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Lil Wayne is everywhere. By many counts, he’s the hottest rapper in the game and it’s clear he’s not reserving any of that talent exclusively for himself and his Cash Money crew. The best-selling artist spreads his lyrics far and wide, to the point that you’d be hard pressed to find an R&B crooner or rapper who hasn’t worked with him in the past two years. His ubiquity is unquestionable but his commercial strategy does beg the question: is he spreading himself too thin?
We can assume that Young Jeezy, Kelly Rowland and J.Lo paid big bucks to have Weezy do a guest verse on their new singles but how much will Lil Wayne’s appearances on those tracks really boost the popularity of those singles, considering getting Weezy doesn’t appear to be a hard feat.
“By definition, Lil Wayne is overexposed,” said Mic Sean, lawyer and CEO of artist management firm Soul Rebel NYC. “But in hip-hop and the music industry in general, you’re perceived based on your most recent successes. For Lil Wayne, having recently been released from Rikers Island, it was necessary for him to re-establish himself as the hitmaker that he is.”
He certainly has established himself as the hardest working rapper in the business but definitely not the most selective. His counterparts, like Jay-Z for example, appear less frequently on tracks, which may very well help feed their demand.In 2010, Lil Wayne guested on over 30 songs, which averages to over two songs per month (excluding tracks off his own album). “With Lil Wayne being on so many tracks it does lower his overall impact as a feature but he’s still [influential]l enough to push whatever single he’s on simply because of his stature,” said Pharoh Martin, online editor at Radio One. “I would like to think many of these songs became more relevant than they would’ve become had they not had Lil Wayne’s name attached.”
It’s apparent that Wayne has no interest in making himself less accessible for the sake of building mystique or upping the demand for his brand. He’s not necessarily a businessman, but more so an artist. And he proves that fact over and over again with his focus on producing songs rather than building endorsement deals. For fans of Weezy, guesting on J.Lo’s latest track “I’m into you” is just another day at the office. It’s an interesting pairing but Weezy is known for many interesting pairings.
“Kanye probably would’ve made better since here but Lil Wayne was probably more accessible because he’ll do a track with whoever has the check,” said Martin. “For him, it’s a hustle more so than a way to chart. Sure, it waters down his value as a feature but he’s getting paid and still making any song better.”
We can assume that Young Jeezy, Kelly Rowland and J.Lo paid big bucks to have Weezy do a guest verse on their new singles but how much will Lil Wayne’s appearances on those tracks really boost the popularity of those singles, considering getting Weezy doesn’t appear to be a hard feat.
“By definition, Lil Wayne is overexposed,” said Mic Sean, lawyer and CEO of artist management firm Soul Rebel NYC. “But in hip-hop and the music industry in general, you’re perceived based on your most recent successes. For Lil Wayne, having recently been released from Rikers Island, it was necessary for him to re-establish himself as the hitmaker that he is.”
He certainly has established himself as the hardest working rapper in the business but definitely not the most selective. His counterparts, like Jay-Z for example, appear less frequently on tracks, which may very well help feed their demand.In 2010, Lil Wayne guested on over 30 songs, which averages to over two songs per month (excluding tracks off his own album). “With Lil Wayne being on so many tracks it does lower his overall impact as a feature but he’s still [influential]l enough to push whatever single he’s on simply because of his stature,” said Pharoh Martin, online editor at Radio One. “I would like to think many of these songs became more relevant than they would’ve become had they not had Lil Wayne’s name attached.”
It’s apparent that Wayne has no interest in making himself less accessible for the sake of building mystique or upping the demand for his brand. He’s not necessarily a businessman, but more so an artist. And he proves that fact over and over again with his focus on producing songs rather than building endorsement deals. For fans of Weezy, guesting on J.Lo’s latest track “I’m into you” is just another day at the office. It’s an interesting pairing but Weezy is known for many interesting pairings.
“Kanye probably would’ve made better since here but Lil Wayne was probably more accessible because he’ll do a track with whoever has the check,” said Martin. “For him, it’s a hustle more so than a way to chart. Sure, it waters down his value as a feature but he’s getting paid and still making any song better.”
Interesting read tbh
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