Jenn's Reverie
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Ghostwriter
The other day I was talking to a friend about music. He's more a hip-hop lover than he is anything else from what I gather. Anyhow, he told me about an "artist" called Mad Skillz. Why is artist in quotes you ask? Good question. Apparently Skillz is what they call a ghostwriter. He writes lyrics sells them to artists. Hmm. . . Interesting I thought. I started to research this cat (yeah, I said cat) Skillz and he has allegedly written lyrics for artists such as P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Bow Wow and then some.
I had heard of ghostwriters but never really looked into it. There is video on youtube of some of Skillz work. It's him singing/rapping. He's basically putting some of the artists he's done work for on blast. Now, I'm not huge on lyrics because I'm too freaking A.D.D. but I listened to what he had to say and well, he's saying that these artists don't pay up and all kinds of other stuff. What? P. Diddy didn't pay you? Hmm. . . So I ask my friend, "Dude, why wouldn't P. freaking Diddy pay this guy?" It was a bad day financially for him or he's just been busy? So I start questioning the credibility of artists. Not just the artists Skillz claims to have written for, but all artists. If someone is writing for them, why not give credit where credit is due? Oh, I know, you're all thinking 'yeah right!' That would mean they aren't artists. So then I wondered, "Well, why doesn't Skillz just put out his own stuff?" Then I listened and I figured it out pretty quick. His vocals are nothing special and I couldn't even tell you if his lyrics are, but according to the hip-hop community he's got skills in that department.
Anyhow, I was kinds disappointed to think about how maybe some of my favorite artists don't do their work. I mean, of course this isn't news, I've just not actually sat there and thought about it many times. I mean, I have a friend who can sing. I mean, this girl can rip it! Mostly like Mariah Carey stuff, but she can tear it up. And I KNOW she couldn't put down a beat or melody if her life depended on it. That's fine, she's a singer. Is it so wrong that someone who could write does write for someone who can sing? Then the sadness of thinking that there are artists who do that went away. Who cares? Unless they are saying that it's theirs when it's not, then I see nothing wrong with it. Snoop Dogg has openly admitted to using ghostwriters. As a matter of fact, not too long ago I saw him on TV talking about how his next album would be done by a bunch of them. He was gonna do something like let anyone send stuff to him and if he liked it for him, he'd use it. I think it's a sweet idea so long as the credit is given where it's due.
I had heard of ghostwriters but never really looked into it. There is video on youtube of some of Skillz work. It's him singing/rapping. He's basically putting some of the artists he's done work for on blast. Now, I'm not huge on lyrics because I'm too freaking A.D.D. but I listened to what he had to say and well, he's saying that these artists don't pay up and all kinds of other stuff. What? P. Diddy didn't pay you? Hmm. . . So I ask my friend, "Dude, why wouldn't P. freaking Diddy pay this guy?" It was a bad day financially for him or he's just been busy? So I start questioning the credibility of artists. Not just the artists Skillz claims to have written for, but all artists. If someone is writing for them, why not give credit where credit is due? Oh, I know, you're all thinking 'yeah right!' That would mean they aren't artists. So then I wondered, "Well, why doesn't Skillz just put out his own stuff?" Then I listened and I figured it out pretty quick. His vocals are nothing special and I couldn't even tell you if his lyrics are, but according to the hip-hop community he's got skills in that department.
Anyhow, I was kinds disappointed to think about how maybe some of my favorite artists don't do their work. I mean, of course this isn't news, I've just not actually sat there and thought about it many times. I mean, I have a friend who can sing. I mean, this girl can rip it! Mostly like Mariah Carey stuff, but she can tear it up. And I KNOW she couldn't put down a beat or melody if her life depended on it. That's fine, she's a singer. Is it so wrong that someone who could write does write for someone who can sing? Then the sadness of thinking that there are artists who do that went away. Who cares? Unless they are saying that it's theirs when it's not, then I see nothing wrong with it. Snoop Dogg has openly admitted to using ghostwriters. As a matter of fact, not too long ago I saw him on TV talking about how his next album would be done by a bunch of them. He was gonna do something like let anyone send stuff to him and if he liked it for him, he'd use it. I think it's a sweet idea so long as the credit is given where it's due.
posted by Jenn Doll at 2:03 AM
10 Comments:
Interesting topic. I hadn't thought much about ghostwriting in music, especially in hip-hop. Sure, there are many artists that don't write their own material--even supposedly gifted songwriter Sheryl Crow borrowed another dude's poem for most of her first big hit, "All I Wanna Do"--but the ghostwriting angle is fascinating.
A good song writer can make or break an artist. Even if they write their own songs when they start out, life has a tendency to get in the way.
I have a cousin that is a song writer and makes a pretty darned good living from royalties off the ones he's sold... But then he does country, so I couldn't tell you off the top of my head any of the songs as I don't really listen to that genre at all.
there has always been writers producing work for others to sing and gain fame off of. Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and so many others wrote hits before we knew their names.
Bernie Taupin (with Elton John) and Robert Hunter (with Jerry Garcia) created anthems for multiple generations.
I know you know this. And i get the point of the post is more about the integrity of the artist and giving credit to those who deserve it.
i guess we need to seperate the music we hear into different things to value - the creation/writing & the performance.
thanks for the reminder.
Hmm....very cool thought. I often wondered how many artists really don't do their own writing. Avril has gotten in trouble for stealing, for example.
OK, I still think "Girl You Know It's True" is still a cool song.
I would venture to guess that very few artists actually write their own material.
On the other hand, when I read a book, it better be the author's material.
In rap/Hip-Hop, using a ghostwriter is looked down upon so usually a non disclosure clause is included in the purcase agreement.
Ghostwriting is atrocious! Lethal injection for all who use it. Hope I'm not being too harsh!
Sounds like he needs some Mad Accounting Skillz.
As someone who plays and has played in front of people, I am so envious of anyone that can write a song, much less perform it too. If somebody wrote a song in my key I could have probably gotten noticed, and then everyone would have thought I was something special. But the real specialty is in creating something out of nothing like writers do.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Post a Comment
<< Home