Save The Music Blogs

Waddup XXL world, Skyzoo checking in again. After a small delay I'm back at it with the blogging. The past few weeks have been hectic, in a good way. I couldn't blog the way I wanted to because of everything that's been going on with the music. From the “106 & Park” appearance to the "Speakers On Blast" remix with Lloyd Banks and Maino, and everything that's been going on in between, I've def been tied up with new moves. Like Marlo from The Wire would say, “Call it a good problem." With all of that being said, I'm back to having the time I need to blog for the week.

This past week saw the temporary shut down of a few key music websites, including my homies OnSmash. The anti-piracy game is in full swing right now, which is fine from an artist's perspective, but it obviously makes no sense to shut down a site such as OnSmash, which is fueled by music that the artists and labels themselves provide. It shows the lack of research and knowledge that the powers-that-be actually have. Watching all of the above happen, it made me reflect on the state of the game as we know it, the idea of finding new music, and how it has changed drastically.

As a junior high and high school student, I, like everyone else around me, was all about finding out who was hot in the streets. In the mid-late ’90's, the best way to do that was through a Clue tape. For those outta the loop, a DJ Clue tape was pretty much the end all be all for exclusives. When a Clue tape dropped, it seemed like the world stopped for a moment. Tapes like 4,5,6, Fall Pt. 1, Platinum Plus, Clue For President, etc., were all serious moments in mixtape history. I proudly still have most of my Clue tapes, emphasis on the word "tapes.”

The thing about mixtapes and getting music back then was that when a tape dropped, that was it for about three months. Sounds like a far-fetched idea in 2010, but in ’97, that Clue tape or Envy tape or Ron G tape held you down for a full season until the weather changed. The tape would generally consist of between 25-30 joints, from new songs to freestyles to remixes, and they were mostly all never before heard. Copping the new Clue tape from stores like Beat Street (R.I.P.) or from Hott Waxx (R.I.P.) or the Africans in the back of the sneaker store and rocking out for the next few months was everything to a 9th grader. Passing the tape around the school, going to somebody's crib during lunch to play it when they're mother was at work (think of the scene in Juice when the crew cut school and went to Steel's house), rewinding the Lox freestyle over and over, the novelty was in the fact that you never knew when you'd get a new tape again. So those 30 exclusives lasted for months at a time, because you had to make them last.

Fast-forward to the present, and that novelty is gone. As someone who's career has flourished through the presence of blogs and websites, I personally love what the NahRight's and 2DB's and Herfection's have done for the game, and I can honestly say I wouldn't be where I am right now without their support. So when the lines get blurred in the eyes of the powers that be, and sites get taken down for the wrong reasons, the worry of how fans will be made aware of new artists becomes a reality.

Anti piracy is nothing new, as we've seen DJs get arrested and tapes get confiscated. Stealing artist's music and leaking albums is one thing, and I'm totally against it, as I make my living solely off of music and a leaked album can be severely damaging. But when labels and artists themselves send music to the blogs to openly promote and generate interest, there's no piracy at hand.

As a product of the blogs and fans getting familiar with who I am due to the 'Net, the importance of the viral community is more present than ever before. And as someone who is still a listener and fan, I've become aware of a ton of new artists via the blogsphere, like Nitty Scott MC and Tyler The Creator/Odd Future (Sidebar: that kid Earl is gonna be a monster really soon. Quote that).

In essence, the blogs are the new mixtape DJs. Instead of waiting 3 months for 30 new records, we probably see close to 50 a day via the 'Net. The days of depending on a DJ to get a collection of the newest joints and compile them for you for $10 are now a "free 99" deal and a plethora of music, so much so that sometimes it’s overwhelming. At the end of the day, blogs, music sites, etc., are all intensely needed, when worked right. Obviously the sites that allow retail downloads for free should be the targets, but the OnSmash's and other blogs that support the awareness of new artists to the fans, with fan's and label's PERMISSION should be given the lane to do as they are set up to. But hey, maybe I'm bugging (*Kanye shrug*).

In conclusion, this is the epitome of "the good fight". So shouts to Legend and everyone at OnSmash and all the other blogs that support us all. Til' next week, 100.

Signing off,
@therealskyzoo