Is it because so much of his stuff has been on, relatively, "breezy" pop stuff? Whereas some of the stuff Kanye and Jay have been doing is seen as more "difficult" by the Top 40 listening public?
― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Friday, 2 September 2011 16:13 (twelve years ago) link
I mean, Wayne is no longer the pet project of the internet media machine, but that doesn't mean he's not still beloved by the people who aren't controling that narrative [read: non-white, teenaged, etc].
Like Twitter trending topics all day are just ppl posting about Wayne and YMCMB and Nicki and Drake.
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 16:34 (twelve years ago) link
kanye & jay are crossover artists w/ a rock crowd & id argue have lost a hold on a large portion of the rap & pop audiences
― D-40, Friday, 2 September 2011 16:36 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, i mean, for real, the last Kanye POP HIT was fucking "Heartless" in 2008.
I mean, dont judge popularity based on a narrative created by bearded white men who cried along to Elvis Costello records in college imo
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 16:38 (twelve years ago) link
rap stations are playing otis but it hasnt been burning up the charts all summer like '6'7'
― D-40, Friday, 2 September 2011 16:39 (twelve years ago) link
Even when Wayne's not on top of his game he's still got a Berry Gordy-level ear for the hit single. He picks He's all over TV and radio and he's been touring all year. Why is this so hard to understand? That his flow has slackened considerably doesn't make much difference commercially - all most workaday listeners ask is that it sounds good, or at least catchy.
― Melle Mel and the Coconuts (thewufs), Friday, 2 September 2011 17:01 (twelve years ago) link
it's ok whiney i never trusted you anyway ;)
― Armand Schaubroeck Ratfucker, Friday, 2 September 2011 17:06 (twelve years ago) link
idk i think selling 900k in this environment is an amazing feat period
― D-40, Friday, 2 September 2011 17:06 (twelve years ago) link
True - I was just on a chart website called UKMix that discusses album sales, Soundscan, etc. There's a thread on the top selling Hip-hop albums in the U.S. year by year, and 2011 YTD is dismal:
JAY-Z & KANYE WEST - Watch The Throne : 612,911 WIZ KHALIFA - Rolling Papers : 549,258 BAD MEETS EVIL - Hell: The Sequel EP : 463,012 LUPE FIASCO - Lasers : 457,560 BEASTIE BOYS - Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 : 308,520 BIG SEAN - Finally Famous : 189,740 PITBULL - Planet Pit : 174,150 LONELY ISLAND - Turtleneck & Chain : 167,517 MAYBACH MUSIC GROUP - Self Made Vol. 1 - 150,668 TECH N9NE - All 6's & 7's : 130,063
Only 2 of these albums have even sold enough copies to go gold. First week really is make-or-break for major label albums these days, and Wayne's shifting nearly a million copies despite a leak, mixed-to-bad reviews, a horrid economy, etc. Pretty impressive, even if the album itself isn't.
― Melle Mel and the Coconuts (thewufs), Friday, 2 September 2011 17:59 (twelve years ago) link
P fucking sad that the best albums on that list are the Beastie Boys and Tech N9ne
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 19:34 (twelve years ago) link
the beastie boys record is zzz but that list does make tech n9ne look p damn good
― D-40, Friday, 2 September 2011 19:37 (twelve years ago) link
i would listen to wiz, maybach, maybe even big sean before tech n9ne
― D-40, Friday, 2 September 2011 19:38 (twelve years ago) link
argh before beastie boys i mean
Tech N9ne number is the most interesting imo. Lil B can't break 5k but Tech N9ne can hit 100k? Where is that coming from? Are there similar undie rappers hitting say 50k?
― Jay-Z ft. Kanye 'Big Hat Club (Spiritual Big Hat Club Jazz Remix)' (a hoy hoy), Friday, 2 September 2011 19:45 (twelve years ago) link
fyi not listened to TN in what seems over 10 years, forgot he existed.
"Where is that coming from?"
Juggalos?
― Spottie_Ottie_Dope, Friday, 2 September 2011 19:57 (twelve years ago) link
tn came up in an underground that still bought records and still (to some extent) does. lil b is a creature of the internet in every way. his lack of sales is just "web phenom who gives shit away for free by the assload cant turn publicity into actual sales" part whatthefuckever.
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Friday, 2 September 2011 19:58 (twelve years ago) link
Love this thread title.
― _Rudipherous_, Friday, 2 September 2011 19:59 (twelve years ago) link
tech n9ne has been selling mad records for a while now
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:01 (twelve years ago) link
tech n9ne also tours places that no rapper would ever dream of stepping foot in. like helena, montana
― D-40, Friday, 2 September 2011 20:18 (twelve years ago) link
he basically tours constantly, and does it in flyover country
― D-40, Friday, 2 September 2011 20:19 (twelve years ago) link
I work in an environment in which I'm constantly exposed to top 40 radio against my will (student common areas, rec centers, pep rallies, etc), and Adele, Wayne, LMFAO, and Katy Perry are played non stop along with recurrents like "Empire State of Mind" and the two big 2010 Eminem singles. The rub is no one is passionate about any of them except Adele and Katy Perry. Last year I couldn't find a single student who admitted to liking the Em singles even a little bit yet there they were -- huge and ubiquitous, like A/C units in South Florida. For most people, depending on where they're exposed, music really is boutique ambience (i.e. gyms are loud, therefore "Love The Way You Lie" is perfect).
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:31 (twelve years ago) link
with the exception of the shitty santi white 2008 ca$h-in, the Beasties album is basically a fucking Rammellzzee album for old, weird heads dude. You're like 18 so I'll give you a pass tho
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:33 (twelve years ago) link
Today the student on staff who most likes hip-hop -- a Colombian whose favorite current artists are J. Cole and Lupe and who's cutting his own album lol -- loves "She Will"; thinks it's Wayne's best since the mid nineties mix tape days. On the other hand he despises "How to Love," "A Milli," and "Lollipop." I guess I'm asking -- who's buying this stuff if no one's passionate about it?
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:34 (twelve years ago) link
your sample size is small
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:35 (twelve years ago) link
dude sells out like 30 arenas a year (including in south florida!) -- there are plenty of ppl that are passionate about him
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:36 (twelve years ago) link
30 is prob conservative too
eh 47,000 student university -- it's a bitch to interview everyone.
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:36 (twelve years ago) link
i dont know anybody who's passionate about two and half men* but it seems to be doing aight
*except for scott seward
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Friday, 2 September 2011 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
ok but are there other undie guys pulling numbers like TN?
― Jay-Z ft. Kanye 'Big Hat Club (Spiritual Big Hat Club Jazz Remix)' (a hoy hoy), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
you can go to a concert and not be passionate about the performer -- I do it all the time!
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
if in doubt blame seward
kids i student-taught last year loved wayne; he was the standard/elder statesman figure for good rapping to them.
― horseshoe, Friday, 2 September 2011 20:38 (twelve years ago) link
Tech N9ne is basically in a scene of one. He built his own enormous fan base grass-roots stylee to the point where people like Yelawof and Busta are coming to HIM. He's like the KISS of rap.
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:39 (twelve years ago) link
mine still love Jay-Z and Kanye; can't convince them that Kanye sucks.
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:39 (twelve years ago) link
an interesting corollary to this is that wayne really doesn't get enough credit for being the earliest adopters of drake & nicki minaj. you could argue that those three are the biggest stars in rap/r&b right now. it's been such a huge boon to wayne's longevity and career that the other two have been mega successful. and that's aside from getting whatever cut of their earnings.
remember when it was a such a huge deal when jay was made president of def jam? did he have one success on par with either drake or minaj?
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:40 (twelve years ago) link
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, September 2, 2011 4:39 PM (17 seconds ago) Bookmark
lol you idiot
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:41 (twelve years ago) link
what
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:41 (twelve years ago) link
how about Rihanna and Kanye West for starters?
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:42 (twelve years ago) link
he didn't give a shit about kanye!
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:42 (twelve years ago) link
he was literally the first person to give a shit about kanye
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:43 (twelve years ago) link
my reading of the situation is that kanye pretty much forced his way into a recording contract w/ the roc & that before then they would continually clown his rapping
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:44 (twelve years ago) link
yeah i am pretty sure if anyone is responsible for carter its the fake father of beyonces child
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Friday, 2 September 2011 20:45 (twelve years ago) link
carter/kanye
i forgot about rihanna
and there's ross and jeezy, too i guess.
but still
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:45 (twelve years ago) link
but still?
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:45 (twelve years ago) link
& anyway from a business standpoint, i'd consider kanye's superstardom an incredible stroke of luck for jay-z
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:46 (twelve years ago) link
drake & nicki are currently more popular than ross or jeezy have ever been
― J0rdan S., Friday, 2 September 2011 20:47 (twelve years ago) link
dude, he was on like four jay-z albums before College Dropout.
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 September 2011 20:47 (twelve years ago) link
i don't know what "need" means here. i mean millions of people feel the need to hear their songs on the radio five times an hour, that's the only need that matters, right.
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:09 (twelve years ago) link
thats pop appeal, obv i think wayne's got to have more or taio cruz would be selling wayne numbers
― D-40, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:12 (twelve years ago) link
like wayne is 'legit good rapper' + pop appeal, kanye was "thinking man's pop star rapper" which made up for the fact that he wasnt actually thinking rlly, but he wasnt a gangster like 50 ... there was a need for all the ppl for bourgeoise / 'conflicted' rapper contrast to 50 cent
imo
― D-40, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:14 (twelve years ago) link
at this point record sales are only an measure of popularity among people who still pay for music, not really a great measure of general popularity.
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, September 2, 2011 7:33 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark
i don't think this is necessarily true for someone like lil wayne who moved an exorbitant amount of albums in week one -- i'm sure that there are a lot of ppl for whom carter IV is the only album they'll buy this year, maybe even out of brand loyalty. moving 900k in a week in 2011 is a REALLY great measure of popularity imo
― J0rdan S., Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:24 (twelve years ago) link
once again tho its a measure of 'an artist we are likely to spend money on when we almost never spend money on music' which is v different than the way things used to be
― D-40, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:30 (twelve years ago) link
maybe even out of brand loyalty
i'm going to bed now and this isn't really an argument but i just want to pick up on this and lob the whole 2011 stan culture angle into all of this cuz i think it's relevant
― lex pretend, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:31 (twelve years ago) link
Drake had a huge fanbase already when he was signed.
― swagliacci (The Reverend), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:31 (twelve years ago) link
didn't he officially sign after "best i ever had" was already in the top 5
― J0rdan S., Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:34 (twelve years ago) link
― D-40, Friday, September 2, 2011 9:30 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark
i'm not sure what your point is? that wayne's number is less impressive? cuz i think it's more. or maybe you're sorta arguing w/ shipley even tho i'm not really making his point
― J0rdan S., Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:37 (twelve years ago) link
no i think thats totally impressive -- not arguing w you per se
― D-40, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:56 (twelve years ago) link
ok
― J0rdan S., Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:00 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.gq.com/entertainment/music/201111/lil-wayne-gq-music-issue#ixzz1bKdbd3Xd?currentPage=all
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 20 October 2011 18:45 (twelve years ago) link
the historical implications of lil wayne skateboarding til sun-up in ur town
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 20 October 2011 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, idk about this guy
the skateboarding thing is only less embarrassing than the guitar playing cuz it doesn't infiltrate his music, but i guess it's kind of cool that wayne is showing up at random skate parks across the country and hanging out w/ teenagers
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 20 October 2011 18:59 (twelve years ago) link
I'm still like a kid, because unfortunately my childhood was raped away from me because I became a star
huh
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 20 October 2011 19:15 (twelve years ago) link
why you rape away lil wayne's childhood like that
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 October 2011 19:16 (twelve years ago) link
birdman did what?
― turfin' bird (The Reverend), Thursday, 20 October 2011 22:50 (twelve years ago) link
Like, people watch commercials, and they're like, "Who's gonna buy that?" I'm the person they make the commercials for. I watch them, and I'm like, "Oh God, that's awesome."
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 October 2011 23:10 (twelve years ago) link
I'm not a star, somebody raped
― some dude, Friday, 21 October 2011 00:45 (twelve years ago) link
http://fashionably-early.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/lil-wayne-face-tattoo.jpg
― some dude, Wednesday, 2 January 2013 01:17 (eleven years ago) link
ever since you got them titties youtalkin bout you thinkin bout some ass shotstakin all these snapshots different backdrops
― johnny crunch, Friday, 27 November 2015 01:39 (eight years ago) link
dedication 6 sounds good
― johnny crunch, Saturday, 30 December 2017 01:09 (six years ago) link
I'm pretty far from a hip hop expert but he is my favorite rapper I've ever heard. Da Drought 3 being his pinnacle.
― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 30 December 2017 01:22 (six years ago) link
So is this album, possibly, really good?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWsL43lj5QMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft4UN-Dd8_s
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 31 January 2020 17:45 (four years ago) link