By Joel Bridgeman
In the rap world, many people who were deprived of basic necessities are blessed with financial success. I am proud of them for their accomplishments and for the pathway to success that they embody.
However, I feel that much of what they do is not only unnecessary, but embarrassing. Record labels prey on young, financially illiterate talent to make profit. These young men must see through the facade of the cash advance, which many of them use to purchase the large, gaudy and embarrassing jewelry they wear with a buck-wheat style pride. I take issue with this for a number of reasons.
Firstly, a cash advance contractually obligates an artist to produce income for the record label. This money is recouped with a 50-85% share of profit from album sales and charging the artist for studio time, video shoots, and other production costs in addition to the amount initially advanced. By turning down this bait, an artist gains the bargaining capital for a majority share of profit.
Secondly, big shiny shit is tacky and decreases the value of that to which it is attached. This is true for rims on a car because they depreciate the value. This is true for a person wearing a big ass chain because of the thoughts other members of society have when they see someone decorated like a Christmas tree:
Girl at a club: “If I get pregnant by him, he can pay my bills….”
Guy at a club: “If I rob him, I can pay my bills….”
Members of society who have never lived in and do not understand the psychology of the ghetto:
“You must be from the ghetto AND you must be stupid”.
Since most of the people who buy excessively flashy jewelry used to be poor, I’m sure they can find better ways to spend money. Maybe they should try going back to their elementary schools to save the kids from nasty-free-lunch-hamburger day.
