Why do cats like Jay Z still make commercial pop singles?

[Tom]

I'm still waiting on these "pop records" that Jay-Z is doing. It's like you guys never step foot in clubs. Since when is being well-rounded as an artist a crime?

Did you hate "Give It To Me" too?

In Jay's entire career you can point to like 3 or 4 pop records. Show Me What You Got, Run This Town, Forever Young and what else? Maybe, that atrocious shyt with Beyonce..that Bonnie and Clyde.

Even on Run This Town, the dude spent the entire song rapping about the Roc Nation takeover and how much it cost him. Meanwhile, Kanye comes in and just straight raps for once. The only thing pop about the track was Rihanna.

If that's a pop record then "Hero" is a pop record.

Cats are really acting like "On to the Next One" is a pop record? A pop record is what Nelly was doing. A pop record is "How to Love." That's why Jay-Z has never been the best selling out of his contemporaries, he never went all the way out there with that shyt.

As far as why he does what he does? I don't know. I'm not him. Speculation would be pointless.

The City Is Mine
Sunshine
Girl's Best Friend
Big Pimpin
Money Ain't a Thang
Hey papi
xcuse Me Miss"
Me and my girlfriend
"Change Clothes
Show Me What You Got
Hollywood
"Empire State of Mind"
Forever Young
Ghetto Techno


but truth be told it ain't even just his singles, alot of his album cuts just give off that commercial/I just wanna be accepted by white society vibe


and yeah, Nas dropped a few wack commercial joints and his fans have always looked at him like when he does so. It reminds his fans of the type of music that Jay Z makes and makes them go

Hero and Makes the world go round shoulda never been on Untitled

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Shows is amongst his highest incomes. nikka charged a college a million bucks .

And he's not doing it to sell more records, they just dropped WTT without doing a single interview, only sold on the internet for the first 1 or 2 weeks, a single without a hook and not even a video until the album was released.

His motivation behind BP3 was that he was gonna tour the biggest festivals, play in the biggest arenas and on. So he needed what Kanye calls Stadium Status Music.

And besides that Jay doesn't have to sell, but he has to stay on top of the game, he has to touch new territories with every album, he wants to win more grammys, end up higher on greatest musicians lists and on. He's not focusing on being one of the illest spitters out of BK, NY or the East Coast he captured those belts between 96-01. He's focused on being remembered world wide as one of the greatest musicians of his era. That's just my guess... But I wonder why is so hard for you to get? Maybe you're a low achiever.

Operation Deep Throat has begun

Dude cried about having to limit himself creatively and having to sell out to make $$$$.... he is already rich and regarded as one of the best to do it.... why doesn't he statr making the music he claimed to "really" wanted to make now?

 

[McPiff]

The City Is Mine

Big Pimpin
Money Ain't a Thang
Hey papi
xcuse Me Miss"

"Change Clothes
Show Me What You Got

these joints sound pop to you breh?

 

[No1]

Show me what you got pop though?
It was "classic hiphop" with that sample, he was rapping about parties though.
He's spitting, no singers on the hook, it's a great party song. Of course he's not going in his hardest lyrically mad wrapped in metaphors and all that, it's cause that's not what people want to hear at a party or social function. Maybe these squares do, but most of us don't..

That hook was some of the corniest shyt ever. That "and wave and wave" was classic singalong garbage. I can't give you that one.

 

[DANJ!]

The City Is Mine
Sunshine
Girl's Best Friend
Big Pimpin
Money Ain't a Thang
Hey papi
xcuse Me Miss"
Me and my girlfriend
"Change Clothes
Show Me What You Got
Hollywood
"Empire State of Mind"
Forever Young
Ghetto Techno

If "Big Pimpin" was just some record on the album, nobody would call that "pop". It's only considered that cause it came out as a single and sold a lot. He put out a song with a group that was practically nonexistent to the pop world and got it to blow up mainstream... that's not the same as makin' a "pop" record. In 2000, making a pop record woulda been something like coming out with a joint featuring Justin Timberlake or some shyt... not Bun B and Pimp C.

Should "Ghetto Techno" even count, seriously? That shyt was a shelved song that made it to the internet, and people act like it was a single. I mean sure it was terrible, but I think everyone including him knew that- that's why it didn't get put out.

And sure a lot of those songs were aimed at getting radio play... but that's not an out of character thing for him, so it becomes funny when people are in 2012, 16 years after "Ain't No nikka" still questioning the dude's integrity every time he makes a song that ain't all about droppin' lyrical gems and introspection. He's always made uptempo songs about bytches and money and shyt like that... so... ??? It's a problem when he does it and it's a hit, but if someone else tries it and flops it's no big deal?

 

[No1]

Let's be realistic

The City Is Mine
Sunshine Indeed
Girl's Best Friend We're counting movie cuts?
Big Pimpin Nah, it just has that crossover appeal. He and Bun were spitting.
Money Ain't a Thang Nah.
Hey papi Stop it.
xcuse Me Miss" No, it had that classic R and B vibe.
Me and my girlfriend Agreed
"Change Clothes Borderline, but I'll give it to you for sake of argument
Show Me What You Got Yup.
Hollywood That's an album cut it sounded like Hollywood. That was the entire point of that song. It sounded like the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.
"Empire State of Mind"This is far from a bubble gum pop record.
Forever Young Indeed.
Ghetto Techno Didn't make the album.


but truth be told it ain't even just his singles, alot of his album cuts just give off that commercial/I just wanna be accepted by white society vibe


and yeah, Nas dropped a few wack commercial joints and his fans have always looked at him like when he does so. It reminds his fans of the type of music that Jay Z makes and makes them go

Hero and Makes the world go round shoulda never been on Untitled

Too be honest with you, I didn't even feel Untitled all that much and I said that on . I'm old enough to where Nas is rarely teaching me shyt I didn't already know so all that's left is whether or not it's a good record. The message isn't enough. It's like why Immortal Technique sucks (aside from being a conspiracy nut). I listened to Untitled and sat there like, "Did you forget music is supposed to be entertainment?" I still play "Y'all My nikkas" everyday though.

But let's not veer off. You did some serious reaching. At the end of the day, he is making the music he wants to now. Why? Because he wants to be a star, it's the same shyt he was telling you on Hollywood. Rapping like "common sense" doesn't make you a star. Everything he does is connected to his music career. "Rap mogul." The 15 million per year Live Nation deal. If he's flopping then he's not getting a new deal is he?

 

[sporticus]

Maybe because, despite what you may think, there's nothing wrong with commercial singles?

 

[Tom]

At the end of the day, he is making the music he wants to now. Why? Because he wants to be a star

He's a dikk riding fakkit, He loves the attention.

 

[No1]

Lol, all of them love the attention. That was the point of Hollywood. But he still wants to be regarded as an artist in spite of it, and some people don't feel that he is being that. But it's his choice

The fact is, his discography is as such that he can pretty much get away with it. He hasn't done anything too far out of character.

Besides, nothing can be worse than that verse on the Robin Thicke song. After that, you have no where to go but up.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Maybe because, despite what you may think, there's nothing wrong with commercial singles?

There is somethign wrong with making them if you complained about making them to make money, and now have money.

Its like... say there was a porn star who did gay porn to get on, built his brand + $$$$, but kept making gay porn 11 years after the fact. Pretty obvious dude likes making gay porn

 

[iamduval]

Naughz stans just mad they daddy record aint sellin

 

[Harry B]

Operation Deep Throat has begun

Dude cried about having to limit himself creatively and having to sell out to make $$$$.... he is already rich and regarded as one of the best to do it.... why doesn't he statr making the music he claimed to "really" wanted to make now?

How the fukk am I stanning now you little cocksucking fakkit?
He asked questions and I'm trying to give my answer based on what he said himself and I believe him. He wants grammys, he wants to be the first rapper doing things, he wants to headline the biggest festivals and have the illest telethons, sit in the VIP presidential section and then ride out to the outskirts and perform with Jeezy and 100 other nikkas on stage, he wants to be mentioned with rock legends from the 60s and soul dukes from the 70s and people like Jaz-O and people like 2pac.

This is all documented, I'm just the messenger.

Now tell me how the fukk that is dikkriding, how did every single butt hurt Nas stan from 2001 manage to get on this board and worse dikkride me?

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

How the fukk am I stanning now you little cocksucking fakkit?
He asked questions and I'm trying to give my answer based on what he said himself and I believe him. He wants grammys, he wants to be the first rapper doing things, he wants to headline the biggest festivals and have the illest telethons, sit in the VIP presidential section and then ride out to the outskirts and perform with Jeezy and 100 other nikkas on stage, he wants to be mentioned with rock legends from the 60s and soul dukes from the 70s and people like Jaz-O and people like 2pac.

This is all documented, I'm just the messenger.

Now tell me how the fukk that is dikkriding, how did every single butt hurt Nas stan from 2001 manage to get on this board and worse dikkride me?

I dont fukk w/Nas music either, I just find stans hilarious

None of the (often completely fabricated) points or "facts" you put up answer the question of why dude is dropping such weak disks at pretty much the most free point in his career. You just can't wait to defend dude, even when hes wrong. Thats the definition of stanning.

Dude said he didn't want to make pop records but he had to to get his money up. Now he got his money up. He got the world record for most #1 albums. He got all the grammies and mainstream accolades. So why is he still making pop music?

 

[DANJ!]

Dude said he didn't want to make pop records but he had to to get his money up. Now he got his money up. He got the world record for most #1 albums. He got all the grammies and mainstream accolades. So why is he still making pop music?

This is a crazy question...

I think that "Moment Of Clarity" verse is a gift and curse to him... cause ever since he spit it, people have held him to every word of it more than they've held him to anything else he's said in his career.

But you think somebody that's got his money up and has consistently had major successes is actually gonna veer off the path that's been proven to work in achieving that? That's the definition of hustlin' backwards. Why would he choose now to start making Kweli/Common records when he's even bigger now than he was when he said THAT shyt... and was never a Kweli/Common type rapper any fukkin' way, so the verse never really made much sense to begin with... c'mon now. Only someone looking to fail would be on track to being one of the biggest artists of all time and then stop midway and say, "nah, I'ma go back to rapping like I did when I couldn't even get a deal". Some people would be that dumb because they'd actually care that much... but I don't think he's one of those.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

This is a crazy question...

I think that "Moment Of Clarity" verse is a gift and curse to him... cause ever since he spit it, people have held him to every word of it more than they've held him to anything else he's said in his career.

But you think somebody that's got his money up and has consistently had major successes is actually gonna veer off the path that's been proven to work in achieving that? That's the definition of hustlin' backwards. Why would he choose now to start making Kweli/Common records when he's even bigger now than he was when he said THAT shyt... and was never a Kweli/Common type rapper any fukkin' way, so the verse never really made much sense to begin with... c'mon now. Only someone looking to fail would be on track to being one of the biggest artists of all time and then stop midway and say, "nah, I'ma go back to rapping like I did when I couldn't even get a deal". Some people would be that dumb because they'd actually care that much... but I don't think he's one of those.

Well dude is rife with contradictions. He claims hes not a rapper, just a hustler who can rap, then after Ether he spends disc after disc making pop music asking why people don't give him the props he feels he deserves as an artist. Moment Of Clarity would not have happened if not for Ether, this is fact.

All I am saying is, lets acknowledge that both dude's assertions of not caring about his place in rap ("i used to be on that same bull shyt, you know my rhymes could do that, my rhymes could do this") are bogus, and that despite his cries otherwise, at this point he does enjoy making pop stadium records

The disconnect for me is, dude's complaints about the game are supposed to be his personal, "honest" moments, but his actions completely contradict them. Dude's a hustler to the core, and I respect that, but lets call a spade a spade