Are Hip Hop Artists "Bo-Jangling" for the Dough?

I was on the phone with an artist in NYC the other day. I asked her why she hasn't released an album in a while, even though she has the ability to be one of the hottest hip hop artists in America. My initial thought was that she had been slowed down by the fact that female artists are not given nearly as many opportunities as they deserve. While mysogeny certainly played a role, it was not the only reason she was sitting on the sideline.

The artist explained her challenge to me in one simple sentence: "I wanna own mine, ya feel me?" I agreed with her 100%, and yes, I could "feel" her.

This artist is, sadly enough, quite rare in the game of hip hop. She is one of the few who can actually understand and navigate the complexities of imbalanced contracts in the entertainment industry. She knows the difference between being a player and simply getting played. Unfortunately, most artists don't understand the distinction.

To gain insights on this issue, I spoke with an artist who actually records, prints, distributes and sells his own CDs. This artist does quite well with his own process, and he also has a few things to say about some of the more prominent artists who seem to feel that selling out is the way to sell a record. I also spoke with Michael "Ice Blue" Harris of HipHopWired.com. Michael has interviewed nearly every leading artist in the industry and has some insights into their lives and choices. Most recently, we had a chance to talk about Lil Wayne and get an interesting perspective on his most recent words and behaviors.

Why do artists behave the way they do? Can the business model of hip hop be made more effective? Should we excuse the behavior of Lil Wayne and other artists or hold them accountable? If we hold anyone accountable, who should that be? We address many of these issues in the interviews below.

The interview with Michael Harris can be found by clicking here.

The interview with the rapper "Vigalantee" can be found by clicking here.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and author of "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About College." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered directly to your email, please click here.