The Secret To Success

success

Damn it’s been a while since I last dropped something for The ‘Fro (almost a month ago with Alchemist’s Chemical Warfare album review), I guess Hip-Hop music ain’t the only one that’s been in a drought for the month of August. But nonetheless in my absence I’ve been listening to a lot of music both old and new, and it got me to thinking about the current state of Hip-Hop and the music industry in general as it relates to artists. As you most likely have noticed over the last few years, the genre of Hip-Hop has probably been one of the most expansive in the music industry with new artists, producers, and DJs seemingly starting careers everyday. But in light of all of these new additions to the game, very few of them ever see the success that they strive and dream of when starting their careers.

Success in the realm of Hip-Hop has come in a different styles and forms, whether it’s viral video rise to fame (Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em) or mixtape industry domination (50 Cent), with every new artist and producer searching for the formula to their own success. But for every one success story there are often hundreds more that never reach that plateau and those that never reach that level often wonder why. While it can be said that many different elements apply when describing success and what’s needed to be successful, the one major aspect that many artists and producers overlook when it comes to their own careers is Originality.

Think of all of the Hip-Hop artists, producers, and DJs that have achieved and are achieving success in their careers over the years: Jay-Z, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Marley Marl, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, J Dilla, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em, Drake, DMX, Big Pun, Lil Wayne, T.I., Jam Master Jay, Kid Capri, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Twista, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Run-DMC, N.W.A., Wu-Tang Clan, Outkast, Mobb Deep, UGK, Little Brother… The strengths and weaknesses for these various individuals can differ but the one thing that remains the same is originality. Out of all of the names listed they can all be stated as being different and having an identity and not being the same or a copy of somebody else.

With the unparalleled amount of artists, producers, and DJs that are trying to make a name for themselves in the music industry, the one thing that I can attest as to why a majority of them aren’t seeing the same success as their peers is because originality isn’t present. When it comes to an artist like Soulja Boy, it’s a fact that his love/hate ratio with listeners greatly favors the latter, but it can’t be argued that he lacks originality when compared to other artists that might be more skilled on the microphone. I remember a couple years ago back in a music business course I was taking I was asked the question of in a given scenario of having my own record label if I would sign an artist like Soulja Boy or an artist with better skills and ability, and of course I selected the better skilled artist almost instantly. I made this selection based off my knowledge of Soulja Boy’s music and being the kind of listener I am who favors lyricism over lucrative, but failed to see the real deciding factor between the two being originality. Sure Soulja Boy’s lyrics are mediocre and lack substance, but his originality stand atop his characteristics. Given a rapper that’s lyrical and better skilled, how much different would he be from the 25 other lyrical emcees in the same position trying to get signed for a record deal compared to an artist like Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em.

Soulja Boy’s career took off based on an instructional video for his song “Crank Dat”, which led to him signing a deal with Mr. Collipark and Collipark Records. Soulja Boy saw his success from the creation of a viral video that was uploaded on YouTube and that’s where his originality comes into play. Ever since then, countless artists have been uploading videos hoping to be the next artist discovered this but unfortunately it won’t happen. 50 Cent’s career took off after the release of three mixtapes in 2002 (50 Cent Is The Future, No Mercy, No Fear, God’s Plan) that led to him signing a deal with Aftermath and Shady. 50 Cent saw his success from dominating the mixtape industry with multiple mixtape releases when nobody else was really controlling it. You already know how many mixtapes artists release nowadays on the Internet for free download and/or purchase, but the same results that 50 had with it won’t be seen with them.

Just using the examples provided in the cases of Soulja Boy and 50 Cent’s careers they defined their careers by venturing into areas that were previously uncharted and doing something different that everybody else wasn’t doing at the time.

As an artist sure you could upload a video of you freestyling or a low-budget video of your latest “hit” single, but who hasn’t already done that before you. You could release a new mixtape every other month for listeners to be able to download for free, but who hasn’t already done that before you. Following trends and doing the same thing that every other artist is doing won’t portray you as original or different, it will just place you in the category of being the same as everybody else and not bringing anything new to the table. This has been Jay-Z’s key to success for his entire career and it’s no wonder as to why he has been so successful with his music. From putting away throwback jersey and donning more appropriate “grown folk” attire to soul sampled beats on Blueprint to “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”, it’s all examples of originality and going against the grain of what’s popular and what everybody else is doing. So while skill, passion, and dedication are some of the necessary aspects to becoming successful in what you do, the biggest one of all is originality.

  1. Can we chill with all these Soulja Boy references. he’s made his own lane in the game, but at the end of the day, no one will want to aspire to be him because there has never been any substance to his work. He might make catchy songs, and I can respect that, but 10 years from now people will think of him as a novelty act and not take his music seriously. Everyone else on that list that you named is the opposite, and can be respected for their work. Can you say the same for Soulja boy?

  2. 5 years from now 50 Cent, Soulja Boy, and even Lil Wayne would hardly be recognized. 10 years from now, no one would give a fuck about them. Imagine these cats at a Rock The Bells (type) festival 10 years from now…yeah right. If you don’t pay respect to the game, the game will eventually quit paying attention to you.

    1. You are wrong about 50 dog. He is forever engraved in hip-hop history for a legendary classic album “get rich or die trying” and for his ridiculous sales.

      1. Get Rich or Die Trying is a superb album, but it’s not a classic. If that’s a classic, then there is atleast 200 hip hop classic albums.

        Plus he hasn’t made a real great album since then.

  3. This was a good post SBK! The game right now is at a weird state to me, its very different and I’m not anticipated on so much shit because I been getting dissappointed everytime. Its not even hip hop that is different. All the genres in music itself is different nowdays and basically entertainment. 10 years from now I don’t see Soulja Boy being somebody that people can say they want to strive to be like or quote his music. I actually forgot about Crank Dat until I read this column.

  4. Yo, this is straight BS, originality is great but it depends on what the audience is. For anyone who knows hip-hop well and listens to a lot of it, they’re looking for someone who speaks to them. The ability to put your thoughts into words is what makes a great lyricist. That’s what makes Jay-Z so good, cause he has so much life experience and so much insight. My theory is that if you’re a real dude, in every area of your life, that’s what makes you a good rapper. And I’m not saying there’s no such thing as an original idea, but the older I get and the more I understand what people say and mean, the more I see how you can (usually unintentionally) paraphrase some saying or cliche. For example: “The wisest men follow their own direction” -Euripides; “That’s why I never follow yall suggestions/I just did my own thing/Now I run the game” -Drake on “Uptown.” Life experience can lead you to the same conclusion as something that’s been said before, but just because the idea is unoriginal doesn’t mean it’s not true.

    I honestly can’t see one thing appealing about Soulja Boy. My guess as to why he’s so popular is because so many people who don’t listen to a lot of hip-hop jumped on his dick cause of Crank Dat. You can hardly call that type of song original anyway; “Walk It Out” was exactly the same shit and it came out a year earlier. Dance songs have been around forever. Even the fuckin Macarena is the same shit as that. I’m not even hatin on it, I’m just saying it’s been done before.

    1. Also, the way you’re saying it sounds like a force. Trying too hard to be original accomplishes the opposite. Rappers just have to do their own thing, without anything else weighing down on them. And when I say “do their own thing,” I mean let their music flow, and if it starts out sounding exactly the same as someone else’s music, don’t worry about it, just keep going until it changes. As long as rappers worry about success, it’s possible that no one will accept this, but it’s the same as getting a girl: if you were meant to be a rapper, just make music and if it’s good enough, you’ll make it. If not, you won’t. Marketing tricks just make us all wind up listening to bad music.

  5. SBK!! Never on schedule, but always on time! This post is excellent. I was really feeling your paragraph on originality, because that seems to be something that the game has been missing for a lil while. Overall a damn good post.

  6. From this article I in no way claimed that artists are striving to be the next Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em or that his music is the greatest (believe me I’m not a Soulja Boy fan now and never have been). The statement that I was making with Soulja Boy as an example was his method of breaking into the industry using YouTube and viral videos. That’s the point of originality that I was stating, not that his music, lyrics, or him as an artist is original even though I highly disagree with you that people will not remember “Crank That” for what it was as a song in the popular scene. 10 years from now if people remember nothing from Soulja Boy as an artist they will always reference him to “Crank That”, as much as people dislike him as an artist and the song that fact can’t be denied. But I think some entirely missed the point I was making with the examples of Soulja Boy and 50 Cent as I was focusing on the originality of their methods not their music.

    Are you kidding?? Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and 50 Cent will still be recognized five years and even ten years from now in the music industry. Most of the kids that these major labels market and promote to now will be in their 20’s five and ten years from now, which means they will still be a major part of the consumer base. If they are the main ones that are supporting artists like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and 50 Cent how would these artists not be remembered. They will still be heavily supported by the fans they have now, those fans will just be older but no major difference other than that.

    “Yo, this is straight BS”… Thanks Anonymous, appreciate that. I guess Kanye was correct when he said “If everybody think it’s right, you’re doing something wrong”. True that speaking to the listener on a personal level is a key aspect for an artist when evaluating their skill level and ability, but not so much when it comes to how much success they achieve as an artist. How many rappers nowadays are speaking to the listeners on a personal level and getting nowhere in their careers… Many! I’m not talking or debating lyrical content with this post in any way (did you see “Crank That” and make that assumption), I’m talking about an artist being original in their styles, methods, etc. So many artists claim to “speak to the listeners” yet their speaking about the exact same topics and themes. I think I would rather listen to an artist that speaks about an original topic or at least modifies it so that it’s just taken as the exact same thing another artist spoke about in their song. How can being original ever lead to being the same as everybody else? If you’re original you’re different from the rest. Definitely don’t see how being original as an artist is a technique of force. Being original just put emphasis on you as an artist in being different from every other artist in the industry. Since we’re quoting Drake here, “Transitioning from fitting in to standing out” – “Say What’s Real” (read: Originality). Funny how this is BS when this song is basically talking about an artist making the transition from being just another individual to seeing success as an artist when a line about being original and different from the rest is so quotable within.

    1. Yeah people might playback some of their tracks, but they won’t get recognized like that of Jay-Z, Nas, Tribe, Wu, etc. People respect their music and they respect their fans.

      People are going to start figuring out their marketing schemes and get turned off by it. And the only reason I speak on Wayne is because in this past year, I say about 25% of his fan base has moved on. The dude cancels concerts left and right for no good reason. The majority of 50, Wayne, and Soulja Boy fans are in my opinion just people who want to be in the “popular” crowd. They will eventually move on to whatever’s the next type of music to get hyped.

      The same is going to happen to them that has happened to Nelly, Ja Rule, Master P, Coolio, DMX, Lil Kim, etc.

      1. Of course Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Soulja Boy won’t be recognized the same as the artists you mentioned who really have legendary status and will be remembered in that light. I wasn’t at all saying they will be recognized as “legends” in Hip-Hop history and the music industry, I’m just saying that those three artists will in fact still be remembered some five and ten years from now. I really don’t think the position that the other artists you mentioned (Nelly, Ja Rule, Master P, DMX, etc.) will be the position that these three artists will be in with their careers.

        Like I said previously, the age group that currently supports these artists (13-18) are still going to be fairly young in five and ten years and they’re still going to make up a majority of the consumer base. It’s this age group that some don’t even know about groups like Wu-Tang Clan or have ever listened to ‘Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’. They don’t recognize or connect with that album as being a classic because it wasn’t released during their time and embraced by their generation. But an album like ‘Tha Carter III’ will serve as their classic album because of how it was received by their generation and was released during their time as consumers. Because of their age it wouldn’t be expected for them to know about albums like ‘Illmatic’ or ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and the impact that they had on Hip-Hip music, but they most certainly will recognize ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ and ‘souljaboytellem.com’ and the impact those albums had just because those are the albums of their generation, not the albums released in 1994 and 1996 before some were even born. Yes people respect the music of artists like Jay-Z, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, but people also respect the music of Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Soulja Boy because it’s different generations and each generation is defined by different artists and albums.

        1. I can agree with you there. It’s sad though when you really think about it…souljaboytellem.com being recognized as a good album. One of the worst albums I’ve ever heard.

  7. SBK – Nice post and I totally feel where you’re coming from.

    When speaking on the connection between longevity and orginality, you might have been better of discussing OutKast over Soulja Boy, if even for the simple fact of not ruffling so many feathers. Your point would have still connected. 3-Stacks and Big Boi have been original from day one:

    1) Some of the first to come out and rep the “A” (southern legends)
    2) Crazy fashion sense (mostly 3000 I guess)
    3) Experimental but still bangin’ production (Aquemini, Stankonia)
    4) Original and unconventional singles (Hey Ya, The Way You Move, Ms. Jackson, Rosa Parks etc.)
    5) That whole double-single album concept (Speakerboxx/Love Below)
    6) Period-piece major motion picture in Idlewild (another orginal sounding album)
    7) Under saturation of the music market – basically the opposite of Wayne, they keep their features to a minimum (especially Andre) yet when they drop, the drop hard.

    It’s crazy, because as none of these methods are really as quick and direct as simple “mixtapes” and “viral videos,” it seems as OutKast has simply developed a slow and well-crafted method of keeping themselves relevant through their originality. If, or when, it happens, a new OutKast album would be extremely hyped and looked forward to by hip-hop heads and the common-folk alike.

    Even by keeping themselves to a minimum in the biz, they frequently pop up on critics’ end-of-year lists for both verses and singles (Intnl Player’s Anthem, Royal Flush, Art of Storytellin’ 4, and pretty much ANYthing Andre-3000 contributes to). It’s also pretty hard to find ANYone out there who has some serious hate on for these cats (as opposed to your two examples) – meaning they’ve even stayed away from using the traditional (and extremely UNorginial) tried and true method of controversy from propelling their legendary status.

    I know they were on your list, but they might be one of the best examples (if not THE best). And the fact that they can remain lyrical powerhouses and respected southern artists in today’s music climate is really a true testament to their popularity, longevity and most of all: Originality.

    Questions?

    1. Very well put Grizz, I totally agree with you in regards to OutKast being a prime example of a group/artists that have displayed originality throughout their entire careers while has equaled longevity for them in the long run. OutKast is definitely a group that younger artists should study and closely observe in their methods, style, presentation, etc. on how to properly build success in the music industry cause they have done it the best out nearly any other artist(s).

  8. Maybe the “straight BS” was a bad call…I didn’t mean it like that, it just seems ironic and counterproductive to encourage originality the way you’re doing it. Another quote…”If you need an example for how to live, then you just shouldn’t have been born” – Lil Wayne. Don’t look to previous artists, because they did what they did without anyone to look to.

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