When influential artists stay true

Hey! Sorry for the delay. My wife and I moved to a new place this past weekend, so didn't get to send the standard Sunday recap. But better late than never!

I was recently featured in CNBC's How Spotify Dominates Apple, Google And Amazon In Music. Watch it here:

Here's the latest from Trapital:

Weekly article

What Hip-Hop Gets Wrong About Young Thug

Many view Young Thug's career as unmet potential. The media paints him as a lottery pick with flashes of brilliance, but not a perennial superstar. They want Thug to have his 2011 Dirk Nowitzki moment when he proves haters wrong and rises to the top.

It’s an understandable take, but it ain’t happening. The 28-year-old is quite satisfied with his place in rap. The desire for him to be more commercial says more about fan’s conflicting desires and less about Thug himself. (July 16)

In 2016, Lyor Cohen, founder of 300 Entertainment, had a predictable argument with Young Thug about how to approach his career.

Lyor wanted Thug to connect more with fans, but Thug wants to maintain a mystique. Cohen also wants more focus on quality over quantity, but Thug wasn’t having that either. Thug’s indie rapper mentality conflicts with a label exec who wants to do is leave money on the table. Lyor has since left 300, but the same debates are likely still happening.

Podcast

How Hip-Hop Challenger Brands Corner the Market (with Ernest Wilkins)

Office Hours’ Ernest Wilkins came through the Trapital Podcast to talk about challenger brands in hip-hop, why they exist, our respective articles on No Limit and Quality Control Music, and what we expect for the future. (July 14)

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Have a great week! I'll be back on Sunday.

Dan

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