Trinidad
I’m sure we have all heard about Def Jam Recordings dropping Trinidad James from the label earlier this week and to be honest I was shocked … shocked to find out that he had signed a deal with Def Jam in the first place. Trinidad James has made a couple of descent songs and he’s had some descent verses on a couple of popular, hot tracks but the rap game has shown a new ignorance in regards to music and artists; as times have changed record labels have started losing their sense of good decision making and are constantly signing artists who fall short of the expectations set by the record label. As label heads and executives you have to know the difference between “right now” music and “forever” music. For example, the difference between Trinidad James and Lil Wayne. Trinidad James hit the seen in 2012 with the catchy smash single All Gold Everything and it’s not hard to see why Def Jam made their initial bad decision of signing the Atlanta rapper based off of only one successful hit. The single peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 36 and went on to become a certified gold record. To Def Jam, this was signs of a break through artist who would make them a lot of money but this is where the ignorance comes into play; you have to separate the “right now” artists from the “forever” artists. When you do not separate the two, you end up signing joint venture deals worth $2 Million without having a clue of what you are actually getting. Let’s keep in mind that the music industry is a cold, risky business and you do not always get what you pay for. Trinidad James responded to being dropped from his label with a new song entitled, Doin’ me , the song addresses how he feels about others reactions to him being dropped by Def Jam and how he plans to move forward, doing what is best for him. This is just a reminder that anybody can get on but you also have to know how to stay on because fans move on quick.