Quality Over Commerce

We have all been equalized. Yep, thanks to the internet, that big socializer in the...sky? Everyone is a star now! Wasn't it Andy Worhol who predicted that "in the future everyone will have 15 minutes of fame?" Wasn't he on crack? Oh, L.S.D., my bad.

Well basically everyone is getting their 15 minutes whether you like it or not. It's like Night Of The Living Dead except its not always dark outside. So what happens now? If you are serious about the product you put out then keep doing what you do? If you really love it, you would do it for free, right? I think that is why Lil Wayne is so relevant and it's also why he is literally one of few rappers who are still selling a milli (yeah I know.) He put out so much music for free. I don't even want to think about how many sixteens he sacrificed for our beloved mixtapes. He's done that many! I'm not even a big fan of Wayne but you have to admit the hustle is phenomenal!

I took an Art course at Georgia State University. We learned the difference between art and commerce. Basically, we learned that if you create something with the intent to reproduce it over and over it ceases to be art. You don't see too many Mona Lisa's floating around do you? How would you feel if a company started selling Mona Lisa's like hotcakes? Sure you may buy it for the novelty of saying, "Yeah, I got a Mona Lisa. It's hanging right over my pool table." But then the company almost always comes back and says, Ok, If you have the Mona Lisa, then you need to get this Mary Louise and next thing you know they selling you the Bomquisha.

Now don't get me wrong, I feel these rappers and their pain when it comes to the download debacle. But if you put your heart into your records then your reward is threefold. I will go on a limb right now and bet that Kanye's next album will be his biggest to date. Anybody with me?

So thanks to Lime Wire and many others we can download as many mp3s as we please. Artists may get mad but there is no stopping it. It's like trying to push back a tsunami, kind of like Obama's democratic campaign. The best you can do, if you are an artist, is make yourself novel. Put out "art" because you feel it. Not because you are contractually obligated to do so. Because if all you are looking for is fame, they have Myspace, Facebook and Twitter for that!