Running head: There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 1 This thesis has been approved by The Honors Tutorial College and the College of Business at Ohio University __________________________ Dr. Akil Houston Associate Professor, African American Studies Thesis Adviser ___________________________ Dr. Raymond Frost Director of Studies, Business Administration ___________________________ Cary Roberts Frith Interim Dean, Honors Tutorial College There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 2 THERE’S NO SHORTCUT TO LONGEVITY: A STUDY OF THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF HIP-HOP SUCCESS AND THE MARKETING DECISIONS BEHIND THEM ____________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Honors Tutorial College Ohio University _______________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation from the Honors Tutorial College with the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration ______________________________________ by Jacob Wernick April 2019 There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 3 Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures……………………………………………………………………….4 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………...5 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..6-11 Parameters of Study……………………………………………………………..6 Limitations of Study…………………………………………………………...6-7 Preface…………………………………………………………………………7-11 Literary Review……………………………………………………………………………..12-32 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………....33-55 Jay-Z Case Study……………………………………………………………..34-41 Kendrick Lamar Case Study………………………………………………...41-44 Soulja Boy Case Study………………………………………………………..45-47 Rapsody Case Study………………………………………………………….47-48 Vice Souletric Case Study…………………………………………………....48-49 D Jones Case Study…………………………………………………………..49-50 The Modern Music Industry………………………………………………...51-55 Discussion & Conclusion……………………………………………………………………55-59 Appendix: Full Case Studies………………………………………………………..............60-70 References……………………………………………………………………………………71-78 There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 4 List of Tables and Figures Figure A: Streaming Services Payouts by Company…………………………….…………...49 Figure B: Total Music Industry Revenue by Percentages…………………….……………..50 There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 5 Abstract Despite being labeled as a “fad” at the time of its inception in the 1970s, hip-hop culture has grown, and rap music has become the number one selling genre as of 2018 in the United States. Still, rap artists often face the challenge of remaining relevant in the marketplace over time. The constant shift in trends impact an artist’s brand and career longevity prospects. While some artists are content with having shorter careers in music, all artists must understand how to properly invest not only the money that they earn, but also their brand. Though an artist may only produce a single hit song in their career, they may still be able to utilize or extend their brand to earn money in other ways such as endorsement deals, acting jobs, and more. This thesis examines six artists, all of different success levels: Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Soulja Boy, Rapsody, Vice Souletric, and D Jones. This study examines what constitutes a successful brand. For the purpose of the study, a successful brand provides brand recognition and career longevity. This study also briefly examines the modern music industry in order to understand what contemporary artists must navigate in order to be successful. There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 6 Introduction Parameters of Study The purpose of this project is to examine a variety of hip-hop careers that have had different levels of success, in order to understand how hip-hop artists can achieve longevity and achieve financial success. This thesis contributes to the business discipline by adding to the limited academic research that has been done in the area of the music business and more specifically, the business of hip-hop. This study is not a study to examine or determine the talent level of artists or to assess the quality of their music. This work focuses on the artists’ financial success based on their ability to brand and market themselves. It also examines business decisions throughout the course of an artist’s career that may determine financial viability. Although there are variables in measuring success, throughout this study, the word “success” is used in reference to financial success, unless otherwise specified. It is important to note that the term “hip-hop” denotes emceeing, DJing, b-girl and b-boying, the whole sub-culture. Therefore, the music aspect of hip-hop is what is known as rap music, and will be referred to as such in this study. Limitations of Study While this study will examine some of the key aspects to being successful and sustainable in commercial hip-hop, this study does not guarantee an artist who follows these methods will succeed and achieve longevity. However, this study may be used as a blueprint to help young artists shape their brands and careers. Most of the artists studied were only able to be analyzed based on secondary data. Future studies would be improved with primary data collection and There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 7 qualitative interviews with all artists. There has also been little prior academic research conducted on the subject. This study provides a foundation that future studies may build upon. Lastly, the limited information on women artists is in large measure due to shortcomings of hip- hop historiography that is inclusive of women in the industry. Future studies would be improved with a larger focus on women hip-hop artists. Preface When hip-hop began in New York in the 1970s by African American youth, people were quick to label it “a fad” (Flores, 2012). In spite of this false claim, hip-hop has risen to be the number one selling genre in the United States, according to a 2018 Nielsen report, and regularly influences many different aspects of popular culture to shape entertainment, art, fashion, and more into what they are in the modern world (Lynch, 2018). Rap music started as ‘party music’ only being performed live with a disc jockey (DJ) making the beat and a master of ceremonies or microphone controller (MC) rapping over it. Many scholars mark the first hip-hop party in 1973, when Cindy Campbell and her brother, Clive (DJ Kool Herc) hosted a party at 1520 Sedwick Avenue, in the Bronx. Herc played vinyl records of funk and soul music and using two of the same records. Herc would extend the instrumental breaks of the songs by playing these sections or ‘breaks’ back to back (TeachRock, 2019). DJ Kool Herc’s emcee Coke La Rock and other emcees would rhyme over the breaks, which became known as “rapping.” From there, DJs like Grand Master Flash (Joseph Saddler) and Afrika Bambaataa (Lance Taylor/Kevin Donovan) gained popularity in clubs. Eventually, the music expanded, and songs like “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang (Michael Wright, Henry Jackson, and Guy O’Brien) and “Christmas Rappin’” by Kurtis Blow (Kurtis Walker) were among some of the first There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 8 rap songs to be recorded and gain popularity beyond the clubs. DJing and b-boying/B-girling became the first widely recognized elements of hip-hop culture, with emceeing (rapping) and graffiti completing the four elements of hip-hop. Toward the end of the twentieth century, knowledge, street language, fashion, beatboxing, and entrepreneurship would be added (One, 2003). In 1981, Blondie’s (Debbie Harry and band) Billboard-topping “Rapture” was the first song with aspects of hip-hop to do such a thing (Light, 1999). The single also showed hip-hop’s ability to crossover into other genres. The song includes a rapped verse and hip-hop cultural references. The music video features appearances from influential hip-hop figures such as Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite), Grandmaster Flash, (Joseph Saddler), and Jean-Michel Basquiat (Trust, 2014). A popular artist like Blondie embracing the genre helped broaden the culture’s appeal and audiences. In 1982, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five broke new ground with the release of “The Message” (Errey, 2015). Though the song sounded like something that may be played at a party, the lyrics went beyond light themes and discussed issues of crime and poverty. From here, rap continued to branch out showing early signs of market crossover potential. For instance, crossover songs by Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) and Chaka Khan (Yvette Stevens) (“I Feel For You”), Run-DMC and Aerosmith (“Walk This Way”), and many others. As a result of these early cross genre collaborations, today it is not uncommon for rap artists to feature artists from other genres with the intent to extend the reach of their brand. While these artists found some success with these early crossover efforts, in part because of their already established rap credibility, many contemporary artists still struggle with There’s No Shortcut to Longevity 9 remaining relevant to maintain a long career. As a result, artists must do more than a crossover song. Artists today must brand themselves properly in order to achieve longevity. This can be directly related to the constant shift in trends within the genre as well as the importance of remaining authentic. While different sub-genres become popular year after year, some artists attempt to adapt to a new style, some artists attempt to keep making the same type of music, and others attempt to meet somewhere in the middle. MC Hammer (Stanley Burrell) is someone who tried to flip between different rap sub-genres, and this ended up leading to his demise in the music industry. Not only did the rapper change his name to “Hammer,” but he also made rap albums that were Christian rap, G-funk, and more, confusing audiences and drastically decreasing his sales (White, 2012). This decision can greatly impact whether or not the artist is able to retain levels of success in the marketplace. The success in this is dependent on the artist’s current level of success, their number of loyal fans, their versatility, and their overall skills as an artist. Someone who is a top-selling rap artist may find it easier to crossover into a different sub- genre than one who is not.