Big Wig
Let me start this one of with a quick “no shots” disclaimer. I’m just passing along some info/knowledge from some reliable hip-hop internet journalists (shouts to @FYMTG, @rafikam). These cats linked me to a story via the Twitter that is essentially about how the music industry is doing so badly, that even people who were once big, succesful and powerful are finding themselves in positions where they are conducting somewhat below-the-board dealings, and taking advantage of younger, smaller, more inexperienced players. Coming from a music biz background, I’m no stranger to both shady-seeming dealings, and frequent false accusations of shadiness. So, I’ll tread lightly as I go forward.
The charge in this piece is specifically that Julia Beverly, who heads up Ozone Magazine, was trying to scam smaller up & coming artists into buying Lil Boosie verses for more money than they were worth. These verses aren’t devalued because of the quality of the music, but because without a label clearance (which is the kind of deal Beverly was reportedly initially offering via Twitter), spending $7k on a verse is a tough investment to recoup. Beverly also reportedly seemed to waiver on whether or not she could obtain label clearance, and her response seemed to fluctuate based on how much money was on the table. It’s tough to know Boosie’s involvment (if any) in the situation, and it’s tough to know, legally, exactly where all parties stand, but what is clear is that Beverly, Boosie, and/or whoever was involved with the financial side of the selling of these verses was trying to get a buck. It’s tough times, but the whole point of this piece is that those tough bucks shouldn’t be made at the expense of struggling, hard-working up & coming artists / supporters. This is pretty much the same argument that can be made for why the industry is falling apart in the first place: large companies (major labels) lost touch with the fanbases that actually would go out to support, and got focused on the quick buck, at the expense of the consumer’s patience and pocket.
It seems that someone else may have run out of patience too, because Julia Beverly threatened to file a Defamation of Character suit against the blog that initially posted this content. Aieee!
Stay tuned for more updates. As the amount of money in the pool decreases, how hard people will be willing to scrap to get it will go up, so this one should be interesting.
UPDATE:
According to this site, Lil Boosie’s management team cleared the air, claiming that Julia Beverly was acting normally, legally, and even reputably.
