4 ms·

This is definitely culturally relevant and very cool to see it being treated as such. That whole motif of Mixtape cover art is a trip and a half to me, seeing t

This is definitely culturally relevant and very cool to see it being treated as such. That whole motif of Mixtape cover art is a trip and a half to me, seeing these cliches over and over and over. As for the Mixtapes themselves, I'm still kind of reluctant to jump all-in on the Copyright free-for-all that Rap likes to work with (e.g. Tarantino's Kill Bill siren) and occasionally gets called out on. I think retaining some kind of performance rights and compensation standards - think 2Pac's version of "Changes" - is just fine for the useful progress of the arts (as Copyright intends). Besides, I'd be pretty pissed off if a shitty rapper used a track of mine and started blowing up without cutting me a piece of the action - that biting shit won't fly with me, even if it makes me sound like Don Henley. Now, if approached by somebody I respect and admire, say, Chance, I'd have to think about signing for free or not. One situation apparently went down kind of like that with Chance and Apollo Brown, in that using a beat for free was not approved by the respective camps[1]. Hip-hop showing respect and doing good business is nice to see. [1] http://uproxx.com/smokingsection/chance-the-rapper-apollo-brown-coloring-book/ http://uproxx.com/smokingsection/chance-the-rapper-apollo-br...

whatok 10y ago
Honestly, I used to love mixtapes because of the "look the other way" sentiment towards copyright at least in regards to using other rappers' beats. When a track was hot, you would hear everyone on it and you would hear people completely outshine the original artist many times over. Really was nothing like that.
- 6stringmerc 10y ago
  Yeah that type of thing I'm very cool with, in that it's part of the community and a shared expectation of sorts. I think it's a great way to build up cred in the scene. I really don't have any beef with that. What gets me though is the lifting from other genres where the traditions and expectations are different. I'm not saying 'tributes' and using other people's material isn't huge in, say, rock or blues. Covers and doing 'Standards' are rites of passage. It's just that I can kind of see why Don Henley got ticked off at Frank Ocean though, because jumping on a really well known track and twisting it in a new direction kind of blurs the expectations. Don & co. are super protective of their legal rights, this isn't news really; I do think Frank Ocean is very talented and his music is quality, so it's not like I'm arguing against his art - just a specific technique or approach in the scene.
  - whatok 10y ago
    Yeah, typically mixtapes are kinda lawless re: copyright, serve purely as promo, and then might breakeven at the end of the day. A lot of the time people looked the other way because there wasn't a label to sue, the artist sure as hell didn't have any money, and most mixtapes never got big enough to garner that kind of attention. The Frank Ocean example got large enough and not sure exactly how things were setup back then but Sony is the parent of his label so... Definitely of the mind that if you are releasing shit commercially that you either clear things or run the risk of getting sued though. This is bringing up all sorts of memories of promo singles with samples that got completely remade because the label didn't want to pay clearance. Even worse, having to interpolate tracks and not nailing the original.
    - 6stringmerc 10y ago
      Thanks for sharing your perspective and I'm in agreement for sure, re: the commercial clearance. It just makes sense, both artistic and financial wise. I'll never forget the contrast of watching Vanilla Ice try and explain how the beat in "Ice Ice Baby" was different from "Under Pressure"[1] and then seeing the two behind the scenes Manager/Label guys sitting in chairs on camera saying, "Oh, we knew if it became a hit we were going to have to pay." Still cracks me up. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY
aarmenante 10y ago
Speaking of trippy album art... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_%26_Pixel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_%26_Pixel

whatok 10y ago

Honestly, I used to love mixtapes because of the "look the other way" sentiment towards copyright at least in regards to using other rappers' beats. When a track was hot, you would hear everyone on it and you would hear people completely outshine the original artist many times over. Really was nothing like that.

6stringmerc 10y ago
Yeah that type of thing I'm very cool with, in that it's part of the community and a shared expectation of sorts. I think it's a great way to build up cred in the scene. I really don't have any beef with that. What gets me though is the lifting from other genres where the traditions and expectations are different. I'm not saying 'tributes' and using other people's material isn't huge in, say, rock or blues. Covers and doing 'Standards' are rites of passage. It's just that I can kind of see why Don Henley got ticked off at Frank Ocean though, because jumping on a really well known track and twisting it in a new direction kind of blurs the expectations. Don & co. are super protective of their legal rights, this isn't news really; I do think Frank Ocean is very talented and his music is quality, so it's not like I'm arguing against his art - just a specific technique or approach in the scene.
- whatok 10y ago
  Yeah, typically mixtapes are kinda lawless re: copyright, serve purely as promo, and then might breakeven at the end of the day. A lot of the time people looked the other way because there wasn't a label to sue, the artist sure as hell didn't have any money, and most mixtapes never got big enough to garner that kind of attention. The Frank Ocean example got large enough and not sure exactly how things were setup back then but Sony is the parent of his label so... Definitely of the mind that if you are releasing shit commercially that you either clear things or run the risk of getting sued though. This is bringing up all sorts of memories of promo singles with samples that got completely remade because the label didn't want to pay clearance. Even worse, having to interpolate tracks and not nailing the original.
  - 6stringmerc 10y ago
    Thanks for sharing your perspective and I'm in agreement for sure, re: the commercial clearance. It just makes sense, both artistic and financial wise. I'll never forget the contrast of watching Vanilla Ice try and explain how the beat in "Ice Ice Baby" was different from "Under Pressure"[1] and then seeing the two behind the scenes Manager/Label guys sitting in chairs on camera saying, "Oh, we knew if it became a hit we were going to have to pay." Still cracks me up. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY

aarmenante 10y ago

Speaking of trippy album art... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_%26_Pixel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_%26_Pixel