Trinidad James and Lil Yachty weigh in on the current landscape of music and rap deals. In a recent interview with TMZ Hip-Hop, the “All Gold Everything” rapper shared his perspective on record labels extending contracts to prevent artists from re-recording their music, citing examples like Taylor Swift and Ashanti.
Trinidad James Talks Ashanti & Taylor Swift
Trinidad James and Lil Yachty, two prominent figures in the hip-hop industry, have recently shared their thoughts on music and rap deals.
Trinidad James was recently interviewed by TMZ Hip-Hop and was asked how he felt about record labels lengthening contracts to prevent artists from doing re-recordings of their music, such as Taylor Swift or Ashanti. Swift had put the label Taylor’s Version on her re-recorded music, and Ashanti is re-recording her music from her Murder Inc. days.
“I’m not mad at a Taylor Swift or an Ashanti, because they had to go through the slave trade to get everything that they got, unfortunately.
Trinidad James also says that labels and A&R’s are lazy with artists’ contracts nowadays:
“On the label side, its weak a** A&R’s, weak a** label heads, but at the same time its procrastinating and lazy ass artists,” he said.
Lil Yachty Chimes In: ‘Hip-Hop Is In A Terrible Place’
On Nov. 10, Lil Yachty also commented on the current state of hip-hop and music while talking at Rolling Stone’s “Musicians on Musicians” event. The Atlanta rapper said that hip-hop is in a “terrible place” and that it’s a lot of imitation:
“Hip-hop is in a terrible place,” Yachty said. “The state of hip-hop right now is a lot of imitation. It’s a lot of quick, low-quality music being put out.“ He continued, “It’s a lot less risk-taking, it’s a lot less originality…People are too safe now. Everyone is so safe. I rather take the risk than take the L.”
The reactions to Lil Yachty’s comments on the current state of hip-hop have been mixed on social media platform Twitter (X). One user named @CageyProlific commented, “Is he right but just the wrong messenger?.” while one other user named @WillBarb44 commented, “Ironically he is part of the problem.”
Lil Yachty also said he “took a risk” with his latest album, Let’s Start Here, which specialized in psychedelic rock, rather than typical rap music.
Bow Wow Weighs In
Adding his voice to the discourse on the current state of rap, Bow Wow shared a series of opinions on Twitter in October 2023. The rapper/actor expressed concerns about the genre’s condition, attributing its challenges to insufficient artist development and subpar stage presence.
Juicy J & Wallo267 Talk Decline In Rap Sales
The concerns about the current state of hip-hop extend beyond Trinidad James and Lil Yachty. Juicy J, the leader of Three 6 Mafia, called for a meeting involving rappers, producers, writers, and engineers to address the 40% decline in rap sales. Additionally, Million Dollaz Worth of Game co-host Wallo267 took to Instagram to express his belief that rap often follows negative trends instead of focusing on creating quality music.