Does anyone else find it very strange and somewhat offensive how this September 11th was celebrated this year? In case you didn't hear, both 50 Cent and Kanye West decided to release their albums this year on September 11th. Now usually artists will schedule their release dates around other artists release dates, but the rappers decided to use their simultaneous release dates as a competition of sorts. Both rappers swore to quit their solo rap careers if the other rapper beat them in record sales. For those of you out there counting, the last I heard Kanye had doubled the g-unit frontman's sales so far.
The artists have used the release date and challenge as publicity, obviously, but if you ask me, they have taken it a step too far. I was watching Best Week Ever today which was making fun of the fact that the artists had chosen such an important and significant date to Americans to do something as miniscule as drop their album. What really made my head spin was that the rappers appeared on BET's popular show 106th and Park on September 11th to promote both of their albums and the show's host started the show off by saying, "today, September the 11th, is a monumental day". But he wasn't referring to the significance of 9/11 as most of us know it. He wasn't talking about the close to 6,000 people who lost their lives, thousands more who were injured, the event that started the current war we are fighting in, and he certainly was not coming out of a place of reverence. No, he was talking about how "monumental" it is that 2 artists of 50 and Kanye's caliber were dropping their albums on the same day
Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of both of these artists. I love the diverstiy and newness that Kanye brings to hip-hop. And 50 Cent has turned himself into more of a mogul than an artist. His background is the quinticential "rags to riches story". These 2 men are incedibly influencial to hip-hop and pop culture itself. But is hip-hop or pop culture as important and significant as what happened on 9/11? I don't think so. I don't think its anywhere close. I think that it is completely irreverent and selfish to 1st of all: use this date as your album release date. And 2nd of all: call dropping an album on that day "monumental". When put next to what happened at the world trade center on that day, it is anything but monumental.
This also makes me wonder: did the artists use this date as a marketing tool? September 11th is a date that sticks out in my mind. I hardly ever know what day of the month it is, but on September 11th I definitely know. Did the artists take advantage of the freshness on American's mind of the events of that day to think to themselves, "let's use its familiarity so people will think, oh its September 11th, dont kanye west's and 50 cent's albums drop today?" If that is the case, which i hope it is not, that is so utterly disappointing to me. I hope that they had no intent to make money off of the vividness that date brings to Americans. I hope that it was just an open date. I was offended enough at the whole "monumental" thing, but if this is true, then I really think my perspective of these artists will change.
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3 comments:
I think albums usually come out on Tuesdays, and September 11 was a Tuesday this year. I think I would still try to avoid it if I were a musician, though.
yeah, I really hope this was not just a marketing tool. That WOULD be kind of sad.
And wasn't Kanye the one that dissed George Bush saying he didn't care about black people? Well, I think that Kanye needs to reexamine where he's coming from, because he doesn't have any room to talk disrespecting the lives lost that day.
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