danthrax, the first wop to escape the matrix.

I sometimes think of the world of music as a country… with different people and groups controlling different regions.

Musical regions aren’t really east versus west. It’s grimy versus glossy. Party versus chill. Happy, angry, lonely, romantic, or strong.

If you had to map the musical landscape, you couldn’t do it in 2D. But I imagine that Ke$ha lives in a used-up wasteland next to Lady Gaga. Kanye West and Lil Wayne both have huge empires, but there is enough distance between them to let them coexist. And Drake is building a kingdom between those two.

There’s a kingdom for you too… if you claim an open spot.

Justin Bieber found an open spot. It’s the same spot once held by Donny Osmond. But just like real life countries, kingdoms grow old and fall apart. This allows a younger dynasty to take over their territory. Michael Jackson was a teen idol. But as he grew up he didn’t give up his spot… he grew into something bigger. And now that he’s gone… you see a new generation fighting for a piece of that empire.

Territories have a life. They get discovered, conquered, depleted, and abandoned. Remember when people said hip hop was dead? That’s cuz hip hop was seen as a land of opportunity for a while, until everyone had picked the land clean. Now the electro territory is a lot more crowded than it was a few years ago.

The lesson: don’t fight in a crowded territory. The universe expands. Find a spot that no one is contesting, and use it as your jump off.

Theme Music: Clipse - “Mr. Me Too”