By L.D.Williams Jr.
Hip Hop is very much like a professional sport. Hip Hop artists refer to the industry as the game. Competition is a main component of the game. Several artists compete for chart position, ring-tone sales, album sales, notoriety and publicity. The struggle recording artist deal with is similar to what an athlete deals with who competes for max dollar contracts, statistics, accolades, wins, and championships.
In professional sports the drive to attain desired results has led blissful marriages to turn into acrimonious divorces. When Damon Stoudamire, a point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, was placed on the inactive list in favor of rookie point guard Mike Conley the tenured NBA veteran worked quickly to seek a buyout or a trade. The New Jersey Nets were touted by fans and analysts alike to be playoff contenders in the Eastern conference this year. Thus far the Nets are off to a sub .500 start (20-27 as of press time good for third in the Atlantic division) and Jason Kidd the franchise's star player actively seeking a trade with the New Jersey Nets vehemently trying to accommodate him. These recent rumblings still pale in comparison to last summer when the Minnesota Timberwolves fully committed to a rebuilding job when they sent their alpha male and franchise face Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for an assortment of players and draft picks.
This trend of change is not just limited to professionals on the hardwood but also to professionals that play the hip hop game. Pitbull, the Miami MC that is responsible for M.I.A.M.I (Money Is a Major Issue), Money Is Still A Major Issue, and El Mariel has an unusual way of battling his label TVT records. On February 4th, 2008 he appeared on Los Angeles based radio show Big Boy's Neighborhood on KPWR 105.9 and he encouraged his fans not to purchase his latest effort The Boatlift. "Download it. Burn it" he told the Los Angeles based show. Apparently the Cuban- American rapper is disgruntled with TVT Records' lack of promotion.
"They didn't promote Lil Jon. They didn't promote Ying Yang," said Pitbull. Pitbull said of the experience "It's like Music Industry 101". Pitbull is not the only rap artist that has had a pupil like learning experience in the music industry.
Young Buck who is a G- Unit soldier made noise when he appeared on stage with Cash Money artist Lil Wayne in Chattanooga, Tennessee and announced that he was resigning to Cash Money. The announcement came as a shock for several reasons. Young Buck's previous tenure at Cash Money Records was largely uneventful. He then left Cash Money Records around the same time that Juvenile did which was around 2001. After a stint on Juvenile's UTP imprint Young Buck went on to considerable fame as a member of the 50 Cent led G-Unit. Young Buck was also the focal point of rumors regarding an impending departure from G Unit last summer when he was rumored to be negotiating with Czar Entertainment. His manager Sha Money XL had to release a statement to quell that rumor. Now barely six months later the G Unit South representative is sending shockwaves through the industry yet again with his alignment to Cash Money Records.
The subsequent comments by Young Buck during an interview that he gave 98.3 following the signing also leaves one to question how happy Young Buck is in G Unit. While he still pledges unwavering loyalty: "At the end of the day, I still remain loyal to G-Unit. If that call comes for me to work or be wherever, I'm still there," Buck says. "But at this point, my biggest focus is Cashville Records. I feel like 50's doing what he's got to do. He's being more focused on 50, so Buck's gotta be more focused on Buck". It is also clear that there is some dissention in G-Unit. "My key is, I always stay down for those that's down for me. It's hard to be down with somebody when there's no communication," Buck said. "It makes me feel like, 'What's going on?'. I don't really understand why a lot of things is what it is, but I don't have time to figure out why."
With his own record label called Cashville records, a distribution deal with Sony BMG, a DVD release and an album called Product of the South one has to wonder how Young Buck can stay fully committed to G Unit.
While Young Buck's announcement was a shocker there had been tremors on the Young Buck/ G Unit front for quite some time. The shock was more who Buck was aligning himself with versus just the fact that he had developed an outside relationship elsewhere.
A shock that came from out of nowhere was when Devin the Dude opted to not renew his contract and leave Rap A Lot Records.
Devin the Dude had been a member of the famed Rap A Lot family ever since 1993. During his time at Rap A Lot he recorded four studio albums: Devin the Dude, Just Tryin to Live, To Tha Extreme, and most recently Waiting to Inhale. In addition to his work as a solo artist he also contributed to group projects with Scarface's Facemob and his group Da Odd Squad. In addition to his contributions as a recording artist he also worked as a deejay and a producer.
Despite leaving his label home of almost fifteen years Devin the Dude released a statement through his publicist insisting that the split between the Houston MC and the legendary label was indeed an amicable one.
"Rap-A-Lot has been my family for a long time and there's no bad blood at all. But change is a part of life and I feel like this is the time to make a change and focus more on the business side of my career, I've had a nice run so I'd like to develop artists and give some of these other cats out here a platform to shine"
Devin the Dude is currently preparing to release an album with his Coughee Brothaz brethren called Smoke Sessions Volume 1 nationally via the BCD Music Group. The album is expected to hit the shelves April 1st.
In hip hop much like in professional sports nothing is guaranteed. The era of the Larry Birds, Magic Johnsons, and Joe Dumars individuals who played their entire professional careers with one team are long over. Free agency came in to effect and changed the landscape of sport. It is more difficult to point to one or two things and attribute the shift in hip hop as several factors can come onto play.
However one thing is certain in the world of sports and hip hop the one constant that is active in both arenas is change.
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