Country Grammar
written by JusHH
written by JusHH
Something’s not right here. Did it fall off? Did it die? Is it just a generational thing? Regardless, Hip-Hop seems to be in a constant state of emergency and everyone is pointing the finger at someone else. New York blames the South. The South blames the “haters”. Lyricists blame the catchy hooks. Executives blame the downloader's. No matter which side of the fence you fall on, you recognize that Hip-Hop is missing something. And everyone has the same question? How did it come to this? So for those on their “Da Vinci Code-like” quest, looking for someone to blame, look no further than St. Louis. It’s Nelly’s fault.
Rewind your mind back to 2000. Ruff Ryders were leading the pack. A white boy from Detroit was slowly becoming the most talked about rapper on the planet. 50 got shot and Lil’ Wayne was still a Hot Boy. Our relationship with album sales was limited at best. We knew some albums sold more than others but it was never something that we particularly cared about. One’s lyrical prowess, not his sales, was still the crucial component to a rapper’s success. For most major record labels, Hip-Hop was still seen as a niche market and a multi-platinum album was just a bonus to boost the bottom line. There was no cookie cutter formula for success either, so many different types of artists shared success that everyone still had a place. Then one day, our seemingly perfect blend of beats and rhymes were interrupted…
I’m goin’ down, down baby, Yo’ street in a Range Rover
Street sweeper baby, cocked ready to let it go
Shimmy, shimmy cocoa what? Listen to it pound
Light it up and take a puff, pass it to me now.
Huh? Shimmy, shimmy what? Who was this fool trying to make a nursery rhyme gangster? And he’s from where? St. Louis? PALEEZE! Turn the station. Hip-Hop heads across the nation quickly dismissed this as just another one-hit gimmick that would soon disappear. We didn’t even get a chance to even learn how to spell “Nelly” before…
He sold what?
Nelly’s debut Country Grammar sold nine million albums worldwide.
He wasn’t part of a clique or put on by an existing rapper. No previous features. Not even from an area of the country that people knew about. All Nelly had was, “Down, down, baby.” Personally, I didn’t even know the album was in stores until I saw an add congratulating the Derrty MC for going 9X’s Platinum. They say that an album that sells 5 million albums can generate $60 million dollars for the record company, so you do the math. I don’t care what an executive might think of Hip-Hop, $100 million dollars will make you adjust your priorities.
Out went the Hip-Hop labels being run independently. A&R’s couldn’t get their “Brown Sugar” on and try and find that next great talent – They needed to find the new “NELLY”. New rappers had a harder time getting a deal if they didn’t fit that cookie cutter mold. Rappers with a deal found it tougher getting their lead singles past the “suits and ties” if their hooks weren’t catchy enough. You could forget about giving an artist three singles and accompanying videos to build his fan base. His album was getting pushed back if the 1st song couldn’t guarantee platinum. Going Gold used to mean something. Not anymore. If that album didn’t sell a million, there’s a chance that we may never hear from him again.
You all know what happened from here. A collective “dumbing down” of the music ensued. One gimmick was substituted for another and rappers were as dispensable as their songs. Seemingly untalented acts shot to the top of the charts and others yearned for the “good ol’ days” when being “nice on the mic” was all that you needed. Everyone was mad; either at the sales they weren’t getting or the respect that they weren’t receiving.
“Country Grammar” was the original “Ringtone” rap song. The funny thing is Nelly is actually a better rapper than people would give him credit for. Nellyville, his sophomore effort was a pretty well balanced and substance filled album. He was just an unknown dude, from an unknown city trying to get put on. He found a creative way to flip a song and hoped it would catch on and get him and his people a deal. Far be it from him that he would effectively change the landscape of how Hip-Hop was produced and sold.
$100 million dollars can do that.
10 comments:
While I share your frustration for the cocoa puff, ren and ten, ringtone rappers I disagree that Nelly is at fault. You point out the part that the record execs played in what was being pumped out to the people, but what about the people's responsibility in rejecting it? As fans we have the power to say what is hot and we embraced Nelly and all his country grammar with open arms. My mom loves Nelly, she actually buys the clean versions of all his albums and anything he's on. And you know what, that's fine, the same way my little cousins listening to Hannah Montana. But trust that I'm not gonna be rockin her in my car. If the fans feel like the music has no place, or a very limited place, in Hip-Hop then they need to be more aggressive in asserting that.
We need to stop falling back on the excuse that the record execs put it out there and we can't resist the catchiness. Now I think Nelly is pretty damn whack but I'm actually proud of his success. Not cuz he duped all of us, and yes, did bring a certain change to the game. But he's a black man making honest money, putting his people on, and not talking about how he used to sell drugs to feed his kids on every song. That's a change too but one that I think we can all embrace to an extent.
Powerful comment #24.
I agree 100% with not blaiming Nelly, but having the people take responsibility. Remember, people, not Nelly, bought 9 million albums.
- My name is D-NYCE.
Please read the last paragraph again. I'm not mad at Nelly. I'm actually a fan of his, as evidenced by my purchase of Nellyville. However i think his success is the catalyst for the change that hip-hop went through over the past 8 years.
I don't think he duped us at all. I think he wanted to make a hit record and his creativity worked. Its just that it worked so damn well that it changed the way corp. execs packaged and sold the music.
E.I.
Also, i get the whole "we can reject" certain things. but how many quality artists get shelved in lieu of these "catchy gimmick" artists?
How many times have we got behind an artist only to see them fall on their faces trying to make a "club hit" that was totally out of their character?
We as fans do have certain levels of control and the game is changing but these labels are so egregious with the way that they exploit the music, its crazy.
The art in the music is all but gone and it seems to be all about money now. I do blame the execs for that change because they don't develop artists anymore. They don't promote originality and creativity anymore. I mean I can talk about Joe Budden until my face turns blue but if dude can't even get a deal, what can I do as a fan?
its hard not to get pissed off.
Nah I feel you JusHH. But a lot of these ringtone rappers are creative. They make catchy songs that people wanna dance to. Why shouldn't that be rewarded to some degree? I'm about lyrics which is why I can't appreciate them, clearly you are too. But as pissed off as I am and as much as I miss my type of hip hop I can't justify blaming them. I blame my homeboy when he comes back home talkin bout "I love that Shawty Lo joint." What the f is that? back in the day when a rapper was whck they got they're just desserts in the form of a diss or no play (with the exception of Chi Ali cuz he got hooked up through Black Sheep). These days money dictates everything, so if people are spending money on this shit then they must want it. But there are still a few of us who would rather hear a good rhyme on a track than a good time on a track.
Touche like a muthaf$&!@ on that!
Hmmmm...I think Nelly is partially to blame, but more the people that decided that the "Nelly formula" was the only formula. The only difference is that Nelly can actually rap, and for the most part has maintained a certain consistency throughout his music. Jushh, I cosign this post.
However, I'm going to go ahead and blame Diddy as well. I know that seems random, but I don't really remember folks actually saying "this the club banger right here" and "this one's for the ladies" and "we're back on that grimey" until Diddy came along to label songs on albums.
What happened to the folks that could do it all? What happened to the club hit from artists that were lyrically inclined? The bums they are signing now, they're only good for recognizing a hot beat and writing a catchy hook (hell, probably with assistance). My biggest issue is just that these fools can't rap!
Blame Diddy? hmmm... I blame him for all the crap that existed in 1997 (Mic Geronimo and A+ doing videos in shiny suits? Not to mention the Jay-Z sunshine video (lol)) However, I felt that DMX put an end to that the very next year... there really wasn't a cookie cutter "diddy" formula that still exists today the same way there's that "nelly" formula... But for that one year, whatever "Puffy" did, the world followed.
Yeah, that Sunshine video was awfully colorful. Roy, G, and Biv showed up in that joint.
I think Diddy's formula was more for CDs than hit songs, so I'll agree w/ you on that.
Ahhh... I loved this. Nelly should read it...
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