So what do you really think about those guys who say they're not going to curse anymore?
They're just saying it. They're not going to really do it.
Yeah, it's hard to imagine Ghostface is going to stop cursing, especially considering his last couple of records.
The peanut gallery: "Nobody even cares what he does." "Who's listening to him, anyway?" "That was the '90s, B. Kids don't even know Ghostface anymore." "The streets are different now," says Yayo. "Guys like Ghostface don't matter. They don't. They had a run, but it's over."
But can't he just make a great record, even if it doesn't sell, and we can appreciate it as listeners, as hip-hop fans?No, because a great record is embraced and enjoyed by the public. And it's played in cars and clubs.
What if it sells a couple hundred thousand copies, isn't that valid? Or does it have to sell millions for you to take it seriously?In my camp, a couple hundred thousand records is a failure. From my perspective, if I sell 200,000 copies, after selling 12 million records, it's considered terrible.
But maybe he's trying to make a different kind of record?
What, the kind people don't buy?
No, one with incredible, detailed storytelling that's moving and powerful, and isn't dependent on some obvious hook.
Look, I understand all that. But if you're on a major record label, and he [Ghostface] is, and you sell a couple hundred thousand records, that was a failure. Your f***in' photos and videos aren't recouped with 200,000 copies sold.
OK, but can you at least acknowledge that a commercial flop, like, say, [Ghostface's] Supreme Clientele, can still be an artistic achievement?
"He didn't even write that album, man," says Yayo, his eyes narrowing.
What?
Yayo: "He didn't write it. That kid from Far Rockaway -- Superb -- he wrote that record. You know Superb from Far Rock?"
No, and that's a pretty serious charge.
[50 quickly jumps back in] I don't know nothing about any of that. He's the writer. I'm not gonna say he ain't write it. But it still didn't work! I mean, when I make music, I make it with the intention that the world's gonna enjoy it. I have music that I feel like is really good music, but I haven't released it. There's things playing at my house right now that's never gonna be played on the radio. And that music isn't out there, because I didn't feel like enough people would actually respond to it.
http://www.spin.com/features/magazin...7/0707_50cent/
