Selling Rap Online . . .

Since 1979, Hip Hop has played as a large music experiment. The music itself evolved. It started as DJ's spinning records and working to make new sounds. It now is rappers sitting studios at odd hours recording music on polished beats.

The music industry with hip hop has changed. The major record labels dominated prepaid radio airwaves. MTV was another culmination of the music industry. Companies made mini-movies to play songs through videos. Michael Jackson made the best movies, and the public responded with making his album 'Thriller' one of the major music movements in the history of popular music.

The late 1990's saw another way to create hype in music. Boy music pop bands became another motion in pop music. Music acts such as 'The Backstreet Boys' (which I always thought the name was creepy, but that was just me), and '*N Sync' (look at some old pictures of the group, and I guarantee you will say "Is that the same Justin Timberlake???"). The hype was simple. Boys singing about instances of love into a primarily female audience. They sold large amounts of records, and made a spike in the music industry profits.

Then came Napster. Napster as well as other peer to peer file sharing networks killed the momentum of these pop acts. Provided with new technology, people would go to the streets and buy their music (I don't see them anymore in my neighborhood, but remember those guys who sold albums on the street, like they had the set up with like a blanket/carpet thing). The industry was crippled by the marketing techniques of old. Lost are the times, in which big music video budgets would prove to be effective and profitable. The internet made music accessible to the public and major labels were hurt.

During these times, the hip hop scene was in disarray. Central focus of the music was scattered, as acts poured in from the midwest as well as the south. Music video channels as well as radio stations (Hot 97 & co.) provided focus to these areas for hip hop music. New rap acts found it difficult to sell their records. Before the mid-decade shift of public music interest, record companies would put their money into acts and get compensated through their sales.

The mixtape boom also changed the way hip hop was made for the public. Rappers edged to flood the mixtape scene. Rappers focused more on features and freestyle which is different from focusing on songs (one of the bullets that helped make Nas say Hip Hop is Dead). Mixtapes helped give rappers some creditibility and promotion for their albums.

So, here comes Slaughterhouse. A rap group formed out of four underground rappers who each have had some hype given to them at one time. There all good as solo acts (Joell Ortiz is my favorite rapper in the group). Joe Buddens, Royce Da 5 9, Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I make the group. Their hoping to build a buzz online. This video makes fun of the music industry in many ways. So as these years pass, lets see how an online buzz can sell music and build up legends.