The Story of Wanz, 51-Year-Old Breakout Singer on "Thrift Shop"

Macklemore is from Seattle though, right? Makes sense it would hit there first...

I just went through my activity log on Facebook, because it knew I shared it a while ago. It was mid November, I got it from a German Radio station. (It wasn't played a lot back then though) Not trying to be all hipster and stuff but: "Called it!"

Which major label did they sign to? Their song "Jimmy Iovine" is a pretty scathing indictment of major labels.

"We’ll give you a hundred thousand dollar. After your album comes out we’ll need back that money that you borrowed. So it’s really like a loan, a loan? Come on, no. We're a team, 360 degrees, we will reach your goals! We’ll get a third of the merch that you sell out on the road. Along with a third of the money you make when you’re out doing your shows. Manager gets 20, booking agent gets 10, so shit, after taxes you and Ryan have 7% to split. That’s not bad, I’ve seen a lot worse, No one will give you a better offer than us.

"I replied I appreciate the offer, thought that this is what I wanted. Rather be a starving artist than succeed at getting fucked."

The crucial difference here is they used the label, not the other way around.

Hip hop radio is an incredibly conservative, staid, and boring format. You have to remember that for almost a decade and a half (basically until The Chronic forced the issue) they wouldn't even really play rap music that wasn't also dance music. It was mostly C&C Music Factory, MC Hammer, etc. No Public Enemy, no Tribe Called Quest... Those things were supported by college radio first. Think of everything that's popular and critically acclaimed they won't play today from all the Odd Future stuff to Killer Mike to Lupe Fiasco...

Radio in general serves mostly as background music for ads. A song that rejects consumption in very specific terms is the last thing they want to see.

Good question. Parent seems to imply Hip-hop/R&B charts are just from Hip-hop/R&B radio (e.g. "which means this is getting played on actual rap radio"), but Billboard's description of the charts says it is across all radio formats.

Outside of the UK, almost no one makes the distinction between 'continental' Europe and those islands on the coast of France.

Also, that water between England and France? Most of the world refers to it as 'the Channel', while the British tend to refer to it as 'the Atlantic'. Both are correct, of course, but it does show how significant the British find that 4 mile wide gap.

The version I've been hearing on XM at the gym is censored.

You've clearly never had a 12 year old spew all the seven dirty words at you (and some I had to look up)

What are you protecting kids from at this point?

Well, for Germans it's ok to NOT be treated as adults, because last time they played the grown ups they killed around 20+ million people.

I'd say, though, that there are far more words you cannot broadcast in the US, free speech and all. If not because of law, then because either the networks wont let you or because some people will "crucify" you.

I remember some years ago there was a huge brouhaha even because Janet Jackson showed some tit on a live show...