The Canadian Hip Hop Dream

It seems like most conversations I have with artists are about how nobody buys music anymore. The fact is that album sales are at an all time low and it doesn’t look like it’s getting any better. It also doesn’t help that downloading full albums for free is way simpler then going out and buying a record in a store.

“Canada is currently the sixth largest market for the sale of legitimately produced sound recordings in the world. In 2003, the total retail value of all legitimate sound recording sales exceeded $940 million CDN. Based on industry statistics and international comparisons CRIA estimates that sales of pirated sound recordings drains an additional $23.5 million CDN from the legitimate Canadian market.” ( Canadian Recording industry association: antipiracy)

Do you know what that means for all you artists out there trying to get signed by a major label?

Pack your lunch. Labels don’t make as much money as they used to and they aren’t looking for any risky business. The Canadian Recording industry association claims that only 1 out of 10 new canadian releases actually generates revenue. This is how labels raise money to invest in your dreams. The more money they lose, the less money they have to invest in new talent.

Welcome to the music business. Labels might say that they only look for groundbreaking talent but the bottom line is that they would give Shamu a 50 cent deal if whale music suddenly came into style. They are just looking for what works and what’s going to bring in the most profit.

Here’s a scary statistic:

William Hung’s album sold about 30-50 000 copies it’s first week.(MTV.com). His label was able to release CDs, DVDs and make a killing. What’s really sad is that most Canadian artist could only hope to sell that many albums this country after working their asses off for years. Unless you’re NickelBack or Avril lavigne, who make most of their album sales out of the country, you’re chances at selling millions of records in Canada are extremely slim.

It’s been said time and time again: Canada does not have a lot of love for Hip Hop. There are tons of fans but not enough funds generated to support the whole infrastructure. We’re the downloading generation. We go through music like underwear and it really ends up killing production budgets and focusing most of the efforts on promotion while offering a lousy product in return.
Most of our artists need to go south of the border if they want to “make it” but nobody has yet to really bridge that gap.

“You know what my boys in Brooklyn tell me? ‘Americans don’t want you to win,’” says Saukrates, the Toronto MC and producer who, along with long-time friend Kardinal Offishall, leads Can-hop’s latest crop of ace MCs. “And they don’t. A lot of the artists will suck up all the energy at their labels because they don’t want nobody to come and take their position, especially not a Canadian who can do it better than them. You gotta fight for your shine.”(Saukrates)

Too many Americans think Canada is a french winter wonderland somewhere near the north pole so labels aren’t really that interested in us.
When A&Rs look to sign a new rap artist, they usually look for a hard luck ghetto story that symbolizes the American Dream( Eminem, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Kanye West). The new era of rappers don’t even need to have that credibility.

(The Game was once on a dating show called change of heart )
“I can’t get no love in public”
“I want to be with my girlfriend all day every day”

THE GAME ON CHANGE OF HEART
American artists can pretend to be gangster in their songs but Canadian rappers are just not believable for the mass public. So many artists have gotten close to breaking into the states like Maestro Fresh Wes ( Let your backbone slide) Michiee Me, Choclair, Saukrates but nobody has truly been able to blow up. Kardinal is now signed to Convict music which is a giant step for Hip Hop in Canada. If his album sells worldwide, people might actually start looking at Canada in a new light.

So this brings me to my last point:

What is Canadian Hip Hop?

Hip hop is a culture and a genre of music that has now exploded into the mainstream on a worldwide level. By calling what we do Canadian hip hop, we’re setting ourselves apart based on our geographical location. If we had our own style like the Brit invasion it would make sense but the truth is that what we do is not that different then what’s going on in the rest of the world of Hip Hop. I understand that we need to create an identity for ourselves in the world but if we are so concerned with promoting our own artists, why does the number of featurings you have on your mixtape or album way heavier then the content or merit of your art?

There are amazing projects produced every year which get overlooked because magazine rather cover yet another rapper trying to make it with a big named American rapper on a hook , hoping that a couple of gs will make you famous by referal. We need to earn our own stripes, make our own moves and stop calling our music Canadian if it’s meant for the whole hip hop market. Let’s concentrate on the quality of the work and make it marketable by innovating instead of doing the same old thing.

Yours truly,

Jimmy Sweatpants

True Hip Hop

The Roots: