Streaming & The Influence of Rap/Hip-Hop Culture

Streaming &

The Influence of Rap/Hip-Hop Culture

By Bonds

@Onebond007

As we move closer to the end of another decade we’ve seen many trends come and go like a revolving door, but two things have gradually grown to remain supremacy at the top of the music industry, and that’s rap/hip-hop and streaming.

On demand streaming has bullied its way to the top as the preferred method of listening to music as Americans streamed over 900 billion songs in 2018, and look to carry the same trend in 2019, with the average time spent listening to music each week on pace to break 20 hours (almost 3 hours daily). Streaming is breaking boundaries and redefining rules as there is a surge in older age groups using music streaming services. The highest rate of growth is the 35-64 age group with 54% actively streaming month to month.

For most of us, we have fond memories of purchasing our favorite artists/bands CD, but what was once considered the prefered method of enjoying music is now prehistoric as the cost of one CD is equivalent to a month subscription to a streaming provider with a catalog in excess of over 40 million tracks. Easy accessibility, variety, and cost have all played key roles in consumers preference to listening to music. 

With the rise of digital streaming it was inevitable that something had to take a fall, and that was physical copies. Physical revenue declined by 10.1% only making up a quarter of the market. Vinyl records have seen a resurgence in sales as of late and if trends continue through December, then this will mark the first time since 1986, that vinyl records will outsell CDs. Don’t worry though, your collection of CDs will make great decorative pieces or coasters.

With digital streaming ever growing popularity it’s no coincidence that rap/hip-hop has helped in its dominance. No matter where you go it’s easy to identify the influence that the rap/hip-hop culture has on societies across the world, and in 2019, the stats prove just that.

To this date in 2019, there have been seventeen rap albums to debut at No. 1 for their opening week (see figure 1). Of those seventeen albums two were debuts (Young Thug - So Much Fun & Roddy Ricch - Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial). 2019 proved raps influence and dominance on pop culture as ten rappers have achieved their first No. 1 billboard album, edging out the previous record in 1997, with nine.

Music plays a greater impact on our daily lives than we are made aware of. The same can be said about the influence of rap/hip-hop in our culture. They help dictate our emotions and set trends, break barriers and humanize cultures, and help unify collectivism while maintaining individualistic morals. When you’re out and about this holiday season take notice of your surroundings and you will be able to identify these factors as we close the book on an eventful 2019, and look forward to a new decade. Stay Focused & Grind Hard.

French Montana "MONTANA" Album Review

French Montana

“MONTANA”

Album Review

By Bonds

@ondbond007

It appeared French Montana would be celebrating the release of his album from his hospital bed after being admitted into the ICU a week before with intense stomach pain and nausea, but in climatic fashion, the Mocroccan Wave God was released the same day his third studio album MONTANA was set to drop. 
French Montana is no stranger to the intensive care unit as he’s been hospitalized before with a gunshot to the head leaving a recording studio back in 2003, so hearing he was back in the ICU definitely raised a concern throughout the hip-hop community. Luckily, this time wasn’t as serious, as it turns out the turn up can in fact be real.

It’s time to start giving French the respect he deserves in the game and MONTANA proves just that, a 20 track, two sided flex, that’s heavily star studded with features full of Billboard potential. To have that many features to some may be considered a downfall, but to have enough creative vision to collaborate with the biggest names in the industry and finance it all; well, lets just say there’s a reason why your favorite artists probably has done a record with French. His consistency to his grind is the embodiment of his career, creating an impressive resume tallying up 3 albums, 23 mixtapes, and 187 guest appearances reaching as far back as 2007, maintaining perfect attendance in each year. Blended with business savvy dealings and sharp astuteness to the game, it’s easy to see why French Montana is at the pinnacle of his success and one of the top entrepreneurs.

You see, the road to MONTANA didn’t start overnight or with his first radio single “Pop That”. No, it’s much more of a rags to riches story. He’s the perfect example of the “American Dream”. Born in Casablanca, Morocco is where French spent the first 13 years, before moving to the South Bronx of New York City, and adopting English as his third language. That’s where French would begin his entrepreneur endeavors creating the popular street DVD series Cocaine City, where he produced 14 volumes featuring interviews with major and upcoming rappers highlighting underground music, high profiled lifestyles, and current rap beefs. That would be the same stage French Montana would showcase his talent as a rap artist and the rest is his-tory.

This album feels like one of his biggest achievements, solidifying his position as a heavy hitter who took the admiring Frank Sinatra,  “My Way”  approach and made his own route. Staying true to his Bronx roots, French hooks up with longtime producer/friend Harry Fraud six times including “Coke Wave Boys” featuring his friends Chinx (who was killed with gunshot wounds to the chest in a car on Queens Boulevard in 2015) and Max B (who was found guilty of murder conspiracy and robbery and sentenced to 75 years in prison in 2009, and since taken a plea bargain for aggravated manslaughter and set to be released sometime in 2021).

Having a two sided album in today's short attention span era almost seems career suicidal, but listening to the album it’s a more subtle approach to introduce two sides. French is known for his ability to collaborate with artists and over saturate listeners with features and MONTANA is no different, having collaborations on seventy-five percent of the album. That’s what makes his solo efforts on this go without saying, a breath of fresh air given the contrasting different elements each one brings to the album. The most notable standout for me is “Salam Alaykum”, a classic Harry Fraud slow tempo sample that will leave you amazed in production quality that captures the ideal tone French loves. I’d like to see him hold his own on more solo records, because when he teams up with producers such as Cool & Dre on records like “What It Look Like” he proves he can carry his own weight. (Solo records; side A: 1, 4, 6, 7, side B: 9).

From examples like; Jay-Z, Drake, Diddy, and Rick Ross, it’s evident in the rap game if you want longevity, you must produce good music and obtain a wealth of good business ethics at the very least, and that’s just what French has. French started off his career part of a group called Coke Boys who were signed to French Montana’s independent label Cocaine City Records (off his DVD hustle) and in 2009 Akon signs French to a shopping deal with Akon’s label Konvict Muzik. 

Wait, it gets better, in 2010 French Montana signs to Mizay Entertainment and managed by Debra Antney (former manager of Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka, and Lex Luger). 

It gets even better, French Montana ends both of those deals and a bidding war to sign him begins between; Roc Nation, G.O.O.D. Music, Bad Boy Records, and Maybach Music Group. In 2011 he initially signed with Diddy’s Bad Boy Records (that leveraged his Cîroc deal) and a few months later he would make the final touches to complete his joint deal with MMG as well.

It’s that type of type of strategic maneuvering within the game that enables French Montana to collab with with the hottest artists and producers like he has on “Writing On The Wall”. feat Post Malone, Cardi B, and Rvssian. This record has Unforgettable potential written all over it.

If you're familiar with French Montana’s catalog he’s good for at least one record on his album that will leave impressionable effects and for me on this album it's “Wanna Be” ft.  PartyNextDoor. At first I let it get lost in rotation, but after listening to it, it's an extremely well written and produced record. It’s a feel good vibe and reminds me of his philanthropy, that much like this song can get lost in rotation. Upon signing his deal with Bad Boy Records, French and Diddy were disgusting when to release French’s very own Cîroc French Vanilla flavor when Diddy “Generously gave French a $1 million dollar bonus that French donated the entire amount to the Entertainers 4 Education Alliance’s I WILL GRADUATE campaign."

More recently French Montana has helped launch a medical center in Uganda after filming his hit single “Unforgettable” ft. Swae Lee and becoming aware of the country's lack of healthcare facilities. He’s raised half a million dollars to build the hospital that serves over 300,000 of the countries citizens and was named the Global Citizens Ambassador.

With all things considered, MONTANA is a carefully constructed album assembled by substantial talent that introduces the past to the future in a bittersweet fashion in such a way similar to the sun meeting the horizon, departing from the day only to return tomorrow to introduce a new journey. My favorite stretch of the album are tracks 6 through 9. Overall I give it a B+, check it out for yourself and let me know how you feel about it, and as always, stay focused & grind hard.