Banger Management: It’s all about the Benjamins

Hip-hop has always been a regional art. Seminal groups such as Run DMC of Hollis, Queens and N.W.A. of Compton represented their neighborhoods with songs chronicling local troubles and lifestyles. But in the early 1990s, rap’s focus shifted and hip-hop crews began forming record labels to better promote their own music. All of a sudden, the West Coast had Suge Knight’s Death Row Records, which included the likes of Tupac and Snoop Dogg, while the East had Puffy’s Bad Boy label, which centered on Notorious B.I.G.

Although this didn’t mean the immediate death of the location-based rap crew—Nelly and his St. Lunatics later came to rule the Midwest, and the Hot Boys, Juvenile, and B.G. took over New Orleans under the Cash Money label—it was a blow, the effects of which carried into the long-term. Hip-hop’s current crews don’t represent cities like they once did. All they have in common is the pursuit of money.

This trend became noticeable in 1998, when West Coaster Dr. Dre expanded his Aftermath label by signing Detroit’s Eminem and later New York’s 50 Cent. Recently, with the success of G.O.O.D. Music, Young Money, and Roc-Nation, it has become even more prominent. These three megalabels, centered around the biggest rappers in the game (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z, respectively), are based on star personalities, not geographical boundaries.

As these labels have taken over and rap crews have become less synonymous with certain regions, songs have taken on a more general tone, losing the local flavor that once made each artist’s sound unique. As this change continues, we may permanently lose sounds like the g-funk of the West Coast, or the South’s heavy bass.

Despite the power and popularity of artists in other genres, this pattern seems only to exist in hip-hop. The genre’s strong sense of promotion and family mentality contribute to the desire to sponsor new artists, especially friends, like when Pharrell and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes signed Clipse, a fellow Virginia Beach group, to their Star Trak label. At the same time, successful artists like Kanye, Wayne, and Hov have learned that the real money is in management and production—whenever Nicki Minaj sells a record, Lil Wayne gets a cut too. Additionally, with Wayne and fellow Young Money rapper Drake featured on many of her tracks, Nicki sells more albums. This symbiotic relationship is at the heart of hip-hop, and also explains the recent increase in guest appearances on rap tracks.

In the past, artists had to appeal to local record execs and fans in order to build up a following. Now, with the ubiquity and promotional power of the Internet, artists can take on any musical style and still find an audience. Rappers can become famous even before setting foot in a label exec’s office, sparking sports-like bidding wars between labels. When luring in new signings, therefore, friendship and loyalty can sometimes fall by the wayside—when Jay Electronica signed with Roc Nation, he chose Jay-Z’s label over that of his close friend Diddy.

Even though today’s rappers seem more focused on monetary rewards than regional loyalty, not all of hip-hop is following suit. Smaller, independent artists still exist, and they have retained their regional focus. For instance, much of Atmosphere’s Rhymesayers crew is from Minneapolis. But when one of these small rappers blows up, does precedent dictate that he leave his small, local label for Kanye or Jay-Z? Hip-hop has always been about making the most out of one’s opportunities. And as the opportunities become more abundant, the likelihood of rappers remaining true to their local roots is diminishing.

Show Akshay how far you’ll go to get him on your label at abhatia@georgetownvoice.com