DJ Hyphen On Flavor of the Month Rappers and the Major Labels That "Love" Them

With the recent signing of current "buzzworthy" rapper Trinidad James, Seattle's own DJ Hyphen takes to Twitter to intelligently vent about the questionable business decisions and motives of today's music machine.

Hyphen @DJHyphen
anytime you can sign the worst MC you can find, with 10 months of rapping and a song 2 weeks away from being played out, you gotta do it
Wed, Dec 12 2012 16:53:56
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He's of course talking about Trinidad James and "All Gold Everything," by the way. News broke on the early afternoon of December 12, 2012 that he had signed with the historic Def Jam Records. Unconfirmed rumors have been floating that numbers were somewhere around the $2 million mark.
Trinidad James - All Gold Everything
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Tue, Oct 16 2012 08:02:07
Hyphen @DJHyphen
that's just the kind of sound business investment you're used to seeing from the always economically shrewd music industry
Wed, Dec 12 2012 16:54:28
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
in related news, Def Jam signed my friend's cat, the handful of broken chips at the bottom of your Doritos bag, and a rapping iguana.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 16:56:15
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Lee Huffman chimed in with some truth...
leehuffman @leehuffman
@DJHyphen Let’s not forget that while this fuckery is taking place there’s now a market for independent artists that didn’t exist before.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:09:09
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leehuffman @leehuffman
@DJHyphen The whole reason majors are making these moves is because they’re grasping for straws while being surrounded by cats killing them.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:10:12
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And DJ Hyphen then proceeds to put the pedal to the metal...
Hyphen @DJHyphen
worst part about awful rappers getting signed is that it just makes more people think they can rap. Rapping is a skill. Not everyone has it.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:15:24
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
you shouldn't sign a someone off the street to play in the NBA, just so you can be entertained by how awful he is. That's not a good product
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:17:09
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
Def Jam (Trinidad), Interscope (Keef), Columbia (Kreayshawn), even Mad Decent (Riff Raff) etc. should be ashamed of themselves.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:19:17
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
stop trying to cut corners & have short term financial success w/artists you know are jokes or fads. Invest in the music & it will repay you
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:20:52
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
and the people at these labels are friends of mine. they're smart people. some even like music. some. they're just doing this all wrong.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:22:20
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
god forbid you sign artists you think are musically talented and will make worthwhile artistic contributions to the world.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:35:48
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
the most frustrating part of all of this is that good music CAN sell. Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, and Macklemore show what's possible.
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:39:32
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
and that's just in the last few months. "new" artists that broke to the mainstream with quality music/messages and are commercially viable
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:40:14
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
but the labels still think it's too risky and that appealing to the lowest common denominator will give them more surefire success
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:40:52
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
it's like how Hollywood realized you can make shitty horror movies for small budgets and almost always flip them for slight profits
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:41:33
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
labels try the same thing, not realizing the one hit wonder model they're adopting is poisoning their foundation and the entire industry
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:42:25
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
there will always be one hit wonders and people out for a quick buck, but the major labels shouldn't be pushing this if they want to live
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:43:01
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
labels are sinking in quicksand & instead of staying calm & figuring out how to save themselves, they're signing Trinidad James & Chief Keef
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:43:43
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
they're people with bills just trying to keep their jobs, so it makes sense, but the more they struggle, the quicker they sink
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:44:32
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
take 2 steps back (investing in finding the right artists) to take 10 forward (caking off longevity for artists like Adele, Frank, etc.)
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:45:19
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Hyphen @DJHyphen
think about that. Def Jam took money they made off Frank Ocean and invested it into Trinidad James. And they're surprised they're dying?
Wed, Dec 12 2012 17:46:14
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