Wanna Sell Records?: Be A Weirdo

If you were at Coachella this year, then you saw some great performances from a lot new and old artists. I watched some of Kanye's performance online. Dope as usual. But what stole the show for some was Lil B naming his album, I'm Gay. Personally, I don't know how I feel about it because I don't know his angle. But I think that his statement touches upon a deeper movement in hiphop.

You can use any of today's social networking tools to build a name for yourself in the industry and cut out the middle man. But, everyone having access to the same tools and influences creates a lot of artists that look and sound the same. To counteract that, hip hop artists and rappers have emerged that are not cut from the same cloth. Rather, they have woven a tapestry so diverse that, typical labels can't hold them.

Obviously we all  know Nicki Minaj at this point. Though she is the top female emcee by default, she is more known for her outrageous style and antics than actual lyricism these days. Then you have Odd Future, a collective of west coast rappers that have shocked the industry with their violent lyrics and then you have the aforementioned Lil B. Like it or not, they are geniuses because they have mastered the art of being original and unpredictable. Staying ahead of the curve keeps you relevant. But a gimmick only lasts so long before you have to prove you're more than that. The sophomore jinks still exists after all.

It's too early to tell where these artists' futures lie. But I believe that consistency in the quality of your music equals a long career. It's great that you want to do everything but what is the point if you can't do anything well? Good or bad, artists like this bring fresh air to hiphop. Hopefully, this will allow more labels to take risks on rappers that don't fit into the radio-play formula.

- So am I right? Or maybe the caliber of rappers hasn't changed but rather the fans that buy the music. Share your opinion at hiphoppolitician@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter @HipHopPoly.