About a year or so ago Columbia Records got wind of Kreayshawn and saw she had millions of hits via Youtube for her song Gucci Gucci.. They saw this Oakland based white girl as a major cash cow and figured she would take music and record sales to new heights.. So Columbia did what they didn’t do for artists like Nas, dead prez, Public Enemy and few other notables who at one time or other graced their ‘esteemed’ label, they wrote a rumored fat check for almost a million dollars so this new internet sensation could produce her debut album..
They followed up with that fat check, by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars more to make sure she was on every radio station in heavy rotation.. Not a day went by that we didn’t hear Kreayshawn. Columbia then spent truck loads to make sure she got to co-host parties and events at big time music awards like MTV Video Awards.. Yes indeed Columbia dropped duckets galore thinking that Kreayshawn was gonna attract all the nice little white boy and girls from the burbs who have long been rumored to be the primary purchasers of rap music.
In the minds of Columbia executives, Kreayshawn was hip and happening. She was connected to Odd Future who were already making noise. She had produced videos for Lil B who was also making noise. She was managed by the same team that managed Oakland rapper Mistah FAB.
V-Nasty
On top of all that Kreayshawn had a healthy dose of controversy. Her partner in crime half white/ half Asian V-Nasty of the infamous White Girl Mob which is Kreayshawn’s crew insisted that she had every right to use the N word. There were videos surfacing of her standing on a street corner calling a Black dude ‘nigga’ and daring them to do something about it..Her rationale for using the word, was she’s from the hood, that’s how she talks, she’s been in and out of jail and she’s always packing.The controversy around V-nasty in many ways overshadowed Kreayshawn’s music..but at least people were talking.
Next controversy, some semi nude photos of Kreayshawn surfaced...From Pamela Anderson to Paris Hilton to Kim Kardashian to now, Kate Middleton of the Royal Family, you seemingly can’t go wrong with a sex scandal of sorts in today’s sex crazed world..Hence Kreayshawn was in good company.,
Lastly Kreashwn also saw herself embroiled in some beef. She took shots at Rick Ross on a freestyle resulting in things almost coming to a head at the MTV Music Awards when Kreayshawn was hosting a segment and her crew and his crossed paths.. All big selling rappers need beef of some sorts..
With all that said, everything was in place and ready to go..The tried and true formula to make noise via a major label was in place..Columbia made this big time investment and released her debut album ‘Something About Kreay‘ The end result was them selling a whooping 3900 albums.. yep you read that correctly 3900.. Making it one of the worse major label album debuts in history..
As for Columbia records.. a few things to keep in mind.. First just because an artist has 4 million youtube hits doesn’t mean they’re gonna sell 4 million records. For starters youtube numbers can be gamed and you may also have a significant amount of people watching a video repeatedly. I know I watched that Gucci Gucci video at least 654 times, but have no intention of buying the record or album..
Second..it serves Columbia and any other label right that went for a gimmick vs cultivating and nurturing talent. In this case they saw white girl rapper from the hood who is down with Odd Future and figured that was all that was needed. That was a big time fail..One should not put art and culture into nice little boxes.
Lastly if history is any indication, we should never forget that this is the same Columbia records that refused to put out Billy Holiday‘s Strange Fruit because they hated the message.. This is the same Columbia that refused to put out Charles Mingus anti-discrimination song Ode to Faubus because they didnt wanna anger racist white folks.
This is the same Columbia records that refused to let dead prez release their original album cover of the Soweto protestors from South Africa holding guns during an Anti-Apartheid rally while this same label was simultaneously promoting sipping on syrup by 3-6 Mafia by sending blow up dolls and whine flasks to urban retailers radio station jocks all over the country…
This is the same Columbia records that Michael Jackson said was shady and did him wrong by ripping him off when it was headed by Tommy Motala. I can go on and on.. reciting the missteps of this company and I shall not shed any tears..
-Davey D-
Davey this is do dead on point…there really is nothing to add to your narrative although I would love to add something that advances the discussion — you covered it perfectly. #salute
you didn’t comment on their biggest mistake, waiting too long to drop the damn album
The satire around this article is how all HipHop should be looked at.Columbia records invested in these white trash Barbies and they accepted whatever “deal” they were handed. Columbia isn’t the doer of all evils, it’s the cluelessness of hipsters and ghetto yokals that partake without knowing what they’re doing.Dead Prez deserved whatever happened and so do these mentally challenged poseurs, and the A&R idiot who made the sale should be axed and omitted from the business world indefinitely.
This also the company that shelved 50 cent to promote Nas group Bravehearts
Why, pray tell, does the commenter believe that dead prez deserved what they got? Because they folded to Columbia’s pressure, or, some other reason?
dead prez didnt fold to Columbia..
I don’t know what exact neighborhood in Oakland that Kreayshawn is from, but I have to believe if she were really from “the hood”, like West or East Oakland, she’d know better than to walk around saying the n word while being white. She really seems more like a white girl from the burbs mocking hip hop to me.
Kreayshawn did that Gucci gucci thing as a joke..got it promoted by Mr. Fab since she is primarily a videopgrapher. She is from Albany as is most of her crew like Jordan. AS for “V Nasty” she is, but guys lie Fab defended her. I like his stuff and what he actually does inthe community but there is no defending the use of that word by white or black folks
she is from the east and i know plenty of white folks dropping the n bomb like it ain’t shit but the point is that she is a fabricated artist with no weight behind her music. we can’t judge her on a personal level because she is from an impoverished area with a very strong culture. her music is shit though i think we can all agree on that.
Ha!! I find this information so engrossing… see, I am the true white girl hood Rapper… when she got that 1,000,000 dollars, it kind of messed with my head… I am everything she has always wished she could be yet no 1 has ever recognized my talent enough to invest that kind of money in me.
Can’t say I’m surprised… if you would like to know what true hip-hop looks like coming out of a white girls mouth, google Mysdiya Monroe.
Thanku!!!
Ya I already knew Kreayshawn was lame. Especially when she got beat by rappers like, Macklemore, Future, Kid Ink, and friggin’ Iggy Azalea for the Source 10…And Columbia hasn’t been helping hip-hop artist of any sort, so forget them…Good to see crappy things happen to crappy people.
I mean XXL
I didn’t buy the album but sounds like something personal and like this dude doesn’t like white people. Tryna keep hiphop all black. Another muthafucka hatin on the bay. Plain out hatin on someone for coming up. Make your money and haters shut the fuck up. Kick that black power shit somewhere else.
Hey! You win. Yours is the stupIdest, most uninformed comment of all. Ain’t nothing wrong with the Bay, as Davey himself would probably tell you. There is something wrong with the record label, firstly, and then with the so-called “artist”. You put the “umm” in dumbass.
Davey,
PLEASE go on and on. I enjoyed reading this.
I’m not some little crybaby, and I genuinely cannot stand how sensitive and easily offended people can be these days, but I thought the “white boys and girls from the burbs” comment was a bit unnecessary. Hip hop has essentially come down to a few simple things these days: money and worldly possessions (cars, jewelry, clothes, etc.). If that’s something to boast about, then why speak poorly of the little “white boys and girls from the burbs” who spend their money that aids in the purchasing of said possessions? I just did not know that I had to be black and grow up in an underdeveloped, dangerous area of a large city in order to appreciate and enjoy the music. I purchase these albums because I want to support the artist creating the music, and the message portrayed in that music. Don’t get down on me for being a little white boy from the suburbs.
Mr Niceguy according to major label executives.. 70% of rap music is purchased by who??? White kids.. from where?? the suburbs.. Hence you get an act like Kreayshawn who is white who are they gonna hope buys her product?? Booom!.. white kids from the burbs..
Lol and what about all this skinny jeans and fake, obnoxiously large glasses bullshit that I see Wiz and many other black artists wearing? Is that our fault as well? Artists like Big Sean rapping in the shadow of people like Justin Beiber isn’t exactly helping either. I’m not saying I enjoy Kreayshawn. Far from it. i dont really enjoy ANY of the hip hop people my age are digging these days. And I’m not trying to be condescending or create an argument. I’m sure you know the industry far better than I myself. It just feels like you are holding the entire white demographic completely responsible for insults, like this chick and many others, to the hip hop genre. Like I said, I’m not trying to be an asshole. Just saying man. Have a good one.
Mr Nice.. I dont make sublime remarks.. I don’t beat around the bush..I’m pretty straight forward. If I wanted to Blame all white folks I would.. It would be crystal clear no punches held.. So stop with the dilly dally remarks.. My article was pretty straight forward. You had a major record label, over hype an artist who didnt have all that it takes to really blow up.. and yes the industry plays to various races all the time..
amazing! love your writting, your my new found glory, I am going to follow your blog all the time, 🙂
i wanted to give Kreayshawn the benefit of the doubt, I wanted her to put out a quality album that brought something new to the game. instead her new album is garbage–her rhyme schemes don’t make sense. the only redeeming quality of this fiasco is her Go Hard video is visually interesting. other than that, i think the hype was way too overblown. there are many more talented and versatile rappers out here in the Bay (such as Iamsu) that should get some commercial backing from a major label.
plus, by putting herself in the company of talentless hacks like V-Nasty, she set herself up for failure.
if i could subtract from her album sales, i would. Sorry to be so blunt, but seriously!
I never really got into the whole blog thing, but Davey’s cool.
Check me out tho, peep some Bay Area Game youtube.com/PlayHarddTV
sounds like columbia records got their comeuppance they gambled on a wack so-called rapper and they got geeked off of her so called youtube views.and at the end of all the mad publicity that she got she could’nt even sell 5000 records embarassing and the moral of the story is a&r an artist career the old fashioned way work for it.
This is assuming that Columbia did a traditional deal and isn’t doing some kind of joint venture. The latter, of course, would have 3 or 4 major sources of income rather than counting exclusively on record sales Good article tho.
It’s Billie Holiday, not Billy.
Reblogged this on Promotewho and commented:
hmmmm….
This article was well articulated and informative, plain facts…Kraeyshawn was all hype, and I’m ecstatic to know that Columbia found out that their cash cow milk dried up a million dollars and some change too late
Thanks D. Informed and thoughtful as usual. You’ve been on point since your KALX days. If someone else responds to socio-cultural critique as “hating” I’m going to lose my mind!!!
Most YouTube views are bought, and even friend likes on Facebook are bought. Kreayshawn can’t rap, and was not developed as an artist, no–she seems like any average white girl who was snatched off the street and told, “You’ll fit the bill”. The bosses at Columbia got scammed, because they failed to investigate the Internet and its emerging technologies, those that can be used to run a con. Columbia execs just saw her video, and threw money out there assuming that she had a large dedicated audience, without bothering to investigate her, like checking if she had any real sales numbers to go with those alleged 4 million YouTube views. You see, there is a difference between view numbers on YouTube that are generated by software companies that you can buy those views from, and real views organically generated on YouTube via real promotions, that reach actual real people–people who watch the videos–and buy downloads and CDs. Regardless, even if you do reach 4 million real YouTube viewers, only 1 percent of those viewers will buy a download single, album, or CD, if available. Kreayshawn, if legitimate, should have, at least, been able to move 40,000 singles or albums on her own independently, based upon those YouTube view numbers. Which means, she never had an audience in the first place, and the label was misled by Kreayshawn and her crew. Those in the public, at radio, and at clubs, who were exposed to her image and music via the label’s marketing and promotion campaign didn’t like her, or the artificial hype that came with her. Really, she has no talent, and there is a number of great veteran music producers out there who can quite easily screen-out these scam artists within seconds or minutes– music producers, who are more often than not…under-used…if not ignored entirely, and the same for the legitimate acts that they have discovered and groomed, whom like their mentors, can’t even get a meeting with the big labels anymore, because they, the labels, are too busy meeting with on-line scam artists like Kreayshawn and reality game show singing contestants. If the music industry wants to be fixed, they have to hire veteran music producers to act as A&R execs for the labels. Give them real power to sign and develop new music artists, and they, the producers, will give the labels back…a working, inventive, exciting, and prospering music industry again…the way things use to be.
I’m an inspiring artist so all I need is a million hits on youtube to get a deal if not tell me how to crack into mainstream hip-hop please cause this sh!t ain’t easy. There’s people in the world with real talent and she gets a mill. Damn this is where hip-hop is right now sad.
to be honest, her album flopped because it came out a year after she had all the big hype about her.. if she dropped the album last december it would of sold alot more.. she didnt release any music since gucci gucci .. maybe 1 song, but people were waiting for music from her for a while. This is gonna be a learning lesson for artists when you have HUGE HUGE hype like how kreayshawn did off gucci gucci, release a album as soon as possible. Even Asap Rockys album would of sold alot more last year then it probably will when it actually drops.
Good artist and music-10
I honestly didn’t buy into her “hype” at all. -3
I don’t know – she look good tho (RED)
meanwhile some dude in a 3rd gen rx7 just wiped out because the weight ratio is “too centered” I say put it in back or up front…east coast west coast… cept CA booo
hahahahahahaha!!!!!! that what tf they get for investing in artist who only had one damn hit single! they next one should be def jam and trinidad james!
Man, those nude photos are soooo hott. I have a boner now. Who cares how many records she sells? She’s a totes babe.
Uber Critic made very good and excellent point that the majority of 98% of Major Record label A&R and it is not like the music is getting better or the talent is uprising oppose to older music (If you doubt what I am saying just checkout the New Years event or club your going to and listen to the hit songs from back in the days that still arises and brings up the vibes in a club).
When I 1st heard this ‘Kreayshawn’ chick I knew right away it was a major funded rapper who will flop especially if the label only funded money because youtube plays can be bought just like Payola radio spins that fools the average listener who does not understand the music industry and business on how it works (The naive ones that is..)
Music sales since 2001 have fallen more then 75% since 2001 so how much worse can it fall right? Without liver performances and the artist selling out a minimum of 15,000 patron venues then they are never going to be credible in the music industry because the music industry is over saturated with one a billion wannabe’s these days..
A lot of the lyrics and her image was stolen from rapper Mia Meow who was raped tortured and murdered because she had the lyrics that Kreayshawn stole from Gucci Gucci copy written and Mia Meow stopped Kreayshawn from receiving the MTV award in 2011. Mia Meow’s mother is trying to get justice for her daughter.