Lil Wayne Sells a Milli in a Week, While Usher Hates
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A post by "Blake the Megalomaniac" To see more posts click here |
First up, Lil Wayne, fresh off being the first artist in three years to sell a million copies in just one week, thanking all his fans for his successes. In my opinion, his success was no accident. His formula of being as prolific as Wilt Chamberlain when it comes to making and appearing on music equates to a closer relationship with the consumer and that equals sales regardless of the economy or music leaking.
But now Usher is livid that his record has virtually flopped in comparison to his last album, Confessions and in contrast to Tha Carter III. Call me complacent but why can’t Urrsher just be happy that he is doing what he loves in creating music, be happy he is already an R & B icon, and let his music speak for itself. Not to oversimplify things but apparently people didn’t like it or it would have sold more. Right? It has little to do with his new manager or new handling team.
From the dailynews.com:
But now that Usher’s new album has been slow off the mark, he’s blaming Medina, say sources. True, the CD, “Here I Stand,” debuted at number one. But Usher is said to have been disappointed that it sold 433,000 in its first week, compared with his last CD, 2004’s “Confessions,” which had sales of 1.1 million in its first seven days.
Medina, who’s an expert at holding artists’ hands, reassured Usher that his latest sales were nothing to be ashamed of, considering the current climate of the record business. But then, three weeks later, Lil Wayne’s album, “Tha Carter III,” sold more than one million copies its first week out.
Lil Wayne not only outsold Urrrsher, but also the diva Mariah Carey (Cannon?). According to a popular and lucrative website that you’ve never heard of, Lil Wayne had approximately 400 completed songs to choose from when deciding on the track list for Tha Carter III. Why so much recording? According to Wayne…
“I’ve found out that I love doing music for others. You’re making
history when you’re making music with somebody else, for somebody else.
Plus, I find that when I do that, it doesn’t get leaked. And when it
does, it doesn’t do what it does when it’s one of my songs. I get a
real joy. And it’s another reason why I was able to wait so long to put
another album out — because these features keep me eating and making
money.
A lot of people told me not to jump on all these features, people like Pimp C, R.I.P. and my big brother Nelly.
But I don’t listen to anybody. I’m different, and you’ll understand
that by the time I’m finished. I breathe nothing else, I smell nothing
else, I care about nothing else but music, my family and God. It’s like
my child.” {SOURCE}
Strong.
Weird.
Bang that source link to read the interview with Wayne this last quote was ripped from in its entirety. and udothedishes….
allow me to quote a line from my favorite band which sums up how all artist should look at the music they make.
” I am a music lover
and some how i get paid
This song would still exist
if no money was made
That’s the difference
I summed it up in a sentence”
-311
If they all made music with this in mind, they would sell more albums. Much Respect to all the real artist out there. Keep up the good work and stack that cheese.
i understand lil wayne’s strategy and approach to his features but i do not agree with it. saturation does not equate to hunger, drive, or being “hot.” take a fuckin break. when you put out as much music as he has, the lines between albums and guest appearences become blurred and artistic growth becomes harder to see. he has done it for a year or two and does not appear to be slowing down, so you end up with a five year period that sounds all the same.
I disagree because if what you’re putting out in that five year period shows just how far you come since being a HotBoy and even since Tha Carter II, then that’s fine. You’re 25 and near the top of your game. Don’t take a year or two year hiatus just because “it’s time to take a break.” You’re a rapper now rap and if everything or almost everything is at a really high level then now you’ve done what no one else has tried or done and been successful at doing.
I agree with YBR on this one. I’m not a huge wayne fan, but I can say that he’s stayed on top of a fickle industry for quite some time now. In the days when an artist is here today and gone tomorrow why not make the most of the time you have in the spotlight. There are two thoughts here as well.
you can A: Take time off in order to reinvent yourself and show a new side to adoring fans hoping that they “GET” the new spin you tried.
Or B: Stay relevant the whole time and never take time off. By nature your work will adapt to what the public wants and you don’t have to reinvent anything. You evolve with the listener and never have to guess or hope the dig what you’re gunna do next.
Both have some risks, but the latter, choice B gives you a way to ride a wave of momentum and continue to make money the whole way.
Usher’s last album was really well received and this one apparently was not. Maybe if he stayed relevant while working on a new album he would have had more success.
These days the trend is to download “singles” rather than albums for the most part. If you dig a style enough of a particular artist then you may be more inclined to buy the whole album. But when you come out with only albums, with little to showcase your talent in between, people don’t want to spend the 15$ of their hard earned money on a chance that only 3 tracks will be worth it. I know I’d rather just download the single.
Weezy F. Baby could be setting the industry straight by actually delivering what the people want. He always be the same because he’s always finding ways to change and stay relevant.
Let’s just hope he stays out of jail. Or else his next album might be out in 10-20 rather than 1-2 years.
i see what you guys are saying but i can’t buy it. i for one want artists to make music for themselves, not for me. if an artist steps into the booth and says “let me give the people what they want” he already lost. i ain’t budging on that. to me, he is not changing, he is coming off as stale and lazy. i don’t want to hear his metaphors anymore, and listen to him talk about being sick like diseases and. tell me a story and stop runing hot r&b tracks (you will never convince me that verse on “girls all around the world” deserved to make the song. i understand the concept of dumbing down for the audience, but the listeners have to meet the artist half way or we are going to continue this trend of non- groundbreaking music. not every album has to blow up the first week. chances are thats off hype alone. there are some first week giants out there that have already been forgotten about or will soon be. some classic albums flopped, but it may take a little bit to set in. this whole notion of “get your paper” is ruining the music, plain and simple. wayne is no longer (never really was) at a high level in my eyes because i feel like he is saying to himself “i already have this platfrom and fanbase, so now my name alone is going to sell. so let me drop this wack ass 15 bars and go the bank.” this disrespectful to me and taking my ears for granted.
it all goes back to what you’re here for and what you expect your artist’s motives to be. do guys truly think is musci will stand the test of time? cuz i definately don’t. I don’t want to feel embarrassed listening to my generations music 25 years from now and thats how i feel it’ll be.
“I ain’t budging”
Okay, by you saying that it lets me know, off the bat, that you’re a music snob. You’re set in your ways like an old, rickety grandpa who hates on rock music. I know you’ve been listening to rap for a long time since MC Ren, and I respect your opinion but you sit on your high horse with your opinion of what “good music” is and you close your mind off. I’ve got news for you, if you think Wayne is dumbing down his music on Tha Carter III then your an idiot. You’re confusing Tyga and Soulja Boy Tell Em and their interpretation of music with Wayne’s. He is more than disease and beasts.
“We are going to continue this trend of non- groundbreaking music.”
If you think every musician let alone every rapper is going to be groundbreaking every time they put something out then your naive. No artist in the history of music since people used solely bongos and their voice has broken new ground with every track or every CD. Not Joe Budden or The Roots.
“but the listeners have to meet the artist half way”
I will admit that not everything Wayne has put his concepts on is of high quality but his lastest offering is above average and better than everything put so far this year with a few exceptions.
I feel we are meeting him halfway by saying all right you put out a good CD, one of the first good cd’s in a long time so you know how we will repay you? We’ll buy it instead of Downloading it for free, 1 million in the first week.
Simply put I feel as if we’ve gotten away from the point of the post. He put out a stellar CD. Regardless if he takes a break or not and I feel regardless of whether his label bought 300,000 copies, which I don’t believe they did because he is still outselling everyone in his 4th week. I’ll say it…artists put out music for themselves but in the grand scheme of things they do it for their fans.
Li Li Li Li lick it like a lolli pop
I can’t believe I just read that entire debate
C C Caaallll me so I can make it juicy for ya
a music snob? because I demand a little bit of passion from artists and expect them to be in the game for reasons other than the dollar? I have no problems with that. Look, Lil Wayne is a solid emcee when he is focused and he put up a solid offering with the Carter 3. But calling yourself the best rapper alive comes with a responsibility that I do not think he is living up to. I understand that every album is not going to shake the world but I will tell you that artists like the Roots approach every album like their baby and make sure that they are giving their every effort to put out a classic. The album is the artist in my eyes. I simply feel that Lil Wayne’s mixtapes show no glaring differences from his lps. I just think artists today don’t approach albums as whole anymore. Yea you got 100 songs recorded but you can’t just select 15 tracks and expect to come out with a cohesive project. Usher took some time off, got married and released an album. And without really knowing about his personal life, I probably could have guessed he found someone judging by his latest album. The public may not have grasped it fully, but in the long run and when its all said and done, I think this album will be considered solid amongst his other releases. Along with albums, performing is number one on the job description and somehow that got lost in hip-hop. I know i’m knitpicking at Wayne but if he is the face of rap right now, then I see some problems. If you’re in it to be hot right now and stack some cheese, then do it, there is a place for you. But I don’t feel like his work will stand the test of time and a new trendsetter will come along shortly. Everything just seems to be about short term exposure rather than long term immortality. I get that this is the MUSIC BUSINESS. But it is not a business first. We’re not selling office supplies here, it should be about art and fully striving to make something groundbreaking.
—-”If you’re in it to be hot right now and stack some cheese, then do it,
there is a place for you. But I don’t feel like his work will stand the
test of time and a new trendsetter will come along shortly. Everything
just seems to be about short term exposure rather than long term
immortality.”
I would love to agree with your statement, however if I’m not mistaken Wayne has been making a Ground Breaking Living at this since he was like 16. And if you stack his entire collection of music dating all the way back to the Hotboys album I think you’ll truly find a rapper who has completely reinvented himself and matured right in front of our very eyes. In your same example of Usher finding someone and so his album and music changed, Wayne is letting us into his life.
He still F***s mad girls, does coke, eats mushrooms, smokes weed all day and doesn’t give a F*** about anything but rhyming. He could do freestyles to a back beat of pots and pans falling on the ground and it would sound tight. He may grow up and change and realize he needs to take a different
approach, but he’s only 25 yrs old. (Usher will be 30 this year) It may be a saturated market with “everything Wayne” , but that is his life, He is Hip Hop for now and until someone else breaks new ground Wayne will continue his choke hold on listeners wallets.
I was on a boating trip this weekend and my boy popped in a new web site mix tape of Wayne that I’ve never heard. The beats were on point, the lyrics were clever and while sipping a corona in the sun on a boat, I enjoyed every minute of his songs. I don’t gravitate towards hip hop, and I def. don’t think Wayne is the best rapper alive, but he’s the face of the industry now. He’s gotten the ” Stuff White people Like” Stamp of approval.
But for all the people in the know who dig socially conscious rap, Wayne isn’t for you and he will never win your heart. You have to take it for what’s it worth. He not trying to change the minds of struggling youths or make people aware of their feelings. He’s a rhymer. He is great at thinking quickly and making a rhyme.
If you’re looking for Wayne to help you find out more about your self through by relating to his music you’re searching in the worst place possible.
Unless you by chance f*** hoes, eat mushroom, do coke, smoke weed, carry guns, and tattoo your entire body and face just cuz’ you can. Then you can relate to Wayne and seek his advice on life. But if you are in that lifestyle and you’re not Wayne ( Or Famous at all ) You’re F***’d
In any case, keep being ahead of your time and listen to all the artists who do it for you. I love when music is relevant to my life too. If you ever ask me who I’d want to listen to given one choice in hip hop, Outkast would be what I’d say before you ended the question. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not trying to get ” a milli a milli a milli ” and ” let her lick me like a loli pop” along the way.
No, you’re not a music snob because “you demand a little passion from artists and expect them to be in the game for reasons other than the dollar,” you’re a music snob because, in a open debate, you’re the guy that closes his mind to other’s opinions because you feel your word is law. As I wrote earlier, we have taken our comments in totally a different direction from where this post was intended. Regardless, of his mixtapes or his refusal to take time off, he put out a good CD. It is cohesive. It isn’t pretentious in it’s goals. I don’t think he should apologize for putting out work that the mainstream liked. But I will for him in an attempt to end this debate, Sorry. On another note, Usher’s CD sounds completely and utterly like every R&B CD released in the last 10 years. Onto the next post for me. Godspeed.
I agree with the reasoning behind what was Sheiks original post I believe. The rest of the debate got out of control. I do think Lil Wayne is playing himself out. I don’t blame him because he is in the business of making money and he no doubt doing that. His metaphors are sick and he’s the best out right now, but I am already tired of hearing him. Whether it’s on every single remix or having his songs played on ten different stations, when his songs come on I have begun to change the channel. The rhyming skills he has are great, and it seems like he pulls lines outta nowhere, but his style is the same on every song. Even on the €œslow jams€ he just raps slower. He doesn’t really change up his message, its all about him and making money and banging browads. Don’t get me wrong his songs are catchy but the underlying reason for Sheiks original post I believe is that in a year all we will say is €œYa, I remember a lot of people bought Carter 3€ or €œYa, I have that in my collection,€ but that will be it. Once the album runs its course in 3 or 4 months it will be taken out of CD player never to return. It’s not an album that will go down as one of the greatest, simply a culmination of what we have known for a year or so. That right now Lil Wayne rules mainstream hip hop.
Well Said B EZ
There will always be two camps when it comes to any rapper: 1) those who like him and 2) those who hate him. I personally think that Tha Carter 3 is a great album and it’s not all about f’n hoes, and cars and bling. You can hear Lil Wayne taking a different approach mixing up beats mixing up delivery and mixing messages. I am obviously among the first camp.
Now just because you don’t like/love an artist does not mean you have to hate on him. You don’t like Wayne, don’t listen to Wayne. It’s pretty simple. Everyone is entitled to there opinion but that doesn’t mean you declare every other opinion as being false. Let me remind you of the subjective nature of opinions…there is no one right.
Regarding his saturation. I don’t disagree with the fact that he’s been on a million record in the last few years. However, I do not really believe that his motivation was to “drop this wack ass 15 bars and go the bank.” I think he just loves being in the studio. Rapping is he life. Why would you take a break or vacation from breathing?
Let’s also not forget that this is Wayne’s FIRST hit cd. All his other cd’s did okay but this is his first monster album. And, quite frankly, he deserves it after how much time he put in. 9 years of rapping before it happend. Why hate on his success? If Joe Budden or the Roots went platinum in their first week, would you hate on them?
lil wayne is the best rapper alive.