THE 80/20 RULE IN HIP-HOP

What is the 80/20 Rule?

The 80/20 rule is a management formula that is also known as Pareto's Principle. This principle is used everyday by managers and management teams around the world in every capacity imaginable. The idea can be applied to nearly anything and it's definition in short is that theoritically in any given situation, there is a dominant 20% that leads and molds the other 80%, or as the founder of this formula Dr. Joseph Juran put it there is "the vital few and the trivial many". In this bloq I would like to invite you to reflect on how this formula may apply to Hip-hop music and culture;

Let's start by saying that it would seem evident that 20% of the companies within the recording industry receive 80% percent of the profits (because they own the distribution channels),

and that 80% percent of the music that actually reaches the public is made by only 20% percent of the artists trying to get out there ,

of that music I can confidently say that only 20% is actually good while 80% is..............wack,

I will even go as far as saying that just during this summer it is arguable that 80% of the music that has come out will not be remembered a few years from now while 20% percent of it will,

of the songs that do stand the test of time only 20% percent of the money will ever go to the artist's who created them while 80% will go to...........others,

80% of those "others".....involved in selling Hip-hop music do not care about or understand it's culture while a faithful 20% are the core group vital for Hip-hop's survival,

The question that I now sit here asking myself and that I hope you are asking yourself is whether I'm going to be one of the vital few or of the trivial many?

CRISTOPOLIS
Thinking Hip-hop Emcee
hiphop@cristopolis.com
www.cristopolis.com
D.C. VISIONS, INC.

IS RAP MUSIC KILLING HIP-HOP CULTURE?

On a fairly consistent basis I am asked by people a simple yet slippery question, "what is the difference between Hip-hop and rap"?

I normally give this short answer; Hip-hop encompasses an entire culture where as rap is the act of rapping or making words rhyme in the Hip-hop form. I also go on to clarify that rap music and Hip-hop music are not necessarily the same thing. For example, a McDonald's TV commercial comes on and there are two kids with baseball caps tilted to the side rapping about french fries and chicken McNuggets, is this Hip-hop music? I would definitely say No. Is it rap? Well, yes....they're rapping. This is my short answer to the difference between Hip-hop and rap.

Going a bit deeper into the question "what is the difference between Hip-hop and rap", I find it important to define what I mean by Hip-hop. In recent years different organizations have added to and adjusted the traditional four pillars of Hip-hop, and you may find different definitions online as to what constitutes Hip-hop culture. But traditionally (and what I follow) Hip-hop is made up of four main pillars; DJing, Grafitti Art, Breakdancing and Hip-hop Music aka Rapping. When speaking about Hip-hop and its culture this is the foundation I adhere to and when speaking about Hip-hop music I am referring to the music that was born out of this culture.

Over the last decade a gray area between true Hip-hop based art and corporate America has come into play and it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish the creative growth of the culture from the appetite of corporate America and it's search for easy money off of hit song's and breakaway artist's. Corportate interest in Hip-hop has definitely aided the popularity of the culture, pushing it into living rooms across the nation and around the world, but it is also responsible for making everything on the radio sound the same and for a limited amount of major label artist to have full (exclusive) access to all mainstream media resources.

Has the infiltration of big business into Hip-hop culture wrestled control of the culture itself away from the Hip-hop community and into the hands of company CEO's? Do the decision's that these CEO's make in reference to the music that they release and push to the public non-stop through all mainstream media channels, actually control Hip-hop? Is rap music killing Hip-hop culture? Voice your opinion!

CRISTOPOLIS
Thinking Hip-hop Emcee
hiphop@cristopolis.com
www.cristopolis.com
D.C. VISIONS, INC.