On Demand
Guest Appearances Gone Wild
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Lil' Wayne appeared on more than 70 tracks and mixtapes last year. And Jay-Z will guest on an upcoming Coldplay song, repaying singer Chris Martin for appearing on the rap mogul's "Kingdom Come." With guest appearances quickly becoming the norm and not the exception, we ask New York times pop critic Jon Caramanica why cameos are so prevalent in hip hop.
Soundcheck blog: When hip hop cameos reach the point of diminishing returns
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HIP HOP IS JUST GROWING AT AN ENORMOUS RATE. SO ITS NO SURPRISE TO ME THAT HIP HOP ARTISTS ARE MAKING MORE AND MORE APPEARENCES. IF YOU WOULD LOOK AT SALES OF THESE ALBUMS, YOU COULD SEE WHY SHOWS ARE INVITING THEM TO PERFORM ON THEIR STAGE. RATINGS RATINGS RATINGS.
Despite the belief that hip-hop is exploding,the reason for the cameo is due to a lack of real talent in the industry.
Artists cannot make a decent single, let alone album, on their own. Instead, they have to rely upon a "name" to sell the song. This ruins the legitimacy of new artists.
Look at any R&B or hip-hop album. The biggest question during the interview is (a) who are your PRODUCERS (underscore the plural) and (b) who did you work with? The answer is then a litnay of names. It doesn't matter if the artist is established or if the artist is new.
This is just one more nail signaling the end of real music as we know it. It is all about licensing and sales.
And to think that duets and collaborations were a big deal. I guess "You're All I Need" by Mary J. Blige and Redman was the beginning of the end.
Who knew?!
SNL did a great music video mocking this trend (in my interpretation)
of c&c music factory W/ right said fred
This isn't new. Guesting used to promote an artist between releases, boost a new artists presence by lending credibility, or develop an unknown artist by guesting on bigger name artist's tracks. It was a form of artist development. Today it seems solely a way to dupe listeners into buying music they wouldn't otherwise buy. Its all marketing. Hip Hop is so played out that quality and talent takes a backseat to marketing and hype.
All I need was w/ Mary & Method Man not Redman
how about Bing Crosby and David Bowie? It's now one of my favorite holiday songs!
Didn't Jonas Brothers make a cameo on Timbaland's last album. Of course, The Beatles featured Eric Clapton on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", no?
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