Whales

I was surprised to learn who made the most money off rap. The leading earners in the industry have never recorded a beat. David Geffen could walk down the street in any city and wouldn't draw a crowd. I for one wouldn't recognize him. Jay Z and Kanye West couldn't go to West Memphis without a full security staff, and money wise they don't compare. There is no way a black man could have a fraction of his money and not everyone with a television or radio not know who he was. Puff Daddy is worth 500 million and he is arguably the most recognized black man in the world. Every white person with electricity has heard of him.

Could this be the reason Don Cornelius disliked rap so much? In spite of creating the longest running show in television history. When he died he was worth !5 million dollars. Not a smittance, but certainly not a fortune. Considering he was the provlng ground for R&B acts for thirty years. In the rap game he was irrelevant. These  guys were making in two albums, what it  took him thirty years to  acquire.  The  words of James Brown came back to haunt him. "  Who is backing you on this"? As it turns out there was.  Little did he know. He was changing the game completely.

He knew it would eventually come to this. Roger Troutman started selling samples for ten and fifteen thousand dollars.  And the record industry was transformed overnight.. Now no one can play an instrument, sing or dance.  If you buy a sample make a beat and put some words with it. You might get a hit. The rap game would be like fishing in a foot tub. You only catch the big fish and let the little ones grow. No matter how big they get. They will never be a whale.