Spotify or Apple Music?

The music industry is dominated by flashy personalities. For those of you that have forgotten, Justin Bieber makes news for being a constant hooligan, Kanye West claimed to be a god, and Lady Gaga wears stuff like this

Yikes. Some artists have taken the “sell when everyone else is buying” approach and found a niche of normalcy without compromising their music. J Cole is one musician in particular who sticks out. He keeps a fairly low profile (chances are most of you haven’t heard of him) and does not come out with music at the rate of rappers like Gucci Mane. (Fun side note: Since 2005, Gucci Mane has released a mind boggling 87 albums, mixtapes, and EPs, a fact that is even more incredible because he spent 3 of those years in prison. It would take over 3 months of not stop listening to listen to all of his music once). Nonetheless, when J Cole’s album dropped, his first in two years, its ten songs were all among the top 11 most played songs in the US on Spotify. Instead of being erratic in public appearances, J Cole has quietly built a loyal following by doing things like turning his childhood home into a transition home for struggling families and attending a fans graduation (and offering to help her with tuition). While he obviously does not do these charitable things to “be an entrepreneur,” J Cole has found a unique value proposition: a genuine rapper who is still committed to musical artistry. And people are buying.

Very few people in the public eye have been as hated as musician Kanye West. From his spontaneous outbursts to his infamous “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” rant on live television, the man has brought about so much hate and outrage directed his way. Whether or not that hatred is deserved is topic for another discussion, however his talent as a musician cannot be denied. Writing about an artist seems an odd choice for this assignment, but I believe that West’s approach to constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries of his genre and the style of his music, makes him an entrepreneur of a rare kind.

In particular, the album 808’s and Heartbreak showcased a sonic innovator who took the risk of trying something new; and resulted in it defining the sound of a generation. 808’s was released in a time when hip-hop as a genre was defined by brash, aggressive music and lyrics that primarily described a “gangster” lifestyle (women, drugs, alcohol…etc.). Following the death of his mother earlier that year, West decided not to be limited by the restraints placed on him by his genre and decided instead to release an album that deviated from the norm of the time; putting heavy emphasis on more somber, melodic instrumentals; lyrics on heartbreak and the loss of a mother’s love and being more vulnerable and personal than anyone in the genre had been before.

His revolutionary approach and the meticulous effort that he poured into crafting the album would define the music of the 2010’s. Some of today’s biggest artists: Drake, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, Alicia Keys and Chris Brown (to name a few) have credited their success and rise to prominence to the music and the style of 808’s; and his bold approach to thinking creatively outside the box has given artists the freedom to not limit themselves but to think and make more experimental music.