Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-10-2012 12:00 AM "Rap is easy, career is the hard part:" analyzing success, longevity and failure within the framework of the hip-hop career Christopher R. White The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Keir Keightley The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Popular Music and Culture A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Christopher R. White 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation White, Christopher R., ""Rap is easy, career is the hard part:" analyzing success, longevity and failure within the framework of the hip-hop career" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 911. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/911 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. 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For more information, please contact [email protected]. “RAP IS EASY, CAREER IS THE HARD PART:” ANALYZING SUCCESS, LONGEVITY AND FAILURE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE HIP-HOP CAREER by Christopher White Graduate Program in Popular Music and Culture A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Christopher White 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Chair of Examination Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Jonathan Burston Dr. Norma Coates ______________________________ Supervisor Dr. Matt Stahl ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Keir Keightley Dr. Bryce Traister The thesis by Christopher Ryan White entitled: “Rap is easy, career is the hard part:” analyzing success, longevity and failure within the framework of the hip-hop career is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii ABSTRACT Conceptualizing and analyzing the hip-hop career and the role of success therein allows us to investigate the long-term shifts in the economic and cultural capitals associated with the genre, and can help us better understand how hip-hop has achieved enduring success and respect. As hip-hop musicians continue to prosper financially and achieve unprecedented levels of success and longevity in the industry, understandings of the hip-hop career have shifted. Hip-hop musicians attempt to translate their cultural capital into financial profit by leveraging their respective personas into marketable brands and lifestyles that act as non-musical, career extending strategies. The thesis investigates how the hip-hop music career commences, the activities and individuals required to nurture a career, and the criteria that ultimately determine success. When entering contractual employment relationships, how do hip-hop musicians navigate intricate relations of power, retain or give up important authorial rights, and understand the attainment of economic self-sufficiency in relation to autonomy? Ultimately, I suggest that many contemporary hip-hop musicians develop and structure their careers based on previously established models and recognizable patterns, and that popular musicians in other genres face similar struggles for autonomy. For hip-hop musicians, unlike those working in other genres, there is a linkage between possessing large amounts of economic capital and high evaluations of cultural capital, and establishing a long-term career is the most effective way of achieving success in these interrelated areas. KEYWORDS Hip-hop, Career, Success, Longevity, Mixtapes, Music, Jay-Z, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lots of respect and thanks to Dr. Keightley. If I was composing an academic posse track you would be The Notorious B.I.G. to my Jay-Z… always inspiring me to step my game up. I would also like to extend my gratitude to all of the educators and staff at the University of Western Ontario. Thank you to my parents for supporting my decision to go back to school. Sorry for not writing more often. Jordan, thanks for being a trusted friend and a constant source of inspiration. Tasya, thanks for being another one of my best friends over the last two years and for helping me deal with early grad school neurosis. Many, many memories! Veronika, thanks for being one of the most consistently sincere and genuine people that I’ve ever met. You’re another great friend! More friends, classmates, and other associates who deserve a shout out: Adam, Alicks, Amanda, Amaya, Anushree, Asher, Claire, Dan (x2), Danielle, Davin, Jessica, Joni, Justin, Katie, Kayley, Kerry, Kevin, Kyle, Lane, Lia, Lili, Matt, Matthew, Meghan, Michelle, Mike, Murs, Richard, Sam, Sarah, and Trisha. Thank you! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION ...…………………….…………………. ii Abstract ……………………………………………………..….…………………. iii Acknowledgements …………………………………………...…………………... iv Table of Contents ………………………………………….……………..……….. v Chapter One: Introduction ………………………………….……..………………. 1 Rationale and methodology …………………….………………..……………. 4 Research questions ……………………….……………………..……………... 5 Chapter Two: Literature Review ………………………………………….............. 7 Early sociological analysis of the career ………………………………………. 9 The influence of cultural intermediaries on the career ………………………… 10 Career beginnings and professionalization ……………………………………. 12 Commitment …………………………………………………………………… 14 Skill acquisition and time investment …………………………………………. 15 Subjective occupational analysis ………………………………………………. 16 Objective occupational analysis ……………………………...………………... 17 Quantitative/economic career analysis …………………….………………….. 18 Evaluating success in popular music as an occupational career ………………. 19 The music career as examined in popular literature …………………………… 22 Summary/overview ……………………………………………………………. 24 Chapter Three: The Short-Term Hip-Hop Careers of MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Hot Karl and J-Zone ………………............................................... 29 The early music careers of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice …………………….. 31 Early music career observations ……………………………………………….. 32 v The breakthrough successes of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice ………………… 33 Breakthrough success observations ……………………………………………. 35 The declining music career of Vanilla Ice …………………………………….. 36 Issues of race and the discrediting of Vanilla Ice ……………………………... 38 Further theorizing the declining music career of Vanilla Ice …………………. 38 The declining music career of MC Hammer ………………………………….. 40 The contemporary music career activities of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice ….. 43 Hot Karl as a short-term major label and independent career …………………. 45 J-Zone as a short-term independent career …………………………...………... 47 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 50 Chapter Four: The Long-Term and Professional Hip-Hop Career of Jay-Z ……… 52 Early interest in hip-hop and the importance of practice ……………………… 53 DJ Clark Kent as a music industry intermediary ……………………………… 55 Big Daddy Kane as a music industry intermediary …………………………… 56 Roc-A-Fella Records and Jay-Z’s debut recordings as a solo artist ………….. 57 Commitment and early career development …………………………………... 58 The recording and the release of Reasonable Doubt ………………………….. 59 In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 as Jay-Z’s major label debut ………………………….. 61 Crossing over to mainstream pop audiences …………………………………... 62 National touring as a headlining performer …………………………………… 63 Rocawear as a secondary career opportunity ………………………………….. 64 Mid-career recordings and retirement …………………………………………. 65 Def Jam Recordings presidency ……………………………………………….. 66 Post-retirement recordings and product endorsements ………………………... 67 vi 360 deal with Live Nation ……………………………………………………... 68 Contemporary career activities ………………………………………………... 69 Observations …………………………………………………………………… 71 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 74 Chapter Five: New Media and the New Career Development Strategies of Odd Future, Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller ………………………………. 76 The growing importance of online career development …...……………….…. 77 The hip-hop mixtape, social networking and video blogging as career promotional tools ……………………………………………………………… 80 Odd Future as a case study of online career development …………………….. 81 Converting online popularity into a marketable commodity ………………….. 84 Odd Future observations ………………………………………………………. 85 Kreayshawn and Shabazz Palaces as two contrasting case studies ……………. 88 The early career development of Wiz Khalifa ………………………………… 90 The comparable career development of Mac Miller …………………………... 94 Wiz Khalifa’s and Mac Miller’s use of social networking and video blogging 95 Merchandising and branding the careers of Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller ……. 95 “The Team” as music industry intermediaries ………………………………… 97 The future role of the mixtape …………………………………………………. 100 Online music career development and “The New Economy” ……………….... 102 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………...….…... 103 Chapter Six: Conclusion ………………………………………………………….. 104 Works Cited ………………………………………………………………………. 110 Curriculum Vitae ………………………………………………………………….. 125 vii 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION One-hit wonders (The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s