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Thoughts About Music
Musings on music, music culture and the music business.
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Def Jam Executive President No I.D. On Music Biz Woes — “The Tech Companies Are Taking the Money.”
Def Jam Executive President No I.D. On Music Biz Woes — “The Tech Companies Are Taking the Money.”
Let’s play the blame game.
Paul Cantor
Jul 7, 2015
The Downside to Music Going Digital
How do you remember things that you can’t hold on to?
Paul Cantor
Mar 26, 2015
The Big, Giant, Revealing M.I.A. Interview
The Big, Giant, Revealing M.I.A. Interview
Ten years ago, M.I.A. released her groundbreaking debut album, Arular.
Paul Cantor
Mar 21, 2015
The Dumb Silly Reason Why the “Blurred Lines” Verdict is Actually Good for the Music Industry
The Dumb Silly Reason Why the “Blurred Lines” Verdict is Actually Good for the Music Industry
The $7 Million Lesson that Musicians and Executives Needed to Learn.
Paul Cantor
Mar 11, 2015
Is Conscious Rap Dead?
Is Conscious Rap Dead?
The evolution of a once-mighty genre of music.
Paul Cantor
Feb 18, 2015
17 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Sean “Diddy” Combs
17 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Sean “Diddy” Combs
There is more to the man than Ciroc and Sean John.
Paul Cantor
Jan 13, 2015
How the Beats Made Cam’ron’s “Purple Haze” Great
How the Beats Made Cam’ron’s “Purple Haze” Great
On its ten year anniversary, a look back on the rapper’s last good album.
Paul Cantor
Dec 8, 2014
The Real Reason Why There Are No Platinum Albums This Year (Hint: Beyonce’s Involved)
The Real Reason Why There Are No Platinum Albums This Year (Hint: Beyonce’s Involved)
Music is a changed business. We need to stop crying about it.
Paul Cantor
Oct 23, 2014
Did “Illmatic” Save Nas, or Did “It Was Written?”
It was Nas’ second LP that really put him over the top.
Paul Cantor
Oct 10, 2014
Don’t Ask Rappers Stupid Questions
Don’t Ask Rappers Stupid Questions
Asking what people want to know vs. maybe getting your ass kicked.
Paul Cantor
Aug 1, 2014
Is This the Song of the Summer?
Is This the Song of the Summer?
“Ugly Heart” is catchy, fun and care-free.
Paul Cantor
Jul 2, 2014
Show Busta Rhymes Some Damn Respect
Show Busta Rhymes Some Damn Respect
Twenty years later, the dungeon dragon is still going strong.
Paul Cantor
Jul 1, 2014
My Neighbor Showed Me the Future of Music
My Neighbor Showed Me the Future of Music
And I was too blind to see it.
Paul Cantor
May 28, 2014
Nas “Illmatic” at Twenty — A Short Story
Nas “Illmatic” at Twenty — A Short Story
Cocaine in a Staten Island condo.
Paul Cantor
Apr 16, 2014
Meet the Rap Super Producer Who Made Himself Disappear
Meet the Rap Super Producer Who Made Himself Disappear
He walked away from everything except himself.
Paul Cantor
Apr 7, 2014
It’s Hard to Listen to Albums Now
R.I.P. to the long play.
Paul Cantor
Feb 25, 2014
Finding Inspiration in Kanye West’s “The College Dropout”
Finding Inspiration in Kanye West’s “The College Dropout”
Celebrating the album’s tenth anniversary
Paul Cantor
Feb 10, 2014
Letter to My First Client
Selling beats on the Internet in the year 2001.
Paul Cantor
Feb 6, 2014
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