Music Royalties and the State of Hip Hop
As a musician and an avid fan of Hip Hop, I have always been fascinated with the debate over royalties, what constitutes “music,” and when a song is a remake and when it is a travesty. Case in point, one of my all-time favorite bands, Steely Dan and the frequent use of their songs in Hip Hop.
While their music has been featured in some songs I’ve liked, such as “Peg” in De La Soul’s “Eye Know” and some I don’t, such as “Black Cow” in Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz’s “Deja Vu,” the soul of their music has never been truly captured. Until Kanye, that is. Yes, Mr. West, dared take a major chunk of a Steely track, “Kid Charlemagne” and did a first. He made the song better. Yes, I sheepishly admit it, being the purist snob that I am, that he (or more likely, he and his team) truly re-crafted and enhanced an already great track and gave it a fresh, modern spin, taking it up to another level. It’s really the first time that a Hip Hop artist has essentially done a true cover (or at the very least, improved on the original). In the past, I have been supremely annoyed with artists that play covers verbatim and don’t give them a new twist. It’s about the artist’s personality stepping in and reinterpreting the song, isn’t it?
In a sense, I suppose it’s fair to say that Hip Hop gets a bum…er…rap for lack of creativity when it comes to music and that I find myself defending it to people who say it’s not music. Some might say it can seem lazy just to sample something and give it the basic nod. Instead, many artists now create original music, partly due to the fact that sampling can get expensive. According to an article published on Portfolio.com, only the largest players (a la Kanye West) can afford the top tracks or any tracks at all, for that matter.
Another part is also because it’s all been seemingly done. Starting with James Brown and working into obscure artists delegated to the 99 cent bin at your local Goodwill, the supply seems endless, but there comes a point when its hard to find quality, useable material that hasn’t been used to death.
Personally, I’m glad this has happened. It has been a boon to black “music,” which I’ve considered a dying art form for some time now and it has added new life into a genre that hardcore dilettantes like to say has run its course. Hip Hop is dead, after all. Isn’t it? One seemingly has to ask. No, I say, it’s still alive and well. If Kanye can sell millions and there is a place for artists like Pharoahe Monch, Common and Talib Kweli, then Hip Hop is doing just fine, thank you.
