Kidz In The Hall single supporting Barack Obama over at Hip Hop Logic when I discovered that they make you sign up for their marketing companies mailing list to download the single without really informing you of what's up.
This is not the best way to capitalize on the moment. Now I'm on a list without an unsubscribe option. I've written to be removed. Let's see if their automated system gets me to a human or, like far too many newsletters, simply gets ignored.
Details at Hip Hop Logic.
Ill Doctrine - Waiting for Cam'ron
A Cam'ron flunky announces a Cam appearance at the Apollo. Another flunky, or the same guy supporting Cam, it doesn't matter, shows at the event, hands out mixtapes while saying things like, "he could be watching from around the corner", or something similarly ridiculous.
This event was so weak I'm not even going to watch the video again to make sure I got the quote right. It's close enough.
Message to the World from Cam'ron:
"I'm as big a loser as you imagined and my return is mostly symbolic since my best work is most likely behind me."
Thanks, Cam. We get the message!
And thanks, Jay Smooth, for simply bearing witness.
Update:
Eskay gives Cam's mixtape the Nah Right seal of approval in the comments and can point you to the download.
I haven't done as much comment sp@m exposure as I could but I just got the following message posted on 7 different posts and that's just plain stupid.
Here's the message with the affiliate code removed:
check out Karmaloop.com, they have Artful Dodger, LRG (the Jason Hoodie!!), fresh Jive, them supra high tops, and all kinds of stuff for both men, and wemon. when you check out across from where you put in your address in the lower right hand corner you'll see a box that says REP CODE, put in [removed] to get 20% off the first order, then 10% off every other one, there's a trick though...you check out with your e-mail address which is where they send the order confirmation to, so if you use a different e-mail address everytime you check out, you'll keep getting 20% off!!! check it out (myspace.com/ghetaway2)
Karmaloop, you need to get your man Trip in line cause he's fouling up your game.
So Diddy posts some amateur hour YouTube requests for a personal assistant over at DiddyTV and we all help Diddy spread the word, embedding wackily amusing videos left and right and even directing wayward applicants back to the correct source where they, of course, always found incomplete information.
But Diddy gets on Oprah to announce the end of the tale and its embedding disabled, "bloggers go f*ck yourself" time over at YouTube. Not even a silly moment at Diddy "i'm more a party promoter than an artist" TV.
Thanks Diddy. That's a very clear message and some of us got it!
PS:
When you go to DiddyTV, if a little login/password box pops up, just hit cancel and you'll be fine. Apparently Diddy's amateur hour online production aesthetic extends to his technical support.
Clarification:
I'm not referring to any Diddy music videos from whatever label he's on regarding embedding.
DiddyTV videos are all off-the-cuff and every one's been embeddable that I've wanted to use from day one. That's why his stupid little channel got so much attention at the jumpoff. Diddy could have had a different assistant videotape a quick backstage moment with his new assistant and waited to drop it till after Oprah got the exclusive announcement on tv but he didn't.
I was just scanning the news and thinking about what a couple of babies these guys are. A sore loser and an ungrateful winner.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
It's Official: Kanye West Massacres 50 Cent in Soundscan Showdown
33jones opens up regarding hip hop and 9/11:
All of this is my way of saying that, while I'm well aware of the impending release of what are proclaimed to be the biggest hip hop albums of the year...I can't say that I'm the least bit interested in either of them. I don't think I'd be all that excited about the prospect of seventeen more tracks from the lyrical mastermind behind Ayo Technology regardless of its release date, but under different circumstances I'd probably be running out to buy Kanye's album.
As it is, though, I can't get past what has to be one of the most arrogant marketing ploys by any artist (let alone two). And I'm aware of how ridiculous it would be to expect low key promotions from either Kanye or 50 Cent - they wouldn't be what they are today if it wasn't for their almost cartoonish levels of arrogance. Yet to build their promotions around "Hip Hop's 9/11," as if their album releases were an event somehow comparable to this tragedy, is something I just can't get behind.
At Hip Hop Logic:
Hip Hop Bloggers on 9/11
Just saw a press release that I won't run at Hip Hop Press but thought was worth mentioning in passing because it is so utterly ridiculous. Here's a bit. It just went up on PR Newswire and is dated Sept. 4 so it should be showing up all sorts of places soon:
The Game Against 50 Cent: First Round Goes to The Game!
- Thousands of Americans determined the result of the question which is shaking the music world in the U.S.: The Game destroyed 50 Cent...In the featured bet poll the results are that 76% believe The Game is better than 50 Cent, and only 24% of the fans replied that they prefer 50 Cent...
The Game has now uploaded on BetsGoWild six singles exclusively from his new album: Doctor's Advocate which is about to be released across the U.S. The new tracks -- "Around the Way", "Murda", "Still Me" and "My b*tch", were uploaded for the first time on BetsGoWild: http://www.betsgowild.com/bet.php?id=3057. The unique bet poll was created after the growing opposition in the U.S. between 50 Cent and The Game, and is one of The Game's methods of proving he has more influence in the U.S. In recent years there have been gunfights between the two rappers' entourages, who have worked together in the past.
Note the claim that The Game is personally involved with this website. Looks like it's time to call out the lawyers and bleed both sides!
The Complex blog points to another instance of Hip Hop Weekly biting their content.
It's not the first time. You may recall that Hip Hop Weekly sent a cease and desist letter over that claim and even put out a press release stating that Complex had removed the above post.
Actually, Complex removed the part that got them in legal trouble but, obviously, the post is up and it still details Hip Hop Weekly's plagiarism.
I don't have all the information on what was removed but Complex documents their claims and their posts remain up so I guess whatever else Hip Hop Weekly may or may not be, it's clearly a home for plagiarists.
That said, it sounds like folks covering similar material should consider keeping an eye on Hip Hop Weekly to see what else they may have jacked, if you can find a copy.
Paul Conley shares his perspective on Editor in ads; Ads in editorial including his take on Elliott Wilson's back cover XXL ad for Rocawear and the really nasty phenomenon of IntelliTXT.
If I'd written about IntelliTXT, one of the worst forms of the online merger of content and advertising, I would have turned to Paul's earlier blog posts on the topic. Instead I've simply stayed away from the majority of sites using IntelliTXT.
Paul provided one of my favorite quotes regarding Elliott's ad:
Industry Pros Term Elliott Wilson's Back Cover Ad "Offensive" & an "Egregious Violation" of Ethics
Paul's also written quite positively of Jason Brightman's involvement with XXL.
Elliott Wilson responds to being held to journalistic standards by making me the subject of a weak postscript following a rather sad attempt at humor Mr. Wilson calls YN’s Top 10 Coldest MC’s:
P.S. Um.. Clyde Smith. Clyde Smith. Prohiphop.com. Prohiphop.com. Prohiphop.com. You happy now? You got your attention. I spoke to an editor from Folio. Let’s hope I don’t get misquoted. Stay tuned sucker.
Well, that's Elliott's biting response to such ProHipHop classics as:
XXL 10th Anniversary Covers: Pretend Controversy & XXL's Chief Advertorialist Elliott Wilson
&
Industry Pros Term Elliott Wilson's Back Cover Ad "Offensive" & an "Egregious Violation" of Ethics.
But then that level of maturity is what we've come to expect from Elliott "I ain’t gotta answer n*ggas" Wilson, who corporate lunkheads would term the "big swinging dick" of the hip hip magazine industry as Editor-in-Chief of XXL, a seriously popular publication owned by the powerful white men of Harris Publications and fronted by well-paid black men who dress in frumpy clothes and talk smack:
Awnaw! Hell naw! YN done up and done it now. As if the front cover wasn’t controversial enough, how dare this dude throw himself on the back cover of his magazine. f*ck it, why not? It’s a celebration, b*tches. It’s been 10 years and I ruled eight of them, why shouldn’t I feel myself? No pause. P.S. I’m not really wearing any Roc-a-wear.
[By the way, Harris Publications also owns Harris Outdoor Group, the creators of such uplifting titles in the Harris Tactical Group series as Custom Combat Handguns and Concealed Carry Handguns. Just thought you kids might want to know who your parents' dollars are supporting and where to learn more about concealed combat handguns!]
In case you're wondering, Elliott's mention of leading magazine management trade publication FOLIO refers to an excellent if all too brief article by FOLIO Associate Editor Jason Fell, Does XXL Ad Cross the Ad/Edit Line?:
Even before it hit newsstands this week, the September (10th Anniversary) issue of XXL had raised eyebrows among professionals in the publishing industry..."No person on an editorial staff should ever be involved in producing or participating in advertising," says ASME executive director Marlene Kahan. "[The XXL ad] appears to be a violation of ASME guidelines."
Oh, those pesky professional guidelines. They're like mosquitoes to the Great Lion that IS Elliott Wilson!!!:
"Bottom line, this is a one-time only ad. I’m not wearing Rocawear clothes in it and I wasn’t compensated for it," Wilson says in an interview with Folio:. "While other ads in their campaign will be all over the place, this one will only be seen on the cover of XXL."
Damn, now I feel bad. The guy didn't get paid, doesn't know how to dress and nobody's going to recognize who this old geezer is anyway.
But will that stop Elliott Wilson? No, Industry Titan Elliott Wilson is a man who Will Not Lose, even if he had to give Rocawear a free back cover ad and complimentary modeling services in order to be included.
Hey. has anyone else noticed what a decrepit pit XXL's pretentiously titled "Columnist" section has become? Except for occasional appearances of non-exclusive content from Jay Smooth, it's looking kind of dead and I speak as someone who big upped their launch.
Well, see you soon! I've got to go clean these heads before shrinking them. They're going to look great on the mantlepiece!
Next up on ProHipHop's Hip Hop Crafts Corner:
How to shrink the severed head of an Industry Titan!!!
In my update to the post regarding XXL Editor-in-Chief Elliott Wilson's appearance in a Rocawear ad on the back cover of the upcoming 10th Anniversary issue, I revealed my next step:
I am in the process of contacting bloggers with journalistic backgrounds from outside the world of hip hop to share their opinions on whether the back cover image above is or is not an example of crossing the advertising/editorial divide.
Normally I would come back with a post of my own discussing why I feel that this crossing has so obviously occurred but I want to reach some of the people who shut down when I say such things, in particular, hip hop bloggers with journalistic aspirations.
Since I was contacting very busy people with way too much work, it did not surprise me that I only got two responses, one of them telling me that they hope to get back to me later in the week. Fortunately, the other response was from one of my favorite publishing industry bloggers, Paul Conley.
You can check out Paul's background for yourself but the man is official. Here's an excerpt from his comments:
The photo in question is offensive. And in the world of news or serious journalism, it would clearly be a violation of editorial ethics...What's interesting about the XXL photo is that it may be an all-new form of unethical behavior. As far as I know, no editor-in-chief in the history of magazine publishing has ever appeared as a spokesperson for products sold by an advertiser.
Paul also suggested I contact Tony Silber, editor and publisher of FOLIO, the leading trade publication for the magazine industry, and he responded in an email:
I did a poll around the office, and everyone thinks it’s a pretty egregious violation, so we’re going to be following it up.
Mr. Silber also stated on the phone that he did think there were earlier examples of editors in ads but I think Paul's response relates just how startling this ad appears whether or not this is a historical moment. I look forward to FOLIO's coverage and will follow up as appropriate with additional comments from other industry professionals.
PS - I knew "egregious" was bad but I had to look it up to be sure:
e·gre·gious...
–adjective
1. extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious mistake; an egregious liar...
—Synonyms 1. gross, outrageous, notorious.
As I mentioned in my initial post regarding what I consider a surprisingly blatant crossing of the advertising/editorial divide, one of my favorite hip hop bloggers took me to task for some of my claims. In addition to altering the post a bit, I've also been doing some thinking about my issues with Elliot Wilson that now really seem like an earlier chapter in hip hop blogging.
It's time to let personal grudges go because ProHipHop is moving to a different level of the game in a variety of interesting ways, some already visible, some still emerging behind the scenes, and holding on to such grudges will hold that progress back.
But I would have given anyone a hard time about that back cover and I would give anyone a hard time about some of the editorial statements regarding bloggers that Wilson was making before he added bloggers to XXL's website.
I also want to make it clear that I'm not really bringing marketers to task for the back cover. The thing I like about marketers is that their agenda is so much more straightforward than anyone else's. You know what they want and that makes it a lot easier to cut to the chase.
Plus, I really do think the advertising/editorial divide is one that must be maintained by journalists, editors and publishers because it is an important aspect of keeping the profession of journalism legitimate. If marketers feel differently about their role, I'd love to hear about it, but history tells us that "marketing" is itself a term created as an alternative to the term "propaganda".
So I want to give big ups to the propagandists who pulled this one off.
It's unfortunate that it's about to become a major embarassment for Mr. Wilson among professional journalists, as I will discuss in a follow up post, though I feel sorrier for the many excellent writers at XXL whose integrity will also be tarnished by association.
XXL Front Cover Featuring Lil Wayne & Birdman
XXL pretends to court controversy by giving their 10th Anniversary cover to Lil Wayne and Birdman, winners of the BET Viewers Choice award. So not only does it hook the fans, it gets the homophobes talking.
XXL Back Cover Featuring Advertorialist Elliott Wilson
On the back cover, XXL Advertorialist-in-Chief Elliott Wilson shows us how it looks when one jettisons the divide between advertising and editorial.
Journalistic standards? Yo, this is hip hop!
Correction, this is XXL!
Oooh, ripped from Nah Right cause it's just G's up in heah!
Update:
I've gotten some strong criticism from an individual I respect regarding my above statements. Since my own personal feelings about various figures at XXL cloud my judgement, I am in the process of contacting bloggers with journalistic backgrounds from outside the world of hip hop to share their opinions on whether the back cover image above is or is not an example of crossing the advertising/editorial divide.
Normally I would come back with a post of my own discussing why I feel that this crossing has so obviously occurred but I want to reach some of the people who shut down when I say such things, in particular, hip hop bloggers with journalistic aspirations. Reaching out in this manner also opens the possibility that I am wrong and I have no trouble admitting that as long as you give me time to get over my default mode of being incapable of error!
I should also note, I did edit the above post to remove a totally inappropriate line and to soften the claim regarding the crossing of said divide. Beyond that, I think it's a fine snarky post from which I've already derived a great deal of pleasure!
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
ProHipHop's Stance on XXL's Adverpictorial Back Cover
Industry Pros Term Elliott Wilson's Back Cover Ad "Offensive" & an "Egregious Violation" of Ethics
I'm taking a new position on possible marketing spam at ProHipHop and seeing if it can lead to some joint action to start identifying and eliminating the scum that infest our conversations.
If I'm making a mistake here, then I'm happy to work that out now while I have a few spare moments to draw on my obsessive workaholic nature [since I'm evading other responsibilities].
So I get two comments regarding the post Donda West's Raising Kanye Better Sell [Or It's All Kanye Will Rap About]. They're posted a minute apart with the same basic attitude, similar low case girl's names, same IP address.
tatiana, haley
65.88.88.173
Sure, it could be two little girls in Queens who love all things Kanye and are using the same computer. But that's exactly what marketers using such a technique would want you to believe.
As Andrew Dubber says on page 12 of 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online:
If, for instance, you read that bands are making it big on MySpace, the first thing that should pop into your head is the question ‘who stands to gain if I think that’s true?’.
So I'm going to start treating such instances as spam but a bit differently than I have in the past. I will ban the IP address but keep the comments and identify them as possible spam in the followup post including the IP address.
But here's where we can get together and put some of this nonsense in check. If music bloggers, at the very least, start tracking these appearances, there's a good chance we can start exposing some of these people who are paid to post links. Perhaps we'll then have to embarass the artists to get results but that ain't hard!
There are lots of ways that this could be organized. For the moment, if you're interested, check your comments for "tatiana" and "haley" posting closely together from IP address 65.88.88.173, or for any comments from that IP address, and hit me up in my comments section if you find something.
If you do, please clearly identify yourself or drop me a direct line. If you don't, go ahead and comment but anonymous posters will be deleted for this post.
Sure, this approach has many inherent limitations and if we make something happen, we also need to make those limitations clear but I think this could end up being both productive and fun if we work together.
Thoughts? Questions?
clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com
PR?
hiphoppress(at)netweed(dot)com
Hey, tatiana and haley, if I'm wrong, hit me up! I don't have a problem with music fans showing love. But hit me up at my email, ya dig?
Great, NME passes on a hyperbolic remark from Diddy on one of his personal assistant videos [third one in post] and starts what will no doubt become an enduring online legend:
P. Diddy has been flooded with applications to be his new personal assistant after the rapper advertised the role on MySpace. Over 10,000 offers have come in over the last four days after the singer invited applicants to post three-minute videos of themselves on YouTube.
When I first saw that video I checked the personal assistant YouTube submission group and it only had about 40-something videos posted. Here are the current stats according to YouTube:
Videos: 409 | Members: 590 | Discussions: 159
Furthermore, Diddy uses the phrase "inquired about the job" which does give him an out to claim that they got over 9,000 emails and or/phone calls at Bad Boy. Or whatever it takes to keep the exaggeration alive.
But I can't hold that against Diddy. That's almost to be expected from the hypemaster. But NME? I thought you guys were vaguely legitimate. And get rid of those flashing tower ads and abusive "free" iPod offers while you're at it. Geez.
Via Earwax Records' newsletter.
My bad:
Lots of people swallowed.
And in the No Surprises Here category:
EurWeb reminds us of their quality work.
MIMS & Unknown Entities Front for the Cameras
Rather than simply celebrating MIMS' quite obvious achievements in the mobile category, Virgin Mobile preferred to manufacture an award focusing attention on a questionable claim:
Capitol Records breakthrough artist MIMS has been honored by Virgin Mobile with a special award for having sold the 50-millionth ringtone purchased through Virgin Mobile.
No, not the "breakthrough" part, that's called publicists' license. It's so incredibly obvious that the "50-millionth ringtone purchased through Virgin Mobile" is so phony that one suddenly realizes that those parodies of big media thinking were only called parodies because they changed the names.
Of course, it is possible that they figured out a way to decide which ringtone was the 50-millionth and that they all sat around waiting with the single thought, "please make it MIMS' This Is Why I'm Hot since we've already planned the awards ceremony and related campaign."
It's sad to watch elite delusions foisted on the masses. But it's one thing for a ringtone champion to buy into receiving a bogus award. I'm sure it's very confusing and things are moving very fast for MIMS at the moment.
However, putting aside all those who just reprint this stuff, one wonders how many "legitimate" media outlets will report this award as straight news.
I just passed on running a press release at Hip Hop Press that would have also been an item at ProHipHop because the release was followed by this statement regarding the attached photo:
By opening the attached files you are agreeing to all of the following:
(1) The attached file(s) is (are) being released for your REFERENCE USE ONLY. However, we are neither approving nor disapproving the content of the project.
(2) The attached file(s) may not be distributed to other parties without the express written consent of [identifying company removed by ProHipHop].
(3) The attached file(s) must be permanently deleted from your computer system(s) and all disks/artwork returned to [identifying company removed by ProHipHop] after completion or fulfillment of intended, one-time-use-only project.
There was more but the above is why none of this will get anything from me. Besides, lots of stuff came out in the last couple of days with cool pics, so, later!
PS - I did not open the attached file(s).
Truly, I am a magnet for anomalies. I've just wasted what would have been a beautiful morning tracking down some problems and I'm giving up on a sour customer service note. The part that's worth mentioning is my discovery that Macromedia's Dreamweaver Support offers updated downloads through the latest or last version of every version back to years before Dreamweaver MX, which I have, and all the years since Dreamweaver MX.
Guess which version is the only one that requires me to log in based on the email I used when I registered this software something like 5 years ago? I don't even know if I registered it but the retrieval process clicks me through to sales and I can't talk to anybody till Monday morning.
Every other version is freely downloadable except this one version. Bizarre.
Just want to let you know that I'll be back on Friday with some more ProHipHop goodness since I fell back a bit this week but have some stuff I really should post.
While I've got your attention, I'm one of those folks who's long been dismayed at the loose use of the word "Exclusive" by hip hop news sites. But I have to say that seeing a hip hop blog claim to have "Exclusive Video" and then link to clips at YouTube is a bit much.
And I generally like the blog in question.
Adisa Banjoko recently interviewed Snoop Dogg for AllHipHop and dropped in a marketing question:
AllHipHop.com: Few rappers market themselves as well as you do. How do you choose what Snoop Dogg puts his name or image on?
Snoop Dogg: I got to like the s**t for one. For two, they gotta get they paper together, ya dig? That's important. Once you get all that together, it's gotta be something effective and efficient enough to go along with Snoop Dogg; it's got to be the same cup of tea. It can't be no s**t that’s out there...you ain’t gonna see no Snoop Dogg Speedos. F**k that.
While I'm sure many are relieved at the assurance that Snoop Dogg Speedos are not in our future, Snoop had a more startling revelation regarding the Slave Trade:
AllHipHop.com: You mention unity. You recently went to Nigeria. Tell me about your trip to Africa, 'cause I have not yet been. Many people say that such experiences give them clarity on what it means to be Black in America. Did you have any such experiences? Did you learn anything?
Snoop Dogg: I got more in tune with my spirit musically out there, which I knew that I would. That American/African s**t, I’m not into all that s**t – I'm happy where the f**k I’m at; good look for bringin' us n***as [as slaves] over here, we appreciate that. Good lookin’!
The thing is, Adisa assures me Snoop wasn't joking. And I have no further comments.
The Do You!!! Takeaway: "Ignorance is Bliss".
Free Takes a Celebrity Moment at the Houston Financial Summit
When I first found out that Anheuser Busch is now a "presenting sponsor" of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network's Get Your Money Right tour, I was a bit surprised. Most media coverage of HSAN events have emphasized young people and photos seemed to be filled with college students.
Let me clarify that I'm sympathetic to the marketing needs of the alcohol industry and I think it's almost impossible to market to 20-somethings without also reaching college age and high school students unless you're in a 21+ setting.
I'm also sympathetic to those who recognize that our youth are being totally immersed in all sorts of message, including drink to have fun, that are basically undermining their ability to become mature, functioning adults who are not superficial and self-serving.
So I thought I'd reach out to the folks at HSAN and see what's up. Unfortunately, there seems to be a pattern emerging related to my contacts with enterprises connected to Russell Simmons. Perhaps they've all been told that when someone from the media contacts them with a question, the most appropriate response is to ask what it's for before considering sharing information.
In any case, that was my initial response from earlier contacts with the Simmons Jewelry Company and that was my first response from a representative of HSAN. For those of you who don't do this kind of thing, let me say that out of a broad range of entertainment contacts, Simmons' connected enterprises are the only ones that I've ever encountered who take that approach. On the other hand, perhaps that's more common in other circles.
So all I ended up getting was that they target the 18-35 demographic, a statement obviously designed to attract sponsors who covet access to that piece of the population. Since my request for more specific demographic information from previous Hip Hop Financial Summits remains unanswered, I turned to Henry Adaso, who attended the recent Financial Summit in Houston and wrote a report for Vibe.
Henry wrote me:
There were plenty of under 21s. The majority of the audience were probably between 18 and 20, from my own observation.
As Henry also pointed out, folks got into this one with a free ticket that they could download online, so HSAN may not have such data for this event. So, though 19 and 21 years old look remarkably similar, the crowd sounds quite youthful and that does raise the issue of marketing to people too young to drink.
I'm trying to avoid being accusatory here but, given that marketing alcohol to those underage is an ongoing issue of concern in the US, this rather questionable relationship between HSAN and Anheuser Busch bears further investigation.
Update:
I followed up with Henry about the actual presence of Anheuser Busch at the Houston Summit. He sent me the above picture with Free in which you can see that AB was as prominent as Chrysler Financial and HSAN.
He also said that the "financial planning booklet and press release also had their name boldly inscribed as title sponsors."
Special thanks to Mr. Adaso aka Rizoh, author of The Rap Up and About: Rap/Hip-Hop, for the information and photo.
ProHipHop's Take:
After getting some more info from HSAN and some feedback from Rizoh plus the comments below, it seems that HSAN and Anheuser Busch are in the clear on this one, at least in terms of what is generally considered to be marketing alcohol to the underage.
For me, a lot of it hinges on how people respond to the AB logo. For my part, if I see the logo or hear the company's name, I think beer. And when I see that the AB community program that supports HSAN and a wide range of other initiatives is called AfricanAmericanBud.com, well, um, I think beer!
Now I truly don't believe I'm having a Homer Simpson moment. And if I was really concerned about marketing alcohol to youngsters via hip hop, I'd be looking at alcohol product placements in music videos because images supported by music and a entertaining context work into your system much more easily and deeply than those that don't have such support.
But, to be perfectly frank, after a variety of intense public online discussions regarding racist, sexist and homophobic humor in hip hop blogs that occurred a while back, I'm not even bothering with complex, subtle discussions of human consciousness. They simply have no relevance in this environment.
So, ProHipHop accepts that by current consciousness standards in this neck of the woods, HSAN is not facilitating Anheuser Busch's access to under drinking age humans for the purposes of marketing alcohol.
And, on a more personal note, I think that the drinking age should be lowered and our society needs to shift away from an emphasis on an isolated, protected world for young people so that they actually have the opportunity to prepare for the real world that awaits.
Oh, yeah, and legalize marijuana! Now that's something I'm willing to argue.
I dig Mark Cuban and I appreciate his attempts to think outside of the box but his recommendation that content owners sp@m YouTube really kind of makes me sick. In general, his posts regarding YouTube miss the mark and position Cuban as a reactionary who does not understand social media.
Very disappointing.
I'm trying to write this without calling Stat Quo a f*cking prick, it's a New Year's thing, but he would probably call himself that so let's just roll with this tale. Besides, being a f*cking prick in rap music is pretty much the status quo, right?
The Boston Herald's Lauren Carter recently did some soul searching about her relationship to hip hop in the wake of an abusive phone encounter with Stat Quo. She ultimately implicates herself and other fans that support abusive lyrical content in hip hop as part of the problem and she's right. We are part of the problem.
Tara Henley shares her take and considers this a bad pr move for Stat Quo. Although I think her guidelines for artists dealing with the press are useful and worth following, I wish I could agree with the following statement:
When the tape is rolling, anything you say can and will be used against you. So don’t say stupid sh*t.
Seriously. If you let loose with a bunch of outlandish crap, it will get published. Don’t say things that you don’t want to see in big, bold quotation marks in the middle of the article
While it's true that you shouldn't say anything publically that you don't want to see in print [or hear in a courtroom], it's absolutely untrue that whatever you say will ultimately get out.
Hip hop journalists are much like political journalists, they don't quote all the crazy sh*t they're hearing. They wouldn't have a career if they did, much less a job. MSM's got journalists so well behaved that they rarely rock the boat in any significant manner based on what they actually hear, see and know.
The silence of journalists in the face of ridiculous nonsense is also a part of the problem.
Let me close by saying that I find the take of Hashim Warren aka The Young Cosby on this topic incredibly disappointing and politically naive. You're part of the problem, too.
Complex mag exposes Hip Hop Weekly as plagiarists.
SoundSlam considers the BattleRap.com contest a fraud.
Just when life looks darkest, P. Diddy makes my day.
Now, the question is, should we send Russell on a fact finding mission or should we bundle the jackets with Armand?
Decisions, decisions.
In related news:
Shoppers Beware: Macy's Is Third Chain Found Advertising Real Fur as "Faux"
Update:
Both Macy's and Diddy responded promptly to the news and pulled the jackets turning a bad look into a show of responsiveness.
So, I just get a package from Amazon, almost everything looks good except for the book for my mom. Amazon's putting Lincoln ads in their packages, small, not annoying on their own, but pretty f*cking annoying when they get jammed in the pages of your mother's gift and ruin the present.
Fortunately, it's a small book that can be easily replaced, though not necessarily by Christmas.
I'll be honest. I know I take a chance every time I mail order a gift from Amazon but I've had good luck with their shipping. But for them to be making money off advertising that ruined a gift which I will have to pay to return just kind of pisses me off. Know what I mean?
Thanks Amazon. Thanks Lincoln. Hope you're having stressful holidays!
I love this story. Sharp eyed humans detected the presence of corporate entities posing as fellow humans and exposed Sony's rap themed fakery on a supposed PSP fan site. Realizing that they fouled up, they first apologized and then 86'ed the whole site.
I missed seeing the actual site but it reminds me of HP's fakery which really turned me against them not long after they did that great Jay-Z commercial (and not even Carly Fiorina had accomplished that!):
Hewlett-Packard Fakes FingerSkilz, Touts Blog Penetration
While many roll their eyes and say that's just how it is, it looks like the FTC is finally sniffing around:
The FTC said it would investigate cases where there is a relationship between the endorser of a product and the seller that is not disclosed and could affect the endorsement.
I'd suggest they start with Jay-Z's relationship to Armand de Brignac Champagne which was widely touted as an unpaid endorsement. That endorsement is the sole reason people were looking forward to paying hundreds of dollars for an otherwise low value product.
I can't tell if the above incident in which Sean Price snatches a writer's notes and throws them down is a put-on or the real thing. Anybody know anything?
Via Nah Right.
Here's what I found so far and I'm leaving it at that:
"Chad Jenkins" does not write for Vibe but may be a writer for another publication or may be an invented character.
Since the Vibe lie makes this possible incident useless as a way to raise issues about artists' treatment of writers, I'm not even going to try to get an official statement from Sean P's camp regarding what looks like a cheap YouTube publicity stunt.
Like A Rolling Stone On The View
This is an excellent example of what may someday be in store for classic hip hop.
Yes, there is a fate worse than Kevin Federline!
Via The Down Low.
In an odd bit of news for Beck's new release The Information, the album will be excluded from UK charts because it contains artwork that supposedly gives the album an "unfair advantage".
According to Billboard's Chris M. Walsh:
The unique packaging includes four random sticker sets designed by artists handpicked by Beck, allowing fans to customize their own album covers.
"It's an unconventional package, but it shouldn't be penalized for that," says Beck. "Any art on a CD is an incentive to buy and listen. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. The response from the fans has been so strong, and that is the most important thing."
Also of importance is the fact that the album will be treated like any other on the far more influential Nielsen Soundscan charts.
Though Beck is only peripheral to hip hop at best, the disturbing point here is that one of the major strategies for combatting slipping cd sales, adding more cool stuff in the package, is now being penalized by the UK's Official Chart Company. That's an extremely counterproductive move at a critical stage for the music industry as a whole.
In what will no doubt be a test case for XXL Mag editor Elliott Wilson's philosophy that all publicity is good publicity, one of his publication's bloggers has chosen to attack Islam during Ramadan.
While XXL Mag/Harris Publications blogger Byron Crawford and his many fans will no doubt write this particular post off as another example of his supposedly brilliant humor, I've been hearing that Islamic members of the rap community aren't too happy with Byron or with his enablers such as Elliott Wilson.
Lest we forget, Muslims are kind of a big deal in hip hop.
I'll be following developments over at Brand Destruction Research where I've reopened the Harris Publications File.
Update:
One of my favorite people, Adisa Banjoko, who also happens to be a Muslim, responds:
What he wrote was offensive and as a Muslim I am beyond angry. Harris Publications must fix this. During a time of war, when Muslims are demonized so much...To see a Black man dance for his chicken by pulling this kind of BS, is just sad. There is no excuse for it.
See you at BDR.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Editorial: Considering The Effects Of Latino Immigration On Hip Hop Business & Marketing
I've just read an incredibly clueless essay by someone claiming to be sharing useful information about making the personal/professional move from print to online journalism, or something like that. It's such a garbled explanation and the writer embarasses himself in so many ways that I can't believe it's written by a "Web producer for the New York Times" who "will write about Web publishing technology for OJR".
OJR is the Online Journalism Review. They're supposed to know what's up.
So why am I writing this here? OJR makes you register to comment including requiring your location, date of birth and other information requests that are overly intrusive for online comment systems. This was the second time I started the process and ditched it. It wouldn't have been hard to do, it was simply insulting. That may not make sense to old media minds but any new media head will understand.
The geeks among you can go decide if it's a worthwhile essay or not. The bloggers among you may scratch your heads at this paragraph:
In the process of writing this article, I once again logged in to my typepad account to see if it could be simple enough to let me get started blogging while I planned my next move. I considered other options, even myspace and friendster pages if that was what I needed to start writing. I finally decided I could get a very basic typepad configuration implemented in a couple of weeks that will require minimal maintenance and let me write while I plan my next move.
Would you trust someone like this with your online media anything?
The cover for Lupe Fiasco's upcoming release Food & Liquor was recently described as looking like "some micheal jackson ‘can you feel it’ sh*t" and as "wick wick wack".
Yesterday Atlantic Records showed themselves to be deeply clueless about marketing in the current environment when they had
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