Back in 1993 when Hunters Point community activist Herm Lewis released his first rap compilation, "Trying to Survive in the Ghetto," he had no idea it would go on to become a commercial success and pioneer a movement.
Today these Bay Area rap-artist collections are being released at the frenzied rate of about one every other week. And with a dozen compilations slated for release before summer's end, the prolific movement is showing no signs of slowing down.
It has also inspired rappers elsewhere in the nation, with the recent "Gulf Coast Compilation" out of the South and "Big Boy Compilation" from Tennessee joining the pack. But their numbers don't compare to what's happening in the Bay Area.
Ironically, Lewis, who provided the blueprint for the hugely profitable genre, has to find a new game.
"Four years ago I sold 70,000 units, which was amazing, but now I'd be lucky to sell 20,000 or even 15,000 copies. It's just way too competitive out there," he said from Premiere Studios in Hunters Point.
And Lewis isn't the only one who's feeling the heat of the competition.
"The marketplace is definitely oversaturated right now, and I think that we're going to see some big changes by the end of '97," said Jo Treggiari of the Oakland rap label DogDay Records, which in the coming weeks will release the 36-track, double-CD Bay Area compilation "Million Dollar Dream."
"Dream" will hit the market around the same time as E40 and B-Legit's mega double- album "South West Riders," Ant Banks' "Big Thangs," JT the Bigga Figga's "Frisco City Allstars," "Who Put Sac on the Map?," "International Blunt Funk," "Isolated in the Game," Khayree's "Blackalation" and the ever-present former Bay Area resident Master P (see story on Page 33), who dominates most of the nation's rap charts with such releases as his "I'm Bout It" and "West Coast Bad Boyz Vol II" collections.
FOLLOWING THE MONEY TRAIL
In fact, Master P was the first person to wisely follow Lewis' money trail with the release of 1993's hot-selling compilation "West Coast Bad Boyz." "Boss Ballin," compiled by the Click's D-Shot, followed soon after, selling a phenomenal 180,000 units to date.
Up until that point, there had been only a handful of Bay Area offerings, including the 1988 Dangerous Crew compilation from Too $hort, which, didn't sell well despite boasting early tracks from Rappin' 4 Tay and Spice-1.
All of that changed with the success of Lewis, D-Shot and Master P. Then, when "Bay Area Playaz" was released in 1995 featuring highly visible, highly paid artists, it was obvious to all that compilations meant big money. It also meant the stakes were raised.
"I heard that they spent $100,000 on producing 'Bay Area Playaz,' " Lewis said. "My first compilation cost me $15,000 to make. Today it would probably cost 10 times that."
Part of the high cost comes from having to pay big-name artists; E40, C-BO, Luniz, B- Legit and Dru Down charge up to $10,000 for one song on a compilation. But big names have become necessary to sell records.
"These days I wouldn't recommend putting out a compilation with unrecognizable names," D-Shot said.
LEARNING THE HARD WAY
Lewis learned that the hard way when his second compilation, "Still Trying to Survive in the Ghetto," sold way below expectations in 1995.
But while big names guarantee big sales, they don't necessarily guarantee market longevity, as demonstrated a few months back with the Bay Area star-heavy "Notorious Pimps, Playa's & Hustlas," which sold heavily in its first month but then quickly fell off as newer titles flooded the market.
"Rap fans always want to have the very latest thing. That's what they run out to buy," said Ryan Miller of In-A-Minute Records, which recently released "International Blunt Funk." "Most solo recordings aren't that tight anyway, so rap fans aren't about to risk their $15 on only one or two good songs."
Charles Baldwin, project coordinator of last year's "Cell Block Compilation," which sold an impressive 100,000 copies, agrees.
"I refuse to do a one-artist rap album. Compilations guarantee both diversity and quality," he said. "With a one-artist album your ears get tired. It's like enduring an hour of conversation from that one person. That's why even the majority of the Bay Area solo releases are essentially compilations, since they always feature a ton of guest rappers."
Ant Banks, whose recently released West Coast star-studded "Big Thangs" is selling briskly, believes that the compilation trend will continue, but "it's getting a bit tired because it's a case of monkey see, monkey do. People need to be original and come up with new themes."
One new theme is an old-school Bay Area rap compilation. In the coming months, both KMEL DJ Chuy Gomez and the rap magazine 4080 are planning such retro releases.
Another theme -- one that is considered by many in the industry to be a gimmick -- is double-CD sets. And in the fall, Vallejo producer Coolio Da Unda Dog (who worked on much of Mac Dre's "Rompilation") will release a triple-CD Bay Area compilation.
DogDay's Treggiari sees the current marketplace saturation as representative of what's happening in the rap industry overall.
"Rap has just become a way to make a quick buck. There is so much crap out there these days," she said, likening the proliferation of labels and releases to disco in the late '70s. "I foresee a big upheaval in the music biz within the next year. The majors are turning away from rap, and the indie guys who are in it only for the money are quickly realizing that it's not so lucrative after all."
TWELVE OF THIS SUMMER'S COMPILATIONS
1. "South West Riders": Put together by E40 and his cousin B-Legit, this is the second compilation from Sick Wid It Records. Along with artists from the Bay Area, it features some of the best from the Los Angeles area.
2. "Million Dollar Dream" is another double CD set by DogDay that includes such local faves as 11/5, Dru Down, UNLV and Andre Nickatina.
3. "Who Put Sac on the Map?" by Premiere features the state capital's best rappers, including C-BO and Marvaless. It will compete with the similarly themed "West Coast Trippin" from AWOL Records.
4. "Isolated in the Game" (BayWay Records): Yet another tiny independent label collection, it features Totally Insane, San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga, Andre Nickatina, Cellski, Cougnut and Mac Dre.
5. "Khayree Brings You the Blackalation" (Young Black Brotha): This R&B/rap collection from the Bay Area and beyond includes Mac Dre, Ray Luv, JT, Shima and Big Syke from Thug Life.
6. Ant Banks' "Big Thangs": The veteran Bay Area producer teams some of the best rap duos from the bay to Los Angeles, including Too $hort with Ice Cube and Mack 10 with E40.
7. "Seventeen Reasons" (Black & Brown): Assembled by young Fillmore rapper San Quinn from JT's camp, this is a presentation of Latino and black rap artists.
8. San Francisco rapper/entrepreneur JT the Bigga Figga will release two compilations in August: the greatest-hits double CD "Frisco City Allstars" and the all-new "Mobb Style Menu," both on his Get Low Records label.
9. Urban Life Music takes a risk with its "Strait 2 Da Jugular Vein," which features all unknown rappers from Hayward and Union City.
10. Cues Records' still-untitled August release is the odd man out, being more MC/DJ- oriented than other compilations. It will include Space Travelers, Live Human, Sacred Hoop, Rasco and Hobo Junction.
11. "Heat" is another star-studded compilation from Swerve Records. This one includes 2Pac, E40, JT the Bigga Figga, Snoop Doggy Dogg and B-Legit.
12. "The Best of Black Market Records": The Sacramento rap label's greatest hits include the ever-popular Brotha Lynch Hung, Lunasicc, X-Raided and Cold World Hustlers.
TEN BAY AREA COMPILATIONS WORTH HAVING
1. "Dangerous Crew Presents"
2. "Bomb Hip-Hop Compilation"
3. "Herm: Trying to Survive in the Ghetto"
4. "Money B Presents . . . Folk Music"
5. "Bay Area Playaz"
6. "Mac Dre Presents: The Rompilation"
7. "Urban Underground: The Hip-Hop Unknown"
8. "Cell Block Compilation"
9. "West Coast Bad Boyz: Anotha Level of the Game"
10. "GLP: Straight Out the Labb"
Today these Bay Area rap-artist collections are being released at the frenzied rate of about one every other week. And with a dozen compilations slated for release before summer's end, the prolific movement is showing no signs of slowing down.
It has also inspired rappers elsewhere in the nation, with the recent "Gulf Coast Compilation" out of the South and "Big Boy Compilation" from Tennessee joining the pack. But their numbers don't compare to what's happening in the Bay Area.
Ironically, Lewis, who provided the blueprint for the hugely profitable genre, has to find a new game.
"Four years ago I sold 70,000 units, which was amazing, but now I'd be lucky to sell 20,000 or even 15,000 copies. It's just way too competitive out there," he said from Premiere Studios in Hunters Point.
And Lewis isn't the only one who's feeling the heat of the competition.
"The marketplace is definitely oversaturated right now, and I think that we're going to see some big changes by the end of '97," said Jo Treggiari of the Oakland rap label DogDay Records, which in the coming weeks will release the 36-track, double-CD Bay Area compilation "Million Dollar Dream."
"Dream" will hit the market around the same time as E40 and B-Legit's mega double- album "South West Riders," Ant Banks' "Big Thangs," JT the Bigga Figga's "Frisco City Allstars," "Who Put Sac on the Map?," "International Blunt Funk," "Isolated in the Game," Khayree's "Blackalation" and the ever-present former Bay Area resident Master P (see story on Page 33), who dominates most of the nation's rap charts with such releases as his "I'm Bout It" and "West Coast Bad Boyz Vol II" collections.
FOLLOWING THE MONEY TRAIL
In fact, Master P was the first person to wisely follow Lewis' money trail with the release of 1993's hot-selling compilation "West Coast Bad Boyz." "Boss Ballin," compiled by the Click's D-Shot, followed soon after, selling a phenomenal 180,000 units to date.
Up until that point, there had been only a handful of Bay Area offerings, including the 1988 Dangerous Crew compilation from Too $hort, which, didn't sell well despite boasting early tracks from Rappin' 4 Tay and Spice-1.
All of that changed with the success of Lewis, D-Shot and Master P. Then, when "Bay Area Playaz" was released in 1995 featuring highly visible, highly paid artists, it was obvious to all that compilations meant big money. It also meant the stakes were raised.
"I heard that they spent $100,000 on producing 'Bay Area Playaz,' " Lewis said. "My first compilation cost me $15,000 to make. Today it would probably cost 10 times that."
Part of the high cost comes from having to pay big-name artists; E40, C-BO, Luniz, B- Legit and Dru Down charge up to $10,000 for one song on a compilation. But big names have become necessary to sell records.
"These days I wouldn't recommend putting out a compilation with unrecognizable names," D-Shot said.
LEARNING THE HARD WAY
Lewis learned that the hard way when his second compilation, "Still Trying to Survive in the Ghetto," sold way below expectations in 1995.
But while big names guarantee big sales, they don't necessarily guarantee market longevity, as demonstrated a few months back with the Bay Area star-heavy "Notorious Pimps, Playa's & Hustlas," which sold heavily in its first month but then quickly fell off as newer titles flooded the market.
"Rap fans always want to have the very latest thing. That's what they run out to buy," said Ryan Miller of In-A-Minute Records, which recently released "International Blunt Funk." "Most solo recordings aren't that tight anyway, so rap fans aren't about to risk their $15 on only one or two good songs."
Charles Baldwin, project coordinator of last year's "Cell Block Compilation," which sold an impressive 100,000 copies, agrees.
"I refuse to do a one-artist rap album. Compilations guarantee both diversity and quality," he said. "With a one-artist album your ears get tired. It's like enduring an hour of conversation from that one person. That's why even the majority of the Bay Area solo releases are essentially compilations, since they always feature a ton of guest rappers."
Ant Banks, whose recently released West Coast star-studded "Big Thangs" is selling briskly, believes that the compilation trend will continue, but "it's getting a bit tired because it's a case of monkey see, monkey do. People need to be original and come up with new themes."
One new theme is an old-school Bay Area rap compilation. In the coming months, both KMEL DJ Chuy Gomez and the rap magazine 4080 are planning such retro releases.
Another theme -- one that is considered by many in the industry to be a gimmick -- is double-CD sets. And in the fall, Vallejo producer Coolio Da Unda Dog (who worked on much of Mac Dre's "Rompilation") will release a triple-CD Bay Area compilation.
DogDay's Treggiari sees the current marketplace saturation as representative of what's happening in the rap industry overall.
"Rap has just become a way to make a quick buck. There is so much crap out there these days," she said, likening the proliferation of labels and releases to disco in the late '70s. "I foresee a big upheaval in the music biz within the next year. The majors are turning away from rap, and the indie guys who are in it only for the money are quickly realizing that it's not so lucrative after all."
TWELVE OF THIS SUMMER'S COMPILATIONS
1. "South West Riders": Put together by E40 and his cousin B-Legit, this is the second compilation from Sick Wid It Records. Along with artists from the Bay Area, it features some of the best from the Los Angeles area.
2. "Million Dollar Dream" is another double CD set by DogDay that includes such local faves as 11/5, Dru Down, UNLV and Andre Nickatina.
3. "Who Put Sac on the Map?" by Premiere features the state capital's best rappers, including C-BO and Marvaless. It will compete with the similarly themed "West Coast Trippin" from AWOL Records.
4. "Isolated in the Game" (BayWay Records): Yet another tiny independent label collection, it features Totally Insane, San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga, Andre Nickatina, Cellski, Cougnut and Mac Dre.
5. "Khayree Brings You the Blackalation" (Young Black Brotha): This R&B/rap collection from the Bay Area and beyond includes Mac Dre, Ray Luv, JT, Shima and Big Syke from Thug Life.
6. Ant Banks' "Big Thangs": The veteran Bay Area producer teams some of the best rap duos from the bay to Los Angeles, including Too $hort with Ice Cube and Mack 10 with E40.
7. "Seventeen Reasons" (Black & Brown): Assembled by young Fillmore rapper San Quinn from JT's camp, this is a presentation of Latino and black rap artists.
8. San Francisco rapper/entrepreneur JT the Bigga Figga will release two compilations in August: the greatest-hits double CD "Frisco City Allstars" and the all-new "Mobb Style Menu," both on his Get Low Records label.
9. Urban Life Music takes a risk with its "Strait 2 Da Jugular Vein," which features all unknown rappers from Hayward and Union City.
10. Cues Records' still-untitled August release is the odd man out, being more MC/DJ- oriented than other compilations. It will include Space Travelers, Live Human, Sacred Hoop, Rasco and Hobo Junction.
11. "Heat" is another star-studded compilation from Swerve Records. This one includes 2Pac, E40, JT the Bigga Figga, Snoop Doggy Dogg and B-Legit.
12. "The Best of Black Market Records": The Sacramento rap label's greatest hits include the ever-popular Brotha Lynch Hung, Lunasicc, X-Raided and Cold World Hustlers.
TEN BAY AREA COMPILATIONS WORTH HAVING
1. "Dangerous Crew Presents"
2. "Bomb Hip-Hop Compilation"
3. "Herm: Trying to Survive in the Ghetto"
4. "Money B Presents . . . Folk Music"
5. "Bay Area Playaz"
6. "Mac Dre Presents: The Rompilation"
7. "Urban Underground: The Hip-Hop Unknown"
8. "Cell Block Compilation"
9. "West Coast Bad Boyz: Anotha Level of the Game"
10. "GLP: Straight Out the Labb"
