I hate to make another dre/aftermath thread....

[Don Seer]

in all fairness tho.... the only things that i feel really let down by are

Eve and a lot of the early Aftermath people don't really count in my book because they never really put much out and we werent publicly promised things.. those we were for are..

Last Emperor
King T
Hittman
i can't remember who from the Aftermath Presents.. CD we were promised LPs from apart from King T if any so there may be one or two more.

What Aftermath does have is a output->sales ratio that is unrivalled.. and denting that may be a risk. but it also means the label is very fickle.


Snoop seems to have a lot more weight in getting his product out.. be it sub-standard or whatever.. probably because he's shopped for a deal for each project and isnt locked into one situation.

[Lincoln]

My thoughts are this:

Dre doesn't really know all the ins and outs of running a label.  He's worked CLOSELY with Jimmy Iovine ever since he left NWA! Most people don't realize Jimmy distributed some of Deathrow's stuff, too.  Jimmy, and Suge, always handled the business side of things.  Suge's made the comments before that Dre isn't very intelligent, and doesn't make smart business moves.  I don't know if that's true or not, but it may be... or it may just be Suge insulting Dre again.  

Jimmy RUNS things at Interscope.  Anybody that doesn't think so is kidding themselves.  Dre's said before, and Em, that they let Jimmy hear things, and if he doesn't like the album, they redo stuff.  Jimmy is the final word, because he's the one that pays for all the production costs of making and distributing the album.  He's not going to put out something that won't make money, and Dre's already lost them money a couple times... The Wash, Anyone?  

that's what i've been saying, you take a lot of business classes to?

[M Dogg™]

This whole thing with business though, that's what hip-hop has become, and it's sad. Because in the old school, it wasn't safe to put out albums. Artist were begging for deals, and labels saw hip-hop as a new market, so they took chances on some. Some put out great albums, Boogie Down Production, some sold, Young MC, and others did both, NWA. What's good for a label, selling of course. Shit, you want artist creativity, Rawkis give full freedom, but little promotion and you wouldn't sell much. Want to be a superstar, go to an Interscope label, (Aftermath, Ruff Ryder, Shady) and have someone dictate what your album is. Which is better, well even 'Pac, a man that was fully artist said, money is the way the game should go. But when is too much too much. Artist can't be free to put out work, and someone like Dre is swarmed with many artist trying to get him to do a song because it's a sure hit. Like anything else, I wanted to see the Rakim album out. Dre and Rakim sound too good to be true. And in a major label world, it is. Eminem cannot release an album without the MTV song, Snoop needs the Neptunes, and I don't oppose either for doing their thing, because it's marketing. You put money in something, you want more money back. Rakim I think would have sold. The streets were buzy. But it's not a safe bet since Truth flopped, and Rakim was in the lead for that. So in the end, Rakim is seen as gamble, and his song with Jay-Z on Blueprint 2 didn't cause much talk. So why not drop him. But it's a sad day for hip-hop, when the so-called God of Rap is drop because he is a gamble.  

[Lincoln]

This whole thing with business though, that's what hip-hop has become, and it's sad. Because in the old school, it wasn't safe to put out albums. Artist were begging for deals, and labels saw hip-hop as a new market, so they took chances on some. Some put out great albums, Boogie Down Production, some sold, Young MC, and others did both, NWA. What's good for a label, selling of course. Shit, you want artist creativity, Rawkis give full freedom, but little promotion and you wouldn't sell much. Want to be a superstar, go to an Interscope label, (Aftermath, Ruff Ryder, Shady) and have someone dictate what your album is. Which is better, well even 'Pac, a man that was fully artist said, money is the way the game should go. But when is too much too much. Artist can't be free to put out work, and someone like Dre is swarmed with many artist trying to get him to do a song because it's a sure hit. Like anything else, I wanted to see the Rakim album out. Dre and Rakim sound too good to be true. And in a major label world, it is. Eminem cannot release an album without the MTV song, Snoop needs the Neptunes, and I don't oppose either for doing their thing, because it's marketing. You put money in something, you want more money back. Rakim I think would have sold. The streets were buzy. But it's not a safe bet since Truth flopped, and Rakim was in the lead for that. So in the end, Rakim is seen as gamble, and his song with Jay-Z on Blueprint 2 didn't cause much talk. So why not drop him. But it's a sad day for hip-hop, when the so-called God of Rap is drop because he is a gamble.  

thats called the real world. Cash Rules Everything Around Me, word to Wu-Tang Clan

[M Dogg™]

thats called the real world. Cash Rules Everything Around Me, word to Wu-Tang Clan

I ain't doubting that, in fact i mention that. I just think that hip-hop should be real, not label ran, which will never happen now. Before, labels gambled because hip-hop was raw. Now it's a business, and it's sad. I'm not saying it not real, I'm saying it's sad, especially with the latest news about Ra. His suppose to the be the Rappin' Allah, the God of Rap. Now his out just like that. It's a  sad day in hip-hop. Not saying it ain't real, just sad to see it go like this. As someone from the streets, and enjoys more streets music, and doesn't let labels control what I listen to, I feel it's sad. Maybe someone else will feel different, but I only speak for me.