Get Rich Or Die Trying! ... yeah... maybe not

[djxander]

2 worthwhile articles about how people like 50 Cent are falling off the top of the rap game... thought you guys would appreciate them

 

A Few Things to Ponder-A Crack in the Façade  A Few Things to Ponder-A

Crack in the Façade-Hip Hop is Changing

By Davey D

 

 

I’ve been saying this for weeks Hip Hop is ready for a change and

change

is definitely on the horizon. What am I talking about? Well despite

having to endure endless hours of commercials on both radio and TV, a

series of calculated beefs and off color remarks designed to spark

controversy and a media blitz that saw Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson appear

everywhere from David Letterman to ‘The View’, ‘Get Rich and Die

Trying’

in the end it didn’t fair well at the box office this weekend.

 

You could see it coming a mile away. When I was in Atlanta on the

Spelman campus the other week, no one and I mean no one was talking

about this movie in any way, shape or form. This was in spite of

hearing

all those commercials on the local radio stations. When I spoke at

there

I asked the audience if they had heard about the movie and all hands

were raised. I then asked who intended to see it, all the hands went

down. The other week in Oakland while talking with some high school age

kids, I came across extreme disinterest and outright resentment. People

were saying things like ‘Fiddy is over exposed’. ‘Fiddy starts too much

beef’. ‘Fiddy is wack… I ain’t checking for him no more’.

 

Now keep in mind, the disinterest had nothing to do with his acting

skillz or lack of them. It had nothing to do with weather or not the

movie was shot well or not. Lord knows over the years folks have showed

up in droves to peep under-produced movies with dismal acting. I just

got the sense that people were tired of seeing and hearing the same

ole-

same ole. Whether one articulates it or not, ghetto stereotypes being

mass marketed to the mainstream while using people from the hood as its

validation and backdrop has played itself out.

 

 

 

It was interesting to watch the 50 Cent/ Interscope media juggernaut

work overtime applying what I’m sure executive thought was the ‘magic

formula’. First, we had the creation of controversy. 50 Cent did just

about everything you could think of to bring attention to himself and

by

default, his movie. He went so far as to dis Kanye West not once but

twice. He noted that Kanye was conscious because of 50 Cent. Then he

lambasted him for speaking out against President Bush. 50’s remarks

suggested that he was taking up for Mr. Bush and how he handled

Hurricane Katrina

 

If that wasn’t enough , we had the controversial billboards of 50

holding a gun which I think were deliberately placed in certain

communities with the intention of enraging local activists who would

call for boycotts and thus bring more attention to the movie. I say

this

because in places like South Central LA organizations like Project

Islamic Hope have been consistent about protesting offensive material

in

the past. Snoop Dogg’s ‘Girls Gone Wild’, Ice Cube’s ‘Player’s Club’,

and Bill Bellany’s ‘How to Be a Player’ have all been protested by PIH

leader Nagee Ali and his group for resurrecting nasty stereotypes via

marketing campaigns targeting the hood. There’s no way that executives

at Paramount pictures who backed ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’, did not know

that an artist like 50 Cent holding a gun in a billboard would not

spark

a protest which received national attention. The fight to get rid of

50’s billboards did just that –it sparked anational debate which 50

tried to ride in his favor. Just looking at how 50 has thrived on

controversy in the past, it seemed like what ever objections anyone had

would be neatly fitted into the overall marketing scheme of the movie.

This time it didn’t work. Many of the billboards were pulled and while

50 tried to say such activities would only help his film, the vibe on

the streets in many communities was good riddance’.

 

50 tried to ride out the other controversies that added more fuel to

the

marketing fire. First, we had the killing of a 30 year man in

Pittsburgh, PA during the showing of the film. This prompted Loews

Theater in that area to pull the movie. In Providence, R.I. a huge

melee

broke out prompting theater owners in that are to pull the flick. In

the

past such events would’ve generated more interest and got the masses

clamoring to see what all the commotion was about. Think back to the

fatal gang shootings at showings of the movie ‘Colors’ back in the

early

90s as a prime example.This time around it didn’t work.

 

‘Get Rich or Die Trying’ only netted 12 million dollars this weekend.

That has got to be a major disappointment when you take into account

all

the money that was sunk into marketing and the movie opened up on a

Wednesday as opposed to Friday as is the case with most movies. So that

means ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’ netted 12 million dollars over a 5 day

period. That is pretty dismal when you compare that to the 34 million

taken in by movie’s like ‘Chicken Little’ which didn’t have a huge

multi-level media blitz and opened up on Friday. It has to be

disappointing when you take into account that 50 has two hot songs,

“Hustler’s Ambition’ and ‘Window Shopper’ being played damn near every

hour on the hour off the new soundtrack for the movie.

 

So what does all this mean? Is this a strike against 50 Cent or the

controversial laden pimp, player, gangsta genre of music he has come to

best epitomize? For many of us within Hip Hop, it suggests that folks

are tired of the same ole stereotypes being packaged, marketed and

shipped to our communities all around the world. Maore and more people

are stepping up and saying ‘enough is enough’.

 

We should note that this crack in the façade didn’t start with ‘Get

Rich

or Die Trying’. We saw similar outcomes with the movie ‘Hustle and

Flow’. Yes, it was good movie. Actor Terrance Howard and rapper

Ludacris

held it down on screen, but at the end of the day, folks from the hood

weren’t checking for the flick in spite of the big media blitz. The

general consensus was ‘How many pimp stories do we have to see?’.

 

Initially it seemed like ‘Hustle and Flow’ was a ghetto movie being

marketed to folks in the suburbs. The hood and the rap talent was used

as validation that what was on screen was real. I recall seeing all

these mainstream critics fawning over the movie and giving it high

praise. I recall hearing comments like ‘This is how life is in the

hood’. However, folks in many of the hoods I came across were less then

impressed. Not only did they find the story totally unrealistic, it was

just plain ole tired. It was ‘been there done that’ what’s next?

 

What’s next is something with more substance. People are looking for

heartfelt passion and a willingness to totally engage the audience.

People are looking for artists to break out the marketing mode where

they treat their audience as statistics to be conquered and instead see

them as human beings that they seek to entertain. I think Phonte from

the group Little Brother, put it best when he said Hip Hop is looking

for more ‘grown up’ conversations. He recently explained that at 26 he

was no longer interested in rapping about street life fantasies. He and

his group want to explore things that touch the soul.

 

Similar sentiments were echoed by Kanye West as he and John Brion

worked

on his album ‘Late Registration’. We also heard this desire to ‘go

there’ and connect to the audience by underground favorite Slug from

Minneapolis based Atmosphere.

 

We are now starting to see this change not just by the artist, but by

the audience itself. For example, last week in LA, Supernatural sold

out

his album release party at the Key Club on Sunset. Long considered an

artist who fits the backpack vein, not only did Supernatural have to

turn away people, the make up of the crowd was one that you would

expect

to see at a Snoop Dogg show. Instead of the usual dominance of Asian

and

white kids, you saw over half the crowd from the hood. It was point

that

did not go unnoticed by artists like Charli 2na of Jurassic 5 who

addressed the issue on stage. He expressed how dope it was to not only

to see Supernatural sell out a show, but to also finally see the hood

come around to this style of music. An opening act for Supernatural set

things off and underscored the vibe of the night by enthusiastically

asking the crowd if they were ready to hear some ‘conscious hip hop’.

The deafening roar from the audience said to everybody a new day had

come.

 

Another case in point was the at Spelman college. MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Salt

and Da Brat put on an evening discussion about negative images in Hip

Hop. The Cosby auditorium was completely packed and campus officials

had

to open up an overflow auditorium which was also packed. For more then

three hours we heard heartfelt testimony from audience members and the

aforementioned artists saying that change is needed. Hip Hop had been

hijacked by corporation who think they have a formula for dispensing

it.

 

Many of those executives are in for a rude surprise. The discussion

ended with the women of Spelman demanding to know who the executives

were for big Radio chains like Radio One and BET. Their intention was

to

spark a letter writing campaign and protest that the US has yet to see.

The women were more then upset when they learned that some of the

outlets that they are most offended by are actually run by women

including BET’s Uncut Program. People were puzzled as to why women in

charge would turn around and allow so many negative images and

stereotypes come through on their watch.

 

While the women of Spelman are speaking out, up north in the nation’s

capitol is Howard University. This is probably one of the most well

known Black colleges in the country and was home to P-Diddy. This is

where he got his start promoting parties while he was a student.

Students there have grown tired of all the 50 Cent style music and have

banded together to launch a media network. The announcement was made

last week.

 

Yes, change is coming. Lets just hope those of us in Hip Hop who wish

to

see things improve do not sit idly by and allow others to do all the

work. Lets all take steps both in our personal and professional lives

to

insist upon material that speaks to our hearts and souls and not

somebody’s pocketbook.

GUN-TOTING 50 CAN’T BEAT A LITTLE CHICKEN

The sky falls on ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’†at box

office; rapper responds to shooting in Pittsburgh.

courtesy of www.eurweb.com

 

 

*With all of the protests, hype and press

coverage preceding Wednesday’s opening of

50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,†the film only

managed to place fourth at the box office over

the weekend on sales of $12.5 million. Its

cumulative gross since Wednesday is $18.2 million.

 

However, those numbers are swallowed by

Disney’s “Chicken Little,†which earned $32

million over the weekend to remain box office champ.

“Zathura†and “Derailed†earn second and third place.

 

During an appearance on ABC’s “The Viewâ€

Friday to promote his film debut, 50 Cent

expressed sorrow over the shooting death of

30-year-old Shelton Flowers Wednesday at a

Pittsburgh movie theater following a showing

of the movie.

 

Allegheny County police said Flowers had

just watched the film and got into a confrontation

with three men in the bathroom. A fight ensued

and spilled out into the concessions area,

where Flowers was shot at least three times,

police said.

 

"I feel for the victim's family in this situation,"

said 50, who appeared on “The View†with his

co-star Joy Bryant. "But you know, these

weren't kids. This was a 30-year-old man

(who) had a dispute with three other guys."

 

No one has been arrested in the incident,

and it was not known what film the three men

had seen. In any case, the vice president of

marketing for Loews Corp., John McCauley,

said the company decided to pull the film

from its theater immediately during the

investigation.

[pedostyle]

hell yes. down with this wanksta crap. i was listening to a song on the radio today cuz i thought i would give it a chance. think it was a mariah carey song where some guy was "i'll --- you in the east, i'll ---- you in the west, ill ---- you in miami" because of course it was edited. i now know i was wrong in giving the radio a second chance

 

 

that usher movie called "in the mix" looks fuckin gay too. let's see how many dj's we can shove into your face in 30 seconds since if its got a dj it's bound to rake in money right?

[djxander]

since if its got a dj it's bound to rake in money right?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If that were the case, this board, asis & soulstrut would all be made of platinum.. Straight up, holy grail style.

[pedostyle]

and if that were the case we'd all be pompous ass holes

[mattnice]

would?

[$a!n+]

since if its got a dj it's bound to rake in money right?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If that were the case, this board, asis & soulstrut would all be made of platinum.. Straight up, holy grail style.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I was sensing <sarcasm></sarcasm>

[homecounties]

Yay, I can't wait til gay bay area student rap makes a comeback.

[djxander]

Homecounties, we never had that happen here.... (in the USA)

[DJ Smerph]

I hate 50 cent.

[Jimmy]

i hate all this gangsta rap shit, when i say i like hiphop i get dirty looks, and they all say oh 50 cent then

when real hiphop is dj vadim/ dj shadow and all the other good, realistic hiphop

[mattnice]

all hip hop is real whether its commercial or Hardcore.

 

A good Hip Hop tune is a good hip hop tune,it doesn't matter who the fuck made it.

Gangsta Rap was a big part of hip hop,So to say you hate a certain element of it means u don't like Hip Hop you just like selected bits.

I Love Hip Hop I dont particularly like crunk but now and again i'll hear a good Tune,So i wouldn't say i hate it.

I don't really listen to UK Hip Hop doesnt mean i don't like it.

 

I really hate people who say i like hip hop but hate etc..

 

Cambian this isnt directly aimed at YOU.

 

ITS AIMED AT ALL HATERS

 

 

 

 

I've listened to hip hop in all its forms since i was 11,im 33 now so i feel i can justify what ive said.

Edited November 18, 2005 by mattnice

[Jimmy]

thats ok mattnice i understand what ur saying

 

i enjoy certain parts of everytihng but it does depend on my mood, probly hate is too much of a strong word but some just winds me up a lil,

 

i think the hate i feel is when u get catgorised by general ppl when u say u like hiphop

[homecounties]

Mattnice is onpoint.

 

Turntablists hating on what they like to call 'gansta rap' is a bigger cliche then can be found on any 50 cent track.

 

'when real hiphop is dj vadim/ dj shadow and all the other good, realistic hiphop'

 

oh dear

[mattnice]

hell yeah [damn im pissed]