Apr 15, 2015 I mean I wasnt talking about kanye using ghostwriters I was talking about the rumors of kanye using ghostwriters so step off me bro
Apr 15, 2015 the nefarious part of ghostwriting is the "ghost" part. kanye, since he first started rapping professionally, has credited people extremely liberally. none of the lines that made it onto the final version of jesus walks were written by rhymefest; since he originally had the beat, and had written a song called "jesus walks" to it, however, kanye credited him. i've talked to rhymefest about this, and i believe @Tha Story has linked to an interview where he says something to the same effect. common told me personally that he helped with some verses on late registration, and kanye helped with some verses on be. that's just how it is. of course kanye has help writing--as does everyone in the industry, up to and including nas, jay z, kendrick, whomever. but where those guys don't give out credits, kanye does. then bumbling morons look at the liner notes and feel like they're breaking the news.
Apr 15, 2015 @Koolo i would be interested in knowing if only one is officially on the record. no one i've been able to get a hold of knows anything about the final tracklist.
Apr 15, 2015 Interesting topic -- sole authorship whether its a screenplay or a novel is always a slippery slope. Not sure how much people realize -- TV shows often write by committee, then a singular person. South Park has a whole staff, yet Trey Parker receives the credit. I guess it's especially curious in the rap industry given this trite fixation on authenticity. Artists like Kanye (and Eminem ) have built their brand on their personal narratives, so the idea someone is tweaking their individual lines counteracts what made them popular. Not to mention the whole notion that rap is poetry/art... feeds into the idea of plagiarism.
Apr 15, 2015 This. Also, there's an interview floating around with CyHi and Big Sean, where they say that Kanye will write a verse and get input on what needs to be changed/what can be taken out / added to make it better. It's a creative process that a lot of people do. It's like conference writing. The whole taboo of ghostwriting is complete bs. From the start, people never wrote their rhymes. It wasn't until the late 80s when the competition was getting fierce that people started caring about it. Even then some of the biggest acts used ghostwriters and producers around that time.
Apr 15, 2015 also, i'd argue that having outside input (to an extent) doesn't make someone either a lesser artist if the work is great OR less culpable for a poor finished product.
Apr 15, 2015 Yeah, to keep playing the analogy game, writers penning their memoir/autobiography still have editors... Just gets to how naive ppl interested in rap are/were. If you're important, regardless of who you are, odds are you have an underling doing ur bidding for you.
Apr 15, 2015 as far as TV shows are concerned, distinct show runners are important. Especially if they're as noteworthy as like Vince Gilligan or Matt Weiner But you need a talented staff behind them for sure. No matter how many times they switch the show runner for the walking dead, they're not gonna stop being s-----y to slightly above average without better writers. There is nothing wrong with any form of art being collaborative. Its still a representation of the artist -- if thats the underlying concern. Maybe the final product is how it is because the artist is so insecure that he ran it by hundreds of people, got various input, and reworked incessantly.
Apr 15, 2015 yeah. obviously it's a matter of degree--there are a couple of big or semi-big rappers who will get finished songs delivered to them. but most of the writing is just contributing lines or concepts, editing, etc. h---, i've contributed lines to rap records.
