The GhostWriting Controversy in Hip-Hop

I'ts crazy how artists can come up with the catchiest lyrics or the most mind boggling wordplay to the point where when you hear it, you just sit there and think to yourself "How did they come up with that?" Well, there is a chance they didn't. It's called ghostwriting, being payed to write a song, book, paper, or other text that is credited to someone else. Ghostwriting is highly criticized in the Hip-Hop/Rap world. A lot of popular singers. such as Justin Bieber, Beyonce, and even Michael Jackson, have actually written very little or even none of the lyrics in some of their songs. So the question is, why is it criticized in Hip-Hop? MC Guru shared his thought on the topic saying, “It’s mostly the voice. Vocal tone and flow are all part of the thrill that a great hip-hop song delivers. For some reason, rap carries an extra burden. The unspoken promise that what the artist said really happened to them is what separates the genre from any other."

Dr. Dre has used ghostwriters for classic songs such as 'Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang', and 'Still D.R.E.'. I think that it's widely believed that a lot of rap songs talk about street life, hardships, and stories that the artist has been through. The use of a ghost writer completely discredits that and tells everyone that the lyrics aren't real. And once a ghostwriter's aid is proven then it's the 'boy who cried wolf' effect and now the listeners can't be sure that the artist really wrote what they say they do. For some artist's this is a bad image for them and they decline any accusations. It's often taken to offense when an artist is pointed at for using a ghostwriter, leading to twitter fights and diss tracks. A very well known and recent example of this is the fight between artists Meek Mill and Drake. Meek Mill went to twitter to say "Stop comparing drake to me too.... He don't write his own raps! That's why he ain't tweet my album because we found out!", Claiming Drake didn't write his verse on Meek Mill's song 'R.I.C.O.'
This lead to chaos on social media and pop culture news in general. Drake responded with two songs aimed at the Philadelphia rapper and picked up a lot praise. Meek Mill did come back with a response of his own, but Drake seemed to win the internet as Meek Mill quickly became face of many memes and jokes on social media. Not all, however, have declined accusations; but instead admitted to it shamelessly. Highly successful artist P. Diddy said, “I guess I’m blessed with the opportunity, like a singer, that can work with other songwriters. In rap it hasn’t necessarily been cool, but I think that's my own allegiance to the song. If somebody could help me make the song better, I don’t really care what other people think. I know I co-wrote more than half of my album, which is the most I’ve ever written in my life.”
He even goes on song to say "Don't worry if I write rhymes, I write checks,"
P. Diddy makes a good point, saying he doesn't care how, as long as the product is good. Maybe artist's should see P. Diddy's side and just strive to make the best content possible no matter what anyone says. After all, if the song is good enough people will listen to it no matter how much said artist wrote of it. At the end of the day they're getting paid. Maybe the artist doesn't care about a reputation for lyricism and song writing and just wants to produce great sounding music. As long as they properly pay the co-writers is there really a problem after all?

Sources

http://www.complex.com/music/2012/08/the-nas-controversy-and-why-rappers-are-afraid-of-ghostwriters

https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/09/22/phantom-rappers-inside-the-business-of-ghostwriting/

http://www.factmag.com/2014/01/20/ghostwritten-hip-hop-tracks-ghostwriters-behind-them/

Hip-Hop and Politics

   Music artists, just like your average american, have political views too. Rappers especially seem to get the most notice while making political statements. This may be because Hip-Hop artists have gained a reputation for being bold, and sometimes controversial, in social and economic issues. With the incredibly tense 2016 presidential election, the past year has been no exception.
   The Compton MC known as YG took a very bold route himself, releasing the song "FDT". The entire song criticizes Donald Trump, as well as calling the then presidential candidate expletives and other insults. This may have been the biggest political movement in the Hip-Hop industry, but others did not fail to go unmentioned. A wave of rap artists took to twitter to share their beliefs with  "#MakeAmericaGreatAgain" and "#ImWithHer". They also flooded social media timelines with pictures of the, visiting Barack Obama on his last day in office. After Donald Trump won presidency, Macklemore released the song, "Wednesday Morning" sharing his displease with the results. The Seattle rapper described the elections wit lyrics such as, "Bad taste in my mouth" and  "Will my girl be afraid of the land of the brave?" Most recently, at the 59th annual Grammy Awards, the group A Tribe Called Quest did a highly political performance. One of the songs they performed was "We The People", one of the better known songs on their most recent album. The song is highly political and one of the members, known as Q-Tip, sings the chorus explaining he believes that the country is racist, homophobic, and show no support for the poor. Sharing certain beliefs can be very risky because maybe some of their fans disagree with them and stop listening to their music. Politics is definitely an easy way to divide and can hurt a fan base. This has always been a questionable thing to do but we are starting to see more and more of it. Some people would say artists should keep out of politics, that way everyone stays happy and can enjoy their music. Others think it's important for artists to use their voices to share their beliefs and to influence listeners. The way i see it, artists should talk about what they want to talk about. That's the beauty of art, the ability to share your reality to other people. Artists shouldn't be disrespected for being human and having thoughts and and wanting to share their ideas on how we can better the world. A lot of my favorite artists have completely different views than me but instead of bashing them and never listening to them again i applaud them for their bravery and ability use their voice. They could hurt their fan base drastically but they'd rather stay true to themselves and the art they create. No one can tell you what see or what you should believe. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't mean you should look down on the for it. Should rappers get involved with politics, or should they stay in their own lane?