Rent or Own?

Hip hop today is really missing a full spectrum. So much of it today is phoney garbage with an emphasis on getting a fat check as opposed to "keepin' it real."

The title of 50 Cent's album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', exemplifies this notion.

But it's funny though, because people think getting a huge record contract means that they run stuff. I'd love to have a fat check myself, but we have to understand that if you're getting a check from someone else, you're still dependent on them. What happens when the checks stop coming in?

You're still dependent on someone else. It's basically like renting yourself. You don't own your own image- you just rent it while someone else markets and sells it and they give you a cut. Tomorrow if you fall off MTV it'll be a whole different story.

What if P. Diddy, S. Carter, Master P. and Dr. Dre formed a distribution company- at least just for domestic sales.

That would be hot.

Maybe we just haven't gotten there yet- but I believe we will. I know that, as a people, we haven't had the best experience over here- but with all the things we have gone through over the centuries the fact that we're still surviving makes me grateful to God and proud to be Black.