yeah, cla**ic example of influences ... the famous first sugarhill release. Big Hank was rhyming lyrics from Casanova Fly, even spelling his name in the lyrics without changing it ... nobody notices or took care and it became a legendary all-time hit.
same for grandmaster & the fourious five's first hit, actually just a recording of Melle Mel ... without any of the others involved ...
or check the "book of raplists" to see how many cats wrote rhymes for others ...
hiphop (in the media) is just nowadays rock'n'roll ...
what MTV is doing in africa is only extending their activities to another continent, and they allready expect u to be happy that the content was adapted to african clichés more than african needs.
what happens on the media side isn't the whole thing. u just have to do some research on the net.
www.myspace.com for example hosts many good artists and u can usually listen to their tracks right away online ... thats a dope resource to catch up with some actual artists who dont get all the media hype!
i think SA is still not as "polluted" as we are here in europe, takin the US as a role modell since the 50ies ... and i hope they will find their own way to spread over the globe ...
cheap CD producing and MP3s as well as the promoting through the internet should help nowadays ...
And record companies start opening theoir offices in SA (i heard K7/BBE is )
there is also the problem that on one hand it would be great to re-diffuse the old yo mtv raps shows, show more documentaries about hiphop ... on the other there is just as much black people who see whats on mtv and just want to do the same with no restrictions and say "why create something new and original and complicated to sell when the global ma** production model works" ... that's why we have to keep on promoting our shit too and create a balance ...
some are clever, and use different names for different approaches to discussion topics, like kool keith creating 8 alter ego (or was it more now). it made him a creative star in the media instead of becoming a controversial mc.
he is just playing with the media, obviously and in a clever way .... that's the way if u wanna play in the media while having serious topics. u gotta package them in an interesting way ...
SA might need a few commercial cats to put SA on the global music map.
remember that besides run dmc, flash and public enemy its also sucka MCs like Vanilla Ice (or mc hammer) who outsold most others and brought hiphop on such a financial level .... (vanilla was even even a "good" rapper before, opening for tupac and other)
but nowadays its about becoming a f***in supermilliardaire while the hiphop struggle back then consisted in putting out an album ...
Dplanets comment about Uk hiphop are right as well .... it just reflects my view too ... because the labels will give u the audiences money, but its the audience that gives u love for what u do for them, and that is what SA artists should be all about!
if u catch the crowds attention, then u can make as much money as u can play ... take a look at vadim. 268 tour days in a year! that's what i call respect for the crowd. he is literally givin up his "normal" life for hiphop and his music ...
"make as much money as u can play" ... that's a nice one ... in contradiction to "make as much money as the A&R and Marketing guys can get out of other peoples pockets"
i hope SA hiphop will have a brighter future than german hiphop ever had ...
