Wow! I just took at look at the latest Hip-Hop, and R&B Billboard chart, and to my surprise, Good Music/Roc Nation and Cash Money/Young Money dominated numbers 1 – 10. When I say dominated, I mean dominated!
1) Jay Z/Kanye West – Ni**as In Paris
2) Beyoncé ft. Andre 3000 - Party
3) Wale ft. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb
4) Big Sean ft. Nicki Minaj – Dance (A$$)
5) Lil Wayne ft. Drake – She Will
6) Drake – Headlines
7) Wale ft. Jeremiah & Rick Ross- That Way
8) Drake ft. Nicki Minaj- Make Me Proud
9) T – Pain ft. Wiz Khalifa & Lily Allen – 5 O’clock
10) Rick Ross ft. Nicki Minaj – You The Boss
In addition, the two conglomerates held position 11, 12, 13, 14, and 19.
Cash Money/Young Money Lil Wayne Carter IV installment recently went double platinum according to the RIAA. Wayne released the Carter IV three months on August 29th, and since its release the Carter IV has become the highest selling rap album, and the highest selling album by a male since 2008. In fact, Wayne was the last male rapper to eclipse this plateau with his Carter III album in 2008. Granted Jay Z, Kanye West, Drake, T.I., and Ludacris have all recorded platinum albums in the last three years, but none of them have outsold Wayne. In addition, Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” LP, was the only LP that outsold the Carter IV.
Cash Money/ Young Money affiliates; Drake, Nikki Manij, T-Pain, DJ Khaled, and Rick Ross have all enjoyed recent success in the rap game. In fact they are all platinum-selling artist. DJ Khaled recently received a Triple platinum plaque for his LP “I’m on One”, which is significant because DJ Khaled is just that; a DJ! It seems like every album they drop, and every single they release does extremely well despite the music industries hard ships.
Good Music/Roc Nation is doing extremely well. Jay Z and Kanye West “Watch the Throne LP is certified platinum. Beyoncé’s “4” album went platinum, Rhianna is all over the air way, and J. Cole is close to going Gold. Big Sean has sold a sufficient amount of records, Pusha T is killing the mix tape game; Willow Smith, Melanie Fiona, Common, and Kid Cuddi are set to release. In addition to having superstar line-up, Jay Z has an absurd deal with Live Nation the live entertainment and eCommerce company.
I find it absolutely amazing that over 90% of the music being played on Hip-Hop/ R&B stations comes from these conglomerates. They are ahead in downloads, album sales, and singles. Is it Money, is it the name, or are they making Good Music/Roc Nation and Young Money/Cash Money are setting the standard rather we like it or not
Sources:
www.RocNation.com
