For the world of Hip Hop, the last couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least. I’m sure by now you’ve seen plenty of videos and have read your fair share of articles about the Meek Mill and Drake beef. I’m not going to talk about that but instead I want to raise a question about the underlying issue.
Do you care that your favorite song was written by a ghostwriter and not by the rapper performing it?
I think it is important to notice that I used the word rapper. It is usually accepted for other genres of music like R&B and Pop to leverage ghostwriters. Those artists usually have a unique skill set. That could be their breathtaking voice or their amazing dance moves when it comes to hitting the stage. But when it comes to Hip Hop things are a little bit different. Hip Hop has always been a raw and very authentic art form. Rappers would jump at the opportunity to tell their stories and express their emotions through rhymes. You would want to gain the respect of the crowd by spitting the lyrics you wrote the night before or by delivering an impressive freestyle. Either way the words were always YOURS.
The music business has gone through major changes though. Hip Hop has become much more popular and relevant when it comes to commercial appeal. To be honest, money has become the main driving force behind the music, which has impacted the way it is made. The powers that be want to deliver a product the consumers will purchase and could really care less about who produces it. So boom…there ya go…ghostwriters now have a job!
I personally don’t see a problem with ghostwriters being used. If your goal is to sell music to as many people as possible and become a popular artist, by all means do what you have to do. There is an exception though. To me, if you claim to be an amazing MC and lyricist you should definitely be writing your own material. If you want to be considered a GREAT than those GREAT words need to be coming from you. I’m not really talking about hooks/choruses; you can get help with those. But your verses on the other hand, they should be near and dear to any rapper. So yea, you should be putting the work in to construct those bars!
But what do you think??
-Mizzy
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