A few weeks ago, thanks to a gift from my big brother (and only a 20 minute sales pitch) I finally came out of the stone ages, better known as On Demand cable viewing, and entered Netflix nation.

I believe that LeBron James’ coming to New York would be more about his inward journey than an outward one.

If one ever wanted to see the business model those of us in the ‘music industry’ are leaving behind – whether we like it or not – check out the recent ‘Starr et al v. Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al, U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 08-5637.’ Its the decision of a federal appeals court in New York in response to a case filed on behalf of music downloaders who accuse the four major record labels – Sony, EMI, Warner, and Universal - of engaging in a conspiracy to fix prices and terms under which music could be sold over the Internet. The court did not render a final ruling but determined that the Plaintiffs had ‘enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest that an agreement was made.’

Business acumen, institution building, and shrewd political maneuvering are the only way to protect conscious artistry.
Now add to this my professional background and my focus on Jay Electronica becomes clearer.

I can count on one hand the number of times I have known I should write and build on something, yet didn’t want to. This is one of them. I haven’t even wanted to discuss this subject on the phone with my inner circle. Only three people even know what is ultimately [...]

There is something very profound about the unity that Hip-Hop culture has embodied and produced that continues to impress me. It is as if a new people are being formed out of a generation - across, racial, religious, ideological and class lines. It reminds me of the phenomenon that took place in the 1960s and 70s in the Black community in the United States and around the world.

My plunge into the movie business came in 1996 when I had the privilege of being Method Man’s agent of record for the movie Copland, starring Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone. I will never forget those long hours on the movie set in Queens. You know, the top of the building scene. For the legions of you who are now going to race out and rent Copland or watch it on cable (it’s on Encore this month) I won’t spoil the outcome.

If I had to say who I felt has had the most compelling ‘story’ in Hip-Hop history, I would have to say 50 Cent in 2002-2003 and Snoop Dogg in 1992-1993. In all of my years in the business and as a consumer or adviser to artists I have never seen anything like the phenomenon around their stories, prior to the release of their ‘debut’ albums.

When people complain about the state of lyrics in rap music today and even ask me why I think it has been so long since more mature, socially relevant, and conscious lyrics were common place, along with the usual industry and radio politics 101 I run down, I have a standard statement, ‘Not enough ghost-writing in the game.’

For years – about 7 to be exact - I have entertained the argument that Hip-Hop sales have declined primarily because of the Internet. While that is true today, I have maintained that the blame for the cause of the sales drought belongs somewhere other than file sharing, mp3s and ipods. As the Fourth-Quarter of 2009 ends and with it the Christmas sales that became the life blood of the industry, I thought it would be good to devote this week’s AllHipHop.com Hip-Hoppreneur ™ commentary – the last of 2009 - to the full story of what really happened – beginning in 2002.