By Vita Duva –
It is a Monday night at 6 p.m. and DJ ZTAK is hanging out in the station at WSRU, Salve Regina University’s student-run internet-based radio station. Kicking off the night in style, DJ ZTAK, whose real name is Zachary Faiella, bumps a true classic – ‘Royalty,’ a track off one of the East Coast’s more prominent hip-hop duo’s, Gang Starr’s 1998 fifth studio album, “Moment of Truth.” Nodding his head as DJ Premier’s untouchable beat and Guru’s smooth lyrics come to a strong close, DJ ZTAK is quick to reach out to his loyal listeners. “Jamming to these old-school funky hits. Call in to make a request at 401. 341. 2450,” he says through the microphone.
It is noticeable that DJ ZTAK’s heart belongs to old-school hip-hop. Influenced by his three older siblings, DJ ZTAK, “really started getting into [Hip-Hop] in sixth grade.” He adds, “My brother used to drop me off at school early and as I was waiting for the bell to ring, I would have Artifacts, Gang Starr and, Wu-Tang CD’s playing in my Walkman.”
The same goes for New York-based underground hip-hop artist and songwriter, L-One Crackeriffic, whose family has been immersed in music and performance ever since he could remember. “My mother is a music teacher in Queens and sings in a choir. My father is an actor and has performed in theatre. So, I have always wanted to do something with music.” The 25-year-old adds, “My older brother had an old Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff tape that he used to play when I was real little.”
Since then, L-One Crackeriffic, whose real name is Liam O’Connell, not only prefers, but also continues to purchase hip-hop records in their physical form. Yet, he seems to be one exception out of many, considering that in recent years, hip-hop record sales have continued to drastically decline.
According to www.hiphopdx.com, a hip-hop forum that provides the latest news, album reviews, interviews and exclusive cuts, the most recent top selling hip-hop album has surfaced from Lil’ Wayne’s ninth studio album, “Tha Carter IV” selling approximately 1.7 million copies total in the U.S., one month after the record initially released to the general public. Yet, “Tha Carter IV” was the first hip-hop album to make the U.S. Billboard 200 chart back in September, but only ranked at number 11. This record was followed by up-and-comer, J.Cole’s debut studio release, “Cole World: The Sideline Story” at number 16 and hip-hop moguls, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s collaborative effort, “Watch the Throne,” dropping to spot 19.
Although Lil’ Wayne may appear to be soaking up success and triumphantly advancing his fellow mainstream rivalries, “Tha Carter IV” sales are actually quite small compared to East Coast hip-hop icon, Notorious B.I.G’s 1997 second and final studio album, “Life After Death.” According to AllHipHop.com, another distinguished hip-hop forum, the highly celebrated LP sold a whopping 690,000 copies within its first week of release to the general public. The record not only went seventeen times platinum internationally, but has also been recognized as one of the top selling hip-hop albums to have ever hit record stores. Tied for second place is MC Hammer’s 1990 record release, “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em” and Oukast’s 2003 fifth studio album, “Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below,” as both records stretched sixteen times platinum worldwide.
So, as technological advancements continue to expand across the universe, hip-hop heads are now resorting to music theft, illegal downloading and bootlegging in lieu of purchasing physical albums, which helps to account for the extreme drop in hip-hop album sales within the U.S. As reported by the National Purchase Diary (NPD), a leading American research company, only 37 percent of music acquired by U.S. consumers in 2009 was paid for. Additionally, between 2004 and 2009, approximately 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded on file-sharing networks. Since Napster, an internet-based music store emerged in 1999; music sales in the U.S. have plunged by 47 percent, from $14.6 billion to $7.7 billion.
Moreover, as observed by Rolling Stone back in 2007, corporate cash flow, even to this day, plays a critical role in the severe decline of album sales in the hip-hop music industry. As artists continue to earn more from commercial advertising and promotional support, rather than from their own music, the hip-hop game is continually changing. Today many see hip-hop and its culture for the universal powerhouse and multi-billion dollar monopoly that it has developed into, but for nothing more.
Looking back, scholar James Edward Brunson III notes that the American cultural trend emerged in the 1970’s. Rooted in New York’s flavorful South Bronx, hip-hop culture brought to life not only the Jamaican sound system, but street-style elements from both the African-American and Latino communities, which include, emceeing, break dancing, DJing, beat boxing and graffiti writing. Later on came the recognition of both fashion and language, as well as the expansion of poetry, theatre and activism.
“People who listen to mainstream hip-hop would say that Lil’ Wayne and Drake are today’s top artists, but where do you see the hip-hop elements in their work? Sure, they are emcees, but their music is simply projected towards teenagers and misguided adults. What they put out is not hip-hop,” DJ ZTAK says of hip-hop being dead in the mainstream. Paraphrasing one of hip-hop’s most notable pioneers, Doug E. Fresh, he adds: “Hip-hop is supposed to relate and uplift the people who listen to it.”
Yet, today’s mainstream hip-hop artists seem to only concern themselves, as well as their music with explicit and glorified illustrations that include, sex, violence and bling. Cleverly, L-One Crackeriffic argues that not everyone is capable of relating to these narrow-minded themes and topics: “If I was violent, rich and had sex with a lot of women, I’d be rapping about it too, but I stick to reachable dreams with rhyming.”
With eight years of emceeing and songwriting under his belt, L-One Crackeriffic likes to, “place images in his listener’s head. It’s more about how you articulate your voice,” but he readily admits, “Hip-hop is a tough world to get accepted into.”
Nevertheless, hip-hop recording artist and songwriter, M.O.E.T. Lanksy likes to motivate his listeners by telling stories about the struggles he has faced in his own life. “I look at my songs as a personal trainer for the mind, a way for listeners to strengthen mentally and learn to never give up,” says the seasoned 22-year-old of his budding work.
Growing up in the 1990’s with hip-hop icons such as, Jay-Z, Big L, Big Pun and DMX, the Providence, R.I., native whose real name is Steven Monplaisir, never intended on making a career out of what was once just scribbled rhymes in his grammar-school notebook. It wasn’t until he took a music workshop in high school and got a shot at writing, recording and even, performing his original work in front of his peers that his journey in hip-hop truly took full stride.
But now, with five years’ experience in the game and having finally released his debut mixtape, “For My City” just this past summer, M.O.E.T., which stands for “Motivation and Opportunity Equals Temptation”, has steadily stayed grounded whether he is recording, performing or even, simply hanging out with his most trusted friends on the weekends.
“I feel that artists and label executives are trying too hard to keep up with trends and at the end of the day the product sounds exactly the same as a song another artist just put out yesterday,” M.O.E.T. states of today’s corporate hip-hop industry. “I am not saying that hip-hop has to be exactly as it was in the past. We are living in a new generation, but it would be dope to see artists acting themselves instead of trying to be like the next person in line.”
Undoubtedly, M.O.E.T. keeps it real, “I know where I live and where I come from. Life is not one big party, we all go through struggles in life.”
And so, it seems that there is radiant hope for hip-hop yet as it stays alive and well in the shadows of the underground.
Helping to quickly re-establish hip-hop’s deep roots are artists like Common, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Talib Kweli, KRS-One, Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, Jeru the Damaja, and so on and so forth.
DJ ZTAK believes that these artists, “really want to maintain the positive message of hip-hop and spread the word to the youths of today so that they will not fall victim to the corporate mainstream.”
