Does anyone know what's the equivelent in rap? Can I assume most mainstream rappers(Kanye, Wiz, 50 Cent etc.) heavily contribute to their own lyrics? I'm particularly curious about Eminem.
If they're buying for the brand, then perhaps. The headphones are objectively worse than other models in the same price range. I'd guess that most buyers are not aware of this and just think it's cool or it must be good because it's higher priced.
It's brilliant marketing, sure. But it's like taking a $2 bottle of wine, rebranding it, and saying it's worth the value at $19.
That's the whole point of the brand though. I don't think Beats is trying to convey the image that they're the objectively best brand of headphones. However, they are saying - these are endorsed by Dre, popular athletes & other profile musicians & that wearing them is "cool".
That's like complaining that Nike can markup a pair of Jordans for $150 even though they're objectively "just as good" as a pair that costs $70-$100. A "brand" is valuable.
Case in point - that "rebranding" of the wine, just got you an extra $17 in margin.
The other most well known non-writing rapper is Puff Daddy, famous for the line "Don't worry if I write rhymes, I write checks." I wonder who actually wrote that line...
Most rappers write all their own lyrics, but there are definitely exceptions. Kanye West, for instance, semi-openly writes collaboratively with others[0]. It is also widely known that former labelmate Consequence wrote the first verse of Jesus Walks.
There are a handful of known ghostwriters in hiphop (who've even used ghostwriters themselves like Nas and Mase)... Sauce Money, Jay-Z, Eminem, Rakim, Pharoah Monch, Royce Da 5'9, Smitty, Skillz, TI, Cardan, but it's so taboo that most times you'll never know.
It's far more commonly known that people buy beats from producers.
Even if "ghostwriting" was a common thing in rap, I doubt anyone would consider anyone other than Eminem wrote his lyrics. His style has always been very unique and complex - and hardly ever imitated well.
That's just silly. Most rappers write their lyrics. You don't become a rapper by buying ghostwritten lyrics, at least in the overwhelming majority of cases.
Little people know that Rick Rubin is someone who helped make hip hop popular , I have an old video of him jamming on a TR909 with Afrika Bambaataa back in the early 80s. Without him , hip hop would not have been what it was. Funny as he is mostly known for his (successfull) Metal productions. But he is the "white guy" that defined hip hop sound. The crap we hear today is not hip hop, i dont know what it is frankly...
Most of the singers MM writes with contribute the lyrics. Hip Hop works almost the same way with their producers essentially writing the "song" structure (beats and loops).
